The 2019 Diamond Dawgs’ season is almost upon us: opening day at the NEW Dudy Noble Field is Friday, February 15th at 4:00 PM vs. Youngstown State.
Chris Lemonis takes over as the 4th head coach in 4 years. But Mississippi State has proven over the last 3 years that the baseball program is a lot bigger than it’s head coach:
- 2016 under John Cohen: SEC championship, national seed and Super Regional appearance
- 2017 under Andy Cannizaro: Super Regional appearance
- 2018 under Gary Henderson: College World Series appearance
You could call this time of MSU baseball the ‘Jake Mangum Era’, because he’s been about the only constant over the last 3 years and heading into 2019. He will once again roam Center Field for the Bulldogs, and look to break the SEC’s all-time record for career hits (he needs 60 to pass Jeffrey Rea for the MSU record and 77 to pass Eddie Furniss of LSU for the SEC record…….he would need 143 for the NCAA record so he would have to hit around .500 to break that one).
It’s definitely been a weird few years for the Diamond Dawgs. Between building a new stadium, being displaced for a fall practice and start of a season because of it, a season when everything went right (2016) followed by a season when everything went wrong (2017)… but still getting the same postseason result, a coach resigning amid scandal but still making the College World Series anyway. It’s been quite a ride.
Things appear to be settling down for 2019 though. The new stadium is complete and the roster has stabilized. The only variable from the outside looking in appears to be Chris Lemonis – who comes in from Indiana after a successful 4-year run in the Big Ten that included 3 Regional appearances.
Key Departures from 2018:
2B Hunter Stovall (MLB Draft) – .321 AVG, 42 RBI, .798 OPS
SS Luke Alexander (ineligible for 2019 season) – .221 AVG, 49 RBI, .635 OPS
SP Konnor Pilkington (MLB Draft) – 4.47 ERA, 102.2 IP, .269 opp. avg
SP Jacob Billingsly (graduation, MLB Draft) – 5.57 ERA, 72.2 IP, .281 opp. avg
RP Zach Neff (MLB Draft) – 3.52 ERA, 46 IP, .283 opp. avg
SP/RP JP France (graduation, MLB Draft) – 3.77 ERA, 59.2 IP, .249 opp. avg
SP/RP Denver McQuary (violation of team rules) – 5.54 ERA, 39 IP, .323 opp. avg
So basically Mississippi State lost its starting second baseman, short stop, ace, 3rd starter, top lefty out of the pen, long relief righty and a wildcard pitcher from last year’s team that finished 3rd in Omaha. This group is still fairly small as far as what you’d typically expect from a highly successful team, and could’ve been even smaller had Alexander and McQuary kept their nose clean.
Here’s the expected starters at each position – keeping in mind that in baseball what happens in February is almost guaranteed to change by May.
Catcher: Dustin Skelton (Jr) – .238 AVG, 13 RBI, .658 OPS
There are a couple of freshman (Luke Hancock, Hayden Jones) and a juco transfer (Tucker Childers) that will fill the backup role…..plus there’s Marshall Gilbert who platooned with Skelton last year but will probably been seen at 3B more this year.
1B: Tanner Allen (So) – .287 AVG, 45 RBI, .797 OPS
The Chipper Jones clone started every game last year so it’s hard to imagine he’ll be supplanted this season. Josh Hatcher (So) could play some here as well.
2B: Gunner Halter (Jr) – juco transfer
It’s hard to know what to expect from a juco transfer – he has some big shoes to fill as Hunter Stovall was excellent for the Bulldogs last year, defensively and offensively. If Halter can’t get the job done, it’s possible that Rowdey Jordan could move in from the outfield to play second or true freshman Landon Jordan.
3B: Justin Foscue (So) – .241 AVG, 20 RBI, .685 OPS
Foscue played a lot, and fairly well, for a true freshman in 2018. He’s expected to be the starter at 3B again, but it would be nice to see more production from this position if State is going to consistently win series in the SEC.
SS: Jordan Westburg (So) – .248 AVG, 30 RBI, .707 OPS
Mr. Rally Banana himself had pretty similar numbers to Foscue last year, but I think most everyone expects Westburg to take off as he moves to the infield as a starter this year. He’s got a lot of raw power and could be a mainstay in the middle of the Bulldog lineup.
