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2024 Texas Baseball


Hookem2147

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So we probably have a return to Houston for the 2024 Houston College classic.  I'm guessing we don't go to San Jose State/Indiana/Manhattan for an away series.  

I'm curious where Texas will get sent for the last year in the Big12.    Utah, Cougar High, Florida, or Ohio for a baseball roadkilltrip anyone?



 

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I liked Minchey. Thought he had some upside and would have liked to see him return. But as people have pointed out earlier in this thread, developmental projects that require multiple years are going to become less and less of a thing in the portal era. They couldn't even throw Minchey in a game the first 2 months of the season because of how wild he was. He got better, but the command issues were still glaring. 

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34 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

 

 

29 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

well shitburgers

Yep

26 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

I liked Minchey. Thought he had some upside and would have liked to see him return. But as people have pointed out earlier in this thread, developmental projects that require multiple years are going to become less and less of a thing in the portal era. They couldn't even throw Minchey in a game the first 2 months of the season because of how wild he was. He got better, but the command issues were still glaring. 

I liked him also and that is surprising that he is leaving. Have to question that decision. Did he expect more playing time or a bigger role? He had to know that he was a project ( only select ball experience as he was homeschooled).

You're right about the control issues...12 innings total with 9 walks and 5 hit by pitch.

We move forward and good luck to him.

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5 minutes ago, BillyGoatHill said:

 

Yep

I liked him also and that is surprising that he is leaving. Have to question that decision. Did he expect more playing time or a bigger role? He had to know that he was a project ( only select ball experience as he was homeschooled).

You're right about the control issues...12 innings total with 9 walks and 5 hit by pitch.

We move forward and good luck to him.

Could be about having a bigger role. Guys like him are starters at jucos where they get a lot more reps (and better scholarships. Jucos give full rides). I don’t know what role he was destined for here next year but it was no better than a midweek starter or middle relief. As a matter of fact, I believe he was committed to Blinn before Texas snagged him late. 

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1 hour ago, petscii said:

So we probably have a return to Houston for the 2024 Houston College classic.  I'm guessing we don't go to San Jose State/Indiana/Manhattan for an away series.  

I'm curious where Texas will get sent for the last year in the Big12.    Utah, Cougar High, Florida, or Ohio for a baseball roadkilltrip anyone?



 

Just my 2 cents. Utah could possibly be a cool (no pun) spot to watch some ball. Souther Ohio and Cincinnati ? That maybe an early trip for them here due to the colder weather up there. Florida (Orlando) is just like a giant theme park ( and with Disney there, kinda reinforces that). Houston is OK with the College Classic but just to see UH? No for me. Oh, I chuckled at your reference with using Cougar High. Just be ready,  I did the same it the Palo Alto thread and a Surly Karen found offense to it as 2/3 of our coaching staff went to school there, Pierce and Woody. Whatever 🤷‍♂️.

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It could be anything and totally different from player to player.

Ultimately I think most guys that want to play will want more opportunities. Damn near all of them want them tomorrow and not two years from now. And baseball is hard game that’s difficult to improve without consistent playing time. Add in that you really have a small window to make your mark.

For Minchey personally, I did not like that he started OU. But I also didn’t like that it was a one and done chance after that choice was made. Then you compare to the more experienced but accomplished Witt who got half a dozen starts but only fared well once. 12 innings and one big time start opportunity was not a chance - lots of pressure. If you start a guy versus OU, you gotta give other chances even if that’s a San Jose or lesser team. It’s like shitting on Kash for his 23 ABs. It’s a small miracle if that works out well.

I wish him well. Disappointed he’s in the portal but understand as to why that’d be his choice.

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Disappointing to lose Minchey, he was one of our brightest young pitchers. I would hope they could have pitched him on the upside of growing his role a lot. Don’t see why he wouldn’t be in play for a weekday starter or 40IP+ reliever role. That should be seriously attractive at a program like Texas. How do you not point to Gordon and LBJ, who hardly did anything Y1, and say “you could be them?” Maybe guys just want the promise, idk.

