btownqb Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 First of all... this is how well DT is thought of by some. He isn't eligible to be drafted until after NEXT season... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No Sinnard this year freaking sucks. Assuming his recovery goes well, I would expect him to be pitching for us in 2025. Just on a personal note, I like Luke. I like the way he handles himself, he competes at a very high clip, it certainly seems like he listens to his coaches, and at 6'8 250lbs he is one commanding force on the mound. Friday night bulldog with a disgusting 12-6 curveball... Ok, I've come to grips with it... won't mention it anymore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Returners: our position players, probably outside the ELITE teams, are as good as anyone... I'm talking LSU, Vandy, and Florida are probably the only type of teams with as much top-level depth as us position player-wise (assuming he can be average at the catcher spot).... 1st base/catcher- Brock Tibbitts- .357/.447/.585 (2023)-- had a great FR season and became a complete stud last year. Brock is also a well above avg defensive 1st baseman. There is some thought that he might catch this season, not sure on that, and where the MLB guys will want him. I can't imagine Brock not being well thought of in the upcoming draft and I expect him to leave school early. He will be a feather in Mercer's cap, imo, moving forward. Brock wasn't on anyone's radar until Mercer started recruiting him late in his JR season. Since arriving at IU he has been excellent. All B1G 2nd team last season (I thought he got screwed from being 1st team) 2nd base/SS- Tyler Cerny- .275/.347/.486- (2023) Big-time bat at the bottom of the order, + defender, as well. Not sure if he sticks at 2B this year or make the move to SS. Stellar athlete. 4 triples last year and 10 SBs. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. I'm a fan. All B1G FR 3rd base- Josh Pyne- 2 year totals-- .310/.371/.472-- struggled at times at the plate last year but still had a good season overall. Zero patience from the kid, but again, a guy I like watching. He improved immensely defensively last year. All B1G 3rd team last year. RF/DH- Devin Taylor- .315/.430/.650 (2023)- 16HRs as a FR- Big-time player and was improving in the field. Big Ten FOY and multiple FR All American lists. DT didn't even take all the ABs at the beginning of the year, I expect him to hit the ground running this year. He was also All B1G 1st team. LF- Carter Mathison- .305/.426/.533 (2023)- CM has 29 bombs at the D1 level in two years. The power #s were down a little last season (multiple instances of crazy weather/wind affecting CM's ABs)... anyways, he was undoubtedly a more polished hitter this past season. Another guy-- like Pyne+Tibbitts who will have a very good chance to be drafted after the season. CF- Nick Mitchell- transfer from WIU- Carmel kid- .348/.421/.489 (2 year totals)-- He also has 38SBs in 2 seasons. Impressive stat last year-- he walked more than he struck out. And at Cape Cod this summer-- 13 BBs 15Ks. Impressive. Mitchell is thought to be a Top round draft pick in this coming draft... if the scouts are correct and Mitchell is a guy that will get serious MLB looks in the Top 10 rounds and he is that table setter that Glasser was at the top of our order--our offense will be unreal. RF/DH- Andrew Wiggins- Perfect Game considered him one of the Top 10 FR that made it to campus. 6'4 225lbs. Hits from the left side with substantial power. FWIW--- Wiggins is rated higher than Taylor was in their respective classes. Wiggins doesn't have to "be the guy" this year.... just a contributing factor to our team. But, let's be clear, the potential is there to have another B1G FR of the year. I'm confident those 7 will be part of the regular 9 we run out there. We need one more middle INF plus either catch/1st base depending on where Tibbitts ends up defensively. Candidates for those spots-- FR Jasen Oliver, FR Cal Sefcik two highly rated kids Top 200 each (Oliver might pitch only)... These guys are INF--- along with transfer Brandon Burckel from Houston, who has 100+ career starts .260/.379/.364 hitter over 2 seasons along with 37 SBs will be in the mix, I'm sure. Joey Bren Catching-- Austin Bode (UL transfer), AJ Shepard--- both well-thought-of kids coming out of HS. Shepard was hurt all of last year with an elbow. We'll see. