How Far Can The Vols Go Next Year?

#1
JohnWardIsMyBoyee

JohnWardIsMyBoyee

Give him six Willie Gault
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#1
I just wanted to get yall guys feedback and see how think how far can the Vols go next year come late season with SEC Tourney and College World Series, will they be more mature by then? Or will it just be another so so season, let's hear the feedback.
 
#2
#2
I think the team has a chance to be really good this year. The offense should be the best thing going for the team, and the weekend rotation should be very solid with Hernandez/Morgado on Fri/Sat. The question will be pitching depth. If the Vols can find depth, I think they've got a real good shot of competing for the SEC title and making the NCAA Tournament
 
#4
#4
JohnWardIsMyBoyee said:
I just wanted to get yall guys feedback and see how think how far can the Vols go next year come late season with SEC Tourney and College World Series, will they be more mature by then? Or will it just be another so so season, let's hear the feedback.
Click to expand...

Bowl Game.........Which one is the interesting proposition.:)
 
#5
#5
I kept up with the baseball team pretty good last year. However, its hard to follow since there alot of players each year. The team really had 3 problems lastyear:

1. Danny Lima who played second was not a threat at the plate. The vols need a second baseman who can hit. Shawn Griffin has moved on. He was second behind Davis on the longballs.

2. 3rd and 4th starting pitcher. Last year Steve Crnkovich was the Friday starter and then just fell off the map. He went to Sunday starter then bounced around in the bullpen. Tyrelle Harris, an improved Crnkovich, or a new comer will get the start on Sundays.

3. Bullpen. Joey Rosas was the only sure thing coming out of the bullpen. If the bullpen didnt reload with talent the vols will have to score 7+ runs a game to compete
 
#6
#6
Knoxville's Finest,

1. Danny Lima is gone. He has transferred to a Miami CC I believe. The 2B this year will probably be Mike Hornsby, who hit .340 and .380 the past 2 years at a top JUCO program. Cody Brown will move from 3B to SS. Tyler Horne, another top JUCO player who hit .335 with 10 HR's and 79 RBI, will play 3B. Local product Cody Hawn played last year at Walters St. and hit .400 with 23 HR's and 71 RBI and will be our 1B this year more than likely. That leaves Jeff Lockwood to be the DH, which will help him with his pitching because he won't have to be in the field every inning at 1B. Rounding out the field will be Kentrail Davis in CF, Josh Liles in RF, and PJ Polk in LF. Don't know who will be catcher, probably either Blake Forsythe or Matt Hamaker.

2. On the mound, the starting staff will consist of Bryan Morgado and Nick Hernandez, 2 pitchers that are in the Top 50 of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list. With those guys throwing Fridays and Saturdays, Tyrelle Harris, who was pretty solid last year, will be the #3 guy and pitch on Sundays. I have no clue will will start the midweek games, probably a newcomer.

3. The bullpen appears to be this team's weakness as it always seems to be. Danny Wiltz will close and he's pretty good. Joey Rosas is an average stopgap pitcher who is good at times and really bad at others. Don't know who else will pitch out of the pen, probably some newcomers.

What our pitching depth weakness means is that with our strong offense, we'll get in a lot of "shoot outs" with teams on Sundays and in midweek games. The philosophy for Sunday and midweek games will be "outscore", not "outpitch".
 
#7
#7
Its always good to see someone else who follows the baseball team. I think your right with Harris starting Sundays. I wouldnt be surprised if Crnkovich works out of the bullpen mainly seeing action on the weekends. The midweek game will probably be pitching by committee. Do you know how the rest of the conference is looking for the season? I know its always competive.
 
#8
#8
The SEC won't be nearly as good this year as it has been lately. In the East, Georgia, South Carolina, Vandy, and Kentucky lost a lot of their best players to the draft. I really believe that Florida and us will compete for the SEC East title. In the West, LSU easily appears to be the best team. Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss will be decent this year but nothing extraordinary. Auburn and Mississippi State will probably be cellar dwellars in the West.

The way I see the SEC faring this year:

East
1. Florida
2. Tennessee
3. Vandy
4. Georgia
5. Kentucky
6. South Carolina

West
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Ole Miss
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Mississippi State

Overall SEC
1. LSU
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Vandy
6. Georgia
7. Ole Miss
8. Arkansas
 
#9
#9
TNVols58 said:
The SEC won't be nearly as good this year as it has been lately. In the East, Georgia, South Carolina, Vandy, and Kentucky lost a lot of their best players to the draft. I really believe that Florida and us will compete for the SEC East title. In the West, LSU easily appears to be the best team. Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss will be decent this year but nothing extraordinary. Auburn and Mississippi State will probably be cellar dwellars in the West.

