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re: 2023-24 Aggie Baseball Offseason
Posted on 12/20/23 at 5:18 pm to Farmer1906
Posted on 12/20/23 at 5:18 pm to Farmer1906
D1Baseball pretty high on the top of our transfer class, including the #1 overall transfer.
1. Braden Montgomery, UTL (Stanford to Texas A&M)
Montgomery transferring out of Stanford was the biggest story line in the portal this past summer, and he’s now looking to make a huge impact for the Aggies in the SEC. Montgomery gets the top spot for being a dual-threat type of player. Though he’s still refining his stuff on the mound, Montgomery will get into the mid-90s with his fastball, and the fastball and slider both have whiff rates well above 50%. As for his offensive skill set, he’s already a very accomplished hitter, batting .336 last season with 14 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs and 61 RBIs, along with a 1.072 OPS. Montgomery’s role for the Aggies on the mound is still undetermined, but he will fit nicely with Jace LaViolette and company in the middle of that offensive lineup.
13. Ali Camarillo, SS (Cal State Northridge to Texas A&M)
The Aggies had a great deal of success with Hunter Haas in the program last season, and they’re hoping Camarillo has a similar impact. He’s coming off a strong sophomore season with the Matadors, where he hit .371 with 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 44 RBIs. Camarillo also is a solid defender.
22. Eldridge Armstrong, RHP (San Diego State to Texas A&M)
The Aggies picked up a good bullpen piece in the 6-foot-2, 205-pound, righthanded pitcher. Armstrong worked in 30 games for the Aztecs last season — all relief appearances — and tallied a 3.24 ERA in 41.2 innings of work, along with 46 strikeouts and 15 walks. This past summer with Team USA and the Cape Cod League, he showed an average fastball velocity at 91.9 mph, though we had some reports that he was up to 94-95 mph with the offering. He also attacks hitters with an 82-84 mph slider which had the highest chase rate of any of his pitches, per Synergy, at 37%.
1. Braden Montgomery, UTL (Stanford to Texas A&M)
Montgomery transferring out of Stanford was the biggest story line in the portal this past summer, and he’s now looking to make a huge impact for the Aggies in the SEC. Montgomery gets the top spot for being a dual-threat type of player. Though he’s still refining his stuff on the mound, Montgomery will get into the mid-90s with his fastball, and the fastball and slider both have whiff rates well above 50%. As for his offensive skill set, he’s already a very accomplished hitter, batting .336 last season with 14 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs and 61 RBIs, along with a 1.072 OPS. Montgomery’s role for the Aggies on the mound is still undetermined, but he will fit nicely with Jace LaViolette and company in the middle of that offensive lineup.
13. Ali Camarillo, SS (Cal State Northridge to Texas A&M)
The Aggies had a great deal of success with Hunter Haas in the program last season, and they’re hoping Camarillo has a similar impact. He’s coming off a strong sophomore season with the Matadors, where he hit .371 with 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 44 RBIs. Camarillo also is a solid defender.
22. Eldridge Armstrong, RHP (San Diego State to Texas A&M)
The Aggies picked up a good bullpen piece in the 6-foot-2, 205-pound, righthanded pitcher. Armstrong worked in 30 games for the Aztecs last season — all relief appearances — and tallied a 3.24 ERA in 41.2 innings of work, along with 46 strikeouts and 15 walks. This past summer with Team USA and the Cape Cod League, he showed an average fastball velocity at 91.9 mph, though we had some reports that he was up to 94-95 mph with the offering. He also attacks hitters with an 82-84 mph slider which had the highest chase rate of any of his pitches, per Synergy, at 37%.
1
Posted on 12/27/23 at 4:08 pm to NanosTacoRun
D1's Fall Preview posted on the offical 12thman site.
Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle saw all he needed to see by the end of his team’s scrimmage against Houston earlier this fall.
Schlossnagle isn’t guaranteeing a national title. He’s also not even uttering the words Omaha about the 2024 Aggies just yet. But there’s zero doubt he has high aspirations for this team.
