I talked to Travis Jewett today and am supposed to talk to Kyle Speer tomorrow. Feel free to post suggested questions for that one, and I promise not to erase the interview before I transcribe it this this time.
I had not talked to Jewett since my postgame interviews after Tulane beat Lamar 6-3 on Wednesday, March 11 to improve to 15-2, but with the MLB five-round draft coming up next week, this was a good time. We talked for 35 minutes, though some of it was off the record. Here is the first part of the on-the-record interview.
Do you anticipate Braden Olthoff's being on the team next year? Obviously a lot depends on the draft, but some projections have him not being taken.
"None of us are scouting directors so we don't exactly know what all of the clubs are thinking. Obviously five-round draft, so it's going to be tough for kids to get drafted because they've just pretty much whacked it (there will be 160 picks, with the first round and its 37 picks on Wednesday and the other 123 picks on Wednesday) If you don't get drafted, the most you can get (as a signing bonus) is $20,000. They can give you anywhere from a dollar to $20,000. Without speaking for him, I'll tell you that if he's not drafted in the five rounds, you'll see him again (in a Tulane uniform)."
He was untouchable in four starts, but is the knock on him just the mph on his fastball?
"Yeah. It just seems now is the new normal is everybody throwing 100 and all that. if you tried to pick him apart, that might be something. The other thing, too, is with this pandemic not a lot of people knew about him. A guy that never pitched any Division I innings, through the first month of the season who's this guy doing his thing and doing it well, not a lot of people got in there to see him. So what does that mean for his draft stock? To be determined. I'm sure his name's up on everybody's board. Now whether he fits inside of what they're wanting to do in a five-round draft, I'm not sure. I think that's certainly a dream of his, but at the same time I think he's grounded enough that he realizes he's in a good spot educationally and athletically. He has now put himself on the map, and if he comes back next year, it will be 'we've got to get in there and see this guy,' and he can push himself up that way. Right now we're all just kind of in a holding pattern trying to figure out. From out standpoint, selfishly, we'd love to have him back. We're getting better, man. It just takes time to get the roster going and get the players and get the monies where they belong. We're just getting better talent wise, and we still want gentlemen that want to play in the Big Leagues. That's something all these guys want to do. As long as it's the right situation for him, we'll support him, but boy, we'd sure love to have him back."
Everybody is important, but Olthoff is a true difference-maker.
"Yeah. As you know, the dirt circle 60 feet and six inches away is the key (to baseball) and such a big deal. He's certainly a talented young man, and he's just an invested person. He does good at school. He does good with all the tangible things about preparation and how he trains. He deserves what he's getting."
What is the word on Hudson Haskin? The mock drafts do not have him going in the first round.
"The good thing for him, too, is deep into the second round you get a million bucks. I think (Connor) Pellerin's name is floating around a little bit, too. He had a good (summer performance at) Cape (Cod) and has a good arm. I'm not sure, but he could (get drafted). I know about as much as you do when it comes to that. I know that both Braden and Hudson love it here and are not opposed to coming back. If that's the deal, they would be great. The thing is, they all are still in good positions. Hudsonas a draft-eligible sophomore, and (Olthoff will be a junior again). As long as they get what is fair and can take them out of this experience, I have to be in favor of it. We talked to these guys it's not about sitting around and telling your grandchildren that you played pro ball. It's telling your grandchildren that you made a living playing pro ball. Just the maturity and the reps and the education and the growth of the mind, you just want to make sure you're ready. And part of being ready is getting opportunities, and opportunities a lot of times come with the value of the signing bonus. As much as they invest in themselves, they need to get that from somebody else so they do have a chance to hang in there and try to make a living at it."
How about the seniors? They are allowed to come back, but how will that work, particularly with the redshirt seniors?
"I don't know about the redshirt seniors (Ty Johnson, Grant Mathews, Jonathon Artigues, Luke Glancy and Trent Johnson), but I think we probably will have a least a couple of seniors back (Keagan Gillies and Robert Price are the only two true seniors on the roster). Now which ones, I'm not so sure now. Ty Johnson's getting some attention in the draft, and Grant's been drafted before and continues to put up good numbers, so I can see some of those guys, Artigues possibly. We'll see. What I'm really waiting for now is the NCAA to make it's final decision on how many players you can have. Who's coming in and who's coming back? Only nine guys play at a time. In order to have too many, I'm not really prescribing to 50 (players). Kids are smart. They understand there's a situation at hand. We're going to have to see how it all unfolds and make some moves accordingly, but it's a tough time. And there's other logistical things in there, too. I'm sure budget cuts are going to be part of the pandemic. Social distancing, space, just in terms of our locker room."
Could Gillies be back?
"Yes."
Is Trevor Minder not projected as a possible draft pick?
"Correct. That I haven't heard or seen. I've obviously spoken to him, too. With the seniors who had exhausted eligibility and then the junior draft class plus Hudson, I was anticipating in a normal 40-round draft that we were probably going to lose them all. But now we're possibly going to get them all back. That should tell you right there where the logjam is coming from."
What is the range of roster size that the NCAA will allow next year in your view?
"That's a good question. The baseline basement would be 35, which is your normal number, plus any senior that returned, so if you had a team of five seniors returning, you'd be fine with 40. That's like a given. But is there going to be even a little more relief than that. That is the question. Not being too opinionated here, when you have a pandemic and you give everybody a year back when there's no transfer rule in place, when seniors are coming back and there's a five-round draft, there probably needs to be some kind of relief because we're talking about baseball careers that can be affected--people on college teams and then certainly high school and junior college kids coming in."
