New-look Cats eager to 'prove some people wrong'
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
Kentucky baseball enters 2019 season with an overhauled roster that features 22 first-year players, but Cats' expectations remain high.
Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione enters his third year with the Cats.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Rebuilding doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.
That was Nick Mingione's message Tuesday as Kentucky's head coach talked about entering the 2019 college baseball season with one of the biggest roster overhauls he has ever seen.
"I feel like we're starting over," Mingione said. "Why? We've got a whole new ballpark and 22 first-year players. Twenty-two. It's crazy. I've never experienced anything like this my life.
"We have lost our two starting catchers, our first baseman, our second baseman, our shortstop, our third baseman, our left fielder, our center fielder, our Friday night starter, our Sunday starter and our closer. Other than that, we're good. We've got everybody back."
Kentucky lost 13 players from last year's squad to the MLB Draft. Among them were two of the Wildcats' weekend starters in Sean Hjelle and Justin Lewis, and All-SEC hitters like Tristan Pompey and Kole Cottam.
For that reason, many college baseball observers have set the expectations bar fairly low for the Cats this season.
Mingione, who faced similar projections during his first year in Lexington before contending for the SEC championship, isn't buying it.
"Regardless of the year, I want our goals to be our goals," he said. "Unfortunately, not every year you're going to hit those, but what I've learned about this team as it relates to those, there's a ton of competition, there's an edge about them to where we're not happy with our finish a year ago, but at the same time they've totally embraced everything that we're trying to do.
"We've got to prove some people wrong this year because, with basically a whole new team -- 22 first-year players and 24 guys who have never even stepped on a field for us before -- there's a lot to prove. They have a chip and an edge about them in that we're going to do that."
Kentucky's ace, junior left-hander and preseason All-American Zack Thompson, agrees.
"This reminds me a lot of my freshman year," Thompson said. "Everybody's underestimating us. They're not giving us a chance. I think we're projected to finish toward the bottom of the league. I think that's perfect for us. It puts a chip on our shoulder. We're right where we want to be, and they're not expecting it."
The Cats will be leaning on a lot of new names in the lineup. Three highly regarded junior college transfers -- outfielder Jaren Shelby, infielder Dalton Reed and Breydon Daniel -- will be expected to provide some offensive punch.
Shelby comes from the "first family of UK baseball," following in the footsteps of talented older brothers Javon and John Shelby III, who were both All-SEC players for the Cats. His father, John T. Shelby, was a longtime MLB player who appeared in the World Series with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The youngest Shelby hit .343 with 11 home runs, 70 RBI and 35 stolen bases last season at State College of Florida. He had 30 extra-base hits and 54 walks.
Reed, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound first baseman, had 26 home runs at Seminole State College in 2017 to lead the juco ranks. He had 18 long balls last year, slugging .795 with a 1.261 OPS.
Daniel, an infielder/outfielder who was a teammate of Reed at Seminole State College, batted .408 last season with 12 home runs and 49 RBI. He posted an impressive OPS of 1.180.
They'll join one of the few returning stars to the lineup, first baseman/designated hitter T.J. Collett, who is trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued sophomore season. Before a series of injuries sidelined him a year ago, Collett clubbed 10 home runs in just 125 at-bats.
Mingione also said to keep an eye on senior outfielder Ryan Shinn, who had the most impressive fall campaign of any UK hitter.
Outside of the Thompson, the remainder of the pitching staff is something of mystery as opening day approaches. Mingione says there are several players -- namely Daniel Harper, Brett Marshall, Carson Coleman, Jimmy Ramsey and Mason Hazelwood -- who could emerge as the Cats' Saturday and Sunday starters.
"It's amazing what a year makes," Mingione said. "... Excited about those guys."
Kentucky opens the season on Feb. 15 with the first of a three-game series against Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn.
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
Kentucky baseball enters 2019 season with an overhauled roster that features 22 first-year players, but Cats' expectations remain high.
Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione enters his third year with the Cats.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Rebuilding doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.
That was Nick Mingione's message Tuesday as Kentucky's head coach talked about entering the 2019 college baseball season with one of the biggest roster overhauls he has ever seen.
"I feel like we're starting over," Mingione said. "Why? We've got a whole new ballpark and 22 first-year players. Twenty-two. It's crazy. I've never experienced anything like this my life.
"We have lost our two starting catchers, our first baseman, our second baseman, our shortstop, our third baseman, our left fielder, our center fielder, our Friday night starter, our Sunday starter and our closer. Other than that, we're good. We've got everybody back."
Kentucky lost 13 players from last year's squad to the MLB Draft. Among them were two of the Wildcats' weekend starters in Sean Hjelle and Justin Lewis, and All-SEC hitters like Tristan Pompey and Kole Cottam.
For that reason, many college baseball observers have set the expectations bar fairly low for the Cats this season.
Mingione, who faced similar projections during his first year in Lexington before contending for the SEC championship, isn't buying it.
"Regardless of the year, I want our goals to be our goals," he said. "Unfortunately, not every year you're going to hit those, but what I've learned about this team as it relates to those, there's a ton of competition, there's an edge about them to where we're not happy with our finish a year ago, but at the same time they've totally embraced everything that we're trying to do.
"We've got to prove some people wrong this year because, with basically a whole new team -- 22 first-year players and 24 guys who have never even stepped on a field for us before -- there's a lot to prove. They have a chip and an edge about them in that we're going to do that."
Kentucky's ace, junior left-hander and preseason All-American Zack Thompson, agrees.
"This reminds me a lot of my freshman year," Thompson said. "Everybody's underestimating us. They're not giving us a chance. I think we're projected to finish toward the bottom of the league. I think that's perfect for us. It puts a chip on our shoulder. We're right where we want to be, and they're not expecting it."
The Cats will be leaning on a lot of new names in the lineup. Three highly regarded junior college transfers -- outfielder Jaren Shelby, infielder Dalton Reed and Breydon Daniel -- will be expected to provide some offensive punch.
Shelby comes from the "first family of UK baseball," following in the footsteps of talented older brothers Javon and John Shelby III, who were both All-SEC players for the Cats. His father, John T. Shelby, was a longtime MLB player who appeared in the World Series with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The youngest Shelby hit .343 with 11 home runs, 70 RBI and 35 stolen bases last season at State College of Florida. He had 30 extra-base hits and 54 walks.
Reed, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound first baseman, had 26 home runs at Seminole State College in 2017 to lead the juco ranks. He had 18 long balls last year, slugging .795 with a 1.261 OPS.
Daniel, an infielder/outfielder who was a teammate of Reed at Seminole State College, batted .408 last season with 12 home runs and 49 RBI. He posted an impressive OPS of 1.180.
They'll join one of the few returning stars to the lineup, first baseman/designated hitter T.J. Collett, who is trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued sophomore season. Before a series of injuries sidelined him a year ago, Collett clubbed 10 home runs in just 125 at-bats.
Mingione also said to keep an eye on senior outfielder Ryan Shinn, who had the most impressive fall campaign of any UK hitter.
Outside of the Thompson, the remainder of the pitching staff is something of mystery as opening day approaches. Mingione says there are several players -- namely Daniel Harper, Brett Marshall, Carson Coleman, Jimmy Ramsey and Mason Hazelwood -- who could emerge as the Cats' Saturday and Sunday starters.
"It's amazing what a year makes," Mingione said. "... Excited about those guys."
Kentucky opens the season on Feb. 15 with the first of a three-game series against Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn.
