USF an Omaha Sleeper

[NewEnglandBull]

 

[JonesyBucs]

Last year's run was amazing.  For those in the Know.  What is the outlook for this year's team?  I remember a lot of younger classmen contributed quite a bit at the to close the season.  Did we lose any big players from Graduation, are we poised to build off that exciting post season from last year??

[JoeB]

Didn't lose too much but we were an average team last year that just made a great run come tourney time.  Not expecting too much

[JTrue]

5 hours ago, JoeB said:

Didn't lose too much but we were an average team last year that just made a great run come tourney time.  Not expecting too much

The two things I'm looking forward to seeing...

1) A full season from Brutcher.

2) How many ABs Jackson Mayo gets.

And... I'm with you. We had a fun run and finished in the top 25.  But, we also played below .500 ball for a lot of the year and didn't light the league on fire. We know what we are at our best, so consistency or, at least, seeing more of who we were for a couple weeks at the end of the season and a little less of the rest of the year would be nice.

Edited January 24, 2022 by JTrue

[smazza]

closing strong is all that counts in sports and closing arguments

[NewEnglandBull]

1 minute ago, smazza said:

closing strong is all that counts in sports and closing arguments

You forgot sex…

[Dave_Glaser]

It's going to be all about the pitching. The position players are almost all returning from last season - minus first base and catcher, but there are very good options there, I think. If Jasiak, Kerkering and Lord can become a potent and dependable weekend rotation, we're in business with some development in the bullpen and a closer.

Does Brutcher go to right field and Cantu to first base? I'm assuming Rivera, who was great as DH down the stretch, becomes the everyday catcher. Will they move light-hitting SS Nick Gonzalez out of the lineup for the potential of Jacobs-Guishard? Or maybe J-G moves to 2nd base because of his injury and Ruiz goes to short? Gotta like the outfield with LF Eaton, CF Pena and RF Brutcher or Cantu. Infield is 3B Lane, SS ?, 2B Ruiz, 1B Brutcher or Cantu? Rivera at catcher. That's the best-looking bunch of position players we've had since Mark Kingston was here.

I know they're making Kerkering a starter, but wouldn't it be great if one or more of the new guys could emerge and Kerk could go back to his closer role? He was so good there as the season wore on. Sanchez and Hemenway could be nice setup guys, too. Doesn't look like there are a lot of holes this year like in seasons past and you've got potential all-conference guys in the lineup with Brutcher, Lane, Cantu and Pena. And who was swinging the bat better during the postseason than Jarrett Eaton?

Really interested to see new faces Jacobs-Guishard (sort of new because of the big injury early last year), freshman Jackson Mayo and redshirt freshman Albert Hernandez. Hernandez was one of the top-ranked high school players in the state (No. 10 outfielder) and had a Miami offer before signing with us and then missing the season with an injury.

Billy Mohl has done a great job of rising from the ashes of a couple seasons ago and looks like he's building something that may have some lasting power.

[Bull Matrix]

How much are the plane tix & hotel costs when USF makes their way to Omaha?

[JoeB]

4 hours ago, Dave_Glaser said:

It's going to be all about the pitching. The position players are almost all returning from last season - minus first base and catcher, but there are very good options there, I think. If Jasiak, Kerkering and Lord can become a potent and dependable weekend rotation, we're in business with some development in the bullpen and a closer.

Does Brutcher go to right field and Cantu to first base? I'm assuming Rivera, who was great as DH down the stretch, becomes the everyday catcher. Will they move light-hitting SS Nick Gonzalez out of the lineup for the potential of Jacobs-Guishard? Or maybe J-G moves to 2nd base because of his injury and Ruiz goes to short? Gotta like the outfield with LF Eaton, CF Pena and RF Brutcher or Cantu. Infield is 3B Lane, SS ?, 2B Ruiz, 1B Brutcher or Cantu? Rivera at catcher. That's the best-looking bunch of position players we've had since Mark Kingston was here.

I know they're making Kerkering a starter, but wouldn't it be great if one or more of the new guys could emerge and Kerk could go back to his closer role? He was so good there as the season wore on. Sanchez and Hemenway could be nice setup guys, too. Doesn't look like there are a lot of holes this year like in seasons past and you've got potential all-conference guys in the lineup with Brutcher, Lane, Cantu and Pena. And who was swinging the bat better during the postseason than Jarrett Eaton?

Really interested to see new faces Jacobs-Guishard (sort of new because of the big injury early last year), freshman Jackson Mayo and redshirt freshman Albert Hernandez. Hernandez was one of the top-ranked high school players in the state (No. 10 outfielder) and had a Miami offer before signing with us and then missing the season with an injury.

Billy Mohl has done a great job of rising from the ashes of a couple seasons ago and looks like he's building something that may have some lasting power.

All true.  Brutcher for a full year will be nice to see.  Eaton played really well down the stretch and was really a key piece to our run.  I think the upside of Keanu will eventually push Nick to be a role player/defensive replacement as the year goes on.  I see Sanchez/Lord as our potential Sunday/Tuesday starters if Kerkering is moved to the weekend.  Interesting about Cantu to first.  Never thought about that, but could be a good move.  If these guys each get a little better should be a fun season.  All of these guys were young last year and it showed as the year went on.  Need more offense from Ruiz and Pena for sure.  Lane just needs to do what he does, and that is hit.  He was our biggest weapon outside of Brutcher.  Cant wait to watch these guys in 2022

[JTrue]

25 minutes ago, JoeB said:

All true.  Brutcher for a full year will be nice to see.  Eaton played really well down the stretch and was really a key piece to our run.  I think the upside of Keanu will eventually push Nick to be a role player/defensive replacement as the year goes on.  I see Sanchez/Lord as our potential Sunday/Tuesday starters if Kerkering is moved to the weekend.  Interesting about Cantu to first.  Never thought about that, but could be a good move.  If these guys each get a little better should be a fun season.  All of these guys were young last year and it showed as the year went on.  Need more offense from Ruiz and Pena for sure.  Lane just needs to do what he does, and that is hit.  He was our biggest weapon outside of Brutcher.  Cant wait to watch these guys in 2022

Definitely would like to see more consistency. Meaning, we were average-ish and then made a hell of a run at the end. I know the late run was awesome and something to get excited about, but playing well for 50 games is a much better barometer of how good you'll be come tournament time than just saying, "We did what we had to when it mattered last year! The regular season is just warm-ups and these guys know how to win when it matters."

Edited January 26, 2022 by JTrue