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All Things 2013 Baseball Preview

CaneDaddy

CaneDaddy

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So there have been some questions on the 2013 Baseball team and I wanted to put something together. There are a lot more knowledgeable baseball people around here and I hope they pipe in. I pulled this stuff from various sources and based on what I saw last year.

Incoming Recruiting Class (ranking of actual incoming players):
RankSchoolRecruitsFreshmenJuCoTransfers
1Vanderbilt Commodores111100
2UCLA Bruins121200
3Arizona State Sun Devils151500
4LSU Tigers171520
5Clemson Tigers101000
6Stanford Cardinal101000
7Florida Gators111001
8North Carolina Tar Heels171511
9Miami Hurricanes131210
10South Carolina Gamecocks151140

Four of the 13 newest Hurricanes were selected in June's 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft: Grant Heyman (11[SUP]th[/SUP] round, Toronto Blue Jays), Brandon Lopez (34[SUP]th[/SUP] round, Toronto Blue Jays) and David Thompson (38[SUP]th[/SUP] round, New York Yankees). Another newcomer, righthanded pitcher Jace Herrera, was selected in the 36[SUP]th[/SUP] round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

Roster:
No.
Name
Pos.
B/T
Ht.
Wt.
Yr.
Hometown (Prev School)
0 Roger Gonzalez C S/R 5-9 195 Fr. Miami, Fla. (Florida Christian )
2
Chantz Mack OF L/L 5-11 205 Sr. Homestead, Fla. (Archbishop Carroll HS)
7 Alexander Hernandez SS R/R 5-8 170 Jr. West Palm Beach, Fla. (Palm Beach Central)
8
Michael Broad INF R/R 5-10 196 Sr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Nova HS)
9
Tyler Palmer INF R/R 5-11 189 Jr. Pembroke Pines, Fla. (University)
10 Alex San Juan C R/R 5-11 200 Sr. Miami, Fla. (Christopher Columbus)
14
Esteban Tresgallo INF R/R 6-1 200 So. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Colegio Marista)
16
AJ Salcines LHP L/L 6-0 202 Jr. Miami, Fla. (Florida Christian School)
17
Christopher Barr 1B/OF L/L 6-1 180 Fr. Royal Palm Beach, Fla. (Royal Palm Beach High School)
18
Christian Diaz LHP L/L 6-0 195 So. Florida City, Fla. (Gulliver Prep)
19
David Thompson 1B/OF R/R 6-2 207 Fr. Miami, Fla. (Westminister Christian )
22
Javi Salas RHP R/R 6-4 227 Jr. Coral Gables, Fla. (Christopher Columbus HS)
24 Grant Heyman OF L/R 6-4 200 Fr. Pittsford, N.Y. (Pittsford-Sutherland High School)
27
Brad Fieger INF R/R 6-1 193 Jr. Naples, Fla. (Naples HS)
28 Jace Herrera RHP R/R 6-4 210 RFr. Apopka, Fla. (Wekiva High School)
30 Andrew Suarez LHP L/L 6-0 205 So. Miami, Fla. (Christopher Columbus)
31 Sam Abrams RHP R/R 5-9 160 So. Miami, Fla. (Killian HS)
32
Adam Sargent RHP R/R 5-11 180 Jr. Miami, Fla. (Miami Palmetto Senior)
34 Ryan Otero RHP R/R 6-3 185 RFr. Coral Gables, Fla. (Ransom Everglades)
36
Dale Carey OF R/R 6-2 184 Jr. Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler HS)
37
Eric Nedeljkovic RHP R/R 6-0 175 Sr. Folsom, Calif. (Folsom)
40
Garrett Kennedy C L/R 6-1 185 So. Davie, Fla. (Archbishop McCarthy)
41 Ricky Eusebio OF R/R 5-10 175 Fr. Homestead, Fla. (Gulliver Prep)
43 Thomas Woodrey LHP L/L 6-3 190 Fr. Lighthouse Point, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons)
45 Vince Kossak RHP R/R 6-0 186 Sr. Lake Worth, Fla. (Trinity Christian Academy)
46 John Lawroski OF R/R 5-10 175 Jr. Ocala, Fla. (Trinity Catholic)
49
Alexander Fernandez RHP R/R 5-9 180 So. Southwest Ranches, Fla. (Archbishop McCarthy)
51
Brandon Lopez INF R/R 6-1 170 Fr. Miramar, Fla. (American Heritage)
52
Eric Whaley RHP R/R 6-3 190 Sr. Pompano Beach, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons HS)
55 Frank Grandinette RHP R/R 6-0 190 Fr. Orlando, Fla. (Boone High School)
77
Bryan Radziewski LHP L/L 5-10 195 Jr. Miami, Fla. (Florida Christian School)

:
Every player in bold either started or played significant minutes last year. The players in red are our expected impact players going into this season.

We lost a lot of power with the graduation of Peter O'Beast (Brien) and Rony Rodriguez (hurt a lot last year). However, our defense will improve with the reduction of Stephen Perez and Rony Rodriguez.

