Chop, Have we ever had a pitcher transfer from SanJac and do anything? There was a guy named Robert or Roger or something like that, but I lost track of him.
Looks like Chris Stuart struck out Ivan and got Kennedy to hit into a ground out to 2nd base in Fall Ball--San Jac JC v. UT at the Disch (per the video). And all you closet Jacobites out there need to treat him like royalty...
On Chris Stuart: Hmm. Body build and pitching motion makes me think of a left-handed Kirk Dressendorfer. Am I imagining this?
Chris Stuart also struck out Skye Messinger and got Murph to hit a grounder into a double play. You can see why he got Coach’s interest.
Yes, he selected LSU about 10 days ago. LSU has cleaned up in the portal this year, they will be a force next season.
From Baseball America's Top 25 for 2023. Click the "More" button on #23 Texas. College Baseball Top 25 Rankings "Notes: Projected key returners: OF Dylan Campbell, 2B Mitchell Daly, RP Andre Duplantier II, SP Lucas Gordon, RP Luke Harrison, OF Eric Kennedy, SP Tanner Witt Projected key departures: C Silas Ardoin, SS Trey Faltine, SP Pete Hansen, OF Douglas Hodo III, 1B Ivan Melendez, 3B Skyler Messinger, RP Aaron Nixon, OF Murphy Stehly, SP Tristan Stevens, RP Joshua Stewart, OF Austin Todd Projected key newcomers: OF Max Belyeu (No. 168), OF Porter Brown (TCU), SS Jalin Flores (No. 89), RHP Pierce George (No. 439), C Garret Guillemette (Southern California), RHP Charlie Hurley (Southern California), RHP Heston Tole (Arkansas) Things will look very different in Austin in 2023. The Longhorns stand to lose as much talent as nearly any team in the country, starting with Player of the Year Ivan Melendez. But Texas has recruited at a high level and still has the firepower to contend in the Big 12. The Longhorns look the strongest on the mound, where lefthander Lucas Gordon figures to move to the front of the rotation with the likes of Andre Duplantier II, Luke Harrison and Lebarron Johnson Jr. helping him out. Righthander Tanner Witt could also give the Longhorns a boost, if he is able to make a good recovery from Tommy John surgery. The offense is more of a concern for Texas and it will need some new faces to step up in the lineup."
LBJ is struggling in Cape Cod league play. Hopefully he gets over it and is back in good form by season opener. He's hit 97mph+ on his fastball. Lebarron Johnson - Cape Cod Baseball League - player
While our power hitting may never again approach last year, we may look like a pretty good Moneyball lineup next year. Lots of guys with high OB% and batting averages, though not so much power hitting.
Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara... Both Luke Harrison and Alec Grossman are having sub-par Summers on the mound; Harrison more so than Grossman (by the numbers...).
Up in Cape Cod, Sthele isn't walking many batters, but he's getting shelled with hits. Travis Sthele - Cape Cod Baseball League - player
The sampling size is so small in Summer League ball, it's hard to gauge how good somebody is vs. the (good) competition. Hopefully, our pitchers get the kinks worked out before the season. Sthele and LBJ will be counted on to be two of our better relievers next year. Sthele might be our closer. And LBJ makes a good set up man or middle reliever.
Peyton Powell Utility Man (C, 1B, 3B, DH) RS Junior He's batting 0.296 for the Duluth Dylans* in Summer League with a 0.382 OB %, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homerun, and 20 RBI thus far. Slugging 0.426 with an impressive 0.808 OPS. Nobody's going to mistake him for Ivan Melendez or Murph Dog, but this fellow can bat, and we may need his bat in our lineup. He brings some power, and clutch hitting (high RBIs), to mix in with all these high batting average/on-base % guys. Peyton Powell College & Amateur Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com Conference expansion finally clearing the path for a bigger CFP field In the end, it was the man from The University of Texas, Peyton Powell, who came up first in the tenth and wasted no time ending the game in a walk-off with a bloop single down the left field line. Huskies win and advance to 10-13 in the second half and 29-27 overall. The Mud Puppies fall to 0-11 in the second half and 6-22 overall. "Pierce also lost three of his top recruits to the pros but will look to build around outfielders Eric Kennedy and Dylan Campbell, incoming shortstop candidate Jalin Flores to perhaps fend off second baseman Mitchell Daly for that position, infielder Jack O'Dowd and Peyton Powell, "who could be an interesting piece. He's a catcher by trade and a left-handed bat but had a really good summer playing first with some third." ... *officially, the "Duluth Huskies"
Chris Stuart: He may challenge Harrison for the "first man out of the bullpen when the starter gets in trouble" role.
Looks like we picked up another player. Brandon Fields out of State College of Florida. Don’t know anything about him. Kind of a surprise. I imagine it’s an offensive move cause I think we r ok defensively.
