D1 Baseball fall report is out!

[CockyCat3]

Fall Report: Kentucky • D1Baseball

Kentucky has been excruciatingly close to making the NCAA tournament the past few seasons. Can they get over the hump in 2022?

d1baseball.com

Interesting they say Stupp is the anchor of the weekend and say Bosma, Cotto and Williams are all sure bets for the weekend. Seems like 3 guys for 2 spots.

They said:
C: Rubalcaba
1B : Plastiak
2B: Harris
3B: Estep
SS: Ritter
OF: Jump
OF: Thrasher
OF: Fogel
With Anu and Pitre being the only other position players mentioned.

I'm excited to see what happens! Is it February yet?!? Crazy to think about how 7 of the guys mentioned as planning to get considerable time weren't here last year.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Fall Report: Kentucky • D1Baseball

Kentucky has been excruciatingly close to making the NCAA tournament the past few seasons. Can they get over the hump in 2022?

d1baseball.com

Interesting they say Stupp is the anchor of the weekend and say Bosma, Cotto and Williams are all sure bets for the weekend. Seems like 3 guys for 2 spots.

They said:
C: Rubalcaba
1B : Plastiak
2B: Harris
3B: Estep
SS: Ritter
OF: Jump
OF: Thrasher
OF: Fogel
With Anu and Pitre being the only other position players mentioned.

I'm excited to see what happens! Is it February yet?!? Crazy to think about how 7 of the guys mentioned as planning to get considerable time weren't here last year.

The new guys in the OF have to get significant playing time since they lost everyone! Ha!

 

[parrott]

^ And? Can you just support the guys who are here or just determined to get Mingione out? Can’t have it both ways.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Fall Report: Kentucky • D1Baseball

Kentucky has been excruciatingly close to making the NCAA tournament the past few seasons. Can they get over the hump in 2022?

d1baseball.com

Interesting they say Stupp is the anchor of the weekend and say Bosma, Cotto and Williams are all sure bets for the weekend. Seems like 3 guys for 2 spots.

They said:
C: Rubalcaba
1B : Plastiak
2B: Harris
3B: Estep
SS: Ritter
OF: Jump
OF: Thrasher
OF: Fogel
With Anu and Pitre being the only other position players mentioned.

I'm excited to see what happens! Is it February yet?!? Crazy to think about how 7 of the guys mentioned as planning to get considerable time weren't here last year.

Sounds like they are as unsure as we are who might start on the weekend. Lol.

Stupp is definitely the anchor. After that it's anyone's game so to speak. Coaches seem to like Cotto as a starter and Williams as a possible closer. You also have Lee and Harney that factor in. Harney was a closer, but he was very serviceable as a starter in league play as well. May not have been able to go 7+, which is more ideal, but still didn't do bad.

I think the only question in the field is whether it is Pitre or Harris. My money is on Harris. Just don't think they bring in a grad student middle infielder and then sit him. Pitre will get PT early in OOC play, and hitting will determine if he can/will play more.

Ohh and one wildcard they missed is Liebert. Had a good summer but UK has largely ignored him every spring. He may force them to pay attention. Not sure... not many options to PH and play defense after our starters. Especially not experienced ones.

 

[dtjr]

Sounds like they are as unsure as we are who might start on the weekend. Lol.

Stupp is definitely the anchor. After that it's anyone's game so to speak. Coaches seem to like Cotto as a starter and Williams as a possible closer. You also have Lee and Harney that factor in. Harney was a closer, but he was very serviceable as a starter in league play as well. May not have been able to go 7+, which is more ideal, but still didn't do bad.

I think the only question in the field is whether it is Pitre or Harris. My money is on Harris. Just don't think they bring in a grad student middle infielder and then sit him. Pitre will get PT early in OOC play, and hitting will determine if he can/will play more.

Ohh and one wildcard they missed is Liebert. Had a good summer but UK has largely ignored him every spring. He may force them to pay attention. Not sure... not many options to PH and play defense after our starters. Especially not experienced ones.

No mention of Church?

 

[Comebakatz3]

No mention of Church?

I haven't read the article, but doesn't sound like he's mentioned.

Church, I believe, was injured in part of fall practice, but not sure how he is doing now. I imagine that Estep will get every opportunity to stick at 3rd. Estep hit pretty well in OOC play (.333), but was absolutely abysmal in conference (.211). He gave us very little in league play. Scored just 6 times over 28 games, with half of those coming against LSU. So, the question moving forward will be how much he's improved at the plate. He didn't really strike out a ton, he was 8th in strikeouts in league play, so he was putting it in play, but just not finding openings.

