Kentucky 2023

[Comebakatz3]

I just want to highlight what UK will lose for 2023:

Daniel Harris
Adam Fogel
John Thrasher
Hunter Jump
Oraj Anu

Sean Harney
Daniel Harper
Mason Hazelwood

Likely to lose:
Chase Estep - Rated in the top 200 draft prospects
Ryan Ritter - Rated in the top 200 draft prospects, him leaving is practically guaranteed.
Jacob Plastiak
Tyler Bosma - Has eligibility, as does Plastiak, but things are pointing to them leaving.
Liebert - In the transfer portal
Hudepohl - In the transfer portal

Could lose:
Cole Stupp - likely lose him but for the injury
Tyler Guilfoil - really solid season could have him go ahead with the draft, usually get better leverage as a junior.
Alonso Rubalcaba - Don't really know what he will do. A lot of catchers.


Won't likely get:
Caden Dana (RHP) - Ranked in top 200 draft prospects.
Tommy Specht (OF) - Ranked in top 200 draft prospects.

I imagine that UK might see some others also transfer out, especially those that are being underutilized. Possibilities:
Devin Burkes - I heard that he was close to leaving in 2021 and that he was promised the backup role in 2022. That hasn't happened. However, we lose both catchers ahead of him in 2023, so he could return.
Evan Byers - Redshirted last year, has barely played as a RS freshman.

Possibly returning:
Darren Williams - Was granted an extra year of eligibility. Will have a long recovery, it seems, so might not be ready for the first half.

It looks like we lose something like 15 guys at this point. We could lose more.

We Gain from the portal:
C/DH - Haydn McGeary
1B - Hunter Gilliam
RP - Seth Chavez

 

[dtjr]

So we lose basically everyone and then we will be hunting in the portal again for transfers.

We have zero true freshman who are playing and our only underclassmen position player playing much is Church.

Not good.

 

[Comebakatz3]

So we lose basically everyone and then we will be hunting in the portal again for transfers.

We have zero true freshman who are playing and our only underclassmen position player playing much is Church.

Not good.

Correct. We do have a few freshmen pitchers playing as relievers. Not sure we're doing a good job developing anyone into being potential starters though.

Pitre has played a tiny amount as a freshman as has RS freshman McCarthy. Ohh and Micheal Dallas has played.

A lot of PT available but I look for this staff to basically create another roster full of transfers as they seem to prefer having experience to developing talent.

 

[Aday117]

Next year is going to be rough, but it’s super important to lay a solid foundation for the coming years. Luckily with the portal a new coach can fill spots a lot easier now.

 

[enjyretirement2020]

Correct. We do have a few freshmen pitchers playing as relievers. Not sure we're doing a good job developing anyone into being potential starters though.

Pitre has played a tiny amount as a freshman as has RS freshman McCarthy. Ohh and Micheal Dallas has played.

A lot of PT available but I look for this staff to basically create another roster full of transfers as they seem to prefer having experience to developing talent.

But when does the merry-go-round of transfers stop? You need to develop what you have. Needs to stop relying on “experience” , the cycle has to be broken at some point, right?

 

[Comebakatz3]

But when does the merry-go-round of transfers stop? You need to develop what you have. Needs to stop relying on “experience” , the cycle has to be broken at some point, right?

I think you can break it when you're successful. If you have a strong year then you can buy yourself a poor rebuilding year. As is stands, Mingione can't afford to have a rebuild year where the young guys grow up because he's not had enough success.

 

[SeanCain]

The current state of the program is abysmal. I doubt we make the SEC tournament and losing all those kids is a complete mess. I just don’t see how Mitch can keep Mingione. There’s just no possible excuse. One thing is for sure in my opinion, if Mitch keeps Mingione we will know how seriously UK takes the baseball program.

 

[dtjr]

Next year is going to be rough, but it’s super important to lay a solid foundation for the coming years. Luckily with the portal a new coach can fill spots a lot easier now.

What does our recruiting for next year look like?

We will need to have Church, Burkes, Byers, Pitre, Dallas all stick around with a new coach and then the new coach has to hit the portal hard.

