Who’s hot and who’s not: Shintaro Inoue hits his stride after a slow start to March

Kansas State Baseball has been on an up-and-down stretch in the last two weeks, going 6-4 in their last ten games. While three of the last five results have been losses, the offense has stayed potent, averaging nearly 11 runs per game since our last check in.

Here are the hot streaks to keep tabs on and which opponents to look for in the near future.

HOT: Shintaro Inoue, NOT: Utah Pitching

I'm sure it feels like we've been picking on the Japanese infielder a lot recently (let's be fair, we have), but Inoue has turned the corner in a big way. He's pieced together an 11-game on-base streak and has hits in eight straight games. His five-hit performance against Houston on the 13th propelled him to National Team honors last week.

The Wildcats hit the road to take on Utah this weekend, much to the detriment of Utes pitching. In their last four games, Utah has allowed a whopping 50 runs, including 11 or more in each game of their Cincinnati series. Colter McAnelly, the opening day starter for the Utes, had his worst start of the season on Friday, allowing six earned runs in five innings.

HOT: Dee Kennedy, NOT: TCU in Big 12 series matchups

The Kansas State shortstop has continued to lead the way with his offense, as Kennedy sports a 14-game on-base streak. That also includes walks in nine straight games. His season slash line sits at .410/.540/.880, accompanied by 11 home runs, 40 RBI, and 15 steals in 17 attempts.

TCU, the Wildcat opponent scheduled for the first weekend of April, has been up and down in Big 12 play. The down has come during series formats, as the Horned Frogs are 1-2 in separate three-game sets against Arizona State and UCF. TCU faces another series test against Texas Tech this weekend, which has won each multi-game series they've had so far this season.

HOT: Max Kaufer, NOT: Kansas State starters giving up homers

The Wichita State Shockers will look for revenge on April 7th, aiming to avenge the 7-5 loss they suffered against the Wildcats on March 10th. Max Kaufer, the Shocker backstop, is hitting an eye-popping .440 on the season, including hits in every start he's had all month.

Kansas State had some luck against him in their last matchup, as they only gave up one homer to Kaufer. He had multi-homer games in the two previous contests and another one after the Wildcats' first matchup.

It's a bit early to predict who will start the second Shockers matchup on April 7th, but Cohen Feser and Tanner Duke are two starters who have struggled giving up longballs as of late. Feser gave up back-to-back jacks to Max Kaufer and Jayson Jones in the third inning of the March 10th contest against Wichita State.

Duke was shelled for seven runs (five earned) and gave up two homers in three innings against Arizona State on Saturday. Again, it's early to predict who will start in almost two weeks, but Wichita State's power at the plate isn't something to be trifled with.

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