Then you have to compare that to Church. Estep was better defensively than Church, as Church had some difficulties adjusting to the speed of the game, but that should improve for Church. Church also had a similar experience to the one Estep had at the plate. Church hit .340 in OOC play and had 6 doubles, 2 triples and 1 home run in 50 at bats. However, in conference play he hit an amazingly low .174. So, can Church adjust? Which one of those two will be better at adjusting? Both were actually hitting against league pitching for the first time, and there can be a big learning curve there. So we will see who was able to handle that better.

I think third is Estep's to lose. I think his defense gives him the leg up over anyone else. However, I think Church will get a shot there. If Estep struggles at the plate again, Church will get a look. Whoever hits better will stick. If neither hit, you might see UK shake it up and move Pitre/Harris there. McCarthy might also be an option.

 

[SeanCain]

The season will be here before you know it. I’m curious to see how the new guys perform in SEC play.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

I haven't read the article, but doesn't sound like he's mentioned.

Church, I believe, was injured in part of fall practice, but not sure how he is doing now. I imagine that Estep will get every opportunity to stick at 3rd. Estep hit pretty well in OOC play (.333), but was absolutely abysmal in conference (.211). He gave us very little in league play. Scored just 6 times over 28 games, with half of those coming against LSU. So, the question moving forward will be how much he's improved at the plate. He didn't really strike out a ton, he was 8th in strikeouts in league play, so he was putting it in play, but just not finding openings.

Then you have to compare that to Church. Estep was better defensively than Church, as Church had some difficulties adjusting to the speed of the game, but that should improve for Church. Church also had a similar experience to the one Estep had at the plate. Church hit .340 in OOC play and had 6 doubles, 2 triples and 1 home run in 50 at bats. However, in conference play he hit an amazingly low .174. So, can Church adjust? Which one of those two will be better at adjusting? Both were actually hitting against league pitching for the first time, and there can be a big learning curve there. So we will see who was able to handle that better.

I think third is Estep's to lose. I think his defense gives him the leg up over anyone else. However, I think Church will get a shot there. If Estep struggles at the plate again, Church will get a look. Whoever hits better will stick. If neither hit, you might see UK shake it up and move Pitre/Harris there. McCarthy might also be an option.

He better give Estep the nod since he spent several hours before the transfer deadline convincing him to stay but that song and dance has been done before so who knows.

 

[Comebakatz3]

He better give Estep the nod since he spent several hours before the transfer deadline convincing him to stay but that song and dance has been done before so who knows.

🤐

 

[enjyretirement2020]

🤐

I would think in the back of Estep's mind he's thinking about Shelby and Hill and hoping it will be different with him. I know that Hill said he regrets letting Mingione talk him out of transferring after his junior year, and wishes he had actually transferred after his sophomore year. I bet Shelby and his family have no love lost with Mingione either. That really sucks when both of these guys are KY kids, and I guess you can add Harmon in there also.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I would think in the back of Estep's mind he's thinking about Shelby and Hill and hoping it will be different with him. I know that Hill said he regrets letting Mingione talk him out of transferring after his junior year, and wishes he had actually transferred after his sophomore year. I bet Shelby and his family have no love lost with Mingione either. That really sucks when both of these guys are KY kids, and I guess you can add Harmon in there also.

I don't think Estep will get a similar treatment. I think he'll get the chances and it will be up to him whether he can keep the starting role or not. I think it might be more likely that Church kind of gets lost in the fold and doesn't get as many opportunities.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

I don't think Estep will get a similar treatment. I think he'll get the chances and it will be up to him whether he can keep the starting role or not. I think it might be more likely that Church kind of gets lost in the fold and doesn't get as many opportunities.

Why do you think Estep won't be treated the same way? Lack of depth at that position, Mingione following through on his promises, just a hunch or something else? I doubt it is lack of depth at that position because we have all seen Mingione doesnt care about who plays what position. HAHA!

 

[Comebakatz3]

Why do you think Estep won't be treated the same way? Lack of depth at that position, Mingione following through on his promises, just a hunch or something else? I doubt it is lack of depth at that position because we have all seen Mingione doesnt care about who plays what position. HAHA!

Estep wasn’t really treated that way a year ago despite struggling in league play. Again, he hit just .211 and still started 28 of the 30 SEC games, only sitting out in 2 of the Tennessee games. Mingione didn’t really try anyone else there. He could have moved Schultz back to second and Anu into the OF and Harmon at DH. He could have tried Liebert at DH with a similar move, or even try Liebert in the OF. He could have tried Grace at 2nd. Shelby was available to go to center and Schultz to second, or even third. Not sure how long Lewis was injured, but he possibly could have tried him earlier. He didn’t do those things. Instead, he just kept trying to push the same button over and over. Heck, even Plastiak only started 11 of the 30 league games, despite hitting .262 (5th best on the team). If I remember correctly, Church was at third early in the SEC slate and Estep at 2nd. Church struggled to hit and he was replaced with Plastiak for a bit. When Lewis returned, Plastiak largely went to the bench and Estep was moved to third. Also, 2 of the games Plastiak started were the last two and they were at DH, so even then Estep kept starting and playing 3rd even though he was only hitting around .200. So, I am just inclined to believe that Mingione will give him a pretty long leash since he did last year.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong. We saw in 2020 that Kessler struggled at the plate and Mingione stuck with him, but it took Rubalcaba getting injured for Kessler to move from 3rd string catcher to starter. I don't think that happens to Estep, but then again I didn't predict that last year Schultz would be moved into the outfield less than a month before the season started.