Unless we have some absolute stud freshman come in that doesn't like where he got drafted and could start.......
UGH

 

[Comebakatz3]

What does our recruiting for next year look like?

We will need to have Church, Burkes, Byers, Pitre, Dallas all stick around with a new coach and then the new coach has to hit the portal hard.

Unless we have some absolute stud freshman come in that doesn't like where he got drafted and could start.......
UGH

Perfect Game has us currently ranked 24th overall in recruiting with a very good overall average player score of 7.64. We have 3 top 100 players and 11 total recruits.

It would not surprise me if least 2 of those 3 top 100, if not all 3, go to the draft. As I said, Tommy Specht and Caden Dana are both considered in the top 200 in the draft right now, and that is for college and high school players.

I want to state also that I am not sure how accurate that the PG list is. For instance, they list Jacob Zibin as a commitment for UK. Zibin is a 6'4 215 pound righty who seems to throw pretty hard. I believe he may have been a 2023 recruit, but that he is draft eligibile for 2022 and may have reclassified. BluegrassBaseball reported here that he committed to us in 2020 (https://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/jacob-zibin.324889/#post-9026216) However, everything other than PG seems to indicate that he is now committed to South Carolina.

I think Zibin might be that third player in the top 100. So, if that is the case, our ranking would be significantly lower.

So, in short... we aren't brining in many and we're likely losing our best ones.

 

[backinky2018]

It's so odd, b/c UK was recruiting really well at the beginning of the Ming era. But, it has fallen off of a cliff.

 

[dtjr]

It's so odd, b/c UK was recruiting really well at the beginning of the Ming era. But, it has fallen off of a cliff.

Lost Brad Bohannan back in 2016 or 2017 then Ming brought in Will Coggin a few years back and our recruiting has really not panned out, whether developing players or scouting talent.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Lost Brad Bohannan back in 2016 or 2017 then Ming brought in Will Coggin a few years back and our recruiting has really not panned out, whether developing players or scouting talent.

You're a bit off on the timeline there. Brad Bohannon left UK after the 2015 season. Henderson then hired Rick Eckstein. Keith Vorhoff may have helped recruit in that time too. Mingione first brought in Roland Fanning. He, IMO, was a strange hire given that he was from Oklahoma and had coached little outside of there and Arkansas, but I think it gave Mingione the JUCO connections he wanted in recruiting. He let Fanning and pitching coach Belanger go and hired Coggin and Roszel to replace them. Coggin was another weird hire being that he was not even coaching baseball when UK hired him, but was working as a sports agent, I believe in Lexington.

Roland is now with OK State as a Director of Player Development and Belanger is pitching coach for Florida State.

 

[dtjr]

You're a bit off on the timeline there. Brad Bohannon left UK after the 2015 season. Henderson then hired Rick Eckstein. Keith Vorhoff may have helped recruit in that time too. Mingione first brought in Roland Fanning. He, IMO, was a strange hire given that he was from Oklahoma and had coached little outside of there and Arkansas, but I think it gave Mingione the JUCO connections he wanted in recruiting. He let Fanning and pitching coach Belanger go and hired Coggin and Roszel to replace them. Coggin was another weird hire being that he was not even coaching baseball when UK hired him, but was working as a sports agent, I believe in Lexington.

Roland is now with OK State as a Director of Player Development and Belanger is pitching coach for Florida State.

Ah yes forgot about Eckstein.

Coggin was the strangest for me but he did have a connection to Ming.

 

[CockyCat3]

I just want to highlight what UK will lose for 2023:

Jacob Plastiak
Alonso Rubalcaba
Daniel Harris
Adam Fogel
John Thrasher
Hunter Jump
Kirk Liebert
Oraj Anu

Tyler Bosma
Sean Harney
Daniel Harper
Darren Williams
Mason Hazelwood

Likely to lose:
Chase Estep - Rated in the top 200 draft prospects
Ryan Ritter - Rated in the top 200 draft prospects, him leaving is practically guaranteed.

Could lose:
Cole Stupp - likely lose him but for the injury
Tyler Guilfoil - really solid season could have him go ahead with the draft, usually get better leverage as a junior.

