Ace Reese so far in the minors...

[dawgstudent]

 

[00Dawg]

I was arguing with myself yesterday: if this continues, how many games do you let him go before you promote him to AA? I say 10.

 

[dawgstudent]

I was arguing with myself yesterday: if this continues, how many games do you let him go before you promote him to AA? I say 10.

He's in the lowest of the low for the minors but it's better than hitting .225 in the lowest of the low.

 

[She Mate Me]

He's in the lowest of the low for the minors but it's better than hitting .225 in the lowest of the low.

So he’s seeing pitching well below a typical SEC weekend I guess.

Still, hitting a baseball is hard when they’re trying to make you miss it.

 

[CascillaCountryClub]

He's in the lowest of the low for the minors but it's better than hitting .225 in the lowest of the low.

High A or AA is roughly SEC Equivalent. Isn’t the Arkansas Travelers the Mariners AA Team?

 

[patdog]

High A or AA is roughly SEC Equivalent. Isn’t the Arkansas Travelers the Mariners AA Team?

AA is much better than SEC. How many SEC starters ever make AA? Far less than half. SEC is probably about comparable to low A ball.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

I would be surprised if a low A team could beat the top SEC teams even once. They ain’t there to win games. In fact, High A and AA are far more about development than winning. If you are going to AA games to watch your local team win, you are missing the point of that level. Enjoy the off the field shenanigans, Hope to see future stars for either team as they pass through on their way to the Bigs!

 

[patdog]

I would be surprised if a low A team could beat the top SEC teams even once. They ain’t there to win games. In fact, High A and AA are far more about development than winning. If you are going to AA games to watch your local team win, you are missing the point of that level. Enjoy the off the field shenanigans, Hope to see future stars for either team as they pass through on their way to the Bigs!

Most SEC starters never even make it to low A ball.

 

[ll Martain ll]

Small sample size but that's pretty impressive. I imagine we'll be seeing him on some Top 100 prospects lists soon if he's not already there.

 

[00Dawg]

He's in the lowest of the low for the minors but it's better than hitting .225 in the lowest of the low.

Fine. He can go bat .400 at Everette and match Nick Kurtz.

 

[Perd Hapley]

AA is much better than SEC. How many SEC starters ever make AA? Far less than half. SEC is probably about comparable to low A ball.

The Fri and Sat starting pitchers for any SEC team are going to be AA caliber at bare minimum….plus the closer and at least one bullpen arm usually. Sunday pitching, maybe not. But there absolutely is AA talent up and down all the SEC rosters, plus legit MLB talent too.

 

[HotMop]

So...he sucking it up?

 

[patdog]

The Fri and Sat starting pitchers for any SEC team are going to be AA caliber at bare minimum….plus the closer and at least one bullpen arm usually. Sunday pitching, maybe not. But there absolutely is AA talent up and down all the SEC rosters, plus legit MLB talent too.

There’s not 36 AA quality pitchers in the sec in any year. Not even close. A couple of teams may have a couple of AA quality pitchers and several others may have 1. And I’m being generous. There’s a reason the start college guys, even SEC guys, off at A ball. And that reason is because they’re not ready for AA ball yet. Just because a pitcher makes it to AA in 2-4 years doesn’t mean he’s a AA caliber pitcher today. He’s usually not.

 

[00Dawg]

There’s not 36 AA quality pitchers in the sec in any year. Not even close. A couple of teams may have a couple of AA quality pitchers and several others may have 1. And I’m being generous. There’s a reason the start college guys, even SEC guys, off at A ball. And that reason is because they’re not ready for AA ball yet. Just because a pitcher makes it to AA in 2-4 years doesn’t mean he’s a AA caliber pitcher today. He’s usually not.

Out of curiosity, I researched, and the AA affiliates for just the NL East teams have:
1 SEC pitcher that pitched in college in 2025
3 that pitched in 2024
7 that pitched in 2023

Assuming that pattern holds for the other divisions (I'm not going to look), there should be ~6 conference-wide that meet the criteria of being AA-caliber, and ~18 that are close (got there in <2 years).

 

[Perd Hapley]

There’s not 36 AA quality pitchers in the sec in any year. Not even close. A couple of teams may have a couple of AA quality pitchers and several others may have 1. And I’m being generous. There’s a reason the start college guys, even SEC guys, off at A ball. And that reason is because they’re not ready for AA ball yet. Just because a pitcher makes it to AA in 2-4 years doesn’t mean he’s a AA caliber pitcher today. He’s usually not.

That’s really not accurate at all. We currently have two projected Top 15 picks in the first round in our weekend rotation for 2027. Those guys aren’t going to be toiling in A ball for 2-3 years.

Look at most all of SEC rosters, and you’ll generally see at least the Friday night guy projected to go Top 2 rounds, and Fri/Sat are generally both projected in Top 4-5 rounds at most SEC schools. Those guys don’t spend much time in A ball….MLB generally puts their high draft picks from the college ranks up in AA as soon as they can That’s the advantage of college draft picks, they don’t need the same adjustment period as HS age kids and are already more refined. They may spend half a season in A-ball right after getting drafted just for acclimation and getting used to the routine, but generally get the bump up to AA the following spring regardless.

