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OK ... my stab at a WAY too early starting lineup this year

TheHuskeRed

Sophomore
Dec 9, 2006
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So I try and guess who we roll out there every season and if I even hit 75% that’s good for me. Using articles and just a flat out guess from my gut, here is my stab at what we will go with for Bolt’s first year at the helm. Trying to convince my wife to thaw out and travel to see them play against Arizona State to get an early first hand look at them ... anyway, here goes my guess. I Welcome any other more-informed predictions on who starts this year ... not a lot of power, or left handed swings in this lineup from my perspective ...


1st base - Luke Boynton (R/R)

2nd base - Jaxon Hallmark (R/R)

SS - Spencer Schwellenbach (R/R)

3rd base - Cam Chick (S/R)

Catcher - Luke Roskam (L/R)

Left Field - Mojo Hagge (L/R)

Center Field - Joe Acker (R/R)

Right Field - Aaron Palensky (R/R)

DH - Leighton Banjoff (R/R)

Starting Pitchers - Colby Gomes (R), Gareth Stroh (L), and Cade Povich (L)

Closer - Shay Schanaman (R)???
 
I watched the fall scrimmages, KU game and followed live stats for the Shockers. I like to go to the fall scrimmages to see the new players.
I am in total agreement with what you listed. The one thing that I am kind of iffy on is I haven't seen Boynton play defensive at first due to his injury so that might change things. If anyone has feedback on that, that would be great. Here's my 2 deep..

C Roskum,Hellstrom. Dolney reminds me of the Indianna players back when they were really good. Players with a big strong frame. I would like to see him RS because it will be hard to find time behind 2 experienced catchers. I thought he looked like a solid player though.
1 Boynton(R), Roseberry(L) If Boynton can play 1st he's going to start because of the obvious power. If he is so-so at 1st maybe he Dh's or perhaps platoons.
2 Hallmark(R) Gillin (L) I see Hallmark getting the most time here.
ss Schwellenbach(R) Schanaman(R)
3rd Chick(S) Schanaman(R)
LF Hagge(L) Mackie(L) Mackie looks like a good pickup. Good frame. I think he will be a well rounded player for us and start after Hagge graduates.
C Acker(R) Addante(L)
RF Palensky(R) Watson(R)
DH Banjoff. Banjoff is another player that is a mystery to me defensively. He is listed as an OF but played DH,3rd and I believe a little 1st. I do not know if he played the corner spots because we have a ton of OF's and not as many corner IF's or if he needs to get better at OF? Or have they decided to make him a future corner IF? Regardless he must be able to hit as they had him as the DH to start the fall exhibition off. Again another player with some physical tools that can square up the ball

My lineup

1) Schwellenbach ss (R) 2nd on team in On base percentage. Did a decent job leading off last year.
2) Hagge LF (L) He was 3rd in on base more or less. Also like a lefty here to drag bunt and move up the leadoff batter in small ball situations.
3) Palensky RF (R) - Our best offensive player from last year. Squares up the ball well.
4) Boynton 1st (R) - 2nd coming of Hopper? Fingers crossed. Roseberry looks like a solid player so not counting him out. Roskum also can play here.
5) Roskum C (L) - May play some first or 3rd when Hellstrom spells him?
Roskum primary catcher but will get spelled by Hellstrom which would change the order of the lineup as Hellstrom is a singles guy.
6) Banjoff DH (R) Should bat 5th or 6th or 7th I think when he is the DH
7) Chick (S) Actually could bat 2nd as well or 5th or 6th. As a switch hitter you can pencil him in a number of different spots. He is a streaky hitter. I like to have good balance&spread between the lefties and righties so put him here.
8) Acker CF (R) Acker could potentially leadoff as well or be 2nd in the lineup. For this lineup I put some speed at the back off the lineup for Schwellenbach to drive home
9) Hallmark 2nd (R) Like pairing Acker and Hallmark back to back for some small ball opportunities and base stealing to get guys in scoring position for Schwellenbach.