Won't likely get:
Caden Dana (RHP) - Ranked in top 200 draft prospects.
Tommy Specht (OF) - Ranked in top 200 draft prospects.

I imagine that UK might see some others also transfer out, especially those that are being underutilized. Possibilities:
Devin Burkes - I heard that he was close to leaving in 2021 and that he was promised the backup role in 2022. That hasn't happened. However, we lose both catchers ahead of him in 2023, so he could return.
Evan Byers - Redshirted last year, has barely played as a RS freshman.

I think because of covid we could technically have a few more of those guys than you mentioned.

Plastiak, Rubalcaba, Leibert and Bosma are in their 4th year of college baseball. Covid causing a cancelled year gives them an extra year. Whereas guys like Thrasher and D Williams are playing their 5th year so they're using their free covid year this year.

 

[BluegrassBaseball]

Perfect Game has us currently ranked 24th overall in recruiting with a very good overall average player score of 7.64. We have 3 top 100 players and 11 total recruits.

It would not surprise me if least 2 of those 3 top 100, if not all 3, go to the draft. As I said, Tommy Specht and Caden Dana are both considered in the top 200 in the draft right now, and that is for college and high school players.

I want to state also that I am not sure how accurate that the PG list is. For instance, they list Jacob Zibin as a commitment for UK. Zibin is a 6'4 215 pound righty who seems to throw pretty hard. I believe he may have been a 2023 recruit, but that he is draft eligibile for 2022 and may have reclassified. BluegrassBaseball reported here that he committed to us in 2020 (https://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/jacob-zibin.324889/#post-9026216) However, everything other than PG seems to indicate that he is now committed to South Carolina.

I think Zibin might be that third player in the top 100. So, if that is the case, our ranking would be significantly lower.

So, in short... we aren't brining in many and we're likely losing our best ones.

Honors mounting for Dana. Hope we can get him on campus.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

View embedded media

Honors mounting for Dana. Hope we can get him on campus.

I doubt both Dana and Specht make it to UK.

I’ll have to go find the article but I read the other day that Specht said he’d prefer to turn pro.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I doubt both Dana and Specht make it to UK.

I’ll have to go find the article but I read the other day that Specht said he’d prefer to turn pro.

Kentucky commit Tommy Specht enters summer as MLB draft prospect

Following the 2022 MLB Draft, Tommy Specht may have a tough decision to make whether to go pro or play baseball at the University of Kentucky. But until then, the former Wahlert Catholic outfielder is enjoying where his baseball career has taken him.

bvmsports.com

 

[Aday117]

If Dana and Specht don’t end up here which seems likely, this class is pretty terrible.

 

[Derek Terry]

I'd definitely lean toward Specht and Dana signing. Getting either one to school would be a big win.

As far as the rest of the class, I think there are more immediate impact guys than in recent years (which, admittedly, isn't saying much). Drew Lafferty, Hayden Smith and Aaron Blum are all going to have a chance to carve out roles in the bullpen by the time SEC play starts.
I guess it'll ultimately depend on who the staff lands in the transfer portal but I think Lukas Schramm is likely an opening day starter in one of the corner outfield spots. Carson Applegate has real two-way potential. Austin Fawley could help with the bat, but he's going to come in as a catcher. But if he proves he can hit, they'll find a spot somewhere in the lineup for him.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I'd definitely lean toward Specht and Dana signing. Getting either one to school would be a big win.

As far as the rest of the class, I think there are more immediate impact guys than in recent years (which, admittedly, isn't saying much). Drew Lafferty, Hayden Smith and Aaron Blum are all going to have a chance to carve out roles in the bullpen by the time SEC play starts.
I guess it'll ultimately depend on who the staff lands in the transfer portal but I think Lukas Schramm is likely an opening day starter in one of the corner outfield spots. Carson Applegate has real two-way potential. Austin Fawley could help with the bat, but he's going to come in as a catcher. But if he proves he can hit, they'll find a spot somewhere in the lineup for him.

Whoa whoa whoa... who let this guy back in!? 😉

 

[SeanCain]

I'd definitely lean toward Specht and Dana signing. Getting either one to school would be a big win.

