2024 Texas Baseball

[YGIFS 19450]

How many fucking Grudzielaneks are in organized baseball now, like 8? 

[Hookem2147 21231]

Didn’t Witt go like 4 shutout his last start before the draft? Not gonna say I’m just ignoring his results this summer because there is the small chance he just never regains his old form, but I’ll be paying closer attention to how he looks in the fall scrimmages once he’s cleared the 18 month mark in his return.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Hookem2147

[NorthLoop 14196]

Honestly at this point maybe he should ramp it down for awhile 

[Biff Tannen 45682]

4 hours ago, HenryJames said:

 

WOOF

[chase25 2048]

Yeah Tanner needs to just shut it down

[EZ$ 2104]

Maybe we do need to prioritize funds to a Friday/Saturday starter in the portal.  I think the lineup is set, but if Witt doesn’t regain his form, then we just have LBJ as a proven weekend guy.
I’d be Ok with Hurley as our Sunday guy and even Whitehead as our Tuesday guy if we we can land a proven #2. That probably won’t win a national championship, but should get us to Omaha and from there, you never know. 

[Chuckie Finster 22694]

Giving up 7ER on only 3 hits and 2 walks is honestly impressive.

[Hookem2147 21231]

2 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

Giving up 7ER on only 3 hits and 2 walks is honestly impressive.

Looks like he plunked a batter or two as well.

He might still be up there to continue to try to build up arm strength. If he wants to be full go for an entire season starting next February maybe they want him to hit a certain inning mark by the end of the summer.

Like I said yesterday, I’m not going to pay too much attention to the results. His last few starts here, his curveball had good shape and he seemed to have a feel for his changeup, it was just the fastball he couldn’t find. That feels fairly normal for a guy at this point in the process.

[hobbes2702 13033]

2 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Looks like he plunked a batter or two as well.

He might still be up there to continue to try to build up arm strength. If he wants to be full go for an entire season starting next February maybe they want him to hit a certain inning mark by the end of the summer.

Like I said yesterday, I’m not going to pay too much attention to the results. His last few starts here, his curveball had good shape and he seemed to have a feel for his changeup, it was just the fastball he couldn’t find. That feels fairly normal for a guy at this point in the process.

100%. His fastball was topping out at 91-92 and he couldn’t locate it. He’s clearly not back yet. I don’t buy into the idea at all that he somehow has just lost it. The velo is going to start coming back and he just needs innings at this point. 

[Hookem2147 21231]

Hainline to Oregon State

[chase25 2048]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

Hainline to Oregon State

That is a fun landing spot, makes Oregon State a lot better.

[tx 3 putt 76939]

 

[.45s 28]

Witt looked good in his previous start, but yesterday looks more like what he did before the start before that and most of his outings during the season.  I don't know if he needs to shut it down or keep working.  

Regarding the Schwartz kid that just committed, I don't know much about him but saw a kid named Bolkema, class of 24 from Iowa, welcoming him as another prior commit.  I looked him up and he was a champion last year in some kind of national home run derby contest.  He looks like a high school defensive lineman.  He is about 5 ft. 10 and about 250.

[Horny Bull 2759]

Transfer INF from Duke

https://goduke.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke--storm/18528

[Js1 85325]

6’5 240

Damn

[Hookem2147 21231]

Good pickup. Another guy who could factor in at 1B or the OF or DH. Switch hitter too which is nice. Does strike out quite a bit but you can live with it if he’s hitting for power from both sides.

[Mason Ramsey 3373]

26 minutes ago, .45s said:

Witt looked good in his previous start, but yesterday looks more like what he did before the start before that and most of his outings during the season.  I don't know if he needs to shut it down or keep working.  

Regarding the Schwartz kid that just committed, I don't know much about him but saw a kid named Bolkema, class of 24 from Iowa, welcoming him as another prior commit.  I looked him up and he was a champion last year in some kind of national home run derby contest.  He looks like a high school defensive lineman.  He is about 5 ft. 10 and about 250.

