Knock Me Out

This episode is 67% about baseball! We talk about MLB Draft Prospects, Regional and Future expectations, and a little bit of men's golf on the side.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Logan Brumley

What is In The Den?

"In The Den" with host Logan Brumley covers everything from the NC State Wolfpack's NCAA, intramural and club sports. "In The Den" is a podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

Logan Brumley: Hello and welcome to WKNC official sports podcast in the den.
Logan Brumley: Hope you had a happy Memorial Day.
Logan Brumley: Today we're going to be going over a lot of college baseball.
Logan Brumley: We're going to be kind of looking at their regionals, seeing who they face against.
Logan Brumley: We're also going to be looking at some of the draft prospects that are getting looks for this year's MLB draft, which is in about a month or so, like I think early July.
Logan Brumley: And then we'll finish by doing a brief review of men's golf.
Logan Brumley: So get your headphones on and let's get to it.
Logan Brumley: Alright, so kind of kicking things off with a kind of a little look at the men's baseball regional and NC State's place, you know, in the whole grand scheme of it.
Logan Brumley: But first I would kind of like to give a shout out to Elliot Avent and Chris Hart.
Logan Brumley: This is of course Elliot Fence last season here.
Logan Brumley: I'm going to do a more deep dive episode into the 37 years here as head.
Logan Brumley: Well it's 37 his career and then 29 with NC State.
Logan Brumley: Let's see.
Logan Brumley: But I mean I will say that overall it's been really rough for NC State.
Logan Brumley: Yes, they did start off early like as a top 10 seed.
Logan Brumley: There have been some hitters that haven't really been living up to expectations on the roster and of course injuries to Marohn and Dudan.
Logan Brumley: Having to depend on some pitchers who came in looking like relief in pitchers like Cooper Cognacillo.
Logan Brumley: I kind of, you know, major shout out to him for kind of stepping up into that role.
Logan Brumley: I thought he was going to be just a relief guy.
Logan Brumley: But Brandon Novy hit a 147 this year.
Logan Brumley: Dalton Bargo hasn't really been what or at least what I was hoping for in a new kind of pitcher coming in.
Logan Brumley: I thought he was gonna be like that big power hitter from Tennessee.
Logan Brumley: Whatever.
Logan Brumley: Let's see.
Logan Brumley: Drew and Fear didn't really hit us.
Logan Brumley: Well why did you have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 players in the top, what's them called, you know, top three, not top 300 but they're above 300.
Logan Brumley: That's still kind of rough hitting and pitching wise.
Logan Brumley: There was definitely kind of something that stumbled in ACC plays and they just couldn't keep track of like Georgia Tech, unc, Florida State.
Logan Brumley: Because this has been a really top heavy year for the ACC and has been a really powerful ACC conference this year and I think they usually get about nine to 10 representatives and I think that's what we're seeing here as well, but NC State, they made it to the Auburn Regional.
Logan Brumley: They'll be playing Auburn, Central Florida and Milwaukee.
Logan Brumley: Take a look at these teams.
Logan Brumley: See, but I mean this is good.
Logan Brumley: I think having him out the door event was really helpful because I mean he's retiring legacy manager.
Logan Brumley: I think that would be something that at least kind of give him a little bit of a chance to make his way back.
Logan Brumley: See, Auburn is going to be a tough one because, you know, SEC team is, you know, they're never really easy to play against while NC State has not played them yet.
Logan Brumley: See, I'm trying to find a comment.
Logan Brumley: I don't think they have a common.
Logan Brumley: Okay, common opponents that they got blown out by Georgia Tech.
Logan Brumley: Heck, see and.
Logan Brumley: But they beat Florida State.
Logan Brumley: You know, it's just this one of those teams that are just really good except for like the top at the top of the sec.
Logan Brumley: So this is kind of like, you know, they went 17, 13 in the conference.
Logan Brumley: They're led by.
Logan Brumley: See, they got kind of looking at the roster now.
Logan Brumley: Eric Guevara is pretty good.
Logan Brumley: I don't really think I'm too worried.
Logan Brumley: I mean.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, well, obviously I'm worried.
Logan Brumley: I think they're going to win a regional outright.
Logan Brumley: Christian Burt is also there.
Logan Brumley: He's a top prospect.
Logan Brumley: I don't know.
Logan Brumley: It's not looking too great.
