Grading Game 1

[Comebakatz3]

Might as well have a bit of fun and try to do some grading of Game 1.

Starter: A+
How can you not give the freshman an A+ to start. Ryan Hagenow pitched 4 full giving up just 1 hit while striking out 6 and walking 0. His debut inning was to strikeout the side and I believe he would have retired the first 5 he faced without issue had Collett not made an error. Kid looked like he can live up to the hype. I also do not think I have ever seen someone have a faster windup than him. Not just working fast, but actually when he starts the windup. He wants the ball out of his hand immediately and when it gets out of his hand it is very hard to hit. Can't wait to watch this kid pitch again.

Bullpen: C
The bullpen wasn't bad, but they left a lot to be desired. I might be grading a bit harshly, but it's my mood. Haha

Wyatt Hudepohl came in and he's a freshman. He struggled. I am not taking too much away from that. He gave up the lone run of the day off of 1 hit and 1 walk. However, once again, the defense didn't help him out when he got a grounder to third and Plastiak booted it. So, that inning could have changed there. I give Wyatt a D. Only got the 1 out, no strikeouts. Not that he won't improve a lot, but it just was a shaky start. It happens.

Where I am more 'concerned,' (for lack of a better word), is that our stopper Cole Daniels came in with the bases loaded and immediately gave up a single. I really wanted to see Cole get a strikeout and shut down Miami (OH) right there. As it were, we got a double play thanks to a good play by Ritter and a base running mistake by Miami. Still, this is one of those stats that doesn't show up on the normal stat sheet... Daniels had a stopper opportunity and didn't get it done. His ERA remains low as none of the runners were his, but you'd like to see him shut down that inning completely. Still, not a bad job limiting the damage. I give Cole a C+. Got out of the inning and it could have been a whole lot worse, but both hits against him were hard hits on the button and he did give up the one score. May have been worse had UK not had the benefit of the DP because of the base running error on 1st.

Holt Jones then came in and if nothing else he is fun to watch. Kid is just all over the place. The media guide called him, 'effectively inconsistent,' and I think that is fitting. One pitch was a good 5+ feet outside. I mean, I audibly laughed at it as Dick Gabriel said, "Just a bit outside." Still, he was effective. He got the two strikeouts and his ball moved a lot, especially the running fastball. If he can get that breaking ball to work then he can be a really good pitcher. Problem is, moving forward, I am not sure how you trust him a whole lot in big time games because you just never know what you might get from him. Hope he finds that control or reins it in. Overall: B Gave up a 2 out double and a 2 out HBP, but otherwise the results were solid.

Mason Hazelwood. What a weird thing to even type. Why was he even in this game? I don't know if coaches have a different plan for him this season or if he was just getting out there and getting warm. If it is the later, then I am surprised that they let him throw 38 pitches and work 2 innings. More weird was that it was not a good outing for Mason. He struggled. While he never gave up the score, he still got hit and hit regularly. 3 hits through 2 innings of work to go along with a walk. These weren't just weak grounders with eyes, but were pretty solid driven baseballs. He helped himself out of a big time jam in the 8th with runners at 3rd and 1st by picking off the runner at first. That 8th was very shaky as he had runners on the corners with 1 out and then the bases loaded with 2. Got out of it unharmed, but not what you want to see from a guy who could be your best pitcher. Overall: C

Defense: B-

Maybe this score is just a bit more about me being a bit disappointed that we didn't have a clean game than it is the reality of it. Still... I don't like it a whole lot. The outfield did a good job. Schultz may have saved a run early in the game by getting to a ball and cutting it off rather than letting it get behind him. There weren't a lot of tricky balls hit out to the outfield so nothing really stands out other than that. Still, both Hill and Rhodes did their jobs and got to every ball they should have and made the plays they should have. They need to talk a bit better because Rhodes and Hill ran into each other a bit late in the game and that scared me. Didn't like it. Just got to talk. So, for the outfield I give them an A.

Infield is where the angst comes in. 2 errors and one of them, Collett's was really just not excusable. Just mishandled a routine chopper by misplaying the hop and letting it get up on him. .943 is our fielding percentage after 1 game. That is about par for the course for us under Mingione. It was supposed to be a point of focus and the infield let us down on that so far. In fact, it could have been worse as Drew Grace did a great job backing up a throw from Rubalcaba that sailed high and into short center. If he isn't there, then that goes into center and gives up a run and UK gets a third error on the game. So, the defense was just not as sharp as you'd like. I think it can improve as it was just game 1, but this is a long history of mistakes. After the two errors, there weren't really a ton of 'wow,' plays to bring my grade up. The Ritter double play was a heads up play and a good one, but was (IIRC) fairly routine other than noticing he could double the runner up. So, for the infield, I would give them a C-. Those two (almost 3) errors just hurt too much.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Hitting: B

