Article Samford transfer OF Jake Souders commits to Mississippi State - Steve Samra
- Thread starter SixPackSpeak
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I think this is the replacement for Chance. Likely will be the 8 or 9 hole hitter.
Would say that he would be an ideal leadoff candidate, but his K rate was pretty damn high (around 20%), and that’s not likely to improve when going from SoCon pitching to SEC pitching. Has some pop and speed though, so maybe an overall upgrade over Chance.
Would say that he would be an ideal leadoff candidate, but his K rate was pretty damn high (around 20%), and that’s not likely to improve when going from SoCon pitching to SEC pitching. Has some pop and speed though, so maybe an overall upgrade over Chance.
In fairness to your K rate conversation vs some of the top of our order:
Souders - 45 K's in 219 AB's = 20.5%
Ace Reese - 63 K's in 247 AB's = 25.5%
Sullivan - 62 K's in 219 AB's = 28.3 %
Frei - 47 K's in 234 AB's = 20%
Parker - 43 K's in 168 AB's = 25.6%
I dont think I'm calling that a crazy high K rate....
Not with today's analytics, maybe if you are thinking a 'prototypical' lead off batter from 20 years ago then yes.
It’s pretty high given the level of competition. You know for certain it’s going to go up in the SEC.
And Frei is the only valid comparison on this list because he’s the leadoff guy. Sounders isn’t going to be clubbing 20-25 HR’s and isn’t going to be in the heart of the order where a higher K rate is acceptable. Frei having a better K rate in the SEC than he did in the SoCon is hard proof of this concern.
Therefore, this discussion is on whether he is lead-off or bottom of the order. I’d say his stats compare more favorably to what we got from Chance. Lots of speed and a little more power, but also a few more K’s. I’m still happy to have him. Somebody has to bat in all 9 spots of the lineup.
As i stated above, go look what he did in games against teams in the tournament. He raked....
2-3 with a walk against Bama
0-3 with 2 K’s against UGA
2-5 with a HR and 2 K’s against UGA
0-3 with 3 K’s against UGA
0-3 with a K against Auburn
1-3 with a K against Alabama
1-3 with a K against MSU
1-2 with a walk against Auburn
Composite stats in 8 games he had in 2026 against his new weekend competition:
31 PA
29 AB
7 Hits
0 doubles
0 triples
1 HR
10 K’s
2 walks
TB: 10
SB: 1
BA: .241
OBP: .290
SLG: .345
OPS: .635
K rate: 32%
BB rate: 6%
With all due respect, I don’t give a crap how he did against USC Upstate, Troy, Little Rock, etc. Against real competition we have, those are his numbers. Certainly not “raking”.
I certainly believe he can take a step forward next year and be a bit better than this. But like I said, 9-hole hitter.
Acting like any of those teams have something even remotely resembling SEC pitching is actually what is comical.
I’m simply looking at his performance against the level of team that we are going to have to beat 18-20 times to host a Super. If he can’t help us win those games, he’s useless.
To be clear, I think his stats show that he actually can help us win those games….just not likely as a leadoff hitter. That’s all I’m saying.
No, but you discounted the K-rate by saying a bunch of our 2-6 hitters had higher K-rates.
I think the stats above show that the K-rate is a concern in SEC play, and he probably needs to be at the bottom of the lineup. But maybe he makes a 3rd year leap, who knows.