Logan Brumley: They have a lot of decent pitchers as well, Mike.
Logan Brumley: I mean Jake Marciano, it's pretty good.
Logan Brumley: 264 ERA.
Logan Brumley: I mean a lot of them have kind of like three eras.
Logan Brumley: Ish.
Logan Brumley: It could be something where eventually State has a good hidden series they could potentially sneak in.
Logan Brumley: This is kind of like this is a team that could have like an Ole Miss 2022 type of run if they can catch lightning in a bottle.
Logan Brumley: I think that Duke game definitely kind of had some kind of concerns for them not being able to do that.
Logan Brumley: But I mean if Meron is back and players kind of start hitting like they have been in these past few games because it's been.
Logan Brumley: The issue has been mostly defense, like giving up a lot of runs.
Logan Brumley: They can produce runs pretty well in a round.
Logan Brumley: It's a.
Logan Brumley: It's a pitch in a defense problem which having Ron back in healthy could potentially kind of add fuel to the fire for their successes.
Logan Brumley: See, trying to look at the other team.
Logan Brumley: Let's see, UCF is also there.
Logan Brumley: I believe I got that correct.
Logan Brumley: See, they went 9 and 11 in Big 12.
Logan Brumley: Slight win against Notre Dame would probably be the closest thing to a common opponent, but had a decent conference performance.
Logan Brumley: Didn't make it past the first round of the tournament of the Big 12 tournament.
Logan Brumley: So you know, it's a Power 4 opponent.
Logan Brumley: That's always something that you're kind of a little suspicious about if you're in NC State fan.
Logan Brumley: I'm trying to find like Quad one wins and all that.
Logan Brumley: See, I think these are both teams that could definitely give NC State a run for their money.
Logan Brumley: Sorry, I'm kind of trying to gather all my thoughts here because you know this was came in out like yesterday so it's kind of have to kind of scramble to get all the information together to get in by this weekend.
Logan Brumley: John Smith and AndrewWilliamson are both really good outfield hitters especially when it comes to power.
Logan Brumley: Let's see.
Logan Brumley: And then pitching wise they have used a lot of pitchers but Cameron Wicker seems to be their majority starter with a four era.
Logan Brumley: So that's a team I feel good about.
Logan Brumley: For NC State getting past Central Florida just because they're pitching is not really too strong.
Logan Brumley: I think that Auburn one is going to be rough for sure because I mean it's, it just doesn't look pretty.
Logan Brumley: It's, it's Auburn, you know, that's a really solid.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, that's a really solid baseball program to you know, have to watch out for.
Logan Brumley: And they have good pitching, they have good defense but you know, here's the hoping but just a little bit more in the future.
Logan Brumley: Chris Hart will be the starting GM or coach for this time forward.
Logan Brumley: He's been an excessive rating years.
Logan Brumley: A lot of players love him and I think it'll be kind of just business as usual for NC State.
Logan Brumley: I don't think they'll take a major step back which is always great.
Logan Brumley: I hope this doesn't kind of kill the recruit in and you know, best of luck to NT State in this tournament.
Logan Brumley: All right, so I'll kind of go a little bit more into some of the players are on the roster who are really good and are looking at drafting.
Logan Brumley: All right, so with that all out of the way I will go over a little bit of you know, some of the big players to name with the MLB draft coming soon.
Logan Brumley: Let me see when the date is.
Logan Brumley: I think it's usually on a. July 11th.
Logan Brumley: Okay.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, July 11th or 13th in Philadelphia.
Logan Brumley: Well NC State doesn't have any like blue trip blue chip premier prospects in this year's class.
Logan Brumley: They do have a lot of players who could find themselves on to some roster.
Logan Brumley: I mean I don't know if they'll find themselves on MLB rosters.
Logan Brumley: I certainly hope they would but they'll at least find themselves in coming through the Miners, maybe in their being notable players in their farm systems.
Logan Brumley: I'll start off with some honorable mentions.
Logan Brumley: Luke Nixon who went undrafted due to his commitment to NC State but I think was one who was getting draft looks.
Logan Brumley: He's a Junior at 510 and 162lbs so he's a bit of a small guy but has really great contact skills.
Logan Brumley: He has a career batting average of .300 including .358 this season as well as 18 homers and 120 RBIs.
Logan Brumley: And remember this is three seasons of a career.
