While most of the baseball world was watching the Astros defeat the Phillies in game five of the real World Series, baseball was being played at the Disch. Cade O'Hara tied the game in the 8th with a single to left and the Jayden Duplantier drove in what ended up being the winning run with a sac fly. The process obviously matters infinitely more than the results in the Fall World Series. @ZachattheDisch and I are dividing up this analysis to give everyone a picture of how the guys looked in game one. I took the pitching side and Zach broke down the hitters. Here's what stood out to us as the Newcomers beat the Returners 6-5.
*Unfortunately Texas did not keep stats for this game so the stats are very limited/unofficial
PITCHING ANALYSIS - @AaronLittleOB
Sam Walbridge
The red-shirt junior got the start for the returners and had an up-and-down day on the mound. The lanky lefty started off by attacking hitters with an 89-91 MPH fastball in the zone. Walbridge had good command of the fastball in the first few innings and registered multiple strikeouts with that pitch. Slider command was an issue for Walbridge, who clearly was out of gas by the middle of his third inning. Sam is not a guy who should be asked to pitch multiple innings during the year so the fading performance late in his outing is a non-issue. If Walbridge can develop a consistent slider, it wouldn’t shock me if he emerged as a viable lefty-lefty matchup guy out of the bullpen.
Chris Stuart
The transfer lefty from Sac Jac drew the start for the returners and had a rocky day on the bump. The potential that Stuart has was not hard to see. Stuart was 90-93 with a fastball that jumped out of his hand. Excitement seemed to be an issue early on for the lefty. Stuart was clearly amped up, and that caused him to issue some free passes and fall behind in counts. Stuart’s slider backed up on him multiple times, including a HBP against Eric Kennedy. Another issue for Stuart was his inability to control the running game. The returners were running all over Stuart, despite him being a lefty. The inability to control the running game and inconsistency from inning to inning are signs of an inexperienced pitcher, and that’s what Stuart is at the D1 level. The power Stuart generates from his frame is impressive and his good pitches are really good, he just needs to develop into an all-around pitcher to maximize his high potential.
Heston Tole
Tole transferred from Arkansas to Austin and had a strong outing in game one of the Fall World Series. The tall righty sat 87-89 with the fastball and showed solid command of a slider that caught hitters out front on multiple occasions. Tole was consistently around the zone and showed the ability to throw quality sliders to both left-handed and right-handed hitters.
Max Grubbs
The freshman Max Grubbs came through with three scoreless innings that were instrumental in the victory for the newcomers. Grubbs has very clean mechanics that led to him being in the zone often. Grubbs relies on a sinker/slider combination and he had them both working in this game. While the stuff was not overpowering, everything looked very smooth for Grubbs on the mound for all three of his innings. He worked around trouble when he had to and was able to execute his pitches in some big spots. It was an encouraging outing for the young righty.
Travis Sthele
The redshirt sophomore looked a lot like the Travis Sthele from 2021. Sthele’s fastball was 91-94 and was overpowering at times. But much like last year, the consistency was non-existent. Sthele threw far too many non-competitive pitches with his fastball and his slider. He fell behind in counts, issued free passes, and allowed some crucial runs. At one point Sthele issued a four-pitch walk and then struck out the next batter on three pitches. The stuff is there, but Sthele clearly still has a ways to go in terms of reliability.
Cody Howard
Cody Howard and Max Grubbs were the reason that the newcomers got the win in game one. The freshman Howard worked a scoreless 8th and a scoreless 9th to secure the win for the new guys. Howard was 91-93 with his fastball and displayed a slider that had a really nice shape to it. The freshman righty has smooth mechanics that helped keep him stay around the strike zone in this high-pressure situation. This wasn’t exactly a raucous environment, but I can assure you that Howard was feeling the pressure of a real game and he handled himself well against a veteran lineup.
Chase Lummus
The sophomore lefty Chase Lummus worked one very quick inning. Lummus came out of the bullpen with good command of his fastball and slider, allowing him to quickly retire all three batters that he faced. Two of the guys that Lummus got out were fellow lefties Porter Brown and Jared Thomas.
HITTING ANALYSIS - @ZachattheDisch
As Texas continues to march through the Fall schedule and prepare for the 2023 season, one of the big challenges for the coaching staff is replacing the cast bulk of the offensive production. To that end, the Fall so far has been a bit of an up-and-down experience for a number of guys. Yes, the team has blown out Houston and San Jac in back-to-back weeks, but there is still plenty of room for growth. The young guys have shown some good maturity at the plate, but have also shown their youth as well. Overall, this side of the house is going to be a work in progress throughout the rest of the Fall and certainly into the Spring.