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5 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

It could be anything and totally different from player to player.

Ultimately I think most guys that want to play will want more opportunities. Damn near all of them want them tomorrow and not two years from now. And baseball is hard game that’s difficult to improve without consistent playing time. Add in that you really have a small window to make your mark.

For Minchey personally, I did not like that he started OU. But I also didn’t like that it was a one and done chance after that choice was made. Then you compare to the more experienced but accomplished Witt who got half a dozen starts but only fared well once. 12 innings and one big time start opportunity was not a chance - lots of pressure. If you start a guy versus OU, you gotta give other chances even if that’s a San Jose or lesser team. It’s like shitting on Kash for his 23 ABs. It’s a small miracle if that works out well.

I wish him well. Disappointed he’s in the portal but understand as to why that’d be his choice.

Minchey had 5 more appearances after the OU start. His final appearance was when we tried to bring him in to close out the title against WVU and he threw 4 of the wildest pitches I’ve ever seen before being justifiably pulled.

He was a late flier take from the homeschool ranks. Like with most kids who play at Texas, he has upside but if he isn’t willing to stay on the appropriate developmental timeline then that’s his own fault (not saying that is what happened here, just speaking more to his situation).

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6 minutes ago, Spaceman_Spiff said:

Disappointing to lose Minchey, he was one of our brightest young pitchers. I would hope they could have pitched him on the upside of growing his role a lot. Don’t see why he wouldn’t be in play for a weekday starter or 40IP+ reliever role. That should be seriously attractive at a program like Texas. How do you not point to Gordon and LBJ, who hardly did anything Y1, and say “you could be them?” Maybe guys just want the promise, idk.

He could have certainly been that if he went out and earned it, but the coaches would be dumb to pencil him in for that role headed into the offseason with so much unknown about him. You recruit and manage the roster like you are expecting very little from a guy like Minchey in year 2 and then if he surprises that is a bonus.

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Minchey had 5 more appearances after the OU start. His final appearance was when we tried to bring him in to close out the title against WVU and he threw 4 of the wildest pitches I’ve ever seen before being justifiably pulled.
He was a late flier take from the homeschool ranks. Like with most kids who play at Texas, he has upside but if he isn’t willing to stay on the appropriate developmental timeline then that’s his own fault (not saying that is what happened here, just speaking more to his situation).

5 more appearances but no more starts. 12 total innings. Getting another start versus mop up duty are not the same.

Maybe he wanted guarantees of time; maybe he didn’t. Maybe he liked the instruction given; maybe he did not. Maybe he likes the school; maybe he doesn’t. No idea on what was communicated about his opportunity for this year.

I know none of that so any thought I’d throw out would be speculative. But I would say that “hey here’s a start but don’t screw it up or you won’t get another one, well, maybe next year” is not a positive from the player’s perspective.
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Is next year more of a “rebuilding” year than this year?

Personally, I’m not certain you won’t be rebuilding every year. That’s a matter of timing, roster management and probably luck. Really, in my opinion, filling the roster with experienced transfers isn’t rebuilding.

Obviously, we do not know the fallout of transfers and draftees for sometime.

We only brought back 3 position players with good experience. I’d probably add Jack O to that as a 3rd year player. But Gordon, LBJ, Sthele, Morehouse and Harrison was a solid group of years experience and potential.

The difference next year and perhaps the offset to that is NIL. Historically, Gordon, Brown, GG, Morehouse, Hurley are likely gone. Maybe they stick. I’d assume Campbell, EK and LBJ are gone. Three guys that logged a few innings - Burke, Stuart and Minchey are gone.

Seems the general thought is we bring back - Thomas, Jack O and Flores with Galvan logging a little time.

On the pitching side, we’ve got Sthele and bullpen guys. Maybe Whitehead can leap to starter.

