- 2 days ago
Nats first-round pick Chris Hacopian is from MontCo and played two years at Maryland before transferring to Texas A&M - and we get the lowdown on the new 2B from Terps head coach Matt Swope!
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00:00Very fired up to jump on the Rude guest hotline and talk to our friend, Maryland baseball coach, Mr. Matt
00:06Swope.
00:07Don't you forget, Rude is the official show sponsor of Beamish and Finley.
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00:21And if it ain't Rude, Brian, it ain't right.
00:23You know who is right? Coach Swope joining us now. Thank you for the time, Matt. What's going on, dude?
00:29Nothing much. Good to hear from you guys.
00:30I think we're the only two people, by the way, that could be at Starboard at the same time and
00:34not end up finding each other.
00:36Yeah, but Starboard, it was packed that night.
00:39Well, you know, sometimes if he's in a certain state, Matt, he can't really find people.
00:44He probably don't know where the hell he was.
00:46This was even before the game started. We made the mistake of kind of going too late, so that was
00:50more on me.
00:51No, it was on us both.
00:53We were probably 30 feet away from each other at Starboard and couldn't be on each other.
00:58It was packed, though. This was for the U.S.-Belgium game when the U.S. got their ass kicked.
01:01Yeah, yeah. Par for the course, though.
01:04Exactly.
01:05All right, Coach. Let's talk about the Nats' first-round draft pick, Chris Hacopian.
01:11What can you tell us about this young man?
01:13You coached him for two seasons. You've probably known him since he was a kid, I'm guessing.
01:18What's he like? What's his game like?
01:20Yeah, he's just a baseball rat. He's just super physical, comes from a great baseball family.
01:26Just a cool story kind of coming full circle.
01:29Derek, his dad, was the ACC player of the year at Maryland in 1992 and actually coached me in a
01:35summer league at the Bethesda Big Train,
01:37which I'm sure some fans have kind of gone to.
01:39So to kind of have Derek play at Maryland and then him coach me and then having coached both Chris
01:46and his brother, Eddie,
01:47just like a really, really cool full circle moment.
01:50But he's physical. I mean, he's built for the next level.
01:54He's more of like a plug-and-play.
01:56You can go probably put in high A, almost like getting close to move up as fast as possible.
02:01So his kind of scout report, he's just unbelievable eye, which is, you know, anything from a data analytics standpoint
02:09these days,
02:09especially what the Nats are doing, his eye and ability to not swing at balls is really going to accelerate
02:16him to the big leagues probably pretty fast.
02:19What is his path probably?
02:21Because he's, you know, three years in college getting drafted.
02:25He's probably, I don't know, 21, 22 or something.
02:28Like where do you think he'll go in the Nats organization and when do you think we could see him?
02:33Like even September maybe?
02:34Yeah, I mean, I think he'll accelerate fast.
02:36I mean, it's one of those things I saw when they, you know, when they do the draft, they'll list
02:39the position and that's normally what they'll try to do maybe.
02:43And I saw him listed as a second baseman, which I know he played a little bit this season, but
02:47he can play second.
02:48He can play third.
02:49He could probably end up playing first.
02:50He's going to be projected more of like a corner power bat in my opinion.
02:54I saw some, some mocks like maybe pushing him to outfield.
02:58I don't really see that.
02:59He's, he's got good enough hands and got a good enough arm where he can, he can definitely stay in
03:03the infield.
03:03And I think with that versatility, maybe in being able to move him around a two to three positions, he'll
03:08rise pretty, pretty fast.
03:09So that bat to ball in the eye is going to be the most key as far as the development
03:14things goes for, for younger players not to kind of move up.
03:18Um, and I think you're seeing that with like James Wood and those guys like that when they're, when they
03:22stop swinging the balls and they start controlling the zone, it's, it's, it's the next level.
03:26So I think you'll see him rise pretty fast as far as that goes.
03:29So you think he has that already instead of them having to figure that out?
03:32Cause the beginning of the season, James Woods couldn't really hit and all of a sudden he seemed to be
03:37one of the best in baseball.
03:39So yeah, you're, it's something you're born with, uh, you know, he's, you know, between Chris and Lamont Wade, who
03:44was one of our high draft picks that's, that's playing for Houston right now.
03:46And then Brad Martin, who got drafted from us yesterday as well in the 11th round, you just can't teach
03:51that.
03:52I mean, it's just something that you're kind of born with, with a really, really good eye.
03:55Um, and it's really, really like, especially today with the track man and how they're controlling the zones and, um,
04:01and you being able to appeal a strike call.
04:03It's something that can really, really propel you much faster than maybe before.
04:06So coach, uh, be mentioned, I have a theory, um, that you can comment on or not, should you choose
04:14not to, which I would understand, but Hacopian grew up in Montgomery County.
04:18I think he went to Churchill.
04:19Then he goes to Maryland to play for the Terps where his father played and you, and you've known him
04:24since he was a kid.
