Updated Polls

Baseball Writers: 15th
Baseball America: 18th
Collegiate Baseball: 18th
Perfect Game: 10th
Coaches\ESPN: not updated

Thoughts

Well, here we go again, negative nannies. Sure I expect to drop in polls. A couple of writers don't like us. So be it.

We have young players who are overwhelmed or scared or lost...but they won't be for long. They will mature and be the player they want to be. We just have to be patient.

Baseball is funny sometimes. Ball don't bounce right, etc. What it does do is even out. We will get hot and win a lot sometime down the road.

Schedule: we should have no problem w Mt St Mary's. But Michigan State and Eastern Illinois will be tough. 4-2 would be my guess.

Keep supporting and keep a positive attitude. We will be a winner soon.

Opening weekend-what we learned

We spare no expense getting a team to play us-we had a bus go pick up Western Carolina. We bussed them back!

Starting pitching-if we can get Woodruff, Fitts, Hudson to pitch 5 quality innings on average, we have a great chance to win lots and lots of games.

Field questions-Britton played a great short stop, just need some hits from him. OF is fine with plenty of options. Catcher is still my question, Randolph manned it well but is the main guy? Collins played good, called a great game, didn't strike out either. JC transfer Cody Walker didn't play-will he RS? What is Garner's role, DH?

Hitting or lack thereof. No doubt the sore spot. Way too many SO's. We have Memphis, 4 with Holy Cross, 2 with Mount St. Mary to get it going. Michigan State and Eastern Illinois role in two weeks. Both are very capable.

We played a tough opponent and won the series. We found a way, we have determination, grit, we persevered.

We played a lot of new guys who will help us. They needed to get their feet wet. They will get over the nervousness soon.

The next 7 games are big. We will continue to throw the new guys out there and we need AB's to get better.

SEC Coaches Predictions--Their voice

Eastern Division

1)  South Carolina (9 1st Place votes) 86 points
2)  Vanderbilt (5 1st Place votes) 82 points
3)  Florida 69 points
4)  Kentucky 47 points
5)  Tennessee 39 points
6)  Georgia 38 points
7)  Missouri 24 points

Western Division

1)  LSU (6 1st Place votes) 84 points
2)  Miss State (7 1st Place votes) 83 points
3)  Alabama 58 points
3)  Texas A & M (1 1st Place vote) 58 points
5)  Arkansas 44 points
6)  Ole Miss 35 points
7)  Auburn 21 points

SEC Regular Season Champion: South Carolina (5 votes); LSU (4 votes);
                                                  Miss State (4 votes); Vanderbilt (1 vote)

What sticks out to me is TAMU getting 1 vote to win the West. Really? I guess coaches can't vote for themselves, so who did that?  That would be my prediction also, Auburn and Missouri don't make the SEC tournament. Most writers are predicting 9-10 teams to make the Regional round of the NCAA tournament. Again, I would go along with that prediction. If a team has less than 35 overall wins, it will be hard for them to make the NCAA's.

Miss State does not play South Carolina nor does LSU. We both play Vanderbilt. LSU plays Florida and Miss State doesn't. Remember, the winners and runners up of each division, gets a bye in the SEC tournament. But he main goal of SEC play (since 1996) is to win the Regular Season Championship.

2014 Season Outlook

2014 Outlook for the Mississippi State baseball team

Well, the 2013 season is a tough act to follow. We were in the finals playing for our first National Championship. But I sincerely believe, we have more talent on this years club. The new players will have to adjust and gain experience, the step-up players as I call them (former backups) will have to step up and the seasoned veterans will have to sustain their level of play.

The 2014 non-conference schedule is a bit tougher than 2013. The highlight is traveling to Tucson, Arizona to play UC Santa Barbara and Arizona for two games apiece. Both are real talented and experienced. The 2014 conference schedule, on the other hand, on paper, not the tough 2013 slate where we finished 16-14. We play Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia. All three were ok in 2013 but I look for them to rebound and be a tough opponent. We dropped South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky. Carolina and Florida are perennial postseason teams.

My prediction for the schedule is 22-4 wins in the non-conference slate and 18-12 for SEC play. That should again put us on the 40 win mark for the regular season. Of course, many of the SEC games will be decided by a run, thus with our experience in the bullpen, will help decide these in our favor. I do think we will be good enough to host another regional. Another milestone would be to be picked for a National Seed. We need to win 40 plus and be 1st or 2nd in the SEC. Every teams goal is to reach Omaha and the College World Series. This year we need to win the SEC Regular Season championship first. It is very hard to predict what will happen during postseason play, a lot has to do with momentum. Tune in later…

The 2013 recruiting class certainly fared well in the national rankings, earning a 2nd place in one publication. The 2014 class is shaping up nicely and the 2015 is even better (my opinion). Winning will take care of recruiting. Getting a brand new stadium in the next few years won’t hurt either. We are headed to become a perennial power in college baseball for years to come.

