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Men UConn and the 2022 MLB Draft

O.K., we've seen who wasn't drafted. I'd be shocked if Eric Stock doesn't go pro anyway (even if he has eligibility left) as he has little left to prove. But for those closer to the program than I am, does that mean we expect to see Ben Huber, David Smith and Justin Willis back for another year?
 
businesslawyer said:
O.K., we've seen who wasn't drafted. I'd be shocked if Eric Stock doesn't go pro anyway (even if he has eligibility left) as he has little left to prove. But for those closer to the program than I am, does that mean we expect to see Ben Huber, David Smith and Justin Willis back for another year?
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Stock doesn't have any eligibility left so he will be gone. I'd expect the other 3 to be back though. Chris Jones specifically mentioned the possibility of Huber and Willis coming back if they weren't drafted (and Donlan which is obviously not the case now). Didn't mention Smith but he was only a sophomore so he should definitely be back
 
businesslawyer said:
O.K., we've seen who wasn't drafted. I'd be shocked if Eric Stock doesn't go pro anyway (even if he has eligibility left) as he has little left to prove. But for those closer to the program than I am, does that mean we expect to see Ben Huber, David Smith and Justin Willis back for another year?
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From what I understand, Erik Stock has used up his college eligibility. Huber, Smith, and Willis are all playing summer ball. Unless they sign a free agent contract like Matt Donlan did, I would expect all three to be playing for UConn baseball next season.
 
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navery12 said:
Stock doesn't have any eligibility left so he will be gone. I'd expect the other 3 to be back though. Chris Jones specifically mentioned the possibility of Huber and Willis coming back if they weren't drafted (and Donlan which is obviously not the case now). Didn't mention Smith but he was only a sophomore so he should definitely be back
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Remember, Smith redshirted a year with UConn after playing his freshman season at LaSalle, so he is eligible to go pro if someone signs him. Whatever the case, I would expect David Smith to be back with UConn next season. He is currently playing in the Cape Cod League.
 
dbmill said:
Devin Kirby is playing summer ball out in California for the Healdsburg Prune Packers. At this point I expect he will be back at UConn in the fall. Of course, with all these guys, that is my best guess.
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Not holding you to anything. LOL. I appreciate that you are a source for this type of knowledge, even if you don't know everything.
 
businesslawyer said:
Not holding you to anything. LOL. I appreciate that you are a source for this type of knowledge, even if you don't know everything.
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General rule of thumb. None of the players mentioned above have used up all their college eligibility. None of the players are in the transfer portal, they are all playing summer ball, they were not drafted, or yet been signed to go pro as a free agent. Also, I believe Kirby, Huber, Smith, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in UConn baseball tweets in terms of playing summer ball. All these are signs to me that these players will probably be returning for another season of UConn baseball.

By the way, another veteran UConn player T.C. Simmons also fits in with all of the above as well.
 
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As a Sox fan I know that the Sox don’t have a ton of talent at the catchers position in the minors. Which could make this a great opportunity for Donlan especially if he stays strong defensively behind the plate.
 
The Viking said:
As a Sox fan I know that the Sox don’t have a ton of talent at the catchers position in the minors. Which could make this a great opportunity for Donlan especially if he stays strong defensively behind the plate.
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I look forward to the day when Donlan and Wallace are battery mates at Fenway.
 
dbmill said:
General rule of thumb. None of the players mentioned above have used up all their college eligibility. None of the players are in the transfer portal, they are all playing summer ball, they were not drafted, or yet been signed to go pro as a free agent. Also, I believe Kirby, Huber, Smith, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in UConn baseball tweets in terms of playing summer ball. All these are signs to me that these players will probably be returning for another season of UConn baseball.

