Ole Miss is home for three games against Vanderbilt amid Double Decker weekend starting tonight at 6:30 p.m. and continuing at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Rebels have won two straight after salvaging the Saturday against South Carolina and coming from behind to beat Mississippi State on Tuesday in Pearl. Ole Miss, however, has lost two straight weekend series and is 10-8 in the SEC with four weekends remaining. The Rebels are No. 16 in the RPI.
Vanderbilt is 30-11 overall and 11-7 in the league following a three-game sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs. The Commodores have the No. 2 strength of schedule and No. 4 RPI nationally. Vandy lost two of three at Auburn and at Oklahoma, swept Florida on the road and Texas A&M at home and got swept by Arkansas in Nashville.
The Commodores are (in SEC games only) 14th in batting average, 12th in slugging, 13th in on-base percentage, 13th in total bases and 12th in runs. The only offensive category VU is top half of the league is stolen bases (5th with 18). On the mound, however, Vandy is third in ERA and opposing batting average, sixth in strikeouts, first in saves, third in hits allowed and second in fewest hit batters. Vandy has walked the ninth-most batters in the league.
Ole Miss (worst) and Vanderbilt (tied for second worst) have the least double plays defensively in the SEC.
VU Friday starter JD Thompson has started all 10 weekends for the ‘Dores and has gone at least five innings in every start but one since February 21. The outlier was a 4.2-inning shutout versus Florida. He held Georgia to one run in eight innings last week. He’s allowed one or zero runs in three of his six SEC starts. Oklahoma put up four in five innings, Arkansas scored five in six innings, and Auburn scored five in five innings. He held A&M to one in 6.1 innings. Thompson struck out 14 and walked one Bulldog last week. On the season he has 70 strikeouts and 18 walks. Five of those walks came against Oklahoma, and he walked 10 in three weeks combined against Arkansas, Florida and the Sooners. His best game was 10 strikeouts and no walks versus A&M.
Ole Miss can’t chase pitches out of the zone this weekend, and the Rebels must play defense. Vanderbilt isn’t an offensive team, but it can nickel and dime you with extra outs. On the mound, the Commodores sort of play off momentum. If there’s some early movement and runners and runs, it’s an average day. Once they settle in, it gets complicated fast. It’s the most complete pitching staff the Rebels have played to date.
Vanderbilt
Game 1: Jr. LHP JD Thompson (3-3, 3.95 ERA)
Game 2: Jr. RHP Cody Bowker (2-2, 3.66 ERA)
Game 3: So. RHP Connor Fennell (4-0, 3.00 ERA)
Ole Miss
Game 1: R-Jr. LHP Hunter Elliott (5-2, 4.04 ERA)
Game 2: Sr. RHP Riley Maddox (4-3, 6.10 ERA)
Game 3: Sr. RHP Mason Nichols (3-0, 4.43 ERA)
Here’s Thompson’s scouting report from Perfect Game, if you’re interested.
Thompson has arguably one of the most gaudy fastballs in the class. It’s a 91-93 mph offering and gets up to 95 mph. That velocity doesn’t jump until you see the metrics and movement profile he’s equipped with. Last year, the Vertical Approach Angle averaged -4.7 degrees from a low 5-foot-6 release point with an average of 18 inches of IVB and 12 inches of horizontal. That is plus in near every metric from his release, and the numbers go to show. His fastball posted an absurd 37 percent whiff rate and 32 percent chase rate. It plays true and flat up in the zone with carry and can play steep down and away. It’s versatile and a killer 70-grade type offering. He gets misses both in zone and out of zone with it and pounds it arm side, simply hard to find as a pitch to not only get ahead but putting away batters as well. His curveball can project as an average offering at the next level with significant drop in velocity (76-79 mph) with an average of 9 inches of break and 12 inches of run. It’s a bit slurvy but posted a 37 percent whiff rate and plays it short and down in the zone. His changeup is a softer ground ball third pitch that mimics well from release in the low-to-mid-80s but produces more average run in horizontal and spin rate (1420). His 79-82 mph slider also induced a 34 percent chase rate and 35 percent whiff rate, though was used as more backend offering last year
Vanderbilt is 30-11 overall and 11-7 in the league following a three-game sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs. The Commodores have the No. 2 strength of schedule and No. 4 RPI nationally. Vandy lost two of three at Auburn and at Oklahoma, swept Florida on the road and Texas A&M at home and got swept by Arkansas in Nashville.