Kid is a monster power hitter. I think he missed playing this year with a torn Achilles.

[texifornia 56945]

1 hour ago, Horny Bull said:

Transfer INF from Duke

https://goduke.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke--storm/18528

I've seen him play a few times. Built like a Major League 1B.  Big, strong athlete.

Cocky as hell, too. Kid has swagger.

[MuellerHorn 4230]

2 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Good pickup. Another guy who could factor in at 1B or the OF or DH. Switch hitter too which is nice. Does strike out quite a bit but you can live with it if he’s hitting for power from both sides.

 

2 hours ago, Mason Ramsey said:

Kid is a monster power hitter. I think he missed playing this year with a torn Achilles.

He played this year and put up pretty good stats. Homered from both sides of the plate in an inning too. 
 

[MuellerHorn 4230]

As a tangent, why are so many of Duke’s best players for next season leaving? Is it anything other than NIL?

Edited July 16, 2023 by MuellerHorn

[Mason Ramsey 3373]

4 minutes ago, MuellerHorn said:

 

He played this year and put up pretty good stats. Homered from both sides of the plate in an inning too. 
 

I was actually talking about Bolkema, but the point stands.

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

How the lineup shakes out is going to be interesting. I don't think Luke Storm is coming here to sit on the bench. 

Started every game for a Supers team that was 1 win away from the CWS and he can hit for power. Somebody is going to be the odd man out. 

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

8 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Good pickup. Another guy who could factor in at 1B or the OF or DH. Switch hitter too which is nice. Does strike out quite a bit but you can live with it if he’s hitting for power from both sides.

I think he's going to do much more than just "factor in". I can't see a guy that started over a 100 games in the last 2 years at Duke coming here to battle for a position. 

The only question is where he's starting and who the odd man out is. 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Rickylovesweed

[NorthLoop 14196]

12 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I think he's going to do much more than just "factor in". I can't see a guy that started over a 100 games in the last 2 years at Duke coming here to battle for a position. 

The only question is where he's starting and who the odd man out is. 

 

 

I mean we have 2 INF positions open now right? And O'Dowd takes up one of the other spots.... 

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

21 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

I mean we have 2 INF positions open now right? And O'Dowd takes up one of the other spots.... 

I think there are 2 players that are likely locks to be starters in the INF. Thomas at 1B and Powell somewhere. 

So that leaves 3 spots for 2 INF and DH. You have O'Dowd, Flores, Borba, Storm, and plus 1 odd man out in the OF (Belyeu/Cummings/Gasparino/Brown) also in the mix for the DH spot. 

It's a good problem to have but I see 5 guys battling for 3 spots. I think Storm is the most likely to start out of those 5 though. 

[Snake Diggity 4622]

Can Powell still play catcher?  Maybe he can move around and be in the lineup almost everyday playing C, 3B, 1B, and 2B (and effectively SS since O’Dowd can play SS when Powell plays 2B)?  Belyeu can be the primary backup across all 3 OF spots plus DH.  That gives you 11 guys playing almost every day:

C Galvan

1B Thomas

2B O’Dowd

SS Flores 

3B Borba 

RF Brown

CF Cummings

LF Gasparino

DH Storm

UT Powell

OF Belyeu

Divvying up the departed players’ AB:

Cummings replaces Kennedy (with Belyeu picking up some)

Gasparino replaces Campbell (with Belyeu picking up some)

Borba replaces Daly and Carlson

Storm and Galvan effectively replace Guillemette (assuming Powell plays a lot of catcher)

[txhorns 2409]

Galvan only has a spot by default.  He has not earned the starting catcher spot at this time.  I would actually have preferred we got a catcher instead of another infielder in Storm.  Glad to have Storm but I think catcher is our big weakness right now.

