Vawter Tech

There are quite a few guys who will have a spot to fight for to get down to 34. Especially considering I've seen they're still in on a couple '26 recruits who decommitted from their original school due to coaching changes. (Stetson)

That class had 3 freshmen hitters who had immediate impact and potential draft status. As well that class had 2-3 impact pitchers as well. I'm sure a couple guys could get drafted, but now-a-days hs guys are coming to campus more and more unless they get BIG money from MLB teams.

So many returning players who really started to take off at the end of last season, and a few new guys who should be really exciting. I'm selling myself on Hankins being the real deal BIG Power guy that Tennessee was excited about.

Like you said, would be great to keep most of them. I hope the NIL budget begins to increase and we can see the recruitment for hs improve to better keep up with our ACC competition. Duke had a horrible season and they still manage to outpace us in recruiting.

According to the article in the News-Gazette in Champaign, IL about recent 2026 high school commit Tre Cole, it was mentioned that James Franklin was involved in his recruitment. James Franklin was noted in the article (see the link) that he is a "baseball fan" himself. I can attest that having seen him at several games this past year already. He used the time to bring recruits and current players for one-on-one time in the seats while enjoying the game. If he is involved in any way with baseball recruitment, that could be HUGE going forward. The new sports era in Blacksburg, ushered in by a new BIG TIME football coach and an ambitious group of executives at the head of the Athletic Department, has anticipation reaching a fever pitch. The AD team looks ready to bring improvements to all sports across the board. Buckle in Hokies, it's Hammer Time!

The Hokies have added a new CF for the '27 season in UNC Greensboro CF, Brantley Truitt. He was one of the better players still available in the portal. I had tracked him a bit as a potential transfer. I think there were enough questions at CF for the upcoming season that adding a surefire fielder in that spot made sense. Truitt can do some magical things on the grass and warning track (See video clip link with him making an over the head catch on the warning track). He also has a great arm to throw runners out. I see his value mostly as a someone that can play the position really well. Most of @QCP roster projections had question marks at CF. I think this maybe an answer to that question. He's also a decent contact hitter that can use his speed on the basepaths. He typically hits right around .300 over the last 2 seasons at UNCG. He stole 16 bags last season and should get the green light to run quite a bit in Blacksburg. It's likely he caught the coaching staff's eyes when UNCG played the Hokies last season. You may remember his double homer game against us in the second to last series of the regular season in 2026. Although he went 5 for 9 with 2 homers 1 walk and 2 steals against the Hokies in 2 games. He was largely unspectacular against other ACC schools. He went 1 for 20 with only 1 walk and no steals against ACC schools not named Virginia Tech last season, including UNC once, twice against Wake, and thrice against Pitt. In those 19 outs he made against non-VT ACC competition, 9 of them were strikeouts. I am concerned with his K numbers, especially for a guy with limited power. He has to be putting the ball in play to take advantage of his speed. He already has a ground ball rate exceeding 50%. He can test fielders with the stress he'll put on them for even routine ground balls. But the ball has to be put in play. Expect Elbin to ask him to bunt a decent amount to tap into that speed and get the most from him. I feel the role being described here is getting eerily similar to Sam Gates at the end of last season. Where his value peaked as a defensive center fielder with good bunting and speed.

Makes me wonder if theres a plan here to bring him into the coaching fold if someone were to leave in the near future. He was head coach of FIU and hitting coach / recruiting coordinator with VCU previously. That's more experience than is typically necessary for a GM role. It also may just be a holdover role for Witten as he looks for a new head coaching role in the near future when the openings present themselves again.

He spent the last season with Arizona State and had a decent year (.277 Avg, 3 HR, .831 OPS), but not to the level he is capable of. His slugging was down. He transferred to South Carolina for his 5th year. Hoping this last season goes well for him. He was a noted draft prospect not long ago. This will be his first healthy off season in a while. I'd love to see more Michel Missiles. The Gamecocks should be a lot better this year. They've spent their NIL money efficiently and have a top 5 transfer portal class. SEC seems to get better every year.

They have to play somewhere in the field. They're both too valuable for getting outs to be DH. I've heard the idea of Daniel at 3B because of his arm and Grady/Gibby at SS. That would be a great defensive infield. Arnett really looks the part of an impact guy in the OF. Would be awesome to have multiple freshmen contribute much like the '22 recruiting class had Michele, Donay, and Grady.

