Fall baseball???

STHAustin

250+ Posts
Has anyone heard about fall baseball games? There's a Fall 2023 roster on the website, but nothing about fall games. I need some DFF baseball to tide me over until 2024.
 
Has anyone heard about fall baseball games? There's a Fall 2023 roster on the website, but nothing about fall games. I need some DFF baseball to tide me over until 2024.
I follow Texas baseball on twitter. I will let you know when it starts. No word yet.
 
Intra-Squad Scrimmage:

Orange Team:
P - Lebarron Johnson Jr
C - Kimble Schuessler
1B - Cam Constantine
2B - Jack O’Dowd
SS - Jalin Flores
3B - Peyton Powell
LF - Oliver Service
CF - Jared Thomas
RF - Casey Cummings
DH - Blake Peterson

Grey Team:
P - Charlie Hurley
C - Rylan Galvan
1B - MJ Sweeney
2B - Jayden Duplantier
SS - Dee Kennedy
3B - Casey Borba
LF - Seth Werchan
CF - Tommy Farmer
RF - Porter Brown
 
Some reports from early Fall scrimmage:

Thomas is in the OF. 1st base -- Sweeny or Constantine (Duke transfer Storm will begin at UT in January)

Schuessler is probably the guy at C, unless and until somebody beats him out. Appears to be our best defensive C, and he has a pre-injury track record of a decent bat.

Tommy Farmer (OF) - not sure who this guy is, but he's pretty good.

Dee Kennedy - better than expected. Will challenge Flores at SS, or even O'Dowd at 2B for some playing time.

Thomas and Porter Brown have starting OF spots nailed down. The 3rd starting OF spot is up for grabs.

Service (utility) will get lots of reps, at-bats, and playing time in the OF. Had some struggles catching DuPlantier--who kept putting the ball in the dirt.

LBJ - smokin' Same as late last year. All-Conference and All-American. Working on a splitter to add to his repertoire. Potential to be one of our Top 5 pitchers of all time.

Hurley - got hit early on, then settled in and pitched well.

Shaw, Harrison - still in injury recovery mode and will not pitch this Fall

Grubbs - one of the first relievers Pierce called on. Walked a man, then retired the side for no runs, including a strikeout. Emotionally pumped-up on the mound.

Mercer - as good as advertised. Very good. Our best reliever. All-Conference. Long-shot potential All-American.

Andre DuPlantier - threw the ball in the dirt a lot.................

Tole - still some issues with his shoulder, but he's pitching.

Sweeny - really huge guy. NBA power forward or NFL blocking TE build. If he doesn't work out at 1B, look for Thomas to move back to 1B. Constantine is another possibility--but his bat has been pretty lean on the stats board in limited action; had a decent enough Summer in California Summer ball though. Pierce apparently wants Thomas (really good speed) in the OF.


:ut::ut::ut:
 
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I thought Belyeu was supposed to factor into the outfield. Is he injured?
I thought he was too. Belyeu had a really good Summer in California, batting against some good college pitchers. I hope we work his bat into the lineup frequently—as a DH if nothing else. I don’t want to see Belyeu parked on the bench for most of the season.
 
I doubt Cam Constantine will be starting for us. Sweeney—I don’t know yet. The OF is stocked, so Belyeu may be the DH. Or one of the DHs. Same could be said of Service—although Service is younger and without as much experience.
 
Reports out of Fall Ball series.


Some of the stand outs:

Cummings
Thomas
Gasparino
Powell


The batting lineup will likely be even better than last year.

And per Pierce: On the mound—Keep your eyes on Hurley, Grubbs, and DuPlantier as guys who have made big jumps since last year. DuP has his cutter working really well now, and he should be better than we’ve seen him before. And Pierce praised Mercer.
 
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Catcher is still a ?

I’m thinking Schuesler will hold it down. At least early in the year, if not all year.
 
Looking forward to a UT squad that plays solid baseball with an effective pitching staff and knows how to win innings.
 
I’m not sure we should be starting Hamilton. He’s got reliever, even closer, written all over him.
 
We’re mighty lucky Gasparino didn’t go pro. Massive power at bat. 2 homers for the 3 game series! As good as advertised.

:bevo::bevo::bevo:
 
I’m not sure we should be starting Hamilton. He’s got reliever, even closer, written all over him.
Hamilton’s breaking stuff has some really good sinking movement. He showed a tendency to leave some stuff hanging up high in the zone. Guys like Powell and Gasparino made him pay for that. He’ll learn. It's obvious the talent is there. I still say he’s a reliever.

Hamilton has an intense demeanor on the mound. He cut his hair and looks completely different than his high school baseball photos.
 
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Moreland projects that Belyeu will start. Sanders will challenge—maybe at DH. Obviously, look for Gasparino to start somewhere. He’s that good.
 
