Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Baseball Thoughts: #21 Texas A&M vs. Sacramento State
The schedule:
They also have a completely different feel than we saw during much of the 2013 season. I feel that this team is much more established and more mature than last year's squad. It's much deeper as well, which is a great problem to have. At least 17 position players are fighting for nine precious spots in the lineup and the pitching staff is as deep as it's been at any point in Rob Childress' previous eight seasons at the helm of Aggie baseball.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The bullpen is deep and the rotation is as stout as expected, leaving the Aggies set and likely to enjoy consistency on the mound.
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* On the mound Childress' pitching staff boasts a team ERA of 1.75 and is holding opposing hitters to a meager .200 batting average (right at the Mendoza Line). The Ags have combined for 45 strikeouts in 36 innings (1.25 per inning) and the 13 members who have thrown at least one pitch this season have issued a total of just 12 walks during that same span. That's nearly a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
* Everyone who has gotten in a game on the mound this season has looked good. Even Mark Ecker (9.00 ERA) and Matt Kent (10.80 ERA) pitched pretty well in their one outing each but made one mistake pitch and gave up one run and two runs, respectively. The rest of the bullpen has made a combined 10 appearances covering 11.1 innings of work. The combined ERA in those 11.1 frames … 0.00.
Jason Jester leads the way but A&M has a slew of right-handers (Andrew Vinson, Ryan Hendrix, Corey Ray, Jason Freeman and Ecker) and nearly as many lefties (Tyler Stubblefield, A.J. Minter, Ty Schlottmann and Kent) to help bridge the gap between the starters and "Jester Time" at the end of games.
* The rotation is essentially set and locked up after just one week of action. Stubblefield came on in relief in the season opener on Friday and then drew the Tuesday start against SFA. He looked great and gives the Aggies a left-handed mid-week starter to go along with an all-right-handed weekend rotation of Daniel Mengden, Parker Ray and Grayson Long. A 13-member pitching staff … and more arms are out there that have not gotten any action to this point. But for the most part, I would look to these 13 guys to tackle the majority of innings and outings in 2014. That is a TON of arms and offers incredible flexibility in decision making for Childress.
The challenge is getting all of these arms in the game and keeping all of them fresh, but that is a GREAT problem to have.
* The Aggies are off and running at the plate … hitting .319 with three home runs, nine doubles, a .403 team on-base percentage and a strong-to-quite-strong .452 slugging percentage. A&M is running less (4-of-4 in stolen base attempts) than it has in recent seasons simply because Andy Sawyers — A&M's third-base coach and "offensive coordinator — does not want to run into outs and take runners off the bases that are currently being driven in with exceptional hitting with runners on base and in scoring position. This was an area of significant concern at times over the past few seasons, but the early returns are looking great when it comes to the Aggies' ability to hit in the clutch.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Jace Statum (pictured) and Patrick McLendon have lit it up in two Aggie starters' absence, making the lineup even more dangerous.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Jace Statum (pictured) and Patrick McLendon have lit it up in two Aggie starters\u0027 absence, making the lineup even more dangerous.","MediaItemID":30794}
* Keep in mind that A&M is operating positionally without two sure-fire starters in the middle of the field in shortstop Logan Taylor and the four-year starter in center field … Krey Bratsen. Suddenly, the replacements for Taylor and Bratsen — Patrick McLendon (.389 / .450 / .444) and Jace Statum (.417 / .533 / .500), respectively — are playing such good baseball that it will be extremely hard to get either of their bats out of the lineup upon Taylor's and Bratsen's return.
When you play baseball for Childress' program, it's all about taking advantage of opportunities. McLendon and Statum are two guys who are doing just that.
Now, I've heard from someone very close to the A&M program that the likelihood of Taylor or Bratsen playing baseball this weekend is "slim to none." But the good news is that both returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time in quite a while and the expectation is that each should be back "soon." I just don't know "how soon" at this point. I'm not sure if anyone does.
* Another guy taking full advantage of his opportunity and making a strong push to continue "writing his name in the lineup" on a long-term basis is J.B. Moss. The sophomore speedster who plays all over the outfield is doing so much with his bat, his glove and his legs that it will be virtually impossible to keep him out of the lineup.
