Men - UConn Fall Ball 2023 | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Men UConn Fall Ball 2023

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Trip Report
1) Great crowd on hand. Was stunned. Better crowd than they get during the week in the spring and it rivaled Friday night crowds in May. Good to see.
2) I arrived late but saw Coe give up the 2nd homer.
3) SQuigs came in for 2 after Coe's 2. Hitting 93 on the gun consistently and sprinkling in 94s. Avery Point was overmatched they weren't used to seeing that type of velocity. He threw well and with confidence. A positive. Pole position for Friday night starter IMO.
4) Cookie came on after and was hitting 93 on the gun. Looked good. Made a great fielding play off the mound. Happy with his stint.
5) The starting lineup was what I thought with the following exceptions: Padilla at 3B and Kron in CF. Malcom DH'd. I didn't see Luke.
6) Avery Point struggled mightily with pop ups perhaps aren't used to playing under the lights. They gave several outs away. Malcom made them pay with a triple to right center. For a catcher he has wheels. Can see why he stole bases at ECSU.
7) Noticed infielders using wristbands and looking at them b4 every pitch. Maybe they were doing this last year but much more pronounced tonight. Thought I was at a college softball game. Not my thing but I'm old school. Haha
8) Minick came on at 3B for Padilla as the rest of IF was kept intact. My hunch is Bry will be on a short leash and must produce with the bat, especially at 3B where you need to get major offense out of that position. Minick hit a bomb that went on the roof of the PC in left. Very interesting prospect. If he doesn't get a lot of playing time this year I hope he sticks around. Intriguing. Could get real playing time this year.
9) Offensively I'm a bit concerned with Daniels. He had a sac fly RBI which was a nice AB but I'd like to see him drive the ball more to the right side of the park. Maybe my expectations are too high. Still plays a great 2B. Just want to see that bat come alive. Same ABs with him over and over. He should eat that pitching up tonight.
10) 2nd point on the offense: appears to be a more station-to-station offense augmented by the running game. Again it's September but will have to mfg runs more than last year. Garbo hit 5th tonight so offense WIP and the runs scored tonight aren't a measuring stick.
11) It's early and I'm fully aware of that, but still need to determine where the leadership will come from. Last year you knew it was Ben and Smitty. Now it's a bit rudderless and less defined. Korey and Bry would be possibilities but they seem more reserved as compared to say, a Smitty who had that outward fire. Will be interesting who is/are named captain(s). Leadership needs to emerge.
12) Didn't stay for the full game as it was getting cold (high 50s) and AP play deteriorated although they weren't much worse than if Niagra showed up.
13) LIU should be a bit more interesting. Not a good team, however, they are D1.
 
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TC Simmons is the only UConn position player who did not get any playing time tonight. I was also at a UConn inter squad scrimmage last week and Simmons did not get any playing time that day either. I'm guessing that he may have an injury, but I do not know for sure.
 
