Returning players and recruiting class

[Chop]

Not sure about the 3rd starter, Hurley is a safe bet for #2, we will have to see who bursts onto the scene in the spring from the freshman class and the transfers, sometimes that competitive juice churns when the lights go on and even though they may be a freshman, they pitch lights out. If the pitching is decent this is going to be a fun team to watch and I like what looks like a lot of pitching options.

Yeah. I agree--that 3rd starter is up in the air.

DuPlantier showed flashes of greatness, but he would lose all control at times and completely blow the game. If he gets those issues worked out (easier said than done), he could end up our best pitcher by the time he's done here. He has the nastiest breaking stuff. Zane is a heat thrower, an inning eater, and a work horse who gets the job done against the sort of competition we usually face mid-week. Can he successfully make the jump up to weekend starter against the top competition this year? Maybe. Maybe not. I hope he does. Like you said, some of the new guys may challenge for starter positions.

 

[Chop]

I also want to see what pitcher O'Banan can do. He redshirted last year. He came with lots of accolades from high school in Central Texas.

 

[aUTfan]

Yeah. I agree--that 3rd starter is up in the air.

DuPlantier showed flashes of greatness, but he would lose all control at times and completely blow the game. If he gets those issues worked out (easier said than done), he could end up our best pitcher by the time he's done here. He has the nastiest breaking stuff. Zane is a heat thrower, an inning eater, and a work horse who gets the job done against the sort of competition we usually face mid-week. Can he successfully make the jump up to weekend starter against the top competition this year? Maybe. Maybe not. I hope he does. Like you said, some of the new guys may challenge for starter positions.

Zane pitched Sunday, I didn’t get to watch a lot of it cause I was looking up the jersey numbers and trying to get the positions noted. He might have been one of the pitchers that hit 95.

 

[mchammer]

Here are our 2023 recruits. The ones that don't go pro will enter UT in the Fall of next year. This recruiting class is ranked #10 in the Nation.

Travis Sykora
RHP 6-6 220 R-R Round Rock Round Rock TX Texas

Will Gasparino
OF 6-6 215 R-R Harvard-Westlake Los Angeles CA Texas

Cole Selvig
RHP 6-0 192 L-R Regis Altoona WI Texas

Easton Tumis
RHP 6-4 165 R-R Friendswood Friendswood TX Texas

Casey Borba
3B 6-1 205 R-R Orange Lutheran Santa Ana CA Texas

Nikolas Sanders
C 6-2 198 R-R La Vega Waco TX Texas

Dondreone Kennedy
SS 5-11 190 R-R Prestonwood Christian Academy Fort Worth TX Texas

Oliver Service
C 6-0 188 R-R University Liggett Detroit MI Texas

Hayden Morris
RHP 6-8 255 R-R Oak Ridge Conroe TX Texas
S

Evan Miranda
RHP 6-3 205 R-R Orange Lutheran Fontana CA Texas

Samuel Ardoin
SS 6-1 165 R-R Sam Houston Lake Charles LA Texas

Hudson Hamilton
RHP 6-1 210 R-R Grand Oaks Spring TX Texas

Lane Allen
SS 6-3 200 R-R John H Guyer Corinth TX Texas

Ean Czech
3B 6-4 210 R-R Downers Grove North Downers Grove IL Texas

Blake Peterson
OF 6-1 180 R-R Westlake Austin TX Texas

Jon Shields
BHP 6-3 205 S-B St. John XXIII Katy TX Texas

MJ Sweeney
1B 6-8 245 L-R St. Augustine Rancho Santa Fe CA Texas

George Zaharias
RHP 6-3 190 R-R Menlo-Atherton Menlo Park CA Texas

Tommy Farmer
OF 6-3 188 R-R Oaks Christian Santa Monica CA Texas

2 from the Woodlands area (Oak Ridge and Grand Oaks). Why is Oak Ridge listed as Conroe and Grand Oaks as Spring? Both HS are in Conroe ISD.

 

[mchammer]

Mid-week. Zane or DuPlantier

Looking forward to Denny’s breakfast special on Tuesday evening.

 

[Chop]

Looking forward to Denny’s breakfast special on Tuesday evening.

DuP was serving them up last year.

I expect much better this year.

 

[mchammer]

DuP was serving them up last year.

I expect much better this year.

Hoping it’s only the senior citizen discount this year.

 

[Chop]

 

[aUTfan]

I’ll be at the beach this weekend, will anyone be going by the game Sunday to report?

 

[aUTfan]

I’m thinking anyone that didn’t pitch last weekend will probably pitch this coming weekend.

 

[Chop]

And San Jac may be just as good competition as UH.