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitching- Kraft, Risedorph, Foley are our three main guys coming into the year. Big-time arms, Kraft is a "crafty lefty" lol.. Sinker ball from the left side that was unhittable all year long. Risedorph+Foley hard-throwing righties (especially Foley) that performed very well as FR... Risedorph saved our bacon against WVU in the playoffs when Sinnard went down. Those three will gobble up innings. Bothwell is back. wild to say that honestly... he again gave us really good innings last year, late in the year. He has to find it early on this season.. if so, we have 4 really good pitchers at the top. Bothwell throws 90-94 mph from the left side. Other returners-- Manase (used as an "opener" this past season) had good moments. A whole slew of FR from last year-- Whiteaker, Phillips, Ayden Decker Petty are all guys who could come on, especially Whiteaker and Phillips (both threw some huge innings as FR). Brooks Ey could also throw innings. We also have a kid Jacob Vogel (6'8 250lbs) from Jenning County that RS last year, I'm interested to see how he does. He threw 15 innings in the APPY league this past year. LHP FR Ryan Rushing is Top 150-rated guy. There are obviously other FR that I simply don't know anything about them. Usually one of them surprises and is a factor for us. Multiple transfers are incoming on the mound-- LHP Brandon Keyster (JUCO guy from John A Logan, who has given us Tanner Gordon and Logan Kaletha)-- I expect, judging by his JUCO #s, to be a significant part of our pen. In 75 innings in JUCO he was 1.92ERA and .95WHIP. Past Keyster-- we picked up a bevy of other transfers-- and quite frankly, I don't think they'll all make the roster. Ben Grable is probably the most well-thought-out in that group. I think he can ramp it up to 95+. Drew Buhr from Bellarmine. One from Illinois. One from Lipsomb. The other big development on the mound would be we are getting Grant Holderfield back. LHP with nasty shit and sidearm. Kraft, Holderfield, Keyster, Rushing, and Bothwell seem to be a GREAT group of lefties, something Mercer hasn't really had. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a non-arrogant way.. I told you all that we were disrespected last year in the pre-season and finished 2nd in the B1G and were a Sinnard injury away from probably winning a regional, on the road, at an SEC school.... If we figure the catcher spot out, Wiggins is as advertised.... and we just find minimal more pitching we are easily a Top 20 squad. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdgenhoosier Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 7 hours ago, btownqb said: First of all... this is how well DT is thought of by some. He isn't eligible to be drafted until after NEXT season... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No Sinnard this year freaking sucks. Assuming his recovery goes well, I would expect him to be pitching for us in 2025. Just on a personal note, I like Luke. I like the way he handles himself, he competes at a very high clip, it certainly seems like he listens to his coaches, and at 6'8 250lbs he is one commanding force on the mound. Friday night bulldog with a disgusting 12-6 curveball... Ok, I've come to grips with it... won't mention it anymore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Returners: our position players, probably outside the ELITE teams, are as good as anyone... I'm talking LSU, Vandy, and Florida are probably the only type of teams with as much top-level depth as us position player-wise (assuming he can be average at the catcher spot).... 1st base/catcher- Brock Tibbitts- .357/.447/.585 (2023)-- had a great FR season and became a complete stud last year. Brock is also a well above avg defensive 1st baseman. There is some thought that he might catch this season, not sure on that, and where the MLB guys will want him. I can't imagine Brock not being well thought of in the upcoming draft and I expect him to leave school early. He will be a feather in Mercer's cap, imo, moving forward. Brock wasn't on anyone's radar until Mercer started recruiting him late in his JR season. Since arriving at IU he has been excellent. All B1G 2nd team last season (I thought he got screwed from being 1st team) 2nd base/SS- Tyler Cerny- .275/.347/.486- (2023) Big-time bat at the bottom of the order, + defender, as well. Not sure if he sticks at 2B this year or make the move to SS. Stellar athlete. 4 triples last year and 10 SBs. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. I'm a fan. All B1G FR 3rd base- Josh Pyne- 2 year totals-- .310/.371/.472-- struggled at times at the plate last year but still had a good season overall. Zero patience from the kid, but again, a guy I like watching. He improved immensely defensively last year. All B1G 3rd team last year. RF/DH- Devin Taylor- .315/.430/.650 (2023)- 16HRs as a FR- Big-time player and was improving in the field. Big Ten FOY and multiple FR All American lists. DT didn't even take all the ABs at the beginning of the year, I expect him to hit the ground running this year. He was also All B1G 1st team. LF- Carter Mathison- .305/.426/.533 (2023)- CM has 29 bombs at the D1 level in two years. The power #s were down a little last season (multiple instances of crazy weather/wind affecting CM's ABs)... anyways, he was undoubtedly a more polished hitter this past season. Another guy-- like Pyne+Tibbitts who will have a very good chance to be drafted after the season. CF- Nick Mitchell- transfer from WIU- Carmel kid- .348/.421/.489 (2 year totals)-- He also has 38SBs in 2 seasons. Impressive stat last year-- he walked more than he struck out. And at Cape Cod this summer-- 13 BBs 15Ks. Impressive. Mitchell is thought to be a Top round draft pick in this coming draft... if the scouts are correct and Mitchell is a guy that will get serious MLB looks in the Top 10 rounds and he is that table setter that Glasser was at the top of our order--our offense will be unreal. RF/DH- Andrew Wiggins- Perfect Game considered him one of the Top 10 FR that made it to campus. 6'4 225lbs. Hits from the left side with substantial power. FWIW--- Wiggins is rated higher than Taylor was in their respective classes. Wiggins doesn't have to "be the guy" this year.... just a contributing factor to our team. But, let's be clear, the potential is there to have another B1G FR of the year. I'm confident those 7 will be part of the regular 9 we run out there. We need one more middle INF plus either catch/1st base depending on where Tibbitts ends up defensively. Candidates for those spots-- FR Jasen Oliver, FR Cal Sefcik two highly rated kids Top 200 each (Oliver might pitch only)... These guys are INF--- along with transfer Brandon Burckel from Houston, who has 100+ career starts .260/.379/.364 hitter over 2 seasons along with 37 SBs will be in the mix, I'm sure. Joey Bren Catching-- Austin Bode (UL transfer), AJ Shepard--- both well-thought-of kids coming out of HS. Shepard was hurt all of last year with an elbow. We'll see. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitching- Kraft, Risedorph, Foley are our three main guys coming into the year. Big-time arms, Kraft is a "crafty lefty" lol.. Sinker ball from the left side that was unhittable all year long. Risedorph+Foley hard-throwing righties (especially Foley) that performed very well as FR... Risedorph saved our bacon against WVU in the playoffs when Sinnard went down. Those three will gobble up innings. Bothwell is back. wild to say that honestly... he again gave us really good innings last year, late in the year. He has to find it early on this season.. if so, we have 4 really good pitchers at the top. Bothwell throws 90-94 mph from the left side. Other returners-- Manase (used as an "opener" this past season) had good moments. A whole slew of FR from last year-- Whiteaker, Phillips, Ayden Decker Petty are all guys who could come on, especially Whiteaker and Phillips (both threw some huge innings as FR). Brooks Ey could also throw innings. We also have a kid Jacob Vogel (6'8 250lbs) from Jenning County that RS last year, I'm interested to see how he does. He threw 15 innings in the APPY league this past year. LHP FR Ryan Rushing is Top 150-rated guy. There are obviously other FR that I simply don't know anything about them. Usually one of them surprises and is a factor for us. Multiple transfers are incoming on the mound-- LHP Brandon Keyster (JUCO guy from John A Logan, who has given us Tanner Gordon and Logan Kaletha)-- I expect, judging by his JUCO #s, to be a significant part of our pen. In 75 innings in JUCO he was 1.92ERA and .95WHIP. Past Keyster-- we picked up a bevy of other transfers-- and quite frankly, I don't think they'll all make the roster. Ben Grable is probably the most well-thought-out in that group. I think he can ramp it up to 95+. Drew Buhr from Bellarmine. One from Illinois. One from Lipsomb. The other big development on the mound would be we are getting Grant Holderfield back. LHP with nasty shit and sidearm. Kraft, Holderfield, Keyster, Rushing, and Bothwell seem to be a GREAT group of lefties, something Mercer hasn't really had. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a non-arrogant way.. I told you all that we were disrespected last year in the pre-season and finished 2nd in the B1G and were a Sinnard injury away from probably winning a regional, on the road, at an SEC school.... If we figure the catcher spot out, Wiggins is as advertised.... and we just find minimal more pitching we are easily a Top 20 squad. Excited for the season. Thanks for the write-up!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 5 Author Report Share Posted January 5 11 hours ago, thirdgenhoosier said: Excited for the season. Thanks for the write-up!! Man I'm pumped. Crazy how much I enjoy college baseball/IU baseball. It's also nice we are one of the premier programs in the Midwest and are knocking on the door of moving up a wrung or two. I pray one day we can start the season March 1st. (move the start date back two weeks) I don't think it'll ever happen, but it would DIRECTLY benefit us. We will lose Tibbitts, Mitchell, probably Mathison, and probably Pyne, and possibly Foley going, (maybe Kraft) this summer, but we won't be weak, at all, in 2025. Mercer has us set up for the long haul. