Coach Thompson speaks after MLB draft

[ellitor 33,091]

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Auburn Coach Butch Thompson talks about the impact of the draft on his team heading into the 2017 season.

Auburn, Ala.--Heading into the MLB Amateur Draft this week, Coach Butch Thompson and the Auburn Tigers were prepared to take at least a few big losses with outfielders Anfernee Grier and Josh Palacios along with RHP signee Alex Speas expected to be headed to professional baseball.

After all were drafted very early that certainly appears to be the case with all three and includes junior left-hander Ben Braymer (18th round), but overall the Tigers came out very well considering what could have been.

There are still some questions about first baseman Niko Buentello (18th round by the Detroit Tigers) and junior college slugger @Josh Anthony (16th round by the Atlanta Braves), but with junior Keegan Thompson (33rd round by the Detroit Tigers) and RHP signee Davis Daniel (34th round by the Chicago Cubs) both likely headed to the Plains to join forces with talented freshman Casey Mize, Thompson said next season’s staff already looks to be in a good position.

“I’m thankful for the hard work that Brad Bohannon has done since we’ve been here,” Thompson said. “We only had three weeks to get an early signing period put together and he was constantly recruiting and connecting with players that would have an interest in Auburn. It’s impressive.

“I’m so happy for Anfernee Grier for believing in Auburn and having such a great year, being the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first pick, that’s special. Then the other component is how many guys, and I’m speaking specifically of Keegan Thompson, believes in what we can do at Auburn and loves Auburn.

“Along with Davis Daniel, for those two they are investing in us. They are believing in us enough to turn down six figures to part of our program. It’s a belief and an investment that their best route to the big leagues is to be at Auburn.”

With Grier and Palacios both gone that means the lethal one-two punch at the top of Auburn’s order is gone and the top two hitters in terms of average from last season. Now the question that remains is will the the Tigers have either Buentello or Anthony in the lineup next season.

One of the top power hitters in the league, Buentello hit .332 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI in his first season at Auburn out of junior college. Signing with the Tigers out of junior college this year, Anthony had a monster sophomore season at Western Oklahoma State, hitting .444 with 25 home runs and 84 RBI while adding 49 stolen bases.

Making it a guessing game right now for the Tigers is the fact that neither guy has been offered a contract yet. The way the draft works the teams work on higher draft picks first and that often determines how much money is available to offer later picks. Thompson said they would love to have both guys playing in the orange and blue next season, but no matter what happens he feels good about the direction of program.

One of the reasons for that is the return of Daniel Robert. Moving into a relief role late in the 2016 season and showing some promise out of the bullpen, the big senior will be counted on to handle that role again after pitching this summer in California.

In addition Robert gives the Tigers the option to play either first base or right field while also a possibility to be the designated hitter. Bringing back to the two-way player is something that is in the plans for Thompson and Robert could be one of the keys to bringing Auburn baseball back next season.

“We see a loss in potential power,” Thompson said. “But I don’t think anybody can question that we got better on the mound. There’s a lot of SEC teams that would like to go Thompson, Mize, Daniel, (Gabe) Klobosits or whatever. There’s a lot of teams in the SEC that would take that, so that’s the positive.

“Plus, D Rob is going to pitch,” he added. “He’s going to do both. Because of our scholarship challenges compared to the rest of the SEC, when Auburn has been at its best it has had a premium dual player or two.”

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

[ellitor 33,091]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

IMO it starts w/ the corners. We need the juco slugger to come in instead of going pro. He would be our third baseman. We also need Nico to return. The middle infielders is scary. It looks to be Deese & Harcker. It does not look like we signed any other infielders in this class.

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

IMO it starts w/ the corners. We need the juco slugger to come in instead of going pro. He would be our third baseman. We also need Nico to return. The middle infielders is scary. It looks to be Deese & Harcker. It does not look like we signed any other infielders in this class.

No infielders ? Sure hate to hear that...they could give away runs faster than we could score them....just killed our pitchers who mostly were the type who generated a lot of ground balls.

[autigeremt 6,601]

Getting what we got considering the turmoil was special but not having infielders in it could hurt us. We'll need to develop some guys over the summer/fall.

