The sun is out. It is 74 degrees in February. There is BASEBALL today!
Let us all celebrate by heading to Disch-Falk to get a first look at the 2025 edition of Texas Longhorn Baseball.
While it will be only 7 innings and there may be some changes to the format to incorporate some All-Star game type activities, it is still baseball at the end of the day and a chance for the team to get their work in. As a reminder of the schedule, see below for the times and events.
This will not be a typical game thread. Instead, I will be posting thoughts throughout on various players and calling out what I am seeing from the team overall.
While it is still a glorified scrimmage and there isn't a ton to be learned that we don't already know, baseball is always about the little things. Do the little things right and it stacks up and helps lead to success. Don't put forth 100% effort and give every pitch and ball your attention and bad things are bound to happen. That in mind, here are the things I am looking for from the Horns today.
1. Pitching - The biggest question mark coming into the season is what is the pitching rotation going to look like and who will fill the various roles. While we certainly will not get those questions answered today, you want to see the pitchers who participate come in and pound the zone with strikes. Don't nibble around the edges, but instead come in and throw strikes. Trust the defense behind you and don't give up freebies. Last season, the pitching staff had a hard time getting swings and misses and instead tended to go very deep in counts, rising their pitch count, and eventually forcing the staff to take them out of the game earlier than they would have liked, thus putting more pressure on the bullpen.
2. 3rd Base - There is a lot of excitement about freshman Adrian Rodriguez and for good reason. He has looked great during the Fall and really impressed everyone with his abilities at the plate and at 3B. Practice and intersquad is different though. He needs to be able to mentally handle the grind of the season and prepare himself for the talent he will see on a weekly basis. He is undoubtedly talented and it will be exciting to watch him develop as the season progresses. I had a trainer up in the DFW area text me during Christmas break and tell me that he not just looked the part against D1 pitching, but was going to be a stud. Adrian will need to be patient though and remember to not try and do too much. Schlossnagle got onto him briefly during on recent practice for playing way back behind the base and not show boating but making some really tough throws. Good news is that he looked good doing so, but it just shows that he needs to focus on the fundamentals and not try to do too much.
3. 1st Base - Due to some limitation in his shoulder, the expectation is that Kimble Schuessler will be playing 1B or DH this season. His bat is one that must be in the lineup regardless, so that creates some good competition at 1B. Jaquae Stewart and Cole Chamberlain are the other contenders for playing time at 1B. Each brings a slightly different style understandably. Despite the physical makeup of Stewart, he moves very well defensively and has good instincts. At the plate, he is a guy that is looking to do some damage each time he steps up to the plate. Schuessler's abilities at the plate are known after last year. Defensively, he is a bit stiffer, but in the reps I have seen has looked solid and receives the ball well. Freshman Cole Chamberlain is also battling for the backup role at Catcher, but he is the guy outside of Adrian Rodriguez that I am most excited to see develop. I came away extremely impressed with his hit tool during the Fall and his receiving has steadily improved under the tutelage of Nolan Cain.
Let us all celebrate by heading to Disch-Falk to get a first look at the 2025 edition of Texas Longhorn Baseball.
While it will be only 7 innings and there may be some changes to the format to incorporate some All-Star game type activities, it is still baseball at the end of the day and a chance for the team to get their work in. As a reminder of the schedule, see below for the times and events.
This will not be a typical game thread. Instead, I will be posting thoughts throughout on various players and calling out what I am seeing from the team overall.
While it is still a glorified scrimmage and there isn't a ton to be learned that we don't already know, baseball is always about the little things. Do the little things right and it stacks up and helps lead to success. Don't put forth 100% effort and give every pitch and ball your attention and bad things are bound to happen. That in mind, here are the things I am looking for from the Horns today.
1. Pitching - The biggest question mark coming into the season is what is the pitching rotation going to look like and who will fill the various roles. While we certainly will not get those questions answered today, you want to see the pitchers who participate come in and pound the zone with strikes. Don't nibble around the edges, but instead come in and throw strikes. Trust the defense behind you and don't give up freebies. Last season, the pitching staff had a hard time getting swings and misses and instead tended to go very deep in counts, rising their pitch count, and eventually forcing the staff to take them out of the game earlier than they would have liked, thus putting more pressure on the bullpen.
2. 3rd Base - There is a lot of excitement about freshman Adrian Rodriguez and for good reason. He has looked great during the Fall and really impressed everyone with his abilities at the plate and at 3B. Practice and intersquad is different though. He needs to be able to mentally handle the grind of the season and prepare himself for the talent he will see on a weekly basis. He is undoubtedly talented and it will be exciting to watch him develop as the season progresses. I had a trainer up in the DFW area text me during Christmas break and tell me that he not just looked the part against D1 pitching, but was going to be a stud. Adrian will need to be patient though and remember to not try and do too much. Schlossnagle got onto him briefly during on recent practice for playing way back behind the base and not show boating but making some really tough throws. Good news is that he looked good doing so, but it just shows that he needs to focus on the fundamentals and not try to do too much.
3. 1st Base - Due to some limitation in his shoulder, the expectation is that Kimble Schuessler will be playing 1B or DH this season. His bat is one that must be in the lineup regardless, so that creates some good competition at 1B. Jaquae Stewart and Cole Chamberlain are the other contenders for playing time at 1B. Each brings a slightly different style understandably. Despite the physical makeup of Stewart, he moves very well defensively and has good instincts. At the plate, he is a guy that is looking to do some damage each time he steps up to the plate. Schuessler's abilities at the plate are known after last year. Defensively, he is a bit stiffer, but in the reps I have seen has looked solid and receives the ball well. Freshman Cole Chamberlain is also battling for the backup role at Catcher, but he is the guy outside of Adrian Rodriguez that I am most excited to see develop. I came away extremely impressed with his hit tool during the Fall and his receiving has steadily improved under the tutelage of Nolan Cain.
