1975grad wrote: I have the stats for the 3 game B-G series that I kept myself; I haven't seen anything posted on vucommodores.

Based on those 3 games, here's my assessment:

1. Dansby Swanson, SS, is the real deal -- he can hit and he can field; I'm convinced he'll be our Day 1 starter at short

2. Tyler Campbell, 2B, hit well and fielded well; not on Swanson's level, but definitely good.

3. Xavier Turner, 3b, strong arm, didn't hit all that well but he drew a lot of walks.

4. Rhett Wiseman, LF, hasn't caught up to college-level pitching yet; good fielder; very nice swing (he's a lefty); going to be a great one once he gets his swing down

5. Kyle Smith, RF, excellent fielder, still adjusting hitting-wise

6. Zander Wiel, DH, the kid can stroke the ball, has some power

I'm far more impressed with this freshman group than I was with last year's freshman hitters, but time will tell.

Thanks for the summary.  We're going to need strong hitting, it's the area I'm most worried about.  Strong hitting makes the difference in close games.  While we have great pitching, I don't think we're at the point where they can throw shutouts every game so we're going to need runs. 

In listening to the game, I got that feel for Swanson too, I look forward to seeing him out there this spring.  Campbell seemed to be a smart player too, in the field, at bat and on the basepaths.

The games did sound promising as far as those two freshman go, but I have heard that Swanson really struggled with the bat throughout the fall.  Corbin's interviews after the games also lead me to believe this might be true.  He really backed away from Swanson starting this season saying he felt he could probably play at some time this season.  Also, he said he had a lot to learn when it came to hitting.  It sounds to me like McKeithen will be starting at shortstop.  Apparently, Campbell hit the ball pretty consistently all fall.  He may have a chance at starting at second base if nobody steps up and fills that left field position.  If they get someone who can swing the bat consistently in left field, I would look for Kemp to stay at second.  I think both these freshman could very easily spend most of the season on the bench.  Then you always have to worry about losing them if they don't play.  Both of these kids could probably start for most teams.  Having too much talent is not always a good thing for a coach.

79dore wrote: The games did sound promising as far as those two freshman go, but I have heard that Swanson really struggled with the bat throughout the fall.  Corbin's interviews after the games also lead me to believe this might be true.  He really backed away from Swanson starting this season saying he felt he could probably play at some time this season.  Also, he said he had a lot to learn when it came to hitting.  It sounds to me like McKeithen will be starting at shortstop.  Apparently, Campbell hit the ball pretty consistently all fall.  He may have a chance at starting at second base if nobody steps up and fills that left field position.  If they get someone who can swing the bat consistently in left field, I would look for Kemp to stay at second.  I think both these freshman could very easily spend most of the season on the bench.  Then you always have to worry about losing them if they don't play.  Both of these kids could probably start for most teams.  Having too much talent is not always a good thing for a coach.

The Swanson I saw on the field, in all 3 games, was not struggling with the bat.  He was the overall series hit leader and even when he made outs he stung the ball several times.  He can also bunt.  Absolutely, positively no way either of them spend most of the season on the bench.  I am so confident in my amateur assessment of talent that I will go out on a limb and predict Swanson is our All-American Freshman for this season (we've had one 3 of the last 4 years.)  

Even if Kemp stays at second, Campbell will get lots of playing time even if it's only late in game, combined with moving Kemp to left for defensive purposes.  What happens in left will be very interesting to see how it plays out, what with a good group of outfielders in addition to Harrell and Yaz (who will be anchored in center and right -- unless Connor suffers the hitting slumps he's experienced each year he's been here.)  Norwood, Cooper, and Wiseman are all legit hitters and strong fielders.

The great thing about all of this is that Corbs has tons of options should a player or two not produce.

I am extremely confident in our pitching, as well, because every one of the freshmen looked promising (and remember, arguably the best among them, Buehler, didn't even play) and it won't be necessary for ALL of them to perform well once the real season starts, just enough of them to give us good depth and plenty of options.

I did not have the opportunity to watch the three game series.  I listened to the podcast and it was really hard to get a sense of who was doing what and how hard balls were hit.  That announcer was terrible.  Anyway, I did watch the online interviews with Corbin after the game and I thought they were very telling.  Corbin was asked point blank if Swanson was good enough to start at shortstop.  I thought his response was very telling.  He was very reluctant in his answer only saying he thought Swanson "could play at some point in the season."  He went on to say that, "he had a lot to learn with the bat."  Now, he was very complimentary of his defensive abilities but  it seemed pretty clear to me that McKeithen was going to be the starter - at this point.  Now, things could change after spring practice is concluded.

Corbin was also very complimentary of Campbell's ability.  When asked if he was thinking of moving Kemp back to left field and playing Campbell at second, he acted like that was definitely a possibility.  He commented that Campbell just gets the job done, both, defensively and offensively.  But, he also went on to say that they had not played Kemp in the outfield all fall and they were very committed to getting him all the reps they could at second base.  It sounds like they are going to go with their original plan of having Kemp play second.

I just think they will go with the older kids and if we are winning I don't think they will change up the lineup unless someone is really struggling.  If we do not get off to a good start anything could happen with the lineup.  I agree that these kids may see some innings and at-bats late in the weekday games or even weekend games if we are way up, but I do not expect them to see many meaningful innings if we get off to a good start.  But again, it is a long season and anything can happen.  If one of these freshman get an opportunity I think they are potentially good enough to never leave the lineup. We could be looking at a handful of freshman that could be three or four year starters.