I talked to a scout this morning who spoke anonymously about Illinois and what fans and the Rebels should expect if the two teams meet up -- especially in a game Saturday.
Illinois is throwing Tyler Weber on Friday, making way for left-hander Andy Fisher on Saturday should the Illini beat Clemson. Fisher has a 2.57 ERA and .206 BAA in 94.2 innings. He has 89 strikeouts and 30 walks on the season.
Scout's Take: "He’s an 84-87 touch-feel left-hander. He won't blow you away with anything. It's a really funky delivery with a trickster arm slot and he tries to deceive as much as beat with the actual pitches. It's a fastball and a slider and he might hit 88. You can get to him, but he's a crazy good competitor. His slider determines things. If it's flat he doesn't have a put-away pitch at all. They’ll leave him out there to log innings. It's hard to run him in one inning, but you can chicken scratch him little by little. It's a compound effect where you nibble away and then hammer a mistake."
Illinois closer Garrett Acton has a .194 BAA and is averaging more than a strikeout per inning in 32.1 innings. He's walked 18 batters. Illinois doesn't like to extend its closer past an inning and typically uses Acton only in tight save situations so it looks for bridge relievers. The most likely arm for that role is Sean Leland, who has 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 47 innings. All the key players in the bullpen are right-handed.
Scout's Take: "With their closer it's all about using him in save situations. Unlike a lot of SEC teams who go multiple innings and use the best reliever in whatever high-leverage situation, this is a traditional closer usually used in one or two run games and not much else. Acton tries to overpower you. It's an aggressive straightforward approach with a two-pitch combo. Nothing deceptive about it and it'll be 90 and some change at times. You'll know what's coming."
"Leland is the main bridge and it's 88-90 with a slider. They want him to usually go from starter to the closer, though he hasn't pitched well down the stretch. They also like Quinten Sefcik who has a similar action to Acton. The split change is his secondary pitch. Overall there's not the talent of an SEC pen. They pitch the people who don't walk people. If you walk people at Illinois you don't pitch. Aidan Maldonado is their best arm stuff-wise with a mid 90s fastball and a breaking ball, but he hasn't thrown strikes. It hasn't been usable but you'll be most impressed with him as far as ability."
Illinois has three regulars hitting over .300 and four players with 80 total bases or more. Zac Taylor is the only player with more than five home runs (10) or more than 11 stolen bases (20).
Scout's Take: "Massey (.325 BA, .856 OPS) is the guy but he was banged up all year. He was the DH a lot because of his back, but he has a good swing and tons of feel to hit. It's not power or the ability to run. It's just a hit tool that's really good. He plays a really good second base.
"Taylor is a redshirt senior and older guy and has been through the fire. He's gotten the most out of his tools and does a little of everything. He can hit and has some power. He can run and plays center field. He’s their spark plug on the bases but better pitching has gotten to him.
"Shortstop Ben Troike broke his finger a few weeks ago, and they’ve been a different team since then. He was a really good college baseball player and a nuisance as a leadoff hitter. It's a big miss. It would be like Ole Miss losing Ryan Olenek for weeks as far as how he can kind of makes them go. Not the same team without him."
Jeff Korte and Jacob Campbell have split time at catcher and neither has been incredibly effective with runners, allowing 24 of 30 and 21 of 26 bases to be stolen successfully.
Scout's Take: "Ole Miss can definitely run on the catchers. My guess is Korte will be the guy. Campbell as a freshman is OK, but when it comes to trust in a regional I think they are more comfortable with Korte."
Illinois is throwing Tyler Weber on Friday, making way for left-hander Andy Fisher on Saturday should the Illini beat Clemson. Fisher has a 2.57 ERA and .206 BAA in 94.2 innings. He has 89 strikeouts and 30 walks on the season.
Scout's Take: "He’s an 84-87 touch-feel left-hander. He won't blow you away with anything. It's a really funky delivery with a trickster arm slot and he tries to deceive as much as beat with the actual pitches. It's a fastball and a slider and he might hit 88. You can get to him, but he's a crazy good competitor. His slider determines things. If it's flat he doesn't have a put-away pitch at all. They’ll leave him out there to log innings. It's hard to run him in one inning, but you can chicken scratch him little by little. It's a compound effect where you nibble away and then hammer a mistake."
Illinois closer Garrett Acton has a .194 BAA and is averaging more than a strikeout per inning in 32.1 innings. He's walked 18 batters. Illinois doesn't like to extend its closer past an inning and typically uses Acton only in tight save situations so it looks for bridge relievers. The most likely arm for that role is Sean Leland, who has 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 47 innings. All the key players in the bullpen are right-handed.
Scout's Take: "With their closer it's all about using him in save situations. Unlike a lot of SEC teams who go multiple innings and use the best reliever in whatever high-leverage situation, this is a traditional closer usually used in one or two run games and not much else. Acton tries to overpower you. It's an aggressive straightforward approach with a two-pitch combo. Nothing deceptive about it and it'll be 90 and some change at times. You'll know what's coming."
"Leland is the main bridge and it's 88-90 with a slider. They want him to usually go from starter to the closer, though he hasn't pitched well down the stretch. They also like Quinten Sefcik who has a similar action to Acton. The split change is his secondary pitch. Overall there's not the talent of an SEC pen. They pitch the people who don't walk people. If you walk people at Illinois you don't pitch. Aidan Maldonado is their best arm stuff-wise with a mid 90s fastball and a breaking ball, but he hasn't thrown strikes. It hasn't been usable but you'll be most impressed with him as far as ability."
Illinois has three regulars hitting over .300 and four players with 80 total bases or more. Zac Taylor is the only player with more than five home runs (10) or more than 11 stolen bases (20).
Scout's Take: "Massey (.325 BA, .856 OPS) is the guy but he was banged up all year. He was the DH a lot because of his back, but he has a good swing and tons of feel to hit. It's not power or the ability to run. It's just a hit tool that's really good. He plays a really good second base.
"Taylor is a redshirt senior and older guy and has been through the fire. He's gotten the most out of his tools and does a little of everything. He can hit and has some power. He can run and plays center field. He’s their spark plug on the bases but better pitching has gotten to him.
"Shortstop Ben Troike broke his finger a few weeks ago, and they’ve been a different team since then. He was a really good college baseball player and a nuisance as a leadoff hitter. It's a big miss. It would be like Ole Miss losing Ryan Olenek for weeks as far as how he can kind of makes them go. Not the same team without him."
Jeff Korte and Jacob Campbell have split time at catcher and neither has been incredibly effective with runners, allowing 24 of 30 and 21 of 26 bases to be stolen successfully.
Scout's Take: "Ole Miss can definitely run on the catchers. My guess is Korte will be the guy. Campbell as a freshman is OK, but when it comes to trust in a regional I think they are more comfortable with Korte."