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

I would prefer to add a catcher from the portal and Galvan hasn't "earned a spot", but most considered him the top catcher in Texas from his recruiting class. He was a legit prospect coming out of HS. 

You can't just recruit over all the top prospects on your roster because they haven't produced in limited opportunities. 

The staff may just be putting their chips in on the development of a talented recruit which isn't necessarily a terrible approach. 

 

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

Galvan reminds me a lot of Ardoin. 

Didn't do much in the Covid year to justify starting in year 2. Year 2 was ok. But in year 3, Ardoin was really good. Do you risk running off a talented player that may need time/development for an instant impact transfer? Tough to balance. 

Also, Galvan was probably a better prospect than Ardoin coming out of HS. 

[HenryJames 66049]

Ardoin was a better defensive catcher than Galvan from day one. 

[Hookem2147 21231]

9 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I think he's going to do much more than just "factor in". I can't see a guy that started over a 100 games in the last 2 years at Duke coming here to battle for a position. 

The only question is where he's starting and who the odd man out is. 

 

 

Storm hit .200 in ACC play this year and struck out a crap ton. He is far from a shoe-in to start. He’s an intriguing player with some upside but he’ll have to battle it out with some other guys. I think he’s a solid pickup with some developmental meat still on the bone.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Hookem2147

[Rickylovesweed 14299]

49 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Ardoin was a better defensive catcher than Galvan from day one. 

Definitely but he also hit .241 in year 1 and .238 in year 2. 

There were several people on this board questioning if Ardoin should have been the starter in 2022. Pierce stuck with a talented player and bet on his bat eventually figuring things out. 

It's a tough thing to balance but I think we have to give at least 1 of Flores or Galavn the opportunity to prove themselses this year (both were uber talented coming out HS). 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Rickylovesweed

[Hookem2147 21231]

I would be pretty surprised if we aren’t able to get at least relatively decent catcher play out of some mix of Galvan, Schuessler, Service and maybe Sanders/Powell.

Galvan started last season 3 for 21 so he was swimming upstream from the beginning trying to get his average back to a respectable level considering he was only getting a handful of AB’s a week. He was 16 for 63 the rest of the way (.253), including .257 in Big 12 play in 35 AB’s.

(looking back at the stats, it’s wild to see that Eric Kennedy hit .233 in Big 12 play and O’Dowd hit .222)

Edited July 16, 2023 by Hookem2147

[txhorns 2409]

I get wanting to let Galvan develop but we are one good starting pitcher away from being a legitimate national title contender.  In that position you need to upgrade your roster as much as possible.  Most years Galvan should be a shoe in to start but maybe not this year.

[torre 1285]

We owe it to Tanner and LBJ (who honored us by returning) to  acquire an experienced catcher with few or no question marks from the portal while the younger catchers develop.     Pierce and company may feel someone on the  roster is capable - time will tell.

 

For one reason or the other,  Galvan is not receiving much playing time at catcher this Summer.    Perhaps he has a nagging injury,  low batting average, etc.

 

[HenryJames 66049]

31 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

There were several people on this board questioning if Ardoin should have been the starter in 2022.

You can find several people on this board questioning if fucking gravity is real.

Dude didn’t make an error in 2021, threw out 20 of 48 baserunners, and handled a very good staff well.

[Had Enough 2081]

Regarding discussion on Galvans D, I recall hearing that the C on his knee is teaching point these days to help the pitcher keep the ball down. I know there was discussion on that earlier this season. I’m not a fan of that, but it’s less concerning than his receiving and blocking/catching those he should.

It still is a thing that you can live with offensive holes at either C, SS, or CF. You just can’t have holes at all 3. Maybe not even 2. The truth is mediocre seasons can be had if they heat up come the post season.

