February 17, 2026 • 20 mins
Lifetime Longhorn Ty Harrington joins the show to discuss his early observations after Texas Baseball's season-opening sweep over UC Davis.
They break down Jim Schlossnagle's options in the pitching rotation, including the strategy behind Dylan Volantis' Sunday slot as it currently stands.
Plus, a conversation about some of the national trends in college baseball from the D1 level down to Division II, III and NAIA.
They break down Jim Schlossnagle's options in the pitching rotation, including the strategy behind Dylan Volantis' Sunday slot as it currently stands.
Plus, a conversation about some of the national trends in college baseball from the D1 level down to Division II, III and NAIA.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Street here from the King George Strait, And I will
tell you this too. If we're hearing from George Strait
in the four o'clock hour on a Tuesday in the
college baseball season, that can only mean one thing. It
means they're about to visit with our good friend, our
(00:24):
broadcast partner, Lifetime Loghorn, former assistant coach at Texas I've
won a national championship at the junior college level at
Northeast Texas Community College coach to Blynn and of course
for twenty years the outstanding coach of Texas State now
has entered the underbelly of the sport, the broadcast industry.
(00:48):
Of course, we're speaking of our good friend Ty Harrington,
who is as big a George Straight, bigger George Straight
fans about anybody I know?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Am I correct on that, Well, yes you are.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm a huge fan and liked everybody in Texas I think.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
But I grew up about.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
The same time listening in the eighties of George when
he started exploding.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
On the scene. And so yeah, I'm a huge fan
and takes me back in life.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
No question about that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I joke when I talk about you being into the
underbelly of this industry or of college baseball on the
broadcast side, however, you have plunged headlong into it over
these last two to three years, and now, from what
I understand, you've basically pitched a tent inside of Global
(01:41):
Life Field for the first three weekends of the college
baseball season.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Would that be pretty accurate?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. The tournaments and the teams
that they have, they're unbelievable. And Red Sports, who is
a subsidiary of the Texas Rangers, have done an unbelievable
job of putting these tournaments together and the talent that's
involved with it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
And when you start.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Looking at the weekends, the teams and how the tournaments
are run, it's seventy two and sunny, and I can
get it to work and are fit in my work
schedule on the weekends. It just kind of makes sense
to try to go give it a world and see
so many teams from around the country.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You were always good at coaching, you were good at playing,
and you've always been good at talking as well, So
it seems like a natural progression in terms of analysis
of games and of players and coaches and things going on.
So I get the feeling you're really enjoying this stage
of your life and this stage of your career as
(02:51):
it's attached to college baseball. It looks like it sounds
like you have a lot of fun doing this.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah, and I'm fortunate I got a position job wise
that allows me some freedom to make sure I'm still
doing what I need to do work wise, and be
associated with baseball and particularly college baseball. And to answer
your uh insinuation, yes, I am excited to still be
able to be around a game I so love, uh
(03:18):
and a game that has been so important in my life.
You know, prior to the job I have right now,
I only had two jobs in my life, a paper
out and being a college baseball coach. And and so
to still be involved in the baseball family, in the
baseball world and get a chance to talk about and
analyze games and staying engaged and involved in that world
(03:42):
has been huge for me as a person and quite frankly,
probably some of my mental health truthfully, and uh, you know,
being in a world I'm familiar with and I still
enjoy the breaking down the game and watching it.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
And I think I've told you this before.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
There was a time in my life when I got
out of baseball that I was kind of grumpy with
baseball and it didn't dislove it, but I was just
kind of grumpy. And you know, analyzing it and being
a part of the game re engage me with it
and brought back the game in my mind in a
better state and and the love for it and reminded
me of a lot of great things that I did
(04:21):
love and appreciate about the game while I was coaching.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
By the way, were you good at your paper route there?
Growing up in the supercind text region there in the
greater Waco area.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Well, the Waco Tribune, Harold.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I delivered my mom and dad, and I delivered about
four hundred to five hundred of them every morning for years.
