Well, it arrived. Today is my last day and this is my last column at Orangebloods.com. I feel weird writing that. Really weird. But don’t worry because I’ve already poured my heart into a goodbye column already and this won’t be another diary entry. Before we get to personal thoughts when I sign off, I have to share some thoughts on the Longhorns.

Alright, the writing...

--- Let’s start with the future of Texas Baseball and the 2022 team. On July 11th, the MLB Draft begins and it’ll be a big one for the Longhorns because many contributors from the 2021 Omaha team are draft eligible.

SENIORS
Mike Antico
DJ Petrinsky
Palmer Wenzel
Austin Todd

Todd has the option to return if he wants to, and during the season, he was certainly open to it. His professional chances have dwindled significantly because he’s spent five years in college already. He’d get a shot with a club if he wants one, but significant money to sign isn’t waiting for him.

LIKELY TO TURN PRO
Ty Madden
Cole Quintanilla
Zach Zubia
Cam Williams
Ivan Melendez

Madden finished the season strong and solidified himself as a first-round pick who probably won’t be on the board after the 20th overall selection. With a strong finish that included touching 98 MPH multiple times, Quintanilla also helped himself. Williams’ impressive season put him on the MLB Draft radar and his excellent baseball makeup will make him attractive to teams searching late in the draft for anyone with a carrying tool and genuine interest to try to grind through the minor leagues. I've never met a baseball junkie quite like Williams.

I imagine it will be very difficult for Zubia to say goodbye to Texas, but if he wants a legitimate crack at professional baseball, he needs to leave this season and start his journey. As for his partner in crime in the middle of the Texas lineup, Melendez is a consensus top 200 draft prospect, which makes him a good candidate to be selected before the end of the fifth round.

PROBABLY GOING PRO BUT COULD GO EITHER WAY
Tristan Stevens
Eric Kennedy

When last season ended, Stevens was entertaining a nine-to-five job unsure what his baseball future would be. Now, he’s coming off an excellent season and will have a chance to be drafted if he indicates he’s ready to move on. A month ago, Kennedy probably would have needed to sign on as a free agent, but his swing adjustments to end the season tapped back into his raw strength and hitting ability. Although he doesn’t have the defensive ability to profile as a future center fielder, his 80-grade speed and raw power should intrigue someone enough to draft him if he indicates he wants to sign; the last part is the most important.

PROBABLY COMING BACK
Pete Hansen

By the end of the season, Hansen looked like the dominant 2020 version. A draft-eligible sophomore (redshirt freshman, officially), the lefty from California has a lot of leverage and would really benefit from a strong junior season with increased velocity. It sounds like Hansen’s asking price is very high and unlikely to be met.

I'M NOT REALLY SURE
Kolby Kubichek

I think he'd have a professional opportunity if he made it clear to teams he wanted one and would sign. That said, he barely pitched to end the season and didn't show enough this season to make scouts want to take a chance. Will he want to move on? Will he want to come back and try to win a rotation spot again? I'm not sure at this point.

--- What about the signees?

Glad you asked. Impacted by the numbers because of what COVID-19 did to the 2020 roster, the 2021 signing class is a small one. Of the 10 signees, I think only right-handed pitchers Joshua Stewart (St. Dominic Savio HS in Georgetown) and Jace Hutchins (Blinn College) are truly on the MLB Draft radar. That’s not to say scouts haven’t looked at the other players, but Hutchins and Stewart seem like the only true options to be selected in the 20-round draft.

Coming off a UCL repair surgery, similar to current Longhorns Andre Duplantier, Travis Stehle and Chase Lummus, Hutchins finished 2021 with a 4.76 ERA and 52 strikeouts across 39.2 innings. Once he returned to full strength, Hutchins was already throwing in the upper 90’s. Scouts are intrigued by the velocity and stuff but he probably needs a year of good performance to be selected where he’d want.

Stewart looks like a future weekend starter to me with genuine feel for a true-four pitch mix, some extension in the delivery and potential for more added MPH to his fastball. He finished strong. That said, scouts I talked to summarized his status as a guy every single organization scouted but a guy everyone believes should and will go to school.

--- As for possible instant-impact newcomers, Gavin Kash is a guy to follow closely. A physical hitter from the left side, Kash could compete to start immediately at first base and is one of the top hitters in the state. Perhaps the best athlete in Texas, Ace Whitehead could push his way into the lineup somewhere, although that likely depends on how crowded the outfield is if Todd and/or Kennedy return. Jack Arthur is an intriguing two-way player who should receive an opportunity to do both in the fall.

On the mound in addition to the guys mentioned above Alec Grossman, a one-time North Carolina commitment from Lake Travis, profiles as an impact guy from the bullpen the moment he shows up. Undersized, Grossman can run his fastball up to 94 MPH with a promising, high-spin slider and feel for a splitter. Carson McKinney is probably the best strike-thrower in the incoming recruiting class, and those types of pitchers are always candidates to make an early impact.

