Fall World Series - 2023

[1972Shocker]

Top 10 Draft PIcks for the Shocker FWS Rosters:

[Kung Wu]

Hopefully this is a more readable version of the Shocker FWS rosters:

Who?
Who?
Who?
Sweet he's back!
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
Oh Stroh!!
Who?
Who?
Who?
Iron Man!
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?
... and so on ...


But seriously, it's going to be a lot of fun seeing a stable program rise again.

[1972Shocker]

Recap of Top 10 Draft Picks For the Shockers' FWS

Yellow Squad Captains:
LHP Caden Favors - Senior - 6-3, 205
IF/OF Jordan Rogers - RS Junior - 6-0, 200

Black Squad Captains:
OF Seth Storh - Senior - 6-4, 235
C Mauricio Millan - Junior _ 5-11, 190

#1. C Alex Birge - RS Sophomore - 6-0, 215
#2. RHP Daniel Zang - Sophomore - 6-2, 180
#3. IF/OF Ryan Callahan - Junior - 6-0, 200
#4. LHP Hunter Holmes - Junior - 6-4, 190
#5 RHP Tommy LaPour - Freshman - 6-4, 230
#6 LHP Tyler Dobbs - Freshman - 6-3, 180
#7 LHP Drew Iverson - Freshman - 6-4, 200
#8 RHP Caleb Anderson - Sophomore - 6-0, 195
#9 OF Jaden Gustafson - Sophomore - 6-3, 215
#10 RHP Brady Hamilton - Freshman - 6-3, 180

Captains Caden Favors and Jordan Roger went with 3 position players and 2 pitchers with their first 5 picks. Of course, they already had senior LHP Caden Favors on the roster. Including the captains they started their roster 3 pitchers, 1 catcher, 1 outfielders and 2 utility players.

Captains Seth Stroh and Mo Millan used all 5 of their top picks on pitchers. Of course, they already had junior catcher Mo Millan on the roster. Including the captains the start their roster with 5 pitchers, 1 catcher and 1 outfielder.

Notably, of the 7 pitchers taken in the draft, there were 4 freshman, 2 sophomores, and 1 junior. Of course, the roster is not a relatively young one. None of these 7 guys have any D-1 experience other than what they may have played in the Dallas Baptist scrimmage.

All-in-all though I think the rosters are pretty well balanced.

It will be interesting to see who the 3 starters will be for each team, although the pitchers will probably have pitch count they have to work with. I imagine that PCAC will manage the pitching staffs for both teams.

My pick to take the series: Yellow

My advice to my fellow Shockernetters: Put your money on the Black Squad

[WuDrWu]

Yellow was somewhat forced to take Birge 1st with a fairly big dropoff at catcher. That being said, we might (in the spring) see AB at a different spot than C. Milan is razor sharp behind the plate, and Alex has more pop at the plate. Finding a place for his bat is important. Also, as the Coach, I could see Mo taking some innings off to lead to give Logan Kreske a chance to play.

Three 7 inning games, I suspect the staff will be on a pitch count or inning count (2 or 3 seems likely) to limit wear and get plenty of guys work. If you can get there, probably should make sure you see Tommy LaPour. The big freshman appears to be ahead of where Nate Snead was last year. High 90s guy right out of the gate and just might have a little more length in him than Nate (I'd look for him in the rotation next spring).

I think Zhang has been a pleasant surprise. His delivery is tough to pick up and his velo is better than I thought it would be. Obviously we're going to need more than those 2 and Favors to pitch, now and next spring. Based on the draft, juco transfers Holmes and Anderson, as well as freshmen Iverson and Hamilton are ones to watch. I also hope to see talented freshman Ryan Geraghty get a chance.

Also will be keeping my eyes open for the progress Michael Mulhollon has made over the summer. Newcomer Gavin Oswald should be in the mix in the spring and other talented freshman like Trevor Lee, Ben Leikam, Jeremiah Arnett and Luke Agnew hopefully will get a shot.

In the field, pay attention to slick fielding freshman Darnell Parker Jr at SS....he's a must see. Dude can really field it. I like what I've seen from Kam Durnin from St Louis and Holden Pantier but I'm not sure where they can regularly fit in. 2nd, 3rd, DH and CF (with DH likely to be Birge if he's not somewhere else in the field) seem to be the only real open positions at this time, barring a surprise rise from someone unexpected.