And it was a family outing at four point thirty
in the morning. And if I started naming off a
bunch of the sports writers and.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Different it would probably bring back a flood of memories
for you.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
For the Southwest Conference and dealing with or having been
around Baylor and all the above. But yeah, I was
a fun part of my life. It was not always
fun getting up at four o'clock in the morning. Mind
your four thirty. But I look back at it now
as special times that I got to spend with my
mom and dad throwing a paper out and learn a
little disciplined by getting up early.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, no doubt about talking to baseball as well as
paper routes with Ty Harrington. Will talk baseball every Tuesday
with Tie here on thirteen under the Zone. Okay, I'd
like your review of what you saw in the Shriners
Hospital Classic there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And not only did.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You have SEC teams involved there Oklahoma and Arkansas, you
also got a chance to see Big twelve teams that
were involved there as well. So how about your overview
of what you saw on the opening weekend of the
college baseball season there at Globe Life.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
The first game for me was a night game with
Arkansas and Oklahoma State. And Arkansas goes out there and
their starting pitcher second pitch of the.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Game was ninety seven miles an hour, and I remember.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Thinking myself, Okay, this is you know, college baseball, particularly Craig.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
And the SEC. And it didn't end there. It was
that way all weekend.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And if you wanted to, you know, look at teams physicality,
I would tell you that you know, Arkansas, Oklahoma and
Vanderbilt were incredibly physical, athletic, could do so many things offensively.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
They could run when they needed to run, They could
hit with power.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
I think there was nineteen home runs hit this weekend,
which is a ridiculous amount of home runs, particularly when
you're facing you know, ninety two to ninety seven all
weekend long from most of the teams. And so the
impression that I walked out with the most was power
as uh.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And then I walked out with the idea of power bats.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Now, I will say I felt like Arkansas showed a
little vulnerability. I think they struck out forty six times
on the weekend, and which is a high number for them.
And I know coach Van Horne addressed it, I think
at the end of the third game, which was an
extra inning game with Texas Tech and and and I
would say for the Red Raider fans here locally, they're
(07:28):
not ready yet. They're gonna be a better team, you
know a month and what we probably saw this weekend,
they're trying to get their identity with a bunch of
new guys and to who they're gonna be.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
But you saw the the Texas Tech.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You know culture in that last game come back and
tie the game against Arkansas down three in the ninth
and found a way to go.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Up by one.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
But when able to pull off the victory and uh,
but in essence, and I would tell you that the
SEC teams in general looked, you know, bigger and physical
now and that's in line with that TCU right up
the road. Big twelve team is a top twenty, top
fifteen type team.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
They had some great arms.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Uh, They've got some tremendous athletes in the outfield and
courtse of Franco Kid, it was a two way guy,
you know, he pitched and hit and uh. And so
they're they're a very talented, physical, you know, older team
than some of the other teams that may be in
the Big twelve right now. So if I'm walking out
(08:32):
of the door Globe Life, which I did Sunday night
driving home, kind of thinking back in my mind, what
what was this tournament like? And when you named off
the teams that were involved in it, and how good
a lineup that is?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
It was it was the idea of physical arms.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I'm sorry, physical players with power, speed, athleticism, power arms
non stop. The whole weekend with power breakers, and then
the three teams that won the most and did the best,
and that would have been OU, Arkansas and and CCU
(09:10):
all played defense at a high level. The other teams
didn't play defense at a high up level for what
they're gonna play.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
That's interesting because for years, I guess we were all
kind of under the impression that you really do have
to ramp up your uh you know, your your pitching,
your starting pitching, you really have to ramp that up.
