2023 Season

Internet rumors, Coach Pierce has commented:

- Morehouse's improvement is so dramatic that he may even challenge Gordon for the #1 spot in the rotation this year.

- Coach is underimpressed with our Catchers. There may be a lot of rotation behind the plate, and don't think that Guillemette has anything nailed down just yet. (could be that Coach got used to Ardoin; none of these guys are on Ardoin's level behind the plate).
 
Last edited:
Chop said:


Looks about right.
Click to expand...


Belyeu, Ace Whitehead, Carlson, and maybe some others, have bats that are just too good to sit on the bench. So I bet there will be frequent rotation, where as many as 6-7 players start around 3/4 of games, with only guys like Campbell, Kennedy, and Thomas starting 90-100% of the games.

Remember, Carlson was batting around 0.333 or more in a pretty decent West Coast league last year.

Also, with Coach Pierce being unimpressed with our Catchers, it's possible that Peyton Powell starts there a lot--he's got a good bat. That frees up the DH for another good batter to start. Then again, maybe Pierce is just trying to motivate Guillemette--who may be the starter for most of the year. He was good at USC.
 
Peyton Powell was pumped up as a young batting superstar when he first committed out of high school. Robinson Rocket. He'll get his chance this year.

Other internet commentators are penciling in Powell as our starting DH this year.
 
large_Rocket_on_football_field.jpeg

2f2e41801f0de4363cdc49070cc014e5_400x400.jpeg
 
aUTfan said:
Welp, I swear, every year. Luke Harrison is out for the season. That one is going to hurt.
Click to expand...
Rats. There were times last year (like most of the year) where Harrison was our only reliable reliever. Him + Southard that is.

Oh yeah, and the grossly under-utilized Olivarez last year...

This is a BIG LOSS.
 
Last edited:
I think Heston Tole may fill Harrison’s role this year of a stopper who comes in when the starter gets in trouble.

Every young pitcher in the bullpen had better be ready to play this year, right from the tournament in Arlington on. They’re going to get the chance. Grubbs won't disappoint. Neither will Lummus, Howard, or that dude from The Netherlands. The whole lot of our bullpen pitchers now have their opportunity to step up on the big stage.
 
Last edited:
Chop said:
- Cody Minchey Very competitive. 92-95 mph fastball. Great changeup. Confident and can locate the ball well. A lot smarter than your average Freshman pitcher. We gambled on this home schooled "project" and may have won big.
Click to expand...
Minchey's father, Nate Minchey, pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1990s, and in Japan for Hiroshima Carp and for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His Japanese career ERA was 3.64 and he threw 626 strikeouts.

20170701_182614.jpg

s-l1600.jpg

s-l1600.jpg
 
Last edited:
We don't have the freakish power-hitting lineup that we had last year to constantly bail out crappy performances by the bullpen.

The bullpen has to pull its weight this year. Our pitchers must keep the opponents' scores down for us to chalk up the W's.
 
Last edited:
Chop said:
I think Heston Tole may fill Harrison’s role this year of a stopper who comes in when the starter gets in trouble.

Every young pitcher in the bullpen had better be ready to play this year, right from the tournament in Arlington on. They’re going to get the chance. Grubbs won't disappoint. Neither will Lummus, Howard, or that dude from The Netherlands. The whole lot of our bullpen pitchers now have their opportunity to step up on the big stage.
Click to expand...
I see orders of 2 eggs, bacon and sausage, hash browns, and flapjacks on the docket this year.
 
fposter,small,wall_texture,product,750x1000.jpg

david_pierce_johnriveragetty.jpg

2199-19674-original.jpg

"Four (4). Count 'em. That's how many runs you just gave up on 1 pitch!

Hope you brought deodorant soap--cuz you're going to need it to wash that stink off you in the showers, which is where you're heading right about.........................NOW!"
 
Last edited:
Chop said:
fposter,small,wall_texture,product,750x1000.jpg

david_pierce_johnriveragetty.jpg

2199-19674-original.jpg

"Four (4). Count 'em. That's how many runs you just gave up on 1 pitch!

Hope you brought deodorant soap--cuz you're going to need it to wash that stink off you in the showers, which is where you're heading right about.........................NOW!"
Click to expand...
This year's bullpen ain't gonna be like last year's bullpen.
You heard it first here.
 
Chop said:
WOAH!!!!!!!

Travis Sthele named by Pearce as a weekend starter.

Sthele's really got the stuff, but I hope he gets his consistency and control up this year. I thought it would be Hurley or LBJ for the Sunday starter position.

Friday - Gordon
Saturday - Morehouse
Sunday - Sthele


Texas Baseball: David Pierce announces weekend pitching rotation
Click to expand...
Hopefully, that works, but I suspect that is written in pencil instead of in stone.
 