Our pitching should be good to great this year. Lots of depth and returning pitchers but only two true starters (Whaley and Bryan Radziewski). B-Rad struggled last year after a stellar freshman year but we will need a lefty in the rotation. We should have some guys able to step up this year.

I definitely see some of the young'ins getting some playing time this year especially Heyman, Lopez, and Herrera. Not really sure if Thompson will be ready to jump right in this year, but I cant wait to see him play.

This team has the pitching to make it to Omaha but we will need to play better defense than last year and find some offense. Need to be a more discplined and fundamental small-ball team to succeed.
 
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Certain lack of baseball fans on here I see.....just how it is in the NCAA.

Will Garrett Kennedy be able to hit as probably going into the season as our starting catcher? He went 14-85 (.165) last year, striking out 23 times. However, he is really good defensively and caught a significant amount of time due to O'Brien's hand injury.

Curious to see if B-Rad can return from a bad and injury plagued year to his dominant form his freshman year where he was on the All American Rookie 2nd team.

Our bullpen returns a lot of quality options and hopefully Jim Morris continues his closing by committee method.

Lastly, if this team has any chance, many of the upper classmen are going to have to bounce back from very mediocre 2012 seasons, especially Michael Broad who has been pretty horrible since having a nasty season his freshman year. A victim of the bats changing.

I think Jim Morris is on the hot seat this year. It may not be Omaha or bust, but I think at least a good showing at a super regional with UF or FSU is a must if he wants to see his 21st year.

It'd be nice to see one of the younger guys step up and have some pop, after Rony and O'Brien, we have everyone slugging from .360 to .380. I hear Heyman has a lot of raw power and had a great summer league season.
 
soysoy05 said:
Certain lack of baseball fans on here I see.....just how it is in the NCAA.

Will Garrett Kennedy be able to hit as probably going into the season as our starting catcher? He went 14-85 (.165) last year, striking out 23 times. However, he is really good defensively and caught a significant amount of time due to O'Brien's hand injury.

Curious to see if B-Rad can return from a bad and injury plagued year to his dominant form his freshman year where he was on the All American Rookie 2nd team.

Our bullpen returns a lot of quality options and hopefully Jim Morris continues his closing by committee method.

Lastly, if this team has any chance, many of the upper classmen are going to have to bounce back from very mediocre 2012 seasons, especially Michael Broad who has been pretty horrible since having a nasty season his freshman year. A victim of the bats changing.

I think Jim Morris is on the hot seat this year. It may not be Omaha or bust, but I think at least a good showing at a super regional with UF or FSU is a must if he wants to see his 21st year.

It'd be nice to see one of the younger guys step up and have some pop, after Rony and O'Brien, we have everyone slugging from .360 to .380. I hear Heyman has a lot of raw power and had a great summer league season.
Click to expand...

Garrett Kennedy is a really, really good defensive catcher. Saved a lot of **** last year especially with EJ. However, I have zero expectations for him as a hitter. I just dont see it.
B-Rad is essential to our pitching staff. Really need a dominant lefty for the big boys. Dude should not be a Weds. starter.
Agree about the upperclassmen. Mack was so clutch last year. Carey dropped off a little offensively so he needs to bounce back. To me, Fieger and Broad will be critical to our success on offense.
 
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I think you guys are really gonna like Ricky Eusebio, great power, amazing speed and athleticism and a smart baseball player he has a quick bat and is an aggressive hitter and likes to get on any way he can and when on loves reaking havoc !!
 
soysoy05 said:
Certain lack of baseball fans on here I see.....just how it is in the NCAA.

Will Garrett Kennedy be able to hit as probably going into the season as our starting catcher? He went 14-85 (.165) last year, striking out 23 times. However, he is really good defensively and caught a significant amount of time due to O'Brien's hand injury.

Curious to see if B-Rad can return from a bad and injury plagued year to his dominant form his freshman year where he was on the All American Rookie 2nd team.

Our bullpen returns a lot of quality options and hopefully Jim Morris continues his closing by committee method.

Lastly, if this team has any chance, many of the upper classmen are going to have to bounce back from very mediocre 2012 seasons, especially Michael Broad who has been pretty horrible since having a nasty season his freshman year. A victim of the bats changing.

I think Jim Morris is on the hot seat this year. It may not be Omaha or bust, but I think at least a good showing at a super regional with UF or FSU is a must if he wants to see his 21st year.

It'd be nice to see one of the younger guys step up and have some pop, after Rony and O'Brien, we have everyone slugging from .360 to .380. I hear Heyman has a lot of raw power and had a great summer league season.
Click to expand...


Agree with everything you said, only I would say its Omaha or bust for Morris. Should be anyway, IMO.
 
Morris wont be on the hot seat as long as he at least keeps the tournament streak alive. Obviously its below the standard he had previously set, but still.

And I do think this team has potential. Seems like we got some of our better recruits to wind up on campus for once.
 
Hard to believe that Michael Broad is a senior already. And whaley too, ****.

Anyway I don't see why we can't make a SR this year, but hoping for some of that old school canes magic in the post-season. It's hard to believe what has happened to our D. Perez had a good glove early on but I recall him making an error against UF and it just went downhill from there.
 
