Men UConn Baseball and the transfer portal

[huskymedic]

You’re insufferable.

I sorry @businesslawyer but i can’t resist…

… @Bomber36 - did you forget what he does for a living?

 

[Bomber36]

Lol

I sorry @businesslawyer but i can’t resist…

… @Bomber36 - did you forget what he does for a living?

 

[businesslawyer]

Lol... Why do you make something out of an off the cuff statement. Are you that bored? We all root for the same team here, but for some reason you always think you’re the smartest guy in the room. You’re insufferable.

You made it sound like losing McBride was a loss to the program. He got multiple chances two straight years and he couldn't find the plate. I'm sorry you're offended if I make clear that I find certain posts dumb. You probably want to put me on ignore if that bothers you.

 

[CtBaseball]

You made it sound like losing McBride was a loss to the program. He got multiple chances two straight years and he couldn't find the plate. I'm sorry you're offended if I make clear that I find certain posts dumb. You probably want to put me on ignore if that bothers you.

If we’re debating substance and not style or tone, I gotta agree with businesslawyer on this one. Hard to make a case for a player and omit the majority of their stats, especially when those stats are from the most recent year. Doesn’t take a business lawyer to spot that level of cherry picking.

McBride was very very rough this year, and as someone who watched every single game, he did not look confident at all, which is pretty tough when you are a college pitcher.

At any rate, from what I’ve seen, transfers are not hurting us at all. It’s basically all folks who gave it a shot and didn’t pan out or didn’t get much playing time in the first place.

 

[Bomber36]

If we’re debating substance and not style or tone, I gotta agree with businesslawyer on this one. Hard to make a case for a player and omit the majority of their stats, especially when those stats are from the most recent year. Doesn’t take a business lawyer to spot that level of cherry picking.

McBride was very very rough this year, and as someone who watched every single game, he did not look confident at all, which is pretty tough when you are a college pitcher.

At any rate, from what I’ve seen, transfers are not hurting us at all. It’s basically all folks who gave it a shot and didn’t pan out or didn’t get much playing time in the first place.

I wasn’t making a case for one guy…that post just happened to trigger the thought that we have had a lot of guys leave the team…I used the word guys…it wasn’t about one person. It just happen to get triggered by the post about one guy.

 

[CtBaseball]

I wasn’t making a case for one guy…that post just happened to trigger the thought that we have had a lot of guys leave the team…I used the word guys…it wasn’t about one person. It just happen to get triggered by the post about one guy.

Gotcha. Well, based on the quality of the players who transferred out, I think if anything hurts us next year it does not appear it will be the guys who transferred out but rather the arms and bats we lost to graduation and the draft. Especially in terms of starting pitching.

But we definitely have some solid arms ready to move up and give it a shot.

 

[huskyblooz]

We have a solid freshmen class. I wonder how many will be here sophomore year. If Penders wants to bring in a bunch of d-2 transfers, that's his choice. It's his program. But, HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches will take notice. Why come here?

Yes, it worked last year. I could be wrong, I just think, despite our pre-season rankings, we'll struggle to go .500

 

[uconnbaseball]

I’m a little higher on McBride’s potential than most of this board, but given the strong influx of frosh pitchers coupled with the young arms coming back, it was a simple numbers game. CC is a nice landing spot.

(Funnily enough, one of those incoming frosh was a kid we poached from Coastal)

 

[CtBaseball]

We have a solid freshmen class. I wonder how many will be here sophomore year. If Penders wants to bring in a bunch of d-2 transfers, that's his choice. It's his program. But, HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches will take notice. Why come here?

Yes, it worked last year. I could be wrong, I just think, despite our pre-season rankings, we'll struggle to go .500

I’d say come here because we’re a winning program (bordering on perennial powerhouse) with an extremely talented and renowned coaching staff. Coming to UConn won’t guarantee you playing time, but if you truly believe in your talents, it’s a great spot to go. Isn’t that the case with pretty much any excellent program? You want your recruits to want to be a part of a program that does what it takes to win.

