Number three will be taken care of. Each year we worry about 1 and 2.The good news is we have plenty of good young arms. How good ? We need to wait and see. USMCowl, imagine the year if everyone that left for the pros came back for another year. WOW ! We may have been the best team in the state.

USMCOWL said

Here are a couple things that worry me.  
1.) Drew was our inning eater last year and I wonder do we have a pitcher that could go 6-7or 8 innings and save the bullpen.
2.) speaking of the bullpen the back end of the bullpen worries me. Is it going to be closer by committee or do we have a guy.
3.) Last who do we have to replace Santiago at third following his departure via graduation. 

Those are my thoughts. 

Posted On: Jan 27th 2016, 4:57 PM #354063

Hopefully this will supply some relief, from D1Baseball Chat earlier this week:

"Comment From BaseballFan27
Has FAU made a decision going into spring on Colyn O’Connell as Friday or Closer? Heard mid 90s from big body

Aaron Fitt:
It sounds like they are leaning toward starting him. And yes, that’s a very interesting arm…"

Plus, Rhodes is returning as a weekend starter (as a Jr, has at least three times left the mound with a W on his line vs Miami, and 2 Ws - not many Jr could say that), and the rest are looking good. House had a fantastic summer. I think we will have a strong number of inning from our starters. As is the norm with our coaching staff, without exception, all the returning players, both position and pitchers, have developed well. Carr, who along with Dicks is a Captain, and had some great outings in the fall. I have no idea if he will be closing, but I like when he comes into the game and I have complete confidence in him. We do have some nice looking young/new arms. With many pitchers playing in the summer, they get more rest in the fall, so its hard to gauge the starters. That will come our more in these spring intra-squads. We have Coach Jackson, so I'm not worried about the pitching.

Speaking of Dicks, he was really barreling things up in the fall. He has the Miguel Cabrera approach - see ball, hit ball hard. His hitting zone, the area of the strike zone that is his wheel house, has expanded nicely.

In my opinion, with Chatham and Kerr, there is no question we have the best middle infield in the conference. The question is whether it is the best in the nation. If it hadn't been for Kerr missing some time defensively last year, I think we would have had a both middle infielders pre-season All Americans.

As for 3B, Lashley spent a lot of time at 3B in the fall, with Puerta at 1B. Lashley is one of those guys who you can plug in anywhere. When he comes up with a man on 3b, before he takes his stance, you can record the RBI. I'd have to check his bio, but the way Puerta unloads on the ball, I think his major must be rocket science. In the fall, he hit a ground ball through the left side with such velocity that it hit the fence and rebounded about 10 or 15 feet. Granted, we have a pristine field that is like a putting green, but, still, that was amazing.

Also, OF Billy Endris won the Iron Owl this fall. This only the 2nd time it did not go to a relief pitcher (Hudak was the other). For my own personal greedy reasons, I was glad to see him return after being drafted last year. I have a theory that the max effort mentality of the relief pitchers favors them in the Iron Owl, so it is especially nice to see that in a guy who can play every day.

We have some nice depth. I think it is going to be a battle for some starting positions. There are some that I think are locked, others where I think the player is a lock to start, but I don't know at which position, and others where I believe there are a number of guys all fighting for a starting spot. If my count is right, there are still 36 names on the pre-season roster. Unless we have a redshirt situation that doesn't count against the roster, somebody who could likely could play opening day for most D1 teams will have to be cut.

The best part about this team is that it is a Coach Mac team. These guys really go all out. He gets guys to play better than they ever believed they could. On the practice field before intra-squads, they were putting it all on the line. I remarked to CJ once how much I liked watching him practice, he was going all out like it was the CWS. I typically show up about an hour or two before intra-squad games, and there are always guys out there in the batting cages, spending every spare minute they have, trying to get better. If nobody was around to operate the pitching machine, they are hitting off the tee. These guys are inspired to win. As a whole, this may be the best bunting team we've had in a while. If a 3B takes his head out of the game for a few seconds, or plays back a step or two, we get a free baserunner.

Intra-squad first pitch on Friday is at 2:30. The weekend of the 12th, the schedule is to have an intra-squad under the lights. This weekend will be all afternoon games.

FWIW, Robbie coursel told me he will be our Friday night starter. 

MLBBoca said

Hopefully this will supply some relief, from D1Baseball Chat earlier this week:

"Comment From BaseballFan27
Has FAU made a decision going into spring on Colyn O’Connell as Friday or Closer? Heard mid 90s from big body

Aaron Fitt:
It sounds like they are leaning toward starting him. And yes, that’s a very interesting arm…"

Posted On: Jan 27th 2016, 10:09 PM #354073

Thanks for the info.

Thanks MLBBOCA. Your info is always fact based. Not the norm. Always like reading your posts.

Brandon Kirby-Wolverlora Simon said

FWIW, Robbie coursel told me he will be our Friday night starter. 

Posted On: Jan 27th 2016, 10:49 PM #354075

That may be. Coursel has a great sinker. At one time I had to go back and check his GO/FO ratio because it was WAY off the charts.

here is the thing that made me bring up those points i mentioned earlier. Coach Mac recruits well and his teams are successful and competitive year in and year out. For a sport in college that is not a major money generator for the school. Yet the university and the athletic department still trying to get the new athletic center built, and funded, which i support cause it will benefit all sports, how much longer can baseball sit idly by. Now don't get me wrong, i am huge football fan, but I still love America's past time, and try and get to many games as possible with my family. Yet for the program which is a proven success on the field, how much longer can coach mac bring in the talent with a stadium, to be honest would host a great high school baseball team, but with facilities still basically division 2. I know the stadium upgrades are part of the athletic center plan, but going back to when my Brewers were trying to get Miller Park built, i will echo this. BUILD IT NOW. Thank you for letting me rant and ramble.

Coursel has the ability to keep the score low. We have a solid defensive infield . Perfect for a pitcher like him. I'm getting psyched. Baseball is right around the corner.

Looks like FAU has broken some news. Didn't know if this was for the public. But I guess it is now. Tough few months for FAU Baseball

He interviewed him.  He didn't go to the doctor or hospital for his medical records.