The Daily Nole

FSU Baseball: Three Options for Replacing Drew Mendoza

Colin Abbey/FSU athletics

The 2017 baseball season has not yet started for Florida State and the Seminoles already have injury issues. In a release issued Friday, it was confirmed that highly-touted freshman Drew Mendoza will miss 4-8 weeks with a broken thumb, for which Mendoza will undergo surgery on Monday.

Mendoza was thought to be the everyday player for FSU either at third base or at first. Which side of the diamond Mendoza played would have ultimately been dependent on where head coach Mike Martin felt most comfortable with junior Dylan Busby. Busby was the Seminoles’ third baseman as a freshman before moving over to first last season.

With Mendoza out, FSU must find a way to replace the heralded freshman, who will be out a month if not two. Here are three (perhaps of many) possibilities for FSU moving forward:

1. Busby at third, Quincy Nieporte at first
With Drew Mendonza out, there looks to be a pretty good chance that Busby will return to the hot corner. If that’s the case, the question then becomes who mans first base. The answer could be Quincy Nieporte, who split time at the position with Chris Marconcini during the 2015 season. Nieporte was mostly used as the team’s designated hitter a season ago. If Nieporte went back to the infield, possible options at designated hitter could include Nick Derr, Donovan Petrey, Rhett Aplin and Steven Wells, Jr. Another occasional option could be Tyler Holton. In September, The Daily Nole reported that Holton’s focus would be on pitching, but not having to play the field when he’s not on the mound could leave this as a temporary option.

2. Busby at first, Nick Derr at third
Nick Derr might not be Drew Mendoza, but he’s a freshman infielder the Seminoles are very high on. Derr was a 33rd round pick of the Cincinnati Reds as a shortstop, but decided to come to FSU instead. All-American Taylor Walls won’t be giving up his shortstop position any time soon, but Derr could play to Walls’ right until Mendoza heals. If that happens, Busby would be able to return to first base and Nieporte could keep his job as the team’s designated hitter.

3. Busby at third, Kyle Cavanaugh at first
If Martin wants Busby at third and Nieporte to remain the designated hitter, Kyle Cavanaugh could be an option at first base. Cavanaugh is a redshirt junior who previously played at N.C. State and Tallahassee Community College. As a freshman for the Wolfpack in 2014, Cavanaugh hit .257 in 22 games, but did not commit an error at first base. At TCC last season, he hit .399 with 58 RBIs in 51 games while boasting a .988 fielding percentage. Nieporte’s fielding percentage two years ago was .985, but his range is very limited. This might be FSU’s best defensive lineup after finishing just 10th in the ACC in fielding last season and with the third most errors in the conference.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply