Matt and Mike Waldron

[omahusker15]

Again - no Matt in the weekend rotation to start the season. Anyone heard how he is doing lately? I thought he showed some encouraging progress toward the middle/end of last year, after battling through some arm fatigue after his strong freshman year, and then finding himself on a milk carton at the end of his sophomore year.

Perhaps Mike figures in at 1B/3B, and some mid-week starts/bullpen appearances again this year. He has provided some quality innings over the last couple of years.

I haven't heard much about either of them going into this season. It would be a real shame if we don't get production from these guys this year, and I would take it a step further in saying that it would be a major indictment on Erstad and Silva if these guys go missing again this year. Both very good prospects coming out of high school, and neither have really had their potential maximized over their first three years.

 

[RobsterMobster]

I have nothing major to add regarding the Waldron's specifically but I too noticed the same lack of progression. One thing that does backfire on Silva more often than not is he prefers to recruit guys that already have a pretty 'sound base' on the mound. The problem with that is he may find guys that have hit their ceiling more often than not. Or guys who are pretty physically gassed, which may be the reason many end up having Tommy John early in their careers (speculation).

Childress for example will recruit a guy based on his potential, and develop him. Silva does not want to have to focus on developing so he tends to gravitate to those guys who have a lot of experience and a few pitches already developed. This is also why I don't understand why they stopped recruiting JUCO's to put on the mound. It seems his most successful pitchers have been guys from the JUCO ranks. Just what I noticed.

A lot of the above info I got from scouts or high school coaches.