Gopher Baseball 2019

[gophereric30]

MLB Draft Tracker lists Reggie's bonus as $5,000 and if that is actually right then it makes no sense at all that he signed. He could've easily got that as a SR and would've probably been taken quite a bit higher. I would think there has to be a mistake with draft tracker if Reggie actually signed for $5,000 he made a big mistake and has a terrible agent.

Well if he was drafted in the 30 something round there is no chance his bonus was 125 thousand. 5000 sounds right. Like someone else said, he loses all leverage after this year. There is no guarantee he will have a better year next year. Even if he does, there are a ton of righthanders that throw 92. He probably wouldn't move up too much farther in draft.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Well if he was drafted in the 30 something round there is no chance his bonus was 125 thousand. 5000 sounds right. Like someone else said, he loses all leverage after this year. There is no guarantee he will have a better year next year. Even if he does, there are a ton of righthanders that throw 92. He probably wouldn't move up too much farther in draft.

Teams can give 125,000 in the 40th round if they want and it doesn't count against them. Teams can give up to $125,000 without it counting against the bonus pool to players taken after the 10th round. If he signed for 5,000 this year then he didn't use any leverage now either 5,000 is nothing for MLB teams you can get that easy as a senior sign. There is no guarantee Reggie would've had another year like he had this year next year but when the offer is 5,000 most guys are gonna bet on themselves and say they can do it again and more and return for their Senior season. Especially when you consider the pitching staff he could've been a part of as a senior.

 

[gophereric30]

Teams can give 125,000 in the 40th round if they want and it doesn't count against them. Teams can give up to $125,000 without it counting against the bonus pool to players taken after the 10th round. If he signed for 5,000 this year then he didn't use any leverage now either 5,000 is nothing for MLB teams you can get that easy as a senior sign. There is no guarantee Reggie would've had another year like he had this year next year but when the offer is 5,000 most guys are gonna bet on themselves and say they can do it again and more and return for their Senior season. Especially when you consider the pitching staff he could've been a part of.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Vavra gets a pretty good payday. With both Vavra and Meyer signing I believe the Gophers projected roster sits at 34 so it will be interesting if they try to add a JUCO guy in the next couple weeks like they did with Jackson Rose a couple summers ago.
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[DarrenTheGreek]

Regarding Meyer, although $5k is a paltry amount I can still see reasons why he took it.

1. He's been in college 4 years. He's probably already graduated or is VERY close
2. He's going to be 23 next month...that's getting to be on the older side for a A ball player. If he stayed around for another year of school he'd be starting A ball at the age of 24. That's pretty ancient. To put it in perspective, on his current A team Spokane, there are only 5 players age 23 or older.
3. I think there is a limit to how much he could increase his draft value. Not only is he a bit older than most prospects but I doubt his fastball is going to go from high 80's to touching 95 mph in a years time. Even IF he jumped 16 rounds and was taken in round 20, seniors taken in the 20th round of this years draft were getting 1-3k signing bonuses.
4. If he came back for his senior year he'd likely have to share a scholarship. Meaning it will actually cost him money to play for the Gophers whereas in A ball, although it isn't much, he's at least making something.

To sum it up, he probably made the right decision.

 

[Golden04]

First of all, there was no way Meyer was going to get a $125,000 signing bonus for being a 38th round pick. If that was the case, just about every kid drafted would leave college no matter what round they are taken.

I think Reggie was a really good pitcher this year, but you could tell he did not have the speed on his pitches like the other number one starters he faced. The pros are interested in a lot of things when it comes to a pitcher, but how fast you can throw your pitches seems to be the most important factor. I have seen a lot of other Gopher pitchers with a lot higher ERA or a worse won-loss record go a lot earlier in the draft. They could throw the ball faster than Reggie could. I don't think next year Reggie would have gotten any faster on his fastball.

With all the talented young pitches coming back next year, I don't think this will be a big loss. Gilbreath leaving early probably cost us a chance to win the CWS. I don't blame Gilbreath for leaving early or even Reggie.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Regarding Meyer, although $5k is a paltry amount I can still see reasons why he took it.

