Predict the MLB draft and its effect on our signees

[anon1787432961]

discuss....

 

[Smoked Toag]

A lot ride on Kam James in my opinion. And if we only lose Jett Williams and not Bradley Loftin, we've done well.

I think we'll get Luke Hancock back to be the catcher, and that's a big deal.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Minimal damage. Johnson is gone. James, Lofton, maybe one more HS kid and the Stetson pitcher and Kelley are possibilities.
Kelley could be a big deal for the pen.

 

[8dog]

I think Kam is gone and while I’d love to have him back we need Alford in that spot. If Kam and Hancock came back you would be looking at likely replacing 7 of 9 in the starting lineup in 2024 and Im sure Alford would transfer. We have to get some roster balance back. I think we have rebuilt the lineup to give us a chance that we don’t have to have Kam.

 

[aTotal360]

We usually get hit worse than we think. So I'll go chalk. We will lose a few we weren't expecting.

 

[The Peeper]

If you need Alford @ 3rd Kam could possibly be in CF, he played there some late in the season, even started some I believe.

 

[8dog]

We are full in the OF with Ledbetter, Knight and Clark. The gap we have other than C is DH bc you cant use the portal for that. No one wants to come just hit and Clark isn’t going to want to move there for his prime draft year. Hopefully Downs emerges there

 

[Cooterpoot]

We are full in the OF with Ledbetter, Knight and Clark. The gap we have other than C is DH bc you cant use the portal for that. No one wants to come just hit and Clark isn’t going to want to move there for his prime draft year. Hopefully Downs emerges there

If Clark doesn't figure out somethings, RF could be open. He's not having an incredible summer, Especially power number wise. He's up in the .270s finally, but it's not been a big summer for him.

 

[Smoked Toag]

If Clark doesn't figure out somethings, RF could be open. He's not having an incredible summer, Especially power number wise. He's up in the .270s finally, but it's not been a big summer for him.

He's never going to hit better than that. He's a mid-level hitter who drops bombs. He was about fully-developed when he got here, that's why he started as a freshman (outside his sickness). That's why he'll be the same player next year that he was in 2021. Obviously he will be slightly improved, due to reps, but you get my point.

Kam James is another. Same player now as he was in 2020.

I call these guys the travel ball all stars, and not in a bad way. They remind me a lot of Texas high school football players - they get excellent development as a youth so they are well ahead of the curve when they get to college. But you don't get those Renfroe-like jumps from them.

 

[Smoked Toag]

If you need Alford @ 3rd Kam could possibly be in CF, he played there some late in the season, even started some I believe.

Yes, that's where Kam would go most likely, for many reasons. But like 8dog said, it's probably in both of our best interests if he gets drafted.

I doubt Hancock gets drafted, but if he does, I'm OK with Highfill at Catcher. But it's a different situation because he's a freshman and will be more amenable to sitting a little bit, knowing he'll be the full-time starter as a second-year player.

Neither Alford or Knight will be happy about Kam coming back.

 

[anon1787432961]

we need another 5 tool player

I myself have 1 tool and its yelling at the ump

 

[G-Dawg]

Minimal damage. Johnson is gone. James, Lofton, maybe one more HS kid and the Stetson pitcher and Kelley are possibilities.
Kelley could be a big deal for the pen.

I'm hearing word is that Preston wants to come back for one more year.

 

[Misfit]

Kam is a much better defensive player now than he was in 2020.

 

[curseddawgs]

Ok? His bat hasn’t developed at all

 

[Cooterpoot]

Ok? His bat hasn’t developed at all

He increased his average 40 points last year. That's development. Always will be around 10 HRs a year.
His bat is better than he gets credit for.

 

[Cooterpoot]

I'm hearing word is that Preston wants to come back for one more year.

Jett, not Preston. Sorry, I messed that name crap all up. Williams....

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Cant imagine the draft will hurt us that bad considering this was one the worst MSU teams in several decades.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Probably still standing on top of the plate. He could be good if he moved into the middle of the batter's box. He is NOT a "pull the hands in" type of hitter.

 

[Go Budaw]

Ok? His bat hasn’t developed at all

2020 OPS - .762
2021 OPS - .808
2022 OPS - .872

What exactly is your definition of “hasn’t developed at all”?

 

[Go Budaw]

Cant imagine the draft will hurt us that bad considering this was one the worst MSU teams in several decades.

It wasn’t even Top 3 worst of the past 15 years.

Did your dumbass just start following MSU baseball in 2016?

 

[dog99walker]

Pitching, pitching, pitching. That was the problem last year. We lost so many games from the bullpen. Hitting and hitters are there. We need pitching.

 

[olblue.sixpack]

It wasn’t even Top 3 worst of the past 15 years.

Did your dumbass just start following MSU baseball in 2016?

Follows Ole Miss

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

Jett Williams just went 14 overall to the Mets. Pretty sure he is gone.

 

[8dog]

I didnt run OPS but in conference I have him at .278 in 21 and .260 in 22. 5 HRs each year.

 

[Go Budaw]

I didnt run OPS but in conference I have him at .278 in 21 and .260 in 22. 5 HRs each year.

And in 2020 he played nothing but nonconference games against almost exclusively crap teams, with significantly worse numbers regardless.

He also had about a .060 jump in slugging % from 2021 to 2022, despite hitting fewer HR’s. Hit a lot more doubles. And the fielding was an obvious improvement, too.

Overall, he’s certainly developed quite a bit since 2020, and all the numbers prove that. Saying he is the same player as in 2020 is just false. Not everybody can have Brent Rooker / Tanner Allen type OPS jumps from freshmen to junior year. It still doesn’t mean they aren’t getting better.

 

[8dog]

I imagine everyone improves from their first 20 or so college games. The flatline from Soph to Junior year is the concerning and more material part.

 

[Go Budaw]

I imagine everyone improves from their first 20 or so college games. The flatline from Soph to Junior year is the concerning and more material part.

Except its not a flatline. A flatline would be what Logan Tanner’s numbers looked like from 2021 to 2022. As for James, he got his average up, K rate down, BB rate up, slugging % up, OPS up, etc.
You can’t argue the conference vs. nonconference because both years include both conference and nonconference games.

And aGAIN, the biggest improvement of all is the fielding % which was a huge liability last season.

View attachment 24723

James isn’t a 1.000+ OPS player. Just isn’t. But he’s still gotten gradually better, and he has elite measurables in both speed and exit velocity that scouts covet. But, he still may not have a position in MLB. So we’ll see where he winds up. He’s already 22, so my guess is that he’s gone regardless unless he just doesn’t get drafted at all.

 

[Cooterpoot]

I'm hearing word is that Preston wants to come back for one more year.

He gone.

 

[8dog]

I’m looking at SEC a numbers. Thats really all I care about. Its the best indicator and the most important 30 games. And he was the same player if not worse. His conf average dipped from 21 to 22.