The way I see the SEC faring this year:

East
1. Florida
2. Tennessee
3. Vandy
4. Georgia
5. Kentucky
6. South Carolina

West
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Ole Miss
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Mississippi State

Overall SEC
1. LSU
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Vandy
6. Georgia
7. Ole Miss
8. Arkansas
Click to expand...

Do you honestly belive South Carolina will finish dead last in the SEC East. We lost a ton last year (Darnell, Smoak, Havens) and quite frankly weren't that good last year. We went into the season with way too much expectations. Tanner gets great JUCO players every single year and I would be willing to bet some serious money South Carolina does not finish dead last in the SEC-E. We have some pretty good pitching this year and if we stay healthy we should be a lock for the NCAA tourney.
 
#10
#10
SC lost Smoak, Havens, Darnell, and Disher. Those guys put up monster numbers and carried the team on their backs. From what I remember, the other guys were nothing special...but maybe the offensive newcomers will be very good...who knows. SC's pitching has always been its problem...they never seem to have an ace...my reasoning for them being the projected last team in the East. And I've also heard from a SC baseball follower that Ray Tanner thinks this is one of the worst teams he's had in a while. I just see a pretty big drop off this year. We'll have to see.
 
#11
#11
Don't know where you get your info, but it sounds like you read alot and don't really know the players who make up the team so far as their strengths and weaknesses. Takeing in my share of games this fall, I offer my observation of what I see. I suggest you go to the UT site and check out the Orange/White series articles and the stats and you might be able to follow along and see where I coming from. Lima did move on but I doubt Hornsby starts at 2 base. Cody Brown won't start at SS either. Despite as bad as they tried this fall to make a mid fielder out of him, he can't get it done from either side of the base. My observations and putting the stats to what I saw lead me to believe the year will begin with newcomer Zach Ozbirn and last years SS Cody Grisham makeing up the middle. Tyler Horne will likely start at 3rd. Cody Hawn at first. Polk, Lyles and Davis round out the outfield. Forsyte will definitely start behind the plate. Several players will vye for the DH spot. Where does that leave Cody Brown? He struggled at the plate in the games I caught this fall and his stats show it. Providing he finds his grove at the plate, he will likely end up back at third. He is by far the best defensive glove at that spot only. My guess is Horne winds up the teams DH or playing some first. So far as the middlem Ozbirn has a great glove but a weak bat for D1, SEC ball as a freshman and Grisham has a good glove and a much improved bat. So far as Hornsby he struggled at the plate and made tons of errors. Looking back at his JUCO stats he made a ton of errors there as well. Tyler Horne is a true smasher in all aspects as a hitter. Not very mobile in the field. Cody Hawn too, is a true hitter and can play first sufficient enough to keep him in the gam. Horne and Hawn both can play first and both would be great DH hitters as well as Stephen McCray. As far as Lockwood. He will DH, play the outfield, first base and pitch. He is a hard working player and will have no problem finding a place to play.
Top hitters from 1st to last this fall were Davis, Horne, Wilson, Hawn, Frazier, Grisham, Lockwood, Liles, Thurber, Ozbirn, Shufford, Moore, McCray, Hornsby, Forsythe, Ramsey, Polk, Brown, Hammaker
Pitching will as usual remain the question. I do feel that besides Margado and Hernandez there are still contenders for the Friday night spot. Keep an eye on the Atkins kid and look for McCray to make his marks.
Again this is my take and I have watched the team for several years both fall and spring and try to do my research on the players. Its kind of a fun thing I do. I can look back during and after the season and see how far off I was. Got to admit I do have a pretty good track record. Anyway hope this is helpful or lends a little insight.
 
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#12
#12
A matter of fact bbman, I actually do watch Vols baseball. You'll see me there for almost every game during the season and I know too much about the team. I didn't have a chance to attend any O&W games, but I followed them through the box scores and articles on UTsports.com. Cody Brown WILL play 3B this year, he's started the past 2 years and really improved his hitting last year. You're trying to tell me because he had a bad 7 games during an intrasquad series that he won't start there? Come on
 
#13
#13
What every happened with Jarod Frazier. I believe he played as a freshman, he really fell off the map. Other than Lima who else transferred?
 
#14
#14
Frazier is too inconsistent...he strikes out a ton. Along with Lima, catcher Yan Gomes transferred.
 
