The Daily Nole

FSU’s Lineup Will Pose Problems for Opposing Clubs

Jeremy Esbrandt/FSU athletics

With fall ball officially over for the Florida State Seminoles, the team, and the fans can look forward to Opening Day, which is slated for Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. EST against Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams finished the 2016 season with a 38-19 record, but the Noles will enter the 2017 season as one of the favorites to make a strong run at the College World Series and for good reason.

The Seminoles had a very young team with relatively low expectations entering the 2016 season. Florida State exceeded many of those expectations with the emergence of some young talented freshmen and sophomores who helped get the team to within one game of the College World Series.

The 2016 season is over, and with a new year comes new, and higher expectations for Florida State. It will bring one of the most complete lineups in the country to the park every day — a lineup that will challenge every head coach it faces.

FSU had four switch-hitters at the top of the lineup in an exhibition Monday against the Ontario Blue Jays and all four are pegged to be starters on Opening Day. To put that in comparison, the Miami Hurricanes have two switch-hitters on their entire roster.

Almost anyone in the lineup has the possibility of sending a pitch out of the park. Shortstop Taylor Walls, who head coach Mike Martin has said several times is not a home run hitter, will again serve as the table-setter. Walls will not lead the team in home runs, but he did hit six home runs last season out of the lead-off spot and has only gotten stronger entering his junior season.

“I have not played with any real lineups yet, although I did mess with one at 5:30 this morning just to see what it would look like.” Martin said. “We have a chance to have a lineup that is very different than we have ever had before.”

Florida State will only be replacing two position players from the 2016 season. Ben DeLuzio signed a free-agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and John Sansone was drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.

Defensively, DeLuzio was a star in center field for the Seminoles. J.C. Flowers will likely be the man replacing him in the outfield for the 2017 season. Martin has raved about Flowers’ defensively ability; he gets great reads off the bat and can track the ball very well. Flowers has room to grow at the plate though, so it could feel like DeLuzio never left.

Drew Mendoza, a freshman from Minneola, Florida, was the highest rated player by Baseball America to not sign a professional contract. Despite missing the fall season with a broken jaw, Mendoza is expected to take over third for the Seminoles while hitting close to the top of the order.

As a high school senior, the lefty hit .416 in 28 games with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in. At 6-4, his power is only expected to increase as he grows into his body more and becomes comfortable at the college level.

Nick Derr and Tyler Daughtry are two guys to keep an eye out for in February, with both coming off impressive freshman fall camps. The two will both be applying pressure on second baseman Matt Henderson, who never really got his bat going last season. Henderson appeared in 60 games, where he hit .230 with 14 runs driven in.

Derr and Daughtry can both hold their own at the plate. Henderson’s defensive abilities will keep him in the lineup early, but if his bat does not come around, Derr and Daughtry are both viable options to step in.

“The young guys are pushing the veterans, but the veterans are still doing a good job of helping the young guys along.” Martin said. “Everyone is fighting for a job, and that’s a good thing.”

Junior All-American Taylor Walls is going to be the heart and soul of this Seminoles team. Walls is going to be taking over that leadership role that Sansone filled last season and Martin is happy with what Walls has shown to this point.

“Walls played on the USA team, he’s a first-team All-American,” the FSU head coach said. “He has really shown me that the leadership on this team is evident.”

Florida State’s lineup should take this ball club a long way in 2017; it has a very mature lineup that will not make anything easy for opposing pitchers. In addition to Walls and the newcomers, FSU returns 2016 home run leader Dylan Busby, Freshman All-American catcher Cal Raleigh and leading hitter Jackson Lueck among others.

With Flowers entering the lineup, the Seminoles should have the speed to beat opponents on the base paths and the power to beat them with the long ball.

“It was a good fall, we learned a lot about our club.” Martin said following the 13-6 win against Ontario. “We have the possibility to do some damage.”

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