Logan Brumley: He also has led the team and stolen bases which is you know, always good and also has had some looks at being one of the top teams in batton average.
Logan Brumley: He's a great defender as well.
Logan Brumley: He was a utility player in high school and can play shortstop and outfield.
Logan Brumley: I think he especially found himself in the outfield this season.
Logan Brumley: You know with his stature he might have to move over to shortstop.
Logan Brumley: I don't know.
Logan Brumley: I mean I think he has a decent enough arm to play well I think.
Logan Brumley: Let's see, I don't know what they have him listed as on D1 baseball.
Logan Brumley: I was like terms of like where in the outfield if I am remembering correct he should be okay he's listed as the second baseman so that feels about fair.
Logan Brumley: That feels about where he should be with his height and stature.
Logan Brumley: I was thinking outfield as well just because you know he does have some solid fielding skills but maybe with a more there's just a little bit there missing to be a everyday shortstop.
Logan Brumley: I think second base is where he's going to be.
Logan Brumley: From here to the future.
Logan Brumley: That feels like where he fits well.
Logan Brumley: He can be a bit of a chaser.
Logan Brumley: He has a higher strike up than walk portion and you know 18 home runs in three seasons including nine this year is not that great.
Logan Brumley: I put down some fits of just like the Royalists and Red Sox in terms of like you know okay this guy, he's gonna be a late round pick.
Logan Brumley: This this is a team that doesn't have a lot of late round hidden or some solid hidden in their low a single A levels which is where he's gonna be sitting for a bit.
Logan Brumley: He might come back but if he decides to go he'll definitely get some looks.
Logan Brumley: The other honorable mention is Sherman Johnson who is listed as the don't have them where they're listed as Sherman Johnson.
Logan Brumley: He's a lot better defensively.
Logan Brumley: He did get was like all defensive player in JUCO when he was playing there.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, dirt base is where he played most.
Logan Brumley: He's 62196.
Logan Brumley: He could stick around for another year but you know he's utility defensive player.
Logan Brumley: He's shifty, quick, reliable.
Logan Brumley: He's played on the, you know, if you're looking at it from a catcher's perspective, the left side of the field when it comes to like shortstop and third baseman I think he does have a lot of defensive reliability.
Logan Brumley: He could be someone that sticks at the hot corner pretty well and be a good fit there.
Logan Brumley: And he does have the hit ability that kind of matches that profile at least when it comes to baton average with.327 and nine home runs and 48 RBI.
Logan Brumley: So there's upside there with the contact and the power but it would have to be you know through developmental.
Logan Brumley: He could be a mid round pick if he shows well at the combine.
Logan Brumley: But again this is another guy that I think could be fringe.
Logan Brumley: Let me see if there's any rumors on him going to the draft.
Logan Brumley: Okay.
Logan Brumley: No, that's the actual Sherman Johnson.
Logan Brumley: There's another MLB player named Sherman Johnson.
Logan Brumley: So just when you look it up make sure to remember that.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, 13 all acc.
Logan Brumley: Nothing yet on whether or not he would go over.
Logan Brumley: But if he does he would definitely get drafted and he could be a guy that kind of rises up over time if he's able to kind of find his swing in the minor leagues, you know, lower levels.
Logan Brumley: All right, so now these are players that are listed in the MLB top 150 draft prospects.
Logan Brumley: You can find it on like mlb.com top prospects list.
Logan Brumley: Just go over to draft for this year.
Logan Brumley: I'll go from lowest to highest so 138.
Logan Brumley: Ryan Maran.
Logan Brumley: He was previously drafted by Cleveland in the 20th round.
Logan Brumley: However his commitment to NT State kept him around.
Logan Brumley: He's 21 years old, 6 foot 2.
Logan Brumley: I did not put his weight down.
Logan Brumley: He has a 61 record.318 ERA in 8 games started this year and 3 to 1 career K to ball ratio like sorry strike at to walk ratio and a 3.51 career.
Logan Brumley: Injuries in this forearm have been very concerned but I think he's supposed to be back for the regionals so that will be very helpful.
Logan Brumley: Let's see.
Logan Brumley: Let's see.
Logan Brumley: Yeah he might be able to make it back.
Logan Brumley: If not then maybe he could make it to a super regional if NC State, I don't know but this could be a guy that could just look ahead at the draft because he is a guy with a very decent pick.