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Trip Report
1) Great crowd on hand. Was stunned. Better crowd than they get during the week in the spring and it rivaled Friday night crowds in May. Good to see.
2) I arrived late but saw Coe give up the 2nd homer.
3) SQuigs came in for 2 after Coe's 2. Hitting 93 on the gun consistently and sprinkling in 94s. Avery Point was overmatched they weren't used to seeing that type of velocity. He threw well and with confidence. A positive. Pole position for Friday night starter IMO.
4) Cookie came on after and was hitting 93 on the gun. Looked good. Made a great fielding play off the mound. Happy with his stint.
5) The starting lineup was what I thought with the following exceptions: Padilla at 3B and Kron in CF. Malcom DH'd. I didn't see Luke.
6) Avery Point struggled mightily with pop ups perhaps aren't used to playing under the lights. They gave several outs away. Malcom made them pay with a triple to right center. For a catcher he has wheels. Can see why he stole bases at ECSU.
7) Noticed infielders using wristbands and looking at them b4 every pitch. Maybe they were doing this last year but much more pronounced tonight. Thought I was at a college softball game. Not my thing but I'm old school. Haha
8) Minick came on at 3B for Padilla as the rest of IF was kept intact. My hunch is Bry will be on a short leash and must produce with the bat, especially at 3B where you need to get major offense out of that position. Minick hit a bomb that went on the roof of the PC in left. Very interesting prospect. If he doesn't get a lot of playing time this year I hope he sticks around. Intriguing. Could get real playing time this year.
9) Offensively I'm a bit concerned with Daniels. He had a sac fly RBI which was a nice AB but I'd like to see him drive the ball more to the right side of the park. Maybe my expectations are too high. Still plays a great 2B. Just want to see that bat come alive. Same ABs with him over and over. He should eat that pitching up tonight.
10) 2nd point on the offense: appears to be a more station-to-station offense augmented by the running game. Again it's September but will have to mfg runs more than last year. Garbo hit 5th tonight so offense WIP and the runs scored tonight aren't a measuring stick.
11) It's early and I'm fully aware of that, but still need to determine where the leadership will come from. Last year you knew it was Ben and Smitty. Now it's a bit rudderless and less defined. Korey and Bry would be possibilities but they seem more reserved as compared to say, a Smitty who had that outward fire. Will be interesting who is/are named captain(s). Leadership needs to emerge.
12) Didn't stay for the full game as it was getting cold (high 50s) and AP play deteriorated although they weren't much worse than if Niagra showed up.
13) LIU should be a bit more interesting. Not a good team, however, they are D1.
LIU was pretty good last year. They were 37-21 and made the NCAA tournament. Amongst others they had wins against Northeastern and St John’s.
 
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LIU was pretty good last year. They were 37-21 and made the NCAA tournament. Amongst others they had wins against Northeastern and St John’s.
They were 19-36 and uconn canceled the game last year for RPI purposes, no?
 
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UConn starting pitcher in exhibition game against Avery Point is Garrett Coe.
Coe gave up 2 homers in his 2 innings that he pitched. S. Quigley and Cooke looked good, each pitching 2 scoreless innings after Coe came out.

Quigley Cooke Coe. Safe to assume that’s the weekend rotation as of sept…I agree Coe’s usage will most likely be based on need in relation to where the staff’s at as a whole. It may be long relief, but knowing what ur getting w Coe is very valuable especially penciling him in every weekend. We’ll see, good problem to have though.

Abbadessa hitting 96?? If that’s accurate, that type of velocity increase can really open up some options. In my opinion, those type of arms are invaluable in ncaa baseball, especially tournament time.
 
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Quigley Cooke Coe. Safe to assume that’s the weekend rotation as of sept…I agree Coe’s usage will most likely be based on need in relation to where the staff’s at as a whole. It may be long relief, but knowing what ur getting w Coe is very valuable especially penciling him in every weekend. We’ll see, good problem to have though.

Abbadessa hitting 96?? If that’s accurate, that type of velocity increase can really open up some options. In my opinion, those type of arms are invaluable in ncaa baseball, especially tournament time.
Safe to assume that. If it is in fact Coe, Squigs, and Cookie, Coe provides a nice change of pace in that weekend rotation (softer thrower AND a lefty). So I like this trio and am comfortable with it ASSUMING Cookie stays healthy. If these guys can execute, the long relief stints that were needed last year (starters couldn't get out of the 3rd inning) will be reduced. On the back end, you have Abbadessa, Afthim, Van Enom (who I need to see), Sully, etc etc. My point is that the pitching has a real shot to be materially better than last year. Has to come together though. LIU I'm looking forward to. Last night AP play deteriorated to the point the game got out of control. That won't happen with LIU. Results will matter more.
 
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Couldn’t agree more…pitching pitching pitching. Cooke in the rotation and Sullivan in relief or mid week starter would be my questions based on health n effectiveness. It does appear some high end arms are on the roster, and I say that w/out any insight into all the new players/pitchers. Is Aftim the closer as of today?
 