San Jac = gold standard of JC baseball

 

[Chop]

Building for the future with some serious power:

Klayton Bolkema
from Davenport, Iowa
5'11"
255 lbs
Class of 2024
1B and OF
Left handed Power Hitter

Apparently, he also plays on a US Elite New Jersey private team.
Batting avg 0.536.
OPS 1.507
And he's a Defensive Tackle on the football team.
Won a home run derby contest in a big league park.

Tagged "The Brazilian Bomber".

"Hits from even-based stance with leg lift trigger, separates well, barrel tilt into load, big time power pull-side with intent in swing, lifts and separates, can really drive the ball when barrel gets out front. Primary outfielder, clocked up to 78 mph on throws, looked solid at 1B as well, good feet with balance to footwork, clocked up to 77 mph across the diamond from there. Good student."

Prep Baseball Report - Player: Klayton Bolkema
Klayton Bolkema Class of 2024 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
https://twitter.com/bolkemaklayton

 

[Chop]

More on left handed power hitter Klayton Bolkema---The Brazilian Bomber!!!

 

[Chop]

2025: bring in the right field wall at the Disch.

 

[Chop]

Collin Valentine
LHP
Class of 2022
Valentine is on campus and should see some game action in relief this year

The skinny on Valentine as a recruit was just that--he's too skinny.
Reports are that he's gained 15 or so lbs of the right kind of weight, is stronger, and is now throwing a fastball in the upper 80s. His breaking stuff, movement, and precise control were never in question. Now he's bigger, stronger, and can throw faster--he's not just a "project." It's nice to have another competent young left handed pitcher in the pen--you know, someone that can reliably come out of the pen throwing strikes. Good scouting by the staff.

"Long and lengthy build with plenty of room to fill out as he continues to develop. Primary pitcher, has a longer arm action from a high three-quarters slot. Comes set with lower hands, meticulous as he separates....

...Throws two separate breaking balls. Curveball has a 1-to-7 shape with some good depth and developing bite....

... Slider has a 10-to-4 shape and sweeps across the plate. Slider is the better out pitch of the two, tough look for left-handed hitters."

 

[Chop]

More Max Grubbs—

From an interview with the Dallas News when they named him player of the week after whipping rival Arlington High:

“The overall part I was most proud of was throwing strikes, because I take pride in not walking people. Thirteen strikeouts is not bad.”

 

[Chop]

More reports saying Zane Morehouse’s continued improvement as a pitcher since last year has been impressive. Zane throws 95+ mph fastballs. He showed up real well in Fall Ball.

 

[mchammer]

More reports saying Zane Morehouse’s continued improvement as a pitcher since last year has been impressive. Zane throws 95+ mph fastballs. He showed up real well in Fall Ball.

Any reports yet on the Denny’s special?

 

[Chop]

Any reports yet on the Denny’s special?

I figure DuPlantier will challenge for the #3 or #4 starter spot. It appears that Zane has the lead for the #3 spot, but we’ll see how it goes. Both have very good stuff.

For 2023, I don’t think Coach will be as patient as last year with pitchers who walk multiple men in an inning or give up grand slams.

Last year’s absurd offense could dig us out of big pits dug by careless pitchers. This year, our offense should be good, but we can’t expect to match last year’s offensive production. That’s not realistic.

 

[Chop]

You can't really tell much from this, but Just Baseball online is listing Tanner Witt as one of the top 10 RHPs for this year. The article is from last week--Jan 6, 2023. If Witt is back this year, that's a game-changer. I just hope he heals up and rehabs fully. No major rush.

Top 10 Right-Handed Pitchers in College Baseball

 

[Chop]

2023 Pre-Season College Baseball All-American Team
1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams.

http://baseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2023-NCAA-Div.-I-All-American-Team-Jan-2023.pdf

Collegiate Baseball 2023 All-Americans - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper

Lucas Gordon is the Rodney Dangerfield of college baseball--no respect. His performance last year merits at least a 2nd Team All American slot. He had by far the lowest ERA of any starting Big 12 pitcher... And the Big 12 provides better competition than all but one college baseball league.

Also, keep an eye on both Campbell and Kennedy for post season awards, though there's nothing for them here in the pre-season.

Meanwhile, in Knoxville, the two Chases will be mowing them down again.

And Hunter Elliot of Ole Miss is real good. That dude is a gamer. When the big game is on the line, he shows up and mows them down. He's another one of those guys who could stand a trip to the Wooten Barber Shop though...

 

[Chop]

A VERY early Bleacher Report mock 1st round draft for next year has Tanner Witt going 14th to the Baltimore Orioles... Yeah, he's really, really good.

