Hot Stove Q&A With Rucker Taylor
11/20/2023 5:13:00 PM | Baseball
In college baseball, the fall is viewed as the time to build the foundation for a good spring season, and coach Rucker Taylor's Davidson Wildcats have been putting in the work as the leaves and temperatures drop.
What's the latest on the Wildcats?
Let's find out in this Hot Stove Q&A with Taylor, who has led the Wildcats to a 142-86 record in five seasons.
The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
• What comes to mind in terms of what was accomplished the last few months?
TAYLOR: We definitely got better. I think the attention to detail got better the second half of the fall, especially. I think the pitching depth got better as the fall went on, and I think there was, especially in the last couple of weeks, a lot of progress for guys individually. We certainly need that to continue in the skill work for the next couple of weeks and certainly in January.
• With the Thanksgiving break next, followed by exams and the winter break shortly after, what's key between now and next semester?
TAYLOR: I think what they're doing in the weight room with Jacob Dean is going to be incredibly important. We've seen some guys that have made baseball improvements because they're moving better. I think J.D. has done a really good job on a lot of different things in there. I think the next couple days here and the week after Thanksgiving will be important as a group, but then it'll be up to the guys on their own over the semester break to really take care of their bodies and get them where they need to be.
• You've added 11 freshmen and three transfers. How did the newcomers do in the fall?
TAYLOR: As a group, they've been really on task. They've been very mature in how they've gone about things. They've asked, I think, a lot of good questions. They've been, "eyes and ears open." I think the older guys have done a good job helping answer some of those questions and demonstrating things for them. It's been a really good group from that aspect. It's definitely as good a group as we've ever had and maybe the best in terms of being on task and taking on some of the smaller things that sometimes trip guys up, like how to organize a day, time management … they've been really good about that. And I think they want to be good, which is really important.
TAYLOR: Against Charlotte, we were not good, which you'd certainly rather do that in the fall than the spring. By design, we got a lot of different guys in both games and their first Division-I college action, which is good. I think offensively, we saw some guys, especially against Charlotte, with a lot of really good stuff. I think that exposed some weaknesses for us. On the mound, against both teams, I think some guys that hadn't faced college hitters before, some guys that had never played in a college game, they got their feet wet. And I think the practices after those exhibitions were the best ones we had. I think trial by fire can be a really good thing in the athletic realm.
• After last season, the program had two players drafted for the first time since 2011. With Michael Carico (5th round, Chicago Cubs) and Ryan Wilson (9th round, San Diego) no longer in the lineup, do you see it as a collective effort to replace that offensive production?
TAYLOR: Who knows, right? You'd love to have a guy have a season or two like we've had the last couple years, and I think there are some guys that have that ability. You have those two guys drafted, then Jacob Hinderleider and Henry Koehler are basically two four-year starters. You lose four guys that've been everyday guys for three-plus years and middle-of-the-lineup guys, and in a couple of cases, guys that are school recordholders. It's a different group. I think the thing that all of those guys did is they played a game in a way that can be replicated. They went about their work, their progress in ways that you hope the current guys can remember and do in their own fashion. So it'll be some different names. Is it a collective effort? That'd be awesome. One-to-nine depth in a lineup is tough to have, it's awesome when you do it. There's been some years when we've had that. That takes doing some things that aren't just individual, but team process-oriented things like taking hit-by-pitches, battling with two strikes, taking the walks when they're given, taking advantage of mistakes. Whether you've got nine All-Americans or nine good college players, the teams that can do that are the teams that score and score a lot.
• Pitching wise, another Wildcat landed in pro ball after last season as well, when Friday starter Will Schomberg signed a free agent deal (Seattle). How's the pitching staff coming together?
TAYLOR: We might actually have more depth than we've had in a while, which would be great. You lose Schomby who was really good last year and a first-team all-conference guy, and is getting to pitch professionally now with the Mariners now, which is wonderful for him. Bennett Flynn, who is at Notre Dame (as a graduate transfer), had, by all accounts, an excellent fall up there. Bennett, for four years, was in a large role for us and did a lot of things at the back end of games, especially. He even started some games last year, which was a new role for him. So there's definitely a security blanket with those two guys that doesn't exist anymore. I think there's some new guys that will have opportunities this year. There's a couple guys that are coming off injuries. Returners have been different guys this year in a positive way. There's a couple of older guys that have been in limited roles and at least for the fall, have shown a lot of progress, and you feel good about bigger roles for those guys. Health, as well as guys developing and getting better, is a huge piece of that puzzle. But I do think the opportunity is there for some different looks and some guys that have the chance to pitch. How they perform in those roles early is going to dictate what their next chances look like.
