First, let's get this out of the way: Ole Miss baseball isn't one to jump the gun and postpone games because of rain early. The field drains incredibly, and the Rebels will wait it out and see if it stops raining unless the forecast calls for an ark to be needed. So, while I don't mind a bunch of questions about game status, it's on until it's not and throughout the year I'll communicate that to you as quickly as possible. In saying that, should there be a postponement of today's game, I'd expect two nine-inning games tomorrow since Wright State is likely on travel curfew Sunday.
Mostly out of curiosity, I'm interested to see Wright State right-hander Bear Bellomy today. His real first name is John, by the way. If he throws well I may go ask him why he goes by Bear. D1Baseball says he can max around 95 MPH (he was 84-87 in high school) and is the preseason Horizon Pitcher of the Year. Now I know it's only a six-team conference and not a very good one at that outside the Raiders, but Bellomy was awful last year. .333 BAA, WHIP near two, ERA of above 7. That kind of awful. Against the only major conference opponent he faced last year, Bellomy allowed three hits and five runs in 2.2 innings against Louisville. Four walks contributed greatly to that. He was really good in the Great Lakes League this past summer, with a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings. I can't find any video of him, but I'm intrigued by the velocity, though I wonder if it's flat.
I want to see how Ole Miss works in Carl Gindl this weekend. Probably the Rebels' best defensive outfielder, he had a great summer and hit .333 in 34 plate appearances during spring intrasquads. There's a higher ceiling with Tim Elko, but if Gindl doesn't press he can certainly help this team. Mike has several guys he needs to manage well from terms of getting at-bats -- especially if Grae is healthy and in the lineup today.
I'm focusing on With Ethridge's first-pitch strike percentage. He's not at his best when he's nibbling, and Ole Miss could use him to establish some outing-length consistency. The talent is there to be really productive as the series-opening starter, and he needs to trust his stuff and go at guys. The secondary pitches are improved, and he's always located his fastball well. Don't do anything different because it's the first inning on Friday and the lights are on.
Cooper Johnson needs a good first weekend for confidence and some momentum -- and I mean defensively. Catcher instability doesn't need to be a week one storyline. The talent is there to be elite. That's why we keep talking about it. Also does Mike put Thomas Dillard behind the plate for a game this weekend? He's certainly going to catch some this season.
With Houston Roth out and Greer Holston coming off limited work and not-so-good results in practice, who gets the bridge bullpen innings this weekend? Doug Nikhazy and Max Cioffi are two good candidates, and I think we'll get an early glimpse of how Mike sees roles heading into the season.
Around the SEC:
Kentucky vs. Austin Peay
Dayton vs. Georgia
Youngstown State vs. MSU
Presbyterian vs. Alabama
Liberty vs. South Carolina
Eastern Illinois vs. Arkansas
App State vs. Tennessee
Missouri vs. North Florida
Long Beach vs. Florida
Vanderbilt vs. Virginia
LSU vs. ULM
TAMU vs. Fordham
Auburn vs. Georgia Southern
All SEC teams are home except Missouri is on the road and Virginia and Vandy are in Arizona. From a viewing standpoint, I'll turn on Vandy some to see those young arms, and I'll put Florida-Long Beach in the background since Ole Miss plays both this season including the Dirtbags in two weeks. Otherwise, there's not much there unless I'm just curious to see Tanner Burns for a minute in the Friday role for Auburn.
Appreciate you guys reading and following as we get going. I'll do my best to bring the content you want.
Mostly out of curiosity, I'm interested to see Wright State right-hander Bear Bellomy today. His real first name is John, by the way. If he throws well I may go ask him why he goes by Bear. D1Baseball says he can max around 95 MPH (he was 84-87 in high school) and is the preseason Horizon Pitcher of the Year. Now I know it's only a six-team conference and not a very good one at that outside the Raiders, but Bellomy was awful last year. .333 BAA, WHIP near two, ERA of above 7. That kind of awful. Against the only major conference opponent he faced last year, Bellomy allowed three hits and five runs in 2.2 innings against Louisville. Four walks contributed greatly to that. He was really good in the Great Lakes League this past summer, with a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings. I can't find any video of him, but I'm intrigued by the velocity, though I wonder if it's flat.
I want to see how Ole Miss works in Carl Gindl this weekend. Probably the Rebels' best defensive outfielder, he had a great summer and hit .333 in 34 plate appearances during spring intrasquads. There's a higher ceiling with Tim Elko, but if Gindl doesn't press he can certainly help this team. Mike has several guys he needs to manage well from terms of getting at-bats -- especially if Grae is healthy and in the lineup today.
I'm focusing on With Ethridge's first-pitch strike percentage. He's not at his best when he's nibbling, and Ole Miss could use him to establish some outing-length consistency. The talent is there to be really productive as the series-opening starter, and he needs to trust his stuff and go at guys. The secondary pitches are improved, and he's always located his fastball well. Don't do anything different because it's the first inning on Friday and the lights are on.
Cooper Johnson needs a good first weekend for confidence and some momentum -- and I mean defensively. Catcher instability doesn't need to be a week one storyline. The talent is there to be elite. That's why we keep talking about it. Also does Mike put Thomas Dillard behind the plate for a game this weekend? He's certainly going to catch some this season.
With Houston Roth out and Greer Holston coming off limited work and not-so-good results in practice, who gets the bridge bullpen innings this weekend? Doug Nikhazy and Max Cioffi are two good candidates, and I think we'll get an early glimpse of how Mike sees roles heading into the season.
Around the SEC:
Kentucky vs. Austin Peay
Dayton vs. Georgia
Youngstown State vs. MSU
Presbyterian vs. Alabama
Liberty vs. South Carolina
Eastern Illinois vs. Arkansas
App State vs. Tennessee
Missouri vs. North Florida
Long Beach vs. Florida
Vanderbilt vs. Virginia
LSU vs. ULM
TAMU vs. Fordham
Auburn vs. Georgia Southern
All SEC teams are home except Missouri is on the road and Virginia and Vandy are in Arizona. From a viewing standpoint, I'll turn on Vandy some to see those young arms, and I'll put Florida-Long Beach in the background since Ole Miss plays both this season including the Dirtbags in two weeks. Otherwise, there's not much there unless I'm just curious to see Tanner Burns for a minute in the Friday role for Auburn.
Appreciate you guys reading and following as we get going. I'll do my best to bring the content you want.
