UConn Baseball 2020

[huskymedic]

I know that Ben Casparius lost his appeal to the NCAA, but I thought that I read he still had one final appeal. Is that true? Do we know he is ineligible for the season for sure? And if we dont when would he/we find out?

From a few weeks back... the NCAA works on their own timelines.

 

[businesslawyer]

I suspect most followers of the UConn baseball team would probably agree the most unsettled part of the team at this point going into the Presbyterian series this weekend is the starting pitching. Nick Krauth has been better than anyone could have expected, he has been terrific. So much so that Coach Penders in the last postgame interview in New Orleans indicated that Krauth was probably going to get shifted to starting games before Sunday. It would not be a surprise if he gets to start the Saturday game this weekend. He could very well keep moving up all the way to Friday. I suspect that one of the reasons Penders likes to have his best starter going first in a weekend series is that it makes it a bit easier to manage the innings the guys out of the bullpen get the rest of the way in a series.

After being very good in his first Saturday start this season, Colby Dunlop has been pretty poor the last two games, getting hit all over the field in those two contests. Coach Penders said twice in weekend postgame interviews that the coaching staff thought Dunlop was tipping his pitches, and that the problem was correctable. We'll see how that goes.

Based on how he performed in summer ball this past year, I have some confidence that Joe Simeone can become a quality and consistent pitcher for the Huskies. Of course, he still has to perform. In his first start, Simeone was quite good in a 4 inning stint in his first start. In his second start, Simeone pretty much showed such a complete lack of control that he could not get out of the 1st inning against Michigan. In his last start, even though it seemed that Simeone struggled through 4.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 4 walks, and a hit by pitch in that time, but he also only gave up 1 run, so it wasn't all that bad after all. Still, I would like to see him improve on this and be able to through 5 innings consistently. I like to think it can happen with Simeone, but that doesn't mean it necessarily will happen.

After this weekend UConn will start playing midweek games, so midweek starters will be needed. Obviously a guy who does well in the midweek could potentially move up to a weekend starting spot if Simeone and/or Dunlop keep having more problems. One midweek starter will be need next week, and two the week after that. I'm not sure who at this point is slated to get these starts, but I would think one candidate would be Jimmy Wang, even though he had a tough time this weekend after coming back from a sore back and an illness. I had the impression that Wang did well during fall ball, so that could impact the decision. Among the other returning pitchers on the staff, another candidate could very well be Kenny Haus, who at this point has emerged as something of a fixture of the in the bullpen in the early season. Still, it seems UConn's bullpen depth could be pretty good this season, and with the highly regarded Justin Willis slated to return soon, it seems that Haus could be spared from some bullpen duty and get some starts as well.

One thing I've always liked to see is that the midweek starter be one of the youngster on the staff, sort of a guy in training for one of the weekend starting roles in the next season or two. Given that he had some good outings in summer ball including a couple as a starter, it is possible that someone like Patrick Gallagher could be a candidate to start as well. Obviously, anyone who has success in the midweek start could end up moving up to the weekend if the need is there.

I assume Wang will be the 4th starter, with a chance to pitch himself into the weekend rotation if he outperforms Cody or Simeone. I think the wild card right now is Haus. Are you taking him out of the bullpen to be the 5th starter, which only gets him a few starts during the regular season but can be critical in the post-season? That's a big investment to make in the post-season given how effective he's been in the pen. Or do you give Gallagher and/or Lucas the roll of starting the rare 5th in a week game and leave Haus where he is? We will see soon enough.

 

[Riverballer]

From a few weeks back... the NCAA works on their own timelines.

Thanks, thats what I thought, just wondering when this "reconsideration" would happen. Obviously, he would really help out in the rotation.

 

[dbmill]

I know that Ben Casparius lost his appeal to the NCAA, but I thought that I read he still had one final appeal. Is that true? Do we know he is ineligible for the season for sure? And if we dont when would he/we find out?

I don't even know if an official announcement would be made on this. Basically I am going on the assumption that Casparius is not eligible this season unless we hear otherwise.

 

[dbmill]

I assume Wang will be the 4th starter, with a chance to pitch himself into the weekend rotation if he outperforms Cody or Simeone. I think the wild card right now is Haus. Are you taking him out of the bullpen to be the 5th starter, which only gets him a few starts during the regular season but can be critical in the post-season? That's a big investment to make in the post-season given how effective he's been in the pen. Or do you give Gallagher and/or Lucas the roll of starting the rare 5th in a week game and leave Haus where he is? We will see soon enough.