By the way, another veteran UConn player T.C. Simmons also fits in with all of the above as well.
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So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.
 
businesslawyer said:
So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.
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Yes, it seems that UConn baseball starting pitching is often the backbone of the team every season. They certainly have big shoes to fill after losing their 3 weekend starters. Assuming he is healthy, as we have discussed before, I would think Ian Cooke will be in the weekend starting rotation. I'm inclined to think it was decided to rest Cooke's arm rather then have him play summer ball this summer. Along with Justin Willis, Devin Kirby, and Garrett Coe, UConn has several players who were freshmen last season who could fill various roles as well. I agree with you at this point that Coe could very well end up as a starter as well, at the very least he will get plenty of pitching time either as a starter or reliever. It is also pretty apparent that UConn has been pretty active in picking up transfers, so it is certainly possible that transfer pitchers could end up in the starting rotation as well. As for returning pitchers, it will be interesting what roles Afthim and Sullivan among others end up filling next season.
 
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Skiblets said:
The lack of any news on Stock is most perplexing
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Well, Erik Stock wasn't taken in the draft, which is certainly a surprise to followers of UConn baseball. In terms of numbers of UConn players being taken, it is kind of hard to get used to the MLB draft having been 40 rounds a few years ago, and now it has shrunk down to 20 rounds. Also, makes you kind of wonder what MLB clubs are looking for in players in terms of their draft picks. Stock was definitely a well rounded player in his college days at UConn. I suspect that MLB clubs are looking players with big power potential among other things, and perhaps they didn't think Stock had the big power potential that they might be looking for. Which is too bad, as Stock looked like such a well rounded hitter with power and player while he was at UConn. Whatever the case, Stock not being picked is a head scratcher. The only other thing that I can think of is that Stock just completed his 5th season in college ball (including the shortened 2020 Covid season), and it is just possible that MLB teams might have been focusing more on players who were a year or two younger, thinking they had more room to grow. That is my speculation on this subject.
 
businesslawyer said:
So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.
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In addition to the 5 regular position players that are mentioned above, two other players from last season's UConn roster would seem to have a good chance to play regularly next season. Kevin Ferrer, assuming he gets admitted into UConn grad school and that he stays healthy for a change, and Matt Garbowski at catcher, assuming he is healthy as well (he did have shoulder/arm problems last season). Other possible catchers for next season are Ryan Hyde (who is playing well so far with Norwich of the Futures League), and incoming freshman catcher Levi McAllister. It would seem likely that at least two players new to the team next season will be regulars in the lineup as well.
 
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dbmill said:
In addition to the 5 regular position players that are mentioned above, two other players from last season's UConn roster would seem to have a good chance to play regularly next season. Kevin Ferrer, assuming he gets admitted into UConn grad school and that he stays healthy for a change, and Matt Garbowski at catcher, assuming he is healthy as well (he did have shoulder/arm problems last season). Other possible catchers for next season are Ryan Hyde (who is playing well so far with Norwich of the Futures League), and incoming freshman catcher Levi McAllister. It would seem likely that at least two players new to the team next season will be regulars in the lineup as well.
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I will miss Donlon's gun for an arm. Do any of these catchers have a great arm?
 
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dbmill said:
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-> Donlan calls himself just as much of a UConn Huskies fan as he is a fan of the Red Sox. He was a part of teams that won Big East regular season and postseason titles.

"It was the best decision I've ever made," Donlan said of transferring to UConn. "As much as it helps develop guys to get the next level and win a ton of baseball games... the culture we built and the friends and relationships I made there, they were really awesome. It was everything I dreamed of it being." <-
 
dbmill said:
General rule of thumb. None of the players mentioned above have used up all their college eligibility. None of the players are in the transfer portal, they are all playing summer ball, they were not drafted, or yet been signed to go pro as a free agent. Also, I believe Kirby, Huber, Smith, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in UConn baseball tweets in terms of playing summer ball. All these are signs to me that these players will probably be returning for another season of UConn baseball.

By the way, another veteran UConn player T.C. Simmons also fits in with all of the above as well.
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Redshirt freshman RHP Mitchell Pascarella is listed in the D1Baseball.com transfer portal, but given the other stuff mentioned above, I'm guessing he may be back at UConn in the fall. He was mentioned in a UConn Baseball tweet not too long ago as one of the UConn players in the NECBL playing summer ball. I have the idea that UConn baseball is not going to mention players in their tweets about summer ball if it is likely that they won't be back in Storrs in the fall.
 
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