Kasey Kalich

5,023 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Aggieangler93
Hop
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I went to the Rice scrimmage on Friday. By the time we got to the 12th inning, the benches were emptied and a lot of young guys were in the game. So I didn't think much of Kasey Kalich coming in to save the game after A&M put up a 3-spot in the top of the 12th.

His first pitch hit 95 on the gun. The next pitch hit 94. He threw a slider that painted the corner for a strike, and then threw a 95 mph heater up in the zone that the Rice hitter whiffed at very late. He did that two more times, striking out the side in dominant fashion to end the game.

I've been to 3-4 scrimmages this fall but this was the first time I've seen him pitch. I looked up his bio and he's a sophomore transfer from Blinn with pretty average numbers. From reading it, he didn't sound like a top line guy.

Does anybody have the story on him? Has he been hitting 94-95 mph all fall? Trying to figure out if he's had a breakthrough this offseason or he just had a once in a lifetime outing on Friday...because what I saw Friday was dominant closer material at least for this one night.
Wicked Good Ag
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Sidd Finch is his pitching coach during the offseason. He will continue to blossom under him and the speed will continue to grow probably up to 98
bulverdeaggie93
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bulverdeaggie93
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Hop
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

Look at some of the other Fall notes here... Kalich has been 88-91... that's him. Not 94-95
I was sitting next to Kendall Rogers with a gun. He had 94. His gun was consistently 1 mph lower than Rice's gun on the scoreboard. The Rice gun had 95. Doxakis was hitting 90 on the same gun. Only Brandon Birdsell hit 95 on that gun all night, including Rice pitchers.

Yes....he was throwing 4-5 mph harder than the other pitchers. Even without the gun, it was easy to see he was throwing heat and throwing harder than anybody else other than Birdsell.
bulverdeaggie93
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Hop
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

then he's hopped it up 5-7 mph in the past 2-3 months. He's ok and pretty good, but after watching him this summer, i was surprised he could catch on with the Ags.


That's why I'm asking, because on Friday he definitely had the big velocity and combined with a slider that he controlled, he was literally unhittable.

I hadn't heard about him, so that's why it surprised me. But for a fact, whether you believe the radar guns were juiced or not, he was throwing 4-5 mph harder than Doxakis and every other pitcher Friday night except Brandon Birdsell who has the reputation of being a fireballer.

Something happened over the offseason...
bulverdeaggie93
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Hopefully it all sticks and he turns out a great pitcher for the Ags.
Hop
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

i know rosters tend to "oversize" guys a lot. But if he's now 6'3" 220 like A&M roster says? Then i can tell you what happened the past 2 months, and it's not natural.


Unless you know something specific, that's an irresponsible conclusion to assume.
Tex100
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Hop said:

bulverdeaggie93 said:

i know rosters tend to "oversize" guys a lot. But if he's now 6'3" 220 like A&M roster says? Then i can tell you what happened the past 2 months, and it's not natural.


Unless you know something specific, that's an irresponsible conclusion to assume.
Agree
bulverdeaggie93
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it will be ok.. .... sometimes i forget this is the serious board, and not the "zoo" football board.
McCoveysCove
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It's amazing to me how certain coaches can assess a player and be able to forecast success. I suppose that is what experience will do for you as a a coach. Who knows what happens with this young man but right now it is obvious his fastball is better than it's ever been. I doubt it's a juiced gun by Rogers more likely a product of hard work and training
Basketball and Chain
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956_DrewAlba
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I wouldn't put to much stock into our radar gun for the scoreboard. It's usually off by 2-4 miles at times. It's located up in the press box and off to the side a bit. Occasionally we get the same speed with the guys at the table on the concourse.
Aggie
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

it will be ok.. .... sometimes i forget this is the serious board, and not the "zoo" football board.


No it's just something you don't speculate on.
That's a terrible label to put on a 19-20 year old kid ...on an internet message board. Post should be deleted.



bulverdeaggie93
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kevmiller
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

sounds like kid's probably a lot tougher than you are... geeezz.


You make a suggestion that a kid could be on steroids and then play it off as if other posters are getting bent outta shape over nothing.
Really ?

bulverdeaggie93
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bulverdeaggie93
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on a little different note... for anyone who watches the gun at Olsen, it is juiced. I can/have confirm that 100% by a few A&M pitchers from the past couple years.
Hop
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bulverdeaggie93 said:

on a little different note... for anyone who watches the gun at Olsen, it is juiced. I can/have confirm that 100% by a few A&M pitchers from the past couple years.


I don't trust most stadium guns, but it allows you to see the differences in velocity between the pitchers on the mound. Kinda like Kalich...the 95 itself wouldn't get the reaction it did. It was that Doxakis and 7-8 other pitchers that were hitting 88-92 most of the night that turned my head.

It could have been 86-89 and then Kalich at 91-92 that would still get my attention.
Cjmclean17
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The speeds I post in the fall notes are all the stadium gun at Olsen. Since I don't bring one it's all I've got. But as Hop said, it gives you an idea of relative velocity. Also I don't think the guy at Olsen picks up offspeed pitches very weall sometimes. Just something to take into account when you read recaps
bulverdeaggie93
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the recaps are really good
Hop
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Spoke to a source with the staff, and they were pleasantly surprised with Kalich's performance on Friday. It was his first dominant outing of the fall, so they want to see him repeat it before they pencil him in as a frontline guy.

So that answers my original question.
McCoveysCove
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Hopefully he is coming into his own(Kalich)
Aggieangler93
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I know that from time to time in youth baseball, we see a kid with a minor pitching issue that is having a major impact like this, of 5-10 MPH velocity difference. We tweak something in their delivery, they do it the new way for a month or so, and all the sudden, you have consistently better velocity.

It could be something like the situation I am describing above, that was identified and tweaked by the A&M coaches, and now we are starting to see the muscle memory put it into play for Kalich.

I definitely wouldn't draw any other conclusion myself, even in jest. Well....maybe if the kid played for the tsips......that's another matter altogether. King doper is right there at 1B box to give them some advice on how to get away with it.
Class of '93 - proud Dad of a '22 grad and a '26 student!
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