College Baseball

FSU Baseball Pitching Staff Preview (part one): The Right-handed Pitchers

TALLAHASSEE — Florida State baseball reached the final four of the 2024 College World Series despite dealing with multiple injuries to right-handed pitchers that depleted that side of the mound. Head coach Link Jarrett and pitching coach Micah Posey put an emphasis on right-handed depth in the offseason, adding seven newcomers to the group. Six of those seven are transfers from the portal or the JUCO ranks. There are 12 total right-handers on roster and nine of them participated in fall ball. View below for a full breakdown of the Seminoles’ right-handers:

R-Sr. Joe Charles

  • Entering his fourth year at Florida State, sixth in college baseball (dealt with various injuries from 2020-2023)
  • Coming off his first fully healthy season of pitching with a career-high 33.1 innings over 30 appearances
  • 2024 stats: 33.1 IP / 5.94 ERA / 3.73 FIP / 28 hits (eight doubles, one homer) / 37 K-19 BB
  • Four-pitch mix: 93-95 (T96) FB / 84-86 SL / 84-85 CH / 82-83 CB
  • Fall performance: His fall was similar to this past season with some ups and downs in his consistency mostly caused by his command. He only allowed five hits in the six appearances I saw but he also allowed seven free passes. Charles has always possessed the stuff to miss bats in the backend of the bullpen if he can do a better job of leveraging counts. 
  • Potential role(s): Right-on-right matchups in the bullpen, high-leverage arm, or a multi-inning reliever (four-pitch mix opens that door – saw him succeed doing that against Tennessee in the CWS)

R-Sr. David Barrett

  • Barrett is entering his fourth season with the program but has only thrown 18.2 innings
  • Had Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2023 falling his junior season. Some complications with his throwing arm following the surgery have extended his rehab process.
  • He did not throw in the fall and his timetable for return is TBD
  • Career stats: 18.2 IP / 8.20 ERA / 24 K-19 BB / 27 hits (six doubles & five homers)
  • When Barrett was last healthy and on the mound, his out-pitch was an upper-80s gyro slider. His FB ran up to the 94/95 range. 

R-Jr. John Kent

  • Kent was a late addition to the 2024 fall roster from Tallahassee State College
  • He redshirted at TCC in 2022 before throwing 30+ innings in the last two years
  • 2024 stats (@ TSC): 42 IP / 6.43 ERA / 1.83 WHIP / 57 hits (four HR) / 29 K-20 BB
  • Kent’s primary pitch is a cutter, which sits in the 89-91 MPH range. He pairs it with a slider in the low 80s.
  • Potential role(s): Bullpen depth

Jr. Cam Leiter

  • Leiter is entering his second season with the program after transferring from UCF
  • Did not pitch in the second half of the 2024 season nor the fall due to an undisclosed injury
  • Underwent an operation in the fall that Leiter described as a ‘clean-up’ but Jarrett was unable to provide a timeline for his return despite the damage being less significant than they expected
  • His return remains an if instead of a when
  • Started the 2024 season as FSU’s Friday night starter after a dominant fall and preseason
  • Looked like a no-doubt first-rounder last preseason with four pitches that all flashed plus: mid-90s FB, high-80s slider, mid-80s changeup, and a low-80s curveball
  • Lost the feel for his slider and overall consistency early in his sophomore campaign before the injury but still managed a 4.63 ERA over 35 innings with a whooping 56 strikeouts
  • Still appears in the top 30 of many draft rankings despite not stepping on the mound since a bullpen at the ACC Tournament about seven months ago
  • A potential return for Leiter would exponentially raise the ceiling of FSU’s staff but as previously stated it remains a question mark

Jr. Ben Barrett

  • Barrett was another right-hander who dealt with an injury last season. After an appearance in FSU’s early season trip to Greenville, Barrett missed nearly two months of action.
  • When he returned from injury, his stuff was down nearly five MPH and hampered his effectiveness
  • Before the injury, he was expected to be one of the Seminoles’ core arms to the staff by giving them length out of the bullpen
  • Yet to have a fully healthy season, he also dealt with wrist issues as a freshman two-way player
  • Fall performance: Barrett was one of the final arms to toe the rubber but his stuff was back and better than before the injury. In two fall appearances, he was sinking his fastball at 92-95 paired with a mid-80s sweeper and a high-80s changeup. He was rusty getting back on the rubber (three walks in two innings) but has shown to possess pitch ability in the past with the three-pitch mix. 
  • Potential role(s): Could be in the mix to start (was in the group last preseason), extended shutdown reliever, or a high-leverage backend arm

