- Joined
- Oct 13, 2011
- Messages
- 22,019
I won't pretend to be a Canes Baseball expert. But going full time allowed me to have significant access to this team since last summer. Below are my thoughts on a very important season for the program:
- This was a very easy team to root for. The players, the staff, and their families were all A+ people behind the scenes. That's not an accident. It's by design.
After last season, the staff made a conscious effort to avoid low-makeup guys. Everybody said this was a different team off the field. When you look at the stats, there's not much growth- the team OPS dropped (845 vs. 812) and the pitching improvement was moderate (5.72 ERA v. 5.21). But the team success was night and day.
Given how this season went, I expect JD to continue to prioritize intangibles. It's not just a cliche to him.
- I've heard plenty of criticism of JD, including from people who coached and played the game at a high level. I'm not qualified to opine on the specifics. But here's what I do know:
1) The team overachieved. Neither the biggest homer nor the biggest mope would say this was a Super Regional team based on talent.
2) The team culture was outstanding. Players talk about it emphatically, and their ability to withstand adversity reflects a tight clubhouse.
3) The team played unselfish baseball. This D1 Baseball quote from an anonymous opposing coach is telling:
4) This team genuinely cared about winning for their coach. I consistently heard that from players and their families, both on and off the record.
These are important things. Now, the question becomes whether JD and his staff can build a roster that doesn't need to overachieve. I think they've learned a lot about the Portal, and I'm hearing very good things about our progress so far. But there are some clear needs we need to fill.
- First, we have to become more physical as a team. Since Jason Torres got hurt last year, I cringed every time they showed a baserunner at first base towering over our guy. Todd Hudson looked like he might help after a good fall, but he struggled and got hurt. That left a big hole in the offense. FIU transfer 1B Brylan West (6'4, 233) and Miami-Dade transfer 1B/3B Cian Copeland (6'4, 215) are the right kind of body types with performance at a lower level.
- Second, we need to score more runs. This was one of the lightest offenses in the ACC. There were too many empty at-bats 5-9. I expect us to pursue impact players up the middle, especially given the uncertainty regarding Jake Ogden's MLB decision.
- We have an ideal building block in Daniel Cuvet. He could've easily had a sophomore slump, but he got better. His K percentage dropped from 27% to 19%, and his defense improved at third base. I loved how he responded to a slow start and a brief move to first. Best of all, he's a team guy- he brought energy to the clubhouse and is actively recruiting for the Canes. We're lucky to have him.
- One of the biggest reasons for improvement was experience in the pen and midweek. Last year, we gave over 60 innings to guys like Brandon Olivera, Chris Diaz, Chris Scinta, Jordan Vargas and JT Caruso. They weren't ready and it killed us. This year, we had Will Smith in his sixth year, Reese Lumpkin in his fifth year, and Carson Fischer in his fourth year. Their experience was huge down the stretch. I like that class of older pitchers as affordable depth.
- At the same time, we need more high-octane arms. You can see the difference with teams like Arkansas and Tennessee. Griffin Hugus is a success story as an evaluation. He went from a two-way throwing 33 innings to one of the best pitchers in the ACC. We need more arms like that.
- Two lefties who I think have more in the tank: Rob Evans and Michael Fernandez. Evans dealt with injuries and was out until right before the season. Fernandez had a great camp but looked like a freshman under the lights. Both guys have good stuff and have a chance to make a jump this summer.
- AJ Ciscar was excellent, but my vote for Freshman of the Year goes to @Sebastian Font. His coverage of Canes Baseball was a gamechanger for this site.
- This was a very easy team to root for. The players, the staff, and their families were all A+ people behind the scenes. That's not an accident. It's by design.
After last season, the staff made a conscious effort to avoid low-makeup guys. Everybody said this was a different team off the field. When you look at the stats, there's not much growth- the team OPS dropped (845 vs. 812) and the pitching improvement was moderate (5.72 ERA v. 5.21). But the team success was night and day.
Given how this season went, I expect JD to continue to prioritize intangibles. It's not just a cliche to him.
- I've heard plenty of criticism of JD, including from people who coached and played the game at a high level. I'm not qualified to opine on the specifics. But here's what I do know:
1) The team overachieved. Neither the biggest homer nor the biggest mope would say this was a Super Regional team based on talent.
2) The team culture was outstanding. Players talk about it emphatically, and their ability to withstand adversity reflects a tight clubhouse.
3) The team played unselfish baseball. This D1 Baseball quote from an anonymous opposing coach is telling:
4) This team genuinely cared about winning for their coach. I consistently heard that from players and their families, both on and off the record.
These are important things. Now, the question becomes whether JD and his staff can build a roster that doesn't need to overachieve. I think they've learned a lot about the Portal, and I'm hearing very good things about our progress so far. But there are some clear needs we need to fill.
- First, we have to become more physical as a team. Since Jason Torres got hurt last year, I cringed every time they showed a baserunner at first base towering over our guy. Todd Hudson looked like he might help after a good fall, but he struggled and got hurt. That left a big hole in the offense. FIU transfer 1B Brylan West (6'4, 233) and Miami-Dade transfer 1B/3B Cian Copeland (6'4, 215) are the right kind of body types with performance at a lower level.
- Second, we need to score more runs. This was one of the lightest offenses in the ACC. There were too many empty at-bats 5-9. I expect us to pursue impact players up the middle, especially given the uncertainty regarding Jake Ogden's MLB decision.
- We have an ideal building block in Daniel Cuvet. He could've easily had a sophomore slump, but he got better. His K percentage dropped from 27% to 19%, and his defense improved at third base. I loved how he responded to a slow start and a brief move to first. Best of all, he's a team guy- he brought energy to the clubhouse and is actively recruiting for the Canes. We're lucky to have him.
- One of the biggest reasons for improvement was experience in the pen and midweek. Last year, we gave over 60 innings to guys like Brandon Olivera, Chris Diaz, Chris Scinta, Jordan Vargas and JT Caruso. They weren't ready and it killed us. This year, we had Will Smith in his sixth year, Reese Lumpkin in his fifth year, and Carson Fischer in his fourth year. Their experience was huge down the stretch. I like that class of older pitchers as affordable depth.
- At the same time, we need more high-octane arms. You can see the difference with teams like Arkansas and Tennessee. Griffin Hugus is a success story as an evaluation. He went from a two-way throwing 33 innings to one of the best pitchers in the ACC. We need more arms like that.
- Two lefties who I think have more in the tank: Rob Evans and Michael Fernandez. Evans dealt with injuries and was out until right before the season. Fernandez had a great camp but looked like a freshman under the lights. Both guys have good stuff and have a chance to make a jump this summer.
- AJ Ciscar was excellent, but my vote for Freshman of the Year goes to @Sebastian Font. His coverage of Canes Baseball was a gamechanger for this site.