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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MoyeCowbell Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 I love that the expectations are high. Sign of a solid program. I look forward to seeing this team put things together and challenge some of their southern stalwarts for National Seeding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 12 Author Report Share Posted January 12 imo Tibbitts is wayyyy too low... Sefcik could be a guy for us in the middle INF---we'll see, either way, pretty talented guy to not have starting.... Not sure what we're doing with the rating of Colopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 Western Illinois transfer and Indiana addition Nick Mitchell was as advertised in the scrimmage against the Sycamores, tallying three hits, including a double and a stolen base. Devin Taylor had some very loud at bats for the Hoosiers, hitting four balls with exit velocities better than 100 mph in the scrimmage, while something noteworthy is a position move as Brock Tibbitts is moving from first base to behind the plate at catcher. He will continue to be a mainstay in the middle of that IU lineup. • In more position moves, Tyler Cerny will move from second base to shortstop with Houston spark plug transfer Brandon Burckel occupying the second base position. • Freshman Jasen Oliver is another potential second baseman to watch. As talented as Oliver might be in the field, he might also have a future on the mound, where he was 92-95 mph with his fastball in high school. Speaking of freshmen, in terms of first-year arms, Eli Shaw, Ryan Rushing and Evan O'Neill all were impressive in the scrimmage, while behind the plate, TJ Schuyler looked the part. • In other IU nuggets, sidearm lefthanded pitcher Grant Holderfield is back and healthy after missing all last season because of an injury, while 6-foot-8, redshirt freshman Jacob Vogel worked an inning against the Sycamores and was 91-93 mph with his fastball. -------------- That was a write up from D1 Baseball after our fall game against IN ST. Tibbitts behind the plate is very interesting and I wonder what that means for 1st base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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btownqb Posted January 22 Author Report Share Posted January 22 23 days until our first game and no official roster online. They do this stuff to me on purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotIThatLives Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 2 hours ago, btownqb said: 23 days until our first game and no official roster online. They do this stuff to me on purpose. You ever think about hooking up with Shuman and becoming his baseball media arm? Not sure how much he dabbles into the non Rev sports. Either way, you need insider/media access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 22 Author Report Share Posted January 22 12 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said: You ever think about hooking up with Shuman and becoming his baseball media arm? Not sure how much he dabbles into the non Rev sports. Either way, you need insider/media access. Damn right I do. And free beer for all my troubles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotIThatLives Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 28 minutes ago, btownqb said: Damn right I do. And free beer for all my troubles. Maybe hook up with indiana barstool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDB Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 @btownqb Where do you typically watch IU baseball? Are all games on Big Ten Plus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 23 Author Report Share Posted January 23 2 minutes ago, KDB said: @btownqb Where do you typically watch IU baseball? Are all games on Big Ten Plus? Hmmm.... simple answer--- yes. 95%+ of our home games (not just conference games) will be on BTN+ and if it isn't on there, it's probably on ESPNU or regular BTN. Away games that are on in the conference are streamed on BTN+, as well. So, once conference play starts--- $10 per month-- you're looking at getting about 14-18 IU games for that price. I just slap it on my ipad and walk around the house watching it lol... do the dishes, etc, while I watch that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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btownqb Posted January 26 Author Report Share Posted January 26 Mathison sort of flew under the radar last year--- he had a few balls he KILLED in poor weather games and ended up outs that wouldn't be in warm weather days.... He was SOOO much more advanced as a hitter, compared to his FR year, and his OBP shows that. Went from .393 to .426 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 26 Author Report Share Posted January 26 https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2024/1/26/indiana-baseball-preseason-primer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierfan1901 Posted January 27 Report Share Posted January 27 Just a couple of weeks away now, about time to watch some IU baseball. Right off the back we have an opportunity to get some quality wins over #12 Duke and #18 Costal Carolina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted January 29 Author Report Share Posted January 29 This season cannot come soon enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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