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D1 Baseball Predicts Iowa 5th in B1G in 2021. On May 6, 2019 IOWA ranked #24 (was Great Season despite 1-7 Finish). 2020 Season Cut Short by Covid

Franisdaman

HR King
Nov 3, 2012
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When it came to this season, the draft losses from last season, the coaching moves & the injuries obviously did not help.

Nevertheless,

* We had series wins over UC Irvine, Oklahoma State, Illinois & Debbie.

* On May 6 (16 days before start of B1G Tourney), after taking 2 of 3 from nationally ranked UC Irvine, Iowa was ranked as high as #24 in the country.

Link: https://d1baseball.com/rankings/college-top-25-vanderbilt-moves-up-ucla-still-no-1/

* We had a huge win over #1 seed IU in the B1G Tournament.

* We had another 30 win season (31 to be exact).

@EvilMonkeyInTheCloset ,

Here is the direct link to the Iowa team stats:

https://d1baseball.com/team/iowa/2019/stats/


We have the right head coach in place. Heller is the man.

GO HAWKS!!

Give 'em Hell...er
 
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We’ll see who gets drafted then go from there...

I expect double digit homeruns from Fullard if he stays healthy.

Dreyer is healthy, Baumann, Judkins rotation?
just sucks seeing how the season ended (1-7) and how THIS DAY went.

We scored 1 run in 2 games today. Doesn't matter what your pitching and your D does if you average 1/2 run per game...... Ughh....
 
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just sucks seeing how the season ended (1-7) and how THIS DAY went.

We scored 1 run in 2 games today. Doesn't matter what your pitching and your D does if you average 1/2 run per game...... Ughh....
Yeah who will provide the offensive improvement for next year given their massive inconsistency this year?

The pitching will be fine as long as we can trade our St. Louis Cardinals bullpen for some cash and a few future 1st round draft picks.......
 
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Injuries did not help.

Nevertheless, we had:

* Series wins over UC Irvine, Oklahoma State, Illinois & Debbie.

* A national ranking as high as #24.

* A huge win over #1 seed IU in the B1G Tournament.

* Another 30 win season (31 to be exact).

We have the right head coach. Heller is the man.

GO HAWKS!!!
Rule of 3s says we'll have the exact same season as the last two.......
 
Without knowing what the new guys bring, here is a guess at next year’s lineup

C: Martin
1B: Padgett or Adreon
2B: Fullard or Sosa
SS: Sher
3B: Fullard or Sosa
OF: Norman, Jenkins, Adreon/McCaffery
DH: Padgett/Adreon/McCaffery

SP: Judkins, Dreyer, Baumann
Bullpen: Leonard, Hoffman, Davitt, Probst, Wallace, Ketelsen, Irvine, Nettleton
 
Yesterdays results mean we finished the season with negative run differential. At the end of the season after 50+ games, that number usually doesn't lie.

Yeah. Our offense suddenly dried up.

It's crazy how just 3 weeks ago we were #24 in the country and a projected 3 seed (a top 48 team) in the NCAA Tournament.

In a blink of the eye....all gone.

I forget what the preseason predictions were but:

1) I think we outdid them and

2) I don't think there is any doubt that in Rick Heller we trust
 
Without knowing what the new guys bring, here is a guess at next year’s lineup

C: Martin
1B: Padgett or Adreon
2B: Fullard or Sosa
SS: Sher
3B: Fullard or Sosa
OF: Norman, Jenkins, Adreon/McCaffery
DH: Padgett/Adreon/McCaffery

SP: Judkins, Dreyer, Baumann
Bullpen: Leonard, Hoffman, Davitt, Probst, Wallace, Ketelsen, Irvine, Nettleton
We should be good....right?

:)
 
Without knowing what the new guys bring, here is a guess at next year’s lineup

C: Martin
1B: Padgett or Adreon
2B: Fullard or Sosa
SS: Sher
3B: Fullard or Sosa
OF: Norman, Jenkins, Adreon/McCaffery
DH: Padgett/Adreon/McCaffery

SP: Judkins, Dreyer, Baumann
Bullpen: Leonard, Hoffman, Davitt, Probst, Wallace, Ketelsen, Irvine, Nettleton

Wallace can/will play RF. Judkins can DH/1B, Elion has another year left and he plays 3B
 
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Before the past two weeks, I figured Martin and Judkins would be drafted. They still may be, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them back again. Both cooled off and have the opportunity to move up the draft board next year.
 
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Nice article from HawkCentral.com where they comment on the 2019 season & look ahead to 2020.