Logan Brumley: He's got the fastball, curveball, slider and changeup he can hit up to.
Logan Brumley: I think that's something that could improve but I mean that's pretty fast for a mid round college recruit.
Logan Brumley: Some pitchers are kind of slow.
Logan Brumley: Like he has a mid-70s curveball, but his change up in the 80s has been really good for him so far this season he's been pretty good at producing strikes out with it.
Logan Brumley: He's listed as like a high floor, low ceiling kind of prospect.
Logan Brumley: That's what Emma B.
Logan Brumley: Has him listed as because you know there's a little bit to improve on when it comes to like his curveball, speed and his health.
Logan Brumley: But it's kind of like what you see is what you get.
Logan Brumley: Being able to hit 95 is pretty good, but he's not going to be a guy that's going to anchor your start in five.
Logan Brumley: He could be someone who's like a fourth, fifth starter, maybe a third if we see some improvement up in the minor weak levels.
Logan Brumley: I forgot to put potential fits for him but just you know teams like drafting college pitchers that have a lot of stuff to him.
Logan Brumley: So he will definitely get a lot of looks and there will definitely be some.
Logan Brumley: Alright, well what can we get out of this guy?
Logan Brumley: And I wouldn't say this guy is someone who can rise up fast but if by like the middle of next season he's at like triple A as like a second or third starter, that would be really good for him.
Logan Brumley: At 66, I have listed Jacob Dudan.
Logan Brumley: He's going to fall definitely because I don't think this was updated recently.
Logan Brumley: This was probably updated like pre Tommy John's surgery he had 3.6 ERA and eight starts.
Logan Brumley: But of course you know Tommy Johns and a bunch of injuries against Notre Dame we see.
Logan Brumley: I was pitching numbers to look post Tommy John's because I know that always stunts the development even for young pitchers.
Logan Brumley: But let's see, he had a 99 mile an hour fastball and averages in a 90s there.
Logan Brumley: So it could be something where he might not ever hit 100.
Logan Brumley: Coming off Tommy John's, he's still young, he might be able to but I really doubt it.
Logan Brumley: He has a strong slider and a solid change at that.
Logan Brumley: Forces ground outs and keeps people chasing.
Logan Brumley: That's always helpful.
Logan Brumley: You know there hasn't really been big issues with his control.
Logan Brumley: You know, Tommy John surgery, I keep going back to it.
Logan Brumley: Young prospect, that's always something you got to worry about.
Logan Brumley: But he could be a high risk, high reward if a team decides to take a gamble on him.
Logan Brumley: He's definitely, I think going to fall.
Logan Brumley: But you know, with the stuff that we have seen out of him so far in his career, I think there's definitely a lot of potential where a strong pitching coach in a team that's really focused in on his health could be able to squeeze something out of him.
Logan Brumley: Maybe he could be a.
Logan Brumley: Maybe not necessarily starter but a guy who can perform solidly.
Logan Brumley: I would like to see him on the Mariners.
Logan Brumley: I have that listed as a fit because you know that team has kind of drained their pitching farm just a little bit.
Logan Brumley: But and I know they have developed a lot of decent pitchers in the later rounds, especially Brian Wu.
Logan Brumley: I think that was him where it was like he was a late round draft pick out of Cal Poly.
Logan Brumley: The same plays that Jacob Lee came from Twins and he just kind of came out of nowhere.
Logan Brumley: I think this could be a guy who is like that we always see well how did Jacob do damn become someone really good.
Logan Brumley: Well, this is how I also have Chicago Cubs listed just because that's a team that just needs quantity of pitchers in their farm system.
Logan Brumley: I think they have very low number of pictures for the amount of value that they would be at the place that I see to Dampion selected.
Logan Brumley: I mean I don't know if you'll get like a million dollars.
Logan Brumley: I think he could.
Logan Brumley: I'm pulling for him to get it, but we'll see.
Logan Brumley: Now the last guy and this is, you know the top one, this is someone who could definitely find themselves rising as time goes by.
Logan Brumley: We have Ty Head, the outfielder was 57th last season.
Logan Brumley: He had 288 bat average, 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and more than double the amount of walks compared to strikeouts, which is really good.
Logan Brumley: You know he's an everyday starting outfielder but there are questions about, you know, his stats against level of play.
