Everything Head Baseball Coach Chris Lemonis Said Ahead of First Scrimmages
As we near just three weeks until the Mississippi State Bulldogs hit the diamond at The Dude, head baseball coach Chris Lemonis opened up about his team during Friday's press conference.
Here is a full transcript of what Lemonis said:
On his current confidence level of the team:
We haven’t really done too much. We’ve only been on the field 7-8 days and half of those were iced in or rain. I like our group. We had a really good fall and they've come back in really good shape. We got to practice on the field last night, which was really nice. The guys are right where they need to be right now. Today starts the first scrimmages, so we’ll see some pitchers get out there, throw and compete as we start to build up some volume. Position wise, that group has a chance to be special. There’s a lot of competition going on, so just trying to figure out where guys are going to play, but it’s a fun group.
On impressions of pitching coach Justin Parker:
I think he’s built a great relationship with those guys. There’s a lot of trust going on right now. Going from fall until now, there’s been a lot of growth. They learned a lot in the fall, but they are more confident and comfortable with what he’s teaching. He has a great relationship with those guys and I think they’ve bought in. It’s an exciting group to watch.
On if there are open spots within position groups:
You have some real competition, probably an outfield spot or two. The middle infield for me will be competitive as I’ve got a couple of guys going for two spots. Who is the DH and who falls in those roles? There are some spots that guys have won--Dakota (Jordan) has played a really good right field and Hunter (Hines) at first. There still is a lot of competition. We’re playing a lot of secondary positions right now. Bryce Chance is playing left field and second. My middle infielders are playing a little bit of everywhere and giving us some flexibility.
On how the new pitchers are fitting in and if any have stepped up:
We brought in a lot of new arms and there’s a lot of injured arms back, which is a positive for us. Overall, the whole group has made jumps and that’s exciting. Colby Holcombe, Nate Dohm, Jurrangelo (Cijntje), Bradley Loftin. Then some of those new guys like Khal Stephen has been real impressive. Collectively as a group everybody is getting better. They’re very talented, now they just have to pitch good. Throw more strikes. Manage innings better. Hold the running game better. Do all the things that great pitchers do.
On his comfort level with the back end of the bullpen:
I don’t see us having the Landon Sims guy. It’s not going to be one guy slamming the door. There’s a lot of pieces back there right now. As we figure out who the weekend rotation is, there's a lot of competition there, the odd man out may get to that point. He’ll be real pissed having to go there. That’s just how it goes because everyone wants to be a starter. I think we have a lot of pieces coming back like Stone Simmons is in the process of coming back. He was a closer here and I feel comfortable with him. Cam Schuelke, who our fans haven’t seen yet, he was Fireman of the Year in junior college, won a national championship and all-Cape Cod Reliever for two years. I don’t know if he’s a closer of is he the guy to win the game in the seventh when everything is on fire. We could use Cam in so many ways. We’ve got Pico (Kohn) coming back and he’s getting real close. He probably can't throw 75 pitches just yet. He could be a real candidate there. He’s looked good in rehab.
On the strengths and a couple of challenges of this year's team:
The experience of our position player group is (a strength). The depth of the pitching staff could be a real strength. It has to be. We brought in a handful of guys, we’re about 1-20 right now that we can rely on, put out there and give a chance. We have to figure out roles right now. That’s the biggest thing in these three weeks, so that we can play clean baseball. We need to pitch and defend. I think the offense will come, it may be first thing we have, but we have to pitch and defend if we want to win championships.
On having Amani Larry as the leadoff:
He’s a stats stuffer and he does a little bit of everything. He walks more than he strikes out, takes the HBP, he can steal a base. He can lead off the game with a home run. Across the board, he does a lot of things. He's 23-years-old, he’s gone through the SEC as an older player and he had a great fall. Arguably one of our better offensive players this fall.
