FSU baseball: Noles projected as No. 1 seed in Field of 64
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU baseball comes into the 2022 season with high expectations in Mike Martin Jr.’s third year at the helm.
The Noles rank top 15 by several outlets and project as ACC favorites. The Noles finished third in the ACC Atlantic Division in 2021 but return one of the best pitching staffs in college baseball and some key transfer players to bolster the offense and defense.
The latter two phases of the game have not been great under Martin Jr., but it seems most expect that to change this year.
Baseball America projects the Noles as a No. 1 seed in the Field of 64 heading into the 2022 season. The outlet projects the Noles hosting the regional as the No. 12 national seed overall.
FSU baseball finished (31-24, 20-16 ACC) in 2021 and got eliminated in the in the Oxford Regional, losing their last two games after opening with a win over Southern Mississippi.
FSU lost one of the best players in college baseball, with catcher Matheu Nelson departing for professional baseball as a first-round draft pick.
They also lost a lot of offensive production from Elijah Cabell and Robby Martin. However, the addition of Miami transfer Alex Toral will bring some offensive pop.
Logan Lacey and Tyler Martin return, along with veteran Reese Albert who has battled injuries the last couple of years. Several freshmen like Treyton Rank, James Tibbs, and Jaime Ferrer should see at-bats. Defensively the Noles expect to be better at shortstop with Florida transfer Jordan Carrion.
The coaching staff has improved the roster with more athleticism. The Noles only had 34 stolen base attempts in 2021 and were successful on 24. They’ll likely need to generate more runs with good situational hitting and a more aggressive approach on the basepaths.
If they can cut down on strikeouts (32.2 percent) and improve their defense (.968)? There’s a strong possibility this Baseball America projection will come to fruition.
FSU baseball will begin their 2022 season Friday, February 18th at 6 p.m. against James Madison.
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