D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - Printable Version +- CSNbbs (https://csnbbs.com) +-- Forum: Active Boards (/forum-769.html) +--- Forum: AACbbs (/forum-460.html) +---- Forum: Members (/forum-401.html) +----- Forum: Rice (/forum-444.html) +----- Thread: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice (/thread-837145.html) |
D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-13-2017 04:27 PM Very nice job by Kendall, who spoke at length to The OG yesterday. Sounds like Wayne raved about Canterino, Gayle, Garcia, Moss, Jefferies and Acker. Very interesting tidbit on Sarchet at 1B and Aviles in LF (as opposed to the other way around). Personally, I see Chase more as a left-handed platoon player at 1B or LF against right-handed pitching only, as last year he was clearly overmatched against southpaw pitching. Also strange no mention of Andrew Dunlap. Premium content-- if you're a non-premium member (it only cost $60/yr to join!) the link below will provide you with the top line first several paragraphs (which I've included below). Kendall has also given me the green light to include several other "nuggets", but not the full article... https://d1baseball.com/fall-report/fall-report-rice-3/ Quote:Fall Report: Rice Now, here's several selected "nuggets" from the article... Quote:Before we dive into the weekend rotation, let’s talk about rising sophomore righthander Garrett Gayle. Gayle made just three appearances for the Owls last season, but had a strong summer and an even better fall. For now, Gayle is slated for that closer role for the Owls, and it’s easy to see why. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder, averaged over 95 mph in his last three outings of the fall, all two-inning stints. He was up to 98 on several occasions throughout workouts and has worked on improving command of the spiked curveball. While the velocity increase from Gayle is impressive, the most promising development in his game is the better command. He could evolve into one of the better closers in college baseball if all the pieces come together. Quote:The Owls have high hopes for several young arms, including headliner Dane Acker. Acker is a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder, who made a strong impression this fall. He was up to 92 with his fastball, but what made him such an intriguing arm was his ability to throw five, yes, five pitches for strikes. He walked six batters in 28 innings of work and led the team in ERA this fall. Though his role could evolve as the season progresses, he’s at least likely to be penciled into that midweek starter role to begin the season. Stay tuned. Quote:One of the more interesting developments has been the improvement of catcher Dom DiCaprio. DiCaprio showed flashes of brilliance at times last season, but now appears to be ready to take the next step forward from a defensive standpoint. Graham said the Owls discovered that he wasn’t using his wrist properly when he was throwing the ball, leading to some issues. He said those issues have now been corrected and that DiCaprio had a solid fall. re. the addition of Paul Janish-- Quote:“I feel like Janish has really, really helped our infield,” Graham said. “He’s been amazing. He knows the issues those kids have and he’s very understanding. And the kids relate to him very well, too. And obviously, he knows the infield.” So it would appear the lineup and rotation will look something like this... Chandler CF Gneiting RF Dunlap DH DiCaprio C Proctor SS Comeaux 3B Cruz 2B Aviles 1B/LF Sarchet LF/1B Starting pitching: Canterino Salinas Moss Jefferies Acker Esquivel Amador Closers: Gayle, Garcia Middle relief: Kravetz, Parthasarathy, Silber, Lewis, Bordwine + whomever is not starting If Gayle falters I would expect Moss to return to the closer role. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - wheredidmypantsgo - 12-13-2017 05:26 PM Excellent writeup. I'm surprised there wasn't any mention of Esquivel or Amador. I would have thought both would be big contributors next season. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-13-2017 05:58 PM (12-13-2017 05:26 PM)wheredidmypantsgo Wrote: Excellent writeup. I'm surprised there wasn't any mention of Esquivel or Amador. I would have thought both would be big contributors next season. I think Wayne simply focused on those who participated in Fall Ball. Wily only threw bullpens, and Zach only threw a couple one-inning stints at the end of intrasquads. I'm pretty sure that's why Dunlap was left out, as well. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - OldOwl - 12-14-2017 12:17 AM How is Josh Pettitte doing? RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-14-2017 08:15 AM (12-14-2017 12:17 AM)OldOwl Wrote: How is Josh Pettitte doing? From his tweets, he's throwing bullpens, but I get the sense he's a bit behind Salinas. Ricky still hopes to be ready at some point during Spring intrasquads. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-15-2017 10:43 AM BTW, assuming the everyday lineup is as I projected above, we'd have two switch hitters (Cruz, Aviles), 3 right-handed batters (DiCaprio, Dunlap, Comeaux) and 4 left-handed batters (Proctor, Chandler, Gneiting, Sarchet). That's as good a balance as we've had in years. Also, in Kendall's article, two other guys called out by The OG were true Freshmen, Justin Collins, who appears to be the leading candidate for back-up catcher, and speedy middle infielder, Kelby Weyler, who had TJS out of high school, but who impressed at the plate during Fall Ball. Perhaps, the right-handed platoon with Sarchet? RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - wheredidmypantsgo - 12-15-2017 01:11 PM I'm optimistic about our team this year. Our pitching depth appears quite solid, and our lineup has many proven hitters. If we can get some production out of a few freshmen - both pitching and hitting (Cruz, Aviles in particular), we could have a really great year. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-15-2017 05:34 PM Looks like we'll be flying under the radar as the season open this year; certainly not Top 25. Someone asked Kendall how he sees Rice in the the CUSA race and vis-a-vis the other Texas teams. Here's his twitter response... Quote:Kendall RogersVerified account Quote:Kendall RogersVerified account I think our pitching staff has the potential to be elite, especially if Salinas returns healthy and back to form. My only concern with the offense is the relative lack of pop outside of Andrew and DiCaprio. (The departures of Myers, Gray, Shepperd and Wunderlich really hurts in this regard.) RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - westsidewolf1989 - 12-17-2017 11:32 PM The fact that we are tied for fifth in a prominent college baseball writer’s rankings of Texas teams tells you all you need to know about the state of Rice baseball. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - waltgreenberg - 12-18-2017 12:01 AM (12-17-2017 11:32 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote: The fact that we are tied for fifth in a prominent college baseball writer’s rankings of Texas teams tells you all you need to know about the state of Rice baseball. Oh, good grief. You do realize all those teams, including SHS, UH and Rice will all be preseason Top 35. Tech and TCU will almost certainly be preseason Top 5 nationally. As for A&M and UT, as usual, I think Kendall is overrating them heading into the season. IMO, they have as many holes and question marks as the Owls, if not more. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - d1owls4life - 12-18-2017 08:11 AM (12-17-2017 11:32 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote: The fact that we are tied for fifth in a prominent college baseball writer’s rankings of Texas teams tells you all you need to know about the state of Rice baseball. Yup, was thinking the same thing. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - Frizzy Owl - 12-18-2017 08:16 AM (12-18-2017 08:11 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:(12-17-2017 11:32 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote: The fact that we are tied for fifth in a prominent college baseball writer’s rankings of Texas teams tells you all you need to know about the state of Rice baseball. I won't know all I need to know until the outcome of this season's games. RE: D1Baseball's Fall Report on Rice - franklyconfused - 12-18-2017 10:33 AM (12-18-2017 12:01 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:(12-17-2017 11:32 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote: The fact that we are tied for fifth in a prominent college baseball writer’s rankings of Texas teams tells you all you need to know about the state of Rice baseball. For whatever decline Rice baseball has had in the past decade, it's a stone cold truth that the rest of Texas college baseball has improved greatly since our glory days in the 2000s. We wouldn't be all of a tizzy if we were being compared to Fullerton, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal, Long Beach State, and UCSB instead. |