Jr. Evan Chrest

  • Chrest transferred to Florida State this summer after a sophomore slump at Jacksonville
  • He entered the year as the preseason ASUN Pitcher of the Year but posted a 6.82 ERA in 15 starts and 68.2 innings
  • In 2023, he was the ASUN Freshman of the Year and a First Team Freshman All-American as he posted a 2.68 ERA in 90.2 innings
  • Career stats (two seasons): 30 starts / 159.1 innings / 4.46 ERA / 178 hits / 172 K-61 BB
  • 2023: 8.24 H/9 & 0.6 HR/9 vs. 2024: 12.45 H/9 & 1.98 HR/9 (JU did have a pitching coach change from ’23 to ’24)
  • Four-pitch mix: 93-94 SNK, 87-89 CT (new addition), 87-88 CH, & 83-84 SL – flashed a CB in his final fall outing
  • Fall performance: I thought Chrest threw the ball better this fall than the numbers would show. His numbers were skewed by allowing a trio of homers in the five appearances I saw. The homers were also a problem for him last year but two of the homers came on cutters that flattened out over the heart of the plate – a pitch he was working on adding to his mix this fall. He worked hard on the SNK/CT combo but still saw hard contact consistently on the fastball. To me, his best pitch is his slider which he didn’t throw much this fall as he worked on the cutter. The usage of that pitch should be up in the regular season and open some more things up for him. As a freshman, the changeup may have been Chrest’s best offering but the deception of that pitch and the separation it gets from the FB have decreased. 
  • I really liked a lot of what I saw from the veteran right-hander: He fills up the zone tremendously (one walk), competes his butt off, fields his position well (a former HS shortstop), can spin the baseball at a high level, and probably has the best pitchability on staff. But FSU has to find a way to get hitters off the fastball (whether that’s a different shape, or working backward in counts, or changing usage, or changing the quadrants its thrown to, etc.) for him to get back to that freshman form. 
  • Potential role(s): Heavily in the competition for the weekend rotation, may be on the outside looking in after the fall but I believe FSU wants a rotation with Chrest involved. Could also be a swiss-army knife like Conner Whittaker.

Jr. Maison Martinez

  • Martinez is entering his first season with the program after two seasons at VCU
  • Bounced back from a tough freshman year with a 2.98 ERA over 42.1 innings as a sophomore
  • 2024 stats: 42.1 IP / 2.98 ERA / 30 hits (five homers) / 41 K-19 BB
  • A physical pitcher at six-foot-two and 246 pounds, believe he added a good bit of physicality when he arrived at FSU
  • Arsenal: 91-93 FB, 86-88 CH, 84-85 SL, & 82-83 CB
  • Fall performance: Had ups and downs but performed very well in exhibitions. Struggled with command in three intrasquad scrimmages (six walks) but threw 2.1 innings with six strikeouts, no walks, and two hits against Auburn and Alabama. 
  • Relies heavily on his ability to spin the baseball, somewhat of a similar mix to Charles. FSU was intrigued by his slider and fastball metrics when he entered the portal and believed he could generate plenty of swing-and-miss against right-handed batters. That showed up in the exhibitions as he dominated with his slider. 
  • Potential role(s): Backend reliever if he can show reliability with his command like in the exhibitions, should be used often in right-on-right matchups

Jr. Nick Greaney

  • Greaney is another newcomer for the ‘Noles on the mound, coming from McLennan Community College with two years of experience
  • Imposing presence at six-foot-six and 245 pounds
  • 2024 stats: 32.1 IP / 4.73 ERA / 1.64 WHIP / 37 hits / 33 K-16 BB
  • Arsenal: 90-92 (T93) SNK, 83-84 SPL, & 79-81 SL
  • Fall Performance: Greaney struggled to put hitters away as his offspeed pitches were inconsistent and the sinking fastball doesn’t miss a ton of bats. When he had his splitter tumbling, he was hard to hit – similar to when Davis Hare used to throw his splitter well. But there wasn’t much consistency to that split. He got into a lot of deep counts that led to free passes. His strength is keeping the ball on the ground by creating a ton of sink on the fastball from his high release point. 
  • Potential role(s): bullpen arm, role likely depends on how his splitter/slider develop – could have backward platoon numbers if the splitter is consistently there