THE NEW GUY Brooks Carter is a senior catcher from a JUCO in Texas. He committed May 20th, so we all missed it during the season. Think hit tool with Brooks. He's a big guy with a stache who hits bombs from the left side and wants to go into agriculture. Perfect fit for Virginia Tech. He's got the hit tool and good power. Set program records for his previous school Amarillo College in career hits, RBI, Batting Avg, Multi-hit games, and walks. He hit for a .341 Avg in the Perfect Game Summer League in 2024. It appears his offense is his carrying tool. He can throw guys out (24% runners caught stealing) but I have no idea how his framing is. Low error numbers and average number of passed balls so his blocking seems fine. He will challenge Strawhecker and CJ for the starting catcher role, although he's also listed as an infielder. He's played first base before. With the condensed rosters and the likelihood that the other 3 catchers will also make the roster, guys have to bring value and be able to play multiple positions to help the team. Carrying 4 catchers only works if those guys can play other spots too. GUYS MISSING I missed that Gage Goldman decommitted June 12th. Having not pitched this season due to injury he was going to have a tough time making the roster. Tre Cole, the incoming hs pitcher who recently committed July 17, isn't yet listed. I'm sure he'll be up there soon though. I think Cole, Hoffman, and Lee will push for major innings this year. At least one of them should be expected to contribute right away. POSITIONS Owen Green has been relatively quiet. I'm not sure if he played hs ball his senior year, but I couldn't find any info. He is listed as both an OF and a pitcher. I don't have enough info to know where he is most likely to end up. Willie Hurt is listed only as an infielder and not as Utility, like Sam Grube is. I think Willie ends up playing in the OF as well along with Clay Grady who was rumored to be playing there last fall.

Strawhecker and Ox should both get plenty of AB's to win the starting job. I would wonder who is better at framing and throwing guys out. Munoz has so much easy power in his swing. I'm hoping to see him a bit too in '27. Hornick and Szefc look to both have a good shot at making the roster as freshman infielders. It's a crowded position group, but they're too talented to let go of. It's impressive seeing hs guys compete with 20 year olds with wood bats. Really good to see that. Lazaro has steadily seen his stock rise. Reminds me of how both Manning and Craytor had much better 2nd years with Tech after transferring in. I really want to see more of Ryan Walsh. We haven't gotten to see much of him and I think he still has an outside chance to make the roster.

We had 2 incoming transfers get drafted and congratulations to them. Both Chris Torres from USC Upstate and Aiden VanDeHatert from DBU have signed with their respective MLB teams and will not make it to campus. Both were lefties, so I expect the staff may look to reallocate some of the money they had set aside for them to get another southpaw for the arm barn. Some of that money may have already been redistributed though. The Hokies added a very late hs commit for 2026, which is the class that comes to campus this fall. Tre Cole from Illinois will make the trip down to Blacksburg. He's a right-handed pitcher with good low 90's velo for a high schooler. He's ranked #301 nationally and becomes the 3rd highest ranked player in the class. This is definitely a significant add. Between him, Hoffman, and Lee I think we can expect one of them to have a shot at being the next freshman to make the rotation.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully it goes well and he can get some swings before the 2027 season.

But he needs at bats to reach his potential. I assume he will get them. He's got a ton of power but also appears to have swing and miss. After what they did with Ball, whom also had swing and miss in his profile, I assume they're aiming for similar development throughout the season.

Love that he's getting his time to shine. He has worked hard, especially on hitting. You're right, he needs to be somewhere at the top of the lineup every weekend. The infield is VERY up in the air. I'd say maybe keep Ball at second and everything else is a question mark. Is Pete Daniel coming back? Where will Clay play? There was some word he'd have some outfield reps in the '26 season before his injury. Clay's glove work is unmatched. He should be somewhere in the field. You also need to have Lutterman in the lineup somewhere. Although he showed good outfield tools, I think he's a great third baseman. Fall will be telling. It may be that Hankins starts out at DH alongside Willie Hurt or Aiden Arnett at first.

It will certainly take more resources from the athletic department to keep up with the big P4 programs. I hope the new AD is able to help divert some of the recent influx of funds towards the diamond sports.