Jason Wiggins RHP Arkansas would go 16th to the Boston Red Sox in this prediction. We may face Wiggins in Game 1 in the Arlington tournament.

Braden Taylor 3rd base TCU would go 23rd to the Seattle Mariners in this projection.

They've got Sykora going 28th to the Houston Astros. If we can't get Sykora for a year or two, then maybe the Stros or Rangers can get him...

 

[Chop]

I saw an interview with Witt. The “journalist” speculated that Witt might not play at the beginning of the season, but might enter games by sometime around May. Witt seemed to go along with this speculation.

 

[aUTfan]

Any reports yet on the Denny’s special?

Oh come on...... New season, great pitching coach now. Not saying it won't happen early in the season but I suspect things will get figured out early in the season.

 

[mchammer]

Oh come on...... New season, great pitching coach now. Not saying it won't happen early in the season but I suspect things will get figured out early in the season.

Hard to forget a century’s worth of grand slams in one season.

 

[Chop]

DuP’s got plenty of the hot sauce—no doubt about it. But he’s got to master his control this year. If he can do that, then MLB scouts will take notice. Based on Fall Ball, it looks like Zane will start out as a weekend starter. But if DuP performs well consistently, he could end up a weekend guy.

I don’t think our coaches will be as forgiving as last year of pitchers who keep taking the mound showing lousy control. If DuP goes out there loading up the bases with walks and punching the Denny’s Grand Slam frequent diner card, I think he’ll mostly remain on the bench. But if he shows good control, the sky’s the limit for DuP.

 

[Chop]

And pleas send Sthele back to the locker room when we’re at bat to sit in a calm room with a relaxation therapist or a masseuse or something, playing some soothing Inya music on low volume. He seems to be wound a bit tight on the mound. Dude’s got the arm though. That’s for sure.

 

[aUTfan]

Hard to forget a century’s worth of grand slams in one season.

Pierce for sure deserves the criticism but Woody doesn't. I'm still pissed at Pierce over last years performance and loss of talent. Even though we made it to Omaha, there was some serious underperforming last year from the bullpen and that all falls on Pierce. We lost a very talented closer because of it and Im sure there were some other transfers that Im forgetting.

 

[Chop]

Some tidbit summaries from some Inside Texas and D1 Baseball folks:

- Dylan Campbell: best (non-pitcher) player on the team, probably hitting in the 3 hole, will hit for power, average, and has good speed.

- Jalin Flores: may start at 3B or SS. Fielding and bat are way ahead of his age.

- Jared Thomas: starting at 1B. Good power hitter.

- Daly: may start at SS or 2B. (Chop's comment--he batted well over .300 two years ago)

- Tanner Carlson: will contend for time at SS and 2B. (Chop's comment--a guy with a real high career batting average; would like to work him into the lineup frequently)

- Guillemette: will start at C. Galvan and Payton Powell will see time at C.

- Jayden DuPlantier, Cade O'Hara, and Jack O'Dowd will all contend for time in the middle infield (Chop's comment--Jack "O'Dinger" O'Dowd will be in the starting lineup, at DH if nowhere else. He'll likely hit 15+ homeruns this year, maybe a lot more.)

- Max Belyeu: will see a lot of playing time somewhere. His bat is solid.

- OF is Campbell, Kennedy, and either Brown or Whitehead (with both of these last two seeing lots of time).

- LBJ's fastball is now hitting up OVER 100mph!!! (Chop's comment: the angle from a tall, long-armed pitcher makes it seem even faster, and harder to hit; LBJ's problem last year was frequently throwing it low and in the dirt.). New speculation is that LBJ will be tried as a starting pitcher!?!? (could be weekday, or weekend).

- Zane Morehouse showed much better control in the Fall. He's real good. (Chop's comment: Zane will likely be our #3 or #4 starting pitcher)

- Other starting pitchers might include: Chuck Hurley, Andre DuPlantier, Kobe Minchey (Freshman), and Travis Sthele. (Chop's comment: go ahead and pencil in Chuck Hurley as our #2 or #3 starter)

- Hard to say when Tanner Witt will be ready. Speculation from multiple folks is sometime from March through May.

- New coaching staff (assistants) are using a lot more analytics on D than we've ever seen from a Texas team. They're moving the IF and OF a lot based on opposing batters tendency. (Chop's comment: Our analytics isn't exactly that of the Houston Astros--but it looks like we'll be shifting the defense around a lot.)

- The schedule is tough

 

[Chop]

D1 has now ranked our true Freshman who will take the field this year as the 4th best Freshman class in the nation, behind only LSU, Miss St, and Louisville.

D1 baseball ranks Texas’ freshman class No. 4 in NCAA