The Tyler native and childhood buddy of Johnny Manziel is hitting .417 with a quite impressive .462 on-base percentage and an even more eye-popping .667 slugging. He is 3-of-3 on steals; the only other Aggie with a stolen base attempt is Statum (1-of-1). Moss saved a sure double and a definite three-run home run with outstanding plays at the wall on Saturday and he also hit the team's first home run of the season in that same game … a 12-2 win over Northeastern.
* Upon Taylor and Bratsen's return to the lineup the fight will be on — and it will be a significant battle, at that — when it comes to shaping up this lineup and figuring out who will win the precious few positional spots heading into SEC play. The good news is that there is tremendous depth and full-fledged competition all over the field. The better news is that there is still a month before SEC play begins. So there is time to play everybody and allow the process to play out and take care of itself. Let the best men win.
I believe the everyday locks in the lineup include Troy Stein, Cole Lankford, Blake Allemand and Logan Nottebrok … and McLendon, Moss, Statum and Mitchell Nau are doing their best to secure one of the nine slots. Hunter Melton isn't going anywhere either, and Jonathan Moroney, Nick Banks, Ryne Birk, G.R. Hinsley, Ronnie Gideon and Nick Choruby will continue to get shots to compete throughout the non-conference schedule.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Rob Childress' squad has a shot at starting out 7-0 if it plays with the consistency and teamwide confidence it's shown so far.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Rob Childress\u0027 squad has a shot at starting out 7-0 if it plays with the consistency and teamwide confidence it\u0027s shown so far.","MediaItemID":30725}
* Sacramento State is a pretty decent mid-major team. I fully expect A&M to sweep the Hornets this weekend but I could also see the Ags drop a game simply because "that's how baseball go" — to steal a Ron Washington line — and because this team isn't all that bad. There is some talent on the mound and a couple of pretty good middle-of-the-order bats.
Here are the five most dangerous players on the roster:
- Friday at 6:35 p.m.
- Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
- Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
- Fri.: Daniel Mengden - JR - RHP (1-0, 3.00) vs. Ty Nichols - JR - RHP (1-0, 3.00)
- Sat.: Parker Ray - SR - RHP (1-0, 1.80) vs. Brennan Leitao - JR - RHP (0-1, 2.57)
- Sun.: Grayson Long - SO - RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Jared Paderez - FR - RHP (0-0, 4.50)
- Texas A&M: 4-0 ... #21 (NCBWA); #24 (BA); #24 (CB)
- Sacramento State: 3-2
- Texas A&M and Sacramento State have never played in baseball.
A few thoughts entering the series
Man, what a great week it was for the Aggie baseball team to open the 2014 campaign. Texas A&M scored a combined 34 runs in its first four games of the season and has only given up seven runs thus far. The Ags are pitching the heck out of the baseball and also hitting the ball quite well.They also have a completely different feel than we saw during much of the 2013 season. I feel that this team is much more established and more mature than last year's squad. It's much deeper as well, which is a great problem to have. At least 17 position players are fighting for nine precious spots in the lineup and the pitching staff is as deep as it's been at any point in Rob Childress' previous eight seasons at the helm of Aggie baseball.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The bullpen is deep and the rotation is as stout as expected, leaving the Aggies set and likely to enjoy consistency on the mound.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"The bullpen is deep and the rotation is as stout as expected, leaving the Aggies set and likely to enjoy consistency on the mound.","MediaItemID":16115}
* Everyone who has gotten in a game on the mound this season has looked good. Even Mark Ecker (9.00 ERA) and Matt Kent (10.80 ERA) pitched pretty well in their one outing each but made one mistake pitch and gave up one run and two runs, respectively. The rest of the bullpen has made a combined 10 appearances covering 11.1 innings of work. The combined ERA in those 11.1 frames … 0.00.
Jason Jester leads the way but A&M has a slew of right-handers (Andrew Vinson, Ryan Hendrix, Corey Ray, Jason Freeman and Ecker) and nearly as many lefties (Tyler Stubblefield, A.J. Minter, Ty Schlottmann and Kent) to help bridge the gap between the starters and "Jester Time" at the end of games.
* The rotation is essentially set and locked up after just one week of action. Stubblefield came on in relief in the season opener on Friday and then drew the Tuesday start against SFA. He looked great and gives the Aggies a left-handed mid-week starter to go along with an all-right-handed weekend rotation of Daniel Mengden, Parker Ray and Grayson Long. A 13-member pitching staff … and more arms are out there that have not gotten any action to this point. But for the most part, I would look to these 13 guys to tackle the majority of innings and outings in 2014. That is a TON of arms and offers incredible flexibility in decision making for Childress.
