BASEBALL: Texas v. Houston - Scrimmage Review

ZachattheDisch · Oct 23, 2022

Overview/Thoughts:

Texas got things started early and really didn't let up, taking advantage of a Houston team that frankly is just not very good. That said, Texas got to see live pitching outside of intra-squad for the first time this Fall and performed very well. Indeed, Texas played 14 innings and outscored Houston 18-5, while outhitting Houston 23-13. If the game had only been 9 innings, Texas would have still won 15-2. While Texas pitchers were not perfect on the day, they did scatter the Houston hits around and until the 14th inning, Houston was 1-22 with runners in scoring position. In addition, after giving up a lone run in the 2nd inning, Texas pitching then put up zeros in innings 3-7. Overall, Texas played a solid brand of baseball with very few miscues. The Texas coaching staff was able to play a long of guys, including a bevy of freshman that Texas will certainly look to heavily use in the 2023 season. Today certainly will not determine the 2023 season nor solidify any lineup determinations, but it definitely is a data point and that is one of solid baseball.
The big concerns that I took away from today are those that were already known coming into the Fall season. Hitting at the bottom of the lineup and pitching.
- By all accounts, Lebarron Johnson Jr (LBJ) has had an outstanding Fall during intra squad play and has been a dominant force. Unfortunately today, he looked a bit unsettled and did not quite settle in. Does that mean he will not play an important role in the 2023 season, no. LBJ flashed a plus fastball with good tilt, running it up to 96, a solid 88mph splitter with good cut and a decent 85mph breaking ball. LBJ needs to continue to work and focus on repeating his mechanics as there is a lot of potential to be untapped there.
- Travis Sthele started on very brightly during the 2022 but ended up struggling throughout. Sthele today started out quite rocky with only one strike in the first seven pitches, but was able to bounce back and did not give up any runs. The hope will be that he can continue working on his command this Fall and be ready for 2023 as he will be playing a very vital role out of the bullpen.
- Peyton Powell has been one of the standouts offensively this Fall leading up to the scrimmage, but struggled at the plate, going 0-5 in the process. Powell is known for swinging a good stick and being able to hit for power, so hopefully this is just a one-off occurrence. Either way, Texas needs as many bats as it can get going into the 2023 season and Powell will be needed. Behind the plate, Powell was not perfect defensively, but there were no major lapses. I think everyone realizes that there was going to be a drop off after Silas Ardoin, so if Powell is the guy, he will need to continue to work on his defensively handling.
- Jack O'Dowd was able to put the ball into play a couple of times but continues to lag behind in the hitting category. If Tanner Carlson is out for any amount of time, Texas will absolutely need O'Dowd to pick it up in the hitting department as he will be relied upon at 2B, lest he be passed up by Jayden Duplantier.
- Cade O'Hara has a really nice glove at SS and a solid arm. From a hitting stand point though, he looks overmatched at the plate right now and unless he makes some big strides, I would not expect to see O'Hara playing significant innings this coming season.
Guys that need to continue working hard to realize potential:
- Ace Whitehead - while he did not have a terrible day going 1-3, he didn't look super comfortable in his at bats.
- Garret Guillemette - he got barrels on balls several times, but did not have anything to show for it. I saw him during the summer in the Cape Code League and he is definitely a guy that can produce. Defensively, he I was told that he needs to quiet his motions behind the plate, but he does bring a lot of experience from his two seasons at USC, so he may just need some time to settle in.
- Kimble Schuessler - he went 1-3 on the day, but didn't look completely comfortable at the plate. He is a guy that can hit, as we have seen him do it before, but just did not flash today.
- Mitchell Daly - everyone knows what they are going to get from Mitch defensively. He is the infield quarterback and a stalwart, whether at SS or 2B. Daly moved very well at SS today with fluid, concise movements and displayed a strong arm for throws across. Offensively, Daly has been on an absolute tear to kick off the Fall season, but ended up going 1-4. The good news is that he only had one strikeout in his 4 at bats, but also only had one hit on the day. The other good news is that he looked much quieter at the plate and was locked in at every at bat.

Top Performers:

Welcome to the 40 acres and have yourself a day Porter Brown. The TCU grad transfer came to Texas looking for regular playing time and a new start. Brown certainly got his career at Texas off to a bang, hitting for the cycle and starting 4-4 and ending up the day 4-6 with 5 Runs, 4 Hits and 2 RBIs.
Dylan Campbell has always been known for his bat and today saw him show off that bat once again with a grand slam to straight away center, just left of the batters eye. I've said it before, but the ball just comes off his bat differently that others. In total DC went 3-6 with 2 Runs, 3 Hits and 6 RBIs.
While he may have started off slowly, freshman Jared Thomas showed why he was one of the top prep hitters in the state of Texas as a senior last year. Thomas ended the day going 3-6 with 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 walk and 2 RBIs.
Eric Kennedy missed a sizeable chunk of last year and came back to Texas to give himself a chance in the 2023 draft. EK got off to a solid start this Fall, going 4-7 with 2 Runs, 4 Hits and 2 RBIs. The only downside to EK's play today is that it continues to be evident that he really isn't a CF guy, he needs to be in LF primarily or in RF.
Cam Constantine has always been known as a utility guy, but Cam looked very comfortable at the plate today going 2-4. While he will not be considered a plus player, Cam is an experienced guy with a great demeanor and any production that he can provide in the 2023 season would be a nice bonus.
Max Belyeu is only a freshman, but he came to Texas with a reputation as having one of the best prep bats in Texas. Max definitely showed that bat off today with very aggressive at bats where he was locked in and getting hacks in. While he only went 1-2 on the day, he took a 92mph fastball to the RF wall for a double and drove in a run, which is a good start for the young man.