And and and I think there were a lot of
people who felt the same way with regard to Dylan Valantis,
(09:41):
since he was transitioning from closure to starter, and all
he did was go seven innings, a career long for him,
but he did it on seventy eight pitches. Ty he
had h the first two innings were six pitches and
six pitches. He'd only thrown thirty six pitches. Tough four innings,
and that, obviously, uh will will add on to give
you some extra innings to work with there, but not
(10:02):
just with Dylan, But from what you just described, it
sounds like the off season work for some of these
guys is them being revealed in the fact that they're
coming out with a little more, a little more VLO
and a little more readiness than the slow ramp up
we've been used to seeing out of starting pitchers in
(10:23):
the past at the start of a season.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, I think Craig.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
In line with that is, remember now they got an
extra what was it eight nine days of preseason practice
this year, right.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I think that's that's.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Part of it, you know, them getting into shape or
having the opportunity of the window physically to get ready
to go toe the rubber in live games.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
I think that's part of it.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
But these guys trained for VLO now, and it's insane
the numbers we see. I spent some time with some
scouts that have been around the business for twenty thirty
years and had lengthy conversations about, you know, where college
baseball is in the development phase four pitchers and hitters,
(11:10):
but mainly four pitchers, And when we get time someday
in the near future, we'll talk even more about that,
because it was enlightened on a lot of different levels
as to what they're allowing college baseball to do and
what they're encouraging college baseball to do with the pitching
now in the shortening of the draft and allowing college
(11:31):
baseball to develop these guys, and you know they have
the resources to do and the knowledge and the knowledge
now from these.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Coaches to do it.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
But and then in line with the guy like Dylan Valantis,
it's it's almost an unfair comparison for some others.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And I'll give you my own thoughts.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Number one, I think they got woke up at six
years old he could land a breaker and uh and
now we're seeing coming off of last year where as
a closer, or it actually might have been a great
exercise for him, Craig that he knew that he had
to go out there and not get behind and not
nibble as a closer.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Right, you're a three out, six out guy.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
You don't want to, you know, create tension, but with
walks or hit bathroom. So I think it sharpened his
knife a little bit on the sense of throwing strikes,
which he's always been able to do anyway, so his
pitch count efficiency and what that can mean for that staff.
You know, whether it's on a Friday Saturday and he's
(12:32):
on Sunday right now, whether they moving forward, I'm not
saying they have to need you or gonna but you know,
early in weekends, when you got a guy that's so
efficient like that, you don't cheer your boat.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Pen up as much.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And I'm sure that's certainly something they're discussing and looking
at going at, or at least you know, thinking about.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
But in the same breath, you.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Know, as I just said that the good news is
on a Sunday, you feel comfort well if you leave
that in that rotation as it is that you can
use up a lot of your relievers on Friday Saturday
if needed, and then you've got malants coming in there
on Sunday just hammering down the other team with strikes
and that breaker that just comes out of the clouds.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Uh, it seems like well, and and having uh ruger
Riojas to start it for you on Friday's a veteran,
and then and then having Luke Harrison a veteran to
go on Saturdays kind of helps in that department, doesn't it,
In that in that even if you needed guys remaining
arms on Sunday, you might have it. And of course
it depends on what we see going forward, Like for example,
(13:39):
Jason Flores is going to start tonight, and you know,
he'll uh, he'll obviously and in fact I think probably
be on a designated start and then uh, after he goes,
I think uh that we will see the freshman Sam
Cozart get his first opportunity. So Schlas has some has
(14:01):
some options I guess at his at his fingertips and
availability if he wants to go that direction, including of
what you just said about what he wants to do
with his weekend rotation.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Yeah, I would say this.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
And it's an interesting from Riojas's perspective, because he's a
power guy, right, He's a ninety five, ninety four, ninety
six min our guy, power fastball, power breaker. And then
you know, I still consider Atlantis is a power guy
too because that breaker is is just such a you know,
(14:34):
a force, and so it does give you different lugs
with Harrison, you know, you know, in the middle of that, uh,
stringing it to the weekend. So it is an interesting
dynamic and obviously a tough dynamic if you're going there offensively,
you know, trying to face those guys now and that
and thought of Florish tonight. I think this is a big,
(14:55):
a good moment, not necessarily the I think it's a
great moment for this young man because he had a
great preseason.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
They were very excited about him.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And I think these are one of those moments if
if this guy can sit in there on Tuesday and
and and throw you know, five innings, six innings and
against you know, good teams too, but you know, start
to really get you know, that power fastball, because I'd
heard it was up to ninety five to ninety eight
yep in the preseason, and we all know the action
(15:25):
of that fastball is intense and and you know, with