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I think on paper we returned more this year. But we also had a much weaker core with basically no freshmen to build off of. This year was such a success because we struck gold (again) in the portal. Next year, we return less but feels like we’ll have a little bit more of a young core to build on. Target is about the same, and probably anticipating a bit of regression because so much aligned. But Pierce has been masterful in the portal so far, so we’ll see.

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2 hours ago, Had Enough said:

Is next year more of a “rebuilding” year than this year?

Personally, I’m not certain you won’t be rebuilding every year. That’s a matter of timing, roster management and probably luck. Really, in my opinion, filling the roster with experienced transfers isn’t rebuilding.

Obviously, we do not know the fallout of transfers and draftees for sometime.

We only brought back 3 position players with good experience. I’d probably add Jack O to that as a 3rd year player. But Gordon, LBJ, Sthele, Morehouse and Harrison was a solid group of years experience and potential.

The difference next year and perhaps the offset to that is NIL. Historically, Gordon, Brown, GG, Morehouse, Hurley are likely gone. Maybe they stick. I’d assume Campbell, EK and LBJ are gone. Three guys that logged a few innings - Burke, Stuart and Minchey are gone.

Seems the general thought is we bring back - Thomas, Jack O and Flores with Galvan logging a little time.

On the pitching side, we’ve got Sthele and bullpen guys. Maybe Whitehead can leap to starter.

I definitely think this team is set to lose more on the pitching side than last year but maybe return a tad more on the hitting side (would say that for sure if Powell and/or Brown return).

You are right that rebuilding the roster with experienced transfers isn’t really “rebuilding”. At some point we are going to need to get some home grown starting pitching back in the pipeline.

I think it would be big for the floor of the pitching staff if Tole and Sthele returned and Shaw was healthy by beginning of next season. Combine that with the return of Harrison and all of a sudden the pen doesn’t seem to be in dire of a place. Again, lots of moving pieces and a lot of it probably won’t be clear til a month from now after the draft.

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16 minutes ago, Spaceman_Spiff said:

I think on paper we returned more this year. But we also had a much weaker core with basically no freshmen to build off of. This year was such a success because we struck gold (again) in the portal. Next year, we return less but feels like we’ll have a little bit more of a young core to build on. Target is about the same, and probably anticipating a bit of regression because so much aligned. But Pierce has been masterful in the portal so far, so we’ll see.

100%. This freshman group of hitters we have is better than anything we had returning last year.

Woody Williams doesn’t make it rain on the recruiting trail and while Pierce is involved in recruiting, he is far from a relentless recruiter, which is a tad concerning because those are the two main guys involved on the pitching side. There are head coaches we go up against who are heavily involved in individual recruitments. Pierce and Woody are going to have to lean on Rodriguez and Longley to get some guys on the hook for them.

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Boo? To an upperclassman that can’t hit his weight? 
 

Pierce has a recruiting issue. The guy flat out understands how to coach the game and teach. I’m a fan without question, can he address the recruiting issue? The latest hires are fairly mediocre.

Can we please start a petition that coaches don’t need to wear uniforms?

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39 minutes ago, Revolution512 said:

Boo? To an upperclassman that can’t hit his weight? 
 

Pierce has a recruiting issue. The guy flat out understands how to coach the game and teach. I’m a fan without question, can he address the recruiting issue? The latest hires are fairly mediocre.

Can we please start a petition that coaches don’t need to wear uniforms?

Steve Rodriguez and Woody Williams are mediocre??

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Unlike damn near most, I’m sorry to see Daly go. That’s just me but when everyone is dogpiling on a dude, my hope is they play to their abilities rather than continue to not play well.

I had wondered if he graduated. If not and he’s forced out, then the student-athlete part is officially done. 3 year starter. Played strong to solid defense at two positions. Finished this season reasonably well the last three weeks.