04:25And then all of a sudden for one year, he decides to transfer to Texas A&M and be mentioned,
04:30I think that might have a direct tie to the cost of a barrel of oil that you don't have
04:35to comment on that coach.
04:36But I just, I want you to know that be mentioned, I see all the angles.
04:39All right.
04:40Well, I would just say, correct.
04:41And anybody that wants to support the Terps or you want to donate, please give them my cell phone and
04:46you can have my direct line.
04:47There you go.
04:48I can just tweet out your number if you want me to.
04:51I don't know.
04:51I don't know if we want to go that far.
04:53The actual media and the guys that don't, you know, I may get some hate messages on there.
04:57So, um, but I, I would, I would venture to say you're correct.
05:00Um, I know, so there's a ton of excitement around Hacopi and I think that's really cool that the hometown
05:06kid, I mean, you got one hometown kid hitting nukes and James Wood.
05:09I think it'd be very cool to get another.
05:11I also know you had some kids get drafted over the weekend too.
05:14Where'd your guys go?
05:16Yeah, we had another kid, Lance Williams get picked in the eighth round.
05:19Um, uh, fireballer for us.
05:21He, he came here for this season, kind of started as a, as a starter for us and then kind
05:25of moved into a bullpen.
05:25And that was a, probably a, a little bit better of a role.
05:28He likes to see more of the end of the game.
05:30And you'll see that with pitchers is like the up and down from starting is, is a certain type of
05:34mentality.
05:34And then there's just some guys in that just want to chuck it and kind of see the end.
05:38So you think he can help the Nats right now?
05:41Yes, I do.
05:42He's been up to 99.
05:44So I know that's been their biggest problem, um, for right now, but no, I mean, he's, he's great.
05:49I mean, he'll, he's another guy with a power fastball at the 99 with power breaking ball and, and, and
05:53good changeup.
05:54So he'll, he'll be the profile that can move up faster with the velo and, and the power righty.
05:59Um, and then we also had Brayden Martin picked, um, in the 11th round yesterday, who's a Bowie kid, local
06:05kid.
06:06And his uncle is a Walt Williams, the wizard.
06:08So that was kind of cool.
06:09Oh, that's awesome.
06:10Yeah.
06:10We, I was at Walt Williams's house yesterday for the draft party and took some pictures and, you know, uh,
06:16giving Walt a hard time, but it's just kind of cool.
06:18Again, you know, I haven't gone to Maryland and grown up here to kind of have those things come full
06:22circle with, with guys like Walt Williams.
06:24And B Mitch and, and guys like that, that I grew up kind of idolizing and watching.
06:28Those are always really, really cool moments.
06:29Cause let me ask you a question of the, the psyche, uh, like you coach baseball, you got the starting
06:34pictures and a guy that come out the bullpen.
06:37What's that different psyche they have to have?
06:40Because I remember people was always asking me, man, like you, you, you get, you only played certain times.
06:45Why were you, how was you always, always ready?
06:48I would stretch all game and just be ready to go.
06:51So I watch other guys who don't do it.
06:53Yeah.
06:54Yeah.
06:54I think some of it's physical.
06:56Some of it's like that gunner mentality, maybe on the kickoff or like, you know, you're banging a red bull
07:01and then slamming it on your head.
07:02You know what I mean?
07:03Before you go out.
07:04I mean, I, I mean, you see relievers that really can do that.
07:07And I just, I just think it's either it one, it's a physical thing to be prepared physically.
07:11Right.
07:11But most of it is mental, especially in a game like baseball where it's untimed.
07:15You know, that's always the thing with baseball is like, if you don't have that mental fortitude with untimed things,
07:21you always got to kind of be mentally ready.
07:23And that's most times, especially watching the Nats and some other things, it's not a physical thing.
07:28It's more of a mental thing.
07:29So I think you have to have a mentality to be a starter or a reliever.
07:34Whereas a position player kind of always involved in the game, unless, you know, maybe like a nuance, like a
07:38pinch hitter.
07:39But even then, in the history of the pinch hitters or the best ones, they just had a knack for
07:43being mentally ready.
07:45Talking with Maryland men's, I guess, Maryland baseball coach, Matt Swope here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
07:51Appreciate coach making some time for us, talking through his guys that got drafted.
07:56Hacopian goes in the first round, played for Maryland for two seasons before transferring to A&M.
08:02A couple other Terps get drafted.
08:03But Swope, I know how much baseball you watch.
08:05Obviously, you're coaching and recruiting, and you've got your own hitting clinics and all that stuff.
08:09But I know you're watching Nats and O's games all the time.
08:12With this Nats team, and they've been very competitive now for the first half of the year,
08:17going to the All-Star break, one game under .500,
08:20what do you find most encouraging that the new leadership has done?
08:25Well, I mean, it's – I don't know if it's a leadership thing necessarily.
