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Baseball Preview 2023 Edition (Feb 10th - Pro Prospects & SEC Standings)
Posted on 2/1/23 at 5:44 am
Posted on 2/1/23 at 5:44 am
February. Is. Here.
-As always everything in this preview is "my" opinion and analysis, I want to welcome everyone’s opinions, thoughts, and criticism, as this is a message board and it's what makes this place great...but please keep it baseball related. In year 16 now this preview is for those friends, family, and alumni who follow the sport however may not be able to see the team early in spring and want to get a better feel for who’s – who.
-The lineup I predict is not only based on what I have seen thus far but how I see the respective positions shaping up throughout the entire regular season.
-The MLB uses a 20-80 grading scale to evaluate each draft eligible player based on their skillset of 1) Power 2) Hitting 3) Speed 4) Fielding 5) Arm. Now because 60-70% of all MLB draft eligible prospects fall into the below-average to average skill set it’s not much to look at when previewing a standard collegiate team. To give viewers a better representation of how they stack up on the collegiate level what I’ve done the past few years is grade each player based on their current tools as they compare to other players at the collegiate level. What this does is expand the bell curve a bit and give a better representation of their respective strengths and weaknesses now rather than a projection for a MLB position.
-At the end of each position is a final overall grade based on the entire unit as a whole. It's essentially a combination of the talent/depth/intangibles etc...compared to other similar collegiate baseball positions.
Feb 1 - C - Alex Milazzo RS-Jr.
Feb 2 - 1B - Tre Morgan Jr.
Feb 3 - 2B - Jack Merrifield Sr.
Feb 4 - SS - Jordan Thompson Jr.
Feb 5 - 3B - Tommy White So.
Feb 6 - OF - Josh Pearson So. Dylan Crews Jr. Paxton Kling Fr.
Feb 7 - DH - Jared Jones Fr.
Feb 8 - SP - Paul Skenes Jr. Thatcher Hurd So. Ty Floyd Jr. Chase Shores Fr.
Feb 9 - RP - Grant Taylor So. Chrisitan Little Jr. Bryce Collins RS-Jr.
Feb 10 - Pro Prospects and Projected SEC standings
Grade Breakdown for Starter
80 Top of the Scale (Think Kris Bryant, USD – 2013 “power”)
70 Well Above Average
60 Above Average
50 Average
40 Below Average
30 Well Below Average
20 Bottom of the Scale (Think Matt Gaudet, LSU - 2010 “speed”)
Grade Breakdown for Overall Position Group
80 Top of the Scale (Think Rice Starting Pitching - 2003)
70 Well Above Average
60 Above Average
50 Average
40 Below Average
30 Well Below Average
20 Bottom of the Scale
-As always everything in this preview is "my" opinion and analysis, I want to welcome everyone’s opinions, thoughts, and criticism, as this is a message board and it's what makes this place great...but please keep it baseball related. In year 16 now this preview is for those friends, family, and alumni who follow the sport however may not be able to see the team early in spring and want to get a better feel for who’s – who.
-The lineup I predict is not only based on what I have seen thus far but how I see the respective positions shaping up throughout the entire regular season.
-The MLB uses a 20-80 grading scale to evaluate each draft eligible player based on their skillset of 1) Power 2) Hitting 3) Speed 4) Fielding 5) Arm. Now because 60-70% of all MLB draft eligible prospects fall into the below-average to average skill set it’s not much to look at when previewing a standard collegiate team. To give viewers a better representation of how they stack up on the collegiate level what I’ve done the past few years is grade each player based on their current tools as they compare to other players at the collegiate level. What this does is expand the bell curve a bit and give a better representation of their respective strengths and weaknesses now rather than a projection for a MLB position.
-At the end of each position is a final overall grade based on the entire unit as a whole. It's essentially a combination of the talent/depth/intangibles etc...compared to other similar collegiate baseball positions.
Feb 1 - C - Alex Milazzo RS-Jr.
Feb 2 - 1B - Tre Morgan Jr.
Feb 3 - 2B - Jack Merrifield Sr.
Feb 4 - SS - Jordan Thompson Jr.
Feb 5 - 3B - Tommy White So.
Feb 6 - OF - Josh Pearson So. Dylan Crews Jr. Paxton Kling Fr.
Feb 7 - DH - Jared Jones Fr.
Feb 8 - SP - Paul Skenes Jr. Thatcher Hurd So. Ty Floyd Jr. Chase Shores Fr.
Feb 9 - RP - Grant Taylor So. Chrisitan Little Jr. Bryce Collins RS-Jr.