1. He's been in college 4 years. He's probably already graduated or is VERY close
2. He's going to be 23 next month...that's getting to be on the older side for a A ball player. If he stayed around for another year of school he'd be starting A ball at the age of 24. That's pretty ancient. To put it in perspective, on his current A team Spokane, there are only 5 players age 23 or older.
3. I think there is a limit to how much he could increase his draft value. Not only is he a bit older than most prospects but I doubt his fastball is going to go from high 80's to touching 95 mph in a years time. Even IF he jumped 16 rounds and was taken in round 20, seniors taken in the 20th round of this years draft were getting 1-3k signing bonuses.
4. If he came back for his senior year he'd likely have to share a scholarship. Meaning it will actually cost him money to play for the Gophers whereas in A ball, although it isn't much, he's at least making something.

To sum it up, he probably made the right decision.

Few things.
1. I thought about the graduation thing to and looked it up and he was registered for the fall semester so must've had more classes to take and been planning on coming back.
2. Right but as a 38th round pick the odds are already severely against you no matter what age you are.
3. He probably wasn't gonna have an increase in velocity or anything that would really make him jump but if he put up the numbers he did this year for a second consecutive season teams are gonna notice and he could've been between a 15th to 20th rounder. The money all depends on the organization. Looking at some 20th round SRs who have signed this year there were 2 at $5000, 1 at $3000, and 2 at $1000. In reality there isn't much difference between $5000 and $1000.
4. With 11.7 scholarships in baseball basically everybody is paying to play baseball. Well except a few of those SEC schools that manipulate financial aid and don't exactly follow the same rules as the rest of the country but anyway not likely it would've been different than any other year for Reggie.
I wish he would've come back and think it would've been a better decision for him and his future as well as the team for him to come back. Having said all that I'm very confident the Gophers will find somebody to fill that 3rd starter spot and be successful.

 

[Golden04]

Reggie getting a $5000 signing bonus for being drafted in the 38th round seems like a lot of money. He probably did use his senior year as leverage.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Reggie getting a $5000 signing bonus for being drafted in the 38th round seems like a lot of money. He probably did use his senior year as leverage.

You won't see many college juniors at all sign for $5000 no matter where they are picked.

 

[WoodburyTim]

The only reason he would stay is if he realistically understood he probably won't make the major leagues and just wanted to play another year with his friends and try to make it to the CWS.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Freshman to be Zack Elliott wins MVP at the Minnesota Senior All Star Series in Chaska this weekend.
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[Goldy Gopher]

Sid had a interview with 14 on the sports huddle. Few things he mentioned going through all the legal things they have to with the assistant job. Should be officially named by July 15th. Nick Lackney would've been drafted but he wanted to come back to school and wouldn't have signed. Lost quite a bit freshmen are going to have to contribute. Pitching should still be very good might have to carry the team for awhile. Lackney is probably in line to get a chance to start next season. Brett Schulze could get another look starting. Sam Thoresen is another guy who could start. Ryan Duffy and Bubba Horton have been pitching well last few outings in the Northwoods. Jordan Kozicky is likely to start the season at SS while Jack Wassel is likely to slide in at 3B. Zack Raabe is a incoming freshman who could get a look at 2B. Sid asked about the incoming class and Anderson said they are excited about it and really like it but you don't know exactly what you have until you get the guys on campus. That is part of the reason Anderson didn't talk about the freshman class a whole lot and said he would rather talk about the guys that have been on campus and has seen more of.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

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[Goldy Gopher]

Scheduled to get going tomorrow afternoon.
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[beavergopher]

Scheduled to get going tomorrow afternoon.
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Rain and lightning! The weather luck continues.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

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[Golden04]

I just hope the Gophers win the series!