a good breaker behind it. So I think this is
a good night tonight and a good indicator, you know,
if he can get out there, get hold of the
strike zone immediately and get that fastball in the strike
zone because it's got a little more life and left
the right sing to it than some of the other guys.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
And so I'm excited for this young man to get
out there, because.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
If he starts to be where everybody thinks he's gonna be,
you're starting to complete four starters more than average quality starters.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Hey, ty, I want to get your thoughts on one
other element, and that's transfers. And we've and transfers have
been happening in baseball college baseball for a long long time,
but it's obviously across the board completely different now in
terms of transferring through the portal at any sport, let
alone baseball. And then you mix into that newcomers, and
(16:23):
I know that that also peaks your interest. For example,
the leading hitter for the Long Horns over the weekend
was a freshman, Anthony Pack Who's surprised him folks.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
He was six of eleven.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Now, he struggled a little bit in right field defensively,
but he was six for eleven at the plate with
a couple of doubles, drove in a couple of runs.
We expected Ethan Mendoza to hit and he was six
out of twelve. And then Aiden Robbins, the transfer from
Seaton Hall, who hit five four fifty five over the
weekend with two doubles and a homer. The balance of
the portal and the freshman, if you're able to do
(16:56):
that with the newcomers along with the returning letter winners,
that can really give you an explosive ball club.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Can it?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yes, answer your question, the transfer in the portal has
changed all the sports, but it certainly has changed baseball,
and there's a there's even a more depth under that,
Craig that you've got the this is the oldest the
college baseball has ever been. I saw an article the
other day that said that college baseball is twenty one
(17:26):
point nine years old. That's the running average age, wow,
in college baseball now. So we're in line with that
conversation I was having with some of those scouts is
that it's the most mature that college baseball has been.
I think it is the most clean baseball that we've
ever seen, the most mature base running and offense, which
is why I think you're seeing a lot more home
(17:49):
runs hit and why there's a power surge right now,
particularly having to face you know, ninety four to ninety
six miles an hour.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
But a lot of that's got to do with portal guys.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
One of the interesting things, right, and this is a
longer conversation than we're going to have today. You hear
head coaches talk all the time, and and they're right.
They talk about their culture. And I think it's a
word sometimes I think that's thrown around too much. But
your environment, your locker room, your dugout, your culture. However,
you want to refer to it when you got older guys.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
These these guys that are.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Transferred portal guys, they're used to playing on different select teams,
so they're used to walking into a different clubhouse. They're
used to getting, you know, going from one team possibly
to another to go play on a showcase team and
then go back to their high school team and then
go back to another travel team.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
So I think it's becoming common. So I don't think
it's uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
As much as it might have been a couple of
years ago for God to walk in transfer in an
awkwardness socially and fit Clea to get ready to play.
And I just think they're a little more accustomed to
it now. And that's why I think you're seeing the
transfer guys in baseball college baseball. We're talking about, you know,
(19:12):
getting accepted into a lineup, into a program sooner, and
then you're seeing them start to make an impact on
college baseball and their current team.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
He's Ty Harrington.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
He'll join us heats Tuesday, as he did that last
season as well, talkingts to baseball, and we'll hear them
also on our our ways with long worn baseball broadcasts
as well, hey, have a good time up there in
the Metroplex the next two weekends, but we will visit
next Tuesday. In between weekends two and three. We'll see
if you've grown tired of glodelife Field by then.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
We will definitely see that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
But when it's seventy two and sunny, it's not terrible,
but I would tell you it is at all honesty,
full disclosure.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
I do miss being in Austin doing games.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I do miss being in San Marcus doing games one
hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
It just it just was one of those moments where
you to see.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
So many teams from around the country, and my curiosity
about how they are what they look like probably got
the best of me.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Hey, I appreciate the time, enjoy the week, and we'll
visit next week.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
You got it. Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That is Ty Harrington and I was working the telecast
of those tournaments up in Arlington last weekend. This weekend
and next weekend as well, we'll have more coming up
here from UFCU Dish far Field
Street here from the King George Strait, And I will
tell you this too. If we're hearing from George Strait
in the four o'clock hour on a Tuesday in the
college baseball season, that can only mean one thing. It
means they're about to visit with our good friend, our
(00:24):
broadcast partner, Lifetime Loghorn, former assistant coach at Texas I've
won a national championship at the junior college level at
Northeast Texas Community College coach to Blynn and of course
for twenty years the outstanding coach of Texas State now
has entered the underbelly of the sport, the broadcast industry.
