UConn Baseball 2018 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn Baseball 2018

I really have no idea, but if forced to guess, I would say the junior transfer Mike Woodworth at 3B, although I doubt that is set in stone. Fedko and Moriarty (whoever isn't starting at 2B) would seem to be next in line. I would also guess that fellow JUCO Thad Phillips will get time at either Dan Hurley or 1B when he isn't backing up Susi at catcher. Given what he did with his bat during the summer and the homer he hit at the alumni game in the fall, I'd like to see Ben Maycock get a chance at Dan Hurley. To be honest, there seem to be a number of players who could end up at Dan Hurley.
Don't count out frosh Andy Hague at 2B. It may take some time for his bat to come around, but his glove might get him some defensive innings.
 
Don't count out frosh Andy Hague at 2B. It may take some time for his bat to come around, but his glove might get him some defensive innings.

In my mind with all the open positions on this team, if someone fields their position reasonably well and is able to hit, they have a chance to play. Penders in the past has shown he likes to ride a hot bat, so someone who comes out of the gate with some sort of hitting streak has a chance of sticking in the lineup.
 
Moriarity could be a dark horse. He flashed last year -- especially early -- and if he becomes more consistent, he could be a quality bottom of the order bat.
 
Moriarity could be a dark horse. He flashed last year -- especially early -- and if he becomes more consistent, he could be a quality bottom of the order bat.

I expect Moriarty will get more than a fair chance to take over one of the open infield positions. One thing to note is that he did not hit well in summer baseball last year. Of course, you could say that about a number of players, and it is also true that the summer ball season is a pretty short time span to show your skills.
 
The Willimantic Chronicle had a Jerry Trecker hot stove article on UConn baseball recently.

theChronicle.com

A few interesting tidbits that he got from Coach Penders:

Along with JUCO's Chase Gardner and Jeffrey Kersten, freshman Colby Dunlop could be a candidate as a Sunday starter. Penders says he has "dynamic stuff". Ronnie Rossomando had off season shoulder surgery and is again in the mix as a possible starter.

I've heard this elsewhere as well, Chris Winkel is getting a look in CF.

According to Penders, JUCO Mike Woodworth will be "in the lineup somewhere".

Ben Maycock may be "the revelation of the season".
 
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Wichita State must have some awful pitching to be ranked so low with those two infield beasts.
 


Good to see these interviews now popping up on twitter. Hopefully Chris Jones will soon post longer interviews with the coaches about team going into the start of the season.
 
UConn Baseball‏ @UConnBSB 4h4 hours ago
King of the North! Fun Fact: The Huskies 292 wins since 2010 is the most by any team in the Northeast region (including Maryland & West Virginia)! #UConnNation #18Days

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@dbmill, do you remember at around what time last winter the updated roster came out? Starting to get a little antsy here...
 
@dbmill, do you remember at around what time last winter the updated roster came out? Starting to get a little antsy here...


I'm always antsy for any roster posted on the UConn baseball website. I just looked it up. Last year was February 13 when it was mentioned on the Boneyard. I would hope it is a bit sooner this season just for the sake of our sanity.
 
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UConn @ #3 behind Houston/ECU


Freshman Pitchers Joe Simeone and Colby Dunlop and Infielder Christian Fedko listed as League "Impact Players"
 
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That's what I was guessing, but not hoping for. Up until last season UConn baseball would post a preliminary roster with a few extra players in mid to late January, and follow it up with the final cut roster a couple of days before the season would start. Looks like those days are long gone.
 
That's what I was guessing, but not hoping for. Up until last season UConn baseball would post a preliminary roster with a few extra players in mid to late January, and follow it up with the final cut roster a couple of days before the season would start. Looks like those days are long gone.

Of course, many college teams post a fall roster prior to any roster cuts. I wish UConn would do that.
 
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I always look forward to these preseason interviews with the coaches. They are always worth a listen, as in the past they really you an idea as to where various players stand on the team. Since this one focuses on returning weekend starters Tim Cate and Mason, it looks like that Chris Jones might be doing more of them in bite sized chunks this time around. Whether it is a 15 or 20 minute interview or just a bunch of interviews that last just a couple of minutes, I expect them to be just as informative.

The Sunday starter interview should be an interesting one. I've been expecting that Chase Gardner was the frontrunner for this spot, but Coach Penders has been singing the praises for freshmen Colby Dunlop, saying he has "dynamic stuff", or something like that. Penders has a history of pushing talented freshmen starters fairly quickly into the weekend starting rotation, with such pitchers as Anthony Kay, Tim Cate, and Mason Feole. It was attempted with Ronnie Rossomando, but it didn't work out. Is Gardner more or less holding down the fort until the decision is made on Dunlop? Only time will tell.
 
Seems like a 2nd midweek starter hasn't really emerged yet.
 


So it sounds like for now the Sunday starter will probably be either Chase Gardner or Jeffrey Kersten, with the edge seemingly going to Gardner for now. While the edge seems to go to Gardner at this point, it sounds like the coaches are impressed Kersten's efficiency and the chance that he could go deep into games while not throwing a ton of pitches. Whoever doesn't get the Sunday start sounds like they will be penciled into becoming the main midweek starter. The coaches sound like they really like Dunlop, but want to start him in the bullpen to start the season, with it possible that he could emerge as a weekend starter down the road depending on what happens. Sounds like they like Dunlop's stuff enough that they want to keep him working at least the weekend conference games no matter what. Look for him to get looks out of the bullpen early in the season, and then we will see how things work out.

Seems like a 2nd midweek starter hasn't really emerged yet.

With the way the schedule is structured, a second weekday starter would be needed for four games. Of course there is always a chance that rescheduled games due to bad weather could change that. But the second weekday starter doesn't see that much work, so hopefully that pitcher would be getting some work out of the pen as well. The first time a second weekday starter would be needed would be on the spring break trip to South Carolina, which would be after the fourth weekend of the season. After that a fifth starter wouldn't be needed until the last two weeks of April.

If Dunlop does happen to emerge later in the season as the Sunday starter, then it would seem that Gardner and Kersten get the weekday starts.
 
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