 

[Goldy Gopher]

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[Gophyz]

Hoping they'll win

 

[Goldy Gopher]

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[Goldy Gopher]

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[DarrenTheGreek]

Gophers announce 2019 baseball schedule

A killer non-conference schedule:
2 games vs Oregon State (neutral sites)
2 games vs Gonzaga (neutral site)
1 game vs Washington
3 game series @ Long Beach State
1 game @ Pepperdine
3 game series @ Dallas Baptist
3 game series @ NC State
3 game home series vs Oklahoma

Home opener is vs Nebraska on 3/29

No Iowa on the schedule. Booo

B1G Opponents: @PSU, Neb, @Mich, Ill, @Ind, OSU, Mary, @NW

The road to Omaha begins on 2/15 against Gonzaga.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Really really good schedule. Chance for a lot of quality wins.

 

[Sparlimb]

Nice. I just moved to Cali. I might go see the Long Beach State games.

 

[a79krgm]

Gophers announce 2019 baseball schedule

A killer non-conference schedule:
2 games vs Oregon State (neutral sites)
2 games vs Gonzaga (neutral site)
1 game vs Washington
3 game series @ Long Beach State
1 game @ Pepperdine
3 game series @ Dallas Baptist
3 game series @ NC State
3 game home series vs Oklahoma

Home opener is vs Nebraska on 3/29

Great schedule this year. Now it's up all up to old man weather.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Practices are officially underway.
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Baseball America's Gopher Preview
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[BleedGopher]

MN Daily: With high expectations, Gophers baseball begins practice

Though it may not seem like it with the recent cold wave washing over campus, baseball season is ready to start in Dinkytown.

The Gophers' baseball team, which went 44-15 overall and was one series away from the College World Series last season, started practice for the 2019 season on Friday. Minnesota won the Big Ten regular season and tournament championship last season. Four Gophers were selected in the 2018 MLB draft from that team, with the highest pick being then-junior Terrin Vavra, who was the 96th overall pick.

"We don't want to forget it. We want to embrace that and take some confidence from that. ... It's elevated our program here, I think, to a different level on the national scene, and we're going to embrace that part of it," said Minnesota head coach John Anderson, who is in his 37th season as head coach. "But at the same time, this is a different team."

The Gophers graduated six seniors from last season, and lost two juniors in the draft. Though it wasn't a large class, those few had an impact, especially in the position groups. The starters who played in center field, third base and second base are all gone this season.

Ben Mezzenga, a senior outfielder who had the second highest batting average last season with a .383, said he plans on moving his position to center field as former center fielder Alex Boxwell graduated. Junior shortstop Jordan Kozicky and senior first baseman Cole McDevitt will lead the inexperienced infield this season.

"We're going to need guys to step up who maybe hadn't had much success previously in their years," Mezzenga said. "A lot of those guys have been working extremely hard, and I know there's going to be guys that are going to show up this year and really blow everyone away with how well they do."

http://www.mndaily.com/article/2019/01/s-with-high-expectations-gophers-baseball-begins-practice

Go Gophers!!

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

https://gophersports.com/news/2019/2/7/usa-baseball-names-meyer-to-golden-spikes-award-watch-list.aspx

Good for Max! Although I must say I'm a little surprised at the article that said Meyer would be playing more OF this year in addition to this bullpen duties. If anything, I thought they'd be looking to see if they can transition him into a starter.

 

[Lincoln gopher]

https://gophersports.com/news/2019/2/7/usa-baseball-names-meyer-to-golden-spikes-award-watch-list.aspx

Good for Max! Although I must say I'm a little surprised at the article that said Meyer would be playing more OF this year in addition to this bullpen duties. If anything, I thought they'd be looking to see if they can transition him into a starter.

In the Steak n Beans series, he didn't pitch at all, no surprise, but he did play the outfield every game. I believe he ended up as one of the top hitters in the series.

 

[beavergopher]

https://gophersports.com/news/2019/2/7/usa-baseball-names-meyer-to-golden-spikes-award-watch-list.aspx

Good for Max! Although I must say I'm a little surprised at the article that said Meyer would be playing more OF this year in addition to this bullpen duties. If anything, I thought they'd be looking to see if they can transition him into a starter.

His pitches and style are perfect for the closer roll. I’m happy they are leaving him in there. Anderson said something to the effect that in that roll he can influence a couple games in a series vs one start.
Why change a great thing? Hopefully no Soph slump for him and Fredrickson.