 

[CockyCat3]

Sounds like they are as unsure as we are who might start on the weekend. Lol.

Stupp is definitely the anchor. After that it's anyone's game so to speak. Coaches seem to like Cotto as a starter and Williams as a possible closer. You also have Lee and Harney that factor in. Harney was a closer, but he was very serviceable as a starter in league play as well. May not have been able to go 7+, which is more ideal, but still didn't do bad.

I think the only question in the field is whether it is Pitre or Harris. My money is on Harris. Just don't think they bring in a grad student middle infielder and then sit him. Pitre will get PT early in OOC play, and hitting will determine if he can/will play more.

Ohh and one wildcard they missed is Liebert. Had a good summer but UK has largely ignored him every spring. He may force them to pay attention. Not sure... not many options to PH and play defense after our starters. Especially not experienced ones.

They mentioned Liebert, it was just brief - "Kirk Liebert also could see plenty of time behind the plate, while also potentially helping the Wildcats in the outfield. "

 

[Comebakatz3]

They mentioned Liebert, it was just brief - "Kirk Liebert also could see plenty of time behind the plate, while also potentially helping the Wildcats in the outfield. "

Catching will be an interesting piece for me. Under Henderson UK liked to utilize 2 catchers at times. You'd often see a guy get a rest from behind the plate by moving to DH for a game or two. We haven't seen that as much. Seemingly, Mingione prefers to play just one guy. UK has 3 catchers on roster and I imagine all 3 will want to see PT. Burkes doesn't strike me as a guy who will be content with being a bullpen catcher. So, how does Mingione balance that? Does he just let Rubalcaba go all the time, or does he somewhat break his norm and try a rotation?

 

[dtjr]

Catching will be an interesting piece for me. Under Henderson UK liked to utilize 2 catchers at times. You'd often see a guy get a rest from behind the plate by moving to DH for a game or two. We haven't seen that as much. Seemingly, Mingione prefers to play just one guy. UK has 3 catchers on roster and I imagine all 3 will want to see PT. Burkes doesn't strike me as a guy who will be content with being a bullpen catcher. So, how does Mingione balance that? Does he just let Rubalcaba go all the time, or does he somewhat break his norm and try a rotation?

Catcher, 3B and 1B could see multiple players.

As far as catcher, Ruba came in fairly high defensively but got hurt. I would hope we see Ruba and Burkes alternate as long as they hit as well.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Catcher, 3B and 1B could see multiple players.

As far as catcher, Ruba came in fairly high defensively but got hurt. I would hope we see Ruba and Burkes alternate as long as they hit as well.

Could be, but the fact that Liebert barely played at all after Ruba got injured makes me wonder if they won't do that sort of thing again. I mean, he didn't record an at bat after March 9th. So, that was at least a month or more of games where he could have had some ABs and played some games to relieve Kessler, but didn't.

Ruba was touted as being a very good defensive catcher. Not sure what I was expecting, but I really wasn't overly impressed with the defense. 1 error, which isn't all that bad. However, he played in 21 games, starting 14 and runners tried to steal on him 10 times and he threw them out 1 time. So, he successfully threw out just 10 percent of those that ran on him. Kessler played in 46 games, starting 41, and he had 22 attempts on him, and he threw out 5 of them, about 23 percent. I wouldn't tout Kessler as some amazing backstop, but it seems like runners were less successful and less willing to run on him. Now... that being said... I don't know how much Ruba's injury played into that. There are also a lot of other factors. So, I am not writing him off, but I didn't really see him as living up to the great defensive catcher billing in 2021.

I am also curious how they manage bullpen catcher. Usually that isn't someone that is playing a lot, but I don't think we have anyone else. So, I guess we can rule out playing all 3 at once. lol

 

[GoofyMane1017]

Super stoked I just booked my flight and hotel for Omaha!

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Could be, but the fact that Liebert barely played at all after Ruba got injured makes me wonder if they won't do that sort of thing again. I mean, he didn't record an at bat after March 9th. So, that was at least a month or more of games where he could have had some ABs and played some games to relieve Kessler, but didn't.

