How baseball gets a bid to NCAA Tournament

[warbiscuit 278]

2 hours ago, steeleagle said:

You named 9 pitchers that had some type of injury before or early in the season. 
now to have that many have injury issues is bc of what ? Bad luck or is it possible or training program or pitching approach helped create their problems. Did Thompson or Huddy try something different ? That’s a lot of pitchers to blame bad luck on. 
 

and I understand pitchers over the course of a season are going to have injury issues but not all at the start of a season. 

Wade had TJ last July when it was hard to train with the staff in person or have strict monitoring due to COVID. Or even hard to do summer league stuff. So I'm not sure where to blame Butch/Huddy or if they deserve blame. 

Owen injured his finger in a freak accident before practice. I think his finger hit the camera and it's how he dislocated his finger. No blame there. But it took a few apperances for him to get back into gear after injury.

Greenhill and Fitts injured their foots in the Round Rock Tournament. Greenhill just had bad luck because he stepped on it the wrong way. I'm not sure how Fitts injured the foot. But both did pitch through it. Greenhill's foot injury led to the shoulder injury, as they moved to reliever due to his foot. Their foot injuries led to both struggling, particularly Fitts, and both had some velo decreases.

Burkhalter and Morrison tweaked their hammies before the season. Burkhalter pitched through it as it was more minor, Morrison didn't. Morrison was pretty effective when healthy. 

Skipper I think injured his lat/back muscle. He did it in game 3 of the Boston College series after a few pitches and he did struggle for a bit after the injury. 

Sokol had an arm muscle strain before the Boston College Series, flared up after Ole Miss, but then he had a foul ball hit straight to his hand in the first Samford game right around when he recovered. 

Mullins injured his arm during the Little Rock game. Then he tried to pitch through it against MSU before they shut him down. Though the last two falls, he had injuries with back and arm stuff, and they didn't have him pitch much in the fall. 

Seb Thomas apparently was injured after Boston College, tried to pitch through it in Ole Miss, and then rested.

So some of the things were just bad luck(Owen, Greenhill, Fitts). Probably put Wade in the previous category as well. Maybe some of the issues were not being able to train as well due to COVID. The only thing I remember is they did try to change Fuller's mechanics. Butch and in particular, Hudson aren't without blame, but I'd say having all three of your original starters not at 100% for the first two months is a big issue. And it wasn't even arm injuries. And then you had important relievers like Skipper, Mullins and Thomas being out around first month of SEC play, along with the midweek starter. It then led to Gonzo, Barnett and Bright having trials as a starter, and Barnett and Bright's confidence went down soon after their first bad outing. And also a lot of other guys being stretched like Swilling and Glavine which led to Hill and LaRue were looked at for two-way player stuff. And that's not factoring other stuff like Judd not being the same after slamming into the wall in Ole miss, and Thomas being kicked off the team.

Butch has done a good job in ID'ing some guys. I'd say identifying Cole Foster as Bliss's replacement was a good find. Farquhar and Miller were great JUCO finds. It's more that Farquhar and Foster haven't been able to play due to the IF we have. Hill was a good find. I think he was more known for being a pitcher, but it's still a good job. Pitching wise, Gonzalez has been a pretty good find. He was a late addition. Bringing back Morrison as a walk on turned out to be a good decision, even if I didn't agree with him being let go. Swilling has also been a good find as well. I hate that Barnett and Bright were rawer than expected, but at the same time, a lot of guys missed out on game development time last year with no SEC play, particularly the younger guys. I'd say that was an important factor as well. So given what happened last year with missing development time and in particular, the pitching injuries, I am 100% behind giving Hudson another year. I don't think their pitching approach/training program was the thing and it was more luck based.