As far as the rest of the class, I think there are more immediate impact guys than in recent years (which, admittedly, isn't saying much). Drew Lafferty, Hayden Smith and Aaron Blum are all going to have a chance to carve out roles in the bullpen by the time SEC play starts.
I guess it'll ultimately depend on who the staff lands in the transfer portal but I think Lukas Schramm is likely an opening day starter in one of the corner outfield spots. Carson Applegate has real two-way potential. Austin Fawley could help with the bat, but he's going to come in as a catcher. But if he proves he can hit, they'll find a spot somewhere in the lineup for him.

Hey Derek. I’m glad you’re posting on the forum.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

I'd definitely lean toward Specht and Dana signing. Getting either one to school would be a big win.

As far as the rest of the class, I think there are more immediate impact guys than in recent years (which, admittedly, isn't saying much). Drew Lafferty, Hayden Smith and Aaron Blum are all going to have a chance to carve out roles in the bullpen by the time SEC play starts.
I guess it'll ultimately depend on who the staff lands in the transfer portal but I think Lukas Schramm is likely an opening day starter in one of the corner outfield spots. Carson Applegate has real two-way potential. Austin Fawley could help with the bat, but he's going to come in as a catcher. But if he proves he can hit, they'll find a spot somewhere in the lineup for him.

I’m a big fan of Lukas Schramm. I think he’s got the potential to be All SEC.

 

[Derek Terry]

I’m a big fan of Lukas Schramm. I think he’s got the potential to be All SEC.

I'd heard earlier this spring that Schramm had some crosscheckers in to watch him take batting practice. I'd still be surprised if he's not at UK but it's a good sign that he's coveted.

 

[maysvilleky]

Darren Williams could possibly have a 6th year.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Darren Williams could possibly have a 6th year.

Possibly, but he's right there on the edge of having played too much.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

I'd heard earlier this spring that Schramm had some crosscheckers in to watch him take batting practice. I'd still be surprised if he's not at UK but it's a good sign that he's coveted.

He’s got big time power. Hope he makes it to campus.

 

[Aday117]

Have you heard any rumblings about coach Ming and his future, Derek? Most of us here believe he’s pretty much back at this point.

 

[Derek Terry]

Have you heard any rumblings about coach Ming and his future, Derek? Most of us here believe he’s pretty much back at this point.

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet, so I won't be adding anything that you all haven't covered. I thought there was an undeniable jump in terms of quality wins this year -- 12 top 25 RPI wins is more than enough for a team to get in the tournament -- so that's what makes it so disappointing that they still finished 12th in the league. On paper, it was also a top 20 (I think 17th?) strength of schedule. There were some real positives this season. Still, this is a team that wasn't guaranteed to make the SEC Tournament until the final day of the season.

I don't think anyone in the baseball program is happy with the results. As you all know, the biggest PR battle this program is going to face is the roster construction. Whether it be guys who didn't fit, perhaps guys who weren't talented enough, whatever it may be, the high school recruiting -- particularly position players -- has not been good enough. It's actually been quite bad and the numbers back that up.

If you go back to 2018, I'd argue only four high school position players have been what you'd hope for: Austin Schultz, John Rhodes, Chase Estep, and I'd probably add Devin Burkes to this list just because I think he's going to be good. There have been other "contributors" depending on how you want to frame that (Cam Hill comes to mind) but that's just a crazy miss rate for an SEC team. It's not meant to be harsh, but when you look at the lineup for the majority of the year, Estep was the only kid who signed with Kentucky out of high school.

That's where some nuance comes in, at least for me. I think Will Coggin has done a pretty good job, particularly with classes 2023-25. The 2024 and 25 classes have some true high-end guys already committed. But we're talking about guys who are still years away from being here.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet, so I won't be adding anything that you all haven't covered. I thought there was an undeniable jump in terms of quality wins this year -- 12 top 25 RPI wins is more than enough for a team to get in the tournament -- so that's what makes it so disappointing that they still finished 12th in the league. On paper, it was also a top 20 (I think 17th?) strength of schedule. There were some real positives this season. Still, this is a team that wasn't guaranteed to make the SEC Tournament until the final day of the season.