As for Haus, I'm thinking the bullpen will have enough depth that it would not be a big loss to the pen to use him as the occasional fifth starter. Obviously as the fifth starter he would still be getting relief stints. I mentioned Gallagher as a possible starter as he was used that way with some success in collegiate summer ball last year.

 

[dbmill]

[

I know that Ben Casparius lost his appeal to the NCAA, but I thought that I read he still had one final appeal. Is that true? Do we know he is ineligible for the season for sure? And if we dont when would he/we find out?

The UConn Baseball Game Notes for the Presbyterian series have been posted on the UConn athletics website. There is a brief blurb on the Division 1 transfers in the News and Notes section that says among other things that Ben Casparius is not eligible to play this season. There is no mention of any pending appeals. I just checked, and this blurb has not changed in the Game Notes since the Michigan series.

Presbyterian (PDF) - University of Connecticut Athletics

Presbyterian (PDF)

uconnhuskies.com

 

[huskymedic]

 

[BigJim84]

Curious on who will get start on Tuesday, was thinking maybe Bigelow or Nielson, would love see Galagher, but they may need him more in the bullpen.

 

[dbmill]

Curious on who will get start on Tuesday, was thinking maybe Bigelow or Nielson, would love see Galagher, but they may need him more in the bullpen.

The guys who I thought might get a start on Tuesday are Wang, Gallagher, and Haus. However, they all got pitching time this past weekend. I'm inclined to think it still might be Wang or Gallagher as they threw Saturday, but not a ton of pitches. Still think the coaching staff sees good upside in Wang, so it wouldn't surprise me if he starts and gets a short stint, followed by the bullpen brigade.

 

[hardcorehusky]

The guys who I thought might get a start on Tuesday are Wang, Gallagher, and Haus. However, they all got pitching time this past weekend. I'm inclined to think it still might be Wang or Gallagher as they threw Saturday, but not a ton of pitches. Still think the coaching staff sees good upside in Wang, so it wouldn't surprise me if he starts and gets a short stint, followed by the bullpen brigade.

How about Lucas if he is feeling better?

 

[dbmill]

How about Lucas if he is feeling better?

Anything is possible. I'm just taking a guess when it comes to the players that I mentioned. Jimmy Wang was supposed to be in the running for a starting spot and did well in fall ball, so that is why I'm thinking it might be him.

 

[businesslawyer]

Anything is possible. I'm just taking a guess when it comes to the players that I mentioned. Jimmy Wang was supposed to be in the running for a starting spot and did well in fall ball, so that is why I'm thinking it might be him.

Wang was a weekend starter last year. It's really hard to believe he's not going to get a chance to start as the #4 after a spring (if you can even call this spring) troubled with sickness and injuries. I think the more interesting question is whether Haus or Gallagher becomes the #5.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Is there someone who hasn't really pitched yet or has limited innings that they might want to move into an opener of mid week role? I like Haus in the pen as the set up guy right now until there are a few more reinforcements or Polonia locks down that role. For example, it sounded like Penders really liked Josh Cohen coming out of the spring but now he is being redshirted? Not saying burn his redshirt......

 

[businesslawyer]

Is there someone who hasn't really pitched yet or has limited innings that they might want to move into an opener of mid week role? I like Haus in the pen as the set up guy right now until there are a few more reinforcements or Polonia locks down that role. For example, it sounded like Penders really liked Josh Cohen coming out of the spring but now he is being redshirted? Not saying burn his redshirt......

Cohen is not on the 35 man roster. It's not like football or hoops where you take the "redshirt" off him and let him play. He's no longer eligible to play this year.

I agree with you about Haus though. At least until Willis is back I could see him keep Haus in the pen and letting Gallagher or Lucas be the #5 starter.

 

[dbmill]

Kyler Fedko would also be a good candidate for most improved position player in the conference.

 

[Palatine]

Four straight, I think that matches last year's longest winning streak. It would be nice to reel off a few more in a row. We haven't had a long wining streak since, I don't know. We won five straight in 2016.

 

[dbmill]

Wang was a weekend starter last year. It's really hard to believe he's not going to get a chance to start as the #4 after a spring (if you can even call this spring) troubled with sickness and injuries. I think the more interesting question is whether Haus or Gallagher becomes the #5.

Cohen is not on the 35 man roster. It's not like football or hoops where you take the "redshirt" off him and let him play. He's no longer eligible to play this year.