Moreland projects a frequent rotation of Schuesler and Galvan at C. Schuesler starting, and Galvan playing frequently.
 
Service has good range in the OF and made a good catch.

Nik Sanders made a great diving stop at 1B.

Ace W is as solid and reliable as before.

DuP looks better on the mound than I remember him.
 
More Pierce comments:

Likely starters: LBJ, Hurley, Witt (will still slow play Witt early on)

DuP is much improved. Really likes his cutter.

Focus on the off season was put on the physical fitness and health of pitchers.
 
I just finished watching the third and final game of Fall Ball.

Tumis—could be one of our best. Really good movement on everything he throws. Control is what he has to master. He could also stand to get seconds and thirds at the dining hall.

Bertsch — looks kind of like Ace W on the mound, but he doesn’t throw like him. Bertsch must be German for dirt—that’s where he was throwing it a lot, in the dirt.

Fontenot was surprisingly (to me) good on the mound.

Cummings is a stud power hitter.

Flores’ bat looks a lot better than last year.

Nik Sanders will play somewhere. Probably first base.

I don’t know how many years we’ll have Gasparino on campus. We are lucky to have him. He’s a star.

Dee Kennedy is good in the field.

I think we will see a lot of positions where the second team guy will start 1 out of 3 games. Or play 2-3 innings per game.
 
I think anyone with a weaker bat may lose playing time. O'Dowd came on in the playoffs but if he stays weak during the season like he was early last season, look for Sanders or Borba or any of a number of quality players to get looks. I've also thought we should have turned more DP's last year but O'Dowds arm or ball transfer didn't seem lively enough to me to get those double's.

I think its safe to say that the following players will be no doubt starters:

Porter
JThomas
Powell
Flores
(I don't think O'Dowds position at 2nd is completely safe)

That means the entire left side of the field is covered and only leaves, 2nd, 1st, RF and catcher. I think its safe to say that Schuessler and Galvan will rotate at C. That leaves 1st, 2nd and RF with the following players that with a high probably of starting or difficult to keep off the field:

Gasparino (I assume he is strictly an outfielder?)
Cummins (ditto as above)
Storm (incoming transfer)
O'Dowd
Sanders
Belyeu
Service
J Duplantier

Chop - i think part of the answer is what you mentioned above, there may be several that start one game a series. it would be a good move, would develop an extremely deep team by mid season.
 
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I can't wait, going to be an exciting season. Think i'm going to try and go to the Houston round robin with LSU, Texas St. and Vanderbilt.
 
I think its safe to say that the following players will be no doubt starters:

Porter
JThomas
Powell
Flores
(I don't think O'Dowds position at 2nd is completely safe)

Mostly agree.
Porter, Thomas, Powell -- without a doubt starters
Flores -- also a starter. His bat looks a lot better than last year, and he'll be one of the best defensive SS in the conference this year. O'Hara looked ok in defense, but I don't see him beating out Flores. Gumbo DuP = backup SS. Sam Ardoin = other backup SS, or backup 2B.

O'Dowd is an interesting bird. He's been average, but better-than-average during the tournaments and playoffs. Dee Kennedy will likely be the main competition. Dee Kennedy may already equal Jack in the field, but we have no idea yet how Kennedy will bat. If our 2B man is bringing an average-or-better bat to the plate, that's usually good enough. I like Jack O'Dowd and think he'll be quite good this year. If, however, Dee Kennedy is even better, then may the best man win the starting spot.
 
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That leaves 1st, 2nd and RF with the following players that with a high probably of starting or difficult to keep off the field:

Gasparino (I assume he is strictly an outfielder?)
Cummins (ditto as above)
Smart (incoming transfer)
O'Dowd
Sanders
Belyeu
Service
J Duplantier

Nik Sanders -- he's physically a big young man. I don't see anything in the infield other than 1B or maybe 3B for him. I like how he's constantly smiling. He really enjoys himself on the diamond. it may be Sanders, or Sweeny at 1B (or Storm when he comes in). Gasparino if we can't get him in the starting lineup some other way.

Gasparino -- way too good not to be in the batting lineup every game. I don't care if he has to be the DH. It will be like having another Powell in the lineup. Could play 1B with his big height. Fast and very athletic for such a tall baseball player.

Cummings -- same thing. More of a pure power hitter. If his avg is North of 0.250--get him in there. This guy could hit 15 homers on the year. One of Gasparino/Cummings starts in the OF, the other starts at DH. (or Gasp at 1B as per above).

Smart -- ???

