Goodenow to Transfer; Question Marks for Commodore Pitching Staff

In a big blow to the Vanderbilt bullpen, Richie Goodenow has decided to transfer to Lipscomb to finish out his fifth year of eligibility. While the financial toll of paying Vanderbilt tuition next year appears to have played a role in his decision, it looks to me like the decisive factor was the fact that at Lipscomb he'll be a starter and (he hopes) garner more visibility in advance of the 2011 MLB draft. (After going undrafted, Richie turned down a free agent contract with the Red Sox earlier this month.)

On the one hand you hate to lose a guy like this, especially since he's just going up the road to another local school when he could be anchoring your bullpen in 2011. Goodenow posted an impressive 2.23 ERA and held opponents to a .207 average this season, and no one can forget the way he stepped up against Louisville in the regionals to throw a 2-hit shutout and keep Vandy's CWS hopes alive after we had blown through our staff during those epic early games. On the other hand, I can't blame him for wanting to show what he can do as a starter, which is a role that clearly would not have been available to him had he stuck around for another year. Lipscomb's not exactly a baseball powerhouse, but he still stands to get some serious looks given that scouts already know what he did at Vandy. I predict a big 2011 season for Goodenow and a nice contract when he's drafted a year from now.

This brings up another topic worthy of discussion: who from the crop of Vandy players that were drafted will be returning for another season with the Dores? Drew Hayes graduated and so he's obviously gone (11th rd, Cincinnati), but what about the three other Commodore pitchers taken in the draft? Does Taylor Hill (30th rd, Cleveland) return for a senior year? With Goodenow gone, what about middle relief? Russell Brewer (31st rd, Colorado) and Chase Reid (41st rd, St. Louis) did not wait to see what kind of summer-league seasons they would have before deciding to sign with the Rockies and Cards earlier this week (this is a correction from original post -- hadn't seen the news about Brewer and Reid (thanks to our sarcastic anonymous readership), but that leaves a pretty big gap in the bullpen). Waiting seems to be the plan for Aaron Westlake (22nd rd, Toronto), but I tend to think the calculus is a bit different for pitchers. We shall see about Hill...