I had a hard time evaluating the pitching. I think the above post is on target. I think due to injuries&youth&depth our pitching is the biggest unknown and the staff is probably in a rebuilding phase. I don't know...
 
90 more days, gentlemen! Hopefully we develop some starting pitching, that's my biggest concern. I think we have enough talent at the plate to do damage.
 
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Thank s to all of you for your breakdowns. I love baseball. I wish that I was still coaching.
 
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I watched the fall scrimmages, KU game and followed live stats for the Shockers. I like to go to the fall scrimmages to see the new players.

Well you found the right place to express your baseball thoughts :Cool:

I think TheHuskerRed hit the nail on the head for the most part.
I really like the depth of this roster, including pitching.
My gut says we'll see different line ups on a game to game basis.

My biggest concern coming out of the Fall was the 2 or 3 Errors that came from each scrimmage. Hopefully that was mainly just jitters from trying to impress the new staff or players in positions they weren't accustomed to yet. Get that cleaned up and the Huskers should have a decent season.
 
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I’m still concerned with pitching experience.
Hopefully Gareth Stroh will be solid.

Age: 23
2016 at Coffeyville: 21 app, 12 starts, 70 IP, 67 K
2017 at Purdue: 16 app, 15 starts, 90.1 IP, 5-4 record, 3.89 ERA, 53 K, 30 BB, .255 OBA
2018 at Purdue: 16 app, 16 starts, 69.1 IP, 5-2 record, 4.93 ERA, 33 K, 44 BB, .284 OBA, Third-Team All-Big Ten
2019 at Nebraska: Redshirt
 
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I hope he can get it done. I’m a little worried about how deep Sayer can go, and I’d like to see some better off speed from Gomes. Povich was a really good starter at Bell West and showed he can do it at a good Juco. He should be able to go deep with good secondary pitches. If Sayer and Gomes can’t get past 5 innings we are going to be calling on some young arms frequently. Shay has solid stuff but it’s been a while since I’ve seen him go deep in a game.
 
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I hope he can get it done. I’m a little worried about how deep Sayer can go, and I’d like to see some better off speed from Gomes. Povich was a really good starter at Bell West and showed he can do it at a good Juco. He should be able to go deep with good secondary pitches. If Sayer and Gomes can’t get past 5 innings we are going to be calling on some young arms frequently. Shay has solid stuff but it’s been a while since I’ve seen him go deep in a game.
Thoughts on Kyle Perry's role?
 
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ERA over 5 with 2nd most HBP of the staff. Continues my concern of being able to go deep and not stress a young bullpen. Listen, I hope I’m wrong with these concerns and these arms have matured and gotten stronger. I’m not concerned with velocity, that’s going to be better across the board than we’ve had in a while.
 
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I hope he can get it done. I’m a little worried about how deep Sayer can go, and I’d like to see some better off speed from Gomes. Povich was a really good starter at Bell West and showed he can do it at a good Juco. He should be able to go deep with good secondary pitches. If Sayer and Gomes can’t get past 5 innings we are going to be calling on some young arms frequently. Shay has solid stuff but it’s been a while since I’ve seen him go deep in a game.
I don’t believe Sayer is in the discussion to be a weekend starter.
 
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Gomes, Povich, Stroh,Bragg and Perry are my 5 picks to challenge for the starting pitching spots. I also thought Feekin did a good job in his appearances but since he is only a year off injury I am not sure they will stretch him out. Tough to figure this staff out with all the guys coming off injury
 
Agreed. So many unknowns going into this season. Fall ball really didn’t provide a lot of answers either.
 
Gomes, Povich, Stroh,Bragg and Perry are my 5 picks to challenge for the starting pitching spots. I also thought Feekin did a good job in his appearances but since he is only a year off injury I am not sure they will stretch him out. Tough to figure this staff out with all the guys coming off injury

That's exactly where I stand on the pitching situation.
Connor Curry, Paul Tillotson, Bo Blessie and you already mentioned Feekin but forgot Kissack (who I enjoy) and Schreiber who also had a good start this Fall. Which is why I'm so excited about the entire depth of our pitching staff... but concerns about experience is noted. Thankfully we got experienced catchers in Roskam and Hellstrom to help ease the storms.

Gomes got some crucial starts at the beginning of last season. He's the only one here on the HuskerOnline fan projection list :Cool: :Cool: :Cool: that saw any major or multiple playing time this Fall. Povich, Perry and Stroh each barely saw an inning or more 'all' Fall (and not all in starting roles).

I still think that Gomes, Stroh, and Povich are all safe bets at the moment for a starting weekend spot. Just believe there's some good competition brewing in the Gordon training complex, after breakfast of course Winking
 
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That's exactly where I stand on the pitching situation.
Connor Curry, Paul Tillotson, Bo Blessie and you already mentioned Feekin but forgot Kissack (who I enjoy) and Schreiber who also had a good start this Fall. Which is why I'm so excited about the entire depth of our pitching staff... but concerns about experience is noted. Thankfully we got experienced catchers in Roskam and Hellstrom to help ease the storms.

Gomes got some crucial starts at the beginning of last season. He's the only one here on the HuskerOnline fan projection list :Cool: :Cool: :Cool: that saw any major or multiple playing time this Fall. Povich, Perry and Stroh each barely saw an inning or more 'all' Fall (and not all in starting roles).

I still think that Gomes, Stroh, and Povich are all safe bets at the moment for a starting weekend spot. Just believe there's some good competition brewing in the Gordon training complex, after breakfast of course Winking
Perry was shut down all fall, Stroh was shut down after Wichita State game while Povich logged the 3rd most innings of the fall
 
My bad...
- was thinking it was Gomes in Game 1 who started for the White.
When it was Cade who exactly started 3 innings that night.
- I swear Perry made an quick appearance against Kansas. But my game notes stopped after the 6th inning (had a bathroom break and never continued). Huskers.com no longer have the scrimmages with results on the schedule page. And looking at their game notes archives it only mentions that the Huskers had 11 pitchers on the day against Kansas but doesn't list all who participated.
So I'll just quit while I'm already behind Laughing
Thanks Kaz, good stuff, appreciate it!
 
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My bad...
- was thinking it was Gomes in Game 1 who started for the White.
When it was Cade who exactly started 3 innings that night.
- I swear Perry made an quick appearance against Kansas. But my game notes stopped after the 6th inning (had a bathroom break and never continued). Huskers.com no longer have the scrimmages with results on the schedule page. And looking at their game notes archives it only mentions that the Huskers had 11 pitchers on the day against Kansas but doesn't list all who participated.
So I'll just quit while I'm already behind Laughing
Thanks Kaz, good stuff, appreciate it!
Here's the LJS article on the Kansas exhibition. Says 11 guys pitched, but only mentions the guys with shutout innings. So not any help.
 
The next 2 months are just the worst for baseball fans. Lots of speculation with very little information.

I’ve been going back and watching last spring’s games on the BTN app and then also watching the CWS games I can find online, mostly on YouTube. Pitcher development questions keep popping up. We might get 1 or 2 top arms to come here and not go to the draft, but Nebraska is not the type of climate big arms are searching for. Why waist time recruiting guys you will never get? Why are we not going after more development project arms, and why are we not setting up a juco pipeline for arms that need 2 years of development to be ready for top level D1 competition? Other schools have relationships with juco’s to park a kid for 1-2 years with the understanding he will come back here and they will not shop the kid to other schools. If we can’t develop in-house then we need to build a Juco pipeline for pitchers we have an interest in.

The midwest is full of kids over 6-2 throwing mid-80’s. After 2 years at a Juco, most will be at 88-92 and have developed good offspeed. Perfect.
 
No, no. I've longed conceded.
Heck, I've got trouble remembering what color socks I wore yesterday...
let alone 2 months ago :Cool:



What about the A&M OF transfer? Does he have to sit out? I thought I remembered reading he had a decent career before coming back home.