I don't think anyone in the baseball program is happy with the results. As you all know, the biggest PR battle this program is going to face is the roster construction. Whether it be guys who didn't fit, perhaps guys who weren't talented enough, whatever it may be, the high school recruiting -- particularly position players -- has not been good enough. It's actually been quite bad and the numbers back that up.

If you go back to 2018, I'd argue only four high school position players have been what you'd hope for: Austin Schultz, John Rhodes, Chase Estep, and I'd probably add Devin Burkes to this list just because I think he's going to be good. There have been other "contributors" depending on how you want to frame that (Cam Hill comes to mind) but that's just a crazy miss rate for an SEC team. It's not meant to be harsh, but when you look at the lineup for the majority of the year, Estep was the only kid who signed with Kentucky out of high school.

That's where some nuance comes in, at least for me. I think Will Coggin has done a pretty good job, particularly with classes 2023-25. The 2024 and 25 classes have some true high-end guys already committed. But we're talking about guys who are still years away from being here.

Do you have any idea who they may be looking at from the portal?

 

[Derek Terry]

Do you have any idea who they may be looking at from the portal?

I'm not sure if this commitment ever made it to this board but former ETSU reliever Seth Chavez committed back before the season. He had Tommy John this year but he averaged 95 MPH on his fastball at ETSU. I'd project him as a back of the bullpen, short stint guy. And then RHP Logan Martin and 1B Hunter Gilliam are committed as well.

I haven't heard of any specific names, but there's a sense that the portal is already stronger this year than it was at any point last summer.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet,

Aww shucks.

 

[Aday117]

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet, so I won't be adding anything that you all haven't covered. I thought there was an undeniable jump in terms of quality wins this year -- 12 top 25 RPI wins is more than enough for a team to get in the tournament -- so that's what makes it so disappointing that they still finished 12th in the league. On paper, it was also a top 20 (I think 17th?) strength of schedule. There were some real positives this season. Still, this is a team that wasn't guaranteed to make the SEC Tournament until the final day of the season.

I don't think anyone in the baseball program is happy with the results. As you all know, the biggest PR battle this program is going to face is the roster construction. Whether it be guys who didn't fit, perhaps guys who weren't talented enough, whatever it may be, the high school recruiting -- particularly position players -- has not been good enough. It's actually been quite bad and the numbers back that up.

If you go back to 2018, I'd argue only four high school position players have been what you'd hope for: Austin Schultz, John Rhodes, Chase Estep, and I'd probably add Devin Burkes to this list just because I think he's going to be good. There have been other "contributors" depending on how you want to frame that (Cam Hill comes to mind) but that's just a crazy miss rate for an SEC team. It's not meant to be harsh, but when you look at the lineup for the majority of the year, Estep was the only kid who signed with Kentucky out of high school.

That's where some nuance comes in, at least for me. I think Will Coggin has done a pretty good job, particularly with classes 2023-25. The 2024 and 25 classes have some true high-end guys already committed. But we're talking about guys who are still years away from being here.

It’s disappointing that one super regional appearance in six seasons is enough to keep your job when you look around at other programs firing coaches after 2-3 bad years. We’ve accepted mediocrity if even that which I don’t agree with.

As far as recruiting, these last few classes have been abysmal especially by SEC standards. And with the heat on Ming he’s had to go to the portal heavy which is hard to build a team with each year. Next year looks even worse on paper and he’ll have to hit a home run in the portal to even have a chance. Luckily for ming there isn’t enough current fan support or local media coverage to move the needle for a new coach I’m afraid.

 

[Derek Terry]

He’s got big time power. Hope he makes it to campus.

Speaking of Schramm, he's already played three games in the Perfect Game league so he'll be seeing some college arms. He's 4-13 with one double and two RBI and two runs scored. Applegate and Brandyn Durand are on his team as well but it doesn't look like either guy has played yet.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet, so I won't be adding anything that you all haven't covered. I thought there was an undeniable jump in terms of quality wins this year -- 12 top 25 RPI wins is more than enough for a team to get in the tournament -- so that's what makes it so disappointing that they still finished 12th in the league. On paper, it was also a top 20 (I think 17th?) strength of schedule. There were some real positives this season. Still, this is a team that wasn't guaranteed to make the SEC Tournament until the final day of the season.

