Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com
Baseball Positional Previews: Pitchers
2/12/2019 10:41:00 AM | Baseball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – After a couple of weeks of practice and intrasquads, Florida Atlantic University baseball's coaching staff has settled on the roles for the squad's pitching staff, at least for Opening Weekend. FAUSports.com sat down with Head Coach John McCormack for a third and final preseason position breakdown, of the Owls' pitchers, which looks as if it will continue to be a fluid part of the team.
Against Cincinnati, and further, with a midweek coming next Wednesday at Miami, the first four starters of the season is scheduled to fall as follows: redshirt senior Blake Sanderson on Friday night against the Bearcats; Ryan Sandberg, a junior college transfer on Saturday; Mike Ruff, a junior righthander in the finale Sunday; and freshman Hunter Cooley, tentatively slated to make his debut on the hill against the Hurricanes in Coral Gables.
"In the situation we're in, 'in flux' is a good way to describe (the staff)," said McCormack. "For the next four games, this is going to be our rotation. Sandy, you're getting someone that has assumed the role of a Friday night frontline guy. His stuff is really good, but his everything else is great. His ability to get his teammates to work harder, his care level, his attention to detail, all of that.
"Sandberg's really just a steady Eddie. It's going to be 86-89, breaking ball is a good wrinkle, changeup is pretty good. He really competes. He's a lot like (former Owl) Jeremy Strawn. And Ruff, he has a huge ceiling. He can get it up to 95, his slider is good, changeup is good, curveball is good. It's just consistency in the zone that's needed.
"Cooley just throws a lot of strikes and eats up innings. I'm hoping he can compete in those midweek games against some really good teams, keep them off-guard. Being left-handed of course doesn't hurt."
Sanderson is a fifth-year member of the squad, nearing 100 innings in his collegiate career, and was voted team captain in the offseason. He had a great end to the year last season, being named to the Conference USA All-Tournament Team. Sandberg brings very good numbers with him from Queensborough Community College, as the Region XV Player of the Year and 2018 CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year, and leading all of NJCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (17.61).
Ruff showed flashes of potential a year ago, often as the Owls' midweek starter. That included more than a strikeout per inning and the team's lowest batting average against (.216). Last but not least, the 6-3 and lefthanded Cooley brings a fantastic pedigree from Vero Beach High School, as a three-time All-Area honoree, with a 27-3 career record and 0.97 ERA.
The bullpen, working from the outside in, McCormack expects big innings from the durable combo of lefthander Nick Swan and righthander Vladimir Zavala. They are both "stretched out," and therefore can be called on for multi-inning outings because of early-season pitch counts for the rotation.
"Look for Swan and Vladimir to do some long work, especially early in the year," he said. "That's if the game is in question either way. Sometimes, with pitch counts, you've got some innings to cover, so those middle guys become a little bit more important. I would think with Swan and Vlad, that's where they fit right now and they become valuable guys."
Swan, a senior, has 53 appearances under his belt in his three previous years, on all ends of the spectrum (starting, long and middle relief, even finishing out games). Zavala comes to the Owls from Tallahassee Community College and has started games in the past as well.
The other side, the backend, is chock full of experience. Southpaw Dylan O'Connell returns for his third year with the program and may very well fill the role of LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy), as he has shown a propensity for being able to do just that. McCormack expects the combination of another lefty, Eric Keating, and righthander Vince Coletti, to be the setup guys ahead of returning closer Zach Schneider.
"A lot of experience, that's why they're there," said McCormack.
Like Swan, Keating has collegiate innings under his belt, including 17 high-leverage frames as a sophomore in 2017. Coletti had 15 starts a year ago, but is expected to help form the bridge on that backend to Schneider, who totaled 15 saves last season. Schneider too, as evidenced by his showing in a start at the NCAA Regional vs. Florida, has the ability to go multiple innings, and may be asked upon to do that this year, à la Goose Gossage.
In between, there is a large group of newcomers that will be looking to carve a niche: righthander Dylan Carter, a junior college transfer from Hillsborough Community College, along with four freshmen, Mitchell Hartigan, Jacob Josey, Jon Jon Kostantis and Michael Schuler. Zach Asnes, most recently at Florida State College at Jacksonville, literally joined the team Monday and is, of course, a bit of an unknown fit at this point.
