• The KillerFrogs

2018 TCU BASEBALL SEASON THREAD

PO Frog

Active Member
We had so many awful strikeouts last year that I'm looking forward to some new blood. Smaug had a boatload of HRs and was huge in our post season run, but goodness he had a whole bunch of Ks when all that was needed was contact. As did the rest of the lineup. I remember being frustrated the whole season and looking up to find ourselves in Omaha yet again. Schloss is a magician.

Think we have a chance to have the best weekend rotation in baseball so the offense just needs to be mediocre IMO.
 

TAINTed frog

Active Member
Stay with me here, as this is so long-winded you would’ve thought Purp took over my computer. Let me say first that I am a homer. I have never predicted us to finish with less more than 1 loss in football or anywhere short of a national championship in baseball. So yes, I am an optimist and quite insane with purple glasses.

Second, Darn Tech. WRTMFS! And we host them for 3 at Lupton this year.

Now, baseball is such a magical sport because you cannot predict what will happen in the end. So, while we all have aspirations of winning in Omaha, you cannot predict that far out. I’ve always said, you play roughly 60 games, (Complain about playing UTRGV on a Tuesday, drive to Abiline the following Tuesday, hunker down by the radio during away games in Lawrence, and wait out snow delays in West Virginia) and it all comes down to 3 days in June (which you cannot predict). One pitch in June and you could be on your way to the promise land or sitting at home. Where would we be without Skoug’s bomb in the 8th against Missouri State? That crushed their soul and carried on to the next day. One missed pitch, one booted ball at third (thank you Boomer), or one bounced throw home that gets through the catcher (thank you Aggie) can send you to Omaha. The goal now should be getting to 40+ wins with a hope of hosting a regional. How do we get there?

A lot of folks are freaking out about the lineup. At this point in the season I’m sure everyone would rather have a well-established promising rotation, ahead of a salty lineup. And that is certainly what we have. Heck, we’ve made it to Omaha with a mediocre lineup before. Our pitching can certainly carry us towards 40 wins. Now, my thoughts (which means more questions than answers):

Scattershooting pitching: Two weekend starters return. Janczak was a stud last year (9-2; 2.31 era) & I expect Lodolo to take the leap into legendary status. We’ll miss Brian Howard (especially if we make it to postseason) but I think everyone is excited about Wymer. The dude was really good in the postseason. Just guessing he slides into the weekend rotation, and I would not be too worried with a trio of JJ/Lodolo/Wymer. I don’t follow High School recruits around the country, but who’s not to like a 6-9 lefty? I am sure I am forgetting somebody, but I predict either Russel Smith fills in the Tuesday spot or Charles King figured a few things out and starts the weekdays? Add to that our all world closer and I feel pretty good about the arms. Does Cal Coughlin move into the setup role or the Tuesday roll? He was salty as hell last year too. Our bullpen was strong last year as we went 36-2 when leading after 6. That’s unreal!

Batting: This is where I think folks are freaking out too much. First, I stated earlier that I am the type of fan to always expect the best, and that includes when we lose folks. Even last year when Baker got hurt, I curled up in the fetal position for a few hours and then told myself for the next month or so that “he is just another hitter and we’re going to be okay”. Well, we were “okay” until we got to Omaha and then we really missed him.

With the fear of sounding like I’m bashing some of the dudes that left, we aren’t exactly replacing the 1927 Yankees lineup. Stats can be misleading but in baseball I like to look at avg. (because I’m old school), slugging pct. (because it takes into account power #s) and on-base % (because I just loved Brad Pitt in Moneyball). So, let’s go around the horn (Take into account that I usually siphon down a few IPA’s before each game, so corrections done in a polite way are certainly welcome) :

(Batting Avg/ Slugging %/ On Base Percentage)
1B
- Returning: Luken Baker (.317/.528/.454) I love you Baker! The dude was on fire and we relied on him heavily before he got hurt last year. I can’t wait to watch this dude punish darn a few baseballs this spring.

