Best Regular Season

[NoVaJack]

Not to jinx anything here but by winning top seed in Summit, baseball has had by far the best regular season of any sport this academic year, especially when you add in the three-game sweep of the Big 10 champs and the win over Arkansas. It's hard to underestimate how much this team has accomplished, especially when it had to play the first umpteen games on the road... Really remarkable.

[jackmd]

Re: Best Regular Season

Not to jinx anything here but by winning top seed in Summit, baseball has had by far the best regular season of any sport this academic year, especially when you add in the three-game sweep of the Big 10 champs and the win over Arkansas. It's hard to underestimate how much this team has accomplished, especially when it had to play the first umpteen games on the road... Really remarkable.

Yep. Gophs win Big 10 title. SDSU swept Gophs. Therefore, SDSU would win the Big 10 if we competed in the conference. (I know I've seen this kind of logic used here before)

[Theee Catrabbit]

Re: Best Regular Season

Yep. Gophs win Big 10 title. SDSU swept Gophs. Therefore, SDSU would win the Big 10 if we competed in the conference. (I know I've seen this kind of logic used here before)

Great season...so far. Now close the deal.
Yes it's best to avoid that type of logic. We all know it's fun, when it benefits us. We also know we don't like it when it goes against us!

The great thing is a pretty good seed is possible when the Jacks make the Tournament based off of those Non-conf. wins I would think. But hey we've been snubbed before......and before.....and before....and before.

[Hammersmith]

Re: Best Regular Season

Great season...so far. Now close the deal.
Yes it's best to avoid that type of logic. We all know it's fun, when it benefits us. We also know we don't like it when it goes against us!

The great thing is a pretty good seed is possible when the Jacks make the Tournament based off of those Non-conf. wins I would think. But hey we've been snubbed before......and before.....and before....and before.

Just remember that only the top 16 teams are seeded; the rest are assigned by geography. Being it's your first time in the DI tourney(if you win the Summit tourney), they will probably match you up first with the seeded team in the regional. If you happen to be placed in the same regional as the overall 1 seed and play them in the first game, it doesn't mean you are the 64 seed, just that you're the lowest team of the four in that particular bracket.

Good luck next week. With the Bison out of it, I'm rooting for a double Dakota sweep of baseball/softball. (NDSU softball got eliminated last night in their NCAA regional by Nebraska.)

[Chains]

Re: Best Regular Season

Not to jinx anything here but by winning top seed in Summit, baseball has had by far the best regular season of any sport this academic year, especially when you add in the three-game sweep of the Big 10 champs and the win over Arkansas. It's hard to underestimate how much this team has accomplished, especially when it had to play the first umpteen games on the road... Really remarkable.

A terrific season. I also don't want to jink them or think ahead to far. But, this team will be even better next year. They are young accross the board. John Lee (whom we will miss) is our only everyday starter. Granted Scott Hood played a lot of second base but we appear to have a more than ample second basemen coming up in Melton. LF Hanowski JR, CF Stitz JR, 3rd base Sawyer JR, SS Cain SO, 2B Melton FR, 1st base Blake SO?, Catching Briggs SO. Our pitching staff is young with a JR, SO and 2 FR and if Somsen can come back healthy look out. Great year gentlemen and the future appears to be bright as well. Congrats to the Summit League Champs.

GBGBGJ

[NoVaJack]

Re: Best Regular Season

A terrific season. I also don't want to jink them or think ahead to far. But, this team will be even better next year. They are young accross the board. John Lee (whom we will miss) is our only everyday starter. Granted Scott Hood played a lot of second base but we appear to have a more than ample second basemen coming up in Melton. LF Hanowski JR, CF Stitz JR, 3rd base Sawyer JR, SS Cain SO, 2B Melton FR, 1st base Blake SO?, Catching Briggs SO. Our pitching staff is young with a JR, SO and 2 FR and if Somsen can come back healthy look out. Great year gentlemen and the future appears to be bright as well. Congrats to the Summit League Champs.

