re: Chris Stanfield BOOM !!

quote:

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But I do stand by the idea that no player is a guarantee unless they dominated SEC or ACC ball or to a lesser extent Big 12 or PAC 12 (RIP) ball.

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Who said he’s a guarantee? If he doesn’t hit, he won’t play. He’ll be a depth guy. I don’t think Jay had to promise him the starting CF gig to get him. And yeah, the OF is getting a bit crowded. Which is good because we need options. We’ve got to find a way to get some power out of the OF somehow. I like the way Larson puts the bat on the ball and hits it all over the field, but he’s not developing into a big home run guy by next year. Brown could develop into a 10+ guy, but that’s not guaranteed. Would love for Pearson to develop into a .300 hitter who hits 12-15 bombs, but he may just be who he is. I’d like us to have about 6 quality guys with no spots cemented and just let them all compete.

But if Jones leaves—and no matter who winds up starting at 3rd—that’s 52 homers from the corner IFers. And we can’t make that up there, we’ve got to have some guys in the OF who can hit it over the fence. Would be nice if we could get some pop out of the catcher position too. Really hoping Preister and the high school kid make it to campus. Probably need to add another defensive oriented catcher for depth unless there’s a stud guy in the portal or that may wind up there after the CWS. Same with SS. I think Braswell signs. Had a really nice leverage year and showed he’s got room to develop. But even if he comes back, I’d hope Jay can find a guy with more pop that has a chance to beat Braswell out. No idea about 3rd. Can little Pearson move well enough to play 3rd in the SEC. Will his bat and power translate as a true freshman? These last 2 offensive guys we got (not the Auburn dude) who are limited in where they can play need to find a way in the lineup somehow if they can handle the upgrade in pitching.

And somebody mentioned Larson at 1st. I’m sure he’d do just fine there. But we can’t have an OF of Stanfield, Brown, and Pearson bless Brown and Pearson make big jumps. We’re looking at a less than 20 homers season from those guys combined. Putting Larson at 1st just blocks another power bat that we desperately need.

The lineup needs pop. Period. Jay just needs to assemble the best talent possible, and let them all compete and see how he can best fit the puzzles together. He shouldn’t guarantee a starting spot to anybody unless a stud SS or 3B emerges from the portal.