Edited May 17, 2021 by warbiscuit

[boomstick 1,315]

14 hours ago, warbiscuit said:

I'm not gonna argue that Hudson hasn't managed the bullpen well. It was frustrating that Bright/Barnett would be one of the first ones out when they weren't doing well and not go to either Carson or even Morrison. But in the beginning of the season we had 6 of our 8 veteran guys(juniors and seniors) get injured around that time with Owen, Greenhill, Fitts, Skipper, Wade and Morrison, plus Burkhalter, Mullins, and Sokol getting injured during this time before SEC play. That's a lot of injuries to deal with. And also Seb Thomas getting into trouble and being eventually kicked off the team. It forced the younger guys to have roles they weren't ready for without having a bridge with some veteran guys and we saw Barnett and Bright lose confidence, for example. And Greenhill, Burkhalter and Fitts pitched through injury and I'm not sure who else did. I mean Glavine hadn't been used much before this year so I wouldn't call him a vet, so it was just Fuller before he struggled. Butch has admitted it was an awful season and Hudson hasn't done the best. But also we used to have an ace that would hide our bullpen depth in years past with Thompson/Mize/Burns. I'd give it another year with Hudson where he has a better situation, and he did well with Greenhill before injury. I'd say the bullpen management has gotten better recently, and Hudson could be an asset for recruiting. I wish Butch would handle bullpen and not hand it to a coach, but it's his decision. I'd keep for the younger guys  Burkhalter, Gonzalez, Sokol, Mullins, Swilling, Barnett, Gonzo and Bright and hope one/two improve enough to be a starter and at least four/five improve in general. With Mullins, I'd say he's a good pitcher but just needs to stay healthy. Gonzo has been good ever since his Alabama start. I'd keep Morrison, Skipper and Fuller, and Glavine if he returns. Fuller is more that they changed his mechanics this year, so I'd return him back to his old mechanics, plus he's a walkon and you won't find too many walkons that have done what he's done his first two years. Morrison is also a walk on from what I've heard, and he's actually been a good reliever at Auburn. Wade I'm gonna assume still has a spot, and just have to hope he recovers well. I'm assuming Fitts, Owen and Greenhill all leave btw.

I think Fitts and Barnett are the wildcards for next year. I'm not expecting Fitts to return because he has good stuff and projectability and returning to college and having another year like this year means there's no chance he gets drafted next year. So, I think he goes. But if he returns and can consistently replicate the performance we saw against LSU, I think he could drastically increase his draft stock. Maybe not first round, like was being thrown around in the preseason, but a top 3 round kind of guy. Barnett is similar IMO. He has really good stuff and can mix well. But command gets sketchy sometimes, and he can't rely solely on one pitch at this level. And that seems to be his thing. He never seems to have two pitches working together for a long period of time. It's also worth noting that he could've been stretched out too much too quickly after prepping in the offseason to be a reliever and could've run into a wall pretty quickly in SEC play when the innings started racking up. Biggest thing to me for Barnett is confidence and a steadiness. It seemed like he could get rattled pretty easily this season. Bright showed the same at times as well, but he seems to have worked through some of that and doesn't let mistakes compound now.

I think we have two potentially good starters in Bright and Gonzalez. Both have shown flashes of real quality against good offensive lineups in the SEC. This summer will be HUGE for both of them. Then, you bring back Swilling, Burky, and Morrison, and that's three experienced, successful guys in the bullpen. So, you just need to build around that with the incoming guys. Throw in Barnett and Fuller, and there's good experience. Then, if you can get something out of Threadgill and a couple of the incoming freshmen like Allsup and Ziegler and Bosse, you have a pretty solid staff. I think you could leave Sokol in the midweek starting role again next year and have a very quality arm there. Then, who knows what happens with Garrett Wade and Cam Hill. Wade has always had the talent but harnessing it has been the issue. With him having somewhat of a clean slate and getting to rebuild from the ground up after surgery, I'm really excited to see if he comes back improved in the areas he was previously deficient in. Hill has two pitches that would be very effective as a Carson Skipper, Elliott Anderson type role. And if he finds a way to control both and can stay ahead of hitters, he has the stuff to be a closer. Just need to find that mentality.

All in all, I think we have some potential in the pitching staff next year. Unfortunately, it took this year with many of them taking their lumps to get the experience they need.