The Commodores are (in SEC games only) 14th in batting average, 12th in slugging, 13th in on-base percentage, 13th in total bases and 12th in runs. The only offensive category VU is top half of the league is stolen bases (5th with 18). On the mound, however, Vandy is third in ERA and opposing batting average, sixth in strikeouts, first in saves, third in hits allowed and second in fewest hit batters. Vandy has walked the ninth-most batters in the league.
Ole Miss (worst) and Vanderbilt (tied for second worst) have the least double plays defensively in the SEC.
VU Friday starter JD Thompson has started all 10 weekends for the ‘Dores and has gone at least five innings in every start but one since February 21. The outlier was a 4.2-inning shutout versus Florida. He held Georgia to one run in eight innings last week. He’s allowed one or zero runs in three of his six SEC starts. Oklahoma put up four in five innings, Arkansas scored five in six innings, and Auburn scored five in five innings. He held A&M to one in 6.1 innings. Thompson struck out 14 and walked one Bulldog last week. On the season he has 70 strikeouts and 18 walks. Five of those walks came against Oklahoma, and he walked 10 in three weeks combined against Arkansas, Florida and the Sooners. His best game was 10 strikeouts and no walks versus A&M.
Ole Miss can’t chase pitches out of the zone this weekend, and the Rebels must play defense. Vanderbilt isn’t an offensive team, but it can nickel and dime you with extra outs. On the mound, the Commodores sort of play off momentum. If there’s some early movement and runners and runs, it’s an average day. Once they settle in, it gets complicated fast. It’s the most complete pitching staff the Rebels have played to date.
Vanderbilt
Game 1: Jr. LHP JD Thompson (3-3, 3.95 ERA)
Game 2: Jr. RHP Cody Bowker (2-2, 3.66 ERA)
Game 3: So. RHP Connor Fennell (4-0, 3.00 ERA)
Ole Miss
Game 1: R-Jr. LHP Hunter Elliott (5-2, 4.04 ERA)
Game 2: Sr. RHP Riley Maddox (4-3, 6.10 ERA)
Game 3: Sr. RHP Mason Nichols (3-0, 4.43 ERA)
Here’s Thompson’s scouting report from Perfect Game, if you’re interested.
Thompson has arguably one of the most gaudy fastballs in the class. It’s a 91-93 mph offering and gets up to 95 mph. That velocity doesn’t jump until you see the metrics and movement profile he’s equipped with. Last year, the Vertical Approach Angle averaged -4.7 degrees from a low 5-foot-6 release point with an average of 18 inches of IVB and 12 inches of horizontal. That is plus in near every metric from his release, and the numbers go to show. His fastball posted an absurd 37 percent whiff rate and 32 percent chase rate. It plays true and flat up in the zone with carry and can play steep down and away. It’s versatile and a killer 70-grade type offering. He gets misses both in zone and out of zone with it and pounds it arm side, simply hard to find as a pitch to not only get ahead but putting away batters as well. His curveball can project as an average offering at the next level with significant drop in velocity (76-79 mph) with an average of 9 inches of break and 12 inches of run. It’s a bit slurvy but posted a 37 percent whiff rate and plays it short and down in the zone. His changeup is a softer ground ball third pitch that mimics well from release in the low-to-mid-80s but produces more average run in horizontal and spin rate (1420). His 79-82 mph slider also induced a 34 percent chase rate and 35 percent whiff rate, though was used as more backend offering last year
