Next Year?

[vol66]

I guess mathematically it's not impossible for the BaseVols to make it to Hoover. The loss to Vandy today, the lack of depth with our pitching, all point to us watching, or not watching as may be the case, the SEC tourney at home again this year.

I've been looking over the roster a bit and I've been wondering what the team will look like next year.

The following will not be here next year:

Davis Morgan
Chris Pierce
Zack Osborne
Wes Walker
TJ Thornton
Josh Allman
Nic Blount(dismissed)
David Horne(dismissed)

Some thoughts on those guys. What happened to TJ Thornton? How is it that he's not gotten back in the good graces of CDS? Oz is of course the biggest loss. No other player has played even one inning at short stop. Morgan, Pierce, and Walker have been steady and unfortunately were saddled with Raleigh for most of their careers. Tip of the cap to them and good luck to some Vols For Life, Allman too.

What could a starting line up for 2013 look like, not including the new comers?

Catcher - Bennett
First Base - Steckenrider
Second Base - Maddox
Third Base - Luther
Short Stop - ?????
Left Field - Richard Carter
Center Field - Chris Fritts
Right Field - Jared Allen

Pitchers

1. Zack Godley
2. Nick Williams
3. Robbie Kidd
4. Drew Steckenrider
5. Carter Watson
6. Dalton Saberhagen
7. Conner Stevens
8. Eric Martin
9. Brandon Zajac
10. Joseph Vanderplas

Out of all these guys...Fritts, Maddox, Steckenrider and Godley probably can feel safe about next year. Bennett is good defensively but he's struggled at the plate, I think Walker would have seen more time if his defense was a little better. Walker will be gone. Carter, Allen, Kidd, Wormsley, and Powell got a lot of experience this year, but they're still young...Will they be able to hold off the newcomers?

My questions are these, for the real baseball junkies who keep up with recruiting, will there be some new guys that can come in and compete right away for a starting spot?

Who will get the short stop job?

Which pitchers do we have coming in can be considered upgrades?

Anything else you might have thoughts on regarding next year?

I'll hang up and listen...

 

[BruinVol]

Lots of questions here and I hope you don't take my answer the wrong way but anybody that tries to answer the question about next years lineup is wasting their time.

As soon as the season is over you are going to hear a lot of those names you mentioned as leaving the program IMO. Some will leave on their own but I feel certain many will leave because their scholarships won't be renewed. IMO even those that have played a lot this year won't be safe from being told they don't fit into the future. I believe a serious bit of turnover is coming in a few weeks.
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[Vols188]

Farragut SS- Simcox may start at short

 

[vol66]

Lots of questions here and I hope you don't take my answer the wrong way. Anybody that tries to answer the question about next years lineup is wasting their time.

As soon as the season is over you are going to hear a lot of those names you mentioned as leaving the program IMO. Some will leave on their own but I feel certain many will leave because their scholarships won't be renewed. IMO even those that have played a lot this year won't be safe from being told they don't fit into the future. I believe a serious bit of turnover is coming in a few weeks.
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I don't take it any way, all good...I've seen you mention this before, and I don't doubt it could happen as you say.
My intentions really are to find out more about the guys coming in.

I guess you probably don't want to discuss who you think will be moving on, either of their own accord or the staffs'. What positions do you think are up for grabs?

 

[sdowell]

one big problem is that we will still have so many of raleigh's recruits on next year's team. i'm sorry, but these guys just aren't very good players. i have no idea who all we have coming in, as it is so hard to keep up with all the baseball signees. i guess we may even lose some of these signees to the draft next month, i really don't know. i don'r expect us to be much better next year, unless we sign a lot of juco's. this program was and is still in a shambles, that will take until 2014 to get it straightned out. i believe in dave, but he has a lot of work to do. he will though, it will just take time. i'm behind him and the team 100 %. i enjoy your play-by-play of the games. GBO !!!!

