JD Andress and Carson Wersal are joined by Brett Gibbons this week as they recap the FGCU weekend series and Texas State game. They discuss if the pitching is any cause for concern or just opening weekend jitters before the trio looks ahead to TCU's first ranked matchup against UCLA
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00:00 Hello, welcome back to the Killer Frogs bullpen.
00:04 We're in our fourth episode.
00:06 I am once again joined by Carson Wursel and today we have a new face joining us.
00:10 The ever well spoken the man who knows it all.
00:13 It's none other than Brett.
00:14 Brett, how are you today?
00:16 I'm great.
00:17 You're too kind.
00:18 You are honestly too kind for that.
00:19 Anybody that listened to any other shows that I've been on knows that I can be very wrong
00:23 all the time.
00:24 I could quite even be.
00:25 Yeah, thanks.
00:26 Thanks for having me on guys.
00:27 Ready to sit down and talk some TCU baseball.
00:28 Yeah, today we got a packed show.
00:30 We're going to recap the Florida Gulf Coast series, recap the Texas State midweek game
00:34 and look forward to the UCLA preview.
00:36 So let's not waste any time.
00:38 TCU came away with a sweep on the weekend against Florida Gulf Coast.
00:42 Needed two major comebacks.
00:45 Let's just originally get you guys initial thoughts on the weekend as a whole.
00:47 Brett, we'll start with you since you're the guest.
00:50 Yeah, sure.
00:51 You know, three no's, three no.
00:52 It's better than two and one.
00:54 It's better than one and two.
00:55 It's better than no and three.
00:56 So a win is a win.
00:57 I'm not going to apologize for that.
00:59 I don't love taking away concrete things from opening weekend.
01:02 You know, you're still getting in the shape of things.
01:04 It was what, 40 degrees on Saturday.
01:07 So you know, guys getting into shape, a little bit of jitters.
01:10 I don't take a ton of concrete stuff away.
01:12 After you see who can hit the ball, man, that's that.
01:16 That's for sure.
01:17 And you know, I'm sure we'll talk about the pitching here in a bit.
01:19 But three no, that's that's what you got to focus on.
01:21 You don't apologize for that.
01:22 Yeah.
01:23 Carson, what about you?
01:24 Initial takeaways?
01:25 Yeah, it kind of going off the same thing.
01:28 Three no is three no.
01:31 I do worry a little bit about some of the pitching performances.
01:36 But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if we see FGCU deep into the tournament, if they
01:42 earn themselves a bid.
01:44 Like that team's hitting is unreal.
01:47 To go toe to toe with number five in the nation and hang with them literally every inning
01:52 besides maybe three or four.
01:55 Like that's just I mean, that's not just all talk, you know.
01:59 Yeah, Florida Gulf Coast definitely wasn't messing around.
02:02 They definitely they had eight home runs on the weekend as to TCU.
02:07 They were putting up quality at bats.
02:09 They weren't just swinging for the fences.
02:10 They were a team that while it's a brand new team compared to last year's look was looked
02:14 about the same as in production wise compared to the last last year spot.
02:18 We spoke about TCU pitching a little bit.
02:20 TCU allowed 20 walks on the weekend.
02:23 Is that a cause for concern or is it a, you know, first weekend jitters?
02:26 We'll go with you, Brett.
02:30 Um, yeah, you can say there's a little bit of concern there.
02:34 I mean, just to kind of throw it over to the offense, they drew 26 walks of their own to.
02:38 So coming away ahead on that is always a good thing.
02:41 It's early.
02:42 I think the pitchers really just need to settle in.
02:43 There's a lot of nerves going on, you know, first time in 2024.
02:47 If I do have to call it somebody that I was fairly concerned about, Zach Morris, you know,
02:51 he came with a one of four record last year, almost a 75 year with Arkansas.
02:56 And from everything I saw, all the reports that in the fall, he improved quite a bit
03:01 comes out.
