UConn Baseball 2018 | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UConn Baseball 2018

huskymedic said:
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Lots of arms that could come out of the bullpen. As you might expect, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of PJ Poulin this season, even if he doesn't end up closing games out. Randy Polonia won't be available right away. Target time for Polonia to see from game time is early March. Also, it sounds like the coaches suspect Ronnie Rossomando might have been keeping quiet on a possible arm injury last season. As we've seen elsewhere on these baseball thread, Jacob Wallace has made a big jump in quality from freshman to sophomore seasons. Hopefully the PJ Poulin of this season in terms of improvement, Wallace could possibly end up as the closer. Also positive mentions for the two seniors on the staff, Trevor Holmes and Joe Rivera, as well as for redshirt juniors CJ Dandeneau and Dan Rajkowski. After Colby Dunlop, the freshman most likely to see some action out of the pen is Joe Simeone. Also possible Angus Mayock may see get some time out of the bullpen.
 
huskymedic said:
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So in talking about the relief pitchers, Coach Josh MacDonald mentions that Jacob Wallace as the one pitcher who is a great leap forward in quality of play from freshman to sophomore seasons. Coach MacDonald mentions that there are a few position players who are also making the great leap forward from one season to the next. That gets me to thinking who the others might be. I'm guessing that one of them must be Ben Maycock, who as a freshman didn't even make the team for the spring season. I'm not sure who the others might be.
 
huskymedic said:
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At catcher, obviously, big things are expected from Zac Susi. The coaches hope that Thad Phillips will be a quality backup catcher who can keep Susi fresh through the season. They think Phillips can be an excellent catcher, with good power at the bat, and while he is not fast, the coaches like Phillips skill as a base runner. Third string catcher is Kenny Bergmann. It would seem doubtful that he will start too many games with both Susi and Phillips around. The coaches still like Bergmann's bat potential. Bergmann is also getting looks in the outfield, where he has perhaps the second best outfield arm on the club.
 
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huskymedic said:
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As expected, John Toppa and Isaac Feldstein are the starting corner outfielders. Both are coming off injuries and surgery in the fall. The coaching staff expects big things from both of them. They want some more consistency from Feldstein, and some more extra base power from Toppa.

Ben Maycock can also play the corner spots. As mentioned before, he could get time at Dan Hurley. A big power threat, the coaches at this point are looking for more consistency at the bat from him.

Center field sounds like a jumble with no absolute frontrunner mentioned. Chris Winkel, Troy Stefanski, Anthony Nucerino, and jack of all trades Mike Woodworth all get mentions as possible center field candidates. The coaches like Stefanski's arm and defense in the outfield. The JUCO Woodworth is a versatile utility guy with good fundamentals who is a good defender at several positions, including center. Redshirt freshman Nucerino is coming off an ACL injury from last summer, but he is back from it. As for Winkel, the coaches love his combination of size, power and speed, and they like how his bat is coming along. Given his potential, I expect Winkel will at the very least get a good look in center early in the season to see if he can handle the job in the field and at the plate.
 

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A rematch with SHSU would be fun. We had a nice series down there a few years back.
 
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Baseballguy said:
Baseball America released their Projected Field of 64. They have UConn as a 2 seed going to Arkansas.

They also have UCF and Houston as a 2 seed, with ECU and USF being 2 of the first 4 out

2018 Preseason Projected Field Of 64 | BaseballAmerica.com
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In addition to the AAC teams listed above, UConn is playing three games with St. John's (a 2 seed) and a game with Coastal Carolina (3 seed). Other UConn opponents projected to making the field are Yale and Bryant.

It would be great to see St. John's (regularly one of the best teams in the northeast) back on the schedule on a regular basis once the new baseball facility is operational.
 
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Accolades keep on rolling in...

Zach Susi #9:

$ Article but...

>>These are NOT pro prospect lists, but they do take pure talent into consideration. Players who proved themselves against top competition in summer ball and look poised for breakout years might rank higher on the list than other players with gaudier stats from last spring.<<
 
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I am pleased about all the buzz for the upcoming tournament! We will have to bee very good to win all 3 games.
 
huskymedic said:
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Three infielders return from last season. As expected Anthony Prato’s name will be penciled in at shortstop. Most likely he will be in the leadoff spot in the lineup as well. Conor Moriarty can play multiple positions, but it sounds like he will spend most of his playing 3B.

The coaches love Chris Winkel’s defense at 1B. However, the coaches think his speed can be put to better use in the outfield. The coaches believe that Winkel’s hitting is coming around and that he is a hard worker, so it sounds like he will be a starter somewhere at the start of the season. Another 1B candidate is Matt Bonvicini. The coaches call Bonvicini a born hitter who they are very impressed with, but they also say he needs to work on his defense. Avery Point JUCO Vinnie Pallisco had a very good fall at the bat, it sounds like he could make the team as a backup at 1B and bring his bat off the bench. Not mentioned in this video is catcher Thad Phillips, who played 1B at the alumni game. There was an article in the Willimantic Chronicle not too long ago that suggested that Phillips and Zac Susi could both see time at 1B when not catching, so we’ll see if that happens.

Assuming Moriarty is at 3B, it would seem the two leading candidates for 2B are JUCO transfer Mike Woodworth, who according to the coaches can play any of the infield positions well and is a fundamentally sound player. Christian Fedko can play 2B, 3B, and possibly the outfield. The coaches love his potential. Also in the infield mix is Andy Hague, who is a strong defensive infielder with plenty of speed. And last, Luke Broadhurst is an infielder with good size and strength. Broadhurst is coming off a shoulder injury, but the coaches think he will be available to play at the beginning of the season.
 
Any freshman looking at breaking into the lineup this season?
 
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