 

[vol66]

Farragut SS- Simcox may start at short

I put a video of a Farragut vs. Lexington Catholic game I found up in the recruit thread...haven't watched the game yet. Looking forward to seeing Simcox.

 

[vol66]

one big problem is that we will still have so many of raleigh's recruits on next year's team. i'm sorry, but these guys just aren't very good players. i have no idea who all we have coming in, as it is so hard to keep up with all the baseball signees. i guess we may even lose some of these signees to the draft next month, i really don't know. i don'r expect us to be much better next year, unless we sign a lot of juco's. this program was and is still in a shambles, that will take until 2014 to get it straightned out. i believe in dave, but he has a lot of work to do. he will though, it will just take time. i'm behind him and the team 100 %. i enjoy your play-by-play of the games. GBO !!!!

I sort of agree. I mean, afterall, I only have 4 players that I think are somewhat safe out of the whole roster.

We have no depth, not sure we have more than one legit weekend starter on the pitching staff. Maddox was the only guy batting .300, don't know if he still is or not...

I've been reading about that Houser kid, he could go high enough, so we might not see him come to Knoxville, man, I hope he does though.

 

[BruinVol]

The juco kids coming in will have to help the most. I am not familiar with most of them but if this thing is going to get turned around next year it will fall on the shoulders of the juco signees.

The draft will decide a lot as well. Just like losing Mookie hurt so badly, this summer will be as equally stressful for the staff.
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[BruinVol]

I don't take it any way, all good...I've seen you mention this before, and I don't doubt it could happen as you say.
My intentions really are to find out more about the guys coming in.

I guess you probably don't want to discuss who you think will be moving on, either of their own accord or the staffs'. What positions do you think are up for grabs?

Maddox is a guy that has staying power. Steck is draft eligible this year so he could be gone. All the other slots are up for grabs IMO.
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[vol66]

Maddox is a guy that has staying power. Steck is draft eligible this year so he could be gone. All the other slots are up for grabs IMO.
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I didn't think about that with Steckenrider...yeah, he could go...he's carried more than his fair share this year, it's taken a toll. When he took the mound today, my first thought was, "he's the guy we need to roll with to get this game." But he didn't have it today, he's worn down from the grind.

 

[BruinVol]

I didn't think about that with Steckenrider...yeah, he could go...he's carried more than his fair share this year, it's taken a toll. When he took the mound today, my first thought was, "he's the guy we need to roll with to get this game." But he didn't have it today, he's worn down from the grind.

Just a guess but I bet he will be a high enough draft that he is gone.
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[vol66]

Just a guess but I bet he will be a high enough draft that he is gone.
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Best of luck should he go, he's been a warrior this year that's for sure...pitcher, 1st base, outfield...he's done a bit of everything.

 

[BruinVol]

Best of luck should he go, he's been a warrior this year that's for sure...pitcher, 1st base, outfield...he's done a bit of everything.

Agreed. I would be shocked if scouts are looking at him anywhere but on the bump. Big body with a big arm tells me he is getting a decent pay day.
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[Rudy123]

I am so excited that Raleigh is NO longer the coach. I have full confidence in our current coach to build a team through recruiting and then to coach them up. I am just waiting for a few years to see when we will go to the College World Series again like we
did in the early 2000's.

 

[JacketVol]

What are your thoughts on Jared Allen? Is he going to be a keeper or is he one you think will not be renewed?

 

[vol66]

What are your thoughts on Jared Allen? Is he going to be a keeper or is he one you think will not be renewed?

I'm certainly no expert, but Allen is one of the four or five freshmen that have gotten a lot of experience this year. It's a matter of can CDS get better players. He's been pretty good, at times, at the plate.

 

[BruinVol]

What are your thoughts on Jared Allen? Is he going to be a keeper or is he one you think will not be renewed?

