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A neighbor of mine who has had season tickets for years invited me to attend the practice last night. He had gone by the baseball office earlier in the day & Scott Guerss, Dir of Op’s, gave him a couple of copies of the roster that included the player’s uniform numbers which came in handy. We arrived at the practice around 6 PM just when the team was finishing batting practice. Scott later told my friend that this was the 4th practice. Here are a few things we observed without trying to remember if a player was on the black or yellow team. Weights & heights are only provided for the new players:
• Catchers: Brandon Kimbrel, 6-3, 195, RS transfer from Hutch CC; Bob Arens, the 5th yr sr, & Taylor Sanogorski, 6-0, 220 lb. Of the 3, we liked Taylor’s throws to 2nd the best. He has a quick, snap throw & all of his throws to 2nd were on the money. Kimbrel hit a towering 3 run HR over the CF fence in the 4th or 5th inning. Gunner Troutwine, 6-2, 210, from Shawnee Mission East, played, but we were not sure what position he played. He is listed as a C on the roster.
• 1st Base: Sam Hilliard, 6-5, 220, Crowder CC, & Ryan Tinkham, 6-5, 210, Oxnard CC. Ryan had a recent shoulder op, perhaps for a torn labrum. He was limited to making underhanded throws to the infielders between innings during warm-ups. Hilliard is also a LHP who throws in the 90’s, but he also looks like a possible DH prospect as a hitter. He has definite gap power!
• 2nd base: Tanner Dearman, & Jordan Farris, 6-3, 215, Oxnard CC. They both looked good defensively. Dearman can be a sparkplug on the base paths if he hits consistently as he did as a frosh.
• SS: Tanner Kirk, & Wes Phillips. Adam Thies, 6-0, 175, from Olathe, KS, & Trey Vickers, 6-1, 185, from Lee’s Summit, MO, came in later.
• 3rd Base: Chase Rader, 6-0, 210, Coffeyville CC, & Willie Schwanke, 6-1, 195, Grayson College CC. Swanke bats left, but throws right as a RHP. Rader hit a double to the lf corner.
• Outfield: We could not track where everyone played because it was hard to see their numbers. But, outfielders who batted included Dan Kihle, Mikel Muchal, Michael Burns, Keenan Eaton, 6-1, 205 from Parker, CO; Bret Fehr, the 6-3, 185 lb HS 1st team All-American from Manhattan, KS; & Zach Reding, 6-2, 220, a transfer from Texas Tech who will RS.
• The starting pitchers were Sr, Ray Ashford, & Chase Williams, 6-5, 222, a RSo, from E OK State. The hitters didn’t do much with Ashford. Williams throws very hard, but needs work on his control. Pitchers typically threw 2 innings. Others pitchers who followed included Regan Biechler, the So who did well last year, Jon Ferrendelli, 6-1, 180, from Chandler-Gilbert CC; & TJ Looney, a Jr,who throws very hard; We may have lost track of who pitched after a few innings. We left around 7:30 because it started to sprinkle.
Other impressions. Todd Butler & Brent Kemnitz sat at opposite ends of the 3rd base dugout. Butler was very vocal . He sometimes took a position in the outfield behind the SS to watch & coach from there. Kemnitz relayed signals to the catchers. There was a lot of situational hitting that went on where some innings would start with base runners already set at 1st or both 1st & 2nd. The hitter would have to bunt. If he was successful, he was allowed to stay at the plate & hit again. Several pitchers sat behind home plate & charted pitches. Kemnitz did the same thing, too. The radar gun mounted on a screen post quit working after a couple of innings in terms of sending signals to the outfield scoreboard so Scott Guerss hand held it & fed info to the pitchers behind home plate. My neighbor went over & talked to Scott briefly & he said that the players really like Todd Butler. Scott also said the annual fall series will run 7 games from Oct 26th through Nov 2nd.
• Catchers: Brandon Kimbrel, 6-3, 195, RS transfer from Hutch CC; Bob Arens, the 5th yr sr, & Taylor Sanogorski, 6-0, 220 lb. Of the 3, we liked Taylor’s throws to 2nd the best. He has a quick, snap throw & all of his throws to 2nd were on the money. Kimbrel hit a towering 3 run HR over the CF fence in the 4th or 5th inning. Gunner Troutwine, 6-2, 210, from Shawnee Mission East, played, but we were not sure what position he played. He is listed as a C on the roster.
• 1st Base: Sam Hilliard, 6-5, 220, Crowder CC, & Ryan Tinkham, 6-5, 210, Oxnard CC. Ryan had a recent shoulder op, perhaps for a torn labrum. He was limited to making underhanded throws to the infielders between innings during warm-ups. Hilliard is also a LHP who throws in the 90’s, but he also looks like a possible DH prospect as a hitter. He has definite gap power!
• 2nd base: Tanner Dearman, & Jordan Farris, 6-3, 215, Oxnard CC. They both looked good defensively. Dearman can be a sparkplug on the base paths if he hits consistently as he did as a frosh.
• SS: Tanner Kirk, & Wes Phillips. Adam Thies, 6-0, 175, from Olathe, KS, & Trey Vickers, 6-1, 185, from Lee’s Summit, MO, came in later.
• 3rd Base: Chase Rader, 6-0, 210, Coffeyville CC, & Willie Schwanke, 6-1, 195, Grayson College CC. Swanke bats left, but throws right as a RHP. Rader hit a double to the lf corner.
• Outfield: We could not track where everyone played because it was hard to see their numbers. But, outfielders who batted included Dan Kihle, Mikel Muchal, Michael Burns, Keenan Eaton, 6-1, 205 from Parker, CO; Bret Fehr, the 6-3, 185 lb HS 1st team All-American from Manhattan, KS; & Zach Reding, 6-2, 220, a transfer from Texas Tech who will RS.
• The starting pitchers were Sr, Ray Ashford, & Chase Williams, 6-5, 222, a RSo, from E OK State. The hitters didn’t do much with Ashford. Williams throws very hard, but needs work on his control. Pitchers typically threw 2 innings. Others pitchers who followed included Regan Biechler, the So who did well last year, Jon Ferrendelli, 6-1, 180, from Chandler-Gilbert CC; & TJ Looney, a Jr,who throws very hard; We may have lost track of who pitched after a few innings. We left around 7:30 because it started to sprinkle.
Other impressions. Todd Butler & Brent Kemnitz sat at opposite ends of the 3rd base dugout. Butler was very vocal . He sometimes took a position in the outfield behind the SS to watch & coach from there. Kemnitz relayed signals to the catchers. There was a lot of situational hitting that went on where some innings would start with base runners already set at 1st or both 1st & 2nd. The hitter would have to bunt. If he was successful, he was allowed to stay at the plate & hit again. Several pitchers sat behind home plate & charted pitches. Kemnitz did the same thing, too. The radar gun mounted on a screen post quit working after a couple of innings in terms of sending signals to the outfield scoreboard so Scott Guerss hand held it & fed info to the pitchers behind home plate. My neighbor went over & talked to Scott briefly & he said that the players really like Todd Butler. Scott also said the annual fall series will run 7 games from Oct 26th through Nov 2nd.
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