GBGBGJ

couldn't have said it better.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Best Regular Season

Joel Blake is a junior, but will be back, and Beau Hanowski is just a sophomore. Don't forget DHers Zach Rhodes (SO) and Daniel Telford (RFr)...as one or the other has been in the offensive lineup this season! Toss in a 6-4 lefty pitcher (who I understand is considered the #2 pitcher in Texas high school action this year) is headed our way as a freshman and I think it is safe to say he will be in the starting rotation).

Posted this elsewhere, but in case you didn't see it there:

Are there any SDSUFans.com viewers out there interested in going to Tulsa. I'm going, regardless, but would welcome a roommate. Have the room and am driving down through Kansas City and Tulsa on Wednesday...PM me if you want to find out more. GO JACKS

[SouthernJack]

Re: Best Regular Season

Not to throw cold water on this but our team success and individual success has brought some attention from the next level. There is a fairly good possibility we may lose two or three juniors to the draft this year. The scouts have been in attendance and talking to some of the players so you never know what may happen.

I would certainly wish that all of the boys have an opportunity to play professionally, but selfishly I would also like to see all the underclassmen come back next year just to see what kind of season they could put together. They could have a chance to re-write the record books again.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Best Regular Season

Not to throw cold water on this but our team success and individual success has brought some attention from the next level. There is a fairly good possibility we may lose two or three juniors to the draft this year. The scouts have been in attendance and talking to some of the players so you never know what may happen.

I would certainly wish that all of the boys have an opportunity to play professionally, but selfishly I would also like to see all the underclassmen come back next year just to see what kind of season they could put together. They could have a chance to re-write the record books again.

Definitely a possibility, and I should have included that in my post. Thanks SouthernJack for putting that cautionary warning out there. While they may be ready, I think another year in college would be good for them, and I'm hoping they see it that way too...but either way, they have my good wishes. I'll see (meet) you in Tulsa!

[Kemo]

Re: Best Regular Season

Not to throw cold water on this but our team success and individual success has brought some attention from the next level. There is a fairly good possibility we may lose two or three juniors to the draft this year. The scouts have been in attendance and talking to some of the players so you never know what may happen.

I would certainly wish that all of the boys have an opportunity to play professionally, but selfishly I would also like to see all the underclassmen come back next year just to see what kind of season they could put together. They could have a chance to re-write the record books again.

Great point about players leaving in the draft, as there is definitely a possibility of this happening.

My thoughts on players leaving early after getting drafted is that it is good for the program overall (great for recruiting), but I just hope the individual player who gets drafted as a non-senior weighs their options realistically. Baseball is different than most professional sports in that players who get drafted before their college eligibility is up don't have to sign a contract with the particular team and can elect to come back to college. Hopefully any of our player that get drafted understand their draft position and don't settle on a contract that is less beneficial than graduating from college (in the near future that is), but if they do get drafted high enough and do get that good contract, I would encourage them to go for it.

I would say right now the players with the highest chances of leaving early would be Blake Treinen and Jesse Sawyer. Treinen had scouts with radar guns looking at him on Friday and has been a hot prospect all year, while Sawyer is a power hitting third basemen, which is a very desirable type of prospect for any organization.

On a related note, I really hope senior John Lee gets drafted and gets a legitimate shot somewhere. He leads our team in batting average this season and just seems like an all-around good player.

[sdjackfan40]

Re: Best Regular Season

Great point about players leaving in the draft, as there is definitely a possibility of this happening.

My thoughts on players leaving early after getting drafted is that it is good for the program overall (great for recruiting), but I just hope the individual player who gets drafted as a non-senior weighs their options realistically. Baseball is different than most professional sports in that players who get drafted before their college eligibility is up don't have to sign a contract with the particular team and can elect to come back to college. Hopefully any of our player that get drafted understand their draft position and don't settle on a contract that is less beneficial than graduating from college (in the near future that is), but if they do get drafted high enough and do get that good contract, I would encourage them to go for it.

I would say right now the players with the highest chances of leaving early would be Blake Treinen and Jesse Sawyer. Treinen had scouts with radar guns looking at him on Friday and has been a hot prospect all year, while Sawyer is a power hitting third basemen, which is a very desirable type of prospect for any organization.