03:02 He gave up a lot of solid contact on Sunday.
03:05 I'd be looking almost for Ben Hampton to step into that role if he continues pitching it.
03:10 You know, he did OK, I think on Tuesday we'll get to that.
03:13 But you know, I just have to tip my hat to have to see if they're really disciplined
03:17 at the plate.
03:18 They didn't chase a lot and they forced you to throw him strikes.
03:20 And when you throw after you see strikes, they're going to hit over the wall.
03:24 Yeah, I definitely think that we could see Ben Hampton move into that Sunday starter
03:30 role for sure, just especially if if Zach Morris is still kind of having control issues
03:36 deep into the season.
03:37 I think Hampton will get his opportunity.
03:41 I know a lot of people were concerned about Cole Klecker giving up five runs.
03:47 I believe four of those runs were off of home runs, which we kind of expect that with Klecker.
03:52 I mean, last year it was very rare that he got absolutely shelled, but whenever he did,
03:58 it was usually via the long ball.
03:59 So I mean, I think Klecker would definitely I think he'll kind of assume that Saturday
04:04 starter role here pretty soon.
04:08 But I think UCLA will definitely be a huge test for them for sure.
04:13 Yeah, Brett, to kind of talk about Zach Morris a little bit, it was interesting to see him
04:18 come back and get on the mound for the first time in a while, and especially with his last
04:21 performance coming against the TCU team that knocked him around easily.
04:25 His stuff, at least from what I saw on the screen, didn't look awful.
04:28 Like he looked like he was having a tight slider.
04:31 His fastball had a little bit of run to it and he just got shelled, which is kind of
04:36 the worst situation out of it.
04:37 If you know if his stuff had been lacking a little bit, maybe you take that away from
04:41 it.
04:42 But I think Zach Morris is kind of might slot into a midweek starter and maybe even a long
04:48 relief where Louie Rodriguez.
04:49 TCU needed to dump both of their games on Friday and Saturday.
04:53 They need six runs to come back and win in the seventh inning or later.
04:57 Should we be focusing on the resiliency of the squad or focusing on the fact that they
05:00 needed to come back that late?
05:02 Carson, we'll start with you on this one.
05:05 I mean, I think it's first series of the year stuff.
05:09 I mean, all around the country you saw just shootouts, you saw one to nothing ballgames.
05:14 I mean, it was just I don't really see it as a negative in a sense.
05:22 I do think that the pitching staff should be a little concerned about having to pitch
05:27 from behind quite a bit.
05:29 But the fact that we can put up zeros when pitching by behind is a plus in and of itself.
05:36 I mean, so I see it as more of a resilience thing.
05:39 Like I asked Sarlos, how do you feel about your lineup having just all nine guys being
05:45 able to start something and continue feeding off of it?
05:49 And he said, it's awesome.
05:50 Like it's just it's it's exactly what you look for in your squad.
05:54 Yeah, Brett, what about you?
05:58 I'm not really panicking, but it's always good to see that you can come from behind.
06:01 I really think at GC took my surprise, especially with you're kind of feeling out.
06:06 A ton of new faces in this lineup, especially in the pitching rotation, a lot of new faces
06:10 there.
06:11 And for a team to come out, that's a little bit dangerous.
06:14 You know, they got theirs again.
06:15 I think it says more about how well FGCU played and especially they had, I think, 40 home
06:22 runs exit from last year.
06:24 So this is like the guys that they have left over.
06:26 Why say left over?
06:27 They still have two guys that hit 19 and 18 home runs in their lineup.
06:30 And we definitely saw them on display there.
06:31 So I just think they're going to be a good baseball team this year.
06:34 And, you know, we can look back on it at the end of the year and say it wasn't really all
06:37 that bad that they gave up so many runs because, you know, FGCU led the country in runs last
06:42 year and home runs.
06:43 And it's last year.
06:44 This is this year, but they're carrying it over.
06:46 I'm not panicking.