So. John Abraham

  • Abraham was pushed into the fire as a true freshman due to a handful of injuries to right-handers on the staff last season
  • Freshman season was a mixed bag with some outings where he couldn’t find the strike zone and others where he dominated good lineups for multiple innings out of the pen
  • He found consistency on the Cape in the summer, only allowing two runs and one walk over nine innings. 
  • 2024 stats: 34.1 IP / 4.72 ERA / 20 hits (six homers) / 42 K-31 BB
  • Arsenal: 92-94 FB, 85-88 CH, & 79-83 CB
  • Fall Performance: After the strong summer showing, I don’t think Abraham had quite the fall he wanted to as the command took a step back and he got hit more than he has in the past. He limited hitters to a .169 AVG against last season but allowed nine hits and two homers in the five innings I saw this fall. His stuff just seemed down a notch from when I saw him in the summer (the FB didn’t have quite the same life up in the zone and the knuckle-curve got a little loose). If he can get back to the form he was in summer, he could be a major piece to this staff. The preseason will be an important three weeks for him.
  • Potential role(s): Bullpen arm, has the stuff to be a high-leverage arm when the ball’s in the zone – potential to start some midweek games as well

So. Peyton Prescott

  • Prescott joined Chrest in transferring to FSU from Jacksonville this summer
  • The sophomore was a two-way player in his lone season with JU but decided to be a pitcher-only at FSU after he suffered a minor injury early this fall
  • 2024 stats: 55.1 IP / 6.02 ERA / 62 hits (seven homers) / 46 K-22 BB
  • Arsenal: 95-97 (T98) FB, 86-88 SL, & 84-85 SPL
  • Fall Performance: Prescott got a bit of a later start than most of the arms but was one of the most consistent arms once he was out there. In the 5.2 innings I caught of Prescott, he didn’t allow any free passes, struck out six, and allowed five hits. He produced a 1-2-3 inning in each of FSU’s exhibitions against Auburn and Alabama and was efficient as he got ahead in counts early and often. Surprisingly with his velocity, Prescott does not miss too many bats. I think that has more to do with the lack of present offspeed pitches rather than his FB shape. He struggled to find the feel for a breaking ball and was inconsistent with his splitter (which did get some ugly swings). If Posey could unlock an effective breaking ball here and make hitters have to think about something other than the fastball, I think his whiff rate would significantly increase. 
  • Potential role(s): I believe Prescott will get a chance to battle for a starter spot but he is likely best suited to be a high-leverage bullpen arm right now. If they could unlock his offspeed, he could be an effective starter. But if you keep him in the pen and let him unload the tank in short stints you could likely see some triple digits on the radar gun. 
  • Note: Prescott is a draft-eligible sophomore (he was a popular name that scouts asked about during the fall)

So. Chris Knier

  • Florida State added Knier to its JUCO class from Indian River State College after a stellar freshman season
  • When Knier committed to FSU this summer, I recognized his name from watching members of the 2023 recruiting class back in 2020/21. Despite being smaller-statured and not a highly-touted prospect, he stood out to me for how hard he competed as a two-way player. Whether he was on the mound or the infield he was always finding ways to impact games. 
  • 2024 stats: 63.2 IP / 2.12 ERA / 0.93 WHIP / 45 hits (three HR) / 88 K-14 BB
  • Arsenal: 93-94 FB (T95), 86-88 SL, & 80-82 CB
  • Fall Performance: Knier had a really strong start to fall before hitting a rough patch in the middle as he worked through some mechanical changes. He came to FSU with a high effort, wild delivery with a lot of moving parts that made it hard for hitters to pickup. But that also caused some concerns for FSU as his arm often lagged in the mechanics. They ‘compacted’ the delivery to make the timing more consistent but he struggled initially with the changes (allowed four XBH over a two-outing span and walked a handful of batters). I believe as he settles into those mechanics that his pitchability will come back to the level it was in JUCO. He has the stuff to miss bats at a high-rate but needs to do a better job of executing his breaking balls down and below the zone late in counts (we saw that development unlock Connor Hults in the second half of last season). 
  • Potential role(s): Backend reliever (100% believe in his traits to be a high-leverage arm despite the roller-coaster fall). Multiple breaking ball variations in play will help him get lefties and righties out. 

Fr. Rhett Vaughn

  • Vaughn is expected to receive a medical redshirt this year as he recovers from Tommy John Surgery. 

Catchers: West, Carns, and Cmeyla make up Jarrett’s best three-pack of catchers

Infield: Lodise and Faurot return up the middle, identifying potential starters on the corners

Outfield: Max Williams surrounded by newcomers in an intriguing group of outfielders

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.

Related
2020 © Zeen World News