The Players

  First Base: Wes Rea, Jr.RS. He is the captain and leader. His hitting really took off the latter part of 2013 but his defense was always there. All-Star and MLB draft pick in 2014. The backup looks to be Reid Humphreys, Fr. Freshman Dylan Ingram and Brent Rooker are expected to redshirt.

  Second Base: Brett PIrtle, Sr. He could play shortstop but he needs to play 2B. Excellent defender and probably third hole hitter in the lineup. A clutch, clutch performer. The backup I think is Kyle Hann, So. I think Hann will take a huge step this year.

  Short Stop: Matthew Britton, Jr. He has always had the talent and after much work it is paying off. He has developed into a great player. The backup is Seth Heck, Jr., a JC transfer from Washington state. A really nice defender who gets on base with the best of them.

  Third Base: Alex Detz, Sr. or Reid Humphreys, Fr. I am putting this as even. I think Detz will start the year here but will play a lot of DH too. Humphreys, I believe will be a really good player by May. He is a bona fide star in the making.

  Catcher: Cody Walker, Jr. or Daniel Garner, Fr.RS. I give a slight nod to Walker because he is a JC guy who has experience and the defensive tools. Garner is still developing defensively but his offense is great. Highly touted Gavin Collins, Fr., will have his shots. Again, I think by May, Collins will be a force. Jr.RS Zach Randolph, still in the mix also.

  Left Field: Jacob Robson, So. or Jake Vickerson, Jr. Another closely battled position. Both bat left, run fast and can make a difference on the base paths.

  Center Field: C.T. Bradford, Sr. Another captain and leader. I expect another big year from Bradford especially in the pitching department.

  Right Field: Demarcus Henderson, Sr. He came on strong at the end of 2013. The backup is Derrick Armstrong, Sr. A very fast OF. He showed flashes last year. Another highly touted player to watch is Joey Swinarski, Fr. He was hindered in the fall but now is 100 %. Another player who could blossom by May.

  Designated Hitter: Alex Detz, Daniel Garner, Reid Humphreys. This spot will start out with one of these guys. Gavin Collins and Joey Swinarski I can see coming in to pinch hit sometimes. This spot is a strength in 2014.

The Pitchers

 

The pitching staff revolves around the weekend starters. We have a mixture of veterans and newcomers. The bullpen is similar. A very exciting mixture.

  Friday Starter: Brandon Woodruff, Jr. I think he will take control of the Friday role. I expect a big year from him. A very possible top 3 round pick in MLB Draft.

  Saturday Starter: Trevor Fitts, Jr. I would start out with Fitts in this role. Ben Bracewell, SrRS, is another that could very well emerge. Maybe both for 4 innings?

  Sunday Starter: Dakota Hudson, Fr. I think by SEC play, he will be the starter here. C.T. Bradford, Sr., is another that could come in on Sunday. Hudson throwing 95 MPH on Sunday is a good thing.

  Mid-Week Starter: Austin Sexton, Fr. and Preston Brown, SoRS. We have 10 mid-week games and they are very important to win. These two guys, I think are good in this role. Both will gain experience and are capable. Sexton is future rotation guy.

  Long Relief: Ross Mitchell, JrRS and Jacob Lindgren, Jr. Long relief means these guys could start. Both are lefty’s and have plenty of experience. Mitchell was the fireman in 2013. Maybe same role in 2014.

  Short Relief: (Submarine) Will Cox, Jr. and Myles Gentry, So. I think Butch Thompson has hit on something converting some guys to side arm relievers. Whatever it takes to get the hitters out and extend the life (playing time) of a pitcher. Happens all the time in MLB.

  Closer: Jonathan Holder, Jr. I am glad they tackled him several times in 2013. He put too many grey hairs upon my head. He is an All-American and I do expect him to be drafted.

  Unknowns or Miscellaneous: These guys I don’t know much about and they could turn out to be a great contributor. JC transfers Ben Hudspeth and Lucas Laster did ok in the fall. John Marc Shelley, So. pitched a little in 2013. Will he be groomed for the closer role? Paul Young, So. to me is the biggest wildcard we have. If he can duplicate what he did at the end of his junior college year than he will be a major contributor in 2014. His elbow hurt all fall but now it is fine. I expect him to start slow but gradually get more innings but in what role? True freshman Avery Geyer, Zac Houston, Jacob Billingsley, Levi Mintz, Vance Tatum and Glenn Irby may redshirt or may become a short reliever in 2014. We just have to wait and see.