• Before we go, let's touch on a few of the updates at Wilson Field. There are two new pitch clocks, which are required to be visible this year, and you've also added the Trackman data analytics system. The pitch clock was not really a factor for your team a year ago on the mound or in the box. What's been the message on keeping that the case?
TAYLOR: I think our guys did a good job last year with the newness of it. I think a lot of college coaches would have liked the implementation to be done a little bit differently. Not sure there was a perfect solution for that. I think there's real concern among college coaches this year about who is operating the clock — is it consistent, is it impartial, there's human error certainly. There's some intricacies to the rule that there's not a lot of clarity on, so I think you're going to see, with the clock being visible this year, more infractions because maybe somebody dozes off and forgets to reset it in the right manner or maybe there's some unintentional or even intentional bias from a home team. It's going to be interesting. I think there could be more issues this year. I think at times last year umpires showed really good feel for the game and when to implement and when to encourage in different ways. I'll be very interested to see how it's handled, if common sense overrides the pitch clock saying zero.
• And on Trackman. What has been the impact so far?
TAYLOR: I think in some ways it gives you an impartial account of things. It gives a lot of information to the coaches, to the players. I think with our process being so development-driven of not bringing in recruiting classes of 30 and cutting the guys at the bottom of that class, I think the ability to get guys better is something we've always had to do and always continue to try to do. I think it's going to be really beneficial for that. I think it's good feedback. I think in a lot of cases, it's validating what you're seeing, and in some cases, it's giving you a whole new perspective, and it's telling you that maybe you need to go to the eye doctor and get a new pair of glasses or some contacts because it's giving you new information. A lot of our guys are used to getting information now, and I think as coaches, you're used to getting it different ways. But the speed of it, the amount of it, it's been really impressive.
What's the latest on the Wildcats?
Let's find out in this Hot Stove Q&A with Taylor, who has led the Wildcats to a 142-86 record in five seasons.
The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
• What comes to mind in terms of what was accomplished the last few months?
TAYLOR: We definitely got better. I think the attention to detail got better the second half of the fall, especially. I think the pitching depth got better as the fall went on, and I think there was, especially in the last couple of weeks, a lot of progress for guys individually. We certainly need that to continue in the skill work for the next couple of weeks and certainly in January.
• With the Thanksgiving break next, followed by exams and the winter break shortly after, what's key between now and next semester?
TAYLOR: I think what they're doing in the weight room with Jacob Dean is going to be incredibly important. We've seen some guys that have made baseball improvements because they're moving better. I think J.D. has done a really good job on a lot of different things in there. I think the next couple days here and the week after Thanksgiving will be important as a group, but then it'll be up to the guys on their own over the semester break to really take care of their bodies and get them where they need to be.
• You've added 11 freshmen and three transfers. How did the newcomers do in the fall?
TAYLOR: As a group, they've been really on task. They've been very mature in how they've gone about things. They've asked, I think, a lot of good questions. They've been, "eyes and ears open." I think the older guys have done a good job helping answer some of those questions and demonstrating things for them. It's been a really good group from that aspect. It's definitely as good a group as we've ever had and maybe the best in terms of being on task and taking on some of the smaller things that sometimes trip guys up, like how to organize a day, time management … they've been really good about that. And I think they want to be good, which is really important.
• In the fall, you had numerous Red-Black games and played exhibitions against Charlotte and Erskine. What are your top takeaways from those game-like situations?I think trial by fire can be a really good thing in the athletic realm.
TAYLOR: Against Charlotte, we were not good, which you'd certainly rather do that in the fall than the spring. By design, we got a lot of different guys in both games and their first Division-I college action, which is good. I think offensively, we saw some guys, especially against Charlotte, with a lot of really good stuff. I think that exposed some weaknesses for us. On the mound, against both teams, I think some guys that hadn't faced college hitters before, some guys that had never played in a college game, they got their feet wet. And I think the practices after those exhibitions were the best ones we had. I think trial by fire can be a really good thing in the athletic realm.