[1972Shocker]

So the Yellow roster has 12 pitchers and the Black roster has 13 pitchers. Each team has 4 lefties. So each team can get use 4 pitchers each day. Tad Reida said that the team captains will manage their respective teams and make the lineup and strategy decisions. I suspect that the coaching staff will provided them some guidelines and limits on how each of the pitchers are used.

I can see the starters going 3 or maybe 4 innings depending on their pitch count. But I expect pretty much the whole staff to get some work in.

No doubt Darnell Parker can get the job done in the field at SS. Whether or not he can get the job done at the plate remains to be seen. From what I have seen of him this fall, which is not a whole lot, it looked to me like he has a ways to go with the stick in his hands.

[1972Shocker]

Any eyewitness reports?

[WuDrWu]

Tommy LaPour started for yellow. He sat 92-96 with a knee crippling change around 75 and slider in the mid 80s. HCBG found himself a good one here.

Yellow was in control of the game until late when walks and HBP (get used to that....we're going to get hit in the spring, A LOT. It's an intentional part of the process) of which there were at least 8 on the night led to a couple of 3 run innings.

I was somewhat distracted and with all the new kids I didn't follow as closely as I would have liked.

Brady Hamilton started for Black. He wasn't as solid as Tommy but he wasn't bad either. He was hurt early by an error between short and 2nd that ruined an almost certain double play that instead made it 2 on no out. A sac bunt (well executed) that turned into a hit and a walk and single gave Yellow a crooked inning.

There are obvious depth issues at a variety of positions. I'll try and get more details today and tomorrow, if possible.

[1972Shocker]

Any word on how FWS game 2 on Saturday went?

[Shockersdad]

Any word on how FWS game 2 on Saturday went?

I heard 8-0 Yellow

[WuDrWu]

I heard 8-0 Yellow

Yes, Yellow scored 6 in the 3rd or 4th, again fueled by walks and HBPs.

Unfortunately, again, the combination of all the new players and a variety of distractions prevented me from getting a decent breakdown of the game.

Birge is certainly one who's driving the ball and one speculates his bat must be in the lineup regularly. With Milan coaching and only 3 catchers on the roster, Birge is forced to catch but don't be surprised if he finds another position to be inserted into the lineup come spring.

Third base was an absolute nightmare yesterday. That's got to change. I don't have a clue what the answer is but it's not fielding about .600

Pitching continues to be better than I anticipated, although the walks and HBP have to come down.

[Shockersdad]

Yellow won today 9-2.

[Shockersdad]

Tommy LaPour started for yellow. He sat 92-96 with a knee crippling change around 75 and slider in the mid 80s. HCBG found himself a good one here.

Yellow was in control of the game until late when walks and HBP (get used to that....we're going to get hit in the spring, A LOT. It's an intentional part of the process) of which there were at least 8 on the night led to a couple of 3 run innings.

I was somewhat distracted and with all the new kids I didn't follow as closely as I would have liked.

Brady Hamilton started for Black. He wasn't as solid as Tommy but he wasn't bad either. He was hurt early by an error between short and 2nd that ruined an almost certain double play that instead made it 2 on no out. A sac bunt (well executed) that turned into a hit and a walk and single gave Yellow a crooked inning.

There are obvious depth issues at a variety of positions. I'll try and get more details today and tomorrow, if possible.

I wasn't there Friday but heard Ryan Geraghty threw 2 or 3 innings with one unearned run for Yellow. Fastball 92-94mph with real good slider and change.

[1972Shocker]

[Old School "Shocker"]

Wichita State welcomes a new era of baseball to campus with the hiring of former Washington State head coach Brian Green. Green led the Cougars to four consecutive winning seasons, which hadn’t always been an easy trick to turn in Pullman for nearly a decade before his arrival. He also helped turn around his alma mater, New Mexico State – his first head coaching gig at the Division I level – which followed stints at Kentucky and UCLA as an assistant.

Green follows Loren Hibbs, who stepped in to lead the team on an interim basis after previous WSU head coach Eric Wedge mysteriously left the program, initially citing personal health reasons in October of 2022. Two months later Wichita State released a statement that Wedge was not returning, with no mention of health or gratitude for his three seasons guiding the team. Shortly after the Shockers’ 2023 season came to a close they announced they would be conducting a nationwide search for their next head coach, meaning Hibbs’ time with the Shockers had also come to a close.

... more at https://d1baseball.com/fall-report/2...0his%20arrival.