06:47 Yeah, FGCU averaged two point nine seven home runs a game last year.
06:51 And this I mean, they almost matched that alone just in the three, you know, three game
06:55 series with eight on the weekend.
06:57 TCU, though, might have found them a solid bullpen piece to pair along with Benito and
07:02 Zach Boyer.
07:03 Zach had a zero ERA on the weekend, appeared in the Friday and Saturday game with four
07:08 point two inning pitch total and had a batting average to his opponents of only one thirty
07:12 three.
07:13 You know, Zach impressed me the most.
07:15 Was there anyone else that impressed you on the weekend as far as bullpen was?
07:18 Carson, we'll go with you.
07:21 You know, it seems like kind of all the bullpen pieces kind of had their struggles at times,
07:30 except for the exception of a belt and Zach Coyier.
07:33 I did think that Chase Hoover threw the ball pretty well whenever he whenever he needed
07:39 to get out.
07:40 He was really he was able to lock it down pretty well.
07:44 Yeah, well, and just to talk a little bit more about Coyier, is that like he had a I'm
07:53 looking at it in front of me right now, he does zero percent fly ball rate.
07:57 Everything he was throwing was on the ground.
07:58 It was all ground outs.
07:59 It was all line out.
08:00 And that's because his stuff like, you know, that's a testament.
08:03 He's not jamming batters or they're really not getting solid contact.
08:07 It's more of their top in the ball.
08:08 They're coming over it and stuff, I think, is a little bit deceptive to the eye.
08:11 So yeah, a really, really awesome performance there.
08:14 Really like you can't have too many bullpen pieces.
08:17 And it's really exciting to see another one step up.
08:18 Yeah.
08:19 Kirk Silas was talking about how over the offseason they developed a cutter with Zach
08:24 Coyier that plays really well off of his fastball.
08:27 And I think that's, you know, one attestment to the pitching job that Kirk Silas does with
08:32 players that he finds in junior colleges and middle, you know, middle power five conferences.
08:37 And I think he's become a piece that we're going to see the rest of the team, especially
08:41 with like how you mentioned Chase Hubert Carson is how the team as a whole bullpen wise.
08:46 I think, you know, they're going to be fine.
08:49 And I think it's maybe starting rotation that we do have to worry about.
08:51 But again, you can't overreact after one weekend series.
08:55 But let's go to move on to Texas State.
08:58 TCU won six five on that game.
09:00 It got a little dicey there in the end.
09:02 You know, they're playing a Texas State team that is very, very good.
09:06 That will, you know, make some noise in the Sunbelt Conference this season and should
09:10 be a regional team come when it's all said and done.
09:13 Brett, you know, let's get your thoughts.
09:15 Midweek game.
09:16 We have been Hampton pitching for his first time.
09:18 What are your thoughts?
09:20 Yeah, well, TCU knows better than anybody that Texas State is no pushover.
09:24 I'm a little bit partial to Texas State.
09:26 I worked for their football program for a while, so I got to know that baseball team
09:29 really well.
09:30 And I still root for them so long as they're not in Fort Worth.
09:33 I think that was like the perfect outcome.
09:34 They play Wabaloo's anyway.
09:36 Yeah, I would watch for that Sunday slot for Ben Hampton.
09:38 I did a lot better.
09:40 Eight hits is a little concerning, but Texas State is a very good contact team.
09:44 I don't know if they have the power that they've had in the past couple of years, but again,
09:47 laying down eight hits on him is pretty solid.
09:49 And again, you look at the final, you know how many runs he gave up.
09:52 Not that many.
09:53 I was really happy when we landed Ben Hampton because he's a known commodity.
09:57 He's all Big 12 everything.
09:58 He was all Big 12 freshman.
09:59 He was all Big 12 first team last year when he was up in Morgantown there.
10:03 I think he's a really savvy addition.
10:04 Yeah, Carson, what about you?