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Couldn’t agree more…pitching pitching pitching. Cooke in the rotation and Sullivan in relief or mid week starter would be my questions based on health n effectiveness. It does appear some high end arms are on the roster, and I say that w/out any insight into all the new players/pitchers. Is Aftim the closer as of today?
Ellison is just coming back from a sore/tired arm but he will push for a starting spot when healthy. Braden Quinn was outstanding last night too.
 
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TC Simmons is the only UConn position player who did not get any playing time tonight. I was also at a UConn inter squad scrimmage last week and Simmons did not get any playing time that day either. I'm guessing that he may have an injury, but I do not know for sure.
Broadhurst played first for a while but didn't hit. Must be nursing something?
 
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Ellison is just coming back from a sore/tired arm but he will push for a starting spot when healthy. Braden Quinn was outstanding last night too.
2 more of the arms, yes. Any thoughts on moving Cooke to the back end of pen instead of a rotation guy? Especially prior to the postseason. I know health is the main question in relation to Cooke, but I’m wondering if the thought of maybe seeing if closer/setup/long relief in important series or tournaments is being thrown around sorta speak
 
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Ellison is just coming back from a sore/tired arm but he will push for a starting spot when healthy. Braden Quinn was outstanding last night too.

I was about to mention Quinn. His inning last night was a nice continuation of his excellent summer pitching for Danbury of the NECBL. Really looking forward to see how does this fall and into the spring season.

Last year during the exhibition season, starting pitchers would go about 2 innings, and frequently get relieved by another starting pitcher candidate. This certainly happened last night.

Coming into this season, Coe, S. Quigley, and Cooke (assuming all are healthy) would certainly be the top returning candidates on the team for weekend starting spots. Until other players show enough to challenge for a weekend starting spot, have to think at this stage of things those three pitchers are the leading candidates (even though I have mentioned how much I like Coe coming out of the bullpen in long relief stints). I have to think that if Quinn continues pitching as he did during the summer and last night, it is very possible he could provide a challenge for taking over a weekend starting spot.

I've mentioned this before in these threads, but I'm guessing last season that while physically Ian Cooke had recovered from various injuries he had suffered previously, his pitching ability had not recovered from those injuries. Last fall season, Cooke was not available to pitch at all at the beginning of fall ball. Well, now it is a new season, and very possible that Cooke's pitching ability has also finally recovered. We'll have to see how things go with him as this fall ball season continues.
 
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Couldn’t agree more…pitching pitching pitching. Cooke in the rotation and Sullivan in relief or mid week starter would be my questions based on health n effectiveness. It does appear some high end arms are on the roster, and I say that w/out any insight into all the new players/pitchers. Is Aftim the closer as of today?

At this point it would look like Afthim is the leading candidate to be the closer out of the bullpen. Not surprised with that considering how good he was last season. Just have to see how things develop as the fall ball season continues, as the coaching staff gets to look at all the new pitchers on the team. They got plenty of arms to look at.
 
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Yea Quinn getting an honest look as a weekend starter, I hadn’t considered w/out injury or ineffectiveness but he may get that opportunity. Again, even though it’s sept. It’s a good problem when you can legitimately give consideration to 3-4 guys for Sunday starter. That’s encouraging as a program
 
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Yea Quinn getting an honest look as a weekend starter, I hadn’t considered w/out injury or ineffectiveness but he may get that opportunity. Again, even though it’s sept. It’s a good problem when you can legitimately give consideration to 3-4 guys for Sunday starter. That’s encouraging as a program

Every season the coaching staff will extend a bunch of pitchers, basically putting them into training as possible starters. Quinn was one of those guys last preseason who got extended for possible use as a starter, but due to his poor season with UConn last year he got very few starts. Quinn was used as a starter with Danbury last summer, so it would seem very likely that he will get another look as a possible starter this fall ball and the coming preseason.
 
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I think you are right. My bad.

Yeah, it was probably due to LIU making the NCAA Tournament in 2022 that LIU ended up on the UConn schedule in the 2023 season.
 
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Another thought after watching the exhibition game last night. It's hard to make a judgement based on just one game, but it could be that this team could have plenty of quality depth among its position players. A lot of players looked solid last night.
 
