Chris Lemonis talks two-way players, injuries and importance of midweek games for Diamond Dawgs

Spring work began for Mississippi State baseball last week with the first scrimmages of preseason this weekend.

Coach Chris Lemonis got his Bulldog team back into postseason play after State missed out on the NCAA Regionals for two-straight seasons. Despite that, the team felt short of expectations as they had to go on the road in the Regionals and they were defeated short of a Super Regional.

Ahead of the season, Lemonis spoke to the media this week about some of his players taking a jump, how important midweek games are to State’s postseason standing, the team’s health and more.

Question: What is your mindset on recruiting two-way players and how do you balance where they spend their most time?

CL: “I started the Citadel, and we just had to get every player that we could. We had two way guys everywhere. We’re in Omaha, and our pitchers are in the bullpen with their shin guards on warming up and coming into the game. We had two other pitchers that were catchers for us end up being Major League pitchers. At Louisville, we had Brendan McKay, one of the top two way players ever. We had a bunch of other guys. And then I go to Indiana and we have the first-team two way player in the country. So it’s always been something that I sell a lot.

“We just happen to land on Nolan Stevens, who’s probably got a great shot to be our right fielder every day and also has a chance to be a great reliever for us, come in and get us three big outs. You saw him do that a lot last year. Then we got Noah Sullivan in the portal and that was one of the reasons because he showed that he could do it. (Sullivan) should be in the lineup every day, but also has the chance to really help us out on the mound probably once a week.

“He’s probably not a guy you use every other day. He’s a guy that may give you a three inning stint, but you’re getting a mature, older guy. I think the only loss of his career, if I’m not mistake, was Kentucky and he lost to them last year. He’s just had a lot of success. The stuff is good. We got guys with a little better stuff, but the makeup and pitch ability is really high. It just toughness on the mound.”

Q: Nolan was strictly hitting this summer. Was that your decision?

CL: “Yeah, he needed to get more work there. And nowadays, with the arms, you’re not even sending them out there. So the process was just saying, I’ll go out and hit all summer, and then we’ll come back and get you back in the fall for pitching. So, he can be a really good, small burst guy, I think. I‘ve got to go over all the rules, the DH rule for bringing him in, bringing him out. But he’ll run right into the middle of an inning, get three outs or one out and then run back to right field and play the rest of the day.

“If you ask him he probably wants to be more of a hitter. But if he pitches like he did against LSU you never know. I think he can do both. He’s that talented and you have to be a worker. I’m not saying everybody we got doesn’t work, but it takes a lot more of your practice, but also more recovery and all that type of stuff. The way you train has to be different. I’m excited for him. He can be one of those sneaky big pieces out there for us this year. He had a great summer.

Q: What does second base look like currently?

CL:  “I think you’re gonna see a lot of guys. Practice right now has one guy at short, one guy at third and six at second. I think we have a lot of different looks there and the looks can change even in the middle of the game. That’s where we can match up a little bit. Sawyer Reeves played all fall at shortstop as Dylan’s coming off knee injury, he’s playing a lot of second right now. Gavin Sanders had a really good fall for us, a left handed hitter. Lucas Buckner played a lot of short but had a really, really good fall for us. He could do some. Ethan Pulliam’s back with us so we got our kicker back. Ethan’s full time and he’s playing a lot there and probably a lot in the outfield, so trying to blend him in.

“We just have four or five guys that could possibly play there, which gives us some flex. You need to have flex. It’s easier to take an infielder and put him in the outfield than take an outfielder and try to put him in the infield. So you make a conscious effort to build some staff.

Q: What step has Jackson Owen taken this year?

CL: “He’s right in the middle of everything. He had a great fall with four or five home runs, caught well and had a really good summer. I was telling the coaches the other day that he’s one of our glue guys. He’s around here all the time and knows everybody. He’s just even-keel. He’ll catch one guy and will probably be in that dugout cheering. When he plays, everybody will be in that dugout cheering for him.

“He’s going to have opportunity to get some big at bats this year and play a good bit. We got a good rotation with some of those guys in there – our catching depth. Ross is a little more athletic, Joe Powell probably throws a little better, Jackson probably got a little more power. You got some different things with each guy. So you can see him in some different roles.”

Q: Who is a freshman that you believe could step up and make an impact for you this year?

CL:  “I’d probably say it’s Charlie Foster, not to put too much on him. He had a really good fall. And we had a couple of young arms pitch good this fall, but he was probably ahead of ahead of the group, just a little more polished. You’ll see Charlie, especially being left handed, I think you’ll see him get out there and get some opportunitiesearly.”

Q: Who are some players that could take a step forward like Connor Hujsak did last year?

CL: “I think two of the bigger ones you’ll see are Pico (Kohn) and Karson (Ligon). They both turned down the draft to come back and train with (Justin) Parker. Obviously, Pico was coming back from his injury, and was really good late the year. Karson was probably our biggest portal guy last year was just kind of banged up, and he’s done a lot of mechanical work and had a good summer in the Cape Cod League, and has come back and really made some strides there. They’ve both just been around and they’re mature. We’re saying all the time, you got to be old to win in this league. I think we got that. But those two guys got a real chance to help us.

Q: You had a few slipups in the midweek last year, do you think those mid-major transfers can help the team understand the importance of winning those games.

CL: “I think they all realize it right now. I think I’ve thrown it in their face enough so they have a good idea. My first year here, it wasn’t anything that I taught them, but we didn’t lose a midweek. That’s pretty special. You know that your team can show up that many days. We did not have a great middle of week pitching staff. We just had a really good offense that showed up and played hard every day. More about the players who just, you know that was their mindset. So trying to regain that mindset of coming out.”

Q: Do you know what the rotation will be for opening weekend?

CL: “You know, some of the similar candidates. It’s Pico, it’s Karson, it’s Jacob Pruitt, Charlie Foster, Stone Simmons.  We’ve got to get through these three weeks. I thought it was one thing this time last year and when we got to opening day it was totally different. A lot of it’s just because of volume. The first three weeks for us is we got to get enough volume of our pitchers and get them out there, and then you try to see what hitters can find their timing the quickest. And that’s the hardest part.”

Q: Are Dylan and Ross physically ready to play?

“Physically, they’re good to go. I’ve got to hold the reins back on (Highfill), because he likes to do everything. But they are 100% clear. We’ve been here about a week working, so we haven’t had the issues. But they were like that during fall. I mean, the reality was they could have played if we were playing somebody real. We were just being extra careful there in November, but they’re ready to go, and I’m expecting big things. They’re both really good players. They played really good in the past and they can really form a really good part of our lineup.”

Q: What are you looking for from the veterans this year?

CL: “Yeah, it’s going to take some leadership there. You know, I think it’s more about us coming together as a team and figuring out our roles and our pieces. (Dudy Noble)  is awesome, but it takes a little bit of getting used to and I think that sometimes the new player has to figure it out. A little bit of going out there every day and playing in front of the biggest, best crowd in college baseball. So you gotta learn how to control your breathing and handle a little failure at times.

“Having some of those older guys along can really, really help. That first month is you’re trying to get ready for that Friday against Texas. Everything we’re doing is finding the right pieces, gaining confidence, learning from our mistakes. We’ll spend a lot of time to talk about things that we need to improve. On a great team is not great right now, it’s a work in progress, so it’ll take us a while to kind of grow as the season goes on.