Iowa baseball: Mixed emotions when digesting Hawkeyes' 2019 season
Dargan Southard
Hawk Central
May 27, 2019
Link: https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...omaha-game-ben-norman-mlb-big-ten/1250586001/

IOWA CITY, Ia. — For a second straight year, the end-of-season tone carried elements of optimism and disappointment. So it goes when trying to define the 2019 Hawkeyes.

If you told Iowa early this year that — with the MLB Draft losses, coaching moves and injuries — it would be in regional talks into May, most would've taken that. Yet, examining the route to Friday’s season-ending loss in Omaha reignites a deja vu feeling — and not a good one. Another down-the-stretch sputter is why the Hawkeyes are home in June.

Hence why the exit feeling is a complicated one.

“This season I think we proved we can play with anyone. We beat a bunch of ranked teams — had a lot of great series — we just sometimes had some lapses where we didn’t play great and lost to some teams we shouldn’t have,” outfielder Ben Norman said. “But I do think we set ourselves up to achieve all of our goals.

“It’s just toward the end, we fell off a little bit. That’s what it came down to in the end. We just had to finish a little bit stronger, and we probably would’ve extended our season.”

Regional expectations are yearly in the Rick Heller era, where Iowa has shaken free from its cellar-dwelling status and is now one of the conference’s more consistent teams. But with that comes heightened demands.

Without changing much, Iowa in the last five seasons could have four NCAA Tournament appearances — three via the at-large route. That’s a loud statement inside the Big Ten, where programs often struggle sustaining lengthy surges.

Instead, the Hawkeyes must settle for a few solid series wins and one Big Ten Tournament upset. The 2019 season was by no means a step back, especially considering the obstacles hurdled. But there had to be some “what-if” thoughts as Monday's Selection Show rolled along with no Iowa love.

“We didn’t get it done,” Hawkeyes coach Rick Heller said, “but I’m super happy with how these guys competed all year long. They will go down in my memory as a team that overcame as much as any I’ve coached.”

That’s because this season could’ve easily been what every coach fears — a step back amid success.

Iowa could’ve been buried early because of many obstacles::

* Iowa had to replace its two most potent hitters (Robert Neustrom and Tyler Cropley),

* Had to replace its Friday ace (Nick Allgeyer) and its most reliable bullpen arm (Zach Daniels).

* Early season-ending injuries to Jack Dreyer and Ben Probst

* Stretches without Chris Whelan, Tanner Padgett, Lorenzo Elion, Hunter Lee and others

Instead of getting buried, the Hawkeyes dug in and clawed back.

An early-March series win at eventual regional host Oklahoma State made it clear Iowa was sticking around. The way the Hawkeyes bounced back from their first Big Ten series — three losses at Indiana — showcased that Heller resiliency. Iowa finished 10-8 against NCAA Tournament teams, including series wins over Illinois, Ohio State and Nebraska.

“Started with really great leadership from the seniors and our captains,” Heller said. Those guys were outstanding and driven to not let us take a step back, even though all of us knew that some of the situations we were faced with were pretty tough.”

Iowa’s 2019 class ran nine deep, full of pivotal contributors.

Whelan, who first made stops at Bradley and Parkland College, leaves Iowa City after three reliable years in left field. Cole McDonald’s freshman-to-senior transformationhas been fascinating to watch. It’d be difficult to find someone teammates respect more than Mitchell Boe. Transfers Tanner Wetrich and Jason Foster made impacts in a short window.

“Just a lot of the lessons I learned from a lot of the seniors. I didn’t know them a long time, but they just made you feel at home,” said freshman Duncan Davitt, a candidate to join the weekend rotation in 2020. “A lot of teaching moments about not just baseball, but just being a good person.”

For the first time in three seasons, it appears graduation will hit Iowa harder than the MLB Draft. No Hawkeyes are ranked in Baseball America’s top 500. There aren’t any clear-cut early departures like a Neustrom or a Jake Adams of seasons’ past.

McDonald will be a solid sign next month. A couple other seniors could ink as well. Otherwise, juniors Grant Judkins, Norman and Austin Martin appear the likeliest to bounce. Heller, however, won’t know exactly what he’s working with until the draft is completed.

If everyone returns, Iowa should be in decent position entering 2020
. With McDonald’s exit and Dreyer’s shoulder issue, solidifying the weekend rotation stands as the biggest key to success.

The Hawkeyes unfortunately learned the hard way what happens when the pitching crumbles. That was the main cog in Iowa’s down-the-stretch stumble, which saw the Hawkeyes drop series to Michigan State and Maryland after cracking the top 25 just three weeks ago.