This is a hard one to grade because there were really bright spots and then not so bright spots. I mean... 4 home runs is great, but 8 strikeouts leaves a lot to be desired. I mean... we had 4 home runs and 3 doubles.... but just 8 overall hits. So, we had these amazing hot spots (especially the first inning where we had 4 of our 8 hits) but then we failed to string anything together outside of the Rubalcaba and Cam Hill back to back doubles. I think an odd glaring point is 0 walks. Miami (OH) came in known for their control after their series against Jacksonville, but you'd still hope UK would draw a walk. I have to say though... I don't think anyone went down looking (that I remember). So, like I said, hard to grade this, but I'll give it a solid B. Here is a player by player breakdown (with some individual defense included):

Cam Hill - Start at the top. Hill started the day off with a home run and that was certainly a beauty. He followed it up with a 2 out double to score another run. He struck out in the 6th in his last at bat against a pitcher that every UK hitter struggled against. You might like to see him be more patient at the plate, but when he is swinging early and hitting for extra bases you can't complain much. Defense was good. Not sure if he or Rhodes need to be a bit more vocal, but for my heart one of them needs to. haha Overall: A

Austin Schultz - Schultz just continues to hit. Leading off he had a good at bat where he just sent one right back where it came from. He then followed it up with some pretty decent heads up base running as he took off when the ball was in the dirt. In the second he got another chance and lined out somewhat softly to second. Had 3-1 2 out double later in the game in the 4th before striking out with a full count in the 7th. Gotta like his overall body of work. As I mentioned, the play in left may have helped save a run, so couple that with his defense and I give it an A.

Ryan Ritter - Had a great first at bat. Saw 7 pitches before getting something he could handle and hitting a single. I believe it was in the gap and the LF made a good play to cut it off to save a base, otherwise Ritter would have had a double. This was his lone hit on the day, but it was a great one early in the game because of how much he battled and then overcame. He put the ball in play all 3 at bats, so you really like to see that. Defense on the day was good with no major mistakes or issues. Overall: B-

TJ Collett- Obviously had an outstanding first at bat with that monster homer to straight away center. That at bat was a great one given that he battled with 2 strikes and found a mistake pitch. The second at bat ended in a K, but was still solid. He again fell behind, but he showed a good eye laying off of two balls before swinging at a pretty nasty breaking pitch down low. The next two left more to be desired as they were both ground outs to the right side. It is just one game, so it is meaningless at this point, but I want to see Collett hit for average rather than all or nothing. We will see what happens. Made the error on a routine play, so that brings his grade down a touch. C+

Oraj Anu - Back to back home runs are always fun. Anu showed power and he put every single ball in play. That is putting pressure on an opposing defense. The other hits weren't major threats as two were infield grounders and a third a fly to center, but he sprayed the ball and put it in play and that is important. That .250 will go up if he just keeps doing what he did yesterday. Overall: B

Alonzo Rubalcaba - 3 strikeouts is going to dominate everything else. That is one hat trick nobody wants to see. I don't think that will be a regular occurrence, but it happened. Despite that, he had a nice 2 out double and scored a run. He was patient at the plate and saw like 5-6 pitches on average per at bat. So, it wasn't all bad. Defense was good. No major mistakes. Had the one over throw, but that happens to catchers when they rush. No passed balls and almost threw a guy out at second despite him having an excellent jump and Collett not holding the runner. Overall: C

John Rhodes - Not the best game, but it is just one. Two infield pop ups and 2 line outs. He put the ball into play and didn't strike out, so there is bonus points for that, but just not the day at the dish you want from a guy who is supposed to be an All American. Again... it was game 1, so can't take much away from it. He will rebound. Have to give him a D.

Jacob Plastiak - Things couldn't have gone much worse for Plastiak in his debut. Had the error at third and then went 0-3 with a strikeout at the plate. These weren't good at bats that he just had hard luck on. Just didn't see and hit the ball well. It happens some days. He needs to improve if he wants to keep the hot corner. Estep should come back from Covid protocol soon and I expect this to be a battle. Overall: F

Drew Grace -Grace is saved from having a much worse score by two plays. 1 is the sac bunt to move Ritter over in the second and the other is a good backup play later in the game that kept the ball from sailing into center on an attempted pickoff. Outside of that, not too much to talk about with Grace. No mistakes and had a few plays in the field. Didn't get a hit and struck out once, but he battled and saw 8 pitches in that AB. Grounded out to third but had good hustle. Again, this is a battle position. I don't think he hurt himself, but didn't really help himself in solidifying this position moving forward. Overall: C-

Coaching: B

Well... they didn't screw anything up? That I know of? They didn't really do anything. Roszel came out at the right times I think. Made a move at the right time. Probably made the right move to the right guy. However, we didn't really have a ton of base runners and/or put on a whole lot of plays or anything like that. We didn't make any changes in the lineup, which I actually found a bit weird/interesting. I would have thought that we would have seen at least a pinch hitter here or there, but we didn't. So, just not really anything to report here. Good job, I guess? haha

Overall, we won and that is what matters. Could have been better offensively against some relatively weaker competition, but as I have said a bunch, it is just 1 game and things in baseball turn on a dime. We haven't played at KPP in just 15 days shy of a full year, so it was great to be back and to watch UK play again. Hope we have a good and long season.