I agree with you about Haus though. At least until Willis is back I could see him keep Haus in the pen and letting Gallagher or Lucas be the #5 starter.

I don't know if it will actually happen, but the earliest projection for the return of Justin Willis to active duty that I know of was the spring break trip. Well, the Richmond spring trip starts this coming weekend. So it would seem that Willis should be back fairly soon, even if it isn't actually this weekend.

There are 10 weekends left in the regular season. UConn only needs a fifth starter for five midweek games. It is hardly as if the fifth starter is a full time job, whoever it is would probably get at least semi regular work out of the bullpen as well.

One freshman pitcher who has not gotten much mention here is Andrew Marrero. The coaching staff seems to be pretty high on him, and as the season progresses he could get more and more late inning assignments as as one of the guys who get the ball to Wurster. It doesn't sound like he is a candidate to start games. Unlike Gallagher who has already had two three inning relief stints, I've gotten the impression that Marrero is a short stint guy, maybe an inning or two at most.

I'm inclined to think that if it were not for the back problem and illness that kept him out of some games, Jimmy Wang would most certainly start the Hartford game tomorrow. I don't know if recovering from these problems would actually keep him from getting that start. At any rate, it would not surprise me if tomorrow turns into something of a staff day.

The main reason I mention Kenny Haus as a possible starter is that he got some starts last season, plus the fact that his pitching has definitely shown improvement over last year as well. That being said, the more I think about it, I would favor Patrick Gallagher to get the midweek starts. He started a few times in summer ball and had some success with it. Also, he has already thrown three innings twice this season with the Huskies, so it is not total stretch to think that he could do four or five innings if and when he gets his first start. He also looks like someone who is going to contribute to this team from the mound.

One other reason I like the idea of Gallagher getting midweek starts. To me midweek games are something of a training ground for younger and more inexperienced pitchers, and they are also a time and place to try some experiments. Of course, you also want to win these games, so there is only so much experimenting that the coaching staff is going to do. Still, it is really the time where less used pitchers get the time to possibly show what they can do. A young guy who gets midweek starts this season could very possibly end up as a weekend starter later in his college career.

A perfect example of this would be Wills Montgomerie, who was a midweek starter his freshman season, and got a few midweek starts his sophomore year before he finally got settled into his weekend starting role. Wills Montgomerie certainly had control issues, but he remains one of my favorites due to his ability to eventually learn to walk the tightrope and often get out of the trouble that he often created for himself.

Of course, aside from Jimmy Wang, there has been no mention from interviews with the coaches on who might be getting stretched out for possible use as a starter.

 

[dbmill]

Is there someone who hasn't really pitched yet or has limited innings that they might want to move into an opener of mid week role? I like Haus in the pen as the set up guy right now until there are a few more reinforcements or Polonia locks down that role. For example, it sounded like Penders really liked Josh Cohen coming out of the spring but now he is being redshirted? Not saying burn his redshirt......

Cohen is not on the 35 man roster. It's not like football or hoops where you take the "redshirt" off him and let him play. He's no longer eligible to play this year.

I agree with you about Haus though. At least until Willis is back I could see him keep Haus in the pen and letting Gallagher or Lucas be the #5 starter.

Josh Cohen may be a redshirt, but it sounded like from preseason stories and interviews that this guy may have nice future as a pitcher in college ball. Remember, this is a guy who has come back from cancer. I suspect the coaching staff is looking for him to use this redshirt year to further regain the strength and pitching skill that he lost during his treatment and recovery. Many times a player will redshirt his freshman season and you will never hear from him again. I suspect this will not be the case with Cohen, and that we could see plenty of him next season.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

That was quick work. Norfolk State had a series scheduled against Princeton on Saturday and Sunday, and ODU had a game scheduled with Princeton on Tuesday.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Stock vs. the team he was freshman all C-USA on!

They are 12-3, albeit against a weak schedule. Both Yale and Holy Cross have taken a game from them. Have to think we are favorites.

NSU is Presbytarian level bad.

 

[huskymedic]

>>Effective immediately, and in the interests of protecting the health and safety of our student-athletes and campus community, attendance at home athletic events for the foreseeable future will be limited to essential personnel and the parents/guardians of University of Richmond student-athletes.<

 

[huskymedic]

Baseball America: More than 50 college baseball programs have now either canceled games or restricted fan access because of coronavirus. Full list + details...

 

[HookC22]

I think we are getting close to having all of our non-bus trips canceled and honestly close to having the season canceled at this point.