October Chatter

Baseball21

It’s getting pretty cold, but I’m not talking about teeth.  I’m talking about baseball!  Let’s take a moment to not think about football. Consider it therapy.

The College Baseball Blog has started it’s countdown of the 2011 Top 100 Players, and Wolfpack Junior Pratt Maynard is the first (and probably last) NCSU player to make the list at #89.

Pratt was named the starting catcher for the Eastern Division in the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star game this past Summer, and Frankie Pilere of Fanhouse.com rated Maynard the 88th best pro prospect for the 2011 MLB Draft in his rankings released on September 6th.

Last season, the Pack had no players on the list and only 3 All-ACC players… the three seniors in the Wolfpack’s everyday lineup — second baseman Dallas Poulk, center fielder Kyle Wilson and right fielder Drew Poulk.

About BAM

I grew up on Jones Franklin Rd with a Wolfpack banner hanging over my bed. UNCW class of 2001.

Baseball

21 Responses to October Chatter

  1. sbas2 10/17/2010 at 4:53 PM #

    i like Harold Riggins to have an outstanding year-maybe all ACC. anyone who was at the 2010 ACC tournament saw him hit a homerun over the scoreboard-no small feat. about mid 2010 season, Harold was hitting well under 300, but ended the year hitting 331. his fielding also improved quite a bit.
    other than the Poulk cousins and Wilson, Harold Riggins was the player i anticipated coming to bat.
    on a side note, this is my idea of how a college baseball hitter stacks-up. if a player hits around 300 he is a below average college hitter. if a player hits around 350, he is an average hitter. to be an above average college hitter, a player should hit 375 plus. of course its the aluminum bat!

  2. 87stategrad 10/17/2010 at 5:12 PM #

    I agree, I’ll be dissapointed if Harold doesn’t make the list. He had a great season in the summer leagues, along with Canela and Senay. We should have a good team again this spring.

  3. StateFans 10/17/2010 at 5:43 PM #

    Talking baseball on the boards:

    (1) Most efficient MLB teams:

    http://www.statefansnationforums.com/topic.php?id=3013&replies=2#post-54890

    (2) Championship series conversations:

    http://www.statefansnationforums.com/topic.php?id=2991&replies=8#post-54891

  4. fvpackman 10/18/2010 at 3:06 PM #

    Talk about a BS story….Did you do any research…..We have had a couple years of the best recruiting ever coming back this year….Harold Riggins will be a star….Pratt will be also…..I guess you just over looked Cincin who was among the acc leaders in almost every baqtting stat there is….Canela,,Senay, the return of Cam Conner…..Chris Shaffer…..Maybe the most power we have had a NC State since the 03 team with Colt Morton…..I take exception to your story…If you can’t do better then this just don’t do it at all.

    fv

  5. BAM 10/18/2010 at 3:36 PM #

    “Talk about a BS story….Did you do any research….”
    YES.

    “I guess you just over looked Cincin who was among the acc leaders in almost every baqtting stat there is”
    I’m pretty sure you mean Ciencin (note spelling). Yes, he was in the ACC top 20 in RBI. He was not in the top 20 in AVG, SLG, OBP, RUNS, H, HR, BB, SB or any other meaningful category.

    Back to the point, this is a list of the Top 100 Players in the nation. I honestly don’t think any State players should be on the list pre-season, and was very surprised Pratt made it. To look at this objectively there is no way any other State players will make the list. No way. Let me repeat… NO WAY.

    You are right, we will have a tremendous lineup as a team. No one will argue that. But to say based on last season that we have elite players on the national stage is premature.

  6. StateFans 10/18/2010 at 4:59 PM #

    I am very confused.

    fv – it doesn’t look BAM is saying anything negative about the team. He is just referencing a Top 100 listing of players from The College Baseball Blog.

    I don’t understand how he is being negative by simply pointing to the positive that we have a player listed in the Top 100 after not having any listed in the Top 100 last year?

    Is your point that you think we will have have a lot of players ranked on this list of the Top 100 and BAM’s presumption that we won’t is incorrect?

    Love it! Some ‘baseball controversy’ to observe in the offseason!

    BAM vs fv!!!

  7. BAM 10/18/2010 at 6:01 PM #

    Well put. I’m not saying anything negative about the team.

    It’s quite an achievement to be on a Top 100 list in baseball. I think the equivalent would be a Top 50 in basketball.

    I don’t appreciate FV’s tone, but still appreciate his comments. I hope he follows up on this to see if any State players make the list so he can prove me wrong 🙂 Better yet, he should bring me a beer for the home opener! And I’ll do the same if I’m wrong.

  8. Dr. BadgerPack 10/18/2010 at 7:01 PM #

    I guess I’m not terribly surprised at Maynard making the list. There’s a premium on veteran catchers, especially those who can contribute with the bat. Maynard is a flat-out on base machine. Those walks are a HUGE value; they put a guy on base and force a minimum of 4 pitches thrown. The 11 homers weren’t bad either.

    Now, I don’t expect Maynard (personal opinion) to do the bulk of the catching this year, but if the author of the list has C as Pratt’s primary position, then it helps to explain his presence in the top 100.

    At the END of the year, I think the Pack could put 2-3 guys on a similar list. Probably not Maynard (as I don’t think he’ll catch), but Riggins certainly and take your pick of some of the other veterans (Ciencin comes to mind). I think if he gets more consistent with his control, Cory Mazzoni could be poised for a big year as well.