JUCO OF Brandon Fields commits to Texas - Burnt Orange Nation "A 6’0, 209-pounder, Fields isn’t a typical junior college baseball prospect — he was ranked as the No. 31 recruit nationally and the No. 9 outfielder by Perfect Game in the 2020 recruiting class and signed with South Carolina. Fields was talented enough to withdraw from the 2020 MLB Draft in favor of playing for the Gamecocks, but his freshman season surely didn’t go as planned in Columbia when he only started one game and received six at bats, failing to notch a hit. Fields opted to play at the junior college level after entering the NCAA transfer portal and slashed .324/.387/.581 with 13 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, and 48 RBI, as well as 16 stolen bases. So the tools clearly showed for Fields — he was known for having a short, powerful swing in high school and the speed to play center field — but he did have a strikeout rate of 30 percent, a lot of swing and miss in his game for the level of competition. Even with the strikeout issues, though, Fields still has plenty of upside and will compete for a starting spot in the Texas outfield, likely in center field. With Eric Kennedy returning along with Dylan Campbell, two spots should be locked in for the Longhorns unless Campbell returns to second base, leaving Fields to battle rising sophomore Ace Whitehead and freshman Max Belyeu for the third outfield spot. Fields is also a strong contender to earn some at bats at designated hitter for Texas in 2023."
Brandon Fields OF State College of Florida Manatees (Junior College) 6'0" 209 lbs Bat. avg 0.324 OB % 0.387 Slugging % 0.581 48 RBIs 16 Stolen Bases Fielding % 0.920 (might be a DH...?) Brandon Fields As a recruit in high school: Nat'l ranking=#31 overall, #9 OF; Florida ranking=#6 overall, #3 OF. "BAT SHOWED BIG POTENTIAL AT PG NATIONAL. HAS IMPRESSED AT MANY WWBA AND BCS TOURNAMENTS" Brandon Fields Class of 2020 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA This young man can hit, and should be a welcome addition to our batting lineup. That 0.920 fielding % stands out though--could be an anomaly??? Or maybe Fields will be our DH? Ace Whitehead is decent enough in the OF. Also, as pointed out in an article quoted in the previous post, if Campbell moves back to the infield (where he started out), Kennedy would be the only returning starting OF, so the other two OF positions would likely start with Whitehead, Belyeu, or Fields, with the odd man out at DH.
Don't expect us to see a Longhorn batting lineup like last year--maybe ever. But...... ...this coming year's batting lineup is shaping up to be one of the top 2-3 in the Big 12, and might contend for the best overall lineup in the conference. Not as much power as last year* (obviously), but lots of get-on-base a lot guys. Moneyball stuff. *We won't be weak in power hitting compared to the competition, we'll actually have decent power, just nothing like last year's freakish power hitting numbers. (of course, if Belyeu and Thomas come in as Freshman and ding 15+ homers each, and Campbell knocks out 15-20, with Kennedy doing about the same, we could still be the best power hitting team in the conference; but that's a lot to ask)
Cody Howard redshirted last year at Baylor. He’s a relief pitcher who can bring some heat—fastball in the mid 90s—up to 95 mph. Was highly ranked coming out of high school.
idk. When we lost southard, that one hurt. I’m concerned but hoping Woody can bring some consistency to the pen. Some of these guys are still struggling in summer league but he hasn’t worked with any of them yet. With the additions, I’m not concerned about defense or offense at all. so I think you’re correct in that it will all depend on pitching.