Three more names are unfortunately not going to be ready to start the year, after offseason injuries: freshman Dustin Reville, junior Matt Sparling, and fourth-year redshirt junior Jordan Poore. All hope to return this season.
This does it for the Owls' team as a whole leading into Friday's lidlifter. The three-game series versus Cincinnati will be previewed on Thursday, and will include a video highlighting the squad as well. Purchase tickets to those and all baseball home games by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting baseball's ticket website.
| 2019 Positional Previews |
| Wednesday, Feb. 6: Infielders and DH |
| Today: Outfielders and Catchers |
| Today: Pitchers |
"In the situation we're in, 'in flux' is a good way to describe (the staff)," said McCormack. "For the next four games, this is going to be our rotation. Sandy, you're getting someone that has assumed the role of a Friday night frontline guy. His stuff is really good, but his everything else is great. His ability to get his teammates to work harder, his care level, his attention to detail, all of that.
"Sandberg's really just a steady Eddie. It's going to be 86-89, breaking ball is a good wrinkle, changeup is pretty good. He really competes. He's a lot like (former Owl) Jeremy Strawn. And Ruff, he has a huge ceiling. He can get it up to 95, his slider is good, changeup is good, curveball is good. It's just consistency in the zone that's needed.
"Cooley just throws a lot of strikes and eats up innings. I'm hoping he can compete in those midweek games against some really good teams, keep them off-guard. Being left-handed of course doesn't hurt."
Sanderson is a fifth-year member of the squad, nearing 100 innings in his collegiate career, and was voted team captain in the offseason. He had a great end to the year last season, being named to the Conference USA All-Tournament Team. Sandberg brings very good numbers with him from Queensborough Community College, as the Region XV Player of the Year and 2018 CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year, and leading all of NJCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (17.61).
Ruff showed flashes of potential a year ago, often as the Owls' midweek starter. That included more than a strikeout per inning and the team's lowest batting average against (.216). Last but not least, the 6-3 and lefthanded Cooley brings a fantastic pedigree from Vero Beach High School, as a three-time All-Area honoree, with a 27-3 career record and 0.97 ERA.
The bullpen, working from the outside in, McCormack expects big innings from the durable combo of lefthander Nick Swan and righthander Vladimir Zavala. They are both "stretched out," and therefore can be called on for multi-inning outings because of early-season pitch counts for the rotation.
"Look for Swan and Vladimir to do some long work, especially early in the year," he said. "That's if the game is in question either way. Sometimes, with pitch counts, you've got some innings to cover, so those middle guys become a little bit more important. I would think with Swan and Vlad, that's where they fit right now and they become valuable guys."
Swan, a senior, has 53 appearances under his belt in his three previous years, on all ends of the spectrum (starting, long and middle relief, even finishing out games). Zavala comes to the Owls from Tallahassee Community College and has started games in the past as well.
The other side, the backend, is chock full of experience. Southpaw Dylan O'Connell returns for his third year with the program and may very well fill the role of LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy), as he has shown a propensity for being able to do just that. McCormack expects the combination of another lefty, Eric Keating, and righthander Vince Coletti, to be the setup guys ahead of returning closer Zach Schneider.
"A lot of experience, that's why they're there," said McCormack.
Like Swan, Keating has collegiate innings under his belt, including 17 high-leverage frames as a sophomore in 2017. Coletti had 15 starts a year ago, but is expected to help form the bridge on that backend to Schneider, who totaled 15 saves last season. Schneider too, as evidenced by his showing in a start at the NCAA Regional vs. Florida, has the ability to go multiple innings, and may be asked upon to do that this year, à la Goose Gossage.
In between, there is a large group of newcomers that will be looking to carve a niche: righthander Dylan Carter, a junior college transfer from Hillsborough Community College, along with four freshmen, Mitchell Hartigan, Jacob Josey, Jon Jon Kostantis and Michael Schuler. Zach Asnes, most recently at Florida State College at Jacksonville, literally joined the team Monday and is, of course, a bit of an unknown fit at this point.
Three more names are unfortunately not going to be ready to start the year, after offseason injuries: freshman Dustin Reville, junior Matt Sparling, and fourth-year redshirt junior Jordan Poore. All hope to return this season.
This does it for the Owls' team as a whole leading into Friday's lidlifter. The three-game series versus Cincinnati will be previewed on Thursday, and will include a video highlighting the squad as well. Purchase tickets to those and all baseball home games by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting baseball's ticket website.
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