The challenge is getting all of these arms in the game and keeping all of them fresh, but that is a GREAT problem to have.
* The Aggies are off and running at the plate … hitting .319 with three home runs, nine doubles, a .403 team on-base percentage and a strong-to-quite-strong .452 slugging percentage. A&M is running less (4-of-4 in stolen base attempts) than it has in recent seasons simply because Andy Sawyers — A&M's third-base coach and "offensive coordinator — does not want to run into outs and take runners off the bases that are currently being driven in with exceptional hitting with runners on base and in scoring position. This was an area of significant concern at times over the past few seasons, but the early returns are looking great when it comes to the Aggies' ability to hit in the clutch.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Jace Statum (pictured) and Patrick McLendon have lit it up in two Aggie starters' absence, making the lineup even more dangerous.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Jace Statum (pictured) and Patrick McLendon have lit it up in two Aggie starters\u0027 absence, making the lineup even more dangerous.","MediaItemID":30794}
When you play baseball for Childress' program, it's all about taking advantage of opportunities. McLendon and Statum are two guys who are doing just that.
Now, I've heard from someone very close to the A&M program that the likelihood of Taylor or Bratsen playing baseball this weekend is "slim to none." But the good news is that both returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time in quite a while and the expectation is that each should be back "soon." I just don't know "how soon" at this point. I'm not sure if anyone does.
* Another guy taking full advantage of his opportunity and making a strong push to continue "writing his name in the lineup" on a long-term basis is J.B. Moss. The sophomore speedster who plays all over the outfield is doing so much with his bat, his glove and his legs that it will be virtually impossible to keep him out of the lineup.
The Tyler native and childhood buddy of Johnny Manziel is hitting .417 with a quite impressive .462 on-base percentage and an even more eye-popping .667 slugging. He is 3-of-3 on steals; the only other Aggie with a stolen base attempt is Statum (1-of-1). Moss saved a sure double and a definite three-run home run with outstanding plays at the wall on Saturday and he also hit the team's first home run of the season in that same game … a 12-2 win over Northeastern.
* Upon Taylor and Bratsen's return to the lineup the fight will be on — and it will be a significant battle, at that — when it comes to shaping up this lineup and figuring out who will win the precious few positional spots heading into SEC play. The good news is that there is tremendous depth and full-fledged competition all over the field. The better news is that there is still a month before SEC play begins. So there is time to play everybody and allow the process to play out and take care of itself. Let the best men win.
I believe the everyday locks in the lineup include Troy Stein, Cole Lankford, Blake Allemand and Logan Nottebrok … and McLendon, Moss, Statum and Mitchell Nau are doing their best to secure one of the nine slots. Hunter Melton isn't going anywhere either, and Jonathan Moroney, Nick Banks, Ryne Birk, G.R. Hinsley, Ronnie Gideon and Nick Choruby will continue to get shots to compete throughout the non-conference schedule.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Rob Childress' squad has a shot at starting out 7-0 if it plays with the consistency and teamwide confidence it's shown so far.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Rob Childress\u0027 squad has a shot at starting out 7-0 if it plays with the consistency and teamwide confidence it\u0027s shown so far.","MediaItemID":30725}
Here are the five most dangerous players on the roster:
- OF Nathan Lukes (2013: .315, 2 HR, 32 RBI; 2014: .467, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
- OF Chris Lewis (2013: .349, 4 HR, 46 RBI; 2014: .214, 0 HR, 3 RBI)
- INF Brandon Hunley (2014: .625, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
- RHP Brennan Leitao (2013: 8-3, 2.77 ERA; 2014: 0-1, 2.57 ERA)
- RHP Sutter McLoughlin (2013: 1-3, 2.11 ERA, 17 Saves; 2014: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save)
- SS Patrick McLendon (.389 / .450 / .444)
- 2B Blake Allemand (.267 / .294 / .267)
- 3B Logan Nottebrok (.357 / .526 / .786)
- DH Hunter Melton (.273 / .385 / .364)
- 1B Cole Lankford (.182 / .231 / .455)
- C Troy Stein (.357 / .444 / .500)
- RF Nick Banks (.200 / .200 / .200)
- LF J.B. Moss (.417 / .462 / .667)
- CF Jace Statum (.417 / .533 / .500)
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