Frankie Piliere from D1baseball.com tweeted yesterday that T.J. Collett could be making his return next week. I was told he's been cleared to take swings. I'm pretty sure he's been hitting BP with the team the whole season. However, he's going to be evaluated this week by the coaching staff to see where he is physically. This is a guy who one source last summer said Collett was a top 10 hitter in all of high school. He was a 40th round pick of the Twins and has some serious pop.
My best guess is he'd only DH this season. Where will the at-bats come from? If he's going to help then he'll certainly get some action, but Squires is playing well at catcher and Kole Cottam is hitting the ball well in the DH spot. Evan White being out has helped a few guys get at-bats who maybe wouldn't have if he was still in. Tyler Marshall has played some first which gets him in the lineup. Marshall, Luke Heyer and Luke Becker are all playing really well at third so at-bats have been tough to come by there. Collett will bring more power than any of those guys though, so it's going to be interesting to see what happens.
Speaking of White, I'm told he's still a few weeks away from being back in the lineup after hurting his hamstring last week against Cincinnati. I'd imagine it's been a frustrating year for him. One of the elite guys in college baseball and he's only gotten to play in nine games. He hurt his hip early in the year and now has the hamstring injury. The staff will be cautious with him, but he's obviously a big loss both offensively and defensively.
My best guess is he'd only DH this season. Where will the at-bats come from? If he's going to help then he'll certainly get some action, but Squires is playing well at catcher and Kole Cottam is hitting the ball well in the DH spot. Evan White being out has helped a few guys get at-bats who maybe wouldn't have if he was still in. Tyler Marshall has played some first which gets him in the lineup. Marshall, Luke Heyer and Luke Becker are all playing really well at third so at-bats have been tough to come by there. Collett will bring more power than any of those guys though, so it's going to be interesting to see what happens.
Speaking of White, I'm told he's still a few weeks away from being back in the lineup after hurting his hamstring last week against Cincinnati. I'd imagine it's been a frustrating year for him. One of the elite guys in college baseball and he's only gotten to play in nine games. He hurt his hip early in the year and now has the hamstring injury. The staff will be cautious with him, but he's obviously a big loss both offensively and defensively.