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D1Baseball's Weekly Chat: March 9
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Tom
1:35
How do USC's chances of making it to the NCAA tournament after a strong showing at the Dodgertown Classic?
Kendall Rogers
1:35
Tom -- TBD at this point, but I'll say this, I was very encouraged by John Beller's start, and we all know the Trojans have the position players to make the postseason. With Cal, Oregon State, Oregon all down right now, USC does have an opportunity to rise up and take one of those potential postseason spots. So far, I'm encouraged by what Jason Gill and his coaching staff are doing.
CD
1:35
What impact, if any, do you anticipate Covid-19 to have on the NCAA baseball season or upcoming June MLB draft?
Aaron Fitt
1:35
Boy, it's a great question, and something I've been thinking about lately. I don't have the answer -- nobody knows just how sweeping this thing is going to get. But obviously if public gatherings wind up getting cancelled across the country, college baseball won't be exempt from that. I believe they're playing soccer games in front of empty stadiums now in Italy... let's hope it doesn't come to that.
CE
1:35
Time to worry about TTU starting pitching? I know they could always move Micah Dallas back from the bullpen.
Kendall Rogers
1:35
CE -- I'm not that concerned, but the fact remains Tech has a bunch of throwers and not necessarily great "pitchers". I always thought Micah Dallas was one of those guys who might not have thrown 96, but he was a very solid pitcher with a hard-nosed approach. I think as his pitch count ramps back up, he'll be back in the rotation.
seeingidawg
1:37
What do you think about the Georgia Bulldawgs ?   Florida this week?   Thanks and Go Dawgs
Aaron Fitt
1:37
I just cannot wait for that series in Gainesville -- I'll be on hand all weekend. What a matchup. I think Georgia's pitching and defense stacks up against any team in the country, and I'll be interested to see how the UGa bats fare against high-end Florida pitching. We've already seen Georgia can shut down a good offense, which it did against Georgia Tech -- but Florida's offense is another step up, so that'll be a nice challenge. I think that series could go either way.
Brooks
1:38
As a Pepperdine fan, I couldn’t have imagined a better start. After another impressive weekend winning 2 out of 3 against Michigan without their best pitcher statistically in Cooper Chandler. Is this team a legit contender? And do you have any information on the severity of Chandlers injury?
Kendall Rogers
1:38
Brooks -- I'll check on Chandler's injury, but I do like the makeup of this team a lot. When I saw the Waves out in Arizona, they played with a ton of passion, typically led by Justin Lutes. Wyatt Young and Aharon Modlin are all really nice players, and the pitching staff is getting it done in big situations, too. The WCC as a whole looks very solid at the top. USD also got a nice non-conference series win over the Big Ten this past weekend.
Jordan C
1:38
Trying not to get to hyped up for UCF's start but dang. Are the Knights facilities in a good place to host a regional? I know improvements have been made but not sure how the Berg stacks up nationally. Thanks!
Aaron Fitt
1:38
Oh yeah, they can definitely host now after the recent upgrades. And the way it's going so far, it looks like they could wind up contending for that. The pitching has been so good so far; that series coming up against ECU is going to be very telling about who is the team to beat in the American. Of course, the team to beat might also wind up being Tulane. All three teams appear to be clear-cut regional-caliber clubs at this stage.
cool 2
NOLA Joe
1:41
Let's stir the pot...you have rivals LSU & Tulane back-to-back in the rankings. Which team 1) would win right now in a three-game series, and 2) will finish the season ranked higher?
Aaron Fitt
1:41
Yeah, stir that gumbo, Joe! This is a fun question. Tulane is clearly the better offensive team, and I think Braden Olthoff can stand toe-to-toe with anybody on Friday nights, but LSU would have an obvious pitching advantage the next two days. I do think LSU has the arms to shut down any offense in the country, including Tulane's. So while I am high on Tulane, I would probably still lean LSU to both of your questions... but it's close!
Elliott
1:43
Obviously early, but is the AAC looking to be a 4 bid team with at least one hosting at this point?
Kendall Rogers
1:43
AAC is looking like a four-bid league at the moment, but we've got a long way to go. Wichita State is off to a great start, but the Shockers haven't gotten close to playing the meat of its schedule, so let's wait and see if that RPI still stays in good range. I feel pretty confident about UCF, ECU and Tulane as postseason teams at this point, though.
Stephen
1:44
Texas A&M at Auburn this weekend. Who you got?
Aaron Fitt
1:44
Great series. I need more time to think about it before submitting my official pick later this week... I love both teams' pitching, and I think I'm inclined to default to the home team -- Auburn.
Kevin
1:47
While Florida is 16-0 and ranked #1, who do you think has the best resume 16 games in? While I respect the fact they swept Miami, I feel like other schools have challenged themselves more through the first third of the season outside of one 3-gm series (i.e., UCLA, TX Tech with RR classic and midweek sweep of FSU).
Aaron Fitt
1:47
At the high end of the resumé, I still say Florida's road sweep of Miami is the best single weekend any team in college baseball has had this year. You're right that the other three weeks aren't as impressive, but Troy is a solid club, so that's a decent series win, and USF is actually better than its record. Texas Tech's Round Rock weekend doesn't look so impressive now that we know Stanford and Houston are both bad, and they lost to Tennessee. UCLA has had two good weekends against strong competition, and I think you can make an argument for their resumé over Florida's, but it doesn't quite get there for me. Regardless, we're never going to drop the No. 1 team when it has a 5-0 week, no matter what anybody behind them does.
Jeramey
1:49
Hey guys love the coverage. With the SEC season starting this weekend, thier are alot of very interesting matchups. I am in the Atlanta area and have a free weekend, where should I go? I am thinking Arkansas at Miss St, what are your thoughts, thanks!