Porter Brown went 0-2 on the day, be he continues to show a mature approach at the plate, drawing a couple of walks, and looks to be a guy who can lean on his experience long-term. Brown does a good job of sitting back on pitches and getting a good barrel on the ball.
Jalin Flores went 0-4 on the day, but each at-bat was very competitive and he hit the ball hard every single time, those hits just happened to be right at defenders. Long term, I love his upside and he continues to tap into some raw power.
Jared Thomas went 0-4 on the day and while he does have some power, he is more of a gap-to-gap hitter currently. Jared had a bit of a mixed day as he had two at-bats where he showed his youth and was reaching for pitches that he needed to sit back on. Jared did hit a deep fly ball to left center though that shows the potential.
Rylan Galvan was 1-2 on the day and recently admitted that he is a bit behind on hitting right now. The power is there and the ball comes off his bat really well, but the key for him is consistency at this point.
Max Belyeu went 1-2 on the day and continues to show a nice approach at the plate, putting the barrel on the ball with quick hands and sneaky power.
Cade O’Hara went 1-2 on the day, but also drew a couple of walks. O’Hara has a plus glove and if he is able to continue working on his hitting, he has a really bright future at SS. He made a heck of a stop and throw from deep in the hole at short to record an out later in the game. The biggest thing for him is consistency right now.
Tanner Carlson went 1-3 on the day. He had a really nice at-bat in the middle innings, driving in two runs, but also had two strikeouts in which he was late on fastballs both times that he should not have been.
Jayden Duplantier went 1-3 on the day with a hard-hit single to LF and two flyouts, the second of which was late in the game with the bases loaded. Once Jayden grows into his body and adds muscle, he will be a sneaky threat to hit some bombs, just not quite yet. I know Dustin will give me a hard time on this, but Jayden continues to be a really nice surprise this Fall.
Eric Kennedy went 2-3 on the day with a walk and strike out. Overall, it was a very EK day as one of his hits was a hard single to LF and the other was a drag bunt for a hit. EK continues to bring a veteran experience and speed on the base paths to the team and I fully expect him to have the green light to run a lot this year.
Jack O’Dowd went 0-4 on the day and in general, it was not his best day. He did hit the ball really well to LF in his first at-bat, but he also had a soft pop fly and two strikeouts. Jack is at his best when he is staying flat with his approach and looking to hit line drives to LF, while not getting under it too much.
Dylan Campbell went 1-3 on the day but continues to display why he is seen as the best offensive weapon that Texas has. Early in the game, DC hit a hard line to right center for a 2-run double. He did have an ugly at-bat later in the game when he struck out, but he also drew a walk and hit a screamer to Flores at 3B who played the ball well defensively to get the out.
Peyton Powell went 0-4 on the day and continues to be a bit hit or miss. In his first scrimmage against Houston, he went 0-5 only to come back with a vengeance against San Jac. Last night he only struck out once, when he was late on a fastball, but he did have three ground outs. The good news is he is getting the barrel on the ball, but the groundouts were not especially hard contact or dangerous.
Mitchell Daly went 0-3 on the day and had a bit of a mixed bag. He did mash a ball to deep left-center on the warning track, but he also struck out looking and grounded out, with a walk in between. Daly has looked really good this Fall and has hit more consistently, but he needs to keep that up as this team will need his experienced bat in the lineup.
Cam Constantine went 0-3 on the day and did not have a great day at the office, but got better as the game went on. In his first at-bat, he swung and missed on a pitch way up and outside of the zone. He did reach on an error in his next AB, followed by a ground out to SS and a fly out to RF. Overall, Cam is a utility guy that likely won’t get a ton of playing time, but he does show flashes at the plate to warrant further work.
Garret Guillemette went 2-4 on the day and until his last at-bat, looked solid. He started off with a ground-rule double to LF, followed up with a hard-hit liner to left center. Unfortunately on the second hit, he got caught trying to turn it into a two-bagger, but he showed a mature approach at the plate with the ability to turn on the fastball really well. He finished the day grounding out to the SS and striking out in the bottom of the 9th, so there is always work to be done.
Kimble Schuessler went 1-3 on the day. The good news is that he put the barrel on the ball in each of his at-bats, including a single to LF that was hit on a rope. Kimble has a solid approach at the plate, but needs to continue to look to drive the ball instead of getting under it
Preston Hoffart went 0-3 on the day. “Pops” is not going to get playing time unless there is a slew of injuries and a blowout all in the same game, but he shows up and puts his everything into practice, so he is well-liked around the program. On the day, Preston grounded out to 2B and SS, and laid down a sac bunt to move a runner over before grounding out to end the game in the 9th.
