Power and Henry return but three of the top five batting average leaders have departed for greener pastures. Power has been a rock of consistency starting in 126 games over the last two seasons while racking up 20 roundtrippers and 102 RBIs.
Henry came out of the gates like a freight train his freshman year, but cooled off considerably during his second year batting only .292 after a .376 freshman season. As very old men in Mississippi would say, he's as "fast as a hiccup" and will continue to do Baltimore chops to leg out singles this year.
Matt Smith had surgery in the offseason after he crushed 14 home runs and struck out 80 times in only 226 plate appearances. Unfortunately, the surgery wasn't on his eyesight, so he could very well have a high strike out rate. Smith's newly constructed UCL should hopefully have him back into form this season. I want to see him in action before I rush to any judgments.
Evan Button returns after a season ending injury limited him to only 13 games last year. Button along with Zach Miller should be more solid up the middle than Tim Ferguson was as he clumsily led the team in errors in 2008. Button and Ferguson are about even when it comes to hitting, so if Button can overcome his injury, he'll be the starter at short. Miller was nothing to write home about last year but could be back to his Freshman All-American form after a tough second year.
Brett Basham is back as one of the best defensive catchers in the SEC and possibly the nation. He's not a fantastic hitter and really struggled late in the 2008 season most likely because he was catching 18 innings a day. With the depth by newcomer Taylor Hightower, Basham should have a chance to rest his legs during the week for the weekend series.
Twins Mike and Matt Snyder from Virginia have been touted as players that will contribute immediately. The Snyders or Logan Williams could be handling the hot corner based on who gets the hot bat during the season.
Jeremy Travis showed flashes last year that he can flat out hit the ball. His defensive skills don't compare to Power and Henry, but he should suffice in left unless Michael Hubbard has improved his power to accompany his speed.
Our starting defensive line-up, not batting order:
C: Brett Basham, R
1B: Matt Smith, R
2B: Zach Miller, R
SS: Evan Button, L
3B: Logan Williams, R
CF: Logan Power, R
RF: Jordan Henry, R
LF: Jeremy Travis, R
DH: Matt Snyder, L
14 comments:
Only 2 left-handers. That may not be good.
look for ferguson to compete for the 2b or 3b job...
Brian Walker's Elbow...did Brian Walker graduate? I'm going to miss him.
No. He's just lazy.
I think he was asking the poster Brian Walker's Elbow if Brian Walker was still in school.
Unfortunately, we'll all miss the Sidney Poitier-like acting ability of Walker as he has graduated.
Quick correction: Jordan Henry bats left handed, so that would give the Rebels three left handed batters in our line-up.
I would like to request a Houston Nutt sermon to the rebel faithful by RSC.
I live in Little Rock and had the great opportunity to witness Brian Walker's stellar post-college batting average look like Orgeron's winning percentage as he played for our local AA team, the Arkansas Travelers last year with an earth shaking .182 avg. Needless to say, he was the only player I gave hell at each plate appearance, including mention of asking how well his elbow was recovering.
I hope he remembers that day for the rest of his life.
Hotty Toddy
-AR Rebel
I hope Fergie doesnt get a job. Not because he couldnt catch the ball if someone walked it to him and placed in his glove, but because no grown ass man should choose to play "fergilicious" when he walks up to the plate.
I don't think that was Ferguson's choice.
He was a true frosh last year, and the upper classmen played a rookie prank on him by telling them to swap out his music for Fergilicious.
I think he had a good day at the plate that day, so he decided to let it stick. Either way, I know it wasn't his choice originally to have them play Fergilicious.
.182, huh? Maybe it was the wooden bats....
He played it every game....Rookie prank or no....Good day or no...He walked up to fergalicious and couldnt catch a _____ if he _____ (insert cheesy cliche in blanks). I hope we have something (anything?) better than him this year.
Ferguson is a good baseball player and will prove it. He is not an SEC SS and won't be asked to play SS this year. He needs to be on the field somewhere this year, and I'm guessing he will be.
Jordan Henry hits left-handed. Just sayin.
Ferguson, has the arm of a 7 year old girl, but the guy has a good eye at the plate and should be a consistent hitter for the rebels this year. A lot of his errors last year were because he was in too big of a hurry to get rid of the ball since the throw from shorstop was a little out of his range. Personally I see him starting at third, as long as he plays on the grass the throw should be manageable for him.
Post a Comment