With the abilities of this team, we could likely live with a mediocre hitter at C. Galvan can likely give enough offense, but he can’t be a liability defensively.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21906]

He definitely wasn’t very good at throwing out runners

[Levi 2586]

43 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Regarding discussion on Galvans D, I recall hearing that the C on his knee is teaching point these days to help the pitcher keep the ball down. I know there was discussion on that earlier this season. I’m not a fan of that, but it’s less concerning than his receiving and blocking/catching those he should.

It still is a thing that you can live with offensive holes at either C, SS, or CF. You just can’t have holes at all 3. Maybe not even 2. The truth is mediocre seasons can be had if they heat up come the post season.

With the abilities of this team, we could likely live with a mediocre hitter at C. Galvan can likely give enough offense, but he can’t be a liability defensively.

Everything that I’ve read is being on the knee allows for the catcher to receive the ball better and creating more saves/steals on strikes. There’s a whole movement in the MLB right now that show with stats that catchers can create more outs by framing pitches better than actually throwing guys out. I think Galvan  lacked the experience and his blocking suffered. You can still throw and block from one knee but you have to be confident and comfortable in doing it.  There’s pros and cons for each stance and in my opinion a mixture of both is the route I would take. 

[HenryJames 66049]

Galvan should get the lion’s share of reps in the fall so hopefully that leads to better play. 

[HenryJames 66049]

 

 

[totallynotabuttpirate 5400]

6 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

 

 

[Hookem2147 21231]

Sthele was the one referenced the other day about having FOMO and thinking about a potential return.

[realgreggym 835]

On 7/15/2023 at 1:51 AM, Biff Tannen said:

WOOF

I spent part of my honeymoon in Chatham at the Old Cranberry Inn so this hits really close to home.

[HenryJames 66049]

Daly’s dad posts here as @Had Enough.

[Hookem2147 21231]

25 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Daly’s dad posts here as @Had Enough.

If that is true then what they did is very wrong and should be dealt with accordingly.

With that being said, that dudes twitter s.u.c.k.s. He has the emotional stability of a teenage girl and spews a lot of garbage. I see his stuff pop up on my timeline every once in a while or in the comments of people I follow.

[Hookem2147 21231]

Fabian to Auburn. That was the INF transfer I referenced during the draft once Hainline became unlikely. Sounds like Storm jumped in and the inn became full.

If they take any other transfers at this point it would probably be another pitcher, but as things currently stand about 9-10 guys are going to get cut or leave before the roster is trimmed to 40 heading into the spring.

[Had Enough 2081]

Hey now, I don’t twitter. I don’t mind throwing out some internet threats. Might even throw out some in person, but they won’t go beyond whipping some ass and into this territory.

It is sobering when I think I’m old enough, and then some, to be his dad. Damn.

There is a considerable amount of bitchass on this site and I ain’t apologizing for jabbin back at anyone or highlighting the positives for any player. For all outward appearances our dudes play hard and are good teammates. That’s what I ask. For Texas baseball, I take it as a given they have talent or they wouldn’t be here. Beyond that, it’s the coaches job to put them in position to find success.

As for next year, I hope Sthele comes back and gets half the board shitting their pants. Either way, we’re positioned to return to Omaha. Play big at the big moments.

Imo.

[jimmyjazz 45920]

So is that some random student tweeting about Zane & Mitch's dads?

[zlavydra 2121]

5 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

I would be pretty surprised if we aren’t able to get at least relatively decent catcher play out of some mix of Galvan, Schuessler, Service and maybe Sanders/Powell.

Galvan started last season 3 for 21 so he was swimming upstream from the beginning trying to get his average back to a respectable level considering he was only getting a handful of AB’s a week. He was 16 for 63 the rest of the way (.253), including .257 in Big 12 play in 35 AB’s.

(looking back at the stats, it’s wild to see that Eric Kennedy hit .233 in Big 12 play and O’Dowd hit .222)

Not only did O'Dowd sport a batting average of .222 in conference play, he also had the 8th-worst OPS in the conference (among eligible hitters).  But he and Daly ( dead last in the conference) picked it up in the postseason.