[steeleagle 2,945]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

IMO it starts w/ the corners. We need the juco slugger to come in instead of going pro. He would be our third baseman. We also need Nico to return. The middle infielders is scary. It looks to be Deese & Harcker. It does not look like we signed any other infielders in this class.

No infielders ? Sure hate to hear that...they could give away runs faster than we could score them....just killed our pitchers who mostly were the type who generated a lot of ground balls.

Oh my yes. the left side of the infield was terrible. i think the SS had over 17 errors alone, Our pitchers were constantly having to get out of trouble or elevating their pitch counts. They are not power pitchers, so defense has to be better.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,297]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

IMO it starts w/ the corners. We need the juco slugger to come in instead of going pro. He would be our third baseman. We also need Nico to return. The middle infielders is scary. It looks to be Deese & Harcker. It does not look like we signed any other infielders in this class.

No infielders ? Sure hate to hear that...they could give away runs faster than we could score them....just killed our pitchers who mostly were the type who generated a lot of ground balls.

Oh my yes. the left side of the infield was terrible. i think the SS had over 17 errors alone, Our pitchers were constantly having to get out of trouble or elevating their pitch counts. They are not power pitchers, so defense has to be better.

This should improve with our line up of pitchers next year being more power arms, yes?

[ellitor 33,091]

Thanks for the report. No question the team will have a different look next year with so many players moving on. I am wondering about our returning infielders......as to where they might fit in next year.

Something has to be done to tighten up the defense .

IMO it starts w/ the corners. We need the juco slugger to come in instead of going pro. He would be our third baseman. We also need Nico to return. The middle infielders is scary. It looks to be Deese & Harcker. It does not look like we signed any other infielders in this class.

No infielders ? Sure hate to hear that...they could give away runs faster than we could score them....just killed our pitchers who mostly were the type who generated a lot of ground balls.

Oh my yes. the left side of the infield was terrible. i think the SS had over 17 errors alone, Our pitchers were constantly having to get out of trouble or elevating their pitch counts. They are not power pitchers, so defense has to be better.

This should improve with our line up of pitchers next year being more power arms, yes?

Doubt it. Haecker & Deese have been bad fielders their entire AU careers no matter the coach or pitching.

[steeleagle 2,945]

Well Coach T found that hitting can't overcome a poor Defense and average pitching. He has to make changes on the infield next year, if he can. And i agree, poor fielders at this level, never improve much if any.

We're going to need more pitchers that have swing and miss stuff, and not pitch to contact.

[AU64 10,122]

Well Coach T found that hitting can't overcome a poor Defense and average pitching. He has to make changes on the infield next year, if he can. And i agree, poor fielders at this level, never improve much if any.

We're going to need more pitchers that have swing and miss stuff, and not pitch to contact.

Agree with what you say but that will take a total change of baseball philosophy . We have not seen the pitchers for next season but I have not seen that any would be considered "power " arms either.

Regrettably, E's comment about our infield is true and unlikely to change unless there is a change of personnel . I hate it for those guys but frankly the team is just not good enough to overcome the poor defense.

[ellitor 33,091]

Another free read. This one by BMatt & has the complete 2016 signing class in it. It is a bit off as Speas has already signed w/ the Rangers. Josh Anthony also has not decided if he will yake the Braves offer or not. Signees include 3 middle infielders, 2 are juco kids. https://auburn.n.rivals.com/news/rebuilding-begins

[AU64 10,122]

Another free read. This one by BMatt & has the complete 2016 signing class in it. It is a bit off as Speas has already signed w/ the Rangers. Josh Anthony also has not decided if he will yake the Braves offer or not. Signees include 3 middle infielders, 2 are juco kids. https://auburn.n.riv...building-begins

3 middle infielders kinda shallow pond .....hoping there are some others we don't know about but I have a feeling that Deese and Haeker will be back in the infield.

Overall, until we see their bios, the sketchy information on the list does not encourage me very much. Looking like we might have one more year of heartache with baseball. JMO

[ellitor 33,091]

Another free read. This one by BMatt & has the complete 2016 signing class in it. It is a bit off as Speas has already signed w/ the Rangers. Josh Anthony also has not decided if he will yake the Braves offer or not. Signees include 3 middle infielders, 2 are juco kids. https://auburn.n.riv...building-begins

3 middle infielders kinda shallow pond .....hoping there are some others we don't know about but I have a feeling that Deese and Haeker will be back in the infield.