08:29I mean, they had kind of the framework from the players of James just absolutely just breaking out.
08:34And maybe it is some of the stuff that they're infusing just from philosophy standpoint and all that.
08:39But you've got to have the baseline of like, hey, when they're together, can they go out there and perform?
08:42And I think we're at this point now where it's like, hey, you know, if we had a little bit
08:46better, you know,
08:47performance from a bullpen, we may win five to ten more games easy.
08:50So it's time to now go attack, you know, hey, you know, we're going to be buyers.
08:54And they absolutely got to be buyers because, you know, year to year, you can't take things for granted,
08:58a la looking at the Orioles two years ago running away with the division
09:02and now looking like they can't find that formula again.
09:05So I think just the basics of like, you know, Abrams and Wood and those young guys
09:10that are really, really performing, they need to attack that stuff when it's at the trade deadline
09:15or whatever they could do because you just never know.
09:17Yeah, it's interesting.
09:19What is the balance?
09:21Like Butera has been unapologetically analytics based, right?
09:27Yeah.
09:28And they make bullpen decisions that are obviously analytics based that to me,
09:34sometimes they'd be better off using a little bit more feel for the situation.
09:39How do you balance that?
09:41I mean, analytics are such a big part of baseball at this point.
09:44How do you know when to trust the lefty on lefty stuff or just to let your guy go?
09:49Well, I think, I mean, I would totally agree with you guys.
09:51I'm a little bit more old school and it's, it's, I think it should be less analytical.
09:55And anybody that cares about data or anything like that would probably totally disagree with me.
10:01But I just think we're, we're going too much like to page 29 and says on page 29,
10:05this is the move you make and do this.
10:07And that's just not how sports are.
10:09That's not how the games are.
10:10It's never been like that.
10:11And, and I would also just say is like, you would have to prove that the analytical
10:16moves or we're making consistently would work.
10:18Right.
10:18So it's definitely probably coming from a GM down philosophy.
10:22This is what we're going to do.
10:23And it's been done for years and we've scrutinized moves from Houston or the Dodgers or all these
10:27types of different people in these situations and really, really high leverage games.
10:32But I definitely think it's something that I would air more towards the old school
10:36and less analytics as far as that goes.
10:38I mean, the analytics are information, any tool or data and information is great, but
10:42it has to pertain to the individual, right?
10:45It can't pertain to the whole.
10:47Everybody's not saying.
10:49Exactly.
10:49If it's not pertaining to the individual, you know, then, then we're getting into a little
10:54bit of a sample size that, that maybe can't even be quantified.
10:57If you start to have a sample size for the individual where he struggled in these moments
11:02or in situations, okay, makes sense.
11:04But I think as a whole, we're just kind of looking on our overarched theme of a bunch
11:09of different people.
11:09And it just doesn't work like that.
11:11The game's always going to be individual.
11:12Yeah.
11:13I just, for me, I always say analytics can tell you what you should do, but when it don't
11:18work, they can't tell you why it didn't work.
11:20Right.
11:21100%.
11:21That kills me with it.
11:23What was it?
11:25I don't know.
11:25It was a good quote from a movie, but I, you know, might not be able to say it here.
11:29Um, exactly, but 63, 63% is, is, or, or 58% is 58% until it doesn't work.
11:37Right.
11:37Or whatever.
11:38Exactly.
11:38Totally.
11:39Uh, head baseball coach, university of Maryland, Mr. Matt Swope, give him a follow on Twitter
11:43at Matt Swope 19.
11:44Go check out a Terps baseball game.
11:46It's a ton of fun.
11:47Uh, so you're saying the Nats should be buyers, correct?
11:51Absolutely.
11:51There's no question.
11:52You know, year to year in baseball and how everybody's close together, anytime you're even
11:56remotely close to being able to go for it with that young core.
11:59I mean, I mean, James Wood should be in the MVP, um, candidate, you know, conversation
12:03of what a great young man, um, knowing him since, you know, he was in seventh grade and
12:07recruited him and he's come to the facility often.
12:09And so, uh, room for him.
12:11And then just, I absolutely think they should be buyers right now.
12:14I'm going to start a rumor coach, um, that James Wood was going to go to Maryland until
12:20he went pro.
12:21So that's just what we're going to say.
12:24He ended up committing to Mississippi state, but like, it's definitely, you can start any rumor
12:28you want.
12:28No, he was committed to Maryland.
12:30I don't know what people are talking about.
12:31I decided.
12:33Well, yeah, we've already talked about, I've teased them many times where it's like, Hey,
12:36now that you come back to the facility and we have a great relationship and all that,
12:39that doesn't even count.
12:40So you're automatically a Maryland guy.
12:42He's a Terp.
12:42Dirty Terps.
12:43Yeah.
12:43Thank you for the time coach.
12:45I appreciate you, man.
12:45Take care, brother.
12:47Okay.
12:48That's our guy, Matt Swope, university of Maryland baseball coach.
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