For one, Schlossnagle and the Aggies believe this team is more talented than the one that reached college baseball’s national semifinals back in 2022. It’s certainly more talented than the 2023 version of A&M, particularly on the mound. There’s also a lot of premium depth at several positions around the diamond. Jace LaViolette is back after a monster freshman campaign at the plate, while A&M picked up a pair of stud transfers in Braden Montgomery and Ali Camarillo, among others.
On the mound, the past couple of months have been a transition for the Aggies. Former pitching coach and associate head coach Nate Yeskie moved over to fellow SEC foe LSU during the offseason, while the Aggies hired an innovative and younger pitching coach in Max Weiner, who previously was the Minor League pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners.
Time will tell if Weiner is able to help the pitching staff turn the tide after an unorthodox 2023 campaign, but the pieces are present to take a massive step forward. Hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Cortez showed better command this fall, Jacksonville State righthanded pitcher Tanner Jones looks like a sure-fire starting pitcher on the weekends and lefthanders Justin Lamkin, Ryan Prager (injury) and Troy Wansing are back for another season.
The always-rugged SEC can humble any team quick, but the Aggies are confident about what lies ahead.
“I thought we had a very competitive fall at pretty much every position,” Schlossnagle told D1Baseball. “We have a lot of really good and young talented players, but there are also plenty of older, talented players in this program, too.
“The competition at every position — it was really fierce this fall. Honestly, it might’ve been the fiercest competition I’ve seen as a coach,” he added. “I’m really interested to see how things shake out between now and the spring.
“This is the most talented team I’ve had here for sure in terms of pure talent. But in our conference, that just puts you in the conversation — nothing more, nothing less. You’re never going to have all better players than every other team in the SEC, but you need to have as good of players to compete at the highest level.
“We’re not where we want to be just yet, but we’re headed the right direction. Again, the overall talent of this team has been really impressive.”
Let’s dive into the Aggies’ fall workouts.
Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle saw all he needed to see by the end of his team’s scrimmage against Houston earlier this fall.
Schlossnagle isn’t guaranteeing a national title. He’s also not even uttering the words Omaha about the 2024 Aggies just yet. But there’s zero doubt he has high aspirations for this team.
For one, Schlossnagle and the Aggies believe this team is more talented than the one that reached college baseball’s national semifinals back in 2022. It’s certainly more talented than the 2023 version of A&M, particularly on the mound. There’s also a lot of premium depth at several positions around the diamond. Jace LaViolette is back after a monster freshman campaign at the plate, while A&M picked up a pair of stud transfers in Braden Montgomery and Ali Camarillo, among others.
On the mound, the past couple of months have been a transition for the Aggies. Former pitching coach and associate head coach Nate Yeskie moved over to fellow SEC foe LSU during the offseason, while the Aggies hired an innovative and younger pitching coach in Max Weiner, who previously was the Minor League pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners.
Time will tell if Weiner is able to help the pitching staff turn the tide after an unorthodox 2023 campaign, but the pieces are present to take a massive step forward. Hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Cortez showed better command this fall, Jacksonville State righthanded pitcher Tanner Jones looks like a sure-fire starting pitcher on the weekends and lefthanders Justin Lamkin, Ryan Prager (injury) and Troy Wansing are back for another season.
The always-rugged SEC can humble any team quick, but the Aggies are confident about what lies ahead.
“I thought we had a very competitive fall at pretty much every position,” Schlossnagle told D1Baseball. “We have a lot of really good and young talented players, but there are also plenty of older, talented players in this program, too.
“The competition at every position — it was really fierce this fall. Honestly, it might’ve been the fiercest competition I’ve seen as a coach,” he added. “I’m really interested to see how things shake out between now and the spring.
“This is the most talented team I’ve had here for sure in terms of pure talent. But in our conference, that just puts you in the conversation — nothing more, nothing less. You’re never going to have all better players than every other team in the SEC, but you need to have as good of players to compete at the highest level.
“We’re not where we want to be just yet, but we’re headed the right direction. Again, the overall talent of this team has been really impressive.”
Let’s dive into the Aggies’ fall workouts.
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