The first interviews are supposed to be Friday, and the road should be in good enough shape by then for the city to re-open.
I attended one of the fall ball world series games and never posted about it. Will Clement helped his team clinch the series, coming in with the bases loaded and no outs and getting Jackson Linn to hit a bouncer right to him, leading to a force-out at the plate, and then coaxing a 6-4-3 double-ball ball from Boots Landry, a transfer from Texas A&M who redshirted with the Aggies last year. I don't remember many of the details, although I was surprised to find out Adam Ebling, who was a top-rated recruit along with Jackson Linn, Teo Banks and Brady Marget in 2022 but never panned out, no longer was on the team. He played in 22 games last year, mostly as a pinch runner, getting nine at-bats. Ben Romano, whose leaping catch at the right field wall finished off Nicholls in the Corvallis regional, also was gone.
It looked like Nick Diehl was the frontrunner to be the starting first baseman in place of Marget, but he has transferred since the end of fall ball. I guess that makes Landry the favorite to win the job. The second baseman will be Connor Rasmussen, although he played shortstop the day I was there. The shortstop will be USC transfer Kaikea Harrison, who started 21 games over two years with the Trojans. The third baseman will be Gavin Schulz. There were three catches in the running to replace Colin Tuft--Andrew McKenna (FAU), Hugh Pinckney (Rutgers) and William Good, a redshirt freshman from Jesuit who was hurt in the fall. I'm not sure where James Agabedis fits in, but he was at second base the day I was there.
In the outfield, I assume Linn will start in left field rather than being the DH. Theo Bryant, a grad transfer from Tennessee Tech, is the likely starter in center field after having a strong summer ball season and following it with a good fall. His numbers at Tennessee Tech were mediocre. Matthias Haas ended last year as the starting right fielder, and Brock Slaton, who had the spot in the first half of the season, is back, too. Freshman Julius Ejike-Charles. another outfielder, hit a mammoth homer to dead center off Michael Lombardi the day I was there, but that may have been an anomaly. Lombardi returns as the DH.
Luc Fladda, who was masterful against Nicholls in the Corvallis regional, is a lock for the weekend rotation. Will Clements, who never pitched as well as his stuff indicated he would, is in the picture. I'm not sure what the planned role is for Lombardi, who started five games last year, and Carter Benbrook, who was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen and got better as the year went along, but both will play prominent roles. They will count heavily on Jacob Moore and Henry Shuffler in the back end of the bullpen. They were mostly good last season, but Shuffler wore down and got hit hard at the end of the year. Blaise Wilcenski, who gave up 20 earned runs in 19 innings over his last seven appearances, is back, too. Ejike-Charles is expected to have a role on the mound, too. I got some intel on some of the other new pitchers but frankly don't remember what I heard. Giancarlo Arencibia, a name recruit from Rummel who has since transferred to Delgado, did not pitch that day.
I am not sure what to make of this team. Losing Tuft and Marget hurt. They knew they were going to lose Banks and Chandler Welch in the draft, but not so much the other two.
I attended one of the fall ball world series games and never posted about it. Will Clement helped his team clinch the series, coming in with the bases loaded and no outs and getting Jackson Linn to hit a bouncer right to him, leading to a force-out at the plate, and then coaxing a 6-4-3 double-ball ball from Boots Landry, a transfer from Texas A&M who redshirted with the Aggies last year. I don't remember many of the details, although I was surprised to find out Adam Ebling, who was a top-rated recruit along with Jackson Linn, Teo Banks and Brady Marget in 2022 but never panned out, no longer was on the team. He played in 22 games last year, mostly as a pinch runner, getting nine at-bats. Ben Romano, whose leaping catch at the right field wall finished off Nicholls in the Corvallis regional, also was gone.
It looked like Nick Diehl was the frontrunner to be the starting first baseman in place of Marget, but he has transferred since the end of fall ball. I guess that makes Landry the favorite to win the job. The second baseman will be Connor Rasmussen, although he played shortstop the day I was there. The shortstop will be USC transfer Kaikea Harrison, who started 21 games over two years with the Trojans. The third baseman will be Gavin Schulz. There were three catches in the running to replace Colin Tuft--Andrew McKenna (FAU), Hugh Pinckney (Rutgers) and William Good, a redshirt freshman from Jesuit who was hurt in the fall. I'm not sure where James Agabedis fits in, but he was at second base the day I was there.
In the outfield, I assume Linn will start in left field rather than being the DH. Theo Bryant, a grad transfer from Tennessee Tech, is the likely starter in center field after having a strong summer ball season and following it with a good fall. His numbers at Tennessee Tech were mediocre. Matthias Haas ended last year as the starting right fielder, and Brock Slaton, who had the spot in the first half of the season, is back, too. Freshman Julius Ejike-Charles. another outfielder, hit a mammoth homer to dead center off Michael Lombardi the day I was there, but that may have been an anomaly. Lombardi returns as the DH.
Luc Fladda, who was masterful against Nicholls in the Corvallis regional, is a lock for the weekend rotation. Will Clements, who never pitched as well as his stuff indicated he would, is in the picture. I'm not sure what the planned role is for Lombardi, who started five games last year, and Carter Benbrook, who was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen and got better as the year went along, but both will play prominent roles. They will count heavily on Jacob Moore and Henry Shuffler in the back end of the bullpen. They were mostly good last season, but Shuffler wore down and got hit hard at the end of the year. Blaise Wilcenski, who gave up 20 earned runs in 19 innings over his last seven appearances, is back, too. Ejike-Charles is expected to have a role on the mound, too. I got some intel on some of the other new pitchers but frankly don't remember what I heard. Giancarlo Arencibia, a name recruit from Rummel who has since transferred to Delgado, did not pitch that day.
I am not sure what to make of this team. Losing Tuft and Marget hurt. They knew they were going to lose Banks and Chandler Welch in the draft, but not so much the other two.