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2020 Roster Discussion

A bit of recruiting news, Miami got a commitment this Fall from a Juco pitcher from St Johns River CC: Jordan Dubberly. Should be a nice pickup. He started out at UGA before transferring. Prep Baseball Report has him as the #61 Juco recruit overall
 
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TheRichtShow said:
A bit of recruiting news, Miami got a commitment this Fall from a Juco pitcher from St Johns River CC: Jordan Dubberly. Should be a nice pickup. He started out at UGA before transferring. Prep Baseball Report has him as the #61 Juco recruit overall
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We should certainly have some scholarship money for a couple JUCOs. I imagine Eskew and Hall each had a decent scholarship chunk.
 
We also have a commitment from another Juco recruit from St Johns River: Michael Rosario, a OF/LHP. Prep Baseball Report has him ranked as the #19 Juco recruit in the country. Here's their write up on him from a couple weeks ago:

Rosario impressed once again with a plus bat. The Miami commit put up good at bats all day long for St Johns River and left the yard in his last at bat for the cherry on top. Rosario has been on of the best hitters this fall and it will be interesting to watch him this season. With a spread out stance for balance, his length still keeps him tall on the backside to to stay still and short.
 
TheRichtShow said:
Both Eskew and Hall were. Eskew was also a 3rd team HS All-American and one of the best pitchers in FL last year. @scane is right, those are tough losses for the future of the program.

There's a good amount of other pitching talent in the freshman class, and McFarlane is probably the one with the highest ceiling, but Eskew seemed like the surest bet to be a college ace. And Hall was a pretty raw player who was a high risk recruit given his ACL injury and character concerns stemming from how he left TXNL, but he has 5 tool talent and could have developed into a Day 1 pick by his junior year.

The only good news (I guess) is that this shouldn't have that much of an impact on 2020. Hall probably wouldn't have played much due to his injury, and while Eskew would have definitely had a role on the staff, our 4 starters are pretty much set with Cecconi, McMahon, Van Belle, and Keysor. This really makes what happens in the 2020 draft even more important though.
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just shows how hard it is to "stack chips" in CBB. it also shows how having 4 starters who can win games can be the difference between a good team and a CWS team, or even a championship one. pitching depth is just a rarity in CBB. Eskew could have been a real backstop to guys who might jump next June. also agree with your assessment on McFarlane.
 
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Good kid, good family so won’t get too in depth. Made some decisions that many young kids do. Unfortunately it cost him his opportunity to have the honor of wearing the “M” on his cap. He will play elsewhere and hope it’s a lesson learned. Talent wise will be a loss for the squad but I think it’s best for both parties. My concern squad wise is the level of excellence and work that’s being demanded by whatever leadership, and I mean players, on the younger guys coming in on the field, in the gym, and during play time. In the age of title IX ballplayers like Eskew need to stick when you get them on campus.
 
That's unfortunate. I figured losing two of your top three freshmen before the end of Fall Ball meant this was not a baseball-related decision. Especially Eskew who could easily have signed with the DBacks for a large bonus rather than enroll at Miami at all.

Elite SP is such a valuable commodity in college baseball given how the schedule is set up. We were fortunate to get McMahon, Cecconi, Gates, and McFarlane in recent years, but I agree it's tough to sustain Omaha caliber teams if you lose guys like Eskew
 
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Hopefully he does bounce back. Obviously talented but where he lands and what he does will be dependent on his mental toughness, love for the game, and vision to see the opportunity to get it turned around are still there. Hopefully his support system back home, which is where he is, will reinforce he’s extremely young and the door is far from shut.
 
CaneBB said:
Does anyone know when they will determine who will be on the roster for the Spring?
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It’s usually done right after fall practice. With the three earlier departures we’re already down to 33, so any further exits would likely be voluntary.
 