10:07 Yeah, kind of before the defense kind of broke down and started making some mental errors,
10:12 he looked really good.
10:13 His slider looked especially good, getting a lot of swings and misses on that.
10:19 I was concerned last night with how the offense stalled for five innings.
10:24 I thought that that was kind of, you know, just kind of a question mark, you know, it's
10:31 kind of like which which lineup are we going to see?
10:33 Are we going to see the one that puts up 12 runs every game or are we going to see that
10:37 lineup that gets out ahead and then gets comfortable, you know?
10:42 Well, you know that I was there the game last night and that was old Lupton.
10:47 They were making hard contact, both teams were, and it was just dying in center field
10:51 the same way it does every year.
10:52 And this weekend kind of maybe overinflated numbers a little bit because the wind was
10:56 blowing out so strong that it helped with those numbers.
10:59 But this was classic.
11:00 I mean, TC was putting together, you know, really good at bats whenever they needed to.
11:06 But I think that was the difference between the team we saw in the first half of the game
11:10 versus the second half is they weren't working in the counts.
11:13 They were taking swings at pitches that you're not, you know, aren't characteristic of the
11:17 team as a whole.
11:18 And I think I think the offense will be fine.
11:20 They have a tough test this weekend with UCLA and their pitching staff.
11:24 And if you see you can continue the offense that they have, I think we're looking at a
11:29 really, really one of the best teams we've seen in a while.
11:32 Moving on to other parts of that game is, you know, you talked about a little bit, Carson,
11:36 is the defense had a few misplays and errors.
11:38 Chase Brunson, go for a ball that may be in a game where it's 6-4, you're not going to
11:42 want to lay out for it.
11:44 Chase Brunson did also deliver a great throw from center field that skipped on Carson Bowen
11:48 a little bit at the plate that would have nailed a runner.
11:51 And, you know, Kirk talked about it last night that the defense, you know, it's things that
11:56 hey, beginning of the season, they're going to work out.
12:00 You know, are we maybe giving them a little bit too much?
12:06 You know, it's the beginning of the season, we're a little worried too much.
12:08 Brett, do you think that the defense will work itself out or do you think maybe, you
12:12 know, there's a little bit that you should be concerned about with the two freshmen in
12:16 center field?
12:17 No, he's just that, he's a true freshman.
12:19 This was his first Tuesday game of the whole year.
12:22 And boy, at the plate, he's just been nails.
12:25 It's almost like he was infallible, then you find out, oh, okay, he's human.
12:27 You know, he's a freshman.
12:28 I'm letting that go.
12:29 TCU is one of the best defensive teams in the entire country.
12:33 You're going to have bad games.
12:34 It's a long season early on Tuesday night against a good feisty team coming off a tough
12:40 weekend where you gave up a lot of runs.
12:42 The defense is going to be just fine.
12:45 Yeah, I do think that especially at third base, I know that we're going to have a drop
12:52 off in especially defensive skill because even I, at the beginning of the season, like
12:59 I expected there to be a drop off in quality over at third.
13:03 I didn't think, I think I took Braden Taylor's defense for granted.
13:06 I truly do because there were, I mean, there were probably three or four balls over the
13:11 weekend and, and last night's game where I'm like, wow, okay.
13:16 So that's a hit now.
13:18 Interesting.
13:19 So I, I think the third base, I think somebody like, I think who, who's starting there now.
13:27 It's Brody Green actually.
13:28 Okay.
13:29 Brody Green.
13:30 Okay.
13:31 That's what, I'm sorry.
13:32 I think that what Brody Green showed, especially in the opportunities that he's been given,
13:37 I think that he'll settle into that role though.
13:40 I'm really not worried about the TCU defense.
13:42 Yeah.
13:43 Speaking of Brody Green, Charlotte was talking about after the game against Texas state health.
13:48 He believes that, you know, Brody Green has earned the spot or in the starting spot in
13:51 that roster.