I know our good friends at TSL and other VT sports news sites have asked for release of that info only to be shut down. It's tough to know how much we are offering players besides what I've heard for one-two current players and interpolating from there. From what I know, we aren't extremely competitive with NIL for baseball compared to many P4 schools that expect to make the tournament fairly often. Robertson surprised me by coming to campus, so maybe there's reason to believe at least one of these two comes to campus. Clement is a wild card. Not really sure what he'll do because I really do wonder how much his stock would rise if he had one full, healthy year as a starter in college at P4 level.

Both Chris Torres (USC Upstate - LHP - drafted by Mariners 16th round) and Aiden VanDeHatert (DBU - LHP - drafted by Red Sox 20th round) were drafted Sunday and will have decisions to make. I'd imagine any 6 figure offer they would receive would be enough to get them to forgo the trip to VT. The slot figure at each round 11-20 is $150,000 and it doesn't benefit teams in terms of draft pool at all to go under slot, so most teams who aren't the Angels will offer the full amount of $150,000 to each guy in those rounds. I would think it's likely both these guys sign. It will be worth paying attention to, and may lead to some late business in the portal for more lefties. ** Edited by Vawter Tech at 7/13/2026, 9:15:42 AM ** Edited by Vawter Tech at 7/13/2026, 11:34:03 AM

I loved the trade to Colorado for his lefty swing and I projected he could have a great year. He will be a great hitter there for many years. His defense ranks in the towards the top of the league at 1B. He had done so well at AAA and the Yankees certainly helped him develop, but it was time he got a shot somewhere else. And Ben Rice wasn't going to allow that to happen unfortunately.

Good catch to see the connections though. Maybe that's a question for next year. It does not appear that Porter is in the "transfer portal", and since the date has already passed for putting your name in, he'll likely be at Walters this upcoming season. To be fair though I'm not entirely sure how transfers work with JUCO players and if they're subject to the same rules as D1 players are for portal entry. Walters State has become a breeding ground for D1 pitching though. Big schools like LSU and UNC are raiding their rotation each year. It was good for us to play them twice last fall to strengthen the network there. However, with the big schools fishing in that pond, it becomes less likely the better arms from Walters end up in Blacksburg. Maybe the new AD will change that and provide better funds though? Aiden Robertson is obviously an example of us getting a guy who many were fond of, including the Texas Rangers. Hopefully Aiden can have a better season this year and pitch like he did at Boston College more consistently.

Lopez is a quality righty from JUCO College of Central Florida wiht a 92mph FB. He had 11 starts this past season with a 3.71 ERA and 27% K rate. He has good stuff and limits hard contact (.247 Avg against, 2.3% HR rate). Limiting walks will help him get to the next stage of his development. He should vie for a spot as swingman out of the pen, similar to Grant Manning. He can go for longer innings or come in early in a game to shut the door in a tough spot. He may even challenge for a spot in the rotation if he adjusts well. Overall this is another good acquisition to reinforce the pitching staff.

The 3B play is interesting. Looks like zero errors thus far. Which isn't saying a lot for an outfielder, but nonetheless it's still good.

AJ is a southpaw with a low 90's FB and wipeout slider. Has great stuff that induces a lot of whiffs and plenty of strikeouts (28% K rate). Last season he had some really quality outings against Clemson, UVA, and UNC where he didn't allow a run and racked up a few strikeouts in short stints. He has 8th inning stuff to set the table for Powell as the closer. He's a Carolina native that transfers in from Charlotte. He was at Wake Forest previously before that. The lefties were a target in the portal after losing Swift and Clement. The bullpen is much stronger now than it was a few weeks ago. Willey and Reynolds should have plenty of talent to work with to make improvements on last year's inflated team ERA that put them dead last in the conference.

I love the tidbit about the 2023 team on Hillburger. Looks like they pulled in another low leverage lefty in George Adams from FIU. Similar comments apply that you used to describe Kaden. He struggled against better competition, but has experience and can eat innings in mid-week or Sunday games.

Just got him today. Depth piece with experience. Won't knock your socks off in terms of FIP metrics, but limits hard contact and walks so he has value has a bullpen arm. Slots right into your TBD RHP.

I'd assume all 3 will be there in the fall. Aiden is eligible to be drafted again. Obviously circumstances have changed and he's not in as good of a spot, but I think he has a shot to be pretty good next season after a full year at the D1 level should he come back. Lazaro seems to be the most likely to take on a bigger role as a junk throwing lefty. I have no idea of what to expect with Walsh. He'll have an uphill battle to make the roster I think.

