This thread will serve as both the weekend preview as well as the thread for discussion throughout the weekend.
As Kelly noted during media day three weeks ago, Cody Carwile is recovering from a knee injury, and will miss some time early this season.
Below are the announced starters for the weekend. My house has been shut down the last couple of days due to a stomach bug, and as a result I've got an appointment today that will prevent me from being in-person at Russ Chandler.
FRI: GT RHP Dawson Brown (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA RHP Tyler Chadwick (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SAT: GT RHP Logan McGuire (So., 0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA RHP Zach Maxey (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SUN: GT RHP Jackson Finley (R-So., 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA LHP Connor Oliver (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
THREE REDHAWK NAMES TO KNOW
1. P Tyler Chadwick
A JUCO transfer from Iowa Western, Chadwick will have a chance to put his imprint on the weekend immediately after being named the Friday night starter.
Chadwick, according to those that have seen him live, throws a nice fastball that can touch 95 mph with sinking action, and couples that with a slider that he has grown into a strike pitch. Similar to many of Georgia Tech's pitchers, Chadwick has struggled throwing strikes consistently in the past.
If Chadwick truly has turned the corner with his command, Friday night will be a good test for a revamped and rebuilt Georgia Tech lineup.
2. 3B Ryland Zaborowski
Zaborowski arrived in Oxford after stops at the JUCO level and Grand Canyon, where his career first began. After missing time due to injury last season at Yavapai College, he found his groove and had a dominant summer, putting together an 1.194 OPS with 9 HR in the Appalachian League.
On a team that has a good amount of new faces as well, the RedHawks are hoping Zaborowski can lock down the hot corner in 2023.
3. OF Zach MacDonald (.283/.408/.535)
MacDonald has a case for being Miami's best overall player, but with him not being eligible for the draft until 2023 he finds himself No. 3 behind two potential draft picks here.
After struggling early in his career with strikeouts, many who have seen MacDonald play this fall and spring believe he may have improved his pitch recognition to lower his nearly 30% K rate last season (55 K in 159 AB)
Getting off to a hot start will be key for MacDonald.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR GT
1. How does Dawson Brown's play as a starter?
Arguably the biggest surprise of the pre-season for Georgia Tech fans and media alike was the move of Dawson Brown from back-end reliever to Friday night starter.
Brown has relied heavily in the past on his sinker in the past, but towards the latter part of last season his command escaped him, leading to a lot of hard contact on pitches up in the zone. Going back to the fall, the coaches had raved about Brown's improved slider.
A big reason for the level of surprise at the change of Brown from reliever to starter is the fact that in the fall Brown had a minor procedure done on his knee, which led to his role for the upcoming season remaining a mystery.
With names such as Cody Carwile, Noah Samol, Luke Schmolke, Dalton Smith, Camron Hill, Terry Busse, and even Riley Stanford all waiting in the wings, the rotation could see some shifting before settling into conference play.
Defining the role for Brown is something that has to be a priority for Hall and pitching coach Danny Borrell. That task begins with an opening day start.
2. Who wins the job at 1B?
Going into media day, the competition was still taking place at positions like LF and 1B. With names in contention for the 1B job such as Anthony Dispigna, John Giesler, and Carsten Sabathia, there is no shortage of options at the position. That's without even mentioning Jackson Finley, who is set to be a two-way player in 2023.
Sabathia is the unproven name on the list, but with his raw power and makeup, he may have the highest ceiling of the trio.
Dispigna could very well find himself at LF, making the battle for 1B a two-horse race between Giesler and Sabathia.
The winner of the job will have big shoes to fill with the departure of Andrew Jenkins, who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers.
3. Has the defense actually improved?
Going back to my first season covering the baseball program, the off-season has had an element of deja vu in each season that follows the last one.
A few weeks ago, I took the time to re-watch the highlights of the Knoxville regional, which also happened to include some lights that weren't so high. Fielding mistakes and errors plagued the 2022 team. One could argue that it was defense (and poor pitching) that cost them in the game against the Vols, particularly on a ball in the OF that went over the head of the CF that shall remain nameless.
As it has been in other years recently, there was a "strong emphasis" on improving the defense going into the 2023 season. Hall has discussed it in-depth. Players did in their interviews as well.
The question remains, how much has it really improved? Jadyn Jackson has great range and is good with the glove, but his (lack of) arm strength was something that was impossible not to notice this fall.
Kristian Campbell, coming off of a hot summer both in the field and at the plate, is an unknown at this level no matter how much hype is around his name.
Compton is returning at 3B, but he was not flawless by any stretch of the imagination, and among the returning members of the lineup he's got the second lowest fielding percentage (only Jackson's .926 is lower)
The list of question marks defensively is strong. The list of answers will begin this weekend, but won't really be known for several weeks.
First pitch will be shortly after 4pm. As I mentioned in the intro, use this thread for discussion throughout the weekend.
