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2020 who plays ?

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Black Diamond Cat

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Apr 9, 2016
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Looking ahead to next season, after this turkey of a 2019 season. I see C Kessler, A Schultz, C Hill, E Curtis, B Daniel, R Ellington, Z Lewis and possibly J Shelby and TJ Collette being here.
I know Shelby and Collette are draft eligible, but don't see either as high ( round 20 or above ) picks.
Collette has not had an injury free season yet, and Shelby has mediocre stats at best.
Z Thompson is probably a 1st rounder, and the rest of the staff should be under a new PC next year. There is some arm talent on this staff, but it simply is not being developed, maybe a fresh voice will help.
Summer ball is a must for the returnees, and the better the competition, the more that will help. Do not know if anyone other than Kessler is Cape Cod material, but the Perfect game, and Northwoods leagues are very good......... Thoughts !!
 
Bad seasons have a way of pushing some roster turnover. Guys may not want to return because they can try to play for better teams or because they are unhappy with or without playing time. Some just didn't find it fun because of losing. So, I fear that we lose a lot more than we expect to.

I think Collett is gone, but it depends on his current injury. If he comes back soon then he leaves. This is his first somewhat healthy season, he can't risk an injury next year. Shelby probably goes too. You get more leverage as a junior. ZT no doubt. Kessler may actually also be eligible due to age.

After that it could be some unexpected exits just due to the current situation. Think of this as well... we lose like 9 that we are pretty sure of, out of 40 on the roster. We add 14 freshmen. Already have to make room or cut newbies. Could lose some freshmen and others easily as well though.

It's my understanding that at least some of the players often sign summer league contracts in the fall prior to. So, they know where they will be in the summer even before the collegiate season. I think we may have a couple in the Cape Cod League this summer.
 
Comebakatz3 said:
Bad seasons have a way of pushing some roster turnover. Guys may not want to return because they can try to play for better teams or because they are unhappy with or without playing time. Some just didn't find it fun because of losing. So, I fear that we lose a lot more than we expect to.

I think Collett is gone, but it depends on his current injury. If he comes back soon then he leaves. This is his first somewhat healthy season, he can't risk an injury next year. Shelby probably goes too. You get more leverage as a junior. ZT no doubt. Kessler may actually also be eligible due to age.

After that it could be some unexpected exits just due to the current situation. Think of this as well... we lose like 9 that we are pretty sure of, out of 40 on the roster. We add 14 freshmen. Already have to make room or cut newbies. Could lose some freshmen and others easily as well though.

It's my understanding that at least some of the players often sign summer league contracts in the fall prior to. So, they know where they will be in the summer even before the collegiate season. I think we may have a couple in the Cape Cod League this summer.
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35 man roster.

Two incoming jucos will go draft, Rutledge and Anu.

Kessler and Hill are both Cape Cod bound. Same team actually. Kessler is only 19!! (Big big kid)
Hill is a draft eligible sophomore.

Ayers, Harper, Ramsey and Hazelwood are all Cape bound, and not sure but I think Collett is too.

I agree, I think you will lose more players than you think.
 
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Don't think it matters much and that next season will be a bigger disaster than this one...sad
 
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chill133 said:
35 man roster.

Two incoming jucos will go draft, Rutledge and Anu.

Kessler and Hill are both Cape Cod bound. Same team actually. Kessler is only 19!! (Big big kid)
Hill is a draft eligible sophomore.

Ayers, Harper, Ramsey and Hazelwood are all Cape bound, and not sure but I think Collett is too.

I agree, I think you will lose more players than you think.
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Thanks for clearing that up. I knew it was under 40, but I just went with what I counted on the website, and I couldn’t remember if Kessler was young for a sophomore or old. I knew it was one of the two. Haha.
 
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The roster trimming is always interesting, and this staff is not against cutting older players and/or making them redshirt. Aaron McGeorge was a rising junior pitcher and they cut him before the season started and Jake Thompson, a junior transfer, was asked to redshirt this season and (I believe) he chose to quit the team instead. So, no one is safe.
 