(00:48):
Of course, we're speaking of our good friend Ty Harrington,
who is as big a George Straight, bigger George Straight
fans about anybody I know?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Am I correct on that, Well, yes you are.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm a huge fan and liked everybody in Texas I think.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
But I grew up about.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
The same time listening in the eighties of George when
he started exploding.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
On the scene. And so yeah, I'm a huge fan
and takes me back in life.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
No question about that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I joke when I talk about you being into the
underbelly of this industry or of college baseball on the
broadcast side, however, you have plunged headlong into it over
these last two to three years, and now, from what
I understand, you've basically pitched a tent inside of Global
(01:41):
Life Field for the first three weekends of the college
baseball season.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Would that be pretty accurate?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. The tournaments and the teams
that they have, they're unbelievable. And Red Sports, who is
a subsidiary of the Texas Rangers, have done an unbelievable
job of putting these tournaments together and the talent that's
involved with it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
And when you start.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Looking at the weekends, the teams and how the tournaments
are run, it's seventy two and sunny, and I can
get it to work and are fit in my work
schedule on the weekends. It just kind of makes sense
to try to go give it a world and see
so many teams from around the country.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You were always good at coaching, you were good at playing,
and you've always been good at talking as well, So
it seems like a natural progression in terms of analysis
of games and of players and coaches and things going on.
So I get the feeling you're really enjoying this stage
of your life and this stage of your career as
(02:51):
it's attached to college baseball. It looks like it sounds
like you have a lot of fun doing this.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah, and I'm fortunate I got a position job wise
that allows me some freedom to make sure I'm still
doing what I need to do work wise, and be
associated with baseball and particularly college baseball. And to answer
your uh insinuation, yes, I am excited to still be
able to be around a game I so love, uh
(03:18):
and a game that has been so important in my life.
You know, prior to the job I have right now,
I only had two jobs in my life, a paper
out and being a college baseball coach. And and so
to still be involved in the baseball family, in the
baseball world and get a chance to talk about and
analyze games and staying engaged and involved in that world
(03:42):
has been huge for me as a person and quite frankly,
probably some of my mental health truthfully, and uh, you know,
being in a world I'm familiar with and I still
enjoy the breaking down the game and watching it.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
And I think I've told you this before.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
There was a time in my life when I got
out of baseball that I was kind of grumpy with
baseball and it didn't dislove it, but I was just
kind of grumpy. And you know, analyzing it and being
a part of the game re engage me with it
and brought back the game in my mind in a
better state and and the love for it and reminded
me of a lot of great things that I did
(04:21):
love and appreciate about the game while I was coaching.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
By the way, were you good at your paper route there?
Growing up in the supercind text region there in the
greater Waco area.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Well, the Waco Tribune, Harold.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I delivered my mom and dad, and I delivered about
four hundred to five hundred of them every morning for years.
