Top 25 Chat (Feb. 20)

Teddy Cahill: Welcome to our first Top 25 chat of the season. It was an exciting opening weekend of college, so let’s get to your questions.

Tom (Mississippi): From a non-knowledgeable rankings fan, what goes into a team sweeping a top 10 team, only to still be so many spots behind them. Only curious, promise no hard feelings
Teddy Cahill: Let’s start with one of the weekend’s biggest series, as Mississippi swept East Carolina, which entered the season at No. 6. ECU fell to 11 this week, while Ole Miss enters at No. 22. While our rankings are definitely accounting for the results thus far, at this very early stage of the season they are also still largely about forecasting where we think teams will be at the end of the year. We still are believers in ECU’s long-term potential as a team, so the Pirates remain pretty high and ahead of Ole Miss. As the season progresses, the rankings become more and more about on-field results. But early in the season, when we’re dealing with such small samples, we try and not overreact to one weekend’s results.

Burke Lyle (Athens Georgia): Can East Carolina bounce back from a sweep to Ole Miss? How good is Ole Miss potential?
Teddy Cahill: Yes, I think ECU will bounce back. That was a tough weekend, but all three games were close and the Pirates held a lead in all three games. They showed a lot of positive things in a tough road series. In the long run, I think they will be fine. Ole Miss showed it’s potential this weekend. If the exciting recruiting class they brought in this fall is going to make the kind of easy transition we saw this weekend, and their more experienced players can make key contributions, that team has the potential to be really good. But there are likely to be some growing pains at some point as the freshmen have to make adjustments and go through their first college season.

Robert (Houston): Where was A&M in this discussion this week?
Teddy Cahill: Texas A&M remains very much in the discussion. The Aggies were one of the first teams outside the preseason rankings and they’re still right there after a weekend sweep. If A&M keeps rolling the next couple weekends against Pepperdine and in the Shriners’ Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston, I would expect the Aggies to be in the rankings sooner than later.

Doug (Memphis, TN): What team impressed the most in Week 1? Also, what team disappointed the most?
Teddy Cahill: Wright State’s series win at Clemson was probably the most impressive weekend. Ole Miss’ sweep of ECU is right there, too. Louisville, Fullerton, Oregon State all looked really good. On the other end of the spectrum, Maryland was shaky in the Clearwater Tournament. But it’s hard to go overboard on one weekend of results. It is a long season.

Dan (Oregon): Re: Oklahoma - noticed DeRenzo didn't play all weekend. Is he injured, falling down the depth chart, or other? Thanks!
Teddy Cahill: I wasn’t quite able to squeeze this into Off the Bat today, but Dominic DeRenzo, Oklahoma’s sophomore catcher, is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Coach Pete Hughes told me yesterday he expects DeRenzo to be cleared to play the outfield as soon as this weekend and could be back playing catcher when Big 12 play starts. He’s an important piece for the Sooners, but Oklahoma has a solid option behind the plate in senior Renae Martinez.

WKing (Dallas): How far do yall have Rice out of the Top 25? And how good do you think they will be when they get Amador, Otto, and Gray fully back?
Teddy Cahill: Rice remains close to the Top 25 after splitting a series at Texas. The Owls would certainly benefit from getting those guys back, especially Otto, who is one of the best weapons out of the bullpen in the country. We picked Rice to win Conference USA and the Owls should be a solid team again this year. They have another strong team, with Otto and shortstop Ford Proctor leading the way.

Russell (Austin, TX): Hey Teddy, I wanted to know what you thought of Texas this weekend. The were some positives, but a lot of negatives. The positive was the starting pitching on Friday and Saturday. But the negative was even though this was the first weekend series, I still don't see a aggressive offense. Wanted to know what you think? Thanks.
Teddy Cahill: As for Rice’s opening weekend opponent, Texas got the David Pierce era started with a series split. As you noted, there were some clear positives with the pitching – Morgan Cooper and Kyle Johnston both had solid outings. They are critical to the Longhorns’ aspirations this season. The offense, however, is still finding its way. Some experienced players such as Patrick Mathis and Michael Cantu struggled at the plate and Texas scored 14 runs in four games. Offense is probably Texas’ biggest question this spring, but there is talent there. I’ll be interested to see how the Longhorns’ lineup evolves over the course of the spring.