 

[uconnbaseball]

We have a solid freshmen class. I wonder how many will be here sophomore year. If Penders wants to bring in a bunch of d-2 transfers, that's his choice. It's his program. But, HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches will take notice. Why come here?

Yes, it worked last year. I could be wrong, I just think, despite our pre-season rankings, we'll struggle to go .500

We play in the Big East and return a good number of starters. None of the guys transferring out were regular starters for us although I will miss Ferrer.

We might not win 50 again but we are the team to beat in the BE.

 

[huskymedic]

We have a solid freshmen class. I wonder how many will be here sophomore year. If Penders wants to bring in a bunch of d-2 transfers, that's his choice. It's his program. But, HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches will take notice. Why come here?

Yes, it worked last year. I could be wrong, I just think, despite our pre-season rankings, we'll struggle to go .500

Are you saying he should ignore the Transfer Portal and just recruit high school players?

I think the staff has been moving towards a blend of HS, JUCO and now Portal kids over the past few years. It’s just smart team building composition.

I agree w/ @CtBaseball - I think HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches are all in tune with the way the college game is headed and will adjust accordingly.

 

[dbmill]

We play in the Big East and return a good number of starters. None of the guys transferring out were regular starters for us although I will miss Ferrer.

We might not win 50 again but we are the team to beat in the BE.

O'Donnell is another guy who had some good moments on the mound. He's a guy who could have been useful in the coming season, but chose to transfer.

Even with the bunch of transfers coming in, there are also a goodly number of freshmen joining UConn baseball as well.

Biggest question for UConn this coming season is how the weekend starting rotation shapes up. I expect the starting lineup and the bullpen will be fine.

 

[huskyblooz]

Are you saying he should ignore the Transfer Portal and just recruit high school players?

I think the staff has been moving towards a blend of HS, JUCO and now Portal kids over the past few years. It’s just smart team building composition.

I agree w/ @CtBaseball - I think HS players, parents, HS coaches and travel coaches are all in tune with the way the college game is headed and will adjust accordingly.

I didn't say ignore. But he's got 16 transfers coming in. How do you build a culture, when everyone is new?

 

[dbmill]

I didn't say ignore. But he's got 16 transfers coming in. How do you build a culture, when everyone is new?

16 transfers? I think the correct number is 8 or 9 for the upcoming season.

 

[navery12]

I didn't say ignore. But he's got 16 transfers coming in. How do you build a culture, when everyone is new?

I don't know, ask some of the players from last year's team filled with transfers that just led us to the most successful season in a decade

 

[Rdkid]

Penders has made it clear that to see the diamond as a position player as a frosh, you had better be extraordinary. No illusions for recruits or their parents and coaches. A good chunk of the freshman class will not touch the field in the spring and know it. 40+ kids on the roster, most with no scholarship dictates the churn we see. It has always been that way, just now no JV ball. Competition in the summer and fall makes players, even those that end up transferring. It is as important at UConn as anywhere.

 

[ucjoet]

O'Donnell is another guy who had some good moments on the mound. He's a guy who could have been useful in the coming season, but chose to transfer.

Even with the bunch of transfers coming in, there are also a goodly number of freshmen joining UConn baseball as well.

Biggest question for UConn this coming season is how the weekend starting rotation shapes up. I expect the starting lineup and the bullpen will be fine.

Totally agree. I am not worried about bullpen and starting lineup. I believe they will be quality units. I am very curious ( and a bit nervous) about our weekend starters. Stating the obvious, that will determine how successful the season will be. Go Huskies!!!

 

[dbmill]

Totally agree. I am not worried about bullpen and starting lineup. I believe they will be quality units. I am very curious ( and a bit nervous) about our weekend starters. Stating the obvious, that will determine how successful the season will be. Go Huskies!!!

Nothing wrong with stating the obvious around here, someone has got to do it. I feel I do it pretty often. There seem to be enough return players in the starting lineup and the bullpen that they should be effective. Would think that Ian Cooke will be one of the weekend starters assuming he is healthy, but that remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see who else gets a look. Of the returning players, I would think most likely Braden Quinn, Garrett Coe, and possibly Brady Afthim might get looks at being a starter during the fall ball season, as well as some of the transfer pitchers.