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Fall Report on Miami from Perfect Game

The Hurricanes enter 2020 as a Top 10 team and several talented veterans made important jumps this fall. Righthander Slade Cecconi took a step forward with his secondary offerings and that adds another dimension to his already plus mid-90s fastball. Fellow rotation mate Chris McMahon showed signs of improved command which should help him unlock his massive upside. Freshman Alex McFarlane was impressive this fall as he attacked the strike zone with a 92-95 mph fastball and plus slider.

On the position player side, shortstop and three-hole hitter Freddy Zamora worked diligently to improve his infield footwork and his throwing accuracy made great progress as a result. Sophomore catcher Adrian Del Castillo is already one of the nation’s best pure hitters and he had a nice fall from a defensive standpoint. Newcomer Jared Thomas out of Southern California showed plus athleticism with a ready-to-go bat and he could catch also.
 
Another freshman appears to be gone. Jason Diaz no longer appears on the roster, leaving us with just eight remaining freshman. I have no difficulty believing this departure is performance related. Diaz had an awful fall.
 
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D1 Baseball Fall Report: Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Fans and boosters have been giving the Miami Hurricanes a pat on the back for returning to regionals in 2019 following an uncharacteristic two-year absence, but second-year coach Gino DiMare has been aiming his contact a foot or so lower.

Figuratively speaking, DiMare gave his players a good kick in the butt this summer and fall in an effort to guard against complacency. Last season’s 41-20 record was nice, but for a program that has won four national titles, appeared in a record 44 straight NCAA tournaments and sent numerous players to the majors, losing in the finals of the Starkville Regional was simply not good enough.

“We addressed complacency right out of the gate this summer,” DiMare said, “and I was hard on them this fall. But I think their mindset is right. I was just making sure.”DiMare, just the fourth Hurricanes baseball coach since 1963, believes he has the type of roster that can win what would be Miami’s first national title since 2001.

The Hurricanes return nine legitimate starters for the batting order, three pitchers good enough to be aces and a closer who earned seven saves last season. They have a dynamic leadoff batter, a three-hole slugger who hit .331 with 72 RBIs and a cleanup man who blasted 24 homers last season.
“Our expectations are where they should be,” DiMare said. “We feel we have a team that can make a good run.”

Miami’s recruiting class was ranked between sixth and 15th nationally, although the Hurricanes suffered two defections in outfielder Hylan Hall and righthander Dylan Eskew (Arizona’s 24th-round draft pick).

Just to summarize the rest...

Pitchers
-Weekend rotation will be Van Belle, Cecconi, and McMahon, with the order tbd
-Van Belle is up to 93, had 20K vs 1BB in Fall scrimmages
-Cecconi was 95-99 in the Fall
-Their trying to get McMahon to attack the zone more vs get hitters to chase
-Midweek start is tbd. Likely Keysor but they might use him out of the bullpen. If not him then it'd be either McFarlane or Garland.
-Bullpen will have Federman at closer, Gates and whoever doesn't start midweek games at setup.
-Ruiz is expected to have an expanded role and Maury looks finally recovered from his TJS.
-Palmquist is who JD/DiMare like as a left-on-left specialist

Catchers
-No surprise, Del Castillo will start.
-Jared Thomas is expected to be the backup ahead of Quinnones. DiMare really like what he can do behind the plate and at bat, he could play RF too

Infielders
-FREDDY ZAMORA CAN FIELD!!!. Well that's the claim anyways. He was the Fall MVP and we have a new infielders coach so hopefully things click in the spring.
-We know who the starters are, but it looks like Paige and Lauck are the 2 guys they're counting on as backups. Sounds like Paige could be used as a defensive placement like Escala was.

Outfielders
-The expected starters here are Lala, Rivera, and Jenkins. They list Jenkins as the likely RF so we'll see who ends up where. With no Hall, Crosbie and Thomas are the backups here

DH
-Gates expected to start. Tuero is an option as well.
 
