Happy to pitch in...

[Derek Terry]

It’s good to be back on the baseball forum. Most of the names here are familiar to me, but for those who maybe don’t know, I used to write for this site from 2015-17 before moving over to The Cats’ Pause magazine for a little over four years. I left full-time sportswriting earlier this year and have been enjoying a more normal work/life balance since.

But one topic (actually, the only topic) I’ve missed writing about is UK baseball, particularly recruiting and the transfer portal. It’s pretty niche, but there’s not a whole lot written about it in this market. Unlike basketball and football rankings on the big networks, baseball recruiting rankings are a bit tougher to find and oftentimes behind a paywall. I also think it’s fair to point out that the rankings can be skewed based on how many times a site has seen a prospect at one of their camps. It’s also not the kind of topic that’s going to drive subscriptions or pageviews to a local website, so I understand why beat writers don't focus on it.

Still, it interests me, and I’d guess it interests many of you. I’ve spoken with Justin and he’s cool with letting me pitch in on the baseball coverage for the site. JDrum started a thread on HOB that is still going strong and he has great insight into the program. The man takes excellent photos as well. This won’t be a beat role for me like it is for Jeff, but I’m hoping some of the stories/posts will bring some information that wasn’t out there before.

It’s good to be here talking baseball with everyone once again. If there are any topics you’re interested in, shoot me a note and I’ll look into them.

 

[Aday117]

Awesome to hear, Derek! We’re small in numbers, but very opinionated over here. Any news and insights into the baseball program is welcome and much appreciated.

 

[167Hike]

Bring it Derek! Me love me some baseball news, especially recruiting.

 

[MAYHOO22]

Great to have you about Derek! Missed seeing your insightful information on Twitter and this forum.

 

[SeanCain]

It’s good to be back on the baseball forum. Most of the names here are familiar to me, but for those who maybe don’t know, I used to write for this site from 2015-17 before moving over to The Cats’ Pause magazine for a little over four years. I left full-time sportswriting earlier this year and have been enjoying a more normal work/life balance since.

But one topic (actually, the only topic) I’ve missed writing about is UK baseball, particularly recruiting and the transfer portal. It’s pretty niche, but there’s not a whole lot written about it in this market. Unlike basketball and football rankings on the big networks, baseball recruiting rankings are a bit tougher to find and oftentimes behind a paywall. I also think it’s fair to point out that the rankings can be skewed based on how many times a site has seen a prospect at one of their camps. It’s also not the kind of topic that’s going to drive subscriptions or pageviews to a local website, so I understand why beat writers don't focus on it.

Still, it interests me, and I’d guess it interests many of you. I’ve spoken with Justin and he’s cool with letting me pitch in on the baseball coverage for the site. JDrum started a thread on HOB that is still going strong and he has great insight into the program. The man takes excellent photos as well. This won’t be a beat role for me like it is for Jeff, but I’m hoping some of the stories/posts will bring some information that wasn’t out there before.

It’s good to be here talking baseball with everyone once again. If there are any topics you’re interested in, shoot me a note and I’ll look into them.

Derek have you heard anything about an extension for Mingione?

 

[parrott]

Great to have you here Derek. Will love your insight on recruiting and the portal. Appreciate you being here.

 

[Comebakatz3]

 

[Kybluedude]

Derek

Why no terrace/patio area for the students like the one UL allowed behind right field at Cliff Hagan?

KPP sure could use that energy! It needs a personality.

 

[Crazycat68]

Any portal addition news? Can you give us a way to early starting 8, rotation and bullpen?

McCarthy CF
Burkes C
Estep 3B
Felker 2B

starters
Stupp
Cotto

Releivers?

 

[Comebakatz3]

Any portal addition news? Can you give us a way to early starting 8, rotation and bullpen?

McCarthy CF
Burkes C
Estep 3B
Felker 2B

starters
Stupp
Cotto

Releivers?

C - Rubalcaba/Burkes

Not sure what happens with these two. If they both return or what. Rubalcaba has struggled at the plate, but the staff has often been high on his defense. Burkes hit well late in the year. Hot streak, or can he hit that way regularly? There was also some high praise of the way he receives the ball. Burkes seems like a good athlete. Could he do a position change? Henderson liked to have a catcher DH and a catcher hit, but Mingione hasn't shown a great want to rotate catchers, so having two really good ones might limit PT for one. So, maybe one heads out?