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Have any 24’ schedule opponents been released (namely out of conf)? UConn seems to be a scheduling conundrum…too good or a serious threat to win a series home/away against big 12/sec but yet, not worth the risk from their (opponents) perspective. I hope that makes sense in terms of scheduling. The big east is the concern when it comes to seeding. Last seasons draw was brutal. In my opinion, the weaker big east conf allowed for the 2 seed to be justified. I’m not sure how that can guarded against aside thru scheduling some Big. 12/SEC reg season opponents. I have no idea of the obstacles, realities, etc re scheduling, but they’ve proven they can play with everybody, a fair shot at hosting a regional every year without needing 50 wins and some luck to get it. I’ve been following the baseball program for approx 7 years and every year it seems im rooting for an ACC or PAC 12 draw. Stay outta Texas and Florida until the supers seems to work lol
 
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Have any 24’ schedule opponents been released (namely out of conf)? UConn seems to be a scheduling conundrum…too good or a serious threat to win a series home/away against big 12/sec but yet, not worth the risk from their (opponents) perspective. I hope that makes sense in terms of scheduling. The big east is the concern when it comes to seeding. Last seasons draw was brutal. In my opinion, the weaker big east conf allowed for the 2 seed to be justified. I’m not sure how that can guarded against aside thru scheduling some Big. 12/SEC reg season opponents. I have no idea of the obstacles, realities, etc re scheduling, but they’ve proven they can play with everybody, a fair shot at hosting a regional every year without needing 50 wins and some luck to get it. I’ve been following the baseball program for approx 7 years and every year it seems im rooting for an ACC or PAC 12 draw. Stay outta Texas and Florida until the supers seems to work lol
I'll add my points and I'm sure others will jump in:
1) Re: 2024 OOC opponents I'm not privy but the only ones I've heard is Vanderbilt at Dodger Stadium (if true and if I'm available I will attend) and I believe they will have to go to Rutgers with Rutgers coming here last year (i believe it was a home and home)
2) Re: scheduling - There's the quantity approach vs. the quality approach. In recent years it's drifted towards quantity as opposed to say 2019, which was based on quality (have a peek the schedule was brutal).
3) Is this an intentional move by Penders or is it being more forced as you raise in your post? I have no clue.
4) My opinion doesn't matter but I'd like to see the OOC schedule be a bit tougher but it is what it is it's not my choice. Also timing matters when you schedule way in advance. Some opponents may have slipped etc.
5) I did look at open 2024 scheduling dates where teams are looking for games. I did not see Uconn on the list.
 

uconnbaseball

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We are playing at USF, Auburn, and Rutgers in 2024. Vandy is 2025. Not sure who else is lined up yet.
 
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Can't say with absolute certainty, but I think UConn baseball may have another west coast spring break trip coming up this spring.
 
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All helpful info tnx. Vandy Auburn USF are all nice series. Those are the RPI series that can make a difference. Rutgers is as well ( talk about being left out). Are any of these series home/home? Getting an SEC team up here in April or May could go a long ways. Especially recruiting/portal. I’m surprised and excited to hear about these future opponents.
 
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All helpful info tnx. Vandy Auburn USF are all nice series. Those are the RPI series that can make a difference. Rutgers is as well ( talk about being left out). Are any of these series home/home? Getting an SEC team up here in April or May could go a long ways. Especially recruiting/portal. I’m surprised and excited to hear about these future opponents.
I don't want to make scheduling too complex but there is also a financial impact that is evaluated (Penders/program has a budget and a LT strategic plan as well) and guarantees for traveling on the road (if any) aren't all constructed the same way. My point is a lot of factors go into it. For example, hell will freeze over before a Florida or Tennessee or LSU etc do a home and home and come up here. Not happening. They're extremely selective. Take Tennessee. They'll go to Arizona or Cali early in Feb then other than SEC series will not go on road OOC. They don't need to. 2024 schedule will be out in a month so we'll see the approach. Hopefully 2 with BC, wouldn't mind 2 with Northeastern and as @uconnbaseball said you'll get a Rutgers series, Auburn and USF, etc.
 

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