FSU Baseball: Should Warmoth Remain Closer as Postseason Approaches?

It was a welcome sight for Florida State fans on Sunday as senior closer Tyler Warmoth retired each of the four batters he faced to pick up his fourth save in the Seminoles’ 4-3 victory over Duke.

Warmoth’s solid performance at the back end of the bullpen came after a string of shaky appearances, but should the Stetson transfer be the guy that head coach Mike Martin depends on when it comes to sealing contests?

Prior to Sunday’s victory, Warmoth’s last appearance was one to forget. In a contest where FSU battled back from six runs down to force extra innings against Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday, Warmoth took the loss after being beat up for three runs in the 10th inning.

A sacrifice fly by Jake Smith put the Eagles ahead for good before Tyler Selesky’s 2-run home run gave FGCU some needed breathing room in an 11-8 loss for FSU. Keeping opposing teams in the ballpark has been the biggest obstacle for Warmoth so far this season.

In 12-inning victory over Notre Dame on April 23, Warmoth blew the save by giving up a 2-run blast to Jake Shepski with two outs in the top of the 9th. FSU would circle the wagons and win the contest but not being able to lock down the save forced Martin to delve further into his bullpen.

In a March 23 contest against UCF, Warmoth entered in the eighth inning with two outs and two runners on in a game the Seminoles led 3-1. Against the first batter he faced, Warmoth allowed a 3-run home run to Austin Griffin, which gave the Knights a 4-3 lead. The Seminoles would rally with a run in the bottom half of the inning and another in the 11th, but again, a bigger burden was forced onto the FSU bullpen.

With guys like Jameis Winston and Billy Strode at the back end of the FSU pen, the closer role hasn’t been a huge concern for the Seminoles in recent years, but this season, it certainly could be.

Warmoth is 0-1 with a 4.78 ERA in 18 appearances this season. In his 26 1/3 innings of work this season, Warmoth has been around the plate with 36 strikeouts and only five walks. Warmoth however, has almost as many blown saves (three) as actual saves (four) and among FSU relievers with at least 10 appearances, only Will Zirzow has a higher ERA.

Entering the season, inserting Warmoth as the closer seemed like a reasonable conclusion to come to. Warmoth recorded nine saves last year for Stetson and 10 the year before while the rest of the FSU bullpen was largely unproven in key roles.

To this point however, the bullpen has been one of the Seminoles’ most pleasant surprises and biggest strengths. Warmoth on the other hand, has been one of the bullpen’s weak links.

Chase Haney, Alec Byrd, Jim Voyles and Ed Voyles all have at least 15 appearances for FSU this season and each has an ERA below three. With the start of the NCAA Tournament less than three weeks away, one of the four mentioned above could serve as a better option for the Seminoles when it comes to locking down wins.

Byrd is a finesse left-hander, who might be better served in middle relief or as a situational reliever to shut down lefties at the plate. Haney on the other hand, is a strikeout pitcher with a deceptive delivery while Jim Voyles has been one of the nation’s best relievers.

To go along with a minuscule 1.35 ERA, Jim Voyles leads the Seminoles with six wins in 19 appearances. He made his first appearance since being hit in the head by a line drive three weeks prior on Sunday and picked up the win in FSU’s victory over Duke. Last month, the junior was among 72 pitchers named to the National Pitcher of the Year watch list.

The Seminoles visit Warmoth’s former school, Stetson, on Tuesday before concluding the regular season with a huge home series against rival Miami over the weekend. Which course of action Martin takes will of course be up to him, but on the surface, it appears Warmoth might not be FSU’s best option moving forward.

While the Seminoles have realistic hopes of returning to Omaha for the College World Series for the first time in four years, they do have their fair share of weaknesses. The Florida State bullpen is too deep and talented for the closer role to become another.