While we do have plenty of lefty arms, I was really hoping to see Austin break out this year. There's always a small chance he comes back, but it's not likely. I believe yesterday was the last day to register in the portal, barring a coaching change. So we know who is sticking around now. Austin was a prized lefty out of hs. Great frame and projectable stuff. At this point, Ethan Grim is the only pitcher from the '25 class to earn a significant role on the team. That could be a problem down the road and may be why they recruited JUCO pitchers so heavily to supplement the '26 class.

Now that you mention it he would fit well there to swap with either Locurto or Grube as DH/OF and maybe even play CF. Heck! He's got the speed. Not sure if anyone noticed, but Willie is a foul ball merchant and would always enthusiastically sprint after foul balls from the dugout. Very entertaining stuff. Love him for it. Love his contact ability too and I think he deserves a lot more AB's this season.

Sorry to spam the forum lately, but the news keeps rolling in. Josh Reynolds, our new Director of Pitching Performance/Data Analytics who came from Tennessee, appears to have brought a pitcher with him from Ole Rocky Top. Nic Abraham (RHP) will join the Hokies as a Junior next season. A solid bullpen arm and midweek starter for the Vols in '26 (4.15 ERA). He doesn't rack up whiffs, but he has an extremely low walk rate (4%) and also doesn't give up a lot of hits (.242 batting Avg against). He should be a welcome arm in the pen that has lost a few good players to the portal and draft/graduation. However, I think he may have a good shot at becoming the Sunday starter. He had originally committed to staying at Tennessee earlier in the summer, so I Imagine Reynolds and co. had to offer him a nice package to get him to move east. That may have included promises regarding a starting role. It's an exciting get and he pairs nicely with Hankins as the second Vol to transfer in this summer.

He's an infielder who played at JUCO Gaston College along side incoming transfers Drake Purvis and Talan McConnell. He decommitted from Wake Forest a day ago. It would be a tough get, as I'm sure there are plenty of coaches ringing his phone, but he is a truly exciting talent. The infield may be crowded, but his bat is likely worth squeezing in into the lineup. Feels like he'd be a game changer alongside Ball in the lineup. His freshman year numbers in '26 at JUCO level are GAUDY: 186 At Bats .500 Avg .989 Slug 23 HR 46 BB 28 K ** Edited by Vawter Tech at 6/26/2026, 2:41:55 PM

I've looked all over and there isn't any film or stats to find for his 2026 hs season. Could be he stopped posting once committing to Tech. But also he isn't currently on a summer league team? I wonder if the writing is on the wall here. Nonetheless, I'm starting to think another outfielder maybe needed in the portal, especially someone familiar with CF duties. I can see Locurto in LF and Grube in RF again with Hurt, Hankins, Lutterman maybe mixed in on those corners. Guy should be given the CF opportunities, but I think they will need some depth. Arnett seems to have the bat to challenge for a spot in '27. I saw a video of him making a diving catch in LF, but I have no idea of his ball tracking abilities for CF. I wouldn't ask a freshman to play there anyways. The last freshman to play CF right away and excel was a favorite of mine in Jack Hurley. It's not often guys are ready to take that on as a 19 year old though.

Seems he is on the roster for the High Point Thomasville HiToms. I hope he gets plenty of work there. Will be good to get him comfortable with higher level of competition and COPL is probably as good as it gets for competition behind the Cape.

The Hokies will travel to Nashville to take on Vandy, Cincy, and Ohio State in a solid early season tournament next season. It's not of the caliber of our Texas trip this past season, but it should have more favorable results.

You can't afford to carry many guys that really aren't contributing in some facet. I also wouldn't mind seeing one more power bat come into the fold as well.