1B- Gilliam

Seems like a good sign we lose Plastiak. I really thought they might convert James McCoy to 1B. He's 6'4 and 210 pounds, so that seems to be the a place he'd fit. So, this move makes me think they are confident in McCoy in one way or another.

2B - Felker

Pitre could steal this spot, but Felker gets the nod from me at the moment. Probably depends on which one hits better.

SS- Ritter

Frankly, I'd be shocked if he returned, but I think that could be a possibility. He I think would still have 2 years of eligibility, so the traditional thought about junior/senior isn't there. If he doesn't return, I'd expect this to be a spot for Pitre.

3B- Estep

Seems likely he returns. So, he has this locked down. Likely means we lose Church.

OF - I think UK goes to the portal again to fill up some of the outfield. Schramm is a big guy (6'3, 225) and he could take maybe RF, or DH if he is consistent at the plate. McCarthy has to come a long way at the plate before he gets a good look out in the OF. Tanner Kim is listed as an OF now, but don't really know a lot about him. He's 6'0 190, and part of me thinks he is probably pretty similar to Liebert athletically. Regardless, I think UK goes to the portal here. So, we will see how that plays out.

DH - No idea. I think Church could have this, but I am not sure he sticks around just to DH. McCoy could go here if he doesn't go into the defense.

As for pitching... whew...

The big key will be whether Williams can or cannot get an extra year of eligibility. If he does, how well does he recover from whatever arm issue he has?

Stupp... the eligibility isn't a concern, but how does he recover? Fast enough to be a weekend guy, or do we need to ease him in?

Cotto - I think the staff lost some confidence in him late. Only threw 6.2 innings in league play and I don't think he had an injury. I think he'd have to show much better command to get a starting job.

Travis Smith - Where is he in his recovery? Highly regarded, a top 85 player in the country coming out of HS. Is the arm good enough after this time to bounce back and give good/great innings?

Lee - UK started to lean on him a bit in the end of the year and he got 4 league starts. I think he'd be heavily looked at as a possible starter.

Hagenow - Until he gets command he has to be limited. 23 walks in 18 innings is just not going to cut it. He has good stuff when he can control and limit walks, but he just hasn't proven to be consistent enough. I think UK looks at him as a reliever. Had the third lowest league batting average against. It was wild how he'd walk the bases loaded and then get out of it with strikeouts. So, he could be masterful if he gets consistent command.

Logue - Opponents hit .409 against him in league play. He'll improve, but I think the jump is too great to expect him to start. Probably reliever next year.

Moore/Nove/Frieda - Three freshmen played this year. Moore was most impressive, but none really blew me away. I think they once again are relievers in 2023, but could possibly see one more to midweek.

Strickland - Continues to be a reliever. Stuff can be electric but just has to keep the ball down.

Gannon/Howe - I don't trust redshirts. By that I mean that this staff doesn't really seem to like players that redshirt. If you are good enough they play you some as a freshman. Not many redshirts have bounced back from that designation.

Freshmen - Honestly don't know much about the 2022 class and it is hard to trust the services. I have never been one to go watch the youtube videos, so I just let those pieces fall where they may and sort themselves out.

All in all... I mean, you look at things and basically Harney, Guilfoil, Harper and Hazelwood carried us in a lot of SEC games. 8 of our 12 wins are credited to those guys and we likely lose all 4, and 3 of them for sure. They pitched 127.5 of the 263 SEC innings, about 48 percent of them. So, I think UK really needs to bring in someone that can eat up some of those innings.

 

[Comebakatz3]

For us McCoy is listed as an IF. Perfect Game listed him as an OF primarily, but listed 1B, 3B, and RHP for him as well. I am not sure where UK projects him, but I was thinking he was being projected at first as a replacement for Plastiak. Not sure if that is the case or what. However, he is playing in the Northwoods League this summer for the Kenosha Kingfish and he's primarily playing right field. Last night he went 4 for 4 with 2 singles, 2 doubles and 2 walks.

So, that is something to look out for moving forward on whether UK will look to move him back to the OF or keep him in the IF.

 

[Derek Terry]

I'm a believer in Burkes. Small sample size overall for him as he only started 12 games, but I believe only six or seven of his plate appearances this year came against non-conference pitching. Almost all of his damage came against SEC opponents. Seven of his 14 hits went for extra bases and he walked (11) more than he struck out (9). He slashed .378/.540/.730. Now, I don't expect him to have a great OPS like that over the course of an entire season, but he showed enough against good pitching to make me think he's an important bat on next year's team.