Although he’s an intriguing two-way talent because of his athleticism, physicality and bat speed, Cameron O’Banan probably ends up on the mound. A standout receiver for Dripping Springs, O’Banan might have the most potential of any pitcher in the signing class.

--- So, what about a lineup? Well, we know the following, which could obviously change depending on what happens with the MLB Draft:

SS - Trey Faltine
2B - Mitchell Daly
C - Silas Ardoin
CF/RF - Douglas Hodo

Yeah, it’ll be a wide open position player battle assuming the MLB Draft unfolds as expected. My early pick for DH would be Peyton Powell, one of the guys Pierce singled out when discussing the future of the program following the loss to Mississippi State. If Texas believes in the glove, and it better because it lacks options, he should be in line to start when Ardoin rests. Dalton Porter (outfield) and Dylan Campbell (infield/outfield) received starts this season and should be in the mix for bigger roles in 2022. Murphy Stehly can play all over the diamond and hit .294/.383/.373 across 51 at-bats this past season. I could see him making a good case to start at third, and don’t forget Duplantier was truly in the mix to start at third and relieve before focusing on pitching.

SP - Pete Hansen
SP - Tanner Witt
SP - Lucas Gordon (will compete for a weekend spot)

Texas should again have one of the best rotations in the Big 12 and if the No. 3 starter comes through, it could again have one of the best rotations in the nation. I think Longhorn fans should be very, very excited about Gordon, who finished 2021 with a .197 batting average against and 3.32 ERA.

RP - Aaron Nixon
RP - Andre Duplantier
RP - Jared Southard
RP - Sam Walbridge
RP - Drew Shifflet
RP - Justin Eckhardt
RP - Dawson Merryman
RP - Travis Stehle

Like this season, the UT bullpen will eventually turn into a smaller circle of trust featuring around five pitchers. That said, there are going to be a lot of really intriguing bullpen options next season. Heck, I could list more. The bullpen is going to be really freaking good next season.

--- The 2022 team could really, really benefit from another Mike Antico-type of transfer. Even if the Longhorns lose everyone they can to the draft, the lineup is going to have some talent up-and-down the order. However, the Longhorns would lack experience and a couple of those hitters, like Zubia and Antico, a team knows will consistently grind out at-bats and provide a veteran presence to help boost the surrounding youth. If Texas is unable to add an impact bat, it’s going to rely heavily on pitching and defense and probably be a team fighting to be a regional host instead of a national seed.

--- Although the 2021 Longhorns didn’t leave Omaha national champions, they left with three wins on college baseball’s biggest stage and proved they were truly worthy of playing for a championship. This was a big season for David Pierce. After all, the last full season he coached ended in complete disaster. If he returned to Austin 0-2 in Omaha again, regardless of how the team looked and competed, his 0-4 record in Omaha would have undoubtedly been a talking point until Texas again reached the College World Series and won a game.

Looking at his body of work, I think it’s fair to say he maximized 2017, 2018, 2021 and his 2020 team looked like it was going to make a run at Omaha with one of the nation’s best pitching staffs and veterans up-and-down the lineup. Now, he’ll be tasked with making sure the program is in “reload” mode instead of any down seasons and a big part of that will be keeping this coaching staff together.

Sean Allen will be a future head coach, but he’s wisely going to be selective about opportunities he chooses. Philip Miller was in consideration for Sam Houston State the last time it was open, and will probably be on the radar of smaller, Texas-based programs in the future. As for Troy Tulowitzki, it all depends on the status of his degree. A vast majority of division-one programs require full-time assistants to have a degree and certainly head coaches.

--- Keeping with the projection theme, this would be my projected starting lineup for Texas Basketball if the season started tonight: Devin Askew, Andrew Jones, Dylan Disu, Timmy Allen and Tre Mitchell. Although he’s not much of a perimeter threat, Texas can run offense through him in the half-court, and I think Disu, who shot 40.5% from three-point range in SEC play last season, has more skill on the perimeter and putting the ball on the floor than he was able to show at Vanderbilt. Mitchell’s ability to facilitate offense and knock down perimeter shots gives Chris Beard so many options in his motion-based offense.

Plus, all three of those non-guards should be fine in switching defensively. More importantly, I just can’t envision Disu not starting. He’s extremely talented and until Mitchell arrived, he was the best transfer Texas landed. That said, I think Texas will probably treat seven players, give or take, as starters with their respective minutes, which includes guys like Courtney Ramey and Christian Bishop.

--- Also, I’ve hinted at this in a past War Room but keep an eye on Marcus Carr if he pulls out of the NBA Draft. He’d instantly be the starting point guard and is considered by many to be the best guard who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.--- The month of June was a whirlwind for Texas football recruiting, and the word I used on the recent Modcast to describe UT’s month was “satisfactory.” Above all else, the Longhorns needed to get a ton of big names in the 2022 and 2023 classes on campus. They succeeded, and because of that they’ve positioned themselves to be a legitimate factor in a lot of crucial recruitments.

--- Now, to the fun OB stuff as I inch towards my finish line…

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