Frank (Nevada): Nevada-Sam Houston State flew under the radar with two potential regional teams doing battle. What is your take on both squads and can they win their respective conferences?
Teddy Cahill: That was a fun opening weekend series, with Sam Houston claiming the victory on Sunday. We picked the Bearkats to repeat as Southland champions this season, and they have a team that can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. Nevada, in year two under coach T.J. Bruce, is an intriguing team. The Wolfpack could win the Mountain West, though New Mexico enters the year as the favorite. I think if Nevada keeps getting the kind of starts it got from Trevor Charpie and Mark Nowaczewski, it could have a really solid year.

Adam (Cayman Islands): With only batting .275 over the weekend, how do you see the opening series for the Gamecocks? We know that they would have a solid rotation but I feel as though this could be their third year with the bats struggling. A problem or just the first series?
Teddy Cahill: While I wouldn’t read into it too much, South Carolina’s strength is clearly on the mound again this spring. There are probably going to be some more low-scoring games in Columbia this year. The Gamecocks have a lot of offense options, it’s just a matter of sorting out what the best lineup for them is right now. It’s a bit of a younger group, but once guys like Alex Destino, Carlos Cortes and Chris Cullen settle in, South Carolina’s offense will be just fine.

Jordan (Hattiesburg): What do you think of Southern Miss? Good sweep over the weekend. Has some good bato in the lineup and good Friday and Saturday starters in Roberts and McCarty. How do you see them doing tomorrow against Alabama and this weekend vs. Evansville?
Teddy Cahill: Southern Miss certainly started the season strong against Northeastern. The Golden Eagles have a chance for another really good week this week. The level of competition will go up from there, however, as Southern Miss visits Louisiana-Lafayette and then hosts Xavier, followed by the start of CUSA play the next week against Louisiana Tech. We had the Golden Eagles as a regional team coming into the year and I think they can be very good again this season, but we’ll know a lot more about them after that stretch.

Wally (Manitoba, Canada): Cal State Fullerton has one of the best weekend starting pitching staffs in the country. The question is, does it have a strong enough bullpen to take them to Omaha?
Teddy Cahill: The bullpen is a question mark for Fullerton right now after losing four relievers to the draft last year. Stanford was able to take advantage of Fullerton bullpen yesterday, scoring seven unanswered runs to come back and win the series finale. By the end of the season, however, I think Fullerton will have sorted out the bullpen. They have plenty of exciting arms to work with, such as Gavin Velasquez, Brett Conine, Jack Pabich and Joe Willis, it’s just a matter of getting them used to their new roles. And with a rotation of Connor Seabold, Colton Eastman and John Gavin, the Titans probably won’t need to ask much of their relievers down the stretch. So, yes, I think Fullerton’s bullpen is strong enough to reach the College World Series.

Mike (St. Louis): Did SLU get any consideration for the top 25 after their domination in the opening weekend?
Teddy Cahill: Saint Louis had a strong opening weekend, going 4-0 in the Alamo Irish Classic. But, no, the Billikens weren’t in the Top 25 discussion this week. It was an incredible offense performance (46 runs and 58 hits in four games) and the two wins against Notre Dame look good. If SLU does that again this weekend at the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament against Creighton, Michigan and Santa Clara, they’ll really be on the radar.

HailState to Omaha (Birmingham): How far outside the rankings is MS State after splitting the series with TX Tech this weekend and gutting out 2 come from behind wins yesterday?
Teddy Cahill: Mississippi State closed the first weekend of the Andy Cannizaro series with a pair of exciting victories to go 3-1 against Texas Tech and Western Illinois. The Bulldogs are hanging out there somewhere outside the Top 25 – not that far off, but not one of the first teams out either. But after all the turnover in Starkville since last season, it’s really about building to the start of SEC play when Mississippi State visits Arkansas. The Bulldogs have a lot of talent there – they, like a lot of teams, are still sorting everything out. But I think the way they played yesterday – fighting back after blowing a big lead to Western Illinois and then coming back from a first-inning deficit against Texas Tech – is a great sign for Cannizaro.

Teddy Cahill: That’ll do it for today. Thank you for all the questions. If I didn’t get to yours, leave it in the comments and I’ll come back to answer there. I’m glad we’ve got some games to talk about finally. If this weekend was any indication, we’re in for another great spring of college baseball around the country.