Will anyone return?
Will possible 1st round Ritter come back?
Will chase Estep return for senior yr.?
Will possible 1st round Ritter come back?
Will chase Estep return for senior yr.?
Any chance some of our seniors return for Covid yr.
- Thread starter Crazycat68
- Start date
Highly doubt Ritter returns. Estep, Plastiak and Guilfoil could. Will depend on their draft value.
Thrasher-GR
Jump-GR
Harris-GR
Estep-Jr
Ritter-Jr.
Anu-GR
Fogel-GR
Burkes-Rfr.
Plastiak-Sr.
damn we lose a ton if they don’t use a Covid yr.
anybody have any info on intentions.
Jeff Drummond?
Jump-GR
Harris-GR
Estep-Jr
Ritter-Jr.
Anu-GR
Fogel-GR
Burkes-Rfr.
Plastiak-Sr.
damn we lose a ton if they don’t use a Covid yr.
anybody have any info on intentions.
Jeff Drummond?
All of them with GR have no covid year to use. This was their covid year.
Ritter is gone. Zero doubt.
Feels like Estep likely goes, but not sure.
Plastiak and Rubalcaba are seniors, but they have the extra year. UK just got a commitment from a 1B, so that might indicate that the staff believes they'll need to replace Plastiak.
You’ve broken this down quite nicely in another post. Bottom line is we lose a ton from a team with bottom tier level talent as compared to the SEC. I can’t imagine next year being good.
Our best players were transfers. That isn't how we thought it would go, but it happened that way. We lose most of those.
The fact that our best players were transfers, IMO, is an indictment against our coaches and their ability to recruit and/or develop players. I think that is especially the case within the pitching staff.
We have 1 true senior pitchers on this roster. Alex Degen. He didn't pitch this season due to injury. He has been okay, but more of a 1B coach than a pitcher over the years. We had 9 other freshmen pitchers make it to campus and onto the roster for 2019. All 9 are gone, and none of them left early due to getting drafted. That doesn't include a couple RS freshmen that would have eligibility left as well.
We have 2 junior pitchers. Lee and Stupp. Lee couldn't win a spot as a weekend starter and is inconsistent. Stupp didn't really look all that great early in the year prior to the injury. Neither would really be a top pitcher for any team in the league.
We have 5 sophomore pitchers. Byers, Strickland, Hagenow, Hudepohl, and Logue. None have really proven that they can be consistent weekend starters.
We have numerous freshmen, but pitched 3 this year. Nove, Frieda, and Moore. All had ERAs over 6.00 and none got a start.
So, 11 pitchers across 4 classes still on the roster and not a single one of them is a real trustworthy weekend starter. So, the last time we recruited an actual HS weekend starter (and especially an Ace) was Zack Thompson in 2017... so, Henderson. He had a 3.45 ERA in 2017. Not only that, but so far, none of the guys has really shown that they will be the next great UK pitcher.
So, to be successful UK will once again have to go to the transfer portal and find pitchers at other schools who can come here and compete in the SEC. Personally, I think that is not a recipe for consistent success.
Next year is going to be a total mess unless Mingione has a top tier class from the portal. No offense to the kid who committed but, Longwood University kids aren’t going to be in the top tier.
Just for giggles, here is how Gilliam did against P5 schools:
NC State (3-19)
0-2, 1 BB, 1K, 1 Run, 1 HBP
UNC (1-16)
0-3, 2Ks
Purdue (1-6)
1-3, 1 RBI, 1 Run, 2 K, - His hit was a solo HR
Purdue (5-6) - 13 innings
1-4, 3BB, 1 K, 1 run
Purdue (5-6) - 11 innings
2-4, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 BB, 1 K had a HR
Duke (5-6) - 13 innings
3-6, 2 RBI, 2 K
Campbell (2-9)
0-4, 2 Ks
Campbell (3-13)
2-4, 2 Ks, 1 SB
Campbell (10-5)
2-4, 1 run, 1 BB, 1 K - Both hits were doubles
Wake Forest (3-18)
DNP
Wake Forest (1-12)
DNP
Virginia (3-8)
1-3, 2 RBI - Had a double
So, looks like:
12-37 (.324) with 2 home runs and 3 doubles, 14 strikeouts, and 6 walks. Pretty decent numbers there against P5 teams, and a tournament team. Don't know how that fully translates to league play and won't know until next year. Still, it is a positive to see that he hit better against P5 than he did overall.
I think more telling is that this is either a complete telegraph that Plastiak is leaving or expected to. It is possible, I suppose that this kid tries to DH, but you're not getting a very versatile player for that.
Thanks brother great info. Hopefully we can get some good transfers to come in.
I’m still trying to figure out why Burkes didn’t play a bunch.
I don't know what Estep does to be honest. Typically it's best for a player to leave junior year as you can use the fact that you can return for leverage to get a better paycheck. However, Estep still has 2 years of eligibility with the covid year and the draft has gotten smaller, so that plays an effect. Might also depend on how he does with summer ball. He could hit well prior to the draft and help his cause.
Part of it is that, IMO, Mingione poorly manages catchers. Catchers face more wear and tear than anyone else. They should be subbed out more than anyone else. Use those weaker midweek opponents to rest the starter and to get experience for backups. Mingione doesn't do that. He gets the starter and rides them as much as he can. He did that with Zo this year and Zo got worn down and Liebert got banged up and Burkes finally got the call and delivered.
I think we're lucky to have Burkes at all this year as he came back staring at being third string for another year, maybe even 2. I think some promises might have been made to keep him in Lexington.
Going to test draft. Got some scouts coming to look at him next week, but am told a good chance he comes back. He's healthy and his foot is fine.
I think this is a total longshot, but if the powers that be strong-armed a change in the coaching staff, do you think that would make a difference in his decision?
And you don't have to answer or go seeking answers if you don't want to. I'm just kind of wondering out loud.
I'll check,but I think he and his family like NM and this staff. Says it's much better than last year.
Maybe Mingione has figured it out. Problem is that he’s made so many mistakes can he ever recover.
He can absolutely recover. And maybe things are better this year than at the end of the last year. But it still doesn’t change the fact that in 6 years, there has been very little to no improvement on the playing field. And yes, the UT series and the tournament was fun. I’m not taking that away from UK. But people are forgetting, UK was still 12th in the league and was a game away from not even making the tournament. And while Tennesse is the favorite to win it all and Louisville consistently makes it and has been to Omaha three of four times, Kentucky is still patting themselves on the back for a super regional run in 2017. Im sure Mingione is a good dude. But his results on the diamond are lacking.
Similar threads