• After last season, the program had two players drafted for the first time since 2011. With Michael Carico (5th round, Chicago Cubs) and Ryan Wilson (9th round, San Diego) no longer in the lineup, do you see it as a collective effort to replace that offensive production?
TAYLOR: Who knows, right? You'd love to have a guy have a season or two like we've had the last couple years, and I think there are some guys that have that ability. You have those two guys drafted, then Jacob Hinderleider and Henry Koehler are basically two four-year starters. You lose four guys that've been everyday guys for three-plus years and middle-of-the-lineup guys, and in a couple of cases, guys that are school recordholders. It's a different group. I think the thing that all of those guys did is they played a game in a way that can be replicated. They went about their work, their progress in ways that you hope the current guys can remember and do in their own fashion. So it'll be some different names. Is it a collective effort? That'd be awesome. One-to-nine depth in a lineup is tough to have, it's awesome when you do it. There's been some years when we've had that. That takes doing some things that aren't just individual, but team process-oriented things like taking hit-by-pitches, battling with two strikes, taking the walks when they're given, taking advantage of mistakes. Whether you've got nine All-Americans or nine good college players, the teams that can do that are the teams that score and score a lot.
• Pitching wise, another Wildcat landed in pro ball after last season as well, when Friday starter Will Schomberg signed a free agent deal (Seattle). How's the pitching staff coming together?
TAYLOR: We might actually have more depth than we've had in a while, which would be great. You lose Schomby who was really good last year and a first-team all-conference guy, and is getting to pitch professionally now with the Mariners now, which is wonderful for him. Bennett Flynn, who is at Notre Dame (as a graduate transfer), had, by all accounts, an excellent fall up there. Bennett, for four years, was in a large role for us and did a lot of things at the back end of games, especially. He even started some games last year, which was a new role for him. So there's definitely a security blanket with those two guys that doesn't exist anymore. I think there's some new guys that will have opportunities this year. There's a couple guys that are coming off injuries. Returners have been different guys this year in a positive way. There's a couple of older guys that have been in limited roles and at least for the fall, have shown a lot of progress, and you feel good about bigger roles for those guys. Health, as well as guys developing and getting better, is a huge piece of that puzzle. But I do think the opportunity is there for some different looks and some guys that have the chance to pitch. How they perform in those roles early is going to dictate what their next chances look like.
• Before we go, let's touch on a few of the updates at Wilson Field. There are two new pitch clocks, which are required to be visible this year, and you've also added the Trackman data analytics system. The pitch clock was not really a factor for your team a year ago on the mound or in the box. What's been the message on keeping that the case?
TAYLOR: I think our guys did a good job last year with the newness of it. I think a lot of college coaches would have liked the implementation to be done a little bit differently. Not sure there was a perfect solution for that. I think there's real concern among college coaches this year about who is operating the clock — is it consistent, is it impartial, there's human error certainly. There's some intricacies to the rule that there's not a lot of clarity on, so I think you're going to see, with the clock being visible this year, more infractions because maybe somebody dozes off and forgets to reset it in the right manner or maybe there's some unintentional or even intentional bias from a home team. It's going to be interesting. I think there could be more issues this year. I think at times last year umpires showed really good feel for the game and when to implement and when to encourage in different ways. I'll be very interested to see how it's handled, if common sense overrides the pitch clock saying zero.
• And on Trackman. What has been the impact so far?
TAYLOR: I think in some ways it gives you an impartial account of things. It gives a lot of information to the coaches, to the players. I think with our process being so development-driven of not bringing in recruiting classes of 30 and cutting the guys at the bottom of that class, I think the ability to get guys better is something we've always had to do and always continue to try to do. I think it's going to be really beneficial for that. I think it's good feedback. I think in a lot of cases, it's validating what you're seeing, and in some cases, it's giving you a whole new perspective, and it's telling you that maybe you need to go to the eye doctor and get a new pair of glasses or some contacts because it's giving you new information. A lot of our guys are used to getting information now, and I think as coaches, you're used to getting it different ways. But the speed of it, the amount of it, it's been really impressive.
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