UK Baseball in 2017.....

[Black Diamond Cat]

Looking ahead to next year, seems like a common theme. Personally, I believe the Cats will be no better than .500 overall, I am not usually a pessimist, but I am being realistic.
1B... E White, best in the country defensively, hit .377 this season. Best player on team easily.
2B... L Becker, Switch hitter, decent bat, average glove.
SS... Z Lewis/C Heady, Lewis is an unknown, slick fielder in HS, Heady decent glove, very poor bat.
3B... T Marshall, good glove, versatile player. Needs to improve as a hitter.
LF... Z Reks, surprising as a hitter, hope not a 1 year fluke. Decent defensively.
CF... R Mahan, 30 errors at SS is totally unacceptable. Solid hitter, great speed, CF is best spot for him.
RF... T Pompey, Great potential, another Switch hitter, athletic, but not a CF, corner outfielder is best bet.
C.... K Cottam, Bright future, hit over .300 in Sec play. Solid reciever, also could DH.
DH... Several prospects including G Mcneill, M Carson, K Cottam, T Squires or possibly incoming freshman.
SP... Z Logue, lefty with potential, J Lewis, righty with potential, Z Pop, great fastball, needs another pitch, L Salow, another lefty possibility.
RP, S Hjelle, great potential, L Salow, if not a starter, D Tillo, yet another lefty, Z Pop, if not a weekend guy. B Schantzer, another lefty with some experience.
Do not know enough about incoming Freshmen to make a case for playing time, although no question some will contribute both in the field and on the mound.
I would love to upbeat about the 2017 season, but just do not see much hope for even as many wins as this year.
BTW, I look for both J Shelby and Z Brown to move on, however cannot see scouts knocking down the door to draft Z Reks, he will return.

 

[Derek Terry]

Henderson will have to make wholesale changes to the lineup next year to be competitive. There's simply no one in the lineup besides White and Reks who scare you at all. Pompey and Mahan have potential, as does Cottam. I could see Becker being a little better next season but wouldn't expect a drastic change. Gunnar McNeill showed he really wasn't an option once SEC play started.

Next season was going to be tough regardless of how this season went. I expected UK to easily make a regional this year, which quite frankly would have earned an extension for Henderson, but have always thought 2017 would be a rough year. If they can somehow get all but three or four guys in the recruiting class to come to school then maybe some of those guys can help right away. Just a lot to ask from a young player.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Oddly enough this team has a lot of power, but it is kind of sneaky power and it is very random. We combined for 52 home runs, with 35 of those returning. Leaders were Reks (7), White (5), Mahan (5), Pompey (7), McNeil (5). I don't think many of these guys really come off as power hitters to me, but they can get the ball out. However, I would really like to see all of them get more hits, especially timely hits.

A point of interest is that we have a freaking ton of switch hitters on this team: Becker, Lewis, Gei, and Pompey. If they could each learn to hit with some consistency they'd be a great asset.

We must also remember that Storm Wilson is likely to come back. He will hold down an outfield position.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Gotta be a switch hitter if you want to play for Hendo, or else your ass is getting pulled for a R vs L matchup....oh, you hit .100 from the left side? That's ok, still must be better than having a righty hit a righty

 

[Comebakatz3]

Gotta be a switch hitter if you want to play for Hendo, or else your ass is getting pulled for a R vs L matchup....oh, you hit .100 from the left side? That's ok, still must be better than having a righty hit a righty

Wish I could like this more. It wouldn't surprise me if Henderson is specifically scouting for switch hitters so that way he can try to outsmart the game. What he likely doesn't realize is that few people are able to really effectively hit from both sides. He's probably passing up excellent hitters to get these switch hitting guys. lol

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Some switch hitters are unbelievable...not much drop off in either side and can provide quality avg... but with most switch hitters its like, "oh wow, you can hit .220 from both sides...cool"

Rather you focus all your time to try to become a 300+ hitter from one side of the plate, than hitting .220 but acting like you are more valuable because you can have an AB from either side of the plate.

 

[hs_sportsfan]

I think it is obvious that Henderson is not the answer. If we wait another year it just puts us that much further behind. I would love to see Barnhart hire a guy who is offensive minded and recruits speed and causes havoc on the base paths. I don't know Henderson personally but just looking at him doesn't motivate me. As stated in the thread above he always looks as though he is trying to out smart the opposing team. Over thinking and over coaching, just let the kids play! Let them play loose, that is one noticeable difference in UK and UL, the cards are lose and free wheeling the Cats are like the are running in mud and never having fun!

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

Henderson will have to make wholesale changes to the lineup next year to be competitive. There's simply no one in the lineup besides White and Reks who scare you at all. Pompey and Mahan have potential, as does Cottam. I could see Becker being a little better next season but wouldn't expect a drastic change. Gunnar McNeill showed he really wasn't an option once SEC play started.

Next season was going to be tough regardless of how this season went. I expected UK to easily make a regional this year, which quite frankly would have earned an extension for Henderson, but have always thought 2017 would be a rough year. If they can somehow get all but three or four guys in the recruiting class to come to school then maybe some of those guys can help right away. Just a lot to ask from a young player.

I don't think one could raise up Billy Martin to coach next year's team and get much better than a .500 record !