I don't think anyone in the baseball program is happy with the results. As you all know, the biggest PR battle this program is going to face is the roster construction. Whether it be guys who didn't fit, perhaps guys who weren't talented enough, whatever it may be, the high school recruiting -- particularly position players -- has not been good enough. It's actually been quite bad and the numbers back that up.

If you go back to 2018, I'd argue only four high school position players have been what you'd hope for: Austin Schultz, John Rhodes, Chase Estep, and I'd probably add Devin Burkes to this list just because I think he's going to be good. There have been other "contributors" depending on how you want to frame that (Cam Hill comes to mind) but that's just a crazy miss rate for an SEC team. It's not meant to be harsh, but when you look at the lineup for the majority of the year, Estep was the only kid who signed with Kentucky out of high school.

That's where some nuance comes in, at least for me. I think Will Coggin has done a pretty good job, particularly with classes 2023-25. The 2024 and 25 classes have some true high-end guys already committed. But we're talking about guys who are still years away from being here.

Great post DT. Happy to see you back.

I think the pitching is also pretty troublesome. With Henderson we regularly had an Ace. Year in and year out we had top quality pitchers at the top of the staff. We often lacked in depth and especially middle relief, but we had top end quality every single year. Mingione has yet to find an ace out of HS and hasn't really found many that we can rely on to give quality starts week in and week out. Credit to the staff for finding transfers that worked well this year, but that just doesn't feel sustainable every year.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I think he'll be back.

People posting on this board are probably the biggest UK baseball fans on the Internet, so I won't be adding anything that you all haven't covered. I thought there was an undeniable jump in terms of quality wins this year -- 12 top 25 RPI wins is more than enough for a team to get in the tournament -- so that's what makes it so disappointing that they still finished 12th in the league. On paper, it was also a top 20 (I think 17th?) strength of schedule. There were some real positives this season. Still, this is a team that wasn't guaranteed to make the SEC Tournament until the final day of the season.

I don't think anyone in the baseball program is happy with the results. As you all know, the biggest PR battle this program is going to face is the roster construction. Whether it be guys who didn't fit, perhaps guys who weren't talented enough, whatever it may be, the high school recruiting -- particularly position players -- has not been good enough. It's actually been quite bad and the numbers back that up.

If you go back to 2018, I'd argue only four high school position players have been what you'd hope for: Austin Schultz, John Rhodes, Chase Estep, and I'd probably add Devin Burkes to this list just because I think he's going to be good. There have been other "contributors" depending on how you want to frame that (Cam Hill comes to mind) but that's just a crazy miss rate for an SEC team. It's not meant to be harsh, but when you look at the lineup for the majority of the year, Estep was the only kid who signed with Kentucky out of high school.

That's where some nuance comes in, at least for me. I think Will Coggin has done a pretty good job, particularly with classes 2023-25. The 2024 and 25 classes have some true high-end guys already committed. But we're talking about guys who are still years away from being here.

Derek, glad to see you back on here! And great post by the way.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I'd expect that this season the coaches should have gotten a better jump on the portal than last year. Last year, as far as I can tell, they somehow did not foresee the exodus that they had and they had to scramble.

I think they were probably very very lucky that so many KY kids (especially pitchers) were ready and waiting to come home and were playing at a high level. I think they can get that some years, but others will be more difficult. Will be interesting to see how this year plays out I guess.

 

[Aday117]

Baseball PR pushing out these kinds of stats after missing the postseason is embarrassing.

 

[dtjr]

View embedded media

Baseball PR pushing out these kinds of stats after missing the postseason is embarrassing.

Totally agree.

Its like pushing out Kentucky basketball was so great all year, Top 10 program, then lose to 15 seed St Peters............

 

[Comebakatz3]

I am going to go ahead and edit this to correct some of my mistakes and to try to also include the additions.

 

[Crazycat68]

What is the stay/Go deadline? Assume baseball different? Would love to get Ritter and Estep back. Everyone else with the exception of maybe Lewis and Burkes is replaceable IMHO. We need pitching, pitching and more pitching.