#15
#15
TNvol58
Didn't mean to rouse you up so, simply pointed out several players who are futher in the mix as starters than the players you mentioned in your initial post. Hornseby is not even in the mix to start in the middle. Cody Brown will not begin the season at third base. Mark that one down as that job belongs to Tyler Horne. If you read my post I said I feel Cody Brown will settle back in at third after failed attempts to make a mid fielder out of him. Hell knowing Raleigh he will keep attempting to play him somewhere else but third until it's apparant it anit gonna work. I didn't mean to imply that I felt because Cody didn't hit that was the reason he wouldn't play. You gotta remember, what he did the previous years don't mean a hill of beans with Raleigh. Remember, Cody is not a Raleigh recruit and his not hitting this fall plays a big part in Raleighs decision on who wins out at a postion. He does and always has felt that a player, earns their position in the fall and Cody didn't. Having said that, you did get some of you predicitons right but for you not to mention Ozborn or Grisham led me to think perhaps you didn't really keep up with the players or program. These two have the best defensive gloves on the team and they hit well enough and better than most in productive situation this fall. I tell you these two will be your middle before years end and Cody Hawn at first and Forsythe behind the plate. Time will tell but this is how I see it.
 
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#16
#16
Understand. You seem to know a lot about Vols baseball...not many of us out there. The fact that Cody Brown did so well over the past 2 months of SEC play last year leads me to believe that Raleigh will keep him at third...but if Horne's better I guess he'll play there...which shows how good this team could be. I know that Cody Brown will be in the lineup somewhere at the very least...he's a good player...his hitting was much improved last year and he's got a plus glove. So I guess you see the lineup looking like this....C-Forsythe, 1B- Hawn, 2B- Osborne or Grisham, 3B- Horne, SS- Osborne or Grisham, OF- Davis, Liles, Polk, DH- Lockwood...so where does that leave Brown? Also, who do you think we'll start on Sundays?
I think this team has a chance to be pretty darn good. What do you think?
 
#17
#17
I thought Gomes actually entered the draft. I guess im wrong. Is Tanner Moore still on the team. I believe he played 1st and 3rd during the mid week games.
 
#18
#18
Ment nothing by my prognostics, it's just my opinion. Cody Brown is a great player and will play. Where is yet to be decided. My guess is they'll try him maybe at second but definitely not SS as they had hoped. They seem high on Horne and he is a beast. Your recap of my line up is how I see it but the Cody Brown factor remains a mystery. Raleigh started a certain way last year as he saw it coming out of the fall but things changed quickly as he learned more about what he had. Lima never progressed as they had hoped coming out of the fall. We saw what happened after that. This Ozborn kid is the real deal but I see him needing more time to adapt to the big stage. Grisham has the experience and has an equal glove and the better bat. Short I would say is up in the air and the one that don't start there will eventually settle in at second would be my guess. I think we'll see alot of mixed line ups the first few weeks and begin to settle in around conferance play. I'm with you I expect Brown to play but it might be a rocky start for him to find his place to contribute. Lockwood is going to be Mr Versatality and play a number of roles. No where everyday would be my guess. Unlike last year there is a great number of hitters and playing time will become difficult. So far as the weekend starters I would say Margado, Hernandez and yet to be determined. Don't know where they will use him but the Adkins kid impressed me.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Go Vols.
 
#19
#19
first of all south carolina will finish last in the east just to get that out there they lost all offensive production and really didnt pitch all that well last year ex. we would have won two of three with exception to the story book ending at the Sarge. Second, Rosas had an era in the teens at the end of the year so best out of the bullpen i think not. Third, Brown will not play third he is the infield veteran and can play 2nd short and third personally i see him playing second with horne and osborne playing third and short respectively hawn at first lockwood or frazier at dh polk or frazier in left Davis in center and liles in right forsythe will catch for a large portion of the year. pitching staff hernandez morgado and harris weekend look for gruver tullo and other new faces in the midweek wiltz will close lockwood will pitch a bit as well and ramsey has a chance to come in and blow some people away late in games. If and only if this team can gel as one (which is already taking place as each member is present every morning at 6 to help their teammates pass the mile and a half under ten minutes) they can and will go to omaha
 
#20
#20
Perry is our baseball insider on the nation. Maybe he'll address the question.:dunno:
 
#22
#22
I'd set those for KD at
.360 avg
20 HR

The kid just might be the best player in the nation...I heard that since they moved out the field, right field plays around 310-315 since the new "green monster" is not up yet...when it gets put up it'll be around 320-330 but as of now I've heard only 310-315...the awesome thing is that KD and Hawn are both lefties so if they pull the ball...bye bye baseball
 
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#24
#24
As long as we cut down on errors i expect us to squek in the tourney.
SEC
east
1. Florida-NCAA tourney (host regional)
2. Kentucky-NCAA tourney
3. Georgia-NCAA tourney
4. Tennessee-NCAA tourney
5. Vandy
6. South Carolina
west
1. Alabama-NCAA tourney (host regional)
2. LSU-NCAA tourney (host regional)
3. Auburn-NCAA tourney
4. Ole Miss
5. Arkansas
6. Miss State
 
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