I don't want to speculate on specific kids. I think Allen would be a run producing middle of the order hitter right now if the staff would have stuck with him thru the growing pains. I think they handled him poorly under the circumstances of a poor performing roster anyways.
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[ShowmeVols]

I sort of agree. I mean, afterall, I only have 4 players that I think are somewhat safe out of the whole roster.

Serrano has to keep a lot more than four of the kids currently on scholarship to maintain the team's Academic Progress Rate.

However much he may want to clean house, he can't do it all at once. Also, he was hired too late to have a shot at recruiting blue chip 2012 high school grads.

We've known from the beginning that this will take time.


Regarding the draft:

Steckenrider is the only current player likely to have a chance to get paid this year.

Of the announced recruits, Vincent Jackson and Tyler Smith are the biggest draft risks.

In case anyone wonders, Andrew Toles was his JUCO conference player of the year and could go in the top three rounds.

 

[vol66]

Serrano has to keep a lot more than four of the kids currently on scholarship to maintain the team's Academic Progress Rate.

However much he may want to clean house, he can't do it all at once. Also, he was hired too late to have a shot at recruiting blue chip 2012 high school grads.

We've known from the beginning that this will take time.


Regarding the draft:

Steckenrider is the only current player likely to have a chance to get paid this year.

Of the announced recruits, Vincent Jackson and Tyler Smith are the biggest draft risks.

In case anyone wonders, Andrew Toles was his JUCO conference player of the year and could go in the top three rounds.

"Safe" was a poor choice of words on my part. Those four will have to be really pushed to lose their jobs...Steck could go, so that leaves three of them. The freshmen I mentioned aren't just gonna go away either...Nick Williams, Saberhagen...I don't think it's gonna be a blood bath and as you rightly mentioned, there is the APR to consider, and we know Serrano expects the kids to go to class, i.e. Thornton.

 

[whocaresgobobcats]

Serrano has to keep a lot more than four of the kids currently on scholarship to maintain the team's Academic Progress Rate.

However much he may want to clean house, he can't do it all at once. Also, he was hired too late to have a shot at recruiting blue chip 2012 high school grads.

We've known from the beginning that this will take time.


Regarding the draft:

Steckenrider is the only current player likely to have a chance to get paid this year.

Of the announced recruits, Vincent Jackson and Tyler Smith are the biggest draft risks.

In case anyone wonders, Andrew Toles was his JUCO conference player of the year and could go in the top three rounds.

Houser may go high too.

However, with the new CBA, there may be more kids going to college instead of singing out of HS since team's can't go over slot anymore. That helps UT here.

 

[BruinVol]

Serrano has to keep a lot more than four of the kids currently on scholarship to maintain the team's Academic Progress Rate.

However much he may want to clean house, he can't do it all at once. Also, he was hired too late to have a shot at recruiting blue chip 2012 high school grads.

We've known from the beginning that this will take time.


Regarding the draft:

Steckenrider is the only current player likely to have a chance to get paid this year.

Of the announced recruits, Vincent Jackson and Tyler Smith are the biggest draft risks.

In case anyone wonders, Andrew Toles was his JUCO conference player of the year and could go in the top three rounds.

The APR hit from cleaning house can be managed much more than most people realize. As long as those kids leave eligible NCAA wise in the classroom only a small hit is taken. Also if the staff "finds" those kids another 4yr institution to enroll in then no hit is taken at all in the APR regarding that kid. Cleaning house doesn't destroy APR like most people would assume.
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[JacketVol]

For the record, I hope Allen gets a chance and does well. He is a great athlete.

 

[BruinVol]

For the record, I hope Allen gets a chance and does well. He is a great athlete.

Without question. He is a homegrown Volunteer and I hope he isn't recruited over because I feel given the shot to develop he is a winning SEC player.
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[GuRu]

You should expect somewhere around 20 new players next year. I think you are allowed 36 on the roster so that means around 16 players will return next year. That is a lot of turn over but is a must to get this team back to competing.