Texas baseball facing decreased expectations, but potentially pivotal season with David Pierce’s retooled staff - Burnt Orange Nation

This guy gets it:

"Consider right-hander Zane Morehouse the most important pupil for Williams as the prospective Sunday starter and an avatar for the “great stuff, poor command” vibe around a handful of pitchers on the staff, a group that also includes right-handers Travis Sthele and Lebarron Johnson. Along with right-hander Andre Duplantier, those are four key pitchers that Williams was brought in to develop."


"The Longhorns leave the state only three times all season."
 
Chop said:
WOAH!!!!!!!

Travis Sthele named by Pearce as a weekend starter.

Sthele's really got the stuff, but I hope he gets his consistency and control up this year. I thought it would be Hurley or LBJ for the Sunday starter position.

Friday - Gordon
Saturday - Morehouse
Sunday - Sthele


Texas Baseball: David Pierce announces weekend pitching rotation
Click to expand...

Good stuff, exciting weekend to iron out some question marks. We knew the third starter was a question mark, little did we know that Hurley wasn't going to be in the mix.....yet. Going to be a tough weekend, having to start out with such tough opponents. Bullpen needs to be ready and I imagine many of them will get used.

Woody has the toughest job of the bunch and the whole season rides on his ability to manage the pitchers every phase of the game.

Before the season even starts, i don't see a dominant pitcher. So in my mind we better score some runs, good thing is I feel better about this lineup than i did last years line up in being consistent in scoring a handful of runs against anyone. Good weekend to answer that question too.
 
Didn't see the positions posted yet but as announced by Pierce its:

LF Porter Brown
CF Eric Kennedy
RF Dylan Campbell
3B Jalin Flores
SS Mitch Daly
2B Jack O'Dowd
1B Jared Thomas
C Galvan Rylan or Garret Guillemette

Not any surprises here and especially not that Galvan is in the running, i projected he would be a possibility.

No lineup announced as of yet.
 
Last edited:
aUTfan said:
Good stuff, exciting weekend to iron out some question marks. We knew the third starter was a question mark, little did we know that Hurley wasn't going to be in the mix.....yet. Going to be a tough weekend, having to start out with such tough opponents. Bullpen needs to be ready and I imagine many of them will get used.

Woody has the toughest job of the bunch and the whole season rides on his ability to manage the pitchers every phase of the game.

Before the season even starts, i don't see a dominant pitcher. So in my mind we better score some runs, good thing is I feel better about this lineup than i did last years line up in being consistent in scoring a handful of runs against anyone. Good weekend to answer that question too.
Click to expand...
And remember, Murph came out of nowhere to hit for an outstanding season last year---around 0.370 batting average and around 20 homers. He wasn't on anybody's radar as a potential star player until last year. (of course it helped that Ivan and Skye were batting behind him).
 
aUTfan said:
Good stuff, exciting weekend to iron out some question marks. We knew the third starter was a question mark, little did we know that Hurley wasn't going to be in the mix.....yet. Going to be a tough weekend, having to start out with such tough opponents. Bullpen needs to be ready and I imagine many of them will get used.

Woody has the toughest job of the bunch and the whole season rides on his ability to manage the pitchers every phase of the game.

Before the season even starts, i don't see a dominant pitcher. So in my mind we better score some runs, good thing is I feel better about this lineup than i did last years line up in being consistent in scoring a handful of runs against anyone. Good weekend to answer that question too.
Click to expand...
As much as I've been pumping up Gordon for the past year or two, I agree with you. Geno's a very, very good steady pitcher, but he's not a "dominant" pitcher. Still, I wish we had 3 of him. Zane Morehouse might become a dominant pitcher. His stuff is nasty; of course, so was Nixon's and last year's Stewart, and look what happened to them... I think Zane really proved himself during the 2nd half of last year, and he's reportedly progressed more than any other pitcher since last year. I'm giving Sthele the benefit of the doubt; I figure he's learned a lot from last year, and he's always had really good stuff.

Big difference this year -- our bullpen won't stink up the joint. Losing Harrison hurts, but our portal transfers + our incoming San Jac guys + Minchey and above all others---->Grubbs, will combine for a much better bullpen overall. Also emerging guys like Chase Lummus and maybe O'Banan will add quality depth.
 
We'll see a lot of pitchers this weekend with the opening weekend designated short outings for the starters. I'm really hoping the confidence in Stehle is justified and his consistency has improved. It's a new year!
 
As for Stehle's and for that matter Morehouse's sudden rise, i could be way off but i think Woody has already started paying dividends. My thoughts are we will see a very consistent pitching staff, not a lot of surprising failures like last year. If you remember, we didn't have a pitching coach last year, Pierce put Sean Allen in the role and Sean didn't know squat, so these guys were completely on their own and were seeking help outside the organization and well, everyone saw the result, we should have gone deeper in Omaha than we did in my opinion.

This year, I believe we see kids reaching their potential on the mound. (fingers crossed)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top