2011 College World Series Discussion Thread: Day Two

by John Sickels on Jun 19, 2025 1:10 PM EDT

Day Two of the 2011 College World Series starts in about an hour. Here's a thread to discuss today's games.

Completely Unsubstantiated Predictions:

California will pull an upset and defeat Virginia 3-2 in the first game, a hard-fought pitcher's duel that sees two of the three Golden Bear runs scored as unearned due to a pair of critical-and-unexpected errors by the Cavalier defense.

South Carolina will defeat Texas A&M 8-4. The game will be very close until the 8th inning when the Gamecocks pull away by beating up on the Aggie bullpen.

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Good predictions John

What does everybody think of the new ballpark?

I’m not digging it. I dislike the large foul areas that keep the fans so far back from the field. Maybe they were trying to give the defense a leg up when they designed it, but now that the bats have been deadened there’s no need to help out the pitchers anymore.

Also, the way they designed the OF walls is not good. It’s going to be almost impossible for umpires to tell if a ball is a HR for any ball that just barely clears the wall. They need to pad the portion of the concrete between the wall and the retaining chain link fence so that balls can’t hit there and bounce back into the playing field with any force. The other bad design flaw with the OF walls is the padding on the walls themselves. Did anybody else notice that the padding ends about 4 inches from the level of the warning track? Because of that, when a ball bounces to the OF wall it has a marked tendency to get stuck right underneath the padding and not bounce back towards the infield. The outfielders have to go fishing beneath the small gap in the padding to grab the ball. That’s a really bad design flaw.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.

by Fla-Giant on Jun 19, 2025 4:09 PM EDT reply actions

RE: Taylor Jungmann

The biggest thing that stood out to me about both games last night from a minor league ball point of view was Taylor Jungmann. Last night’s game was my first in-depth look at him on TV. All I can say is, damn, he has horrible mechanics. IMO, he’s a shoulder injury just waiting to happen. I can’t believe that the Brewers drafted him that high with that delivery. Sure, he had great stats in college, but what is his future 3-5 years down the line?

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.

by Fla-Giant on Jun 19, 2025 4:19 PM EDT reply actions

Been on his mechanics from day 1.

The thought process in his favour might be that he’s a good athlete and pitcher anyway, and he could/should take very well to pro training.

Can’t say I’m a fan though.

I’ve missed every game. How’d Gray and Hultzen throw?

by SenorGato on Jun 20, 2025 12:40 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Hultzen was a bit off

He wasn’t bad … still had um, 7 scoreless. He wasn’t getting the call on the corners early, though, and the pitch count got high. To the best of my recollection from watching the game, within say, the first 80 pitches, his velocity was consistent on the fastball, and somewhere in the 93-94 range. Surprisingly, his breaking ball looked much better than he has of late. ESPN did a good job showing the “get me over” breaking ball and the plus breaking ball out-pitch. From around pitch 80 to the end, it seemed like his fastball was only in the low 90’s. He still was fairly consistent at 90/91, I think.

by toonsterwu on Jun 20, 2025 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions

I definitely like the slider (esp. more than some others do)

I don’t have any qualms about calling it a future above-average pitch. He relied on it heavily in that UNC game as well.

That’s really what I love about Hultzen, even when he doesn’t have his great command, he’s still extremely effective. When his command is on though? He can be unhittable.

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by Jeff Reese on Jun 20, 2025 8:54 AM EDT up reply actions

I thought one of the most overblown "ideas"

in the draft was that Hultzen was considered a “floor” pick. I’ll admit, prior to the season, I didn’t think Hultzen was a top 5 type pick (I did think he could be say, 8-15 pick, but more as a signability type college arm with a perceived high floor). That said, by season’s end, it was fairly clear that, at least, for this past season, his velocity was consistently improved. He sat 93/94 for most of the game, and at least from the TV view, it sure seemed like the fastball had decent movement even at the velocity. The slider has flashes where it sure seems like a plus pitch, and the change can be downright devastating when it’s on.

Now, I’ll admit that I had some concerns about how he seemed to wear down (I actually haven’t checked the stats, but he sure felt more dominant the first half than the 2nd half), but the velocity, for the most part, didn’t drop (I think there was a game or two where people had him sitting in the low 90’s rather than 93/94). Furthermore, I’d also agree that his ceiling probably isn’t as high as Bundy’s perceived ceiling. I’d also say I was surprised that the Mariners popped him at 2, but that was more because it was unexpected. But Hultzen’s got more than enough “ceiling”.

by toonsterwu on Jun 20, 2025 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely agree

I had him 3rd on my board behind Rendon & Bundy, and I think he’s the best bet to turn into a #2 starter of the bunch.

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by Jeff Reese on Jun 20, 2025 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

"prior to the season, I didn’t think Hultzen was a top 5 type pick"

I didn’t think so either, and I’ve been a fan for years. The jump in stuff with that pitchability was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting more changeup in this game, but he had the good slider, which I’d seen in his best post-season starts last year, so he didn’t really mix it in until the middle innings. O’Connor was quoted as saying that it took Hultzen an inning or two to establish the umps strike zone, and Hultzen said he was a little bit juiced, and that’s what it looked like.

by blackoutyears on Jun 21, 2025 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Gray’s velocity was a bit down, but not really an issue. He just didn’t have his normal control, so he struggled and threw a lot of extra pitches. I thought that all of the 8 starters came out nervous and a bit amped-up. The only 1 that really settled down quickly and got back to his normal game was Hudson Randall.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.

by Fla-Giant on Jun 20, 2025 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Gray's velocity was fine

He was 93-95 the whole time. He just couldn’t throw any strikes with it. Luckily for him, his curve was still disgusting.

by RynoRooter on Jun 20, 2025 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions

i don't really care about his mechanics

i care about the fact that he’s just not that good. he throws kinda hard. has a slurvy breaking pitch and a mediocre changeup. i flat out do not see the appeal.

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by doublestix on Jun 20, 2025 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Jungmann

I can’t imagine a worse time to assess Jungmann than in his last theree starts, where he’s clearly diminished. I disagree about the delivery, with the caveat that I thought the same thing the first couple of times I saw him but that I minded less over time. I’ve seen him a half dozen times between his freshman post-season appearance against LSU (which was stunning) and this year, and he’s improved his pitchability every year. I think he’s one of the best “pitchers” in college this year, and I expect he’ll be on the fast track once he hits the minors. It’s a good thing that he’ll take some time to sign, as he can use the rest.

by blackoutyears on Jun 21, 2025 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting slate of Sunday games

I was quite worried, as a UVA fan, when UVA let so many early opportunities go by, considering how erratic Johnson was. Didn’t realize Scott’s changeup was that good. The late night game sure felt like a slugfest in the making, but it settled down rather quick with one heck of a bottom of the 9th.

Aggies should have the advantage on Tuesday, with Wacha, and UVA/South Carolina should be a good one. I think the Wahoos have to score early and can’t let opportunities slip by.

As a side note, looking at Price, I think if he goes back to school and becomes a starter, it sure feels like he could perhaps by a top 2 round type guy. May not be worth it to him, depending on the money he gets.

by toonsterwu on Jun 20, 2025 11:24 AM EDT reply actions

Wacha

Really looking forward to this start. He was very strong last time out. If he can develop a better breaking pitch he should be truly formidable, though I did think his curve was better than usual the other day. I really liked how he flipped it over for first pitch strikes a couple of times. That’s a great use of it in its present condition. Anyone who wants to see a swing-and-miss change should check him out. When it’s on, as it was against FSU, it’s impressive.

by blackoutyears on Jun 21, 2025 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions