05-30-2018, 01:59 AM
Doing some research on DBU. Their lineup is pretty stacked. This might be the most talented offensive team we've played aside from OM. It's possible that they'll have 6 guys in their lineup drafted, including a possible first rounder (Jameson Hannah). That's pretty stout.
wOBA and OPS are both in line with the following ranking of their lineup in terms of production.
Granberg - R
Funderburk - L
Hannah - L
Glowenke - R
Millard - R
Duce - L
Wolforth - B
Bandy - R
Jones - R
Looks like they have a handful of guys that have big-time power. Out of their 9 regulars, 5 have an ISO rating (basically a measure of how much raw power a hitter has) of over .200. For comparison, we have 3 hitters over .200 in ISO. DBU's biggest raw power hitters are Funderburk, Millard, Granberg, Glowenke, and Duce (in that order).
They don't strike out a ton. The only hitters they have that K over 20% of the time are Jones, Bandy, and Funderburk.
Trevor Conn (their ace) was named MVC pitcher of the year and has good numbers overall this season (2.92 ERA/1.24 WHIP in 64+ innings) but has struggled his last few starts. In Conn's last 4 starts, he has a 6.88 ERA/1.94 WHIP in 17 innings. 8 walks over 14 Ks. Not good at all.
I've been looking for info on his velocity and breaking stuff. The article is dated (2015), but D1Baseball wrote about DBU and said Conn's fastball velocity was in the 88-91 range then. Can't find anything recent. Out of their guys with 30+ innings thrown, he has the 2nd lowest K/9 rate (6.96), so it doesn't look like he has amazing stuff. I don't think he's a bad matchup for us. We're usually good against righties that have average stuff.
They have 4 guys in the bullpen that they really rely on. Jarod Bayless, MacGregor Hines, Kragen Kechely, and Sean Boyle (all righties).
Bayless (2.36 ERA/1.17 WHIP, 22 BB/65 Ks in 49+ innings) is their power arm and is one of 2 guys they go to when it's close and late. Can't find an exact velocity of his fastball, but it looks to be 90+.
Hines (4.05 ERA/1.47 WHIP, 25 BB/62 Ks in 46+ innings) is another pitcher that DBU goes to in close and late situations. 88-90 fastball and has a putaway slider, per D1. Was at Florida for a year but then went JUCO and is now at DBU.
Kechely (3.99 ERA/1.09 WHIP, 13 BB/51 Ks in 49+ innings) apparently doesn't throw that hard but has a really good curveball. One of their main middle relievers.
Sean Boyle (3.44 ERA/1.38 WHIP, 9 BB/39 Ks in 34 innings) is another option for them in middle relief. I can't find anything about his velocity or secondary stuff, but his H/9 rate is the highest out of their 30+ inning pitchers, so he might throw meat at times.
The only lefty that has thrown regularly for them is Kody Funderburk (he's a two-way guy), but he's not very good. Looks like he was their midweek starter for much of the season. 6.80 ERA/1.73 WHIP and has control issues.
Coaching ... Dan Heefner is generally regarded as one of the top coaches in the country. Has taken DBU to 8 regionals in his 12 years there and went to a super in 2011. I remember some on the boards (including me, I think) wanting him to replace Berry back when we couldn't get to a regional.
wOBA and OPS are both in line with the following ranking of their lineup in terms of production.
Granberg - R
Funderburk - L
Hannah - L
Glowenke - R
Millard - R
Duce - L
Wolforth - B
Bandy - R
Jones - R
Looks like they have a handful of guys that have big-time power. Out of their 9 regulars, 5 have an ISO rating (basically a measure of how much raw power a hitter has) of over .200. For comparison, we have 3 hitters over .200 in ISO. DBU's biggest raw power hitters are Funderburk, Millard, Granberg, Glowenke, and Duce (in that order).
They don't strike out a ton. The only hitters they have that K over 20% of the time are Jones, Bandy, and Funderburk.
Trevor Conn (their ace) was named MVC pitcher of the year and has good numbers overall this season (2.92 ERA/1.24 WHIP in 64+ innings) but has struggled his last few starts. In Conn's last 4 starts, he has a 6.88 ERA/1.94 WHIP in 17 innings. 8 walks over 14 Ks. Not good at all.
I've been looking for info on his velocity and breaking stuff. The article is dated (2015), but D1Baseball wrote about DBU and said Conn's fastball velocity was in the 88-91 range then. Can't find anything recent. Out of their guys with 30+ innings thrown, he has the 2nd lowest K/9 rate (6.96), so it doesn't look like he has amazing stuff. I don't think he's a bad matchup for us. We're usually good against righties that have average stuff.
They have 4 guys in the bullpen that they really rely on. Jarod Bayless, MacGregor Hines, Kragen Kechely, and Sean Boyle (all righties).
Bayless (2.36 ERA/1.17 WHIP, 22 BB/65 Ks in 49+ innings) is their power arm and is one of 2 guys they go to when it's close and late. Can't find an exact velocity of his fastball, but it looks to be 90+.
Hines (4.05 ERA/1.47 WHIP, 25 BB/62 Ks in 46+ innings) is another pitcher that DBU goes to in close and late situations. 88-90 fastball and has a putaway slider, per D1. Was at Florida for a year but then went JUCO and is now at DBU.
Kechely (3.99 ERA/1.09 WHIP, 13 BB/51 Ks in 49+ innings) apparently doesn't throw that hard but has a really good curveball. One of their main middle relievers.
Sean Boyle (3.44 ERA/1.38 WHIP, 9 BB/39 Ks in 34 innings) is another option for them in middle relief. I can't find anything about his velocity or secondary stuff, but his H/9 rate is the highest out of their 30+ inning pitchers, so he might throw meat at times.
The only lefty that has thrown regularly for them is Kody Funderburk (he's a two-way guy), but he's not very good. Looks like he was their midweek starter for much of the season. 6.80 ERA/1.73 WHIP and has control issues.
Coaching ... Dan Heefner is generally regarded as one of the top coaches in the country. Has taken DBU to 8 regionals in his 12 years there and went to a super in 2011. I remember some on the boards (including me, I think) wanting him to replace Berry back when we couldn't get to a regional.