Florida State baseball looks to build upon success in 2016

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith Florida State baseball less than a month away, coach Mike Martin is preparing to tackle his 37^th season at the helm.

FSU is coming off a pretty successful 2015 season, during which much was not expected. The Seminoles went 44-21, winning both an ACC title and their regional, which was held in Tallahassee. Their season ended with a loss to the Florida Gators in the Super Regional in Gainesville. FSU enters this season ranked 20^th in D1baseball.com’s preseason poll.

FSU features a solid yet inexperienced starting lineup, featuring two freshmen and two sophomores. However, it is a lineup that can win games, offering speed throughout, with a good mix of guys who can drive the ball out of the park.

With no apparent defensive holes, the biggest strength for the Noles this season will likely be fielding. With Sansone taking over third base and Busby transitioning to first, this Seminole defense should be strong all around.

The Seminoles will encounter their biggest weakness on the mound, staring a very young pitching staff this season. Compton’s ability to lead the staff into weekends will be critical for the team. Cole Sands and Tyler Holton, while both freshmen, will likely take on the mid-week matchups.

Projected lineup

My projected lineup features SS Taylor Walls leading off. Walls started all 65 games for the Seminoles last season, hitting .220. Moving into his sophomore season, you would expect to see that average jump up to around the .250/.275 mark. Still, Walls was able to draw the second most walks on the team last season (52), with seven stolen bases. Ideally, it is expected to see this number rise to about 10 to 13.

Following Walls is CF Ben DeLuzio. DeLuzio secures the spot at number two due to the fact that he is hands down the the fastest guy on the field at all times. DeLuizo hit .241 in the bottom of the lineup last season. By moving him up to second, you combine his speed with Walls’ legs, taking almost all double plays out of the equation. Opposing teams will also be forced to bring their 3^rd basemen in to protect against his bunts early and often.

Batting third you have Quincy Nieporte, replacing DJ Stewart. Nieporte, who played first base for Florida State last season, moves over to DH. This Nole has big shoes to fill as replacing Stewart is not feasibly possible, yet Nieporte is the player to best fill that hole for the Seminoles in 2016. The Junior Tallahassee Community College transfer hit .297 in 61 games last season. Nieporte raked in 48 RBIs, hitting seven homeruns. FSU would like to see that number rise to about 11 to 14.

Dylan Busby comes in at fourth in the lineup. Busby started 57 of 65 games at third base in his freshman campaign. Busby’s height and athleticism are reasons to move him over to 1B this season, as he brings more defensive security than Nieporte. In reality, Busby should be batting around the 5^th or 6^th spot, but in order for Nieporte to get anything to hit, he will need someone behind him to give him some protection, and Busby is your best bet. He hit .242 last season, which will hopefully increase to over .250. He also accounted for nine homeruns, the second most on the team.

Batting fifth is third baseman John Sanson. Sansone started all 65 games last year at second base. I moved Sansone over to third base in his senior campaign to provide a little more defensive security. Sansone has played 162 consecutive games for the Seminoles, going back to his freshman year. Personally, I prefer Sanone higher in the lineup, around the 2 hole, but he is coming off a big season, where he hit .245 with 15 doubles, eight homeruns, 35 walks, and 20 hit by pitches. John is here to protect Busby and get him better pitches. Sansone is second in the record books with 51 career HBPs.  He gets on base, keeping innings alive, while still getting Busby the pitches he needs.

At sixth you have the Santa Barbara transfer second baseman Matt Henderson. Matt hit .329, with 24 walks, and 19 stolen bases in his sophomore juco season. Matt is another fast guy that will be able to make plays with his legs giving you more defensive security. Matt is a guy who could very well climb to the top of the order with the speed he brings, depending on how well he adjusts to the D1 level. I would expect to see his name around the top of the lineup if DeLuzio struggles.

Batting seventh is left fielder Gage West. West is a catcher out of Tallahassee that I have moving to left field to roam around in DJ Stewart’s old stomping grounds. West appeared in 40 games last season hitting .231. Gage has been stuck behind some really exceptional talent behind the plate, Gage is a critical guy in the line up because of his power. With guys like Henderson and Sansone in front of him, Gage can clear them all with just one swing.

Eighth in the lineup freshman right fielder Tyler Holton. Also a local kid out of Tallahassee, Holton is widely regarded as a pitcher and Seminole fans should expect to see him on the mound a lot in the upcoming season. Still, I do not expect to see too much from him on the mound in his freshmen season unless it is out of the bullpen or in a mid-week matchups. Holton hit .338 in his senior season with 37 RBI and 10 homeruns. He also featured a .074 ERA in 47.1 innings on the bump with 64 strikeouts.

And finishing out the Seminoles lineup I have freshmen catcher, Cal Raleigh.  The freshman is the favorite to win the job behind the plate. The 6’3 freshmen out of North Carolina hit .469, with 20 stolen bases and 10 homeruns in his senior season. Raleigh will be replacing Danny De La Calle, who started 61 games for the Seminoles last season. Raleigh could have a promising career as a Seminole if he can come in and lock the job down as a freshman.

Weekend Rotation

Friday nights will likely feature Mike Compton on the mound. Compton will likely be making his fourth opening weekend start in a row for the Seminoles as he gets ready to kick off his senior season and bounce back from a rough junior year. Compton play well at times last season, but suffered an abdominal strain that caused him to miss three weeks. He still managed to make 13 starts going 4-4, with a 3.55 ERA, while recording 70 strikeouts in 71 innings. Compton only walked 1.52 guys per 9 innings, and also went five straight starts without allowing a single walk at one point.

Saturday’s will likely be held down by Drew Carlton, who is coming off a 5-5 record with a 4.04 ERA as a freshman.  Drew also went 2-0 in postseason action for the Seminoles, striking out 13 in 13.2 innings. Florida State will not possess a lot of experience in the weekend rotation. They need guys like Carlton to hold their own so they can hopefully ride the young arms into regionals and and a super.

Cobi Johnson will be the guy taking the ball on Sundays. Johnson started his freshmen season last year in the weekend rotation for the Seminoles, where he made eight consecutive starts, until falling out of the struggling rotation. He finished the season with a 3-2 record and a 7.21 ERA. Hopefully a year of experience and working out will have the young right hander ready to anchor the rotation for Florida State in 2016.

Potential closers

Taylor Blatch is coming off of a redshirt season in 2015, yet he did make 14 appearances including two starts in his freshmen season, which he finished with a 1-0 record, featuring a 6.23 ERA in 17.1 innings.

Alec Byrd would be my go to closer for the Seminoles in 2016. Coming off of 27 appearances in his sophomore season, he started three games with a record of 5-1. Byrd racked up 43.2 innings on the mound and posted a 4.53 ERA, only allowing 15 walks.

The Florida State Seminoles will kick off their season on February 19^th against Rhode Island at 4 P.M.