 

[win now]

Hitting: B

This is a hard one to grade because there were really bright spots and then not so bright spots. I mean... 4 home runs is great, but 8 strikeouts leaves a lot to be desired. I mean... we had 4 home runs and 3 doubles.... but just 8 overall hits. So, we had these amazing hot spots (especially the first inning where we had 4 of our 8 hits) but then we failed to string anything together outside of the Rubalcaba and Cam Hill back to back doubles. I think an odd glaring point is 0 walks. Miami (OH) came in known for their control after their series against Jacksonville, but you'd still hope UK would draw a walk. I have to say though... I don't think anyone went down looking (that I remember). So, like I said, hard to grade this, but I'll give it a solid B. Here is a player by player breakdown (with some individual defense included):

Cam Hill - Start at the top. Hill started the day off with a home run and that was certainly a beauty. He followed it up with a 2 out double to score another run. He struck out in the 6th in his last at bat against a pitcher that every UK hitter struggled against. You might like to see him be more patient at the plate, but when he is swinging early and hitting for extra bases you can't complain much. Defense was good. Not sure if he or Rhodes need to be a bit more vocal, but for my heart one of them needs to. haha Overall: A

Austin Schultz - Schultz just continues to hit. Leading off he had a good at bat where he just sent one right back where it came from. He then followed it up with some pretty decent heads up base running as he took off when the ball was in the dirt. In the second he got another chance and lined out somewhat softly to second. Had 3-1 2 out double later in the game in the 4th before striking out with a full count in the 7th. Gotta like his overall body of work. As I mentioned, the play in left may have helped save a run, so couple that with his defense and I give it an A.

Ryan Ritter - Had a great first at bat. Saw 7 pitches before getting something he could handle and hitting a single. I believe it was in the gap and the LF made a good play to cut it off to save a base, otherwise Ritter would have had a double. This was his lone hit on the day, but it was a great one early in the game because of how much he battled and then overcame. He put the ball in play all 3 at bats, so you really like to see that. Defense on the day was good with no major mistakes or issues. Overall: B-

TJ Collett- Obviously had an outstanding first at bat with that monster homer to straight away center. That at bat was a great one given that he battled with 2 strikes and found a mistake pitch. The second at bat ended in a K, but was still solid. He again fell behind, but he showed a good eye laying off of two balls before swinging at a pretty nasty breaking pitch down low. The next two left more to be desired as they were both ground outs to the right side. It is just one game, so it is meaningless at this point, but I want to see Collett hit for average rather than all or nothing. We will see what happens. Made the error on a routine play, so that brings his grade down a touch. C+

Oraj Anu - Back to back home runs are always fun. Anu showed power and he put every single ball in play. That is putting pressure on an opposing defense. The other hits weren't major threats as two were infield grounders and a third a fly to center, but he sprayed the ball and put it in play and that is important. That .250 will go up if he just keeps doing what he did yesterday. Overall: B

Alonzo Rubalcaba - 3 strikeouts is going to dominate everything else. That is one hat trick nobody wants to see. I don't think that will be a regular occurrence, but it happened. Despite that, he had a nice 2 out double and scored a run. He was patient at the plate and saw like 5-6 pitches on average per at bat. So, it wasn't all bad. Defense was good. No major mistakes. Had the one over throw, but that happens to catchers when they rush. No passed balls and almost threw a guy out at second despite him having an excellent jump and Collett not holding the runner. Overall: C

John Rhodes - Not the best game, but it is just one. Two infield pop ups and 2 line outs. He put the ball into play and didn't strike out, so there is bonus points for that, but just not the day at the dish you want from a guy who is supposed to be an All American. Again... it was game 1, so can't take much away from it. He will rebound. Have to give him a D.