HIGHLIGHTS
Game two is Friday at 3 (this game is not on LHN). Attendance and parking are free. We will have a similar breakdown of game two that will be posted sometime Friday night or Saturday morning!
*Unfortunately Texas did not keep stats for this game so the stats are very limited/unofficial
PITCHING ANALYSIS - @AaronLittleOB
Sam Walbridge
The red-shirt junior got the start for the returners and had an up-and-down day on the mound. The lanky lefty started off by attacking hitters with an 89-91 MPH fastball in the zone. Walbridge had good command of the fastball in the first few innings and registered multiple strikeouts with that pitch. Slider command was an issue for Walbridge, who clearly was out of gas by the middle of his third inning. Sam is not a guy who should be asked to pitch multiple innings during the year so the fading performance late in his outing is a non-issue. If Walbridge can develop a consistent slider, it wouldn’t shock me if he emerged as a viable lefty-lefty matchup guy out of the bullpen.
Chris Stuart
The transfer lefty from Sac Jac drew the start for the returners and had a rocky day on the bump. The potential that Stuart has was not hard to see. Stuart was 90-93 with a fastball that jumped out of his hand. Excitement seemed to be an issue early on for the lefty. Stuart was clearly amped up, and that caused him to issue some free passes and fall behind in counts. Stuart’s slider backed up on him multiple times, including a HBP against Eric Kennedy. Another issue for Stuart was his inability to control the running game. The returners were running all over Stuart, despite him being a lefty. The inability to control the running game and inconsistency from inning to inning are signs of an inexperienced pitcher, and that’s what Stuart is at the D1 level. The power Stuart generates from his frame is impressive and his good pitches are really good, he just needs to develop into an all-around pitcher to maximize his high potential.
Heston Tole
Tole transferred from Arkansas to Austin and had a strong outing in game one of the Fall World Series. The tall righty sat 87-89 with the fastball and showed solid command of a slider that caught hitters out front on multiple occasions. Tole was consistently around the zone and showed the ability to throw quality sliders to both left-handed and right-handed hitters.
Max Grubbs
The freshman Max Grubbs came through with three scoreless innings that were instrumental in the victory for the newcomers. Grubbs has very clean mechanics that led to him being in the zone often. Grubbs relies on a sinker/slider combination and he had them both working in this game. While the stuff was not overpowering, everything looked very smooth for Grubbs on the mound for all three of his innings. He worked around trouble when he had to and was able to execute his pitches in some big spots. It was an encouraging outing for the young righty.
Travis Sthele
The redshirt sophomore looked a lot like the Travis Sthele from 2021. Sthele’s fastball was 91-94 and was overpowering at times. But much like last year, the consistency was non-existent. Sthele threw far too many non-competitive pitches with his fastball and his slider. He fell behind in counts, issued free passes, and allowed some crucial runs. At one point Sthele issued a four-pitch walk and then struck out the next batter on three pitches. The stuff is there, but Sthele clearly still has a ways to go in terms of reliability.
Cody Howard
Cody Howard and Max Grubbs were the reason that the newcomers got the win in game one. The freshman Howard worked a scoreless 8th and a scoreless 9th to secure the win for the new guys. Howard was 91-93 with his fastball and displayed a slider that had a really nice shape to it. The freshman righty has smooth mechanics that helped keep him stay around the strike zone in this high-pressure situation. This wasn’t exactly a raucous environment, but I can assure you that Howard was feeling the pressure of a real game and he handled himself well against a veteran lineup.
Chase Lummus
The sophomore lefty Chase Lummus worked one very quick inning. Lummus came out of the bullpen with good command of his fastball and slider, allowing him to quickly retire all three batters that he faced. Two of the guys that Lummus got out were fellow lefties Porter Brown and Jared Thomas.
HITTING ANALYSIS - @ZachattheDisch
As Texas continues to march through the Fall schedule and prepare for the 2023 season, one of the big challenges for the coaching staff is replacing the cast bulk of the offensive production. To that end, the Fall so far has been a bit of an up-and-down experience for a number of guys. Yes, the team has blown out Houston and San Jac in back-to-back weeks, but there is still plenty of room for growth. The young guys have shown some good maturity at the plate, but have also shown their youth as well. Overall, this side of the house is going to be a work in progress throughout the rest of the Fall and certainly into the Spring.
Porter Brown went 0-2 on the day, be he continues to show a mature approach at the plate, drawing a couple of walks, and looks to be a guy who can lean on his experience long-term. Brown does a good job of sitting back on pitches and getting a good barrel on the ball.