Pitching Notes:

Zane Morehouse started the game and went 3 innings, throwing 38 pitches (28 for strikes), giving up 2 hits, 1 run and striking out 4. Morehouse continues to utilize his 92-93 mph fastball as his primary pitch and his outstanding breaking ball as his out pitch. While he does have the tendency to hang a breaking ball which inevitably get hammered, Morehouse continues to display the ability to throw strikes and grind.
USC transfer Charlie Hurley pitched the next 3 innings, throwing 44 pitches (29 for strikes), giving up 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1. Hurley threw a heavy does of 90-92mph sinkers, while mixing in some solid curveballs. He looked to lose a little front side command on his curveballs, but did not give up any runs on the day, which is a positive step after having a rough outing earlier in the week during intra squad.
Freshman Kobe Minchey pitched a lone inning on the day, throwing 11 pitches (5 for strikes), walking one batter Kobe definitely showed some nerves and looks to be a guy that will need some time before he is ready to provide relief in big situations, but he has a lively arm and after being home schooled, is finally in a big time baseball routine.
Next up was Lebarron Johnson Jr who has looked outstanding this Fall and during a recent practice was hittable. Today, LBJ was not quite that and struggled with his breaking ball command. While he still flashed a plus fastball (93-96) and a solid splitter (88mph) with good cut, he had some trouble locating. His command issues were not nearly as severe as last year, but I am sure it was a frustrating day overall has he went 2 IP, giving up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 2 walks while throwing 44 pitches (24 for strikes).
Andre Duplantier (Dre) was the next man out of the pen, which was nice as his freshman brother Jayden was playing 2B behind him defensively. Dre still is still 89-90mph with his fastball, but he located it well and worked in a 75mph curveball with sharp break and a solid 80mph slider. Overall he didn't have the greatest outing, but Dre pounded the strike zone and commanded his pitches well which was great to see. Overall, Dre threw 28 pitches (20 for strikes) over 2 IP, giving up 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and 1 strikeout.
Travis Sthele was next out of the pen and as mentioned above really struggled with his command. Even his fastball, sitting at 92mph was off the plate. Overall, Sthele went 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 0 runs, throwing 31 pitches (13 for strikes).
San Jac transfer DJ Burke was next out of the pen and he did not have his best day. With a fastball sitting at 91mph, Burke left a couple of pitches over the plate and paid for it, lasting just 1/3 of an inning. For the day, Burke threw 12 pitches (7 for strikes), giving up 2 hits and 2 runs.
Freshman Collin Valentine came in to pitch the last 2/3 of an inning for the Horns. While he certainly has the frame and mechanics to grow into, Valentine is a guy that likely will not be seen much of this season as he needs time to continue to grow, work on his velo and mature. With a fastball sitting around 85 and a breaking ball down at 69mph, Valentine is not going to blow anyone away, but he came in and pounded the zone through 5 total pitches, 4 of which were for strikes, giving up 1 hit alone.

Other Notes:

JUCO OF Brandon Fields is no longer with the program. Things did not work out, so that is one less roster spot that has to be accounted for prior to the start of the 2023 season
For those curious, DP coached 3B early in the game, but former Baylor Coach Steve Rodriguez coached 3B for the vast majority of the game
The board in RF is going to stay as-is and the video board will not be replaced/repaired before or during the 2023 season.
Freshman Jalin Flores continues to impress and massive job by the staff to land him and keep him from going pro. Big time talent and he will be a vital player over the next three years.
The same can be said of fellow freshman Jared Thomas. High quality batter that is going to be difference maker at the plate long term
Last year, Texas had one left handed batter and at times had a purely right handed hitting lineup, but this year, Texas has some great options from the left hand side.

Schedule Note:
-- The Big 12 will be releasing the conference schedule Friday supposedly. There is no timetable for Texas to release its full schedule as of yet....

Next up, the Longhorns will face the San Jac Gators on Sunday, October 30th at Noon for a nother 14 inning scrimmage at Disch-Falk Field. Tune in and follow along for all the coverage, post scrimmage thoughts and highlights.

I shall leave you with some photos from the game:

walk-on horn · Oct 24, 2022