 

[businesslawyer]

Nothing wrong with stating the obvious around here, someone has got to do it. I feel I do it pretty often. There seem to be enough return players in the starting lineup and the bullpen that they should be effective. Would think that Ian Cooke will be one of the weekend starters assuming he is healthy, but that remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see who else gets a look. Of the returning players, I would think most likely Braden Quinn, Garrett Coe, and possibly Brady Afthim might get looks at being a starter during the fall ball season, as well as some of the transfer pitchers.

Putting aside the transfers, and I haven't heard of anyone coming in like Enzo who has had real success at the D-1 level, Cooke is clearly pencilled in as the #1, I expect Sullivan to be a weekend starter and I expect the third to be either Coe or Afthim, with the other joining Willis an Kirby as the core of the bullpen. I see Quinn as the top weekday starter, or if we don't have one another key bullpen arm.

 

[BaseballDog]

Putting aside the transfers, and I haven't heard of anyone coming in like Enzo who has had real success at the D-1 level, Cooke is clearly pencilled in as the #1, I expect Sullivan to be a weekend starter and I expect the third to be either Coe or Afthim, with the other joining Willis an Kirby as the core of the bullpen. I see Quinn as the top weekday starter, or if we don't have one another key bullpen arm.

Not sure why you expect Jack Sullivan to be a weekend starter. Braden Quinn will have a bigger role than most are expecting.

 

[businesslawyer]

Not sure why you expect Jack Sullivan to be a weekend starter. Braden Quinn will have a bigger role than most are expecting.

I have no inside knowledge. That is what I expect solely on how they were used and how they performed last year

 

[Rdkid]

Jack Sullivan pitched well in the Cape this summer. Last I checked, that means something. Of course he’s in the mix for a top slot.

 

[dbmill]

Not sure why you expect Jack Sullivan to be a weekend starter. Braden Quinn will have a bigger role than most are expecting.

I have no inside knowledge. That is what I expect solely on how they were used and how they performed last year

Braden Quinn had a very good summer playing with the Danbury Westerners, where he was used as a starting pitcher several times. Suspect @BaseballDog is right, Quinn could very well be a big pitcher for UConn next season. Suspect he will get a look as a starter in fall fall. Jack Sullivan pitched well in the Cape League where he was used out of the bullpen. I'm inclined to think he will be one of the big guys out of the bullpen for UConn considering he hasn't been used as a starter, but we'll see what happens in fall ball. Like I've said before, suspect there will be a bunch of possible candidates for starting pitching jobs, including the Division 3 transfers that have joined the UConn team. Ian Cooke is probably the leader of that pack assuming his arm is healthy. Cooke did not play summer ball this past summer, so that is a bit of a concern to me.

 

[Rdkid]

I would argue role to date doesn’t matter much, talent does. There is a reason Sullivan was used last year and pitched in the Cape. Look at his K/BB, whip, BAA. It is outstanding. They didn’t recruit him to be a 4-year reliever. He is surely in the mix for weekend starter. From what I’ve seen in a UConn uniform, he’s better that Quinn regardless of how they were used this summer, Sullivan against top competition.

 

[dbmill]

I would argue role to date doesn’t matter much, talent does. There is a reason Sullivan was used last year and pitched in the Cape. Look at his K/BB, whip, BAA. It is outstanding. They didn’t recruit him to be a 4-year reliever. He is surely in the mix for weekend starter. From what I’ve seen in a UConn uniform, he’s better that Quinn regardless of how they were used this summer, Sullivan against top competition.

Sullivan could very well be considered for a starting role this fall, we will see what happens during fall ball. But I also think that having starting experience counts for something. Being good out of the bullpen does not always translate to doing well in a starting role. Doing well as a starter during summer ball will get you looks as a starter in the fall, I've certainly seen that happen before. Suspect a number of pitchers will get chances to start in scrimmages during fall ball.