Matt Donlan did not play at Avery Point, he was at Stonehill College for a couple of years before coming to UConn.
Men UConn Baseball 2023
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Matt Donlan did not play at Avery Point, he was at Stonehill College for a couple of years before coming to UConn.
I'm inclined to think from what I have seen in articles and during fall ball exhibition games and scrimmages that I went to that Broadhurst is probably a likely candidate to start the season seeing time at the D.H. spot. Right now I expect Huber, Smith, Padilla, and Freeberger will be the starting infield at the start of the spring season. I would think it is very possible that Daniels and Tammaro will get some playing time off the bench, and could potentially get some starts (as well as Broadhurst) if any of the starting infielders don't play up to expectations or get injured. It appears at this point in time that the UConn infield has a lot of depth this season.
Prior to the start of last season, to me, the depth of the UConn pitching staff was a big question mark on the team, especially in terms of who was going be the main cogs in the bullpen aside from Justin Willis. The one advantage was that UConn had both Peterson and Gallagher returning to the team as weekend starting pitchers. Still, I think it would be safe to say that they both probably turned out to be better than any of us fans were expecting. While there was some doubt about the pitching depth prior to the start of the season, overall, things turned out quite well in that department.
Coming into this season, it appears that UConn's pitching depth looks pretty good. As mentioned before, we are all waiting to see how the starting pitching shapes up. On that front we have gotten some encouraging news during fall ball and the preseason. Ian Cooke came in at No. 75 of top college pitchers on a list that was just put out by D1Baseball.com. The UConn coaching staff also seemed quite pleased with how transfer Andrew Sears performed during fall ball season. Sears made a good impression on others, as he is currently pegged to play in the Cape Cod League this coming summer, I would definitely consider that to be a good sign. D1Baseball.com has also said that Stephen Quigley had a strong fall as well. Still, we do have to see how these guys work out when the regular season starts next weekend.
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The key word in your post is "depth". That will allow them to adapt and work through any starting pitching issues. I will be out in Berkeley later this month for the series against Cal so that will be good to get a first-hand look. Also, has anyone heard any rumors as to the starting lineup for OSU next week? Specifically Dan Hurley, 3B, RF/LF. Thanks
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No insider info here but my best guess would be
Dan Hurley Broadhurst
3B Freeberger
LF Morton
RF Brini or Studley
That would be my guess as well. Brini/Studley in either LF or RF, with Morton and Simmons in the other two outfield spots.
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They have a strong infield with Padilla and Smith turning the 2.
Huber holding down 1st.
I like Morton’s speed and strong arm in center.
TC in left or right.
Not sure if Simmons has enough arm for right field. Don't recall him playing RF at UConn.
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From what I’ve seen, Simmons gets the best reads and would be our best option for CF. Certainly nothing against Morton who is a solid OF with exceptional speed and a strong arm to boot.
More broadly, If Brini is as strong a defender as I anticipate, our defensive outfield could be well above average.
More broadly, If Brini is as strong a defender as I anticipate, our defensive outfield could be well above average.
uconnbaseball
Hey there
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Have to admit, I've always had a good feeling with TC Simmons playing CF. This is certainly not a negative against Korey Morton who is certainly a capable defender with great speed.
Nice read. Their offense will be potent. Might not see the elite power numbers but they will be relentless and work opposing pitching to death. Saw that during the fall season. If they get any type of starting pitching they are a serious problem to deal with on a national level.
Regarding starting lineups there is now pressure to immediately perform or you may be benched given the depth they have. A year ago who would have thought Brown and Fedko would lose their starting jobs by the time they returned from Florida?
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One thing that was apparent for a lot of the later season last year is that their offense had no resting spot for opposing pitchers. Feel like that could definitely again be the case this year.
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From what I'm hearing it will be Studley in left TC in center Morton in right
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That would not surprise me in the least. Morton saw a chunk of time in RF during fall ball games and scrimmages that I saw. Since Brini is a lefty batter, and Studley a righty hitter, there is also a potential for a platoon with those two guys as well.
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Curren Larson who did not play last year at all. The rest appear to be freshman which makes sense. Brown has been in and out of transfer portal so that would not be a surprise if his named did not appear on roster later this week.
Alejandro was obviously not on roster either but that goes without saying since he is out for year with injury.
Alejandro was obviously not on roster either but that goes without saying since he is out for year with injury.
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Final cuts to the roster still have to take place as well. Hector Alejandro is out for the year with an injury. Four other players will need to be cut from the spring roster and presumably redshirted to bring the roster to 37. Guessing they will most likely be incoming freshmen, but we shall see in a few days.
As pointed out above, Curren Larson did not play at all last season with UConn. He played summer ball with Norwich of the Futures League, and I saw him pitch several times. Larson had big problems with his control in Norwich, in some ways he reminded me of Jimmy Wang who played with Norwich the summer season before, who also showed a lack of control when he pitched. Larson did not make a good impression on me with his pitching while he was in Norwich.
Not surprised at all that Chris Brown is not on the travel roster to start the season, UConn simply has a number of guys who can play 3B who certainly seemed to be ahead of him during the fall ball season, which very well could be the reason Brown entered the transfer portal again. After his solid 2021 spring season with UConn, Brown had a tough time in summer ball that summer, and it doesn't seem that he has played well since. Brown is supposed to play summer ball with Bridgeport of the Connecticut Collegiate Baseball League, which may even be a step below the Futures League in terms of quality.
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Ever since Brown was benched in that Dunkin series it was likely to happen
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Assisted access <<
* Chris Brown is included in this draft (not sure if accurate - we’ll see I guess)*
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I was wondering about the injury that put Hector Alejandro out for the season. It's mentioned in the above story:
<Alejandro was forced to miss his senior season at Naugatuck due to Tommy John surgery, and he went on to red shirt his freshman year at UConn in 2021. He appeared in 12 games, starting two in 2022, when he finished the season with a 8.62 ERA, striking out 17 batters in 15.2 innings pitched in his first year back on the mound. This past summer he pitched for the Mystic Schooners of the NECBL. >
For UConn baseball, this would include Chris Jones. One of his extra duties with UConn baseball is broadcasting each game on MIXLR. Love listening to Chris Jones call the games, as he does a fine job on play by play, plus he often provides info on UConn baseball during these broadcasts that you are not likely to hear anywhere else.
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This article on the UConn is a good read. It covers much of what has been mentioned on these threads about the players contending for playing time in the outfield. Korey Morton and T.C. Simmons are the returning starters and are certainly quality players. Transfer Jake Studley and freshman Niko Brini are the main candidates to take over the other outfield spot as well. It is also possible that transfer Dominic Freeberger who saw a lot of time in the infield during fall ball games could end up in the outfield mix as well if the coaching staff decides to go in that direction.
One outfielder who did not get a mention in this article is freshman Drew Kron. He played for Norwich in the Futures League last summer, so I got to see him play a number of times. His outfield defense was terrific, and he has good speed. His bat was okay, but nothing all that special. Still, under ordinary circumstances a freshman like him would probably see some playing time as an outfield defensive replacement and possibly as a pinch runner as well. If his offense continues to develop, I definitely would not be surprised to see him starting in CF for UConn in future seasons. As with everything else, we'll see what happens with Kron in the future.
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