(02-15-2018 02:45 AM)eaglenjxn Wrote:  

(02-14-2018 05:54 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(02-14-2018 02:53 PM)usm99 Wrote:  

(02-14-2018 02:46 PM)BeagleUSM Wrote:  

(02-14-2018 02:42 PM)usm99 Wrote:  i haven't been to any of the scrimmages but bold move going with sandlin as our friday starter. So who will our closer be this weekend/year if this sticks?

Wallner will likely be our stopper.

Thanks for the info. I guess considering last year that Sandlin had multiple outings of 3+ innings it probably wasn't that much to shift him from closer to starter.

Or, perhaps, it's a realization that you have no other pitcher on the staff that could compete effectively against other Friday night starters.

Well, we still have our Friday guy from last year. He’s not especially talented but can locate the ball and keep it down enough to be effective against most CUSA lineups. State crushed him, though. He’s hurt this weekend and that may be the reason Sandlin is drawing the start.

If the plan is for Sandlin to start this season,, the question is if we are turning a lights out reliever into an average to pretty good starter that can only go five or six innings. If we already have a guy that can do that, Sandlin is much more valuable in the pen, iMO. If the rotation without him looks like a disaster, then maybe it’s worth it.

Sandlin can throw from different arm slots but is primarily sidearm. His stuff is nasty but like all sidearmers, the novelty of his delivery is a part of his success. Is he effective the third time through a lineup? Don’t know. Can he work on both sides of the plate enough to keep teams from just leaning out over the plate and going with outside pitches like State did last year?

And even if effective, he’s never been efficient in terms of pitch count, usually throwing 18-20 pitches an inning.

Not saying Sandlin can’t do it. But I’m interested to see how he changes his approach as a starter because I think he has to for this to work.

Our current pitching coach helped convert La Tech's closer last year into a dominant Friday starter so I like Sandlin's chances.