Versus Cal Baseball (Poll)

[FredJacket]

The definition of a market top? I'll be all in when we win the CWS.

Hall has done a good job of leaving the program in great shape for whoever (Ramsey) takes over. We are playing to our recruited / portal talent rankings.

Those rankings are not close to perfect. Not automatic. It's HS kids & dudes maturing in college. I just don't buy recruiting rankings correlating to performance necessarily.

Teams that play well & perform well ... elite teams... get everything right. ...not just most things. For Ga Tech... it's pitching that's been the bugaboo almost every season. But (so far) 2025... ALL the elements are performing well.

It's been so much fun. I'm enjoying it. It rarely happens.

 

[Poodletop]

 

[stinger78]

This team looks really good. Pitching is good but not great. Hitting is very good. Fielding is good, with some WTH moments sprinkled in. They’ve been fun to watch. I’m glad CFDH gets to go out on his terms with a good one.

 

[GT33]

We have 4 challenging series upcoming. If we can just split them we’ll be in great shape.

 

[DecaturJacket]

The definition of a market top? I'll be all in when we win the CWS.

Hall has done a good job of leaving the program in great shape for whoever (Ramsey) takes over. We are playing to our recruited / portal talent rankings.

Pretty sure Ramsey has been doing most of the recruiting (at least on the offensive side of the ball) since he got here. He's done a good job at setting the program up for himself.

 

[Home Park Jacket]

We have 4 challenging series upcoming. If we can just split them we’ll be in great shape.

I don't think that will be enough to host a super, and the team has set itself up for that goal. Miami is currently 65, Virginia 85, Louisville 27, Duke 43 in RPI. ugag is 2, barn is 5. We really need to go 8-4, and beat either ugag or barn to host a super. I'll take 1-0 in our next game.

 

[MWBATL]

The TEAM is really really strong. This weekend there were contributions from guys who played little early in the season. That experience can (if needed) pay big in the post-season.

Defense is coming around with 2 key starters out right now. Aggressive baserunning is putting pressure on the opposition. Love that. Coaching... gets real quiet about Hall when there's evidence he's actually good at it.

It's fun. You really have to find the nits to pick.

I've been slow to acknowledge how improved this team is... particularly the pitching. I'm all in now. My expectations are as high as they could get for all the goals you'd have for an elite D1 program.

I’m with @FredJacket ! I have now get my sights set on a Top 8 seed and finishing either 1st or 2nd in the ACC.
Our offense is superb…BUT we all know good pitching can beat good hitting. The key to post season victories for us is holding the other team to 3-5 runs max. Our pitching now looks capable of doing that as well as any other team out there.
I do worry that we have won games against weaker teams. I do want to see us score wins against quality teams. But I am excited!

 

[78pike]

What has really helped us this year is how well we have done on the bookends each weekend. For the year we have only lost one Friday night game (Clemson) and one Sunday game (Pitt). Strangely enough those were both at home. We have only lost one road game so far this year and that happened to be a Saturday at VA Tech.

It is so much easier to win series when you take the Friday game and so much harder to lose a series when you win your Sunday games.

Also hats off to our coaching staff for once again finding gems in the portal that were not big time names as transfers. Two of our weekend starters, Jones and Spivey, are new transfers. Two of our top hitters (Schmidt and Lodise) are first year transfers. I'm not sure who our portal guru is but we have found several transfer gems the past several years.

Finally, how many top Power 4 teams have freshmen hitting 3 and 4 in the lineup? I know that may change when both Schmidt and Lodise return but the depth of our freshman class has really been impressive this year.

 

[DecaturJacket]

Also hats off to our coaching staff for once again finding gems in the portal that were not big time names as transfers. Two of our weekend starters, Jones and Spivey, are new transfers. Two of our top hitters (Schmidt and Lodise) are first year transfers. I'm not sure who our portal guru is but we have found several transfer gems the past several years.

Great job by the staff for sure, but Lodise was actually really highly touted in the portal and it was a big deal when we got him. I wanna say he was the top SS in the portal for a while. Not sure if there were any late entries that bumped him, but he was definitely a hot commodity and the staff did a great job of getting him.

Finally, how many top Power 4 teams have freshmen hitting 3 and 4 in the lineup? I know that may change when both Schmidt and Lodise return but the depth of our freshman class has really been impressive this year.

