FSU baseball head coach Link Jarrett met with the media on Tuesday as his program prepares for its season opener about two weeks away. We all knew this team would be different than last year, with FSU losing nearly half of its offensive production from a year ago.
However, Link Jarrett seemed happy with where his program is overall. The entire video is below, but here's my translation of what he said on each phase:
Pitching
Jamie Arnold is the National Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and that's enough said. I don't believe we'll see Cam Leiter pitch this year, as Jarrett said he has a long rehabilitation process ahead of him. FSU has eight to nine guys who have the potential to start games, which is deeper than last year's team. The left-handed pitchers have been more consistent than the righties. There's lots of potential from some guys, but they have to harness it and get those guys to command their pitches in the strike zone. Pitching will likely be the team's strength, along with the defense.
Hitting
FSU lost a lot of leadership and experience from last year's team. They must concentrate on having quality at-bats. There's potential for some power from a few guys, but it probably won't be what it was last year. FSU will have to find ways to generate runs instead of relying on guys who were sure-fire MLB draftees. FSU has more team speed, which could be a factor on the bases. Whenever Jarrett mentions they will need to be hard to score on, he knows they may not have the power production from a year ago. He mentioned guys like Jackson West and others who have progressed nicely from a year ago.
Defensively
This team might have the most athletic outfield that he'd ever had. They should have the ability to take extra-base hits away. The infield is savvy with returning experience and guys who can play multiple positions. They have to figure out first base but feel good about the potential.
Overall
The team should have a deeper pitching staff and may be better defensively. They may not have to field as much because the pitching staff might be more dominant overall. Cam Leiter's situation is a bummer, but FSU learned how to play without him last year when he played in fewer than 10 games. FSU may not average the 8.9 runs per game they did a year ago, but probably won't have to if the pitching and defense are what we think they'll be.