LF: Rowdey Jordan (So) – .321 AVG, 37 RBI, .908 OPS
Rowdey can just plain hit, and has surprising power – he led the team in slugging as a true freshman. There’s no reason to think he won’t have another great season in 2019, whether it be in left field again or moving into the infield to play second base….if that happens then Josh Hatcher or Baisel Williams (Fr) might be an option in LF.
CF: Jake Mangum (Sr) – .351 AVG, 33 RBI, .913 OPS
I’ve already declared this the ‘Jake Mangum Era’, so it’s pretty clear he’s the guy. After spurning the MLB twice now, Jake is back to try to give Mississippi State baseball that elusive national championship. Word is he’s been working to improve his power – which was on display for a looooooong home run in the Tallahassee Regional, but he only has 4 career home runs through 3 years.
RF: Elijah McNamee (Sr) – .309 AVG, 42 RBI, .872 OPS
If Mac doesn’t connect with that ball against Florida State last year, you wonder how it would change expectations for this year. But he did, and he could be in for a big year as a senior if he continues to build off each year as he has been doing.
DH: There are several options here, and no clear choice at the moment. The front runner just based off experience is sophomore Josh Hatcher (.257 AVG, 16 RBI, .678 OPS). True freshman who could see some ABs at DH are Landon Jordan and J.T. Ginn.
Bench:
Aside from a handful of incoming freshman, here are some experienced guys likely to come off the bench:
C/3B – Marshall Gilbert (Sr)
PH/DH – Cole Gordon (Sr)
1B/OF/DH – Josh Hatcher (So)
Starting Pitchers
1. Ethan Small (Jr) – 3.20 ERA, 101.1 IP, .239 opp. avg
It’s just about a lock that Small will be the Friday night starter for MSU. He was great as a sophomore, and is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery.
2. Keegan James (Jr) – 4.34 ERA, 47.2 IP, .312 opp. avg
Another guy with Tommy John surgery in his past, look for James to emerge as a key starter for State in 2019….and be much better than the version of him we saw in 2018.
3. J.T. Ginn (Fr) – N/A
It feels odd to put a true freshman in the weekend rotation, but this guy was a 1st round draft pick as a pitcher so it’s not too far fetched. He may have made his decision to come to college because he still wanted to hit, so look out for him to make some appearances as a DH as well when he’s not pitching.
4. Tyler Spring (Jr) – juco transfer
You never know with mid-week starters. It could be a number of guys who get an opportunity, and one of them may work their way into the weekend rotation. But I think Spring will get a shot for sure.
Bullpen
I really like the bullpen this year, especially if Spencer Price (Jr) can return to form after Tommy John surgery exactly one year ago. Even if he isn’t the same guy coming back, there are still plenty of other arms:
- Riley Self (Jr) – RHP
- Cole Gordon (Sr) – RHP
- Peyton Plumlee (Sr) – RHP
- Trysten Barlow (Jr) – LHP
- Kale Breoux (Jr) – LHP
Christian MacLeod (LHP) is an incoming freshman that could make an impact, as well as juco transfer Eric Cerentola (RHP).
Schedule
Last year, the Diamond Dawgs didn’t have a home game until March 6th, and only had 23 home games in total. This year there will be 10 home games prior to March 6th, and a total of 36 home games – so plenty of opportunity to enjoy the new ballpark.
There are definitely some tough games though. According the the Baseball America Top 25 (which State is ranked #9), there are 8 ranked teams on the schedule:
- 3 games vs. #21 Southern Miss
- 1 game vs. #8 Texas Tech (neutral site)
- 3 games at #4 Florida
- 3 games vs. #17 Auburn
- 3 games vs. #2 LSU
- 3 games at #18 Arkansas
- 1 game vs. #13 Ole Miss (neutral site)
- 3 games vs. #15 Georgia
- 3 games at #13 Ole Miss
That’s a total of 23 games vs. ranked teams, or 41% of the schedule. The only break is not having to play #1 Vanderbilt, but they do play every other team ranked from the SEC and unranked powerhouse South Carolina.
The good news is, the Bulldogs won’t have to start so many freshman. The five freshman that were so heavily relied upon in 2018 (Allen, Foscue, Westburg, Jordan & Hatcher) all come back with a year of experience under their belt and have plugged positions so that the incoming group doesn’t have to be thrown into the fire like they were.
It should be another exciting year of Bulldog baseball. New stadium, new coach but a lot of familiar faces fresh off a trip to the College World Series.
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