I may try to do a little breakdown by position:

At catcher we return Kessler, Adams, and Holen while bringing on freshmen Bard and Payne. This position is somewhat interesting. Right now Kessler is back there mostly on Saturdays while Gei is on Friday and Sunday. So, I imagine that Kessler will still be back there and split time. However, will he still play over at third more? Adams is also an obvious candidate to fill in behind the plate, but does he also play outfield some, or will he basically just be a plug and play and remove someone else?
 
At first base Reed and Daniel have played over there as has Collett. Collett is, in my opinion, gone. Daniel is probably half and half and I think Reed is more likely to return. Harmon has played, but I expect him to DH if anything. We redshirted a kid named Olson who was ranked the 9th best first baseman in the country, and he’s been recovering from surgery. He is on the roster, but not sure if he remains with the team. I have to imagine the position will be Reed’s to lose, but he will have to have a much improved season, in every aspect, to stay over there. Olson and Daniel can unseat Reed, but they also need to show up, and be healthy. Daniel is a bit of a wildcard considering he is a jack of all trades and a master of none. He has the tools to play either corner as well as the outfield, but I am not sure that he really plays any of them particularly well. I hope the staff settles on a position for him and works hard to help him improve that one position.
 
Middle infield is super crowded. We return Schultz, Curtis, Lewis, and Macciocchi. We add a freshman named Brown, who is listed as a 5 star recruit by one website (that I haven’t really ever heard of) as well as a freshman named Grace. Schultz is guaranteed to start somewhere. So, that means that 5 guys will be fighting for one position. Lewis has done fairly well defensively, especially lately, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. Curtis has flashed the bat at times, hitting .333 in SEC play, but the glove is poorer. Grant Mac is probably out of the picture. Still, can a freshman star unseat one of those two/three? Will that guy even make it to campus? Matt Golda is also another SS prospect that comes in from JUCO.
 
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Well, third base is a bit scary again. We return Kessler and Daniel, and I am not sure either are entirely ideal. We add freshman Estep. Kessler is a catcher, but will we be so poor over at third that we require him to play over here more? We still have the Daniel wildcard issue. Will Estep be good enough early to play often if Kessler catches? Will the fact that the middle infield is crowded bleed over to third base? None of the three returning have even really tried to play over there, so it makes you think they aren’t suited for it.
 
Comebakatz3 said:
I may try to do a little breakdown by position:

At catcher we return Kessler, Adams, and Holen while bringing on freshmen Bard and Payne. This position is somewhat interesting. Right now Kessler is back there mostly on Saturdays while Gei is on Friday and Sunday. So, I imagine that Kessler will still be back there and split time. However, will he still play over at third more? Adams is also an obvious candidate to fill in behind the plate, but does he also play outfield some, or will he basically just be a plug and play and remove someone else?
Click to expand...
Do you think Estep is good enough to come in and take the 3rd base spot as i know that is what they recruited him for.
 
Outfield is interesting. We lose Johnson and Shinn for sure and I think Shelby’s .279 is good enough to go. So… brand new outfield. We return Hill (possibly, he is draft eligible) and Ellington as guys who are solely outfielders. Adams and Daniel are two ‘wildcard’ guys that can play multiple positions. We have Rogers and Rhodes coming in as freshmen and Anu is coming as a JUCO (but I wouldn’t count on him). My giant guess is that Hill plays left, Ellington plays right. Then we see a three way change up between Adams, Kessler, and Daniel. So, if Kessler is catching then Daniel plays third and Adams is in right. If Adams is catching then Kessler is at third and Daniel is in right. Hill and Daniel may move around spots in the outfield as Hill is probably more versatile than Daniel and could play all 3 spots.
 