Prime example I just found out about yesterday…..Tyson Hardin. Some may remember him as a completely disastrous reliever for us in 2023 who became more reliable but not dominant in 2024. He was drafted in the 12th round and signed for $147k despite having 1 year of eligibility left. He spent the remainder of 2024 after MSU’s season ended in Low-A ball, where he drew just 3 appearances. The following spring, promoted to High-A, then promoted again to AA in Biloxi less than a year after getting drafted. In 2025, he had an ERA of 3.29 in 38.1 IP in AA ball, right after having an ERA of 3.22 in 36 IP the previous season at MSU. Exact same stats, except his AA numbers are more impressive when considering his MSU numbers include lots of innings against nonconference patsies.

Hardin has since been bumped to AAA, and is now ranked as a Top 100 prospect in all of MLB. And this is a guy who is mostly an afterthought to any MSU fans who would put together a list of our Top 5-10 pitchers over just the past 5 years.

There are always some exceptions. Tanner Allen never could replicate his college productivity with a wood bat, for instance. But the SEC has always generally been considered around AA level at least during weekend conference competition. On average, that’s where the talent level falls, although it’s not as evenly distributed as a typical AA roster is.

 

[patdog]

That’s really not accurate at all. We currently have two projected Top 15 picks in the first round in our weekend rotation for 2027. Those guys aren’t going to be toiling in A ball for 2-3 years.

Look at most all of SEC rosters, and you’ll generally see at least the Friday night guy projected to go Top 2 rounds, and Fri/Sat are generally both projected in Top 4-5 rounds at most SEC schools. Those guys don’t spend much time in A ball….MLB generally puts their high draft picks from the college ranks up in AA as soon as they can That’s the advantage of college draft picks, they don’t need the same adjustment period as HS age kids and are already more refined. They may spend half a season in A-ball right after getting drafted just for acclimation and getting used to the routine, but generally get the bump up to AA the following spring regardless.

Prime example I just found out about yesterday…..Tyson Hardin. Some may remember him as a completely disastrous reliever for us in 2023 who became more reliable but not dominant in 2024. He was drafted in the 12th round and signed for $147k despite having 1 year of eligibility left. He spent the remainder of 2024 after MSU’s season ended in Low-A ball, where he drew just 3 appearances. The following spring, promoted to High-A, then promoted again to AA in Biloxi less than a year after getting drafted. In 2025, he had an ERA of 3.29 in 38.1 IP in AA ball, right after having an ERA of 3.22 in 36 IP the previous season at MSU. Exact same stats, except his AA numbers are more impressive when considering his MSU numbers include lots of innings against nonconference patsies.

Hardin has since been bumped to AAA, and is now ranked as a Top 100 prospect in all of MLB. And this is a guy who is mostly an afterthought to any MSU fans who would put together a list of our Top 5-10 pitchers over just the past 5 years.

There are always some exceptions. Tanner Allen never could replicate his college productivity with a wood bat, for instance. But the SEC has always generally been considered around AA level at least during weekend conference competition. On average, that’s where the talent level falls, although it’s not as evenly distributed as a typical AA roster is.

Did a little checking. Mississippi State has 40-42 players in professional baseball this year. Many of which haven't been in Starkville for years. Virtually all of which are better today than they were at MSU (see your Hardin example). Of course most upper SEC teams are going to have several future pros in their roster. But they’re not pros yet, and the depth of a AA team just isn’t there. A good SEC team may have 10 future pros, not all of which will even make AA. A AA team has 25 AA players right now.

 

[msubrave]

One of the dads on my daughter's soccer team is a scout and I've asked him this exact question. He said on average Friday night in the SEC is equal to A ball.

 

[patdog]

One of the dads on my daughter's soccer team is a scout and I've asked him this exact question. He said on average Friday night in the SEC is equal to A ball.

That sounds about right. There’s gonna be several players who are professional quality. But half will never make a minor league roster.

 

[HotMop]

The Fri and Sat starting pitchers for any SEC team are going to be AA caliber at bare minimum….plus the closer and at least one bullpen arm usually. Sunday pitching, maybe not. But there absolutely is AA talent up and down all the SEC rosters, plus legit MLB talent too.

You drinking last night?

 

[Colonel Kang]

High A or AA is roughly SEC Equivalent. Isn’t the Arkansas Travelers the Mariners AA Team?

SEC is between Low & High A. High A is better talent across the board on the field.... Low A has talent but it's younger & the level of player is lower than the SEC

 

[HotMop]

One of the dads on my daughter's soccer team is a scout and I've asked him this exact question. He said on average Friday night in the SEC is equal to A ball.

That tracks since most of A ball is 22 and younger with lots of international players.

 

[She Mate Me]

I’ve just realized I kinda kicked off this typical SPS rabbit hole of pseudo expert disagreement with this offhand comment…

“So he’s seeing pitching well below a typical SEC weekend I guess.”

You’re welcome. Not all heroes wear capes, some wear flip flops and ratty shorts.