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weownfsu said:
Hard to believe that Michael Broad is a senior already. And whaley too, ****.

Anyway I don't see why we can't make a SR this year, but hoping for some of that old school canes magic in the post-season. It's hard to believe what has happened to our D. Perez had a good glove early on but I recall him making an error against UF and it just went downhill from there.
Click to expand...

Dude was WOAT fielding last season. He had 23 errors..... let that sink in for a minute. Dude was **** near averaging an error every 2 games.
 
soysoy05 said:
Certain lack of baseball fans on here I see.....just how it is in the NCAA.

Will Garrett Kennedy be able to hit as probably going into the season as our starting catcher? He went 14-85 (.165) last year, striking out 23 times. However, he is really good defensively and caught a significant amount of time due to O'Brien's hand injury.

Curious to see if B-Rad can return from a bad and injury plagued year to his dominant form his freshman year where he was on the All American Rookie 2nd team.

Our bullpen returns a lot of quality options and hopefully Jim Morris continues his closing by committee method.

Lastly, if this team has any chance, many of the upper classmen are going to have to bounce back from very mediocre 2012 seasons, especially Michael Broad who has been pretty horrible since having a nasty season his freshman year. A victim of the bats changing.

I think Jim Morris is on the hot seat this year. It may not be Omaha or bust, but I think at least a good showing at a super regional with UF or FSU is a must if he wants to see his 21st year.

It'd be nice to see one of the younger guys step up and have some pop, after Rony and O'Brien, we have everyone slugging from .360 to .380. I hear Heyman has a lot of raw power and had a great summer league season.
Click to expand...

College baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I basically lived at the Light. I went to Tulane when they were at their peak, and because of that, while I still follow Miami, college baseball is the one sport where I follow Tulane first. I'm hoping this is the year both programs get back to where they were 10 years ago.
 
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This roster is bereft of Elite Talent, outside of maybe Thompson. Recruiting has to pick up, this roster looks like an FAU or FIU.
 
CanEs4life04 said:
This roster is bereft of Elite Talent, outside of maybe Thompson. Recruiting has to pick up, this roster looks like an FAU or FIU.
Click to expand...

Nice fancy word choice there.

Disagree, Grant Heyman has absolute raw ******* power, Jimmy Morris has said it himself that he easily puts balls on top of the Ponce garage in practice. If it wasn't for the MLB draft, we would probably have the number one recruiting class this year. Not to mention Brandon Lopez, an incoming MIF was picked 36th overall.

San Juan and B-Rad are back from injury, Fieger and Tresgallo were pretty solid last year for being underclassmen. Look for Carey, Mack and Broad to maybe have a coming out party this year. Yeah, you're right maybe we aren't completely loaded like recent years, but I think we may not be as depleted as you think.

FAU and FIU are top 50 teams on a perrenial basis due to their location, top 25 if they're having a good year. Could even make a case they were on our level last year.
 
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soysoy05 said:
CanEs4life04 said:
This roster is bereft of Elite Talent, outside of maybe Thompson. Recruiting has to pick up, this roster looks like an FAU or FIU.
Click to expand...

Nice fancy word choice there.

Disagree, Grant Heyman has absolute raw ****ing power, Jimmy Morris has said it himself that he easily puts balls on top of the Ponce garage in practice. If it wasn't for the MLB draft, we would probably have the number one recruiting class this year. Not to mention Brandon Lopez, an incoming MIF was picked 36th overall.

San Juan and B-Rad are back from injury, Fieger and Tresgallo were pretty solid last year for being underclassmen. Look for Carey, Mack and Broad to maybe have a coming out party this year. Yeah, you're right maybe we aren't completely loaded like recent years, but I think we may not be as depleted as you think.

FAU and FIU are top 50 teams on a perrenial basis due to their location, top 25 if they're having a good year. Could even make a case they were on our level last year.
Click to expand...

Exactly. We will be a top 50 team like an FAU or FIU and maybe a top 25 team but I dont see this team making it into the top 10.
 
Sure I'm in the minority, but I think Kennedy will hit ok this year. He showed glimpses of having a good eye and making decent contact. Obviously a massive downgrade from O'Brien though. Thrilled that Perez is finally gone. That is addition by subtraction.
 
tcgrad1014 said:
Thrilled that Perez is finally gone. That is addition by subtraction.
Click to expand...

Can't agree any more, was simply terrible in the field.

.925 fielding percentage last year....yikes

Broad was .918....double yikes

Brandon Lopez kid is supposed to be pretty nice overall, as well with his glove so it'll be curious to see how our infield is going to be looking come opening day.

Tresgallo/Fieger at the corners, with maybe Palmer and Thompson rotating in and out of 1B/DH depending on who's hot.

Lopez and Broad manning the middle...and any other possible middle infielders on our team are

John Larowski--transfer from Birmingham Southern, solid career there, played third base and it seems he projects more as an OF/maybe corner IF, won 2012 MVP of orange and green world series, also played football for BSU

Alexander Hernandez--a Junior it says, but nothing else....???

Edgar Michelangeli-- Incoming freshman, 6'1 who looks like his primary position is 3B....

After looking at this, I'm pretty worried about our MIF.
 
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