Cody Howard RHP Transfer from Baylor RS Freshman Threw a 93 mph fastball in high school; works fastball--up into the mid-90s now, possibly even faster. Fastball has "some life to it" (good movement). Throws a changeup with a "late sink" and "fading life" Also throws a breaking ball. Was also scouted as an outfielder/batter. Cody Howard is a 2021 RHP/OF with a 6-0 180 lb. frame from Conroe, TX who attends The Woodlands. Large, athletic frame with square shoulders and a lean, projectable build with room to fill throughout. Ran a 6.90 60-yard dash. Primary righthanded pitcher, simple and on line delivery with an up-tempo pace, high leg lift up past belt, shows a quick arm stroke through the back working to a higher three-quarters release point. Athleticism plays on the mound, shows comfort and ability to drop slot with intent to provide different look, fastball topped out at 89 mph [as a high school junior], shows occasional cut from higher slot and more running life from lower slot. Worked ahead with fastball and filled the strike zone, slider up to 78 mph with short depth; good hand speed on changeup up to 80 mph, lowers slot but able to generate fading life to it. Good student. Howard was ranked as the No. 32 player in Texas and the No. 11 right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game in the 2021 recruiting class. Cody is a polished pitching prospect with a quality 3-pitch arsenal. His fastball has some life to it and was up to 92 in his outing at the BF Texas Showcase. He showed the ability to move it around the zone well - pitching to both sides of the plate and elevating it when he wanted to get a swing-and-miss. Cody's off-speed offerings were a breaking ball that had tight 3/4 break and a change that had some late sink. He appeared to have confidence in all of his pitches. Cody showed a mechanically sound delivery and a quick arm that, with his stuff, are the traits found in quality starting pitching prospect. Cody Howard Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA Baylor transfer RHP Cody Howard commits to Texas Baseball Factory | Top Prospects | Cody Howard
Cody Howard's pitching grades per "Baseballfactory.com" Fastball............60 Control.............60* Changeup.........58 Curveball..........58 Using the Baseball Factory grading guide below, Cody Howard was already pitching at a Minor League Baseball level (above the college level) while he was in high school. Grade...........Description............................Level 38-42...........Average high school.........Varsity high school 42-48...........Solid Average....................Varsity high school 48-52...........Above Average..................College 52-58...........Well Above Average..........College 58-62...........Excellent...........................MiLB 62-68...........Outstanding.......................MLB 68-70...........Superior.............................MLB 71+..............Bob Gibson (just kidding...) OK, this guy is good. *The control grade takes into consideration the following components: separation of zone (ability to throw fastball strikes to sections of the zone) and the feel for off speed pitches (ability to throw off speed pitches for strikes). Baseball Factory | Top Prospects | Cody Howard (click on their link, and pay them $; they're a good site)
Pierce George RHP 6'7" 242 lbs Lake Travis High School Incoming Freshman (just checked in) 92+ mph fastball Slider Curveball Strike thrower. Good control in high school. Looks like he likes to come up high in the zone for strikeouts. Rated the #41 pitcher in the nation coming out of high school per Athlon. Pierce George | RHP | R/R | 6-6 | 215 | Austin, Texas | Lake Travis Personal: Son of Lisa and Derek George. High School: Three-year letterwinner for head coach Mike Rogers at Lake Travis High School…No. 9 ranked right-handed pitcher in the state of Texas and the No. 35 ranked player overall in Texas…invited to compete in the New Balance Future Stars Series Main Event at New York's Citi Field…helped lead Lake Travis to the 2021 District 26-6A Championship and regional semifinal…also a wide receiver on the Lake Travis football team. I chose Texas because: "I chose Texas because it has been my dream ever since I was a little kid. The community and society are what really makes me want to be a Longhorn." Allen on George: "Pierce is a big physical right-handed pitcher that has a really good arm. The fastball has a lot of carry to it and I think there is another jump velocity-wise in him. He continues to work and get better each time we see him. He has a very bright future ahead of him." Pierce on George: "To say that Pierce is a physical specimen is an understatement. He is a very intimidating physical right-handed pitcher with a great arm. His fastball is electric, he loves to work and will continue to become a complete pitcher because of his work ethic and character. We are excited to have Pierce joining our program." Pierce George Class of 2022 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA Prep Baseball Report - Player: Pierce George Texas baseball picks up 2022 commitment from Lake Travis’s Pierce George - Burnt Orange Nation 2022 MLB Draft: Top 50 High School Prospects Baseball announces 2022 signing class - University of Texas Athletics
I read some more, and saw some more videos, on Porchas. From what I can gather, when he’s on, he’s friggin ON—almost unhittable. His fastball is well up into the mid 90s, with good movement. His breaking stuff really breaks. But he does occasionally have off nights, where his control just goes away and he’s throwing high out of the zone, walking lots of batters. He has a tendency to live high in the zone (and high out of the zone). He did this at a Perfect Game all-star game. Another rub on Porchas is that SOME babblers on the internet think he “peaked too early.” Apparently, Porchas was considered the top Sophomore pitcher in the nation, but some think he didn’t keep improving from there. However, even as a Senior, Porchas was still ranked by some as high as #2 in California (and one still had him as the #1 pitcher in California—even as a Senior). Perhaps he’s a very high ceiling guy, with massive talent, who needs some coaching. He’ll probably be in the pen next year, but we have a potential weekend starter with Porchas.
He's gone. Veiled and cryptic internet rumor hints that this might have been an unpleasant break up ...??? So I guess it's safe to say that he "wasn't a good fit"...
just looking at it on paper, he seemed like a questionable take, if he was ranked that high coming out of high school, why the heck would he leave South Carolina and go to some no name school??? (character issues anyone?) seemed like an odd path like there were issues with him and it showed up before he even got on the field here. Hopefully whatever it is, he gets it figured out before he goes down the wrong path cause it's not the school(s), its the player in my opinion.