13:52 And, you know, we, we talked to Carson before the season started that I believe that Brody
13:56 Green should have been the day one starter just because his fall camp was great.
14:00 Yeah, he struggled in the spring, but you know, Jack Bassett, the transfer from Pepperdine,
14:04 he's got a great bat, but he lacks in the defense department and right.
14:08 It's just a freshman, like maybe third base is a tough spot to follow, especially after,
14:12 you know, you've had Braden Taylor there, Matt holiday before, like third base has always
14:17 been a great spot for a TCU player to be in.
14:20 I think, you know, maybe when you're living in the shadows, it's hard to fill Brett.
14:23 What about you?
14:24 Yeah.
14:25 I mean, it's tough to crack the lineup when you're sitting behind Braden Taylor, all world,
14:28 all everything.
14:29 Yeah.
14:30 It's you're, you're not, you're not going to see a lot of time, the hot corner, but
14:32 I, you know, I know that the concern coming in here was his defense, you know, Broderick
14:37 green is there because he has a lot of pop to play.
14:40 He has a good frame, a lot of good bat speed, good hitter.
14:43 And we've seen that.
14:44 I mean, shoot, he's batting like seven 45 on the season to start.
14:48 But we know that defensively it was going to be a big step down.
14:51 Carson, like you said you know, he did look pretty strong though.
14:54 I think like, like you said, Oh, those are hits now.
14:57 Yeah, those are hits on about 295 teams across the country, maybe five third base, you know,
15:02 make, make those, make those look like routine plays.
15:05 But I do have to say Brody's green.
15:07 He's, he's gonna have to keep it up.
15:09 He's, he cannot let up because like you said, Jack Bassier, the Pepperdine transfer, he's
15:12 right behind him and he's a much better defensive player.
15:15 He may not have the same power at the plate, may not be as good a hitter, but he is much
15:20 better defensively.
15:21 I think we saw that in fall and in the spring.
15:24 So if he gives up just an inch, you know, Bassier is going to take him out.
15:28 Yeah, Carson, do you think we'll kind of see a rotation, especially through midweek games
15:33 of Kirk Sarlos, maybe working through different third base options until he finds one that
15:38 he feels sticks or do you think maybe it's an all season rotation?
15:41 I think until further notice, like he said, because Sarlos, he really doesn't go back
15:47 on his word a lot.
15:48 I think that until he just goes cold, he has the spot at third.
15:54 I mean, I could see like other guys getting a couple innings, like seventh, eighth, ninth
15:58 inning midweek games or something like that, but I expect to see Brody green there until
16:04 further notice.
16:05 Yeah.
16:06 TCU's moved to four and oh, after a win against Texas state.
16:10 And now this weekend they have their first top 25 matchup of the season in UCLA.
16:15 UCLA is a very, very young team, one of the younger teams in the country, but they're
16:20 talented.
16:21 They have a top three recruiting class that have actually stepped foot on campus for the
16:25 season and they're going to be loaded.
16:28 They're going to be a problem.
16:29 Kirk Sarlos and Travis Savage, the head coach for UCLA, are actually very good friends.
16:35 So it should be a good game.
16:36 Let's just Carson, your initial thoughts on, you know, this upcoming series.
16:43 So in our preview for FGCU, I predicted that both teams were going to be slow offensively
16:52 until kind of later in the first game or until the second game.
16:56 So yeah, I lied.
16:58 So but, but this weekend I, I expect that to actually come true.
17:04 I think that you're not going to see your 12 to 10, 13 to 10 baseball games.
17:09 I think these are going to be more like five to four, six to two, like it's going to be
17:14 low, lower scoring than last weekend, like at least.
17:18 UCLA obviously has a lot of really talented pitchers.
17:22 So I think that we're really going to find out how good this TCU lineup is this week.
17:27 Yeah, Brett, what about you?
17:30 I don't love it.
17:32 TCU has done this a bunch of times early in the year.