Yeah, and they were out 3rd and 4th best rated recruits. Assuming Rogers stays (not a given considering Lackey), I think he'll eventually provide a lot for the lineup too. He got a lot of time early and showed flashes, but between us being stacked and him not quite breaking through when he got his chances he just can't crack the lineup right now. We've seen a little bit of Shouse, but kind of the same story there. I'd guess Schmidt's bat has to go back to being third in the lineup, pushing Caleb to 5 or 6, but Hernandez is locked in at cleanup.

 

[78pike]

Great job by the staff for sure, but Lodise was actually really highly touted in the portal and it was a big deal when we got him. I wanna say he was the top SS in the portal for a while. Not sure if there were any late entries that bumped him, but he was definitely a hot commodity and the staff did a great job of getting him.



Yeah, and they were out 3rd and 4th best rated recruits. Assuming Rogers stays (not a given considering Lackey), I think he'll eventually provide a lot for the lineup too. He got a lot of time early and showed flashes, but between us being stacked and him not quite breaking through when he got his chances he just can't crack the lineup right now. We've seen a little bit of Shouse, but kind of the same story there. I'd guess Schmidt's bat has to go back to being third in the lineup, pushing Caleb to 5 or 6, but Hernandez is locked in at cleanup.

I've thought a lot about the Rogers/Lackey dilemma and I'm hoping the team finds a way to utilize them both next year as a way of keeping Rogers. I think Lackey has the ability to play third so maybe we platoon the two of them behind the plate with Lackey moving to third on those days and Kerce going to second which would return Hernandez to the outfield. When Lackey is behind the plate maybe Rogers keeps his bat in the lineup at DH. Then again maybe in the off season Rogers works at another field position to maximize his time in the lineup. In any case it is most likely just a one year dilemma as Lackey will surely be a high draft pick after next year.

 

[gtbeak]

I've thought a lot about the Rogers/Lackey dilemma and I'm hoping the team finds a way to utilize them both next year as a way of keeping Rogers. I think Lackey has the ability to play third so maybe we platoon the two of them behind the plate with Lackey moving to third on those days and Kerce going to second which would return Hernandez to the outfield. When Lackey is behind the plate maybe Rogers keeps his bat in the lineup at DH. Then again maybe in the off season Rogers works at another field position to maximize his time in the lineup. In any case it is most likely just a one year dilemma as Lackey will surely be a high draft pick after next year.

I find it surprising that Rogers hasn't gotten a shot at the right-handed side of the DH platoon. I would have figured him to be the first choice after they kind of moved on from Waugh, but instead Shouse and Coupet have both received 2 starts there. They have both done well in their two starts, so not a knock on them, I just find it surprising.

 

[Eli]

I've thought a lot about the Rogers/Lackey dilemma and I'm hoping the team finds a way to utilize them both next year as a way of keeping Rogers. I think Lackey has the ability to play third so maybe we platoon the two of them behind the plate with Lackey moving to third on those days and Kerce going to second which would return Hernandez to the outfield. When Lackey is behind the plate maybe Rogers keeps his bat in the lineup at DH. Then again maybe in the off season Rogers works at another field position to maximize his time in the lineup. In any case it is most likely just a one year dilemma as Lackey will surely be a high draft pick after next year.

It’s hard to justify not having Lackey behind the plate for the majority of games his defense is the best in the league. I would like to see Rogers give me a break sometimes to keep him fresh or DH Lackey but from the pictures I see on X this team looks really close and I think Rogers won’t be a guy quick to transfer with what we have returning in 2026.

 

[GT Bravo]

Lacky is proving to be one of the elite catchers in the country with stellar defense, tons of clutch hits and a .368 BA. I would definitely like to see Rogers getting some more DH time but trust the coaches.

And then there is the incoming Freshman https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=799651

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Lacky is proving to be one of the elite catchers in the country with stellar defense, tons of clutch hits and a .368 BA. I would definitely like to see Rogers getting some more DH time but trust the coaches.

And then there is the incoming Freshman https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=799651

I think we are going to lose a lot of talent to the portal this off season. But we'll pick up talent and have a great recruiting class coming in. Welcome to the New Age - my theme. May not like it but IIWII.