Feb 10 - Pro Prospects and Projected SEC standings
Grade Breakdown for Starter
80 Top of the Scale (Think Kris Bryant, USD – 2013 “power”)
70 Well Above Average
60 Above Average
50 Average
40 Below Average
30 Well Below Average
20 Bottom of the Scale (Think Matt Gaudet, LSU - 2010 “speed”)
Grade Breakdown for Overall Position Group
80 Top of the Scale (Think Rice Starting Pitching - 2003)
70 Well Above Average
60 Above Average
50 Average
40 Below Average
30 Well Below Average
20 Bottom of the Scale
This post was edited on 2/10/23 at 7:45 am
Posted on 2/1/23 at 5:44 am to Adam4848
CATCHER
Alex Milazzo R-Jr. 5’10 190lbs (7) Bats-R Throws-R
Brady Neal Fr. 5’10 180lbs (16) Bats-L Throws-R
Hayden Travinksi Jr. 6’3 218lbs (25) Bats-R Throws-R
Jared Jones Fr. 6'4 230lbs (22) Bats-R Throws-R
Ethan Frey Fr. 6'5 215lbs (33) Bats-R Throws-R
One of the more difficult positions to predict right now...I've gone back and forth on this for awhile and it's still way too early to tell a true front runner. Alex Milazzo returns as one of the premier gloves in all of college baseball. Right behind him is Brady Neal who by my calculations is the highest rated catcher that LSU has ever gotten to campus in the modern era. Hayden Travinksi, Jared Jones, and Ethan Frey provide much needed depth and will rotate a bit here during the non conference schedule although we all know this won't be a true five way competition. There is no doubt that Milazzo will give LSU the best proven glove in a lineup that already appears potent so the question to be answered is how quickly does the coaching staff feel confident with Neal as this spring progressed. Over the years this position has presented to be very difficult for true freshmen let alone one that reclassified so to jump in immediately not give up a starting spot remains to be seen.
Right now Alex Milazzo is the odds favorite to start on opening night. With Alex you’re getting a veteran behind the plate who can command the pitching staff and neutralize an opponents running game. Going into his fourth season Milazzo’s tenure at LSU has been derailed somewhat by a shortened Covid season in 2020 (16 games played) and a knee injury in 2022 (12 games played). Now fully healthy Alex I think the coaching staff can use him in multiple ways which going back depends more on how fast Neal progresses. Both his glove work and arm is plus plus...he routinely makes plays as a catcher than are not routine at this level. Two years ago I was more bullish on how his offensive numbers would improve and I was proven wrong. There’s no doubt that this entire position makes or breaks on how well Milazzo can fit in at the bottom of the order. There are things that he can do well here that won’t show up on stat sheets like working counts, advancing runners, sacrificing…I don’t think his bat will be such a black hole that we’ve become accustomed to but he needs to improve on his slugging % to an extent. Power is below average, there hasn’t been much progression there. Speed is below average for the position.
Brady Neal, a freshman out of IMG who reclassified from 2023 to 2022 was one of the position players I had little to no faith would make it to campus. Neal who was one of the youngest draft eligible high school prospects a year ago will only be 18 this spring. It’s incredibly difficult to ask a true freshman to jump into one of the harder positions at the collegiate level and excel on a consistent basis so any expectations that he'll seemingly jump in and put up ALL-SEC numbers need to be tempered a bit. Johnson has made it known that there will be rotation at this position to start the season so Brady will get his chances. Not one tool jumps off the page at this point in his career but his overall floor is extremely high and this is one of those players who will exponentially get better over the next two to three years as his frame will fill out. Not comparing players but his general makeup reminds me of Miss St. Tanner Allen. Glove and receiving is steadily improving and if we weren’t constantly comparing to Milzzao it would be an improvement than what LSU had to work with a year ago. Arm is a plus tool and as long as he can keep it down will be fine. Stance is somewhat neutral in the batters box and tends to makes good reads on pitching where he’s able to stay low/make good leverage/drive balls. Power is an average to slightly above average tool right now that will become a plus plus tool by the time he’s draft eligible. One of the things I most love about Neal is he’s an all around athlete and moves extremely well for his frame, one of the faster catchers LSU’s had in recent memory.
Hayden Travinksi if you were to ask is third right now. You get a power right handed bat who had to jump in and play everyday last year for a portion of the season. Look for Hayden to serve as a pinch hitter late in games and work his way into a catching rotation at least during some week night games early on to get him some at bats.
Jared Jones and Ethan Frey who I’ll highlight at other positions were recruited as catchers but will find playing time earlier at 1B and DH respectively.