And it was a family outing at four point thirty
in the morning. And if I started naming off a
bunch of the sports writers and.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Different it would probably bring back a flood of memories
for you.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
For the Southwest Conference and dealing with or having been
around Baylor and all the above. But yeah, I was
a fun part of my life. It was not always
fun getting up at four o'clock in the morning. Mind
your four thirty. But I look back at it now
as special times that I got to spend with my
mom and dad throwing a paper out and learn a
little disciplined by getting up early.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, no doubt about talking to baseball as well as
paper routes with Ty Harrington. Will talk baseball every Tuesday
with Tie here on thirteen under the Zone. Okay, I'd
like your review of what you saw in the Shriners
Hospital Classic there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And not only did.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You have SEC teams involved there Oklahoma and Arkansas, you
also got a chance to see Big twelve teams that
were involved there as well. So how about your overview
of what you saw on the opening weekend of the
college baseball season there at Globe Life.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
The first game for me was a night game with
Arkansas and Oklahoma State. And Arkansas goes out there and
their starting pitcher second pitch of the.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Game was ninety seven miles an hour, and I remember.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Thinking myself, Okay, this is you know, college baseball, particularly Craig.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
And the SEC. And it didn't end there. It was
that way all weekend.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And if you wanted to, you know, look at teams physicality,
I would tell you that you know, Arkansas, Oklahoma and
Vanderbilt were incredibly physical, athletic, could do so many things offensively.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
They could run when they needed to run, They could
hit with power.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
I think there was nineteen home runs hit this weekend,
which is a ridiculous amount of home runs, particularly when
you're facing you know, ninety two to ninety seven all
weekend long from most of the teams. And so the
impression that I walked out with the most was power
as uh.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And then I walked out with the idea of power bats.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Now, I will say I felt like Arkansas showed a
little vulnerability. I think they struck out forty six times
on the weekend, and which is a high number for them.
And I know coach Van Horne addressed it, I think
at the end of the third game, which was an
extra inning game with Texas Tech and and and I
would say for the Red Raider fans here locally, they're
(07:28):
not ready yet. They're gonna be a better team, you
know a month and what we probably saw this weekend,
they're trying to get their identity with a bunch of
new guys and to who they're gonna be.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
But you saw the the Texas Tech.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You know culture in that last game come back and
tie the game against Arkansas down three in the ninth
and found a way to go.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Up by one.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
But when able to pull off the victory and uh,
but in essence, and I would tell you that the
SEC teams in general looked, you know, bigger and physical
now and that's in line with that TCU right up
the road. Big twelve team is a top twenty, top
fifteen type team.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
They had some great arms.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Uh, They've got some tremendous athletes in the outfield and
courtse of Franco Kid, it was a two way guy,
you know, he pitched and hit and uh. And so
they're they're a very talented, physical, you know, older team
than some of the other teams that may be in
the Big twelve right now. So if I'm walking out
(08:32):
of the door Globe Life, which I did Sunday night
driving home, kind of thinking back in my mind, what
what was this tournament like? And when you named off
the teams that were involved in it, and how good
a lineup that is?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
It was it was the idea of physical arms.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I'm sorry, physical players with power, speed, athleticism, power arms
non stop. The whole weekend with power breakers, and then
the three teams that won the most and did the best,
and that would have been OU, Arkansas and and CCU
(09:10):
all played defense at a high level. The other teams
didn't play defense at a high up level for what
they're gonna play.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
That's interesting because for years, I guess we were all
kind of under the impression that you really do have
to ramp up your uh you know, your your pitching,
your starting pitching, you really have to ramp that up.