#3 Logan Foster is the A&M transfer.
He is a senior, and you are correct...
Logan will have to sit out the 2020 season (due to transfer rules).
Believe he earned a spot on the 2017 SEC Freshman Team...
(yup, double checked Winking)
 
I’ve been going back and watching last spring’s games on the BTN app and then also watching the CWS games

My favorite is the elimination game against Michigan in the B1G Tourney.
It was such a huge, loud, drunken rowdy crowd!!!
Don't know how many times I slow-played the 8th inning with Angello's and #2 Jack Blomgern (returning in 2020 for his senior season) little altercation. "Sheepish grin." Laughing Laughing Laughing


Welcome to the board! Good stuff. And I like your avatar better!
Wait?!?! Huh?!?!
I'm sorry. What mention of the starting rotation mentioned a week before the end of Fall???
Don't make me remember something, I don't remember?
We've already been thru my sock drawer Laughing
 
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I think I remember reading that now (or something really similar).

If I remember correctly (which I haven't been doing lately :confused: ).
That quote was from an article written October 14th.
But that quote may have actually been given some time earlier...
first day of Fall practices and meet the press back in September.
Not in October when the article was written and Fall was winding down.
So I think that's why that article got looked over at the time.
It was considered as pre Fall information, and not post Fall info.
I hope this new staff learned a lot more about all their players once the Fall concluded Winking

Another example of this article using older quotes...
Bolt's quotes about Povich, are from when Cade made his commitment to Nebraska. Not during Fall practices.

Not condemning the writer.
Never had a second thought about the article, until you brought it up.
The more Husker Baseball stories, the better :Cool:
 
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The sentence on Bragg was also borrowed from his recruiting article.

I believe this staff had their eyes and ears on a lot players when they were playing summer ball. Don't know the rules involved with that, but it's what I would have been doing. Time traveling sounds better thou.

Povich was Bolt's first get. Like Adrian Martinez was Scott Frost's first get.
You really believe they didn't see and evaluate Cade before offering?
I don't. They knew about Povich before even coming to Nebraska.

And yes, Gomes got a lot of looks this Fall. He needed it.
I'm not an expert to say if Colby was commanding all 3 pitches.
But the article can be quoted as...
"....he's commanding his 2nd and 3rd pitches along with his fastball."
So does Colby have a total of 4 pitches at his disposal?
Or is Gomes mixing up his 2nd and 3rd pitches enough for his fastball?
Either way there was enough tape of Gomes pitching last season (even as a starter) to make a decision before Fall.

Another thing that bothers me about that article, and it's starter announcement...
was that no other news outlet covering at that time, made any mention about starters. That would have been the biggest news coming out of the Fall. Why only this one article/mention?

I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest. I like ya.
Just trying to get you up to speed why no one (or at least me) around here took that article as 'written in stone' until now.
And that is why we were still guessing :Cool:
 
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Just waiting for some offical confirmation, almost 2 months later.
But I appreciate you leaving my flaws alone,
I make fun of them enough myself Winking


@gunNrun Just noticed your changed avatar pic, love it!
Thanks sal, usually change pics once or twice a year.
Photo came from the Daily Nebraskan.
There was a better photo of that moment but was unable to upload it.
I think it sends a good message Smokin
 
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Appreciate the thoughts & response.

I am thinking the competition at 3rd base will be fun to watch in a couple years considering existing players and incoming recruits. Should be fun to see how that position plays out.
 
Then what's the point of non-conference games? :confused:
To challenge the guys against quality competition while strengthening RPI (or whatever college baseball calls it), as well as get a bunch of wins and pad the record for post-season consideration hopefully.
 
To challenge the guys against quality competition while strengthening RPI (or whatever college baseball calls it), as well as get a bunch of wins and pad the record for post-season consideration hopefully.
Oh, I was being facetious. Under Erstad, it wasn't until about a month in the season that a weekend rotation would be established.
 
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