My take: If I had to predict what happens right now both it’s that both Alex Milazzo and Brady Neal separate themselves from the rest of the pack and split time to an extent the first couple of weekends. You have a top heavy start to the SEC schedule and what will most likely be some low scoring games so I’m leaning towards Alex as the man to beat to start conference play even if he’s not putting up impressive numbers at the plate. Overall Brady Neal is the more talented catcher but will need to prove that he can handle this pitching staff that is loaded with future MLB players at the ripe age of 18…it’s a lot to ask for a true freshman. All is not lost if Neal doesn’t start early on because he tends to hit in bunches and I think they’ll try and find him at bats from the left side someway. Overall the position is much deeper than it’s been in some time, the coaching staff hit on every recruit they signed and for the foreseeable future there should be stability here.
Alex Milazzo
Power------40
Hitting------40
Speed------45
Fielding----75
Arm---------75
POSITION ADDITIONS:
Brady Neal
Jared Jones
Ethan Frey
POSITION LOSSES:
Tyler McManus
POSITION OVERALL GRADE: 65
![](https://i.imgur.com/nhk78uH.jpg)
Alex Milazzo R-Jr. 5’10 190lbs (7) Bats-R Throws-R
Brady Neal Fr. 5’10 180lbs (16) Bats-L Throws-R
Hayden Travinksi Jr. 6’3 218lbs (25) Bats-R Throws-R
Jared Jones Fr. 6'4 230lbs (22) Bats-R Throws-R
Ethan Frey Fr. 6'5 215lbs (33) Bats-R Throws-R
One of the more difficult positions to predict right now...I've gone back and forth on this for awhile and it's still way too early to tell a true front runner. Alex Milazzo returns as one of the premier gloves in all of college baseball. Right behind him is Brady Neal who by my calculations is the highest rated catcher that LSU has ever gotten to campus in the modern era. Hayden Travinksi, Jared Jones, and Ethan Frey provide much needed depth and will rotate a bit here during the non conference schedule although we all know this won't be a true five way competition. There is no doubt that Milazzo will give LSU the best proven glove in a lineup that already appears potent so the question to be answered is how quickly does the coaching staff feel confident with Neal as this spring progressed. Over the years this position has presented to be very difficult for true freshmen let alone one that reclassified so to jump in immediately not give up a starting spot remains to be seen.
Right now Alex Milazzo is the odds favorite to start on opening night. With Alex you’re getting a veteran behind the plate who can command the pitching staff and neutralize an opponents running game. Going into his fourth season Milazzo’s tenure at LSU has been derailed somewhat by a shortened Covid season in 2020 (16 games played) and a knee injury in 2022 (12 games played). Now fully healthy Alex I think the coaching staff can use him in multiple ways which going back depends more on how fast Neal progresses. Both his glove work and arm is plus plus...he routinely makes plays as a catcher than are not routine at this level. Two years ago I was more bullish on how his offensive numbers would improve and I was proven wrong. There’s no doubt that this entire position makes or breaks on how well Milazzo can fit in at the bottom of the order. There are things that he can do well here that won’t show up on stat sheets like working counts, advancing runners, sacrificing…I don’t think his bat will be such a black hole that we’ve become accustomed to but he needs to improve on his slugging % to an extent. Power is below average, there hasn’t been much progression there. Speed is below average for the position.
Brady Neal, a freshman out of IMG who reclassified from 2023 to 2022 was one of the position players I had little to no faith would make it to campus. Neal who was one of the youngest draft eligible high school prospects a year ago will only be 18 this spring. It’s incredibly difficult to ask a true freshman to jump into one of the harder positions at the collegiate level and excel on a consistent basis so any expectations that he'll seemingly jump in and put up ALL-SEC numbers need to be tempered a bit. Johnson has made it known that there will be rotation at this position to start the season so Brady will get his chances. Not one tool jumps off the page at this point in his career but his overall floor is extremely high and this is one of those players who will exponentially get better over the next two to three years as his frame will fill out. Not comparing players but his general makeup reminds me of Miss St. Tanner Allen. Glove and receiving is steadily improving and if we weren’t constantly comparing to Milzzao it would be an improvement than what LSU had to work with a year ago. Arm is a plus tool and as long as he can keep it down will be fine. Stance is somewhat neutral in the batters box and tends to makes good reads on pitching where he’s able to stay low/make good leverage/drive balls. Power is an average to slightly above average tool right now that will become a plus plus tool by the time he’s draft eligible. One of the things I most love about Neal is he’s an all around athlete and moves extremely well for his frame, one of the faster catchers LSU’s had in recent memory.
Hayden Travinksi if you were to ask is third right now. You get a power right handed bat who had to jump in and play everyday last year for a portion of the season. Look for Hayden to serve as a pinch hitter late in games and work his way into a catching rotation at least during some week night games early on to get him some at bats.
