Wanted to share some thoughts.
You can't take much from one game in baseball but I had some preliminary thoughts I had seeing our guys live.
1) We look much more athletic than years past. C, SS, 3B, CF and LF all flashed plus athleticism. Moberg at 2B is pretty athletic as well. Across the board it seems Serrano focused on getting more athletic. For player development I think this is a good move. Much higher ceiling for our guys than the past.
2) Todd Helton in the dug out. He was locked in last night. On the fence the entire time we were on offense. You can tell he is going to be very hands on with our players. This will be huge.
3) Very young. I believe we had around 4 freshman in the starting lineup last night. They will have to grow up in a hurry.
4) Initial bullpen thoughts. Vasquez looked pretty good for the 1st game of the season. Fastball was getting to the low 90s and will probably get faster as the year goes on and the weather warms up. They brought Heflin (Morristown West, FR) in and honestly he is filthy. Has a change and curve 69-73 on both. Curve has sharp bite and was throwing for a strike. Change was moving, left it a little high last night but was making Memphis look silly swinging at it. Fastball is low-mid 80s but deceptive delivery allows it to play up. Think he is going to be a really nice piece. Also have Serrano coming out of the pen who will be low to mid 90s. Have heard from some in the program that we have some new guys who are legit power arms. In the college game (metal bats) if you don't have a pen you have no chance over the course of a season. If you get 5 to 6 innings out of your starter that is a great night but that is long time to use the pen so you have to have horses to finish games. Think this will be the biggest improvement this year.
5) Santiago is a stud defensive catcher. Has an absolute hose behind the plate and is instinctive and athletic. Will throw behind runners and has a very quick release.
Looking forward to taking the series today with our ace in Warren!
You can't take much from one game in baseball but I had some preliminary thoughts I had seeing our guys live.
1) We look much more athletic than years past. C, SS, 3B, CF and LF all flashed plus athleticism. Moberg at 2B is pretty athletic as well. Across the board it seems Serrano focused on getting more athletic. For player development I think this is a good move. Much higher ceiling for our guys than the past.
2) Todd Helton in the dug out. He was locked in last night. On the fence the entire time we were on offense. You can tell he is going to be very hands on with our players. This will be huge.
3) Very young. I believe we had around 4 freshman in the starting lineup last night. They will have to grow up in a hurry.
4) Initial bullpen thoughts. Vasquez looked pretty good for the 1st game of the season. Fastball was getting to the low 90s and will probably get faster as the year goes on and the weather warms up. They brought Heflin (Morristown West, FR) in and honestly he is filthy. Has a change and curve 69-73 on both. Curve has sharp bite and was throwing for a strike. Change was moving, left it a little high last night but was making Memphis look silly swinging at it. Fastball is low-mid 80s but deceptive delivery allows it to play up. Think he is going to be a really nice piece. Also have Serrano coming out of the pen who will be low to mid 90s. Have heard from some in the program that we have some new guys who are legit power arms. In the college game (metal bats) if you don't have a pen you have no chance over the course of a season. If you get 5 to 6 innings out of your starter that is a great night but that is long time to use the pen so you have to have horses to finish games. Think this will be the biggest improvement this year.
5) Santiago is a stud defensive catcher. Has an absolute hose behind the plate and is instinctive and athletic. Will throw behind runners and has a very quick release.
Looking forward to taking the series today with our ace in Warren!
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