2B- Need to replace: Cam Warner (.284/.384/.364) A solid batting average and on base percentage. The dude was pretty good throughout the year. Sounds like we got 2 options to attempt to fill Cam’s shoes but I expect a drop-off.

SS- Need to replace: Ryan Merrill (.243/.372/.333) Merrill was a badass in Omaha, but his offensive numbers were a bit pedestrian from the months of February-May. Someone with more baseball knowledge can dissect his .950 fielding percentage, but from what I’ve heard of Oviedo, we’ll be just fine at SS, which is what we were (or better than) last year.

3B- Need to replace: Elliot Barzilli (.242/.367/.304) Barz struggled mightily for a lot of the season, led the team in GIDP and kept finding himself moving down the order. While I loved Barzilli as a player, and his dreamy hair, he took a step back in 2017, so I don’t think it will be hard to replace his production at the plate.

C- Need to replace: Evan Skoug (.272/.544/.378) Skoug was a beast and one of my favorite frogs. Ice water in his veins. It’s hard to replace a guy that started 68 of 68 games. Zach Humphries has promise but we will be comparing catchers to Skoug for years.

OF- Need to replace: Austen Wade (.332/.486/.442) Dude was a stud last year and, along with Baker, carried us in the first half of the season. I think we’ll miss his production and Skoug’s the most. Possible Replacement: Connor Wanhannen?

OF- Need to replace: Nolan Brown (.277/.388/.369) Our far-and-away leader in stolen bases and a solid batting average, but you would love to have seen a higher OBP from a guy with such speed. NB was a bit frustrating at times, but pretty salty in center.

OF- Returning: Josh Watson (.239/.309/.370) Here’s hoping that Watson find his former self and raise his batting and slugging by 50 points each.

DH- Returning: Connor Wanhanen (.281/.341/.430) I know Luken will be DHing a lot, but Connor is returning and he had a pretty solid year last year with a .430 OBP in limited time. I feel good about CW.

Fun to look at if you are interested in last year from go frogs: 2017 stats

I guess what I’m saying is don’t freak out about the lineup. Skoug and Wade will be sorely missed, but I think when all is said and done can improve on some of the spots from last year. We have great pitching and the best motherdarning coach in the land. Hallelujah! Holy boat! Where's the tylenol ?
Did you write this tome on your phone or computer???
 

FrogsMcGee

Active Member
Johnny Rizer (OF) transfer from Blinn listed on d1baseball watchlist for top 10 round draft potential. Don’t recall reading much about him.
 

QuilterFrawg

CDR USN (Ret)
I got lost at Barzilli's dreamy hair.
I hear that!
TCUbase
 
Yeah? Just wait till the season starts and the the usual experts start giving their special brand of advice, then you’ll see who knows the most...
I’ll start us for the year.... why don’t we move a runner over when the situation dictates? we lose way too many runners to bonehead baserunning. We even had an acronym for it that escapes me.
 
Was thinking about this last night... I think we have reached almost peak TCU Baseball (sans Natty). Here's my rationale...

- We have a consensus top 5 program.
- We have a consensus top 5 preseason club.
- We have a national MVP candidate. We have several high level MLB draft targets (er-go, good projectable talent)

And yet, I feel like the feeling of most fans, including myself, is that this year's team isn't THAT great, that we have a lot of "holes", and that if we make it back to Omaha that'll be some kind of over-performance.

Guys, we gotta start enjoying the ride here. I went and checked and TCU Baseball has major, high level prospects committed through the 2020 class. Whether this team is perfect, or not, is relatively immaterial.

We are really, really, really, really, ridiculously good looking... Let's just enjoy it.
 

Moose Stuff

Active Member
Was thinking about this last night... I think we have reached almost peak TCU Baseball (sans Natty). Here's my rationale...

- We have a consensus top 5 program.
- We have a consensus top 5 preseason club.
- We have a national MVP candidate. We have several high level MLB draft targets (er-go, good projectable talent)

And yet, I feel like the feeling of most fans, including myself, is that this year's team isn't THAT great, that we have a lot of "holes", and that if we make it back to Omaha that'll be some kind of over-performance.