Kendall Rogers
1:49
Jeramey -- The two best teams will be Georgia at Florida in Gainesville, but in terms of overall experience, you gotta go with The Dude for Arkansas-MSU or Swayze for LSU-OleMiss over McKethan Stadium. I'll be in Starkville and Oxford this weekend. Maybe I'll see you there!
Jeff Davis
1:49
Is Jared Shuster a potential back end of the first round guy after how improved his stuff looks? Big velo jump, improved breaking ball, and same old nasty changeup that’s he’s always possessed!
Aaron Fitt
1:49
Our David Seifert saw him this weekend, and he was very good, but Seif doesn't think he's a first-rounder. He was 91-94 with an MLB average curveball and an above-average to plus changeup, but it's control over command right now. That's a pretty nice package from the left side. I think he's probably a second or third-rounder.
Jeramey
1:49
If thier is a lock for a super regional, who is it? Texas Tech and Florida look pretty good for locks, thoughts?
Kendall Rogers
1:49
I would put those teams as locks. Yes.
Mike
1:50
My school needs a new coach. Who's the first assistant coach if your the AD that you are calling that you think would make a good head coach?
Kendall Rogers
1:50
Mike -- Out West, give me Arizona's Nate Yeskie. Out East, give me Mississippi State's Jake Gautreau. I look at both of those guy's past coaching experiences and really like what they bring to the table. Jake in particular will be a head coach sooner rather than later, IMO.
Harry
1:50
If you had to pick a team in the Big 12 right now to challenge Texas Tech for the regular season conference crown, who would be your favorite right now?  Looks like another deep league this year, especially given Baylor's resurgence, West Virginia coming into their own, and even Texas finding a way to sweep multiple weekend series thus far.  With the anticipated parity in the league, could you see three Big 12 teams hosting come season's end?
Aaron Fitt
1:50
Yeah, good depth, you are correct. I might lean toward Oklahoma as the strongest challenger, based on its outstanding front-line arms. I'm eying that OU at Texas Tech series in April for a potential trip to Lubbock...
cool 1
Montana Diggs
1:54
Talk to me about the Mighty Mavs of UTA. The weekend series wins haven't been overly impressive, true, but the mid-week wins stand out and they're off to their best start since that magical '01 season. This former Mav is proud of Coach Thomas's crew.
Aaron Fitt
1:54
Yep, great start for the Mavs, highlighted by the midweek win over TCU and the 1-1 midweek showing against DBU. Connor Aube is a great player out in center field, a senior who also performed well last season. Andrew Miller, Zac Cook and Josh Minjarez are providing some pop, and I think Minjarez will also boost that batting average as the year progresses, he's an accomplished veteran guy, another really nice cornerstone piece. What's really caught my eye is the starting pitching — David Moffat, Carlos Tavera and Kody Bullard have been nails so far. This is a team that is very much on our radar, and if they keep winning, expect a UTA spotlight on our site pretty soon.
Mike
1:56
Can Florida win big in the postseason without studs on the mound? Seems like this is a depth over elite talent staff, which is obviously fine so far, but Mace/Leftwich aren't exactly Faedo/Singer or Shore/Puk.
Aaron Fitt
1:56
OK, it's not Faedo/Singer, but that's a really high bar. Mace and Leftwich still have electric stuff, and I've been encouraged by the way both of them have pitched so far. I also love Hunter Barco in the Sunday spot -- that's a big-time talent, the No. 1 ranked freshman in the country. So you're right about the depth -- the depth is just silly. But I think you're selling the frontline pitching short.
Chris
1:58
Any thoughts on Texas A&M entering conference play?  Will they be able to hit enough?
Kendall Rogers
1:58
Chris -- I feel pretty good about A&M's pitching staff with Asa Lacy and Christian Roa leading the way. And I think Jonathan Childress will be pretty good in the rotation, too, as he continues to gain experience, though Chris Weber threw fine against NMSU yesterday. The offense is the question mark. I do think this unit is better than last year's by a decent clip. But how much better? We'll find out. Zach DeLoach still being red-hot at the plate is a continued, big development for the Aggies.
PackFan
2:00
Am I overreacting to start getting concerned about NC State’s pitching beyond Nick Swiney?  30 runs allowed in 4 non Swiney starts the last 2 weeks.  Mid relief has been shaky.
Aaron Fitt
2:00
Hmm. I'm not worried about Reid Johnston, he's a proven workhorse bulldog, and he'll be just fine; not dominant, but solid. They do need to figure out that Sunday spot -- I expected Chris Villaman to seize that job, but he scuffled, and then David Harrison struggled this weekend. I'd feel better about the state of that staff if Villaman could figure it out and become a reliable Sunday guy. As for the bullpen, I still like the depth and variety, but it's not like they're running a bunch of mid-90s guys at you like Florida is. The NC State guys just have to be sharp with their command to succeed. Ultimately, I think it is still a quality bullpen, but not an elite bullpen. Good enough to win a lot of games. Still feel good about the Wolfpack as a regional host-caliber club.
BMP
2:01
Handicap the postseason race in the Pac-12 right now. Clearly UCLA and ASU are the class. Those 2 teams seem like locks. After that, I would say USC and Arizona have positioned themselves to make a run at a tourney bid if they perform adequately in conference play. But how many bids does this conference feel like it can get with such a lackluster out of conference performance - specifically by Stanford and Oregon State who are two perennial tourney teams.
Kendall Rogers
2:01
I mean, the Pac 12 looks like a pretty crystal clear four-bid league at the moment with UCLA and ASU the obvious ones, and Arizona highly likely to be a postseason team. I do think USC squeezes in there at this point, too, while I'd keep an eye on Washington. The Huskies have the arms to win a lot of games in that league, and I do love me some Braiden Ward offensively.
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