As you all know, hope springs eternal. I was thinking about what our team was going to look like next year. Here's my best guess.
CF: Michael Guerrero - SR - Call it a hunch, but I think he comes back.
RF: Taylor Hashman - JR - Inbound Juco who batted .419 last season with 20 HRs
3B: Logan Williams - SO - 2 HRs in limited work when Overbeck was out.
SS: Evan Button - SR - YAY!
2B: Zach Miller - JR - Also obvious; Zach Miller's plate discipline was night and day between years one and two.
1B: Matt Smith - SO - Maybe his plate discipline will improve (wishful thinking).
C: Kyle Henson - SR - I think Hightower might take this spot eventually, but Bianco thought about playing Henson some this year. He must not be terrible.
Sat: Brett Bukvich - SR - where did this guy come from? He started on Saturdays as a freshman then disappeared for a year and a half. He ended the year as Bianco's third favorite starter.
Sun: Aaron Barrett - JR - A highly touted JUCO pitcher that will be given his chance to prove himself as a weekend starter.
Closer: Jake Morgan - SO - I really like what Jake Morgan was able to do in pressure situations last season.
Midweek: Nathan Baker - JR - Poor Nathan Baker. He was our Sunday starter as a true freshman; he just doesn't have the stuff he needs to be anything more than a control pitcher.
Midweek: Chris Corrigan - JR - Another highly touted JUCO pitcher who will be given a chance to win a weekend job.
Relief:
Kyle Barbeck - FR - The best high school pitcher in our class
David Goforth - FR - Redshirted last year; Hits mid 90's
Michael Park - FR - Redshirted due to injury; Louisville Slugger AA
Rory McKean - JR - Was excellent until the post-season; I think he will improve. Rumors are that he is learning the Bittler's THING.
Batting
I won't even take a stab at the batting order because Bianco always mystifies me with it. I'll just say who I think should be in it. (In no particular order)
1. Jordan Henry
2. Matt Smith
3. Zach Miller
4. Evan Button
5. Logan Williams
6. Michael Guerrero (if he returns; otherwise Jeremy Travis)
7. Taylor Hashman
8. Brett Basham
9. Cullen Kight
I'm sure there are people I don't even know about who can hit. I'm just basing these on what we've seen in their careers (except for Taylor Hashman). I would also like to give the following a shot:
Mike Snyder
Matt Snyder
Tim Ferguson
Taylor Hightower
Obviously, you want to redshirt some of those guys (or all... remember that Ferguson was probably going to redshirt last year if Button didn't go down.)\
Anyway, that's it. I'm relatively happy... considering the huge hits we took in the draft... I mean, seriously... Justin Cryer?
Fielding
LF: Jordan Henry - JR - Obvious.CF: Michael Guerrero - SR - Call it a hunch, but I think he comes back.
RF: Taylor Hashman - JR - Inbound Juco who batted .419 last season with 20 HRs
3B: Logan Williams - SO - 2 HRs in limited work when Overbeck was out.
SS: Evan Button - SR - YAY!
2B: Zach Miller - JR - Also obvious; Zach Miller's plate discipline was night and day between years one and two.
1B: Matt Smith - SO - Maybe his plate discipline will improve (wishful thinking).
C: Kyle Henson - SR - I think Hightower might take this spot eventually, but Bianco thought about playing Henson some this year. He must not be terrible.
Pitching
Fri: Drew Pomeranz - SO - let's figure out how he tips his pitches. We have an entire offseason.Sat: Brett Bukvich - SR - where did this guy come from? He started on Saturdays as a freshman then disappeared for a year and a half. He ended the year as Bianco's third favorite starter.
Sun: Aaron Barrett - JR - A highly touted JUCO pitcher that will be given his chance to prove himself as a weekend starter.
Closer: Jake Morgan - SO - I really like what Jake Morgan was able to do in pressure situations last season.
Midweek: Nathan Baker - JR - Poor Nathan Baker. He was our Sunday starter as a true freshman; he just doesn't have the stuff he needs to be anything more than a control pitcher.
Midweek: Chris Corrigan - JR - Another highly touted JUCO pitcher who will be given a chance to win a weekend job.
Relief:
Kyle Barbeck - FR - The best high school pitcher in our class
David Goforth - FR - Redshirted last year; Hits mid 90's
Michael Park - FR - Redshirted due to injury; Louisville Slugger AA
Rory McKean - JR - Was excellent until the post-season; I think he will improve. Rumors are that he is learning the Bittler's THING.
Batting
I won't even take a stab at the batting order because Bianco always mystifies me with it. I'll just say who I think should be in it. (In no particular order)
1. Jordan Henry
2. Matt Smith
3. Zach Miller
4. Evan Button
5. Logan Williams
6. Michael Guerrero (if he returns; otherwise Jeremy Travis)
7. Taylor Hashman
8. Brett Basham
9. Cullen Kight
I'm sure there are people I don't even know about who can hit. I'm just basing these on what we've seen in their careers (except for Taylor Hashman). I would also like to give the following a shot:
Mike Snyder
Matt Snyder
Tim Ferguson
Taylor Hightower
Obviously, you want to redshirt some of those guys (or all... remember that Ferguson was probably going to redshirt last year if Button didn't go down.)\
Anyway, that's it. I'm relatively happy... considering the huge hits we took in the draft... I mean, seriously... Justin Cryer?