17:34 We saw it Florida State last year, Kentucky the year before where they will drop two or
17:37 three to teams like this, you know, fringe top 25.
17:40 UCLA happens to land in the top 25.
17:42 I think Florida State and Kentucky are both outside at the time, but yeah, really, really
17:47 good pitching team.
17:48 You're not going to be able to rely.
17:49 You know, if you get down eight to four, you're probably not making a six run come back this
17:55 time.
17:56 You know, UCLA is extremely talented.
17:58 They're not just a team that's sitting in the top 25.
18:01 This is a team that can make a run at the PAC 12 title, maybe even host a regional when
18:05 we're looking at around Memorial Day here.
18:07 But yeah, I'm a little apprehensive, like first thoughts.
18:10 I'm like, you're going to find out what you're made of.
18:13 I could also see them dropping two or three, even at home.
18:17 Yeah, I mean, you spoke about the pitching, but they were the only power five team to
18:21 not allow a run in a Sunday game.
18:23 They're pitching allow 10 runs in a three game series on the weekend for reference.
18:28 TCU allowed 10 runs in the first game on Friday night.
18:32 They are built on pitching, but they don't win by only pitching.
18:36 They have a young, talented offense that while at times they're going to make mistakes and
18:41 maybe get ahead, you know, get behind in the count a little too much.
18:44 They have power.
18:45 They have bat to ball skills.
18:47 They are going to make TCU earn every win this weekend.
18:51 And I do want to gauge your guys, you know, interest in this is a is a three game sweep
18:57 after what happens, you know, the last four games.
19:01 And but every let's say every game's close.
19:03 Is it, you know, hey, let's take a step back, look at the team, reevaluate or regardless
19:08 of what happens this weekend, you know, it's going to build them on for the rest of the
19:13 season.
19:14 Brett, I think you just got to keep plugging along.
19:17 I mean, again, so many new faces in the lineup.
19:20 You just it takes a minute to match.
19:21 Takes a minute to get comfortable and all that.
19:23 So you know what you're saying?
19:25 TCU get swept this weekend.
19:26 I would hope that wouldn't happen.
19:29 You know, they're they're number five in the country for a reason.
19:32 There's highs number three, I think the College Baseball Writers Association had them at three.
19:36 So you got to earn that ranking.
19:38 You got to prove, hey, we belong up here.
19:42 You know, I hate to be such a downer to start.
19:44 But yeah, like you said, I think that the the the hitting for UCLA really counters what
19:49 TCU's pitching does in a way that we don't like.
19:53 You know, there are there are very much we get a lot of hits and we move guys by getting
19:57 hits.
19:58 Yeah, they've they have a couple of guys have some power.
19:59 I think they only have five home runs on the season so far this year.
20:02 I say only.
20:03 But you know, there are much more get a single move a guy, get your point, move a guy, sac
20:08 five, bring him in.
20:09 And that's what we're going to see in the you know, TCU gave up a ton of hits this this
20:13 weekend and they gave up a ton.
20:14 It's against the Texas State.
20:16 So I think what UCLA does offensively kind of counters what TCU's pitching doesn't do
20:20 very well.
20:21 So I think the defense is really, really going to be tested.
20:24 Yeah, Carson, what about you?
20:27 Is.
20:29 Is there any cause for concern about maybe.
20:32 TCU needing to come back and win this past weekend, is there maybe, hey, you know, how
20:38 what are you how are you feeling as well going into this week?
20:42 So I I'm kind of with the bread on this one.
20:45 I don't feel great about it just because history does track.
20:49 We don't do well against teams around this ranking.
20:54 I think that it's it's it's really hard to predict because I do think that this TCU team
21:01 is going to play with a chip on their shoulder being four and oh.
21:04 But I also think that UCLA is looking to not only take the series, but sweep.
21:09 So I could definitely see it happening.
21:11 I do think TCU drops at least one game just because I don't think our our pitching can
21:17 handle going deep into ballgames with UCLA.