On how coach Parker's philosophy has been implemented so far:
You can see how guys were moving around the mound and it's just a lot different. It is a little big mechanically too. Using the lower half better, the arm is working better. You’re seeing that across the board. Pico spent all the time doing lower half work because he couldn’t throw in the fall and it’s helped his delivery and as he's come back from the injury. In the fall, it implemented a lot and now it’s muscle memory. You’re seeing their analytics play up a little bit. Things are getting better on the computer and it matters to those guys.
On how they look defensively:
I like where we are at defensively. I think we have a chance to be one of the better defensive teams out there. There’s not a lot of holes defensively. I felt that way last year, but we had some guys who played well historically that got in a rut.
On his confidence of the offense being able to relieve pressure off pitchers:
It should give you some. The pitching is independent, though, in that we need good starts. When you’re down 5-0, you squeeze the bat a little more. Having great starts and having that confidence that we can come back. We can come back we're an offensive team. Just keep the game close. They both lean on each other. Not pitching good enough puts pressure, but not hitting enough puts pressure. We just have to raise both sides.
On how Dakota Jordan was convinced to come back from the transfer portal:
It was huge. Dakota has a chance to be one of the better players in the country. There are a lot of things behind the scenes that happened. There wasn’t a ton of conversation, I think he just woke up and said ‘I’m a Mississippi State Bulldog and I always have been.' He’s been committed to us since the eighth grade. It’s in his blood. He’s a wonderful kid, he’s working his tail off and he’s as talented as there is.
On what he's seen from Connor Hujsak:
It was tough for him last year. He was one of the highest rated portal guys that came through. He went from infield to outfield. We could have used him some in the infield, but he probably didn’t want to as much. He got stuck behind Ledbetter and Dakota, two guys who just outplayed him. He’s really good defensively in center field and has an above average arm. He’s an older player with some pop, who can run, bunt and do a lot of things. He’s worked extremely hard. When everybody left for Christmas break, he stayed another week. He walks in these doors at about eight or nine every morning before classes, hits, works out and then comes to practice later in the day. He’s a very very driven kid. He was voted the top prospect in his summer league. He reminds me physically of Jordan Westburg. Big, strong, fast and can do a lot of things. But he’s got to get out there and prove it. He’s been really good to this point.
On if there are any freshman that he wants to make an impact this season:
I do. I hate to put too much on those young guys, but I love our freshman group. We have a handful that are really talented. Dylan Cupp is going to play a bunch, he turned down an opportunity to go to pro ball. Really good defender, has gained weight and has become a better offensive player. Nolan Stevens we didn’t see a lot in the fall as he broke his Hammack bone. He’s a really good offensive player (outfielder), but he’s also really good on the mound that will be used in both ways. Very talented player.
On if they'll have an everyday designated hitter.
I think it will be more matchups and trying to keep different lineups going because we have about 4-5. Aaron Downs, who has been here a couple of years, has been special. We have rotations in multiple spots. Nolan Stevens, or one of the middle infielders or one of my catchers not in that game. Our flexibility is good for us. I don't think will have one guy that sits in that hole.
On the schedule:
We changed our mindset a little bit. Our games in Biloxi and Pearl, we have four road games that no one in our league plays. My mindset was let’s stay home and play Biloxi like a weekend series. I can’t stop going to Biloxi, we have sold that park out with all Mississippi State fans. We get to recruit down there, the high school teams get to see us and it's such a good thing. We put some teams on the schedule that have had a lot of success. Georgia Southern hosted a regional, Air Force has been good, Evansville has a bunch of older players back. I don’t know if there are any easy schedules in the SEC. It’s just about going out there and grinding out your wins. Every coach in the league is trying to figure out how to get to 15 wins. It’s tough. but the good teams go out there and take their weekends and that’s what we have to do.
On how Hunter Hines has transitioned to first base:
He's great. He doesn’t have to think about his swing until the next at-bat. He’s really athletic and a good defender. I hope he doesn’t take his swing out to first base, that’s my biggest fear. I like how he’s working. It’s fun to see him mature in that role.
