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D1Baseball Weekly Chat
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Aaron Fitt
10:53
All right gang, that's all for this week -- thanks for stopping by! Enjoyed the discussion. See you next week!
Kendall Rogers
10:53
Thanks for everyone's time this week! We will see you later this week.
Aaron Fitt
10:52
I'm seeing 76 K to 27 walks -- still not good, but at least it's better than 11 walks. Certainly a poor start for the Nebraska offense, but I feel like that's pretty typical for cold weather clubs early in the year (not trying to make excuses here, and there are plenty of cold weather clubs that have gotten off to better offensive starts — I'm just saying I don't think it's cause for alarm). Ultimately I expect Nebraska to be a good veteran lineup that grinds out much better at-bats moving forward. Plenty of proven guys in that lineup, and they'll come around, I suspect.
Guest
10:52
Any concerns with Nebraska's up and down offense? Has showed flashes, but also currently sports a 66 strikeout to 11 walk ratio.
Kendall Rogers
10:52
Certainly some of it is the opponent, but Florida has actually played very well across the board so far this season. The other thing I really like seeing from these arms are the strikeout totals for each of them. For instance, Petereson has 16 K's (3 walks), Coppola has 20 strikeouts (2 walks), Clemente has 15K's (2 walks) and McNeillie has 16 walks (two strikeouts). That's A LOT of efficiency.
JB
10:52
How much of Florida's early pitching success is improved pitching from last year, and how much of it is the opponents? While it hasn't been the toughest slate, it does seem like they struggled with similar opponents early last season. How do they stack up against the Canes this weekend?
Aaron Fitt
10:49
Yeah, not a great schedule so far, but you have to love that Miami has been dominant on the mound these first two weekends. I think that trio of Nick Robert, Griffin Hugus and Brian Walters is plenty talented, there's real stuff there, and they've done a good job filling up the zone. Miami will still be a significant underdog against a loaded Florida squad, and I won't pick against the Gators, but it does feel like Miami's pitching gives the Canes a legit shot to surprise.
Nate
10:49
I know Miami hasn't play stiff competition, but their pitching has looked much improved this year, especially their weekend rotation.  Do you think the pitching can hold up against UF this weekend?
Kendall Rogers
10:48
My takeaway from the weekend is that Louisiana Tech is a pretty good club -- I'd agree. Sure, the Bulldogs lost the series to USM, but it was highly competitive for sure. And a 4-0 loss on Friday is nothing to be embarrassed about. Grant Hubka gave the Bulldogs a shot to win, and Connor Nation threw well, it seemed, also. I was skeptical C-USA would get two postseason bids this year, but I think I'm liking La Tech's chances of being a second team at the moment.
Scott
10:48
Thoughts on Louisiana Tech’s performance vs a very good Southern Miss team? Obviously a disappointment in their minds not winning the series vs a rival but I think this team can be better than people think
Aaron Fitt
10:47
Love what they're doing on the mound. We had high hopes for Pico Kohn and Karson Ligon -- that's a big reason MSU was in our preseason Top 25 -- and so far those guys have been very good. That's an understatement for Pico -- he's been phenomenal, and sure looks the part of an SEC Friday night ace. MIssouri State has some good bats too, and the Bulldogs shut down that offense. Lots of depth on that staff, some really good bullpen pieces with Hungate and Ben Davis (who has been a revelation, I think) and plenty more. So far the Dawgs are who we thought they were, a very good SEC club that should compete to host a regional.
Stark
10:47
Thoughts so far on the Dawgs in Starkville?
Kendall Rogers
10:44
The Devils obviously have my attention because they looked pretty good against an Ohio State team that gave the JAX Classic field all they could handle over the weekend. One of Coach Rooney's favorites in Kien Vu has been fantastic offensively so far this season, while Brandon Compton is having a monster couple of weeks, hitting .421 with three doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs.
Sparky
10:44
Any early thoughts on Willie and the Devils down in Tempe so far? How close are they to breaking through the top 25?
