Gators' Starting Rotation Could Be Special
Sunday, January 29, 2017 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Florida opened preseason camp on Friday as it prepares for a three-game season-opening home series against William & Mary on Feb. 17-19.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There are a lot of unknowns about the 2017 Florida baseball team, but as the Gators opened practice this weekend, some things remain the same.
The Gators will begin the season as one of the favorites to return to the College World Series for a third consecutive season.
Coming off a 52-16 season that ended with back-to-back one-run losses in Omaha, Florida is ranked No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches Poll entering head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's 10th season.
Three of the primary reasons: Alex Faedo, Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar. The right-handers form Florida's projected starting rotation.
"Hopefully you get seven innings out of those guys on weekends,'' O'Sullivan told WRUF on Friday. "That is really what you need at the end. If we stay healthy and we play to our capability, I think we're going to have a good shot as anybody at the end of the year."
O'Sullivan has stockpiled pitching talent year after year during his tenure and this season is no different, led by Faedo, a junior from Tampa who is already being mentioned as possibly the top player in the 2017 draft. Faedo went 13-3 with a 3.18 ERA as a sophomore.
While the Gators lost pitchers Logan Shore, A.J. Puk, Dane Dunning and closer Shaun Anderson to the draft, Singer and Kowar showed promise as freshmen. Both throw in the 90s and have potential to continue the Gators' pitching-rich tradition under O'Sullivan.
Singer (2-2, 4.95 ERA, 38 SO, 43.2 IP) made 23 appearances in 2016, including one start. Kowar (3-0, 3.37 ERA, 44 SO, 34.2 IP) pitched in 12 games, including six starts.
If there is a question mark right now, O'Sullivan said it's the bullpen.
"That will be a work in progress,'' he said. "I do think it will evolve into a really quality pen."
There are 16 returners, 12 freshmen and one junior-college transfer on Florida's 29-man roster. The Gators are ranked third by Baseball America, which also provides a preview of the Gators in its top 25. Meanwhile, the foundation of this Florida team is its junior class writes Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun.
As for the newcomers, many of them are two-way players, which offers O'Sullivan more flexibility with his lineup and bullpen, a goal after last season when Florida's lineup was stifled in a 2-1 loss to eventual national champion Coastal Carolina and a 3-2 loss to Texas Tech in the CWS.
"We have kind of trended that way,'' O'Sullivan said. "It just expands your roster."
Freshmen Austin Langworthy (OF/LHP), Andrew Baker (OF/LHP), Nate Brown (RHP), Tyler Dyson (RHP/INF), Nick Long (RHP), Kirby McMullen (OF/RHP), Garrett Milchen (INF/RHP) are among the newcomers with potential to fill out the bullpen. Others may see regular time in the lineup.
"We are going to need about three or four of those guys to pitch 20, 25 innings,'' O'Sullivan said.
The Gators open the season Feb. 17 at home against William & Mary. The Tribe knocked 2015 national champion Virginia out of the postseason a year ago and present a healthy challenge for the Gators.
Until then, the Gators will try to determine roles and sort out the lineup heading into another season that could very well end in Omaha.
"I'm just excited about this group. I do like the makeup of our team," O'Sullivan said.