Also, I don't expect Ritter or Estep back. It obviously means a lot for Estep to play for Kentucky and he does have multiple years of eligibility left, but he's already on the older side for his class. It likely makes the most sense for him to sign this summer. Would be a great boost if he came back though because his numbers jumped significantly from 2021 to 2022.

This is an important summer for Pitre and McCoy. I think they both have a good opportunity to earn starting jobs, particularly Pitre. I think Pitre just wasn't refined enough to succeed this year but he impressed in the fall and has a good long-term outlook. McCoy has great raw power and is also a switch hitter. I think he helps next year, but what position does he play?

On the mound, I see this being a huge summer for Hagenow and Cotto. I agreed with Comebakatz's assessment of Hagenow. He just simply puts too many runners on base right now but he rarely gives up hard contact and strikes out a decent number of hitters. Cotto's raw stuff, IMO, is unmatched on the staff. He's a high draft pick if he puts it together. Will he do that this season?

One other note on Reed Gannon as it pertains to redshirting, he was out this year with TJ surgery. He was someone that Mingione really liked out of high school and I think would've had a role on this team if healthy. I've heard positive things on Travis Smith's recovery and think he'll have a shot this fall to compete for a weekend rotation spot.

 

[Comebakatz3]

One other note on Reed Gannon as it pertains to redshirting, he was out this year with TJ surgery.

Thanks for clearing that up. I remembered another pitcher had an injury at the start of my write up, but forgot to actually look it up when it came time.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

Would like to see us go after this guy

 

[Aday117]

Going to be interesting who all we go after in the portal. Hopefully we can land some high level guys.

 

[CockyCat3]

Williams was granted his 6th year of eligibility, so he'll be back unless someone takes a chance on him in the draft. Bigger question is when will he be healthy enough to pitch. I doubt it will be for the start of the season.

 

[TuckyFB]

Would like to see us go after this guy

View embedded media

Yes, we need this guy. We're losing, IMO, our best pitcher, Sean Harney and we need to replace him.

 

[Crazycat68]

Awesome stuff fellas. Thank you

 

[Derek Terry]

Williams was granted his 6th year of eligibility, so he'll be back unless someone takes a chance on him in the draft. Bigger question is when will he be healthy enough to pitch. I doubt it will be for the start of the season.

I was never told this specifically, but Williams seems like a great guy for team culture. But yes, it seems unlikely that Williams or Stupp (if they return) would be healthy enough to compete for a weekend spot by the start of the season. Hazelwood had a quick recovery and made his first appearance about 11 months after his injury. UK reported that Stupp was lost for the season on March 27 and Williams on April 13.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Williams was granted his 6th year of eligibility, so he'll be back unless someone takes a chance on him in the draft. Bigger question is when will he be healthy enough to pitch. I doubt it will be for the start of the season.

Pretty wild that they already granted him extra eligibility. Usually those things go slowly. Good for him though, really loved that he is getting, and will continue, to live out his dream.

 

[Catsfan123456]

I was never told this specifically, but Williams seems like a great guy for team culture. But yes, it seems unlikely that Williams or Stupp (if they return) would be healthy enough to compete for a weekend spot by the start of the season. Hazelwood had a quick recovery and made his first appearance about 11 months after his injury. UK reported that Stupp was lost for the season on March 27 and Williams on April 13.

Do you have any insight in terms of Mingione's future? Will he be retained? Also how about Roszel and Coggin?

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Do you have any insight in terms of Mingione's future? Will he be retained? Also how about Roszel and Coggin?

Mingione and his whole staff will be back in 2023.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Mingione and his whole staff will be back in 2023.

I am not as convinced of the second part as I am the first part.

 

[Aday117]

I would think at least one staff change would take place to save Ming’s job but could be wrong.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

I would think at least one staff change would take place to save Ming’s job but could be wrong.

I take it Roszell won’t be returning?

 

[Derek Terry]

Do you have any insight in terms of Mingione's future? Will he be retained? Also how about Roszel and Coggin?

It's always possible that Roszel or Coggin could accept another job, but I haven't heard anything suggesting Mingione wanted to make changes. The season has also been over for close to two weeks now. With all of the additions they'll need to make, I think we would've already heard something if he wanted to part ways with anyone.

 

[sluggercatfan]

I take it Roszell won’t be returning?