Transfers Thus Far: - (LHP) Michael Staiano - Elon - (LHP) Aiden VanDeHatert - DBU - (LHP) Chris Torres - USC Upstate - (RHP) Daniel Powell - Kennesaw State - (RHP) Nate Bennett - Niagara - (1B/OF) Evan Hankins - Tennessee Some quick notes: as a whole this is a good haul to fill holes in the bullpen and possibly the Sunday starter with Eisenreich and Grim projected to take Friday and Saturday starts. Powell is the most polished pitcher here. He was the closer last year and had great performances against WVU, DBU, and Liberty. Staiano and Nick Locurto were teammates in hs at Don Bosco and seem to know each other well. Torres has the best shot at being a starter given he's been stretched out a relatively successful as a weekend guy. Nate Bennett might be Sam Grube's brother (see pic below). I see the vision there. Grube was an elite portal get last year so I expect big things this year from Bennett. Hankins didn't play much in Rocky Top, but he was a top hs recruit hitter who has real power from the left side. He's a Virginia guy and appears familiar with some of the current Hokies from his time at tournaments etc... in hs. There could be some major offensive production here. If you check @QCP projected roster post this mostly fills the Righty and Lefty pitcher needs. I think the remaining transfer activity will be hitters Estimated Remaining Transfer Needs: - Starting Catcher - Impact offensive outfielder who can play CF The current catchers on the roster include 2 young players with little to no experience as a backstop in the ACC. It takes time for guys to develop as good defensive catchers. Szefc appears to really value his catcher's ability to handle the game as a leader behind the plate. Oxendine is a guy I am confident will eventually be ready to take on the responsibilities, given his dad oversaw development of elite catchers at Coastal. But, he needs time and experience to get there, which he didn't get much of last season. Caleb Strawhecker might be the incoming catcher from the portal. Looks like interest in him is heating up. He appears to be good defensively. He hit .344 in D2 from the left side w/ 8 homers and more walks than K's. You'd like to see someone with elite ball tracking on flyballs man the CF spot. There's little experience there on the current roster, with Gates and Hughes manning that spot mostly last season. And I think they did it very well. I would think they might target someone in the portal who can field CF well and has good contact ability, which is typically a more "affordable" trait in the portal than big power.

He was the righty your roster projections said we needed. He was the closer for Kennesaw and he's probably the most exciting and polished bullpen arm to come in. He likely replaces Craytor/Crowl as high leverage righty out of the pen. Pitched in the Cape and did ok there. He could reduce walks a bit but his 28% K rate is quite attractive. I'm having some trouble digging up velocity numbers on these guys so I appreciate you finding that on Staiano and VanDehatert. They should be solid pen additions. I think the pen is pretty solid now. I wonder if they hope one of Clement or Crowl to return and just using the portal as leverage in draft talks. I would expect they turn their attention towards a catcher. There's too much uncertainty there. I have full faith in Oxendine developing eventually, but he needs more experience in the ACC. His dad having overseen the development of high quality catchers at Coastal (now Gamecocks) makes me confident in his eventual ascendance to the backstop throne, but having not played much last year I expect the starter is in the portal. ** Edited by Vawter Tech at 6/24/2026, 10:33:23 AM

Looks like they target a RHP, a really strong starting catcher defensively with average hitting traits, and a solid outfielder who can hit and play CF potentially

Good to be patient with pitchers. Brett Renfrow is an anomaly. Players don't become Friday starters in the ACC as freshmen. We were lucky to have him. I think Dean was evaluated for his projection more than his actual output in hs, like QCP said above. He's got all the makings for a southpaw. He almost looks like Randy Johnson if you squint. He's a lanky lefty who you can dream on if he develops a nice breaker with extra velo on his fastball. We'll see how he does in summer league and hopefully by the fall he's got his feet under him and vying for an important role in the staff.

I hope he can bring some much needed power to this offense next year. He has a strong left arm, so it would be a shame to waste it at 1B, but that is definitely his best suited role. Worth noting he'll be draft eligible after next year. So one good season and he's gone.

Looks like Aiden Arnett was playing with Madison Mallards (whom he played with last summer) but is not "inactive" on their roster page. Maybe he picked up a small knock. I'm very excited to see some of the incoming freshmen play. I also would love to see Willie Hurt and CJ Oxendine get significant at bats. I think those are future starters

I've started to gather the locations where guys will be heading for the summer. @QCP I was wondering if you have found the same or even the rest of the locations I don't have here: Cape Cod League - Ethan Ball : Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox - Sam Grube: Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox - Ethan Grim: Brewster Whitecaps - Logan Eisenreich: Brewster Whitecaps - Chase Swift: Wareham Gatemen - Madden Clement: Bourne Braves Appy League - Jake Wise: Pulaski River Turtles - Ryan Walsh: Pulaski River Turtles - Brady Elrod: Pulaski River Turtles - John Michael Szefc: Pulaski River Turtles - Justin Munoz: Burlington Sock Puppets

