Phil Campbell Baseball Q&A with Coach Griffin Harris
“Eli Taylor returns as the ace of the pitching staff. Cody Quinn returns after starting at second base last year. He is a guy who can play multiple positions and will be relied upon as a utility player and hit in the middle of the order. Koltin Hester returns after being the DH on last year’s team. He should contribute on the mound as well as hitting in the middle of the order.”
What is your team’s biggest strength going into the season?
“I think pitching is a strength for this team. We are 1-4 at the moment, but have felt like we have pitched well enough to be in games. We have a lot of depth. We don’t have any high velocity guys, but we have pitched 10 guys, and they have all done a good job of keeping us in games.”
What is your team’s biggest weakness that needs to be improved going forward?
“Defense. We have pitched well, but when you give teams extra outs, it causes pitch counts to go up and also give up runs in innings that should have been out. Offensively, we have got to limit our strikeouts. We are striking out at an alarming rate and need to put the ball in play and put pressure on the defense.”
What does your pitching rotation look like at this point?
“Eli Taylor is our number 1. Then, right now we still don’t have a clear cut two or three. Koltin Hester, Cale Faust, Chandler Benford, Cohl Welborn are probably our prime candidates as far as starters go. Braxton Mayfield, Isac Hill, Trace Duboise and Cody Quinn have done a great job in relief appearances.”
What is your biggest defensive strength?
“Outfield, I would say, is our strength.”
What is your biggest offensive strength?
“I think we have a decent amount of speed. We have to quit trying to hit the long ball and work more on hitting behind runners and playing fundamental baseball.”
What are the intangibles that could help/hurt during the season?
“We have played 14 or 15 guys so far this season. We have a lot of guys capable of playing. On the flip side of that, we don’t know who our best 9 are.”
Who is in your area?
Colbert Heights and Colbert County.
