STARKVILLE — For Mississippi State’s baseball team, the questions about next season’s team started before MSU’s disappointing 2014 season ended.
On the heels of a 24-30 campaign that saw the Bulldogs finish last in the Southeastern Conference, coach John Cohen and his staff now embark on one of the most important offseasons of his seven-year tenure, an offseason where Cohen will try to figure out what went wrong and, more importantly, attempt to fix it.
“A lot of decisions will have to be made and this draft is something we will have to pay attention to,” said Cohen on the field after an 11-4 loss to LSU on May 1. “We need some guys to really grow up and break through next season, and we will have to monitor the draft to see what we can do as far as getting young guys in here that can make a difference.”
Whatever Cohen’s solution, the possibility exists that next year’s Bulldogs may look completely different from this year’s edition. Eight seniors — including first baseman Wes Rea, closer Trevor Fitts, relief pitcher Ross Mitchell and infielder Seth Heck — are gone, leaving behind opportunity for younger players.
So where will the major changes come from?
From bullpen to rotation?
Down the stretch of the season, MSU’s weekend starters struggled. Junior Preston Brown won just one game in SEC play, with most of his starts coming in Game 1 of each SEC series. In the opening game of SEC play, MSU won just one (13-2 over South Carolina) in 10 series. Lucas Laster, who made the switch from midweek starter to the weekend in midseason, performed admirably, finishing his season at 4-4 with a 3.62 earned run average. And Austin Sexton, a sophomore right-hander from Huntsville, Alabama, got better as the season wore on, turning in quality starts in three of his last four outings.
But MSU starters won just five games in league play, leaving the door open for big changes in 2015. Two of those changes could come in the form of a pair of big, hard-throwing righties from the bullpen.
Zac Houston and Dakota Hudson both excelled in spurts during the season. Houston had a 13-inning scoreless streak at one point, and Hudson provided a pair of valuable appearances in MSU’s series against LSU.
Houston posted 41 strikeouts in 32 innings and Hudson collected 26 in 16 innings.
“Those guys certainly have pitched well,” said Cohen of the duo after MSU’s 4-3 loss to Ole Miss on May 13. “They both have the potential to be valuable at the front of games, at the back of games. They have the kind of swing-and-miss ability we are looking for. We will look at that this summer and see where we want to go.”
Replacing holes
For the first time in four years, first base will be a question mark for MSU. So will right field and third base, though the answer to the latter may have arrived late in the season.
Luke Reynolds, a junior college transfer from Hinds Community College, struggled early, netting just eight hits in his first 52 at-bats. But in the final four SEC series of the year, Reynolds caught fire, showing the promise that led Cohen to insert the sophomore into the race at third base. In his last 40 at-bats, Reynolds delivered 20 hits, raising his average from .152 to .304 in a matter of weeks. That impressive stretch included seven doubles.
“He simiplified everything and went back to what works for him,” said Cohen of Reynolds. “I think you are seeing now the guy we recruited. And if he continues that, he has a chance to be a very good hitter for us down the line.”
While the late-season surge by Reynolds may solve a problem at third base, first base remains a mystery. Cohen could turn to redshirt freshman Cole Gordon, a left-hander with power, or he could use rising junior Brent Rooker, who hit two home runs as a sophomore. There’s also the matter of a gigantic incoming crop of newcomers to factor in.
Here they come
Regardless of the outcome of MSU’s 2015 season, the class of 2015 was always going to bring a great deal of change to the program. Now that the Bulldogs finished last in the conference, that change may come sooner than later. Cohen has 22 players committed or signed for the class of 2015, many of them highly recruited and posing potential a potential risk to be taken in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
“We’re looking at 11 of those guys as players we think have a chance to get drafted,” said Cohen after the aforementioned LSU loss. “That’s a big number but at the same time, those are the guys you’ve got to go after. We feel really good about the players we’ve recruited for the future of our program but obviously, we have to see how many of those guys make it through the draft. That’s something we may not truly know until July.”
Cohen has landed several that MLB scouts have pegged as likely professionals. Of MSU’s 22 commitments or signees, five are ranked in perfectgame.com’s top 100 nationally, and eight are listed in the top 300. That includes power-hitting outfielder/first baseman Greg Pickett, a 6-foot-4 slugger from Colorado. If Pickett lands in Starkville, he brings immediate home run potential. As a senior at Legends High School in Parker, Colorado, Pickett turned in a .420 batting average with six home runs.
But according to MLB.com’s latest mock draft, Pickett is listed as a second-round pick with the possibility of moving into the first round.
MSU’s other marquee recruits include Austin Riley, a 6-3, 235-pounder third baseman and right-handed pitcher who just helped DeSoto Central win the MHSAA Class 6A state championship. Then there’s Gray Fenter, listed by Perfect Game as the No. 67 high school picther in the country, and Parker Ford, a 6-3, 210-pound pitcher from Lufkin, Texas, the nation’s No. 79 prospect.
Lexington, Tennessee product Ethan Small is ranked as the No. 1 pitcher in the Volunteer State, and catcher Elih Marrero is the No.1 prep backstop in Florida.
Whatever the draft brings MSU, the overwhelming size of the class — at 22 players, would be Cohen’s biggest in seven years — should bring immediate help to Starkville.
Turning things around
After a four-season run that featured two regional appearances, two super regional showings and a spot in the 2013 National Championship Series, MSU took a gigantic step back in 2015. So the question remains: Can the Bulldogs turn things around?
One outside observer says yes.
“Absolutely John Cohen can bounce back,” said Kendall Rogers, national analyst with D1Baseball.com. “He is a very good coach and he will fix whatever went south for them this year.”
Follow Dispatch sports riter Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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