The cast is off.
At least, that’s what Florida State freshman infielder Drew Mendoza said on Twitter on Tuesday. The highly-touted freshman missed the first month of the season for FSU with a broken thumb, but his highly-anticipated debut may not be that far away.
Mendoza was a prospect that likely would have gone in the first round of last year’s Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, but it would have taken a large signing bonus to lure him away from Tallahassee. Mendoza is at FSU and fans along with head coach Mike Martin are certainly excited about that.
The question for Martin and company to wrestle with upon Mendoza’s return however, is this: what does the lineup look like? Despite getting blanked by rival Florida on Tuesday and being 1-hit twice already this season, FSU still ranks among the nation’s leaders in runs scored and on-base percentage, meaning finding someone to squeeze out won’t be easy.
Mendoza is expected to man either first base or third base for the Seminoles. Dylan Busby, who has been playing third after becoming the everyday first baseman last year, would likely play at the opposite corner. First baseman Quincy Nieporte would likely move back to his 2016 role as the designated hitter.
When Jackson Lueck returns from having shin splints, he’ll undoubtedly man the left field spot. It’s also unlikely that anyone but J.C. Flowers plays center field. That leaves freshmen Tyler Daughtry and Nick Derr to fight for time in right field along with junior Rhett Aplin.
All three of have been productive this year. Derr and Aplin are both hitting over .300 this season while Daughtry is among the ACC leaders in on-base percentage. As a left-handed hitter, Aplin will probably sit most games against left-handed pitching.
The good news for FSU is that both Daughtry and Derr have the versatility to play either the infield or the outfield. That could lead to the squeezing out of second baseman Matt Henderson. Henderson is solid defensively, but is hitting just .211 this season after batting .230 last year.
That would leave four players battling for two spots in the lineup, but it is likely Martin would shift lineups routinely and play the match-ups in-game, which could lead to plenty of at-bats for Aplin, Derr and Daughtry. Using Henderson as a defensive replacement at the end of games is also an option.
If Martin wants to slowly work Mendoza into the lineup as he returns from injury, it’s possible there could be five players vying to fill three spots.
As the season goes on and players get healthy, Martin will probably have a more concrete grip on what the day-to-day lineup looks like with some variations, depending on who’s on the mound for the other team and who’s hot for his team. Any way you spin it, this doesn’t seem like a bad problem to have.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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