Newcomers:

Four true freshmen as of right now, will have the most impact. Reid Humphreys, Gavin Collins, Austin Sexton and Dakota Hudson. These guys will start and/or play a whole lot. Junior college signees are a big part of our program and we have 4 that will contribute significantly their first year. Cody Walker, Jake Vickerson, Seth Heck and Paul Young. These guys add great depth to their spots. Young was injured in the fall and couldn’t pitch but now in early spring, he is starting to show what he can do. Again, it may take a few games but these guys will make an impact.

These are the 8 players who have excelled so far. It wouldn’t surprise me if another signee made an impact late in the season. An excellent job by the coaches to recruit top notch talent.

My story: new twitter name-new avatar

When I first started my twitter account, @MsStateBaseball, I was virtually the only MsState fan or affiliation on twitter. It all started for me (I think) February of 2010. I emailed Joe Dier to see if Jim Ellis or the school was on twitter. He emailed me back and said I will check. An hour later he had at least signed Jim up to give us rabid fans mobile updates. Well, you know 2010 was the last year of what I term "Dark Ages" of MsState baseball. We had a losing season, so no one wanted to follow me on twitter and listen to vent or describe how better we will be in the coming years.

I along with countless other huge MsState baseball fans, were seeking more and better info on our beloved program and college baseball in general. Somewhere along the way, Joe Dier got the school to start tweeting out more info and it snow balled from there. Now, the baseball office and school do an excellent job of keeping us fans informed with tweets, video interviews and stats. I can't be more happy. When I started the twitter account, more people mistook me for the schools twitter account. Well, I got an email from twitter about infringement issues. So I have changed my avatar and twitter handle. I am happy to do so because I don't care what it is as long as my message and info hit a wide audience.

My new handle is @MsStBaseballFan so please spread the word.

My content won't change at all. You will still see updated recruit commits and signings. You will see former players in pro baseball and where they are. You will see the roster breakdown and how next years roster will look. You will see the schedule breakdown. Really, I try to bridge the gap of information that you can't find anywhere else. Plus, just like after the CWS, I got hundreds of people asking me about the 2014 team, what we had coming back, how good will we be, etc. This is what I am here for and strive to provide.

New Players-High Impact

Several players have shown they are ready to contribute. These are the new players that will have the most impact as of now.  Here is my list:

Dakota Hudson, RHP: This true freshman hit the ground running in the fall. He is a legitimate contender for SEC rotation spot. The preseason schedule will go a long way to see his game management skills.

Austin Sexton, RHP: Another true freshman that has stood out in fall drills. Need to see what he can do against other teams.

Reid Humphreys, 3B/DH: High school POY in state of Mississippi in 2013. A solid all around player that will see significant time in 2014.

Gavin Collins, C/DH: Highly touted youngster from California. In battle for starting role at catcher. He has the whole package, defensively and offensively. Just needs to get adjusted to college baseball.

Seth Heck, MIF: A JC transfer from Washington state that has really shown flashes with his glove. Has the ability to extend at bats with his pitch selection. He will play mostly SS.

Cody Walker, C: JC transfer who excels on defense. Will push the other catchers for playing time or start.

Jake Vickerson, OF: another JC transfer who has really impressed during preseason drills. Will play a lot this year. Excellent defender. A left handed bat that extends the AB. Has a great eye at the plate.

Chris Stratton 13th on list.

Check out @MLBDraftInsider's Tweet: https://twitter.com/MLBDraftInsider/status/433069838341128192

Key words for 2014.

Quiet confidence: this team will go about business. Don't get too high or too low. Even keel the whole way.

Low ERA: if an opponent scores a lot of runs against us, they earn the win. We will throw quality arms galore at each team in each game.

Gain experience: the new players both JC and Fr need to gain experience and learn from it. These guys have serious talent.

Pressure: we have the experience and speed on offense to hit and run more or just straight steal. Push the envelope time.

SEC Champs: we need this bad. I'm not talking about the tourney in Hoover either.

On the downhill slide..

We are less than a week away. Weather has not been great for the pitchers but its not just us. The final roster should be released later this week. The first two weeks you will see lots of platooning in the field, I think. By the time we go to Arizona, the team should be in their roles. I predict another great year. Momentum is the key word in June. If we have it like last year, we will go far again.