21:21 Yeah, I you know.
21:25 I am excited more than anything between watching our you know, our lineup do its thing.
21:29 I just want to see the start.
21:30 I want to see them get out there.
21:31 I want to see, you know, can can totally keep his pitching count low enough to be able to
21:36 go deep into games and can click a rebound.
21:39 I think Zach Morris.
21:42 I think maybe there's still a little bit of the ceiling that we can reach with him, but
21:45 I think we're kind of getting we're kind of already seeing what we may be getting out
21:48 of him the rest of the season.
21:50 And I think, you know, TCU has a good shot to walk away with the sweep, but they also
21:55 have a good shot to get swept.
21:57 And I think that speaks volumes about what UCLA is as a program.
22:01 You know, moving into kind of our predictions now last week, you know, Brett, I can't wait
22:07 to see your prediction, Brett.
22:09 Last week, we had our top hitter in our top pitcher prediction.
22:14 And you know, Carson picked Anthony Silva for his hitter prediction.
22:19 I picked Luke Boyers and Carson, what are you know, why don't you go ahead and tell
22:23 us who won that one?
22:24 Yeah, I mean, I think it just kind of shows how much that he has kind of bought into being
22:33 the guy that people think of whenever they look at TCU.
22:37 I think that right now him and Cole Klecker are the two players that you think of when
22:42 you say TCU baseball.
22:44 And I said it, you know, in our preview, I think that Silva is going to hit really well
22:50 because I mean, he's the starting shortstop.
22:53 I mean, that's the guy that you look at first on everybody's roster pretty much.
22:57 And sure enough, he shows up on Friday and Saturday and even got a hit in Sunday's game
23:02 as well.
23:03 So yeah, I was very happy with his performance.
23:07 Yeah, you definitely want to walk away.
23:10 And you know, I was going to put up a fight for our pitching prediction and you can laugh
23:17 at us.
23:18 Are you what?
23:19 But pitching prediction wise, I said Cole Klecker was going to be the MVP of the weekend
23:23 and Carson picked Peyton Tolley.
23:25 Both of our pitchers, Carson did not have a memorable one.
23:30 They both only win three innings.
23:33 They both have an ERA of eight actually right now.
23:36 And you know what?
23:38 That's last weekend.
23:39 We get to make new predictions.
23:40 Carson, we're going to write.
23:42 Yeah, you're two and oh so far on the weekend.
23:45 Brett will make his prediction.
23:46 I'm sure I will pick the worst option available.
23:49 But you know, let's let's kick it off with our prediction.
23:52 Brett, who's your pitching MVP for this weekend against UCLA?
23:55 I'm actually going to go off of the starting rotation and go with Ben Abel.
23:59 I think that the series has the potential to be the complete opposite of last weekend.
24:03 You know, how is he going to step in and close the game out when TCU is up three to when
24:08 you absolutely cannot afford when he inherits a batter on second, right up one.
24:14 That to me is going to be, you know, maybe he won't have the most flashy numbers or maybe
24:20 he won't have the most strikeouts or whatever.
24:22 But I certainly think he's the most pivotal arm on this team this weekend.
24:27 Yeah, Carson, what about you?
24:31 My picture this weekend is Cole Clicker.
24:33 I do think that he is I think that like I like I said with Silva, everybody's kind of
24:39 looking for him to be the guy.
24:42 And if he can go five, six innings with maybe one or two runs let up, I think that people
24:50 will be like, OK, he's back and we don't have anything to worry about on Saturday.
24:55 Yeah, I'm actually also going to walk in peace, but mine's Louis Rodriguez.
25:02 I think if you're expecting, you know, based off what we saw last weekend with the team
25:08 with no pitcher going more than four innings in a game, you need that long relief option.
25:12 And Louis seems to be Kirk's number one option out of long relief right now.
25:16 And I think if you're going to say Zach Morris maybe doesn't have his best game again, maybe
25:21 Cole Clicker, you know, get you deep.