Aaron Fitt
10:44
It's the latter -- nothing too concerning about any of those losses, but sitting at 2-3 after two weeks is a bit of an eye sore for a Top 25 team. We debated keeping them in the rankings anyway, certainly we like that club quite a bit. They'll be back in the Top 25 soon, I reckon. They've got a chance to make some noise this weekend with games coming up against Tennessee, A&M and Mississippi State. A winning weekend there would certainly vault OSU back into the rankings.
Joshua
10:44
Oklahoma State went 1-1 this week with a midweek loss to Texas State. Was there something particularly concerning about the Texas State game that made that drop out, or was it just the wrong time to lose a midweek game after they went 1-2 at Shriner’s?
Kendall Rogers
10:42
Check in with me again after this weekend when I see the Vols in Houston, but things certainly look really good for the Vols right now. They've got depth offensively, are obviously knocking the cover off the ball at times, and Liam Doyle and Marcus Phillips have both been solid in starting roles. How about freshman slugger Levi Clark? Outstanding start to his career with a team-high .538 average, three homers and 13 RBIs. I'm excited to see the Vols this weekend.
Reggie
10:42
Can Tony V pull off some magic again and get the Vols back to Omaha this year? Even with pitching depth issues??
Aaron Fitt
10:41
I don't have numbers to compare them to the national average, but certainly the Pirates are very young, and we expected some growing pains as those kids get acclimated to Division I ball. I do love that freshman class, however, and you know Cliff and his staff will coach them up -- they should only get better as the year goes on. But you're right, getting off to a good start in nonconference play is crucial for a team in the American to build an at-large resumé, so they can't afford to spend TOO long ironing out those growing pains.
Alex in Atascocita
10:41
Based on the national average, how young is ECU's roster especially their primary starting 9? I anticipate ECU will be a very good hitting club come April but in the meantime, as the young players find themselves, will the slow start kill their chances as an at-large?
Kendall Rogers
10:40
Matt -- definitely a tough schedule, but I like challenging yourself early. With that said, it was a little odd to schedule that difficult with a roster that, on paper, had a lot of question marks. It's tough to figure out this Tech team right now. I liked some of the things TTU did on the mound two weeks ago (not so much the offense), but I also didn't like some of the things the pitching staff did this past weekend. I think the margin for error for this year's Tech squad is very small. With that said, we will find out a lot more this weekend against a solid Illinois team, and certainly a good Texas squad.
Matt M
10:40
Texas Tech making a strong argument against scheduling tough early "for the RPI."  Surely you'd rather be 5-1 against weak competition than 1-5 with a raging fanbase?
Aaron Fitt
10:40
You're right, it's the Fun Belt -- very good league once again. We already liked Troy, USM, Coastal and Louisiana coming into the season, and I expect them all to be postseason clubs. You mentioned Texas State, and Georgia State is off to a good start too, that's a well coached, frisky bunch. Going to be fun to follow the Sun Belt race all season long.
Andrew
10:40
The Sun Belt is doing Sun Belt things early on this season. Even after the last few years, could this be the best the league has been? Troy and USM ranked, Louisiana and Coastal probably not too far behind, and Texas State seems to be better this year, even with the weekend loss to Illinois. Super fun league.
Aaron Fitt
10:37
I'll address this more in my upcoming Week Two Globe Life takeaways piece, but I was really surprised by how good Kansas State looked this weekend. Obviously it was a rough start at 1-4, and they lost so much from last year's club, my expectations were frankly pretty low for that team coming into this weekend. And then they went 3-0 against very good competition, churned out quality at-bats from top to bottom, played great defense, and showed me plenty of pitchability on the mound. They seem like a team that can get back to a regional. There will still be growing pains along the way with all those new guys, but they're talented and it's a well constructed roster.
Guest
10:37
Which team do you think has had the most surprisingly good start to the season?
Aaron Fitt
10:35
Vols look as advertised, a legit national title contender. Samford should be a SoCon contender, and that Tennessee pitching staff shut down that Bulldog offense this weekend. Doyle and Phillips look ready to roll in that rotation this year, have heard nothing but great reports on those two guys. We knew they had great stuff, and so far they're living up to their potential. Once again, it's a very, very deep staff too. Lots to like about this club.
