Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech baseball fall competitive season is complete and 2019 Opening Day is less than 100 days away. For three weeks in November, while Tech is wrapping up individual workouts and the student-athletes are getting ready for final exams before the semester break, the Hokies' coaching staff will reflect on its second fall in Blacksburg with a Q&A with each one. Last week, assistant coach Kurt Elbin answered a few questions - CLICK HERE to view. This week, it's pitching coach Ryan Fecteau's turn.
Q: How was your second fall in Blacksburg?
RF: "I thought it went really well. We're trying to implement some new ideas and keep some things that worked last year. We had a lot of new faces and personalities, but I thought the day to day energy was great. I'm really happy with how it's going up to this point."
Q: Do you like where your staff is right now?
RF: "Yes, I do. There's still a lot that has to be answered in terms of who's going to fit into what roles, but we have addressed the depth. I think there's probably 12 to 13 guys that have really separated themselves. There's definitely guys that can be impact pitchers at this level. I think the returners have made some strides too. Ian Seymour looks great. I think he'll do a really good job of solidifying the front-end of our weekend rotation. The rest of the weekend spots are going to be up for grabs. We'll see how guys progress throughout the winter and what guys look like when they come back. There's definitely a lot of options for those other two spots. I think we have more power type arms that we can put in the back end of our bullpen this year. We lacked some of that last year. The stuff that we have seen out of the group is pretty promising."
Q: Was there anyone, if anyone, that surprised you?
RF: "I've been very pleased with Zach Brzykcy's progress. I think he made really good strides from the summer. He looks more confident and his stuff is getting even better. He's been probably the most pleasant surprise. The JUCO guys, we kind of expected them to come in and be ready to go, just because they've been around the block a little bit. I wouldn't say there's really surprises there. I think they've been as advertised. Connor Yoder looks healthy right now, so that's been encouraging. He just needs to get on the mound and show what he's capable of doing. I'd probably say between Yoder and Brzykcy, I thought they had some really good falls. They showed the potential of being impact ACC pitchers."
Q: Did you enjoy those exhibition games?
RF: "There were some good and there were some bad things. I think some guys were a little excited and didn't execute like they are capable of. It was good to see them make some adjustments going from the first exhibition into the next second exhibition. The incomers seem to be getting more comfortable as well. I was happy with what I saw from the group in terms of their progression through the fall. For the most part, they made some good adjustments and they worked on different aspects of their game as they were competing, which can be tough for some guys to do. We're asking them to work on things and still get hitters out at the same time. Overall, I thought they did a good job with that."
Q: Do you like the way you're approach is or is there anything you would change moving forward?
RF: "I feel like I change stuff every year. I try some new things every year and some stuff sticks, some doesn't. I'm trying to do the best I can to learn about each guy and trying to make sure that I know what their strengths and their weaknesses are. Basically, we're trying to find ways of how to put them in the best situations possible where they can be successful. I think we can find ways to define roles and matchup a little differently this year with the depth on the mound. I believe there are some good options throughout our staff and it comes down to us putting each pitcher in the best situation in order to get the most out of this pitching staff."