Overall, until we see their bios, the sketchy information on the list does not encourage me very much. Looking like we might have one more year of heartache with baseball. JMO

That was a given to be honest. And 3 middle infielder signees is better than the 0 we thought before.

[Mikey 16,579]

Another free read. This one by BMatt & has the complete 2016 signing class in it. It is a bit off as Speas has already signed w/ the Rangers. Josh Anthony also has not decided if he will yake the Braves offer or not. Signees include 3 middle infielders, 2 are juco kids. https://auburn.n.riv...building-begins

3 middle infielders kinda shallow pond .....hoping there are some others we don't know about but I have a feeling that Deese and Haeker will be back in the infield.

Overall, until we see their bios, the sketchy information on the list does not encourage me very much. Looking like we might have one more year of heartache with baseball. JMO

Three signees for two positions isn't exactly shorting the situation. Two are JUCO so their capabilities should be well known. As noted above, it was said we'd signed no middle infielders so this is good news. As to their bios, they are going to stack up on paper or they wouldn't have been signed.

[AU64 10,122]

Another free read. This one by BMatt & has the complete 2016 signing class in it. It is a bit off as Speas has already signed w/ the Rangers. Josh Anthony also has not decided if he will yake the Braves offer or not. Signees include 3 middle infielders, 2 are juco kids. https://auburn.n.riv...building-begins

3 middle infielders kinda shallow pond .....hoping there are some others we don't know about but I have a feeling that Deese and Haeker will be back in the infield.

Overall, until we see their bios, the sketchy information on the list does not encourage me very much. Looking like we might have one more year of heartache with baseball. JMO

Three signees for two positions isn't exactly shorting the situation. Two are JUCO so their capabilities should be well known. As noted above, it was said we'd signed no middle infielders so this is good news. As to their bios, they are going to stack up on paper or they wouldn't have been signed.

With Buentello gone (as I understand) we will need help all the way around the infield. Maybe Daniel Robert back to 1st and / of Keegan Thompson there sometimes? As for the Jucos.....Palacios and Buentello lived up to expectations (and better) so hoping for the same this year.

Just guessing but likely the reason for not signing infielders in the earlier time period was the expectation that the starters from this year would be back .....which they will ....but Butch realized that he needed defensive help there and went after a quick fix. ....which was a good move.

As for the bios......I'm sure they will look good but if Anthony turns pro, I am just wondering where the power is going to come from? Back to small ball?

[Mikey 16,579]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

[AU64 10,122]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

I don't know about that ....stringing a bunch of singles together is no sure thing and these days I've seen lots of promising rallies ended by a tailor made double play or strike outs.....both of which AU excelled at this past season...and which resulted in a ton of LOB. And how many one run games did we lose? More than a dozen. And among the most remarkable stats....AU trailing after 6 innings was 0-25 and trailing after 8 the team was 0-27. No comeback wins the entire season.

JMO but a little small ball could have turned some of those around. Meanwhile, until we get some guys like the Aggies have, it might be worthwhile to try and score them one at a time rather than leaving them stranded waiting on one or two power hitters to make contact.

Couldn't find the team batting average with "RISP" but it has to be scary.

There are virtually unlimited opportunities for the 2017 team to improve over this year's.

[ellitor 33,091]

Just guessing but likely the reason for not signing infielders in the earlier time period was the expectation that the starters from this year would be back .....which they will ....but Butch realized that he needed defensive help there and went after a quick fix. ....which was a good move.

It was never said we didn't sign the infielders in the early signing period. I just could not find a full signee list because AU did not do a Fall signee press release like they normally do.

[ellitor 33,091]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

In 1 of the 2 articles above CBT said we will be a small ball team next year due to all the power we lost from this year's team.

[ellitor 33,091]

There are virtually unlimited opportunities for the 2017 team to improve over this year's.

Pitcjing yes. Offense overall will be tough w/ less power. We will have to execute well to beat 2016 offensive production numbers.

[AU64 10,122]

There are virtually unlimited opportunities for the 2017 team to improve over this year's.