[warbiscuit 278]

2 hours ago, boomstick said:

I think Fitts and Barnett are the wildcards for next year. I'm not expecting Fitts to return because he has good stuff and projectability and returning to college and having another year like this year means there's no chance he gets drafted next year. So, I think he goes. But if he returns and can consistently replicate the performance we saw against LSU, I think he could drastically increase his draft stock. Maybe not first round, like was being thrown around in the preseason, but a top 3 round kind of guy. Barnett is similar IMO. He has really good stuff and can mix well. But command gets sketchy sometimes, and he can't rely solely on one pitch at this level. And that seems to be his thing. He never seems to have two pitches working together for a long period of time. It's also worth noting that he could've been stretched out too much too quickly after prepping in the offseason to be a reliever and could've run into a wall pretty quickly in SEC play when the innings started racking up. Biggest thing to me for Barnett is confidence and a steadiness. It seemed like he could get rattled pretty easily this season. Bright showed the same at times as well, but he seems to have worked through some of that and doesn't let mistakes compound now.

I think we have two potentially good starters in Bright and Gonzalez. Both have shown flashes of real quality against good offensive lineups in the SEC. This summer will be HUGE for both of them. Then, you bring back Swilling, Burky, and Morrison, and that's three experienced, successful guys in the bullpen. So, you just need to build around that with the incoming guys. Throw in Barnett and Fuller, and there's good experience. Then, if you can get something out of Threadgill and a couple of the incoming freshmen like Allsup and Ziegler and Bosse, you have a pretty solid staff. I think you could leave Sokol in the midweek starting role again next year and have a very quality arm there. Then, who knows what happens with Garrett Wade and Cam Hill. Wade has always had the talent but harnessing it has been the issue. With him having somewhat of a clean slate and getting to rebuild from the ground up after surgery, I'm really excited to see if he comes back improved in the areas he was previously deficient in. Hill has two pitches that would be very effective as a Carson Skipper, Elliott Anderson type role. And if he finds a way to control both and can stay ahead of hitters, he has the stuff to be a closer. Just need to find that mentality.

All in all, I think we have some potential in the pitching staff next year. Unfortunately, it took this year with many of them taking their lumps to get the experience they need.

Apparently according to the Athletic's Keith Law, Fitts is getting interest in the 3rd-4th round. Yeah I'd expect him to leave. The thing with Hill is his bat is further ahead than his arm. Hill has good potential though. Also LaRue is transitioned into a side arm. And Butch doesn't seem to like using two-way players. Also I'd add Skipper and Mullins to that staff. And apparently if Glavine doesn't go pro, he may come back.

Edited May 17, 2021 by warbiscuit

[mustache eagle 2,406]

Where has the rest of the sec been as relates to injuries?  Has all of the sec had above average pitching injuries.

this year has been below expectations.  Regardless of reasons 

[boomstick 1,315]

35 minutes ago, warbiscuit said:

Apparently according to the Athletic's Keith Law, Fitts is getting interest in the 3rd-4th round. Yeah I'd expect him to leave. The thing with Hill is his bat is further ahead than his arm. Hill has good potential though. Also LaRue is transitioned into a side arm. And Butch doesn't seem to like using two-way players. Also I'd add Skipper and Mullins to that staff. And apparently if Glavine doesn't go pro, he may come back.

You think Skip is coming back? I figured 90-92 from the left side with a good CB would be enough to get him drafted. If he comes back, that's a big help, even to the point where I'd consider a transition to the rotation since we likely won't have a LHP in the rotation.

[warbiscuit 278]

5 minutes ago, boomstick said:

You think Skip is coming back? I figured 90-92 from the left side with a good CB would be enough to get him drafted. If he comes back, that's a big help, even to the point where I'd consider a transition to the rotation since we likely won't have a LHP in the rotation.

Fair enough. I guess I looked more at the results, but yeah he has a good chance. The draft being shortened to 20 rounds helps us where he could come back as a "junior" as he has two more years left. I could see Butch doing the same thing with him as they did with Cody this year transitioning him as a starter.

[boomstick 1,315]

2 minutes ago, warbiscuit said:

Fair enough. I guess I looked more at the results, but yeah he has a good chance. The draft being shortened to 20 rounds helps us where he could come back as a "junior" as he has two more years left. I could see Butch doing the same thing with him as they did with Cody this year transitioning him as a starter.

For sure. I'd love to have him back. I've just been assuming that anyone that gets drafted is probably being encouraged to go since we're bringing in 17 new players and need the roster space. He just seems like a projectable arm. But of all the guys with potential to return, Skipper would be high on the list of guys you'd make room for.