25:23 But Peyton totally needs, you know, needs a little bit of help in the fifth inning.
25:26 And Louis comes out, gives you two and a half solid innings in each game.
25:29 I think that's a that's a very important piece that the bullpen has kind of had locked out
25:34 with Louis right there where it is right now.
25:36 And Zach where you're kind of slots into that role as well.
25:40 Now it's time for an even more fun option.
25:43 Top hitter prediction.
25:44 Let's go with you, Brett.
25:45 You know, kick us off before I jump in.
25:48 I there actually is something that I noticed that I wanted to mention earlier that I do
25:52 think matters to this series here.
25:54 UCLA did not play a midweek game.
25:55 They had one scheduled against Loyola Maramont and it got postponed.
25:58 So just keep that in mind.
25:59 They've got a little bit of extra rest that doesn't bode well either.
26:01 Anyway.
26:02 OK, top hitter of the weekend.
26:03 I'm going to go with the hot hand.
26:05 Baseball is a sport of streaks.
26:07 I mean, go with the freshman Chase Brunson.
26:09 He's been absolutely unbelievable.
26:10 It wasn't just power, even though he had, you know, two homers.
26:13 He's batting over 500.
26:15 And I think most impressively, especially for a freshman, you do four walks, man.
26:19 He sees the play.
26:20 He sees the ball coming out of the hand really well.
26:22 I think he's going to be a very, very good baseball player for TCU for many years upcoming.
26:26 Yes.
26:27 Carson, what about you?
26:28 Who's your pick for the weekend?
26:30 So my pick for this weekend is Logan Maxwell.
26:34 All right.
26:35 JD knows that I talk about this guy a lot.
26:39 Last year for four weeks straight, he hit 333.
26:44 Like I mean, he just sees the ball really, really well.
26:47 And this past weekend, he started seeing the ball even better on Saturday and Sunday.
26:52 Friday got off to a rocky start, was only able to kind of like sneak one out of the
26:56 infield.
26:58 But I mean, I just think that he's a talented hitter and I've been high on him for a while
27:02 now.
27:03 I think that he's going to really show that he can be that two hole guy for the Horned
27:07 Frogs.
27:08 Yeah, I'm actually going with the new starting third baseman for this one in Brody Green.
27:13 I think Brody has the bat.
27:16 Everyone knows he has the power.
27:17 He has the bat to ball skills.
27:20 And you kind of saw him develop later in the Texas State game as he got more comfortable
27:24 at the plate.
27:25 He started seeing the ball better.
27:26 So I'm going to give him a full weekend of it.
27:27 I think he's really going to show what he's capable of doing at the plate.
27:31 And I honestly look forward to what he's going to bring to a lineup that was already very
27:36 good and what he can bring to it.
27:39 Yeah, I think that's about to it.
27:42 Brett, do you have anything else you want to add to the episode for today?
27:46 No, I guess my bit Chase Brunson also didn't strike out last weekend, so not bad for a
27:52 freshman.
27:53 Let's go.
27:54 Let's go, Brunson.
27:55 Come on, man.
27:56 Do you have anything else you want to add before we close it out?
27:58 I think I'm good.
28:00 Let's see if let's see if we can go win a series against a ranked opponent.
28:02 Yeah, Brett, it was a pleasure having you on with us.
28:05 Tell the people where they could find you.
28:07 Yeah, first of all, thank you guys for having me on.
28:09 It's always a pleasure to talk to you and talk, chat TCU baseball.
28:12 If you're looking for me, you can find me on the artist formerly known as Twitter at
28:15 Road to CFB.
28:17 And I'm also writing series previews at Killer Frogs dot com every week for TCU's upcoming
28:22 opponents.
28:23 Yeah, I think I think that'll about do it.
28:25 We appreciate you guys listening and we will see you next Wednesday for the recap, recap
28:30 and preview.
28:31 Thank you.
28:32 [ Silence ]