sluggercatfan said:
Do you think Estep is good enough to come in and take the 3rd base spot as i know that is what they recruited him for.
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Well, I don’t know to be honest. 14powers.com (whatever that is) has him rated as a 2 star and the worst prospect for us. PG doesn’t have him rated. Some concerning things are that UK’s staff currently really does not seem to prefer freshmen if they can help it. I don’t know if that is just due to the roster, but we are in year 3 and the only freshman to play in the field significantly has been Schultz, and that was more out of the necessity because of our poor hitting. So, I have a bit of a concern that they may not want to pencil in a freshman to begin with. Also, with there being a possible log jam in the middle, they may try to push someone over to third. I think they can find some people serviceable over there, so Estep is going to have to prove that he can hit. Still, I imagine he has a future over there, especially in 2021 and beyond.
 
Comebakatz3 said:
Well, I don’t know to be honest. 14powers.com (whatever that is) has him rated as a 2 star and the worst prospect for us. PG doesn’t have him rated. Some concerning things are that UK’s staff currently really does not seem to prefer freshmen if they can help it. I don’t know if that is just due to the roster, but we are in year 3 and the only freshman to play in the field significantly has been Schultz, and that was more out of the necessity because of our poor hitting. So, I have a bit of a concern that they may not want to pencil in a freshman to begin with. Also, with there being a possible log jam in the middle, they may try to push someone over to third. I think they can find some people serviceable over there, so Estep is going to have to prove that he can hit. Still, I imagine he has a future over there, especially in 2021 and beyond.
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Vandy wants him bad.
 
As a little tidbit… I believe that UK signed 7 freshmen fielders in 2017… (Kessler, Hill, Johnson, Hastings, Harbert, Bennett, and Benoit), and just 2 of those are currently still with the team. In 2018 UK brought in 6 fielders and just 1 of those is playing regularly while 5 remain with the team. We will see how many get cut or quit as sophomores.
 
sluggercatfan said:
Vandy wants him bad.
Click to expand...

That bodes pretty well for him. I personally haven’t seen him play and don’t really have the means at the moment to watch any clips. I have heard good things about him and I am excited to see what he can do. However, I really do worry that this coaching staff prefers to have younger guys on the pine and to play older players and JUCO guys if they can. They just, so far, haven’t shown to me that they really have the desire to play younger players. So, that is concerning.
 
Comebakatz3 said:
That bodes pretty well for him. I personally haven’t seen him play and don’t really have the means at the moment to watch any clips. I have heard good things about him and I am excited to see what he can do. However, I really do worry that this coaching staff prefers to have younger guys on the pine and to play older players and JUCO guys if they can. They just, so far, haven’t shown to me that they really have the desire to play younger players. So, that is concerning.
Click to expand...
Estep is a player, saw an article where he was told he will play 3rd at UK. The family is very devout christian, and that is why Minge appealed to Chase so much. Slugger is right about Vandy wanting him pretty bad. He is a legacy recruit, as his dad was on the '88 UK team that came oh so close to Omaha.
 
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Black Diamond Cat said:
Estep is a player, saw an article where he was told he will play 3rd at UK. The family is very devout christian, and that is why Minge appealed to Chase so much. Slugger is right about Vandy wanting him pretty bad. He is a legacy recruit, as his dad was on the '88 UK team that came oh so close to Omaha.
Click to expand...
I have some "pretty close " connections in this recruitment..
 
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Comebakatz3 said:
That bodes pretty well for him. I personally haven’t seen him play and don’t really have the means at the moment to watch any clips. I have heard good things about him and I am excited to see what he can do. However, I really do worry that this coaching staff prefers to have younger guys on the pine and to play older players and JUCO guys if they can. They just, so far, haven’t shown to me that they really have the desire to play younger players. So, that is concerning.
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Some Stats after 24 games...Avg .563..OBP .648..40 hits 28 rbis..37 runs. Pretty impressive!!
 
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Black Diamond Cat said:
Estep is a player, saw an article where he was told he will play 3rd at UK. The family is very devout christian, and that is why Minge appealed to Chase so much. Slugger is right about Vandy wanting him pretty bad. He is a legacy recruit, as his dad was on the '88 UK team that came oh so close to Omaha.
Click to expand...

