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Good info, thanks. Regarding the infield…
Posted on: January 20, 2025 at 14:39:41 CT
bluetiger_ MU
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I’m wondering what the motivation is for even considering Daly at SS. Right now the corners are locked down with Hay at 1B and Daly at 3B. Moving Daly to SS seems like an unnecessary risk to me. What would possibly motivate LA to take that risk, is my question. Two possibilities come to mind:
1. She is super motivated to get Walker in the starting lineup, and since Daly played SS before college thinks she can handle the position defensively, and get the best of both worlds. My concern with this is does Daly have the range to play SS in the SEC and not be a liability there. She’s a pretty decent fielder at 3B and has a cannon of an arm (which you need at SS), but the skill set is just different at 3B compared to SS. The other risk here is she would be taking a chance that Walker is going to be greatly improved at the plate, where she struggled as a freshman and hit only .230. Walker was a great recruit and has a ton of potential, I guess there’s only one way to see if she can hit at a high level in D1.
2. LA just isn’t confident with other options as SS, particularly freshmen like Uptegrove and Smith, who both got time there in the fall. Maybe panicking a little in reaction to losing a great 4 year starter there in Laird, so is willing to roll the dice a little by moving Daly there, and taking the risk she has the quickness and range to play there.
Or maybe it’s a combination of both 1 and 2.
And I don’t think Hill is the answer at 3B, at least not yet, if Daly is good at SS but Walker struggles at the plate. She looked shaky there in the fall, but could always improve with experience and coaching. Hill has one of the biggest upsides of the talented freshman class and I hope she gets a lot of at bats as a freshman.
Finally regarding the middle infield, I’d be fine keeping Daly at 3B and starting Uptegrove at SS. My only question is can she handle that critical position defensively. Because right now she looks to me like a more advanced hitter as a freshman than Walker does as a sophomore. Caveats of course to she’s only been through a fall schedule as opposed to the tougher pitching we will see game in and game out once the real season starts. I’d hate to see Uptegrove not get a lot of at bats early in the season.
Just some thoughts. Softball season is coming at just the right time as the WBB season slowly circles the drain.
1. She is super motivated to get Walker in the starting lineup, and since Daly played SS before college thinks she can handle the position defensively, and get the best of both worlds. My concern with this is does Daly have the range to play SS in the SEC and not be a liability there. She’s a pretty decent fielder at 3B and has a cannon of an arm (which you need at SS), but the skill set is just different at 3B compared to SS. The other risk here is she would be taking a chance that Walker is going to be greatly improved at the plate, where she struggled as a freshman and hit only .230. Walker was a great recruit and has a ton of potential, I guess there’s only one way to see if she can hit at a high level in D1.
2. LA just isn’t confident with other options as SS, particularly freshmen like Uptegrove and Smith, who both got time there in the fall. Maybe panicking a little in reaction to losing a great 4 year starter there in Laird, so is willing to roll the dice a little by moving Daly there, and taking the risk she has the quickness and range to play there.
Or maybe it’s a combination of both 1 and 2.
And I don’t think Hill is the answer at 3B, at least not yet, if Daly is good at SS but Walker struggles at the plate. She looked shaky there in the fall, but could always improve with experience and coaching. Hill has one of the biggest upsides of the talented freshman class and I hope she gets a lot of at bats as a freshman.
Finally regarding the middle infield, I’d be fine keeping Daly at 3B and starting Uptegrove at SS. My only question is can she handle that critical position defensively. Because right now she looks to me like a more advanced hitter as a freshman than Walker does as a sophomore. Caveats of course to she’s only been through a fall schedule as opposed to the tougher pitching we will see game in and game out once the real season starts. I’d hate to see Uptegrove not get a lot of at bats early in the season.
Just some thoughts. Softball season is coming at just the right time as the WBB season slowly circles the drain.
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Good info, thanks. Regarding the infield… - bluetiger_ MU - 1/20 14:39:41