On a related note, I really hope senior John Lee gets drafted and gets a legitimate shot somewhere. He leads our team in batting average this season and just seems like an all-around good player.

I agree with u that the baseball draft is completely different then most of drafts. If the player is offered a decent amount of money as a junior it is usually a good decision to take it then. Because if a player doesn't sign as a junior, then as a senior being drafted the player has no leverage in the amount his signing bonus will be. I have seen a college senior get drafted in rounds 7-10 and only get a couple of thousand dollars, when they could have signed the year before and got a lot more then that. Another thing to think about for underclassmen is on top of the of signing bonus the player can get the team that drafts him to pay for the remaining schooling they have as well.

[SouthernJack]

Re: Best Regular Season

I think Treinan and Stitz are the two most likely draft candidates right now. Treinan has a lot of projectability with very little wear on the arm at this point. I think they see quite a bit of upside with him. Stitz has had had a great season and he has put up nationally ranked numbers that show tremendous improvement from previous seasons. Sawyer has a good chance of being drafted too, but I think the scouts wanted to see greater increases over the numbers he put up last season. I hope all three get drafted and I hope all three don't, if you know what I mean.

[sdjackfan40]

Re: Best Regular Season

I think Treinan and Stitz are the two most likely draft candidates right now. Treinan has a lot of projectability with very little wear on the arm at this point. I think they see quite a bit of upside with him. Stitz has had had a great season and he has put up nationally ranked numbers that show tremendous improvement from previous seasons. Sawyer has a good chance of being drafted too, but I think the scouts wanted to see greater increases over the numbers he put up last season. I hope all three get drafted and I hope all three don't, if you know what I mean.

I disagree with u on Sawyer and Stitz. I think Sawyer is regarding more highly by scouts then Stitz. Sawyer is more projectable then Stitz and that is what scouts look for the most when drafting a player. I think Stiitz is a good ball players, but feel Sawyer has a much better chance of getting drafted this year and possibly early enough to be presuaded to leave early.

I do agree with u on Treinan. He is a big kid with a good arm. I think he is drafted and leaves early.

[Kemo]

Re: Best Regular Season

I think Treinan and Stitz are the two most likely draft candidates right now. Treinan has a lot of projectability with very little wear on the arm at this point. I think they see quite a bit of upside with him. Stitz has had had a great season and he has put up nationally ranked numbers that show tremendous improvement from previous seasons. Sawyer has a good chance of being drafted too, but I think the scouts wanted to see greater increases over the numbers he put up last season. I hope all three get drafted and I hope all three don't, if you know what I mean.

Billy Stitz, while I don't think he will get drafted as high as Sawyer, is one of my favorite players to watch on the Jackrabbit baseball team. When he is out in center field he covers so much ground that you rarely see a ball get through left center/ right center field gaps, and he is a terror on the base paths (he scored on a tag up from second base once this year). Not to mention he is a smart hitter that takes what the pitcher gives him and doesn't try to do too much with it.

Just like sdjackfan40 said, I think Sawyer projects better as a pro prospect and has a more valued skill set, but I could definitely see Billy thrive at the professor level just as well, if not better, than anyone else on the current team.

[SouthernJack]

Re: Best Regular Season

In keeping with the title of this thread, here are a few stats that show how the team, and a couple of individual players did on the national level:

National Team Rankings:

On Base Percentage-5th
Slugging Percentage-9th
OPS- 6th (this os OBP+SLG)
Batting Average-4th
Runs Scored-4th
Hits-4th
Doubles-3rd
Runs Batted In-4th
Total Bases-5th

National Individual Rankings:

At Bats -1st (Billy Stitz)
Hits -3rd (Stitz)
Doubles -1st (Joel Blake)
Runs Batted In -5th (Eric Cain)
Earned Run Average -3rd (Trevor Vermeulen)
Appearances - 10th (Vermeulen)
Runs Allowed -2nd (Vermeulen)
Earned Runs Allowed -3rd (Vermeulen)

I don't think any other school had this many top 10 stats.

A lot to be proud of from this team and a lot to look forward to next year.