    I said at the beginning of last season that, while State would be back in the post-season, that this was going to be the breakthrough year into the upper third of the ACC. This team has been built for this season… Time to get a title of some sort.

  9. fvpackman 10/19/2010 at 9:14 AM #

    The point I guess is it’s a list by a blogger…We could do a list on a blog and load it up with players….Any list with out Riggins on it should tell you all you need to know…Doc is right….this is the year that has been built for the last 3 years….I don’t normally get to fired up in the fall…But what I have seen so far the last 2 weeks…This should be a VERY good year. My point about a BS story is you took the best 100 list of a blog….If you don’t know our team…then ask around….there are plenty on here that do.

    fv

  10. BAM 10/19/2010 at 10:01 AM #

    FV, why do you think I don’t know our team? I went to several games last year, have followed the team since I was a kid in the 80’s, have written about the team for several years. I don’t understand your issue with me posting a list from CollegeBaseballBlog.com (note the name, it’s a blog specifically geared towards covering college baseball) and highlighting that a Wolfpack player made their list whereas last year no one on our team did. I was not pontificating on the merits of our team or specific players. I was not intending to go into great detail on the subject. I merely was posting about an event, no more, no less. You could very well have added to the conversation without being an a-hole.

  11. fvpackman 10/19/2010 at 11:30 AM #

    “Wolfpack Junior Pratt Maynard is the first (and probably last) NCSU player to make the list at #89.”

    “Last season, the Pack had no players on the list and only 3 All-ACC players”

    Only 2 ALL-ACC? The ACC was stacked last year with MLB talent….3 was pretty damn good if you ask me….But hey…you went to a few games last year so I defer…not trying to be as you put it a “A-Hole”…Just think your little story was negative.

    fv

  12. BAM 10/19/2010 at 1:22 PM #

    The only reason I brought up the 3 players who made All-ACC is that they are all gone… our top 3 batting averages and 3 of the top 4 in runs scored from the offense that was 6th in the nation last year.

    This coming season, yes, we have many players who could be All-ACC by the end of the year: Riggins, Senay, Buchanon, Mazzoni, Ciencin, Schaeffer, maybe even Gianis.

    Now, Mazzoni for instance really needs to cut back on the base on balls to lower his ERA. Senay could have a solid season with 180+ at bats as an every day player. We’ll just have to see how they have developed and refined skills in the off-season. Most preseason lists are a crap shoot anyways; it’s just fun to talk about baseball during a bye week.

  13. BAM 10/19/2010 at 1:25 PM #

    p.s. I’ve been bugging NCSU SID about releasing the baseball schedule… should know something soon. Hopefully today.

  14. StateFans 10/19/2010 at 2:02 PM #

    Great stuff here. I’ve already learned more about baseball this coming year than I knew at all last year before the ACC Tournament — where I learned one other thing — Harold Riggins is a MAN.

  15. fvpackman 10/19/2010 at 3:40 PM #

    We open up 2/18 with Elon….Great home ACC slate with UNC,WF,Clemson,FSU and MD all at Doak….We play Duke at the DBAP so that should be like a home series also…

    fv

  16. BAM 10/19/2010 at 4:22 PM #

    ECU should be visiting Doak as well. I think VaTech and FSU are the only ACC schools to have officially released schedules when I last checked. Where did you get info on ACC scheduling and Elon?

  17. Dr. BadgerPack 10/19/2010 at 4:43 PM #

    BAM- One small nit… Buchanon is in the Astros organization now.

    Two others to watch- Tzamtzis (I didn’t bother to look up the spelling) and Felix Roque.

    My annual preview comes in January… It’s already in the works.

  18. fvpackman 10/19/2010 at 5:52 PM #

    ECU should be here on a weeknight the first week or so of Aril….We are not going to ECU this year..

    fv

  19. BAM 10/19/2010 at 10:16 PM #

    I didn’t realize Buchanan actually signed (assumed he would return). How did he do in A ball?

    I was surprised he was drafted so high, so I guess it’s not surprising he signed. The Astros must have put a lot of weight on his Cape Cod season from 2009.

    Maybe he’ll be the next Greg Maddox. Fastball makes cameos in the 90s, above avg curve and change. Excellent command of location. Too bad for us he’s not coming back. Prob would have notched 10 wins.

  20. fvpackman 10/20/2010 at 11:00 AM #

    From what I have seen so far this fall I think we are in pretty good shape,

    Catcher- Maynard,Canela,Schaeffer we will see all 3…All 3 are solid behind the plate and all 3 can hit.

    1st- Riggins,Maynard,Canela,Schaeffer
    2nd- Ciencin,Diaz and maybe newcomer Alvarez
    SS- Bergquist,Diaz
    3rd-Ciencin,Riggins,Canela

    LF- Senay,Ryan Matthews
    CF- Gianis,
    RF- Cam Conner

    A couple newcomers to the outfield as backup’s Dylan Brown,Brett Williams,

    Pitching

    Fri-Mazzoni
    Sat-Chamra,Ogburn
    Sun-Clark,Roque,Rice

    Middle inning relief Sasser,Vance Williams
    Closer- Roque,Tzamtzis,Rice,Healey

    A lot still to shake out before 2/18….But these are just my observations so far from this fall.

    fv

  21. BAM 10/20/2010 at 12:31 PM #

    Looking forward to BadgerPack’s preview. I haven’t kept up with players over the summer other than a few headlines here and there.

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