Guys, we gotta start enjoying the ride here. I went and checked and TCU Baseball has major, high level prospects committed through the 2020 class. Whether this team is perfect, or not, is relatively immaterial.

We are really, really, really, really, ridiculously good looking... Let's just enjoy it.

Every team in America has holes, even Florida. As long as HS kids can sign that will always be the case.
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
From D1 Baseball's Top 25 chat today....

https://d1baseball.com/chats/d1baseballs-preseason-top-25-chat/

TCU lost a lot from last year's team, what are your expectations for this season? Who are the emerging players to keep an eye on and how much of a leap do you expect Nick Lodolo to take this season?

Kendall Rogers:
Dave -- They definitely lost some offensive guys -- but they will have the second best 3-man rotation in the land, IMO, with Nick Lodolo, Jared Janczak and Sean Wymer. That's such a great trio. The bullpen is also in great shape. Obviously the question mark w/ TCU is the offense. Luken Baker is the big returnee, but Josh Watson is a guy that needs to step up in a big way. Freshman Adam Oviedo is going to be a stud, and 3B Conner Shepherd is a really neat player. They've got some pieces to work with offensively, and I think Bill Mosiello will make sure this is a very serviceable offense. I'm not too concerned.


Does the departure of Chris Del Conte change the Jim Schlossnagle dynamic at TCU in the next couple of years?

Kendall Rogers:
Scott -- I don't think so, but never say never. Schlossnagle can stay at TCU and have a statue of him built in a few years. Where else can he go and have that in the future? I think Schloss would be crazy to leave TCU anytime soon.



also had questions about Texas and Tech....

Obviously Texas will be solid in the rotation again this year with 3 pitchers in your top 100. Do you think they have enough in the bullpen and at the plate to contend for the Big 12 title though? Seems like a rebuilding year for Pierce and Co.

Kendall Rogers:
Great question, HF. I actually think the offense will be OK. Not great, but solid. I think Ryan Reynolds and Austin Todd will take steps forward, and Mason Hibbeler is a guy I didn't see this fall because he was hurt, but a guy whom the coaching staff is very excited about. Kody Clemens is an electric player and Zach Zubia is a real X-factor type. Zubia showed premium and easy power at the NWL this past summer. He wasn't great this fall, but he's got the juice to put together a strong season in the DH role. If there's a question mark for me re: UT, it's the bullpen, though. I like Beau Ridgeway, but I wouldn't be buying Josh Sawyer stock until I see him prove it and stay healthy (he's got the stuff when healthy though). Verplank is another interesting arm to watch. He's got big stuff -- but it's really raw.



Hey Gents, gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised Tech is starting ranked that high considering how "Jung" they are. I think we have a starting rotation that could easily be one of, if not THE, best starting 3 in the country. Was that a big factor in ranking them at No. 3, or did these guys just look that good in the fall?

Aaron Fitt:
The Red Raiders just have a lot back from a team that was downright great last year, even with Davis Martin missing a large chunk of the season. It's hard to beat Martin-Gingery as a one-two punch when they're both healthy, and obviously there's a ton of quality depth behind them too, and a great bullpen. Plus we just love those sophomore position players (Jung, Farhat, Little, Berglund all feel like star-caliber players). Tech was strongly in the discussion for No. 1 for us.



And Dallas Baptist..

What are the strengths of Dallas Baptist this year?

Aaron Fitt:
I really think that offense is going to be a force of nature -- serious power potential, balance, guys who can hit for average and rack up doubles. To me they're on the short list of most dangerous offenses in the country, led by Jameson Hannah, Devlin Granberg and that superb catching duo of Duce and Woolforth. And they got their top three starting pitchers back, and added a bunch of big power arms, as usual, so I expect the pitching staff to be a strength as well. Honestly, they've got Omaha potential.
 
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TCUdirtbag

Active Member
No major roster update yet but Alec Creel is gone. Freshman RHP last year - IIRC he had to redshirt due to injury.
 
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