Freshman Grayson Saunier was really good over the weekend. He was 92-95 with a four-pitch mix and a lot of pitchability. It's one appearance, and usually the fall is an up-and-down deal for newcomers, but he's immensely talented. I think he's the most game-ready of the freshmen right now. One outing, but it was a good one.
JT Quinn, the freshman from Tampa, was 95-98 with a slider and a curve ball. Typically newcomers don't keep both those breaking balls, but he needs the curve against lefties because there's no changeup to speak of right now. That's something that will develop over time. But the two breaking balls have some hope, and the fastball certainly plays.
Josh Mallitz is spending the fall working on the fastball and changeup. We know the slider is elite. In fact, there's a section in my book about his slider and the adjustments that made it a weapon. Anyway, I digress. Ignore his stats this fall if they aren't good. They don't care if he gets banged around. It's all about getting those two pitches better for the spring. He's doing a good job of sticking to that process.
On the other hand, you may not see Hunter Elliott much in intrasquads and not sure about the fall games against UAB and Samford. He threw a lot last year, so the rest isn't a bad thing, and he's working on his breaking balls this fall. Unlike Mallitz, Hunter doesn't take as well to getting banged around the yard. He's insanely competitive, and when he starts getting hit, there's a certain "screw this, I'll work on it later. I'm going to win" thing that kicks in. He's still going to throw to live hitters, but I'm not sure how much of it will be in the more formal scrimmages and games.
The changeup is Mason Nichols' emphasis this fall. He needs that pitch to be a starter. It was already getting better toward the end of last year, but he didn't completely trust it.
JT Quinn, the freshman from Tampa, was 95-98 with a slider and a curve ball. Typically newcomers don't keep both those breaking balls, but he needs the curve against lefties because there's no changeup to speak of right now. That's something that will develop over time. But the two breaking balls have some hope, and the fastball certainly plays.
Josh Mallitz is spending the fall working on the fastball and changeup. We know the slider is elite. In fact, there's a section in my book about his slider and the adjustments that made it a weapon. Anyway, I digress. Ignore his stats this fall if they aren't good. They don't care if he gets banged around. It's all about getting those two pitches better for the spring. He's doing a good job of sticking to that process.
On the other hand, you may not see Hunter Elliott much in intrasquads and not sure about the fall games against UAB and Samford. He threw a lot last year, so the rest isn't a bad thing, and he's working on his breaking balls this fall. Unlike Mallitz, Hunter doesn't take as well to getting banged around the yard. He's insanely competitive, and when he starts getting hit, there's a certain "screw this, I'll work on it later. I'm going to win" thing that kicks in. He's still going to throw to live hitters, but I'm not sure how much of it will be in the more formal scrimmages and games.
The changeup is Mason Nichols' emphasis this fall. He needs that pitch to be a starter. It was already getting better toward the end of last year, but he didn't completely trust it.