Why Roszell? He's done well I think considering two weekends starters were lost

 

[Comebakatz3]

Why Roszell? He's done well I think considering two weekends starters were lost

I guess you could kind of point plenty of fingers. Roszel hasn't been here long, but UK still hasn't found nor developed a HS pitcher that we might have a high reliability with on the weekends. So, do we blame that on Roszel for lack of development or do we blame that on Coggin for poorer recruiting or Mingione for being the head coach? Ehh, maybe some of all. I think the staff did pretty well this season with still being competitive despite the injuries. Still, there is a lot left to be desired as we have seen that most of our more valuable pitchers have been transfers rather than players we've recruited out of HS and developed. Still, I don't think Mingione would make a change here. I think Roszel is valuable and I think that replacing him would be difficult given all the circumstances.

Coggin is interesting. Again, recruiting has been a bit poor as has development. An issue with UK bringing in Coggin was that he was not coaching baseball when UK brought him in. He was working as an agent or something like that. So, Coggin did not have those connections to high school recruits and coaches that are necessary to recruit at a high level. I think, maybe, he is improving at that and UK might be seeing some better dividends of that in later classes, but I don't know for sure. So, if we get rid of Coggin, or he leaves on his own, how does that effect those going forward, or are we able to find someone that is as connected, or better? The issue there is that Mingione is on a hot seat, so why would someone want to jump on a sinking ship?

Ammo - Seemingly Mingione was frustrated enough with him that Mingione did something he hasn't done in his entire time here and he took over coaching third base. It seems to me like it is a pretty bad sign when your boss is taking over your duties, even if it is only a part of your duty. He is the hitting coach, I guess, but I don't know that UK showed any significant improvement over Guilliams with him in that role. So, I think it is something UK could do to find a different volunteer assistant, but I imagine they'd give Ammo more time than one year. Don't know if he'll be back at 3B though.

 

[Aday117]

I take it Roszell won’t be returning?

I don’t have any insights or sources, but usually when a coach is on the hot seat and keeps his job some else takes the fall.

 

[mrschwump]

Isn't there talk of NCAA adding another paid asst?

 

[BluegrassBlake]

Bit off topic but Florida St fired their coach after just 3 seasons. Sounds like Notre Dame coach Link Jarret is the heavy favorite to replace him.

 

[Catsfan123456]

Why Roszell? He's done well I think considering two weekends starters were lost

Guys every team in the country has injuries every single year. When UK has injuries all it does is magnify the lack of depth. It is not an excuse Mingione, Barnhart, or the rest of the Baseball staff can continue to use. As for the post that stated it appears that Coggin and Uk are doing well with the 23-25 class. They have received commitments from some highly rated players. Mingione and company know how hot their seats are. They would do anything for good press/ make it seem like there is positivity in the program. Bottom like has anyone considered what these younger kids and their families were promised in terms of the size of their scholarships. A common practice is to promise way more money than anyone can deliver on. When signing day comes you lower the amount of money.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Bit off topic but Florida St fired their coach after just 3 seasons. Sounds like Notre Dame coach Link Jarret is the heavy favorite to replace him.

And yet Kentucky continues on satisfied with mediocrity.

 

[SeanCain]

Bit off topic but Florida St fired their coach after just 3 seasons. Sounds like Notre Dame coach Link Jarret is the heavy favorite to replace him.

That’s a big deal considering the person they fired was Mike Martin’s kid. Martin is a college baseball legend. Pretty short leash on his kid.

 

[SeanCain]

And yet Kentucky continues on satisfied with mediocrity.

UK has been this way all my life except for golden boy basketball. That’s why our other teams have been abysmal for the most part. I’ll say it again but Mitch has not done the baseball program any favors.

 

[SeanCain]

UK has been this way all my life except for golden boy basketball. That’s why our other teams have been abysmal for the most part. I’ll say it again but Mitch has not done the baseball program any favors.

I’ll add that’s why I want no part of Dewayne Peevey ever becoming the AD. He’s another all basketball guy.

 

[Crazycat68]

Does Bosma have any eligibility left?
If Cotto can get a decent breaking ball down he will be tough. A lefty pumping 95.

 

[rolaid]

Derek

Why no terrace/patio area for the students like the one UL allowed behind right field at Cliff Hagan?

KPP sure could use that energy! It needs a personality.

That place is as vanilla as any stadium I’ve ever seen- from the Highway barrier exterior walls to the flat pitch on the stadium seats to the stupid rock steps
Generic as can be not a lick of character in that build

 

[Derek Terry]

Does Bosma have any eligibility left?
If Cotto can get a decent breaking ball down he will be tough. A lefty pumping 95.

He does have a year left and he's expected back.

 

[CockyCat3]

He does have a year left and he's expected back.

I would be pretty surprised if he's back next year.