Chester
10:35
What are your early thoughts on Tennessee so far this season?
Kendall Rogers
10:34
Jake -- honestly, not really. Sure, you don't want to get down 5-0 to the Mavericks (give Omaha some credit), but the fact the Tigers trimmed that lead to one in the final inning and had the winning run on base despite struggling the entire game was actually a good sign with this club. How about fab freshman Derek Curiel so far this season? All that hype, and he's leading the team in hitting - so far -- by a very solid clip.
Jake
10:34
any concern on LSU from the 1st double header game?
Aaron Fitt
10:32
Kind of a coin toss there -- both went 2-1 last week at Globe Life, both beat Arizona and another ranked team (Cards beat Texas, Rebels beat Clemson). That Clemson 15-5 rout stuck out to me, and that's one reason I leaned toward Ole Miss. Rebels followed it up with a dominant 4-0 week against lesser competition too. Take your pick there, both teams feel like sleeper clubs this year that should be much improved from last season.
Boone
10:32
Why ole miss over louisville
Kendall Rogers
10:31
Greg -- not quite yet. I just find it VERY hard to believe some of the guys not hitting will continue not hitting -- very similar to that star-studded Texas A&M lineup in that regard. For instance, Didawick is hitting .091, Ference is hitting .214 and Henry Ford is just at .250. Chris Arroyo is hitting .174, but he made some very, very hard contact in cold elements over the weekend. I'm still buying the stock on the 'Hoos offense, but it certainly was lacking over the weekend. On a side note, Trey Wells was a bright spot. He started in place of Ference on Saturday and gave them a nice offensive boost.
Greg
10:31
Any reason to be concerned about Virginia's offense? I thought it could be the best lineup in the country but they're off to an awfully slow start.
Aaron Fitt
10:29
Possibly so. I think they're certainly better than they showed this week, but that's a very new lineup and clearly it has not gelled yet. The poor pitching is jarring though; we expected that to be the strength of this Wolfpack team. I still think much better days are ahead for that staff, but right now they're clearly not a Top 25 club. Ultimately it feels to me like a team that will probably wind up as a No. 2 or possibly No. 3 seed in regionals, rather than a host. But there's a long way to go, and if that pitching comes together as we expected heading into the season, they could still make a run at being a host. It's important not to overreact to one lousy week, but that was a rough look, and they are light on proven commodities in the lineup, so maybe there's a little bit less benefit of the doubt with that group. They need to prove it.
Tony S in Raleigh
10:29
What is going on with NC State? Only 13 hits over the three games in Jacksonville, 16 BB's by pitchers and 6 errors. Is this just a team that was overrated coming into the season?
Kendall Rogers
10:26
It's early in the season. Weird losses are going to happen. Yes, the Ducks lost the first game of the URI series 1-0, but they also pitched a shutout and went crazy offensively the final two games of the series. I've got my eye on Maddox Molony, who is off to a torrid start for the Ducks. I also feel like Anson Aroz will be infinitely better at some point very soon. He's off to a slow start.
Phil
10:26
Is Oregon's lackluster play being hidden out on the west coast? 6-2 but some close wins against lesser opponents. Feels like this Columbia series will be very telling...
Aaron Fitt
10:26
I couldn't be more all-in on that Arkansas pitching staff — it's a simply insane collection of power arms, and they're not just throwers. Gaeckle and Root are legitimate four-pitch power guys with real pitchability, and that's a pretty rare combination, and they've got two of them. Gage Wood was electric and showed three very good pitches before he exited with shoulder soreness; hopefully he's OK, but even if he misses time, they're just so deep. Their ceiling is winning the national title; I don't think any other team in the country can match their arms. And I know Hog fans continue to grumble about the offense, but I think they'll be fine there. Wehiwa Aloy and Iredale give them two really good cornerstone guys to build around, and I think the supporting pieces are plenty good enough. I expect that to wind up being a very competent offense. That team is going to be really good.
Daniel
10:26
How did the Hogs looked this weekend in Arlington?  Thoughts on their ceiling?
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