But from here on out, guys like him and even Jack O. Actually go down the list - Flores, Galvan, JD. You can find guys in the portal that do or possibly might have greater upside. You can certainly find guys that produced more. It’ll be interesting to see if there are fewer seasons like Powell’s or Rios from Stanford. Guys that stay buried on the depth chart because teams hit the portal.

Texas will be well positioned in this era, but I can see where development and coaching is less important as more guys come in who have already developed.

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7 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Unlike damn near most, I’m sorry to see Daly go. That’s just me but when everyone is dogpiling on a dude, my hope is they play to their abilities rather than continue to not play well.

I had wondered if he graduated. If not and he’s forced out, then the student-athlete part is officially done. 3 year starter. Played strong to solid defense at two positions. Finished this season reasonably well the last three weeks.

But from here on out, guys like him and even Jack O. Actually go down the list - Flores, Galvan, JD. You can find guys in the portal that do or possibly might have greater upside. You can certainly find guys that produced more. It’ll be interesting to see if there are fewer seasons like Powell’s or Rios from Stanford. Guys that stay buried on the depth chart because teams hit the portal.

Texas will be well positioned in this era, but I can see where development and coaching is less important as more guys come in who have already developed.

It makes me sad to see him pushed out, if that is what happened.   Why did we keep Tanner Witt on the roster?  He was never going to produce like before in the remaining time on campus, shouldn't we have simply tossed him out and "portaled/NIL'ed" a hired gun?

If Daly was told that he would have to compete for a starting spot next year that's fine with me,  and I think that should be true every damn year for every player.  But there should be a roster spot for every player who plays here and plays well at points in his career, especially when you counter that we don't have that many world beaters at all our positions.

I'm fine if a kid does not want to play here, or play here anymore.  If we had a stampede of players wanting to come here that would be a harder decision to make.

If he was a  bad for team morale or whatnot then put him on the parking lot roster,  but Daly seemed to be Texas Baseball material so I'm gonna go with "Boo."

 


 

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19 minutes ago, petscii said:

It makes me sad to see him pushed out, if that is what happened.   Why did we keep Tanner Witt on the roster?  He was never going to produce like before in the remaining time on campus, shouldn't we have simply tossed him out and "portaled/NIL'ed" a hired gun?

If Daly was told that he would have to compete for a starting spot next year that's fine with me,  and I think that should be true every damn year for every player.  But there should be a roster spot for every player who plays here and plays well at points in his career, especially when you counter that we don't have that many world beaters at all our positions.

I'm fine if a kid does not want to play here, or play here anymore.  If we had a stampede of players wanting to come here that would be a harder decision to make.

If he was a  bad for team morale or whatnot then put him on the parking lot roster,  but Daly seemed to be Texas Baseball material so I'm gonna go with "Boo."

 


 

Dude, come on. It was time for both parties to move on. It’s been over 100 starts since his freshman year and it’s painfully obvious he isn’t getting back to where he was.

Comparing his situation to Witt’s is insane. The coaches would have easily pushed Daly out the door or brought in someone to take his job last year. They didn’t. They gave him the benefit of the doubt and then the same thing happened again. The kid is considered one of the leaders of the team and is well respected, but these type of decisions have to be made sometimes. 

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I’d assume Daly had a spot and would be allowed to compete. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the primary plan was for him to be on the outside looking in.

I think overall we’re just in an era in which teams will hope to upgrade. Something has to give whether that offense are unstoppable or that pitchers rule the day. Or maybe you upgrade the offense and pitching, and we all end up in a similar place.

I’ve seen enough of youth baseball/select baseball to gain an understanding of how some view it - from the player/parent side and the organization side. There just isn’t a ton of patience and loyalty. I’ve always been big on loyalty. I’ll never fully buy into how things go, but I get some of it.

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4 minutes ago, Revolution512 said:

These are not rainmakers on the recruiting trail. 

Rodriguez is way better than Woody, and Longley is probably better than both. The 3rd assistant rule being passed allowing him to go out on the road will be very helpful for Texas.