And and and I think there were a lot of
people who felt the same way with regard to Dylan Valantis,
(09:41):
since he was transitioning from closure to starter, and all
he did was go seven innings, a career long for him,
but he did it on seventy eight pitches. Ty he
had h the first two innings were six pitches and
six pitches. He'd only thrown thirty six pitches. Tough four innings,
and that, obviously, uh will will add on to give
you some extra innings to work with there, but not
(10:02):
just with Dylan, But from what you just described, it
sounds like the off season work for some of these
guys is them being revealed in the fact that they're
coming out with a little more, a little more VLO
and a little more readiness than the slow ramp up
we've been used to seeing out of starting pitchers in
(10:23):
the past at the start of a season.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, I think Craig.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
In line with that is, remember now they got an
extra what was it eight nine days of preseason practice
this year, right.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I think that's that's.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Part of it, you know, them getting into shape or
having the opportunity of the window physically to get ready
to go toe the rubber in live games.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
I think that's part of it.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
But these guys trained for VLO now, and it's insane
the numbers we see. I spent some time with some
scouts that have been around the business for twenty thirty
years and had lengthy conversations about, you know, where college
baseball is in the development phase four pitchers and hitters,
(11:10):
but mainly four pitchers, And when we get time someday
in the near future, we'll talk even more about that,
because it was enlightened on a lot of different levels
as to what they're allowing college baseball to do and
what they're encouraging college baseball to do with the pitching
now in the shortening of the draft and allowing college
(11:31):
baseball to develop these guys, and you know they have
the resources to do and the knowledge and the knowledge
now from these.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Coaches to do it.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
But and then in line with the guy like Dylan Valantis,
it's it's almost an unfair comparison for some others.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And I'll give you my own thoughts.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Number one, I think they got woke up at six
years old he could land a breaker and uh and
now we're seeing coming off of last year where as
a closer, or it actually might have been a great
exercise for him, Craig that he knew that he had
to go out there and not get behind and not
nibble as a closer.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Right, you're a three out, six out guy.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
You don't want to, you know, create tension, but with
walks or hit bathroom. So I think it sharpened his
knife a little bit on the sense of throwing strikes,
which he's always been able to do anyway, so his
pitch count efficiency and what that can mean for that staff.
You know, whether it's on a Friday Saturday and he's
(12:32):
on Sunday right now, whether they moving forward, I'm not
saying they have to need you or gonna but you know,
early in weekends, when you got a guy that's so
efficient like that, you don't cheer your boat.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Pen up as much.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And I'm sure that's certainly something they're discussing and looking
at going at, or at least you know, thinking about.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
But in the same breath, you.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Know, as I just said that the good news is
on a Sunday, you feel comfort well if you leave
that in that rotation as it is that you can
use up a lot of your relievers on Friday Saturday
if needed, and then you've got malants coming in there
on Sunday just hammering down the other team with strikes
and that breaker that just comes out of the clouds.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Uh, it seems like well, and and having uh ruger
Riojas to start it for you on Friday's a veteran,
and then and then having Luke Harrison a veteran to
go on Saturdays kind of helps in that department, doesn't it,
In that in that even if you needed guys remaining
arms on Sunday, you might have it. And of course
it depends on what we see going forward, Like for example,
(13:39):
Jason Flores is going to start tonight, and you know,
he'll uh, he'll obviously and in fact I think probably
be on a designated start and then uh, after he goes,
I think uh that we will see the freshman Sam
Cozart get his first opportunity. So Schlas has some has
(14:01):
some options I guess at his at his fingertips and
availability if he wants to go that direction, including of
what you just said about what he wants to do
with his weekend rotation.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Yeah, I would say this.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
And it's an interesting from Riojas's perspective, because he's a
power guy, right, He's a ninety five, ninety four, ninety
six min our guy, power fastball, power breaker. And then
you know, I still consider Atlantis is a power guy
too because that breaker is is just such a you know,
(14:34):
a force, and so it does give you different lugs
with Harrison, you know, you know, in the middle of that, uh,
stringing it to the weekend. So it is an interesting
dynamic and obviously a tough dynamic if you're going there offensively,
you know, trying to face those guys now and that
and thought of Florish tonight. I think this is a big,
(14:55):
a good moment, not necessarily the I think it's a
great moment for this young man because he had a
great preseason.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
They were very excited about him.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And I think these are one of those moments if
if this guy can sit in there on Tuesday and
and and throw you know, five innings, six innings and
against you know, good teams too, but you know, start
to really get you know, that power fastball, because I'd
heard it was up to ninety five to ninety eight
yep in the preseason, and we all know the action
(15:25):
of that fastball is intense and and you know, with
a good breaker behind it. So I think this is
a good night tonight and a good indicator, you know,
if he can get out there, get hold of the
strike zone immediately and get that fastball in the strike
zone because it's got a little more life and left
the right sing to it than some of the other guys.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
And so I'm excited for this young man to get
out there, because.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
If he starts to be where everybody thinks he's gonna be,
you're starting to complete four starters more than average quality starters.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Hey, ty, I want to get your thoughts on one
other element, and that's transfers. And we've and transfers have
been happening in baseball college baseball for a long long time,
but it's obviously across the board completely different now in
terms of transferring through the portal at any sport, let
alone baseball. And then you mix into that newcomers, and
(16:23):
I know that that also peaks your interest. For example,
the leading hitter for the Long Horns over the weekend
was a freshman, Anthony Pack Who's surprised him folks.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
He was six of eleven.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Now, he struggled a little bit in right field defensively,
but he was six for eleven at the plate with
a couple of doubles, drove in a couple of runs.
