Who do you think will start? What do you think the line-up will look like this year? C - Sean Ochinko 1B - Matt Clark 2B - Nicholas Pontiff SS - Michael Hollander 3B - Buzzy Haydel LF - Blake Dean CF - Jared Mitchell RF - Chad Jones DH - Matt Gaudet C - Ochinko will get most of the starts. I don't see a clear cut number two coming into Spring, but I'm sure someone will emerge. 1B - Deep position from the Tigers; Matt Clark, Taylor Davis, and Matt Gaudet will probably all get starts at first, with the best two hitters emerging as the starting 1B and DH respectively. A lot of power potential here. 2B - Nicholas Pontiff played well here last season, and will likely get the majority of starts here this season, although JR Transfer Rene Escobar could split time with Nick. 3B - a weak position on this Tiger team; Buzzy Haydel is an obvious choice to start. A solid defensive player, he does have some issues at the plate, but hopefully he has been working those out. Could possibly see Gaudet or Davis transitioning to this position... but the more I think about it... highly unlikely. SS - Hollander will hold this position down all season, but there is little depth here, so an injury could be bad. Hollander has a lot of range and great quickness and will likely have a solid season. OF - Jared Mitchell, Blake Dean, and Chad Jones will make up (what is likely) the best OF in the SEC. Very young OF could become dominant with experience. Batting Order: 1. Jared Mitchell (Lefty) 2. Michael Hollander (Righty) 3. Blake Dean (Lefty) 4. Sean Ochinko (Righty) 5. Chad Jones (Lefty) 6. Nicholas Pontiff (Righty) 7. Matt Clark (Lefty) 8. Ryan Gaudet (Righty) 9. Buzzy Haydel (Righty) Pitching: Friday: Jared Bradford (RHP) Saturday: Ryan Byrd (LHP) Sunday: Anthony Ranaudo (RHP) Midweek: Ryan Verdugo (LHP), Austin Ross (RHP), Daniel Bradshaw (RHP). Major Bullpen: Cain, Coleman, Brown (possible CL) I bumped up Ranaudo to weekend, but could be Verdugo or Bradshaw also. After looking at everything... I think this team can compete this year and it looks to be a fun spring/summer.
I think Gibbs will probably be the #2 man behind Ochinko followed by Farnsworth as far as the catching goes. Also, I think Escobar might get the edge over Pontiff or at least see significant PT. All depends who's hitting well but Escobar has more power from what I've heard. We'll see though. You can never tell with Mainieri.
This is how I see it, I agree with alot of your list but I'm as high on Schimpf as anyone right now. I really think he gets in the lineup somewhere. C-Ochinko 1B-Clark 2B-Escobar/Pontiff 3B-Hollander SS-LeMahieu LF-Schimpf CF-Mitchell RF-Dean DH-Gaudet Friday-Bradford Saturday-Byrd Sunday-Ranaudo/Verdugo Midweek-Ardoin/Bradshaw Bullpen-B. Martin/Cain/Berticinnini/Ross/Coleman/Brown
My only issues with your position lineup is Hollander moving to 3rd. You lose the bonus of his range and quickness sticking him in the corner. While LeMahieu may see some quality PT early in the season, I just don't see Hollander moving over with Haydel playing quality defense at 3rd when he played last year. While Schrimpf is a sleeper, I don't think you can discount the talent Chad Jones will bring to the field. I could see him DHing some, and possibly coming in in pinch situations... i just can't see him out performing Dean or Jones early on.
I agree that Jones is an exceptional talent, but one of the reasons that Mitchell and all the others started was because there was no depth last year. If and when he starts in the outfield will only make our team much more dangerous. I do think that Schimpf, if he does not win an outfield position will see time at DH with Gaudet. The thing with Hollander is he has one of the strongest arms on the team and learned the 3B position very quickly. LeMahieu is going to be an impact player from the start and he is a great contact hitter, I agree though if he starts slumping then Hollander may have to move over to SS. As long as this team is successful I don't care what the lineup is!
http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=1378177&DB_OEM_ID=5200 pretty much the lineup I had.