O'Dowd -- see above. If anyone beats him out, it would probably be Dee Kennedy. Gumbo DuP is another possibility, although I see Gumbo as a backup SS. Jack hit just shy of 0.300 for the year. Not shabby at all for a 2B man. I'd be surprised if the other 2 did that. Although D. Kennedy continues to surprise in all phases of the game. You can see that D. Kennedy will likely develop into a really good player. I think, this year, O'Dowd starts 3 games per week. Kennedy starts 1 game per week. Or maybe O'Dowd all the way, with Kennedy playing innings 6 or 7 through 9 every time we have a substantial lead. There's also Borba--I don't know where he'll be, but he's supposed to be really good.

Service -- very good athlete. He made good contact and hit hard line drives--right at the Defenders... Will develop into a very good player. May not start this year. If Schuesler and Galvan aren't getting it done at C, Service may end up behind the plate. #1 Catcher recruit in Michigan. Will steal bases. You don't see many catchers doing that.

Belyeu -- another guy with a bat that we need to get in the lineup. If he's not starting, then work him in every 2nd game at DH, and every 3rd game at OF. Too good to ride the pine. We don't want to make him another Gavin Kash and hit the portal.
 
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Bottom line = we could be looking at our best overall batting lineup in quite a few years.
 
On the mound:

Tumis impressed.

Andre DuP impressed -- he's throwing his cutter/cut fastball as his #1 pitch now, and he's not even throwing a regular fastball.

Ace Whitehead impressed.

Zatopek got drilled. Tough day on the mound for the Freshman.

Bertsch threw it in the dirt a bunch.
 
Nik Sanders -- he's physically a big young man. I don't see anything in the infield other than 1B or maybe 3B for him. I like how he's constantly smiling. He really enjoys himself on the diamond. it may be Sanders, or Sweeny at 1B (or Storm when he comes in). Gasparino if we can't get him in the starting lineup some other way.

Gasparino -- way too good not to be in the batting lineup every game. I don't care if he has to be the DH. It will be like having another Powell in the lineup. Could play 1B with his big height. Fast and very athletic for such a tall baseball player.

Cummings -- same thing. More of a pure power hitter. If his avg is North of 0.250--get him in there. This guy could hit 15 homers on the year. One of Gasparino/Cummings starts in the OF, the other starts at DH. (or Gasp at 1B as per above).

Smart -- ???

O'Dowd -- see above. If anyone beats him out, it would probably be Dee Kennedy. Gumbo DuP is another possibility, although I see Gumbo as a backup SS. Jack hit just shy of 0.300 for the year. Not shabby at all for a 2B man. I'd be surprised if the other 2 did that. Although D. Kennedy continues to surprise in all phases of the game. You can see that D. Kennedy will likely develop into a really good player. I think, this year, O'Dowd starts 3 games per week. Kennedy starts 1 game per week. Or maybe O'Dowd all the way, with Kennedy playing innings 6 or 7 through 9 every time we have a substantial lead. There's also Borba--I don't know where he'll be, but he's supposed to be really good.

Service -- very good athlete. He made good contact and hit hard line drives--right at the Defenders... Will develop into a very good player. May not start this year. If Schuesler and Galvan aren't getting it done at C, Service may end up behind the plate. #1 Catcher recruit in Michigan. Will steal bases. You don't see many catchers doing that.

Belyeu -- another guy with a bat that we need to get in the lineup. If he's not starting, then work him in every 2nd game at DH, and every 3rd game at OF. Too good to ride the pine. We don't want to make him another Gavin Kash and hit the portal.

Smart=Storm - brain farted that name completely. If Storm is as good as advertised, your idea of rotating Gasparino, Cummings and Belyeu at RF and DH is a good one and would keep them involved. Some combination that gets everyone in and contributing.

And I included J Dup in the list but if he didn't beat out O'Dowd last year, he's not going to this year and he's not likely to take Flores' spot either. I liked when he came in to pinch hit though, seemed like he was a baller and made something happen when he did. His year may be next year when O'Dowd and Powell are gone.
 
On the mound:

Tumis impressed.

Andre DuP impressed -- he's throwing his cutter/cut fastball as his #1 pitch now, and he's not even throwing a regular fastball.

Ace Whitehead impressed.

Zatopek got drilled. Tough day on the mound for the Freshman.

Bertsch threw it in the dirt a bunch.

Good stuff. You said Hamilton looked great too right?

starting pitching would look like this:

Friday - LBJ
Saturday - Hurley
Sunday - Witt


Question marks:
Santos - Duke transfter
Cole Selvig - Freshman
Gage Boehm - Transfer
Hayden Morris - Freshman
Grant Fontenont - Transfer

Question marks as in, not sure how much they can contribute at beginning of the season because I haven't seen them pitch yet. (effectiveness)

If just one or two of these can be an effective reliever, we are going to be in great shape. We look to be in decent shape without them but as soon as one injury rears its ugly head, we could look thin in this position. Be really looking forward to see if Harrison can come back where he left off when he finally gets back.
 
Yes I see DuP and Harrison as team leaders for the pitching staff. Be nice if they can back it up with stellar play.
 

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