Roster cuts are happening quickly. As of today, they are down to 37.
Samuel Davis, Robert Lawhon, Kevin O'Leary, Nick Powell, and Brandon Zajac no longer appear on the fall roster.
I'm not willing to call this a failure on Serrano's part. First, Zajac wasn't his recruit. Second, Zajac had played very little because of injuries in high school and was clearly behind other pitchers in general baseball aptitude. Third, although Zajac has a live arm, he isn't a strike thrower in the Serrano mold who gets ahead with low strikes and induces grounders early in the count. It might not be anyone's fault at all.
However, it is clearly Serrano's team now. We'll see how he develops his guys.
I continue to believe we won't see what Serrano can really do until the 2013 high school grads get here. That will be the first class he had a fair shot at recruiting.
Anyone familiar with baseball in Southeast Tennessee knew Zajac was a project. The question is why is he gone 2 weeks into the fall? The kid was drafted out of high school! Someone saw a lot of potential there. Hes a lefty that throws in the low 90s. Its a shame CDS didnt give this project more time. Whats surprising is that 3 pitchers are gone on a young staff to begin with. This pitching staff could be worse than last years.
I don't think Serrano is in the project development business right now. Maybe later, but right now he needs immediate solutions.
Agreed. I just question is their any real solutions on the roster. I am told no by a few that have seen the new crop. Time will tell but Zajac had such a high ceiling they are making a mistake by cutting their losses. Obviously I don't know if he is beyond help or not but my opinion is based on his ceiling.I don't think we disagree. By project, I meant someone rough but with a high ceiling who is at least a year away from making a meaningful contribution (i.e., a 92 mph arm with pro-potential frame who lacks control or quality secondaries). By solution, I meant someone he can use to get outs this year.
Money was cut last year just like the majority of the returning players on the roster. Does this burn a year of eligibility for these players?
If they wanted to go d1 and play now they couldn't. Juco or NAIA could play immediately. I am not sure on D2 or 3
They can transfer to another D1 at Christmas, sit out the spring and fall semesters, and play in spring, 2014, having burned one year on the five year clock but no more of their four years of eligibility.
Davis and OLeary were red shirted last year. This leaves few options. If it wasn't discipline or academic issues this is a bad way to treat people.
I disagree, treating players this way will hurt recruiting! With facebook and Twitter its easy for kids to talk. We have already had commits change their mind. This was part of the problem with Raleigh, the mistreating players and this effects recruiting. This sheds a negative light on our program. CDS has done some underhanded treatment of the players that reminds me of when Raleigh took over.
Everybody found out where they stood at the end of the season in May. Some were cut loose or encouraged to transfer, and I heard Serrano helped at least some of them find other places to play.
Others had their money taken away (or never had any to begin with) and were invited back to compete for roster spots with no guarantees. That's a much tougher situation. Anyone who came back on those terms knew they were taking a chance. That doesn't make it easier for them when they get cut, but it does mean they were warned.
Some of the guys who didn't come back for whatever reason used the summer and landed on their feet: Richard Carter at Coastal Carolina, Conner Stevens at Duke, and Jake Rowland at Tennessee Tech.
It is a tough business. Serrano is getting paid a lot of money to turn things around, and he has to make some tough decisions. There's no way around it unless you're willing to wait a couple extra years to see results. I do feel bad for guys who burned a redshirt year, then got cut this fall, and now either have to move to their third school or give up on baseball.