Men UConn and the 2022 MLB Draft

[Skiblets]

The lack of any news on Stock is most perplexing

 

[businesslawyer]

General rule of thumb. None of the players mentioned above have used up all their college eligibility. None of the players are in the transfer portal, they are all playing summer ball, they were not drafted, or yet been signed to go pro as a free agent. Also, I believe Kirby, Huber, Smith, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in UConn baseball tweets in terms of playing summer ball. All these are signs to me that these players will probably be returning for another season of UConn baseball.

By the way, another veteran UConn player T.C. Simmons also fits in with all of the above as well.

So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.

 

[dbmill]

So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.

Yes, it seems that UConn baseball starting pitching is often the backbone of the team every season. They certainly have big shoes to fill after losing their 3 weekend starters. Assuming he is healthy, as we have discussed before, I would think Ian Cooke will be in the weekend starting rotation. I'm inclined to think it was decided to rest Cooke's arm rather then have him play summer ball this summer. Along with Justin Willis, Devin Kirby, and Garrett Coe, UConn has several players who were freshmen last season who could fill various roles as well. I agree with you at this point that Coe could very well end up as a starter as well, at the very least he will get plenty of pitching time either as a starter or reliever. It is also pretty apparent that UConn has been pretty active in picking up transfers, so it is certainly possible that transfer pitchers could end up in the starting rotation as well. As for returning pitchers, it will be interesting what roles Afthim and Sullivan among others end up filling next season.

 

[huskymedic]

He has a rundown off all the other conferences in his thread:

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

The lack of any news on Stock is most perplexing

Well, Erik Stock wasn't taken in the draft, which is certainly a surprise to followers of UConn baseball. In terms of numbers of UConn players being taken, it is kind of hard to get used to the MLB draft having been 40 rounds a few years ago, and now it has shrunk down to 20 rounds. Also, makes you kind of wonder what MLB clubs are looking for in players in terms of their draft picks. Stock was definitely a well rounded player in his college days at UConn. I suspect that MLB clubs are looking players with big power potential among other things, and perhaps they didn't think Stock had the big power potential that they might be looking for. Which is too bad, as Stock looked like such a well rounded hitter with power and player while he was at UConn. Whatever the case, Stock not being picked is a head scratcher. The only other thing that I can think of is that Stock just completed his 5th season in college ball (including the shortened 2020 Covid season), and it is just possible that MLB teams might have been focusing more on players who were a year or two younger, thinking they had more room to grow. That is my speculation on this subject.

 

[dbmill]

So that means we might still return 5 of our 9 regular position players: Huber, Smith, Padilla, Morton and Simmons, while we know we're losing the other 4 (Donlon, Dana, Stock and Bushling). That wouldn't be bad at all, but losing our three weekend starters -- which was the heart and soul of this year's team -- will be more of a challenge.

In addition to the 5 regular position players that are mentioned above, two other players from last season's UConn roster would seem to have a good chance to play regularly next season. Kevin Ferrer, assuming he gets admitted into UConn grad school and that he stays healthy for a change, and Matt Garbowski at catcher, assuming he is healthy as well (he did have shoulder/arm problems last season). Other possible catchers for next season are Ryan Hyde (who is playing well so far with Norwich of the Futures League), and incoming freshman catcher Levi McAllister. It would seem likely that at least two players new to the team next season will be regulars in the lineup as well.

 

[HCCForever]

In addition to the 5 regular position players that are mentioned above, two other players from last season's UConn roster would seem to have a good chance to play regularly next season. Kevin Ferrer, assuming he gets admitted into UConn grad school and that he stays healthy for a change, and Matt Garbowski at catcher, assuming he is healthy as well (he did have shoulder/arm problems last season). Other possible catchers for next season are Ryan Hyde (who is playing well so far with Norwich of the Futures League), and incoming freshman catcher Levi McAllister. It would seem likely that at least two players new to the team next season will be regulars in the lineup as well.

I will miss Donlon's gun for an arm. Do any of these catchers have a great arm?

 

[CtBaseball]

I will miss Donlon's gun for an arm. Do any of these catchers have a great arm?

Fwiw Levi McAllister is a very highly rated high school prospect. Wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a good amount of playing time.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

 

[huskymedic]

-> Donlan calls himself just as much of a UConn Huskies fan as he is a fan of the Red Sox. He was a part of teams that won Big East regular season and postseason titles.

"It was the best decision I've ever made," Donlan said of transferring to UConn. "As much as it helps develop guys to get the next level and win a ton of baseball games... the culture we built and the friends and relationships I made there, they were really awesome. It was everything I dreamed of it being." <-

 

[dbmill]

General rule of thumb. None of the players mentioned above have used up all their college eligibility. None of the players are in the transfer portal, they are all playing summer ball, they were not drafted, or yet been signed to go pro as a free agent. Also, I believe Kirby, Huber, Smith, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in UConn baseball tweets in terms of playing summer ball. All these are signs to me that these players will probably be returning for another season of UConn baseball.

By the way, another veteran UConn player T.C. Simmons also fits in with all of the above as well.

Redshirt freshman RHP Mitchell Pascarella is listed in the D1Baseball.com transfer portal, but given the other stuff mentioned above, I'm guessing he may be back at UConn in the fall. He was mentioned in a UConn Baseball tweet not too long ago as one of the UConn players in the NECBL playing summer ball. I have the idea that UConn baseball is not going to mention players in their tweets about summer ball if it is likely that they won't be back in Storrs in the fall.

 

[huskymedic]

Pat Gallagher signed:

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[businesslawyer]

So this is what most of us thought and hoped. He had an agent who said it would put more pressure on whomever drafted him if he said he was moving to the SEC, so he did. My guess is he never had any intention whatsoever of suiting up there. Very strange play but no skin off our back and I'm guessing Penders was aware of this from the get go.

Good luck to Reggie. By all accounts, he's a good young man.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]