Miller also still contributes to recruiting behind the scenes. It's not an ideal setup because only 4 guys can recruit off campus including the HC and 2 of our 4 guys are average to below average, but it would hurt more if the front of our jersey's said Incarnate Word and not Texas.

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9 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Rodriguez is way better than Woody, and Longley is probably better than both. The 3rd assistant rule being passed allowing him to go out on the road will be very helpful for Texas.

Miller also still contributes to recruiting behind the scenes. It's not an ideal setup because only 4 guys can recruit off campus including the HC and 2 of our 4 guys are average to below average, but it would hurt more if the front of our jersey's said Incarnate Word and not Texas.

It might be time for Pierce to develop some back problems... 

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Tucker from WVU. 5th year since entering college. His OBP was 100 points higher than any other year, which was his freshman year. His average and slugging up over 100 points from any previous year. His 4th year in college was his worst after presumably redshirting the prior year.

EKs batting average dropped from year 1 to year 2 to year 3. Years 4/5 were lower but on par with year 1. Dalys OPS in year 3 is higher than EKs was in year 3. EKs slugging and OBP dropped in years 2/3 from year 1.

Powell and the Stanford guy did nothing in their first two years (three for Powell) presumably because they weren’t capable.

With all dudes, you need to look inside the numbers. For Daly, he had 7 homers. I don’t remember any being cheapies. He has 2 more that were about two feet from being over. Three versus KU that had the wind not been blowing in had a chance. A shot at BU that was halfway up the wall to dead center.

He had a number of good swings throughout the year but missed the pitch. Quite a few of his strikeouts were looking. Many of those were borderline strikes at best and some for damn sure weren’t. I do not think hes seeing the ball that well. Too many rolling over ground balls. He’s a pretty patient hitter. Too patient at times - see strikeouts looking. His last 18 ABs (plus 3 walks, 1 or 2 sac flys), He struck out twice. I’d contend one of those was BS.

He sat. And returns with an open stance. And he’s better. Why?

I think he has a fair amount of upside in the power and average department.

Flores seems to be the guy right. Why? Because he had 10 good ABs the whole season. It was more than that I know but not a ton. In some respects that was the worst season we’ve had in awhile.

Ultimately, we’re projecting one guy to do what he’s never done and another to not improve upon what he’s already done. It’s just a little off. I do think Flores will be good, but it’s as much hope and projection as anything.

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Flores may not be the guy. We know that Daly is not the guy. He can’t hit, regardless of the excuses we want to make for him, and he isn’t good defensively. He’s not good enough to play SS here.

Comparing EK and Daly is dumb. EK has always been a plus defender, and an elite speed player. Daly’s best attribute is he’s a good 2B. 

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28 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

Tucker from WVU. 5th year since entering college. His OBP was 100 points higher than any other year, which was his freshman year. His average and slugging up over 100 points from any previous year. His 4th year in college was his worst after presumably redshirting the prior year.

EKs batting average dropped from year 1 to year 2 to year 3. Years 4/5 were lower but on par with year 1. Dalys OPS in year 3 is higher than EKs was in year 3. EKs slugging and OBP dropped in years 2/3 from year 1.

Powell and the Stanford guy did nothing in their first two years (three for Powell) presumably because they weren’t capable.

With all dudes, you need to look inside the numbers. For Daly, he had 7 homers. I don’t remember any being cheapies. He has 2 more that were about two feet from being over. Three versus KU that had the wind not been blowing in had a chance. A shot at BU that was halfway up the wall to dead center.

He had a number of good swings throughout the year but missed the pitch. Quite a few of his strikeouts were looking. Many of those were borderline strikes at best and some for damn sure weren’t. I do not think hes seeing the ball that well. Too many rolling over ground balls. He’s a pretty patient hitter. Too patient at times - see strikeouts looking. His last 18 ABs (plus 3 walks, 1 or 2 sac flys), He struck out twice. I’d contend one of those was BS.