Jacob Plastiak - Things couldn't have gone much worse for Plastiak in his debut. Had the error at third and then went 0-3 with a strikeout at the plate. These weren't good at bats that he just had hard luck on. Just didn't see and hit the ball well. It happens some days. He needs to improve if he wants to keep the hot corner. Estep should come back from Covid protocol soon and I expect this to be a battle. Overall: F

Drew Grace -Grace is saved from having a much worse score by two plays. 1 is the sac bunt to move Ritter over in the second and the other is a good backup play later in the game that kept the ball from sailing into center on an attempted pickoff. Outside of that, not too much to talk about with Grace. No mistakes and had a few plays in the field. Didn't get a hit and struck out once, but he battled and saw 8 pitches in that AB. Grounded out to third but had good hustle. Again, this is a battle position. I don't think he hurt himself, but didn't really help himself in solidifying this position moving forward. Overall: C-

Coaching: B

Well... they didn't screw anything up? That I know of? They didn't really do anything. Roszel came out at the right times I think. Made a move at the right time. Probably made the right move to the right guy. However, we didn't really have a ton of base runners and/or put on a whole lot of plays or anything like that. We didn't make any changes in the lineup, which I actually found a bit weird/interesting. I would have thought that we would have seen at least a pinch hitter here or there, but we didn't. So, just not really anything to report here. Good job, I guess? haha

Overall, we won and that is what matters. Could have been better offensively against some relatively weaker competition, but as I have said a bunch, it is just 1 game and things in baseball turn on a dime. We haven't played at KPP in just 15 days shy of a full year, so it was great to be back and to watch UK play again. Hope we have a good and long season.

thanks, for the evaluation. Hope you do this after each game or series.

 

[CliffDweller25]

Mason Hazelwood. What a weird thing to even type. Why was he even in this game? I don't know if coaches have a different plan for him this season or if he was just getting out there and getting warm.

I was at the game and also listening to radio. Darren said several pitchers weren't available including Degen, Rigsby & Ramsey. Seth Logue was loose and Harper was also warming up. I too was surprised when Mason went out for the 9th. I still think he'll be one of our weekend starters. Tuesday may have been his bullpen session day anyway.

 

[Comebakatz3]

thanks, for the evaluation. Hope you do this after each game or series.

I might try to do it after every series, but it just depends on how busy I am and how much I am able to focus on the game(s).

 

[Comebakatz3]

I was at the game and also listening to radio. Darren said several pitchers weren't available including Degen, Rigsby & Ramsey. Seth Logue was loose and Harper was also warming up. I too was surprised when Mason went out for the 9th. I still think he'll be one of our weekend starters. Tuesday may have been his bullpen session day anyway.

Thought about that as well, and you may very well be correct. Seems a bit strange to me that he would still go live on Tuesday and then pitch this weekend, especially with it being week 1, but it is certainly possible. Just as much given that there are still a lot of arms that could have went. I think it would have made some more sense to me had he merely pitched the 8th, but having him go in both seemed strange.

Of course, he's going to likely be on a pitch count either way, so we may not see him a ton this weekend even if he does get a start.

 

[dtjr]

Excellent report to start the season.

One thing I noticed on the telecast was Rubalcabas ability to frame pitches. He is an upgrade it appears to me.

Now lets keep getting better at other defensive positions.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Excellent report to start the season.

One thing I noticed on the telecast was Rubalcabas ability to frame pitches. He is an upgrade it appears to me.

Now lets keep getting better at other defensive positions.

He was good back there. Very little got past him, if anything. He had one bounce in front of him that he kind of didn't play all that well and another where he almost threw out the runner who had a massive lead thanks to Collett not holding the runner (which was probably called from the dugout). That throw is at Ritter's hip instead of his face and its an out. That is how close it was. He will only get better back there.

 

[TuckyFB]

Great write-up. Thanks CB. I'm looking forward to our series vs. Milwaukee.

 

[CB3UK]

Possible that Hazelwood has had some issues on practice or some such and they wanted to give him a little extra run? I agree it was odd.

 

[Old_Red]

Miami (Oh) didn't show a lot of offense in their first series and didn't show much against us. That is what makes the defensive performance more like a C or C- to me. A good offense puts a lot more pressure. In 2019, we failed to make routine plays and were really shaky when the offense pressed us. Games like this should be where we make up for the poor fielding average against good teams. It was the first game but that is where I'll be looking for improvement going forward.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Miami (Oh) didn't show a lot of offense in their first series and didn't show much against us. That is what makes the defensive performance more like a C or C- to me. A good offense puts a lot more pressure. In 2019, we failed to make routine plays and were really shaky when the offense pressed us. Games like this should be where we make up for the poor fielding average against good teams. It was the first game but that is where I'll be looking for improvement going forward.

Yea, it was disappointing to see the 2 errors, but I didn't want to slap everyone with a bad score for the mistakes of basically just 2 guys. Hoping they get it cleaned up and that was a bit of an offshoot. I think for both of those guys it was one of the first balls they fielded, so maybe a bit of jitters from the early stuff. I dunno.

I probably would have lowered the score had I noticed that Rhodes missed the cutoff a couple of times. It is those types of little things that we didn't do well a year ago. Heck, I remember our SS not even going out to be a cutoff on one play a year ago. So, I will try to pay more attention to those things if I can going forward so I can maybe grade a bit better.