FSU baseball: Thoughts on UCF pitcher Jacob Marlowe committing to FSU

FSU baseball continues to stay hot in the transfer portal with its fourth addition in the last two days. Head coach Link Jarrett noted the Noles needed more pitching before the 2023 season, and that thought proved correct after the worst season in the past 40+ years.

FSU added some offensive power from the transfer portal late Thursday and turned to the mound Friday with the addition of UCF lefthander Jacob Marlowe.

Marlowe faced the Noles this season, going seven innings, striking out five, and only allowing one earned run. He finished the season with a 3-6 record and a 5.64 ERA.

He made eight starts in 19 appearances and was among the national leaders in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.42). Marlowe made the announcement via his Twitter account:

Thoughts

While the ERA and the hits allowed by nine innings is less than ideal, I should point out he only allowed nine home runs in 60 innings. Only 34 percent of the hits allowed went for extra bases. His 12 walks tell me he’s consistently in the strike zone and likely doesn’t allow too much solid contact, as evidenced by his performance against a young FSU lineup earlier this year. It was three games of his 19 appearances that inflated his overall stats.

They were appearances against Troy, ECU, Houston, and South Florida. FSU didn’t have many reliable left-handers in 2023. Wyatt Crowell, Brennen Oxford, Jamie Arnold, and Andrew Armstrong were the only ones, and Crowell missed nearly the entire year. The latter three will return in 2024. Marlowe doesn’t appear to be someone that will overpower batters but has valuable experience with more room for development. What I like the most is he throws strikes consistently, and that’s something most FSU pitchers struggled to do in 2023. FSU has more pitching help from the JUCO ranks, provided those guys don’t sign to play professionally if drafted. I’ve been saying it, but bright days are ahead for FSU baseball.