From May 5 to Monday, May 27, Iowa’s RPI plummeted from 49th to 102nd.

If anything, 2019’s circuitous route was another reminder how tight the margin for error is when Midwest and northern programs are vying for NCAA Tournament bids.

“We believed at the end that we’d get to where we wanted to,” Heller said. “And unfortunately — for whatever reason — our pitching really faded at the end. Our starting pitching kind of hit the wall the last seven games, and we were a little shorthanded. … Same thing with our bullpen guys. They weren’t nearly as sharp as they were for three-quarters of the season coming down the stretch. That's something we’ll try to figure out — if there’s anything we could’ve done better to not allow that to happen.

“But these guys really fought every day, and what a great group to coach.”

The Hawkeyes gave it their best shot. Digesting the final result carries mixed emotions.

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
 
If a very average Michigan can make the Sweet 16/Super Regionals...

Why not us?

Watch as Michigan celebrates advancing to the Sweet 16:







D8L8yeaU0AA1Ins.jpg
 
Well....win your games against Quad 4 teams. If Iowa even split all of the Sunday games we lost, probably in a regional. Also don't lose to the likes of MSU-type RPI teams at home.

Michigan's offense is scary good, especially when you see how many of them will be back next year.
 
If a very average Michigan can make the Sweet 16/Super Regionals...

Why not us?

Michigan's frontline pitching is excellent. It kept them in the post season conversation. It kept them afloat in the regionals. Iowa lost two key contributors on the mound early this season, and beyond McDonald on Fridays it was off and on way too often.
 
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Iowa baseball set for success despite departures
--Even though some key players are gone, Iowa baseball preps for a big year next season.


Pete Ruden, Sports Editor
June 9, 2019

For the first time in years, the MLB Draft has been kind to Iowa baseball.

The only defector to the draft from head coach Rick Heller’s squadwill be Cole McDonald, the senior Friday starter who gave the Hawkeyesa chance to win nearly every time he stepped on the rubber.

That’s a lot easier on Iowa than last season’s draft, in which the Hawkeyes lost their two best hitters, best starting pitcher, and best reliever.

Iowa also lost seniors Chris Whelan and Mitchell Boe to graduation, which hurts from a leadership and production perspective.

Whelan has served as a reliable force at the plate for the past three seasons, and Boe maintained his position as one of the best second basemen in the conference.

Despite the departures, Iowa is still set up for success next season.

The Hawkeyes will get Jack Dreyer back on the mound after an injury derailed almost the entirety of his 2019 season.

In his one full season (2018), Dreyer went 5-2 with a 3.69 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 31.2 innings of work.

In two starts spanning 7.1 innings in 2019, Dreyer still showed he had good stuff, finishing with a 2.45 ERA, 11 punch-outs and a 1-0 record.

Grant Judkins will also be back to lead Iowa on the mound. As the team’s Sunday starter, Judkins posted a 2.72 ERA with 65 strikeouts in82.2 innings.

Brendan Sher, who came on strong toward the end of the season and spent valuable time at second base when Boe was injured, will also be a key piece for the Hawkeyes.

In the months of April and May, Sher raised his batting average more than 100 points and finished the year at .301.

In the outfield, Ben Norman, Justin Jenkins, and Connor McCaffery will all return, softening the blow of losing Whelan.

Norman posted a bounce-back season, hitting .251 after suffering through an average of just .189 the previous season. He also finished the season with 6 home runs and a team-high 34 RBIs.

Jenkins served as a reliable center fielder, and McCaffery hopes to find production with a season of experience under his belt.

Iowa will also return a solid core of hitters that ranked among the team’s best in Austin Martin, Izaya Fullard, Zeb Adreon, and Tanner Padgett.

Each hit better than .290, and they showed an ability to step up when the team needed a big hit.

When its season ended, Iowa lost some good players who have played key roles across numerous seasons. But the Hawkeyes are still in a good place.

Now, the majority of their players have experience competing down the stretch with an NCAA Tournament berth at stake. They won’t want the feeling of letting it slip through their fingers to come back. It’s just a matter of finding the next wave of leadership and putting it all together for a full season.

RELATED: McDonald selected by Houston Astros in 15th round of MLB Draft

LINK to Story: https://dailyiowan.com/2019/06/09/iowa-baseball-set-for-success-despite-departures/
 
Awesome hire. Jake is an awesome guy with coaching in his blood.



There’s a reason 4 baseball managers are working in pro ball. They learn cutting edge technology at Iowa that many pro teams lack.

Hopefully he brings his defensive skill set to the guys we have.
 
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