We expected Ethan Mendoza to hit and he was six
out of twelve. And then Aiden Robbins, the transfer from
Seaton Hall, who hit five four fifty five over the
weekend with two doubles and a homer. The balance of
the portal and the freshman, if you're able to do
(16:56):
that with the newcomers along with the returning letter winners,
that can really give you an explosive ball club.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Can it?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yes, answer your question, the transfer in the portal has
changed all the sports, but it certainly has changed baseball,
and there's a there's even a more depth under that,
Craig that you've got the this is the oldest the
college baseball has ever been. I saw an article the
other day that said that college baseball is twenty one
(17:26):
point nine years old. That's the running average age, wow,
in college baseball now. So we're in line with that
conversation I was having with some of those scouts is
that it's the most mature that college baseball has been.
I think it is the most clean baseball that we've
ever seen, the most mature base running and offense, which
is why I think you're seeing a lot more home
(17:49):
runs hit and why there's a power surge right now,
particularly having to face you know, ninety four to ninety
six miles an hour.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
But a lot of that's got to do with portal guys.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
One of the interesting things, right, and this is a
longer conversation than we're going to have today. You hear
head coaches talk all the time, and and they're right.
They talk about their culture. And I think it's a
word sometimes I think that's thrown around too much. But
your environment, your locker room, your dugout, your culture. However,
you want to refer to it when you got older guys.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
These these guys that are.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Transferred portal guys, they're used to playing on different select teams,
so they're used to walking into a different clubhouse. They're
used to getting, you know, going from one team possibly
to another to go play on a showcase team and
then go back to their high school team and then
go back to another travel team.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
So I think it's becoming common. So I don't think
it's uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
As much as it might have been a couple of
years ago for God to walk in transfer in an
awkwardness socially and fit Clea to get ready to play.
And I just think they're a little more accustomed to
it now. And that's why I think you're seeing the
transfer guys in baseball college baseball. We're talking about, you know,
(19:12):
getting accepted into a lineup, into a program sooner, and
then you're seeing them start to make an impact on
college baseball and their current team.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
He's Ty Harrington.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
He'll join us heats Tuesday, as he did that last
season as well, talkingts to baseball, and we'll hear them
also on our our ways with long worn baseball broadcasts
as well, hey, have a good time up there in
the Metroplex the next two weekends, but we will visit
next Tuesday. In between weekends two and three. We'll see
if you've grown tired of glodelife Field by then.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
We will definitely see that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
But when it's seventy two and sunny, it's not terrible,
but I would tell you it is at all honesty,
full disclosure.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
I do miss being in Austin doing games.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I do miss being in San Marcus doing games one
hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
It just it just was one of those moments where
you to see.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
So many teams from around the country, and my curiosity
about how they are what they look like probably got
the best of me.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Hey, I appreciate the time, enjoy the week, and we'll
visit next week.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
You got it. Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That is Ty Harrington and I was working the telecast
of those tournaments up in Arlington last weekend. This weekend
and next weekend as well, we'll have more coming up
here from UFCU Dish far Field
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