He sat. And returns with an open stance. And he’s better. Why?

I think he has a fair amount of upside in the power and average department.

Flores seems to be the guy right. Why? Because he had 10 good ABs the whole season. It was more than that I know but not a ton. In some respects that was the worst season we’ve had in awhile.

Ultimately, we’re projecting one guy to do what he’s never done and another to not improve upon what he’s already done. It’s just a little off. I do think Flores will be good, but it’s as much hope and projection as anything.

It was time for both sides to move on. Texas could not roll the dice again after two bad years and Daly surely wasn't going to stick around for another year as we brought in guys to replace him.

He isn't a SS. His glove isn't good enough to justify the poor bat. If he was Trey Faltine in the field then you can stick him in the 9-hole and live with it, but he isn't. 

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None of us will know because we weren’t in the room. Given how many opportunities Daly was given to turn it around, I would imagine the conversation was more of one that told Mitch they loved him but that he would have to compete for a spot next year and that there would be a very real possibility that he was a backup middle infielder. Daly going into his Senior probably didn’t want to risk that happening in his final year of college baseball. I would put it at a less than 1% chance that the staff sat Mitch down and straight told him they didn’t have a roster spot for him. 

This really isn’t that news worthy other than we are losing a good person and teammate because of the nature of competition. Wish Mitch the best.

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Flores may not be the guy. We know that Daly is not the guy. He can’t hit, regardless of the excuses we want to make for him, and he isn’t good defensively. He’s not good enough to play SS here.
Comparing EK and Daly is dumb. EK has always been a plus defender, and an elite speed player. Daly’s best attribute is he’s a good 2B. 

You’re such a little bitch.

Yes, we know Dalys not the guy became he’s essentially gone.

EK is not an elite speed player. He averages 11 steals per season. He’s not a plus defender. His arm is too weak. If he’s both of those, he’s drafted. His total package for college is great.

But in case you didn’t know those were offensive numbers I presented. And that is where people’s issue with Daly comes.
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Daly also always saw himself as a SS and expressed that. I don't think he would have ever entertained a move back to 2B.

Don't have all the details but I do not think he was on the best of terms with the coaching staff by the end of the year (understandable considering they sat down a 2.5 year starter during the most important stretch of the season).

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2 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


You’re such a little bitch.

Yes, we know Dalys not the guy became he’s essentially gone.

EK is not an elite speed player. He averages 11 steals per season. He’s not a plus defender. His arm is too weak. If he’s both of those, he’s drafted. His total package for college is great.

But in case you didn’t know those were offensive numbers I presented. And that is where people’s issue with Daly comes.

You seem angry for some reason. 


Did you really claim EK isn’t an elite speed player? I mean come on dude. And did you really claim he’s not a plus defender? What sport are you watching? EK isn’t a high draft pick because he can’t hit and strikes out 90% of his ABs against lefties. 

The issue with Daly is both offensive and defensive. He isn’t good enough on either end. He can’t hit, and he can’t defend at SS. Sorry if that hurts your feelings for some reason.

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You seem angry for some reason. 

Did you really claim EK isn’t an elite speed player? I mean come on dude. And did you really claim he’s not a plus defender? What sport are you watching? EK isn’t a high draft pick because he can’t hit and strikes out 90% of his ABs against lefties. 

The issue with Daly is both offensive and defensive. He isn’t good enough on either end. He can’t hit, and he can’t defend at SS. Sorry if that hurts your feelings for some reason.

Yes. I claimed he’s not an elite speed player. He’s damn fast. But elite guys are stealing more bases. DC for example averaged 20 the past two years. But I suppose our definition of elite is different.

His arm is not strong. Elite brings it all. Didn’t Hodo play centerfield last year? And Antico the year prior. Another indication EK is not necessarily elite. But maybe Hodo and Antico were eliter. I probably would lean towards Campbell and Antico being elite defenders.

I never said anything about high draft pick.
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