As Kelly noted during media day three weeks ago, Cody Carwile is recovering from a knee injury, and will miss some time early this season.
Below are the announced starters for the weekend. My house has been shut down the last couple of days due to a stomach bug, and as a result I've got an appointment today that will prevent me from being in-person at Russ Chandler.
FRI: GT RHP Dawson Brown (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA RHP Tyler Chadwick (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SAT: GT RHP Logan McGuire (So., 0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA RHP Zach Maxey (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SUN: GT RHP Jackson Finley (R-So., 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. MIA LHP Connor Oliver (Jr., 0-0, 0.00 ERA)
THREE REDHAWK NAMES TO KNOW
1. P Tyler Chadwick
A JUCO transfer from Iowa Western, Chadwick will have a chance to put his imprint on the weekend immediately after being named the Friday night starter.
Chadwick, according to those that have seen him live, throws a nice fastball that can touch 95 mph with sinking action, and couples that with a slider that he has grown into a strike pitch. Similar to many of Georgia Tech's pitchers, Chadwick has struggled throwing strikes consistently in the past.
If Chadwick truly has turned the corner with his command, Friday night will be a good test for a revamped and rebuilt Georgia Tech lineup.
2. 3B Ryland Zaborowski
Zaborowski arrived in Oxford after stops at the JUCO level and Grand Canyon, where his career first began. After missing time due to injury last season at Yavapai College, he found his groove and had a dominant summer, putting together an 1.194 OPS with 9 HR in the Appalachian League.
On a team that has a good amount of new faces as well, the RedHawks are hoping Zaborowski can lock down the hot corner in 2023.
3. OF Zach MacDonald (.283/.408/.535)
MacDonald has a case for being Miami's best overall player, but with him not being eligible for the draft until 2023 he finds himself No. 3 behind two potential draft picks here.
After struggling early in his career with strikeouts, many who have seen MacDonald play this fall and spring believe he may have improved his pitch recognition to lower his nearly 30% K rate last season (55 K in 159 AB)
Getting off to a hot start will be key for MacDonald.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR GT
1. How does Dawson Brown's play as a starter?
Arguably the biggest surprise of the pre-season for Georgia Tech fans and media alike was the move of Dawson Brown from back-end reliever to Friday night starter.
Brown has relied heavily in the past on his sinker in the past, but towards the latter part of last season his command escaped him, leading to a lot of hard contact on pitches up in the zone. Going back to the fall, the coaches had raved about Brown's improved slider.
A big reason for the level of surprise at the change of Brown from reliever to starter is the fact that in the fall Brown had a minor procedure done on his knee, which led to his role for the upcoming season remaining a mystery.
With names such as Cody Carwile, Noah Samol, Luke Schmolke, Dalton Smith, Camron Hill, Terry Busse, and even Riley Stanford all waiting in the wings, the rotation could see some shifting before settling into conference play.
Defining the role for Brown is something that has to be a priority for Hall and pitching coach Danny Borrell. That task begins with an opening day start.
2. Who wins the job at 1B?
Going into media day, the competition was still taking place at positions like LF and 1B. With names in contention for the 1B job such as Anthony Dispigna, John Giesler, and Carsten Sabathia, there is no shortage of options at the position. That's without even mentioning Jackson Finley, who is set to be a two-way player in 2023.
Sabathia is the unproven name on the list, but with his raw power and makeup, he may have the highest ceiling of the trio.
Dispigna could very well find himself at LF, making the battle for 1B a two-horse race between Giesler and Sabathia.
The winner of the job will have big shoes to fill with the departure of Andrew Jenkins, who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers.
3. Has the defense actually improved?
Going back to my first season covering the baseball program, the off-season has had an element of deja vu in each season that follows the last one.
A few weeks ago, I took the time to re-watch the highlights of the Knoxville regional, which also happened to include some lights that weren't so high. Fielding mistakes and errors plagued the 2022 team. One could argue that it was defense (and poor pitching) that cost them in the game against the Vols, particularly on a ball in the OF that went over the head of the CF that shall remain nameless.
As it has been in other years recently, there was a "strong emphasis" on improving the defense going into the 2023 season. Hall has discussed it in-depth. Players did in their interviews as well.
The question remains, how much has it really improved? Jadyn Jackson has great range and is good with the glove, but his (lack of) arm strength was something that was impossible not to notice this fall.
Kristian Campbell, coming off of a hot summer both in the field and at the plate, is an unknown at this level no matter how much hype is around his name.
Compton is returning at 3B, but he was not flawless by any stretch of the imagination, and among the returning members of the lineup he's got the second lowest fielding percentage (only Jackson's .926 is lower)
The list of question marks defensively is strong. The list of answers will begin this weekend, but won't really be known for several weeks.
First pitch will be shortly after 4pm. As I mentioned in the intro, use this thread for discussion throughout the weekend.
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