Boomer White, Kendall Rogers discuss Texas A&M, preview SEC in 2019

Key notes from Boomer White interview

• There isn’t a lot of freshmen that’ll play, and that can be a benefit for A&M because only experienced players will play. This team is similar to the 2015 team in terms of the experience. It is nice to have Logan Foster, Brendan Shewmake, and Hunter Coleman because they know the culture of the program. It’s nice to have new guys that are JUCO’s or fifth-year seniors rather than freshmen because they mesh better with the group due to their experience. 
   
• Mikey Hoehner is really short and quick. He’s a grinder and will find a way to succeed at bat. Shewmake is finally dialing it back mentally and the way he goes about his at bats. He’s more mentally stable on a consistent basis. He’s no longer chasing the high fastball. He’s not trying to do as much as last year, he’s become a more select hitter. He should never strike out because of how talented he is, and he won’t because of how patient he has become. 
   
• Logan Foster has found success against lesser pitchers, but struggled against elite pitchers. The key is for Logan Foster is to dial it back more. If he swings at strikes, he’s an upper .300 hitter because he can hit to all fields. You’re always gonna gets someone electric from Foster, and the more he dials it back, the better he will be.
   
• To wheel out two starters (John Oxalis and Asa Lacy) that can give you 7-8 innings is so key. The lefties are gonna give other teams problems. It gives other teams matchup problems and will force teams to change their rotation. It prevents teams from keeping a consistent lineup together. It will makes it hard for other teams to develop a rhythm against A&M. 

Quickfire Questions:

• Best Player? Brendan Shewmake.
• Most improved? Aaron Walters. 
• Best newcomer? Jonathan Ducoff. He’s got size speed, and power. Hopefully, he will take charge of the infield. 
• Best freshman? Jonathan Childress because he has great composure for a young guy.
• Underrated? Hunter Coleman because he dipped last year. Had a bad start but I believe in his swing. Cam Blake is also one to look out for because he missed significant time from injury last year.
• Position battle? There is a spot a left-field. Closer and first base are also spots where someone could emerge and take the role. 
• Who gets drafted highest? John Doxakis. Shewmake is a fair argument but Braden had a down year last year, whereas Jon is constantly being talked about by scouts constantly and the coaches love him. 
• One thing that would give you positive hope for the season ahead? Fundamental baseball. Want to see pitchers throwing strikers, and hitters not getting out of their zone. When you can easily take care of teams that aren’t on your level it shows a level of maturity that elite teams need.

Key notes from Kendall Rogers interview

• This is year number four for us here at D1Baseball, and my 14th covering college baseball. The biggest national storyline is the possibility of adding a third full-time assistant for teams. It's a big question because of budgets for some of the smaller schools, because that's another full-time for both baseball and softball.
   
• We're rolling out some new stuff over at D1B including some forums on the site. I'm sure that will get very interesting with college baseball fans on an open forum.
   
• Our top 25 is loaded with SEC teams. I think if we did our rankings right now, A&M would be in there. Clemson lost it's number one starter right after we released. I think the Aggies have a good pitching staff with the one-two punch of John Doxakis and Asa Lacy at the top. They'll go with Johnathan Childress on Sunday for opening weekend, but Rob has lots of options.
   
• I think when teams talk about the A&M bats is everyone expects Braden Shewmake to do it all. But when Shewmake was at his best in 2017, Logan Foster was providing him lots of protection. then teams learned to pitch to him and strikeouts piled up in bunches. I think this lineup needs one or two other names to really emerge as we go.
   
• There's really not much you can ask for from Braden Shewmake. He's been great both at the plate and on the dirt. I think as far as draft statues, people probably want to see a little bit more power. If he keeps up the strong play with the glove and shows some more pop, he could be a first-round pick come June.
   
• I think the Aggie with the highest draftability right now is Asa Lacy. A big left-hander with a great slider. Then it would be Shewmake with his great bat. But don't sleep on John Doxakis. He closed 2018 really strong and went pitch-for-pitch with Casey Mize in Hoover.
   
• I think Vandy has a lot of balance offensively and some great arms on the mound. I think LSU has some more question marks, especially being the team that got outscored 26-1 by the eventual National Champs in a regional. I think people are sleeping on Florida right now as crazy as that sounds. The SEC is just so deep.