Ruba was touted as being a very good defensive catcher. Not sure what I was expecting, but I really wasn't overly impressed with the defense. 1 error, which isn't all that bad. However, he played in 21 games, starting 14 and runners tried to steal on him 10 times and he threw them out 1 time. So, he successfully threw out just 10 percent of those that ran on him. Kessler played in 46 games, starting 41, and he had 22 attempts on him, and he threw out 5 of them, about 23 percent. I wouldn't tout Kessler as some amazing backstop, but it seems like runners were less successful and less willing to run on him. Now... that being said... I don't know how much Ruba's injury played into that. There are also a lot of other factors. So, I am not writing him off, but I didn't really see him as living up to the great defensive catcher billing in 2021.

I am also curious how they manage bullpen catcher. Usually that isn't someone that is playing a lot, but I don't think we have anyone else. So, I guess we can rule out playing all 3 at once. lol

I am really shocked Leibert stayed because last year I sat near his parents and they were very verbal about Mingione screwing him over. Said they told him he was number one backup but then they signed Rubalcaba and he asked again and they promised him number 1. Seems to be a pattern, huh? I agree, I don't think any of those catchers will be happy on the bench, but you can ease a little bit of tension by putting Leibert in the outfield, but then those outfield transfers are not happy. Who wins out?

 

[dtjr]

I am really shocked Leibert stayed because last year I sat near his parents and they were very verbal about Mingione screwing him over. Said they told him he was number one backup but then they signed Rubalcaba and he asked again and they promised him number 1. Seems to be a pattern, huh? I agree, I don't think any of those catchers will be happy on the bench, but you can ease a little bit of tension by putting Leibert in the outfield, but then those outfield transfers are not happy. Who wins out?

Ming will have another mutiny on his hands.

I would give them all a shot at the start of the year. The one who hits sticks in 2 of the 3 over a weekend series.

I'm tired of our offense being in the bottom third of the SEC.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I am really shocked Leibert stayed because last year I sat near his parents and they were very verbal about Mingione screwing him over. Said they told him he was number one backup but then they signed Rubalcaba and he asked again and they promised him number 1. Seems to be a pattern, huh? I agree, I don't think any of those catchers will be happy on the bench, but you can ease a little bit of tension by putting Leibert in the outfield, but then those outfield transfers are not happy. Who wins out?

Had Liebert not had such an amazing summer, I would speculate that he’d once again be in a PR/bullpen catcher type role. His excellent summer has made me wonder if he might get a bigger role this spring. I don’t know what that might look like and there are a whole ton of factors. Injuries might play a role. How everyone hits will certainly factor in. With him playing both OF and C you have a lot of people he could potentially replace. I also am of the mindset that the 3 new outfielders will get a pretty long leash to show that they can hit, and someone like Liebert, McCarthy, Kim, etc. are likely to have shorter ones. I largely think this way because Mingione has, in the past, given certain players longer leashes and because I think it is hard to bench someone who transferred here for one year with just one year of eligibility remaining. He likely made promises to that player that he has to at least try to keep.

Then, of course, we don’t know the mindset Mingione will have regarding catchers and rotating them and how that rotation might affect the rest of the lineup. If you want to keep his bat in the game then Rubalcaba likely has to DH, that means either Anu sits, or another OF sits and Anu plays defense. I don’t know. A whole lot of possibilities that we can spend the next month and a half speculating about.

Heck, we could get another February surprise like we did last year and learn that Anu is now playing shortstop and Ritter will DH. lol

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Had Liebert not had such an amazing summer, I would speculate that he’d once again be in a PR/bullpen catcher type role. His excellent summer has made me wonder if he might get a bigger role this spring. I don’t know what that might look like and there are a whole ton of factors. Injuries might play a role. How everyone hits will certainly factor in. With him playing both OF and C you have a lot of people he could potentially replace. I also am of the mindset that the 3 new outfielders will get a pretty long leash to show that they can hit, and someone like Liebert, McCarthy, Kim, etc. are likely to have shorter ones. I largely think this way because Mingione has, in the past, given certain players longer leashes and because I think it is hard to bench someone who transferred here for one year with just one year of eligibility remaining. He likely made promises to that player that he has to at least try to keep.

Then, of course, we don’t know the mindset Mingione will have regarding catchers and rotating them and how that rotation might affect the rest of the lineup. If you want to keep his bat in the game then Rubalcaba likely has to DH, that means either Anu sits, or another OF sits and Anu plays defense. I don’t know. A whole lot of possibilities that we can spend the next month and a half speculating about.

Heck, we could get another February surprise like we did last year and learn that Anu is now playing shortstop and Ritter will DH. lol

I think it might be more like Anu is the friday night starter. HAHA!! Right? If you are on outfielder, you are supposed to have an arm!!