Jalin Flores went 0-4 on the day, but each at-bat was very competitive and he hit the ball hard every single time, those hits just happened to be right at defenders. Long term, I love his upside and he continues to tap into some raw power.
Jared Thomas went 0-4 on the day and while he does have some power, he is more of a gap-to-gap hitter currently. Jared had a bit of a mixed day as he had two at-bats where he showed his youth and was reaching for pitches that he needed to sit back on. Jared did hit a deep fly ball to left center though that shows the potential.
Rylan Galvan was 1-2 on the day and recently admitted that he is a bit behind on hitting right now. The power is there and the ball comes off his bat really well, but the key for him is consistency at this point.
Max Belyeu went 1-2 on the day and continues to show a nice approach at the plate, putting the barrel on the ball with quick hands and sneaky power.
Cade O’Hara went 1-2 on the day, but also drew a couple of walks. O’Hara has a plus glove and if he is able to continue working on his hitting, he has a really bright future at SS. He made a heck of a stop and throw from deep in the hole at short to record an out later in the game. The biggest thing for him is consistency right now.
Tanner Carlson went 1-3 on the day. He had a really nice at-bat in the middle innings, driving in two runs, but also had two strikeouts in which he was late on fastballs both times that he should not have been.
Jayden Duplantier went 1-3 on the day with a hard-hit single to LF and two flyouts, the second of which was late in the game with the bases loaded. Once Jayden grows into his body and adds muscle, he will be a sneaky threat to hit some bombs, just not quite yet. I know Dustin will give me a hard time on this, but Jayden continues to be a really nice surprise this Fall.
Eric Kennedy went 2-3 on the day with a walk and strike out. Overall, it was a very EK day as one of his hits was a hard single to LF and the other was a drag bunt for a hit. EK continues to bring a veteran experience and speed on the base paths to the team and I fully expect him to have the green light to run a lot this year.
Jack O’Dowd went 0-4 on the day and in general, it was not his best day. He did hit the ball really well to LF in his first at-bat, but he also had a soft pop fly and two strikeouts. Jack is at his best when he is staying flat with his approach and looking to hit line drives to LF, while not getting under it too much.
Dylan Campbell went 1-3 on the day but continues to display why he is seen as the best offensive weapon that Texas has. Early in the game, DC hit a hard line to right center for a 2-run double. He did have an ugly at-bat later in the game when he struck out, but he also drew a walk and hit a screamer to Flores at 3B who played the ball well defensively to get the out.
Peyton Powell went 0-4 on the day and continues to be a bit hit or miss. In his first scrimmage against Houston, he went 0-5 only to come back with a vengeance against San Jac. Last night he only struck out once, when he was late on a fastball, but he did have three ground outs. The good news is he is getting the barrel on the ball, but the groundouts were not especially hard contact or dangerous.
Mitchell Daly went 0-3 on the day and had a bit of a mixed bag. He did mash a ball to deep left-center on the warning track, but he also struck out looking and grounded out, with a walk in between. Daly has looked really good this Fall and has hit more consistently, but he needs to keep that up as this team will need his experienced bat in the lineup.
Cam Constantine went 0-3 on the day and did not have a great day at the office, but got better as the game went on. In his first at-bat, he swung and missed on a pitch way up and outside of the zone. He did reach on an error in his next AB, followed by a ground out to SS and a fly out to RF. Overall, Cam is a utility guy that likely won’t get a ton of playing time, but he does show flashes at the plate to warrant further work.
Garret Guillemette went 2-4 on the day and until his last at-bat, looked solid. He started off with a ground-rule double to LF, followed up with a hard-hit liner to left center. Unfortunately on the second hit, he got caught trying to turn it into a two-bagger, but he showed a mature approach at the plate with the ability to turn on the fastball really well. He finished the day grounding out to the SS and striking out in the bottom of the 9th, so there is always work to be done.
Kimble Schuessler went 1-3 on the day. The good news is that he put the barrel on the ball in each of his at-bats, including a single to LF that was hit on a rope. Kimble has a solid approach at the plate, but needs to continue to look to drive the ball instead of getting under it
Preston Hoffart went 0-3 on the day. “Pops” is not going to get playing time unless there is a slew of injuries and a blowout all in the same game, but he shows up and puts his everything into practice, so he is well-liked around the program. On the day, Preston grounded out to 2B and SS, and laid down a sac bunt to move a runner over before grounding out to end the game in the 9th.
HIGHLIGHTS
Game two is Friday at 3 (this game is not on LHN). Attendance and parking are free. We will have a similar breakdown of game two that will be posted sometime Friday night or Saturday morning!