Kid has good athletic genes - dad played CF and was a power speed guy and his mom was a cheerleader here on the National champ team. Both very nice people to boot.
 
He has signed so not sure Vandy has any leverage at this point. Great that they wanted him but he apparently signed in Feb unless that info is bogus?
 
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Comebakatz3 said:
At first base Reed and Daniel have played over there as has Collett. Collett is, in my opinion, gone. Daniel is probably half and half and I think Reed is more likely to return. Harmon has played, but I expect him to DH if anything. We redshirted a kid named Olson who was ranked the 9th best first baseman in the country, and he’s been recovering from surgery. He is on the roster, but not sure if he remains with the team. I have to imagine the position will be Reed’s to lose, but he will have to have a much improved season, in every aspect, to stay over there. Olson and Daniel can unseat Reed, but they also need to show up, and be healthy. Daniel is a bit of a wildcard considering he is a jack of all trades and a master of none. He has the tools to play either corner as well as the outfield, but I am not sure that he really plays any of them particularly well. I hope the staff settles on a position for him and works hard to help him improve that one position.
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Justin Olson is still with the team. He is the kid who normally coaches 1st base.
 
Comebakatz3 said:
Middle infield is super crowded. We return Schultz, Curtis, Lewis, and Macciocchi. We add a freshman named Brown, who is listed as a 5 star recruit by one website (that I haven’t really ever heard of) as well as a freshman named Grace. Schultz is guaranteed to start somewhere. So, that means that 5 guys will be fighting for one position. Lewis has done fairly well defensively, especially lately, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. Curtis has flashed the bat at times, hitting .333 in SEC play, but the glove is poorer. Grant Mac is probably out of the picture. Still, can a freshman star unseat one of those two/three? Will that guy even make it to campus? Matt Golda is also another SS prospect that comes in from JUCO.
Click to expand...
We're also bringing in Matt Golda, a Division 2 JUCO transfer from Western Oklahoma State. Stats look very average.
 
Black Diamond Cat said:
Estep is a player, saw an article where he was told he will play 3rd at UK. The family is very devout christian, and that is why Minge appealed to Chase so much. Slugger is right about Vandy wanting him pretty bad. He is a legacy recruit, as his dad was on the '88 UK team that came oh so close to Omaha.
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Chase's dad played in the early 90's at UK. You are probably thinking of Chris Estep from the 88 team. Chris is from Indianapolis and runs a baseball instructional facility there.
 
I hate to be negative, but not many of those returnees strike fear into opposing teams. I do think Schultz, Kessler, Hill, Ellington, and Estep can become productive. Pitching wise, not one of those guys strike fear into opposing hitters. Also, rumor has Zeke devoting full time into his music career.
 
Lewis would be a solid second baseman on a team that can hit really well. His defense would make up for him being a poor(er) hitter and he wouldn’t be a terrible liability at the bottom of the lineup. However, on this team he only hurts us that much more because he is just another person not hitting and the solid defense doesn’t help much. Next year we seem like we may have a bit of a fight in the middle infield, and unless Lewis’ bat comes around he will be watching instead of playing. So, I can’t really blame him for moving onto his music.

Also… I would say that none of our pitchers, outside of ZT, are above average. It is a shame.
 
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MAYHOO22 said:
I hate to be negative, but not many of those returnees strike fear into opposing teams. I do think Schultz, Kessler, Hill, Ellington, and Estep can become productive. Pitching wise, not one of those guys strike fear into opposing hitters. Also, rumor has Zeke devoting full time into his music career.
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Mowtown:cool2:[banana][banana]:sunglasses:I Hope.
 
Ist year playing with Hendo's players ...make super.
2nd year 13 MLB draft picks...no tournament.
3rd year absolutely horrendous! Not even going to make SEC tourney.
4th year outluck just looking dismal and probably not as good as year 3...Time For a MAJOR staff shakeup after year three.
 
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