Gamecocks baseball roundup: A sense of the pitching and a statement on Shilo Sanders
After some back and forth surrounding Shilo Sanders and South Carolina baseball, Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston issued a statement Sunday on the situation.
It came a day after Sanders tweeted about his displeasure with the way a tryout was handled and some reporting surrounding it. His father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, had tweeted earlier in the week about the tryout.
“We watched Shilo hit on multiple occasions and felt satisfied that we could make the decision that he wouldn’t impact our team,” Kingston said in his statement. “With that being the case, football wanted him full-time and that’s their right as the team that gave him a scholarship. It’s no fun disappointing players and their parents, but we have to do what’s in the best interest of both programs.”
Sanders and the Gamecocks will start spring football practice Feb. 26. He played in four games last season and played both sports in high school.
Settling out pitching
After a scrimmage Sunday, Kingston was clear in pointing out it’s relatively early in practice to make any final determinations. But he does have a sense of at least two weekend starters.
The obvious one is Carmen Mlodzinski, a potential first-round pro draft pick and No. 1 starter when healthy last season. He also said Brett Kerry “has a great chance” to hold one of those other two spots, assuming the depth in the bullpen holds up.
The coach said he wasn’t too concerned about stretching Kerry, mostly a reliever last season.
“He’s a guy I’m not that concerned with,” Kingston said. “He’s got to prove it, but he minimizes his pitches. He’s not a guy that generally has to throw 25 pitches in an inning. He’s generally in the 12 to 15 range and that allows him to get deeper in the games.”
Another rotation candidate, Thomas Farr, got some work early on Sunday. The junior college product showed a solid curve and ended his first inning with a good change-up.
Kingston also mentioned left-hander Julian Bosnic, who got in some work Sunday: “First time he’s been on the mound in a game situation in a long, long time and I thought he handled himself pretty well. Looked like a lefty that would be able to help us get outs. We still we don’t have as many quality left-handed pitchers that are ready to really pitch in big games yet so we’re looking for those guys.”
The coach said some of his other pitchers were still knocking off rust after the offseason.
Opening Day is Feb. 14.
The roster health
Kingston said there were no injury updates, but he said something that did stand out through two days was the overall state of the roster.
“We’re seeing good talent,” Kingston said. “Yesterday I thought the pitchers were a little bit ahead of the hitters.
“Today I thought the hitters took a ton of good at-bats and so I’m encouraged by the overall quality of play.”
Interesting name at the plate
Versatile hitter Jeff Heinrich delivered a second triple in as many days, legging out a ball to left (the outfield defense earned some admonishment from the coaches).
The junior college product was a .400 hitter in both his seasons at McHenry County.
“It’s amazing. He missed all fall,” Kingston said, “didn’t have any bats this fall. He stepped right in and he’s taking quality at-bats. So that’s great for us because he’s another talented kid.
“He’s showing a pretty natural ability to see the ball and give us another another option.”
Kingston pointed out Heinrich can play multiple defensive positions, as can Noah Campbell and Braylen Wimmer, which might allow some infield flexibility.
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Gamecocks baseball roundup: A sense of the pitching and a statement on Shilo Sanders."