Pitcjing yes. Offense overall will be tough w/ less power. We will have to execute well to beat 2016 offensive production numbers.

JMO but if we could field a good defensive unit the pitching would look better.

Errors and miss-plays kept our pitchers on the mound in situations when they should have been out of an inning. The bad defense caused several pitchers to use up their pitch count early in games where they were doing well....inducing ground balls that should have been outs, etc. I kept informal count for a while with Camp and and he was a major victim of bad D.

[ellitor 33,091]

There are virtually unlimited opportunities for the 2017 team to improve over this year's.

Pitcjing yes. Offense overall will be tough w/ less power. We will have to execute well to beat 2016 offensive production numbers.

JMO but if we could field a good defensive unit the pitching would look better.

Errors and miss-plays kept our pitchers on the mound in situations when they should have been out of an inning. The bad defense caused several pitchers to use up their pitch count early in games where they were doing well....inducing ground balls that should have been outs, etc. I kept informal count for a while with Camp and and he was a major victim of bad D.

Captain Obvious agrees with you. Good D makes all pitching look better. I agreed with you on pitching BTW. We will have better pitchers so that by itself will make our pitching better. Where I am Missouri on is the unlimited opportunities for the offense to improve over this year part.

[Mikey 16,579]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

In 1 of the 2 articles above CBT said we will be a small ball team next year due to all the power we lost from this year's team.

That's a shame. With our defense and pitching the two or three runs a game produced by small ball thinking will have us deep in the cellar.

[AU64 10,122]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

In 1 of the 2 articles above CBT said we will be a small ball team next year due to all the power we lost from this year's team.

That's a shame. With our defense and pitching the two or three runs a game produced by small ball thinking will have us deep in the cellar.

:-\ Isn't that where we finished?

JMO but with 2 additional runs per game we had the potential to turn those dozen one run losses and the additional 7 or 8 two run loss games into some wins.

Check the season's results and the team was in a position to win another 10 or 12 games if they had just 'broken even" in all those close game we lost,

Considering that we won one game by one run and another game by 2 runs.....so basically were 2 and 20 in close ball games. Coaching should have been enough to shift those numbers toward 50:50. Just saying that we need a strategy to score runs, not just get base hits. Things will be different this year IMO.

[Mikey 16,579]

I have high hopes that the small ball days at AU are over for quite some time. It appears that Coach Thompson dislikes bunting as much as I do. Bunting has a place, in certain situations late in games, but it's a rally killer and most games are won because of rallies producing big innings.

We won't hit as many home runs next year, but back to back singles will get the job done without wasting outs like the "small ball thinking" wastes outs.

In 1 of the 2 articles above CBT said we will be a small ball team next year due to all the power we lost from this year's team.

That's a shame. With our defense and pitching the two or three runs a game produced by small ball thinking will have us deep in the cellar.

:-\ Isn't that where we finished?

JMO but with 2 additional runs per game we had the potential to turn those dozen one run losses and the additional 7 or 8 two run loss games into some wins.

Check the season's results and the team was in a position to win another 10 or 12 games if they had just 'broken even" in all those close game we lost,

Considering that we won one game by one run and another game by 2 runs.....so basically were 2 and 20 in close ball games. Coaching should have been enough to shift those numbers toward 50:50. Just saying that we need a strategy to score runs, not just get base hits. Things will be different this year IMO.

Had we been playing small ball, we'd have needed 3 or 4 additional runs per game, not one or two. Small ball does not produce "more runs". It does not produce "one more run". It limits your scoring by forfeiting outs, often for no positive results.

Somewhere in a big book of baseball statistics is one I've found to be true. In a high percentage of games, the winning team scores more runs in one inning than the loser does in the entire game. Watch for this, as I have over the years. It's true. Big innings win games and nothing kills a big inning worse than a sacrifice, unless it's a sacrifice attempt that fails and failures are not unusual.

Late in a tie game with nobody out, sure bunt the guy on first to second if the batter is a skilled bunter. The rest of the time, hit away!

In any case, we probably won't have the defense and/or pitching to play small ball. We'll be giving up 5+ runs a game. There's no way to bunt your way into 6 runs. Bottom line, if you want to win baseball games, somebody has to hit the ball hard. Small ball reduces the opportunity to do that.