Logan Brumley: He has a career of.281 and isn't as productive in ACC play so that could be an issue.
Logan Brumley: However, I think all that's going to do is just slow down how much longer it would take for him to get to the weak because you know, I think we've seen him be able to adapt as a hitter pretty well and that should be something that's really helpful for him getting back to a very highly productive level.
Logan Brumley: It could be something where he just kind of sits in the farm system.
Logan Brumley: You know, I've trust in his aggressiveness in this hit and iq, he's really good at making contact and you know, we've seen it time again where he just knows when to swing and how to be able to maximize his hidden.
Logan Brumley: There issues with this timing and four, I think he did have like a little bit that kicked him.
Logan Brumley: There's a little question about his form, but I think a good batten coach should be able to take care of that.
Logan Brumley: He's a good clean baseball prospect that a team can invest to.
Logan Brumley: I mean could he be a starter center fielder at the MLB level?
Logan Brumley: That's a good question.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, I think it's possible.
Logan Brumley: I think a team that could definitely see how great of a, how smart of a hitter that he is and I think that is something that's very important.
Logan Brumley: Something you can't really take for granted in baseball is having that intelligence because I mean as much as the physical prowess is good, having it between the head is something that is incredibly important especially as a prospect.
Logan Brumley: . 6'2", 205lbs.
Logan Brumley: So he's got the size to him, he's got the, you know, the skills and athleticism.
Logan Brumley: And I think he has been drafted before.
Logan Brumley: He has not.
Logan Brumley: But he was the second best outfielder in the second in the state of Florida, which is always good.
Logan Brumley: So we will see.
Logan Brumley: You know, best of luck to him.
Logan Brumley: I think he could definitely get in, but.
Logan Brumley: Yeah.
Logan Brumley: So I don't want to waste too much of your time.
Logan Brumley: So I'll do a quick review of men's golf right after this.
Logan Brumley: And last but certainly not least, we're going to be going over just a little bit of men's golf just to kind of let you know how that went.
Logan Brumley: So the wolf pack, they found themselves kind of in that bubble early.
Logan Brumley: They had a plus three in the opening round, which isn't terrible, but it was enough to put them in contention early on.
Logan Brumley: They weren't out on day one and they managed to rally back pretty well where they had a negative nine and a minus 11 score on day two and three.
Logan Brumley: However, there were some teams that had very strong starts like Virginia, Ole Miss, Pepperdine and then that last spot, USC made a much larger comeback just to kind of push NC State out to finish number seventh.
Logan Brumley: I think Houston finished slightly above as well.
Logan Brumley: It was just that opening day struggle being in the positives which really hurt them.
Logan Brumley: On the individual side, some sophomore Rylan Shim emerged as the strongest contender.
Logan Brumley: He started out, let's see, he was the only member to finish under the par in the first round, tying for 11th at negative three on day one, day two, there were several other players that found the rhythm, including Shim, who sat a total negative four.
Logan Brumley: Pierce new win at negative two as well overall.
Logan Brumley: So those two are like the strongest contenders head into day three.
Logan Brumley: Evan Woosley-Reed, the senior, he also had a strong performance, but most notably Shim finishing with a negative 8.
Logan Brumley: However, Kentucky's Ben James dominated with a negative 19 total and qualified for the individuals.
Logan Brumley: So no one on the team really made it far enough to really get anything from it.
Logan Brumley: But overall, I mean, it wasn't a terrible season.
Logan Brumley: I know that.
Logan Brumley: I think last year they made it a little bit further than it did.
Logan Brumley: Now.
Logan Brumley: Let me double check, but I think that there's definitely some solid sophomores on the roster.
Logan Brumley: Let's see if I'm sure they'll still stick around and hopefully if NC State has a strong freshman and transfer class like they did.
Logan Brumley: Okay, they did not make it.
Logan Brumley: They did do better than last year slightly.
Logan Brumley: Yeah.
Logan Brumley: Hopefully a transfer portal gets better.
Logan Brumley: I think most of the core will return.
Logan Brumley: Maybe we'll get some stronger younger guys coming in to the crew.
Logan Brumley: However, I think this is a team that next year could push for at least a finalist appearance if they kind of improve that steady rate like let's say the women's tennis program has been doing in the past few years.
Logan Brumley: But that's pretty much all I have.
Logan Brumley: I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Logan Brumley: Have a good day and go pack.