That's the name of the game this weekend. Their lineup is MUCH more manageable than GT and UVA and their pitching is very decent, but not loaded with studs like in years past. Their newly-hired pitching coach is former 2022 Hokie, Sean Fisher. He pitched at Maryland before coming to Tech, where he was recruited by Szefc as well. Duke has stolen 98 bases. That's good for the most in the ACC and the 2nd place team (NC State with 54 SB) isn't close. This is obviously an identity that the Blue Devils are taking on under new coach Corey Muscara (previously Wake Forest pitching coach). We have unfortunately been pretty poor at catching guys stealing. As a team we're catching guys on the bases at a 21% clip. That's not great. It would be better if it were closer to 30%. As a team, Duke is not only racking up stolen bases, but they're extremely efficient (91% stolen bases per attempt). And it's not just one guy. Three players have double digit stolen bases already. An additional six players have 5 stolen bases or more. They're running out a full starting 9 of guys who can swipe a bag. For comparison, the Hokies don't have a single player with 5 stolen bases. This weekend will go badly if we allow a lot of walks. We need to get back to the command we had at the start of the season, when walks were minimal. There's obviously some concern with two of our top starting pitchers in Ethan Grim and Brett Renfrow. Both left games early due to injury, which likely affected their results. We'll see who gets starts and how the open spots in the bullpen are covered. Note that the Hokies have the worst ERA in the ACC. You could argue they've had the toughest schedule of almost any team to start the season, but the pitching will have to improve soon or else this season has little hope. My projections for the season included 1-2 series outcomes for the Texas tournament, GT, and UVA. We weren't far from achieving that. Now it's time to lock in and win some series. We need to probably win 6 of the next 8 ACC series to get into the tournament. The next 2 series are certainly circled as opportunities to pickup 4-5 wins in the conference. The hitting is warming up and Stieg is shoving on Sundays with Crowl locking it down late. LGH

I definitely look forward to having Clay get healthy, wherever they put him. His skill with the glove was immediately apparent in his freshman year. Overall I do wonder about how moving guys around the diamond affects our fielding efficiency. We like to say many players have flexibility in their position, but I think with how young some of these guys are I'd appreciate seeing them stick to one position and really get comfortable playing there. Not everyone is Nick Biddison. The ball off the bat looks different from RF and LF. If you primarily play infield and then start playing in the outfield, you can't really be expected to get good reads off the bat if you haven't seen 10,000 fly balls to master the flight patterns of the ball. There have been some miscues that feel in part due to players having inexperience at the position they've been asked to play. I appreciate the work you did to find the fielding numbers on the infielders. That helps shed some light on what's been happening. It's not quite smooth yet, but maybe it's getting there. These guys only started playing together a few months ago. Not one of the 3, 4, 5, 6 positions played together before this season. So I think it's more that than pure fielding ability. Now that you point it out, Daniel definitely seems to have more reach/range, if nothing else for the pure length of his arms.

I've noticed that it appears as though Brett is giving up harder contact than he typically does. He's still able to lock in and strike guys out (30% K-rate), but when opponents make contact they're hitting .421 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play), which is an absurd increase from his BABIP in the previous 2 seasons. This means when the ball is hit in play, hitters are getting on base almost half the time. Which likely means they're barreling the ball well and getting good exit velo's. BABIP is more typically in the low to mid .300 range for college pitchers. If hitters make contact against Brett, it is not typically weak contact. Weak contact is usually found in having a high ground ball rate. In previous seasons, Brett has carried a 41-44% ground ball rate. He's currently carrying a 22% ground ball rate. I'm not sure what is causing this dropoff, but combined with the high BABIP, it would appear opponents are currently hitting the ball well against him. We typically have a good infield and this helps if you have pitchers with high ground ball rates to get quick, easy outs. That doesn't seem to be happening as much this year. The Hokies currently have a 0.53 double plays per game rate. Thats worse than more than 200 teams in college baseball. The team isn't able to get easy outs or outs in bunches when they need them. If the Hokies are going to limit damage and minimize the runs scored against them in future games, they need to draw more ground balls and utilize their infield to get easy outs and reduce pitch counts. There's a lot of season left and there are plenty of issues that need to be addressed. I think pitching to weak contact is going to help a lot, even if it means we get less strikeouts.

However, I'd expect he will take time to ramp up. An injury to the hand/wrist takes a while to be able to swing a bat for power and catch up to velo. My guess is another 1-2 weeks before he's in game scenarios. Haven't heard if he's practicing yet.