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TheRichtShow said:
D1 Baseball Fall Report: Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Fans and boosters have been giving the Miami Hurricanes a pat on the back for returning to regionals in 2019 following an uncharacteristic two-year absence, but second-year coach Gino DiMare has been aiming his contact a foot or so lower.

Figuratively speaking, DiMare gave his players a good kick in the butt this summer and fall in an effort to guard against complacency. Last season’s 41-20 record was nice, but for a program that has won four national titles, appeared in a record 44 straight NCAA tournaments and sent numerous players to the majors, losing in the finals of the Starkville Regional was simply not good enough.

“We addressed complacency right out of the gate this summer,” DiMare said, “and I was hard on them this fall. But I think their mindset is right. I was just making sure.”DiMare, just the fourth Hurricanes baseball coach since 1963, believes he has the type of roster that can win what would be Miami’s first national title since 2001.

The Hurricanes return nine legitimate starters for the batting order, three pitchers good enough to be aces and a closer who earned seven saves last season. They have a dynamic leadoff batter, a three-hole slugger who hit .331 with 72 RBIs and a cleanup man who blasted 24 homers last season.
“Our expectations are where they should be,” DiMare said. “We feel we have a team that can make a good run.”

Miami’s recruiting class was ranked between sixth and 15th nationally, although the Hurricanes suffered two defections in outfielder Hylan Hall and righthander Dylan Eskew (Arizona’s 24th-round draft pick).

Just to summarize the rest...

Pitchers
-Weekend rotation will be Van Belle, Cecconi, and McMahon, with the order tbd
-Van Belle is up to 93, had 20K vs 1BB in Fall scrimmages
-Cecconi was 95-99 in the Fall
-Their trying to get McMahon to attack the zone more vs get hitters to chase
-Midweek start is tbd. Likely Keysor but they might use him out of the bullpen. If not him then it'd be either McFarlane or Garland.
-Bullpen will have Federman at closer, Gates and whoever doesn't start midweek games at setup.
-Ruiz is expected to have an expanded role and Maury looks finally recovered from his TJS.
-Palmquist is who JD/DiMare like as a left-on-left specialist

Catchers
-No surprise, Del Castillo will start.
-Jared Thomas is expected to be the backup ahead of Quinnones. DiMare really like what he can do behind the plate and at bat, he could play RF too

Infielders
-FREDDY ZAMORA CAN FIELD!!!. Well that's the claim anyways. He was the Fall MVP and we have a new infielders coach so hopefully things click in the spring.
-We know who the starters are, but it looks like Paige and Lauck are the 2 guys they're counting on as backups. Sounds like Paige could be used as a defensive placement like Escala was.

Outfielders
-The expected starters here are Lala, Rivera, and Jenkins. They list Jenkins as the likely RF so we'll see who ends up where. With no Hall, Crosbie and Thomas are the backups here

DH
-Gates expected to start. Tuero is an option as well.
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Why isn’t Toral mentioned?
 
Intrigued by their prediction of Del in the 3-hole and Toral at cleanup.

LF Lala
2B Vilar
C Del
1B Toral
SS Zamora
3B Gil
DH Gates
RF Rivera
CF Jenkins

or


LF Lala
SS Zamora
C Del
1B Toral
3B Gil
DH Gates
2B Vilar
RF Rivera
CF Jenkins
 
If Dimare improves on his feel for pulling guys vs keeping guys in and this new infield coach is the goods I think we will be back on track to where we shou
rokulika said:
Intrigued by their prediction of Del in the 3-hole and Toral at cleanup.

LF Lala
2B Vilar
C Del
1B Toral
SS Zamora
3B Gil
DH Gates
RF Rivera
CF Jenkins

or


LF Lala
SS Zamora
C Del
1B Toral
3B Gil
DH Gates
2B Vilar
RF Rivera
CF Jenkins
Click to expand...
2nd option is the way to go 100%. I don't think I can stomach Vilar in the 2 hole again this year. He is a perfect late lineup hitter and same with jenkins to turn it over.
 
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