I had not talked to Jewett since my postgame interviews after Tulane beat Lamar 6-3 on Wednesday, March 11 to improve to 15-2, but with the MLB five-round draft coming up next week, this was a good time. We talked for 35 minutes, though some of it was off the record. Here is the first part of the on-the-record interview.
Do you anticipate Braden Olthoff's being on the team next year? Obviously a lot depends on the draft, but some projections have him not being taken.
"None of us are scouting directors so we don't exactly know what all of the clubs are thinking. Obviously five-round draft, so it's going to be tough for kids to get drafted because they've just pretty much whacked it (there will be 160 picks, with the first round and its 37 picks on Wednesday and the other 123 picks on Wednesday) If you don't get drafted, the most you can get (as a signing bonus) is $20,000. They can give you anywhere from a dollar to $20,000. Without speaking for him, I'll tell you that if he's not drafted in the five rounds, you'll see him again (in a Tulane uniform)."
He was untouchable in four starts, but is the knock on him just the mph on his fastball?
"Yeah. It just seems now is the new normal is everybody throwing 100 and all that. if you tried to pick him apart, that might be something. The other thing, too, is with this pandemic not a lot of people knew about him. A guy that never pitched any Division I innings, through the first month of the season who's this guy doing his thing and doing it well, not a lot of people got in there to see him. So what does that mean for his draft stock? To be determined. I'm sure his name's up on everybody's board. Now whether he fits inside of what they're wanting to do in a five-round draft, I'm not sure. I think that's certainly a dream of his, but at the same time I think he's grounded enough that he realizes he's in a good spot educationally and athletically. He has now put himself on the map, and if he comes back next year, it will be 'we've got to get in there and see this guy,' and he can push himself up that way. Right now we're all just kind of in a holding pattern trying to figure out. From out standpoint, selfishly, we'd love to have him back. We're getting better, man. It just takes time to get the roster going and get the players and get the monies where they belong. We're just getting better talent wise, and we still want gentlemen that want to play in the Big Leagues. That's something all these guys want to do. As long as it's the right situation for him, we'll support him, but boy, we'd sure love to have him back."
Everybody is important, but Olthoff is a true difference-maker.
"Yeah. As you know, the dirt circle 60 feet and six inches away is the key (to baseball) and such a big deal. He's certainly a talented young man, and he's just an invested person. He does good at school. He does good with all the tangible things about preparation and how he trains. He deserves what he's getting."
What is the word on Hudson Haskin? The mock drafts do not have him going in the first round.
"The good thing for him, too, is deep into the second round you get a million bucks. I think (Connor) Pellerin's name is floating around a little bit, too. He had a good (summer performance at) Cape (Cod) and has a good arm. I'm not sure, but he could (get drafted). I know about as much as you do when it comes to that. I know that both Braden and Hudson love it here and are not opposed to coming back. If that's the deal, they would be great. The thing is, they all are still in good positions. Hudsonas a draft-eligible sophomore, and (Olthoff will be a junior again). As long as they get what is fair and can take them out of this experience, I have to be in favor of it. We talked to these guys it's not about sitting around and telling your grandchildren that you played pro ball. It's telling your grandchildren that you made a living playing pro ball. Just the maturity and the reps and the education and the growth of the mind, you just want to make sure you're ready. And part of being ready is getting opportunities, and opportunities a lot of times come with the value of the signing bonus. As much as they invest in themselves, they need to get that from somebody else so they do have a chance to hang in there and try to make a living at it."
How about the seniors? They are allowed to come back, but how will that work, particularly with the redshirt seniors?
"I don't know about the redshirt seniors (Ty Johnson, Grant Mathews, Jonathon Artigues, Luke Glancy and Trent Johnson), but I think we probably will have a least a couple of seniors back (Keagan Gillies and Robert Price are the only two true seniors on the roster). Now which ones, I'm not so sure now. Ty Johnson's getting some attention in the draft, and Grant's been drafted before and continues to put up good numbers, so I can see some of those guys, Artigues possibly. We'll see. What I'm really waiting for now is the NCAA to make it's final decision on how many players you can have. Who's coming in and who's coming back? Only nine guys play at a time. In order to have too many, I'm not really prescribing to 50 (players). Kids are smart. They understand there's a situation at hand. We're going to have to see how it all unfolds and make some moves accordingly, but it's a tough time. And there's other logistical things in there, too. I'm sure budget cuts are going to be part of the pandemic. Social distancing, space, just in terms of our locker room."
Could Gillies be back?
"Yes."
Is Trevor Minder not projected as a possible draft pick?
"Correct. That I haven't heard or seen. I've obviously spoken to him, too. With the seniors who had exhausted eligibility and then the junior draft class plus Hudson, I was anticipating in a normal 40-round draft that we were probably going to lose them all. But now we're possibly going to get them all back. That should tell you right there where the logjam is coming from."
What is the range of roster size that the NCAA will allow next year in your view?
"That's a good question. The baseline basement would be 35, which is your normal number, plus any senior that returned, so if you had a team of five seniors returning, you'd be fine with 40. That's like a given. But is there going to be even a little more relief than that. That is the question. Not being too opinionated here, when you have a pandemic and you give everybody a year back when there's no transfer rule in place, when seniors are coming back and there's a five-round draft, there probably needs to be some kind of relief because we're talking about baseball careers that can be affected--people on college teams and then certainly high school and junior college kids coming in."