Jared Jones and Ethan Frey who I’ll highlight at other positions were recruited as catchers but will find playing time earlier at 1B and DH respectively.
My take: If I had to predict what happens right now both it’s that both Alex Milazzo and Brady Neal separate themselves from the rest of the pack and split time to an extent the first couple of weekends. You have a top heavy start to the SEC schedule and what will most likely be some low scoring games so I’m leaning towards Alex as the man to beat to start conference play even if he’s not putting up impressive numbers at the plate. Overall Brady Neal is the more talented catcher but will need to prove that he can handle this pitching staff that is loaded with future MLB players at the ripe age of 18…it’s a lot to ask for a true freshman. All is not lost if Neal doesn’t start early on because he tends to hit in bunches and I think they’ll try and find him at bats from the left side someway. Overall the position is much deeper than it’s been in some time, the coaching staff hit on every recruit they signed and for the foreseeable future there should be stability here.
Alex Milazzo
Power------40
Hitting------40
Speed------45
Fielding----75
Arm---------75
POSITION ADDITIONS:
Brady Neal
Jared Jones
Ethan Frey
POSITION LOSSES:
Tyler McManus
POSITION OVERALL GRADE: 65
This post was edited on 2/1/23 at 9:52 am
Posted on 2/1/23 at 5:48 am to Adam4848
Me waiting for the empty posts to be filled in
![](https://media.tenor.com/aw-PwhC0jyMAAAAM/waiting-patiently-excited.gif)
![](https://media.tenor.com/aw-PwhC0jyMAAAAM/waiting-patiently-excited.gif)
Posted on 2/1/23 at 6:00 am to Adam4848
My favorite thread of the year. I woke up before my alarm like it was Christmas morning.
Posted on 2/1/23 at 6:10 am to Adam4848
February 1st!!!! Let’s geauxxxxxxx
Posted on 2/1/23 at 6:18 am to Adam4848
Let’s GEAUX!!!
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Icongeauxtigers.png)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Icongeauxtigers.png)
This post was edited on 2/1/23 at 6:19 am
Posted on 2/1/23 at 6:45 am to Adam4848
Hallelujah!
Thank you Adam men’s basketball season is officially over
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbow.gif)
Thank you Adam men’s basketball season is officially over
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbow.gif)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbow.gif)
Posted on 2/1/23 at 7:15 am to Adam4848
quote:
Baseball Preview 2023 Edition
![](https://media.tenor.com/cJpORAtJ1YQAAAAC/its-happening-friday.gif)
Posted on 2/1/23 at 10:00 am to Adam4848
Dylan Crews is the best catcher on the team
Posted on 2/1/23 at 10:27 am to Adam4848
I think Neal probably catches one weekend game to start the season. Milazzo probably catches Friday, Neal Saturday, Milazzo again on Sunday, and Travinski/Frey/Jones get some work in the midweek games.
I also think you're a little high on Milazzo. His defense is good, but it's not 75 on an 80 scale good. I'd go 65-70 on defense and arm, and 30-35 on his bat. Hopefully he improves there, but his bat has been really, really bad.
I also think you're a little high on Milazzo. His defense is good, but it's not 75 on an 80 scale good. I'd go 65-70 on defense and arm, and 30-35 on his bat. Hopefully he improves there, but his bat has been really, really bad.
Posted on 2/1/23 at 10:47 am to Adam4848
Thank you for all the work you put in Adam. I am so pumped for this year, should be a great year. I hope we crush Tennessee to shut them up and wake up the sleeping giant that is LSU baseball.
Posted on 2/1/23 at 11:49 am to Adam4848
Thanks, Adam - this is awesome.
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconcheers.gif)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconcheers.gif)
This post was edited on 2/1/23 at 11:49 am
Posted on 2/1/23 at 12:16 pm to Adam4848
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Icongeauxtigers.png)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbanana1.gif)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbanana1.gif)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Iconbanana1.gif)
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/Icongeauxtigers.png)
It's that time of year. Baseball is PURE. The other sports , while more enjoyable in many respects, are corrupt and arbitrary. Baseball is PURE.
Posted on 2/1/23 at 12:22 pm to Adam4848
With the MLB banning the shift has there been any talk of this in college baseball?
Posted on 2/1/23 at 2:26 pm to Adam4848
quote:Am I out of line to say that Next Year it should say...
Grade Breakdown for Overall Position Group
80 Top of the Scale (Think Rice Starting Pitching - 2003)
Grade Breakdown for Overall Position Group
80 Top of the Scale (Think LSU Starting Pitching - 2023)
This post was edited on 2/1/23 at 2:28 pm
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