The start of the 2015 baseball season is less than a month away for Florida State and as always, expectations are high. The Seminoles are expected to begin the year in or at least near the top 10 in the major polls and on Tuesday, were picked by the ACC to win the Atlantic Division.
Florida State returns ACC Player of the Year D.J. Stewart along with leadoff man Josh Delph, but the Seminoles look to be very young for 2015. As is the case with most teams, pitching will be vital to Florida State’s success. While talented, the arms for FSU are very young.
The Seminoles are replacing 22 of their 43 wins from last season’s group of hurlers and in the bullpen, players that accounted for 10 of the team’s 11 saves are gone as well.
The biggest void in the starting rotation for Florida State will be left by Luke Weaver, who was selected in the first round of the 2014 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Brandon Leibrandt also departs for the Seminoles. Leibrandt was injury-plagued in 2014, but had a very solid three-year Florida State career.
Anchoring the rotation for 2015 will be redshirt junior Mike Compton, who finished 7-3 with a 3.23 ERA last season, but who compliments Compton remains in question. Bryant Holtmann may be the likely answer as the senior from Illinois started the second most games of any returning player for Florida State, going 5-1 last season with an earned run average under four.
Lefty Bill Strode pitched well as a midweek starter last season, but may be best utilized for the Seminoles out of the bullpen. Freshmen Andrew Karp and Drew Carlton could each see time in the rotation as could sophomore Alec Byrd.
Strode and Dylan Silva were solid out of the Florida State bullpen a season ago. Silva posted a 1.90 ERA for 2014 with 16 of his 17 appearances coming in relief while Strode posted a 2.62 ERA coming out of the pen for 20 of his 24 appearances last season.
Though Strode and Silva are each coming off solid seasons, going a combined 6-1, most of their work came in the middle innings.
At the back end of the bullpen, Florida State is losing closer Jameis Winston, who led the team with seven saves a season ago while posting an outstanding 1.08 ERA in over 33 innings. Better known for being Florida State’s quarterback on the gridiron, Winston declared for the NFL Draft earlier this month.
Gage Smith carried a large workload for Florida State last season, appearing in 40 of the Seminoles’ 60 games and working a remarkable 64 innings in relief. Smith put up a 2.39 ERA and ranked third on the team with five victories.
Replacing Winston and Smith won’t be easy and the biggest question may be who assumes that role. Silva is the lone returning Seminole to record a save last season. To get the job done, Florida State may have to turn to a number of young arms including sophomore Taylor Blatch, who struggled in 14 appearances last season.
As has been the case in years past, head coach Mike Martin always seems to be able to reload. With two of his top three weekend starters gone along with his two most dependable relievers, it appears to be a tall task this season. The talent certainly looks to be there, but whether the young arms can mature and become consistent will ultimately decide whether or not the Seminoles can get back to Omaha after a two-year hiatus.
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