Holbrook Presser Recap
South Carolina Baseball Coach Chad Holbrook held a press conference on Friday afternoon shortly before the first day of preseason camp. Here is a recap of what he said:
Season opener in 3 weeks. Excited to get out there today. Full team together for the first time since fall practice. They are ready to play and compete. 11 scrimmages planned for preseason camp. Have some difficult decisions to make. Competition between some very good players. Good weather this weekend. Makes for a fairer competition between the players.
Definitely a sense of urgency around here. Returning players were very disappointed in the way last year went. But we have a lot of new players as well. Veterans have shown leadership. Arendas, Mooney, Schmidt. Feel good about our leadership. But we haven't played yet. They have worked hard. Shown signs of being a special team. Feel good about the product we'll put on the field.
New weekend starters on the mound. Wynkoop and Crowe not here. Scrimmages will help coaches make decisions re: pitching staff. Not much separation in some of the pitchers and how they have performed. Clarke Schmidt has stood out. Feel good about him and Braden Webb as well. Good depth. Adam Hill has shown great promise as a freshman. Could factor into the weekend by end of the seaosn.
"Scary and exciting" that USC has so many new players. Lot of unfamiliar faces to fans and media. But Holbrook knows them through the recruiting process, etc. Nobody on roster has been to CWS.
Taylor Widener is healthy after missing fall practice. Bullpens have been great. Have been bouncing back well from bullpen sessions. Arm doing well. Has gotten past psychological hurdle of elbow surgery. Holbrook thinking he is a starter, but could change. He will get the opportunity. His role depends on the depth in the bullpen.
Dom Thompson-Williams has already assumed a leadership role in the locker room. Everybody respects him. He wants to play and win. Comes from winning JUCO program. Baseball savvy. Likely to hit in the middle of the lineup. Always wanted to play in the SEC.
Don't want to go through another season like 2015. Those are few and far between. High expectations. Wasn't used to what happened last year.
Brandon McIlwain has done well in his workouts. Very polished baseball player. Can do some things at the plate. Has a chance to be a special player. But he hasn't faced a college pitcher yet. If he is one of our best players, he will play. But he hasn't been on a college campus long. No timetable yet. He is expected to contribute. Tremendous potential. We'll see how he grows and develops. When FB needs him, he'll be with FB team. We'll balance things out.
Confident Alex Destino will bounce back from freshman season. Swung bat well in fall camp. Has had a muscle strain, but will play today. Had a tough year last year, but he was a freshman. But also showed signs of brilliance. Should be more consistent in 2016. Likes thought of DTW and Destino hitting 3-4 in lineup.
Catchers all bring something unique to the table. Hunter Taylor is much different player than he was a year ago. Much improved. Balls flying off his bat. Johnny Jones is mature player. Switch-hitter. Freshman Chris Cullen has shown promise. Very good depth at catcher.
Top of the order: One of the questions that must be answered in camp. We have some explosive players. Better athleticism this year. Elite athletes. Guys with 6.5 (home plate to 2B) speed. Looking for a guy to step up and become leadoff hitter. Danny Blair and Clarke Scolamiero have the ability to do it. Both are LH hitters, can bunt and play good defense. DTW could leadoff as well. Gene Cone is probably betetr #2 hitter.
No timetable for determining lineup. We have 14 position players. Not much separation. Bunch of guys that are pretty good. Have decisions to make. Camp is opportunity to compete for jobs.
Who is the closer? Could have a closer by committee approach early. Josh Reagan is much improved. Throwing 88 now rather than the 82 last yr. Vogel has improved. Murray is much improved.
Who will step up and be the leaders: Arendas has been great. Mooney. DTW has a personality = Adrian Morales. But he is more talented. More vocal guys than last yr. Like to communicate.
