Baseball Season Ends

John Cohen's first season as the head coach at Mississippi Stae was a disappointing season. His team finised the season 25-29 overall with a 9-20 record in the SEC. For the first time since the 1974 and 1975 seasons, Mississippi State is missing the SEC tournament for the second season in a row. John Cohen is a super competitive man, and it is very clear that he will be taking steps to correct the situation at Mississippi State. His goal is to have this baseball program back where it belongs - at the top of the SEC and among the top 10 programs in the country. I think Coach Cohen made some mistakes along the way with his coaching, one of which was leavng Tyler Whitney on the mound against Tennessee to throw 152 pitches. The risk for arm injury is too high with pitch counts that high, and I think Coach Cohen's competitiveness got the best of him in that instance. I also think Coach Cohen needs to think about what he says to the media. He's an emotional guy that will say things off the cuff, but too often, he came across in post game comments as if he was throwing his team under the bus. I did like his comments before the Ole Miss series when he stated that Ole Miss better get us now when we are down, because we aren't going to be down for long. Needless to say, Ole Miss didn't capitalize on MSU's down season as the Bulldogs took 2 out of 3 games from the hated Rebels. Overall, I do feel that this team was playing better baseball at the end of the season. They took 2 out of 3 from Ole Miss, and they put themselves into position to take 2 out of 3 from the #1 ranked LSU Tigers. They ultimately lost 2 out of 3 of those games, but I think it is a positive that they were in position to win the Friday night game before the bullpen blew a 4-1 lead late in the game.

I've always believed that to win baseball games you have to have good pitching, timely hitting, and play good defense behind your pitchers. In this blog entry, I will focus on Mississippi State's pitching staff and the outlook of this staff for the future. Needless to say, MSU's pitching staff really let this team down this season. It was a mixture of many things. The Bulldogs had pitchers that have performed well in the past that just couldn't get things going right this season. Combine that with a lack of depth overall and the use of a few freshmen pitchers, and you had a recipe for disaster. MSU was ranked dead last in most pitching categories in the SEC, and this was easily the worst pitching staff I have ever seen at Mississippi State. The silver lining to this dark cloud came in the form of true freshman lefty Nick Routt. Nick performed well beyond expectations this season. He was the only Bulldog pitcher that had an ERA in the SEC under 5.00 with a 4.92 ERA. He also averaged more than a strikeout per inning. Nick has a very good fastball that is consistently in the high 80s but can touch the low 90s at times. He also exhibited good control for the most part. His walks didn't start piling up till late in the season. I think Nick came in very prepared to pitch in college though because he played summer ball in a collegiate summer league before coming to MSU. I anticipate that he will get stronger as he fills out his frame and will end up consistently throwing his fastbal in the low 90s. He's the only starter from this past season that I feel will have a starting spot in the SEC rotation in 2010.

Tyler Whitney was the next best starting pitcher for MSU this season. He's a wiley junior lefty who does a very good job of mixing his speeds. Tyler had some outings where he had high pitch counts because he would get his fair share of walks and full counts. Tyler has a average fastbal that is in the mid 80s, and his out pitch was his change up. I think he will go into the fall as a starter, but he's a guy who could be a candidate to move to the bullpen if a freshman steps up and becomes a starter in the SEC rotation.

Devin Jones was a freshman righty who had a wrist issue during the middle part of the season. When he came back, he was throwing the ball very well. He got a couple of starts agains Ole Miss and LSU at the end of the season. He pitched well against Ole Miss and got roughed up against LSU. This guy has a high upside. He's a lanky built pitcher that can consistently throw the ball in the low 90s. As with most young pitchers, he has to work on his command. A strong summer could propel Devin into direct competition for a starting job in the rotation in 2010.

Paxton Pace was a redshirt freshman right handed pitcher who was one of the few on the staff that showed he could throw strikes consistently. He got roughed up in his first outing which blew his ERA out of the water, but he settled down and became a reliable relief pitcher for MSU down the stretch. He has the look of a guy that will be a very good middle relief guy that will pound the strike zone.

I don't know what happened to Ricky Bowen this season, but I do think it would be foolish to give up on this guy going into his senior season. Ricky is a righty who has shown dominant ability in the past. As a redshirt freshman, he was the main set up man to closer Mitch Moreland. Ricky has a very good fastball that can touch the mid 90s and in the past he has shown very good control and the ability to change speeds. This season, he lost all his confidence. I'm hoping Ricky can clear his head and come back strong in 2010. This staff needs a veteran leader. I think his best role will be as a set up guy or closer if he is at his best.

I have a feeling this staff will be dominated by true freshmen in 2010. The headliner is probably lefty Luke Bole from Alabama. Luke is a projectable guy who has a power arm. He has a lively fastball and a power breaking ball that the pro scouts love right now. He's a guy that has a chance to be drafted in the top 10 rounds of the baseball draft. Hopefully, signability will be an issue for him and he wil end up at Mississippi State. If he' at MSU, I think he's likely one of the starters in the SEC rotation.

The next headliner is probably Chris Stratton, a right handed pitcher from Tupelo. Chris is a very polished pitcher who is ultra competitive on the mound. He's been the top pitching prospect in Mississippi for the past two seasons. He has a solid fastball that has the potential to gain a few ticks on the radar gun. His change up is also a plus pitch. There is a good chance that Chris Stratton will be in the SEC rotation in 2010.

Ben Bracewell and CC Watson are two prep pitchers from Alabama that have a chance to make an immediate impact. Ben Bracewell was arguably the best starting pitcher in the prep ranks in Alabama. He had a 15-0 record with a 0.58 ERA and 156 strike outs, and he actually outdueled Luke Bole in the first game of the state championship. CC Watson is a lefty with a small build. He is a strike out pitcher even though his fastball is only in the 87-88 mph range consistently. Pro scouts have been looking at him, but the feeling is they won't take him high because he doesn't have that one standout trait. Ben Bracewell will compete for a starting job and at worst be a key contributer in the bullpen. CC Watson has a chance to come in and be a set up man or closer right off the bat.

Chad Girodo is another prep pitcher from Alabama. He's a lefty that was a teammate of Luke Bole in high school, and some actually think Girodo may be the better college pitcher in the long run. Girodo is another guy that pounds the strike zone. He's got a good fastball that can touch the low 90s. I can see this guy getting some mid week starts with a chance to compete for a bullpen spot.

Kendall Graveman is yet another prep pitcher from Alabama. He's a dual position guy that is a very good athlete. His fastball can touch 90 on the radar gun, and he's a guy with a great work ethic. He has a chance to be in the mix for a bullpen job in 2010.

Tim Statz is a JUCO pitcher that I don't know much about. He is a lefty, and being that he has two years of JUCO experience, he should be able to come in and contribute immediately.

Overall, if I had to guess what the staff will look like next season, I would guess:

SP - Luke Bole (FR)
SP - Nick Routt (SO)
SP - Chris Stratton (FR)
SP - Devin Jones (SO)
SP - Chad Girodo (FR)

RP - Ricky Bowen (SR)
RP - Tyler Whitney (SR)
RP - CC Watson (FR)
RP - Ben Bracewell (FR)
RP - Paxton Pace (SO)
RP - Kendall Graveman (FR)
RP - Tim Statz (JR)

In my next entry, I will discuss the hitters and the projected line up for MSU in 2010.