USF Athletics

USF Baseball Position Preview: Pitchers

February 01, 2019

POSITION PREVIEW NO. 1: OUTFIELD
POSITION PREVIEW NO. 2: INFIELD
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, FEB. 1, 2019 – Since second-year head coach Billy Mohl joined the USF coaching staff for the 2015 season, Bulls fans have always been able to count on the program having a productive pitching staff.

Under Mohl's guidance as the pitching coach, USF's arms have racked up at least 500 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons and the Bulls continue to be rewarded. 2018 MLB Draft picks included former USF ace Shane McClanahan (first round) and closer Andrew Perez (eighth round) while trusty Saturday starter Peter Strzelecki has made the most of his undrafted free agent opportunity with the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Those are going to be hard guys to replace," Mohl said.

Entering the 2019 season, Mohl is seeing "how the cards align" when it comes to the starting rotation with a good group of trusty veterans and numerous newcomers vying for playing time.

"We've got a lot of talent," Mohl said. "It's just finding the right guys in the right spots to match them up."

Fortunately for the rotation competitors, Mohl is giving each arm plenty of opportunities to shine during a preseason that's getting the Bulls battle tested right out of the gates. Since the start of practice on Jan. 25, USF has been playing intersquad games each weekend and every Tuesday.

"When we get into the season, we've had basically three weeks of games prior to opening day," Mohl said.

Once the season starts up in two weeks, competition will keep going as Mohl isn't afraid to tinker with the rotation selection until it's right where he wants it.

"It's going to be a fluid movement until we get to conference play," he said.

As for the deep bullpen, Mohl has two power arms in the race to replace Perez as the team's new closer.

"Right now, it's Graham Hoffman and Nelson Alvarez going at it," Mohl said. "… It might be similar to two years ago when you had (Joe) Cavallaro and Perez. One closes one night, one closes the other night. We're still kind of working through those things."

Before the Bulls start the season, let's take a closer look at Mohl's pitching staff talent leading up to the first series of 2019 against Samford that takes place Feb. 15-17 at USF Baseball Stadium.

Starter Candidates
Alec Wisely: The right-handed senior is in the mix again for a weekend spot after going 3-0 last season with a 3.61 ERA in 19 appearances (five starts) while also picking up a save. The Jacksonville, Fla., native struck out 52 batters in 47.1 innings as a first-year Bull.

Collin Sullivan: The junior right-hander primarily served as USF's Sunday starter in 2018 and his 14 starts last season led all returning pitchers for the Bulls. The Randolph, Mass., native posted a 3-1 record in his first season as a regular starter with a 3.80 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 64 innings of work.

"We'll always go with proven guys over unknowns, but we've got some guys on their heels and that's what creates the competitive environment for us," Mohl said. "We have options. It's just going to take a little time to piece those options together once the lights go on."

Baron Stuart: The sophomore right-hander handled the pressure of starting 10 games right away quite well in 2018, going 2-2 with 27 strikeouts through 38.1 innings (12 total appearances). At Okeechobee (Fla.) High School, Stuart went a combined 14-5 with a 1.51 ERA and earned Rick Ankiel Treasure Coast Player of the Year honors as a senior.

"He was our midweek starter all of last year as a freshman," Mohl said. "He had a pretty solid freshman year and we're looking for him to take the next step."

Ben Koff: Another right-hander in contention for a weekend spot, the junior joins the Bulls after playing two seasons for College of Central Florida. Prior to college ball, the Gainesville, Fla., native was a three-year varsity letterman at Buchholz High School.

Pat Doudican: The left-handed junior from Wall, N.J., is competing for a weekend job heading into his first season with USF. Doudican played for Polk State College the past two seasons and led the FCSAA in strikeouts in 2017.

Closer Options
Graham Hoffman: The sophomore righty from Tampa struck out 14 in 13 innings as a reliever in 2018. At Calvary Christian High School, Hoffman was coached and mentored by the late Roy Halladay, a 2019 MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

Nelson Alvarez: The junior right-hander from Miami heads into his first season with the Bulls after totaling 69 strikeouts in 53.1 innings for Miami Dade College the past two years.

"He's a big, 6-4 righty who is up to 97," Mohl said. "He's a power guy on the back end."

Middle Relievers
Richie Cruz: The senior righty from Miami was a reliable arm as a first-year Bull in 2018, striking out 24 in 21.1 innings with a 3.27 ERA.

"He was key out of our bullpen last year," Mohl said.

Kevin King: The senior left-hander from Orlando was a go-to arm in his debut season for USF in 2018 with 30 strikeouts in 25 innings. King produced 13 scoreless outings and pitched multiple innings six times.

"He threw some big innings for us last year," Mohl said.

Noah Yager: The junior lefty from Davie, Fla., was an inning-eating machine for the Bulls last season, going 2-1 with a 3.47 ERA and 36 strikeouts through 36.1 frames (one start).

"He's going to throw some big innings for us once he gets healthy," Mohl said.

Connor Eason: The redshirt junior left-hander from Chesapeake, Va., ranked second on the 2018 staff with a 2.70 ERA in 15 appearances (20 innings). This year, he'll be giving hitters a different look that Mohl likes.

"We revamped his delivery and turned him into a sidewinder, kind of like Cruz," Mohl said. "We have a left-handed, sidewinder option out of the bullpen."

Logan Lyle: The junior left-hander from Bartow, Fla., joins the Bulls after registering a combined 11-2 record with 110 strikeouts in the past two seasons for State College of Florida.

Dylan Burns: The redshirt junior righty from Vero Beach, Fla., gained 11.1 innings of bullpen experience last season and struck out 11.

Max Holmes: The sophomore right-hander from Jacksonville, Fla., posted a 3.24 ERA in 8.1 innings of relief last season after earning multiple All-First Coast honors in his prep career at Providence High School.

Matt Marini: The junior right-hander from Miami will make his first run with the Bulls after striking out 51 batters in 45.2 innings the past two seasons for St. John's River State College.

Justin Stewart: The freshman righty from Bartow, Fla., played three years on Bartow High School's varsity squad and made the all-state team as a senior.

"Our bullpen depth is really good," Mohl said.

On the Mend
Carson Ragsdale: Mohl said the Bulls will really miss having the junior right-hander from Wesley Chapel, Fla., who pitched 21.1 quality innings for the program last year on top of earning 13 starts at DH/first base. Mohl noted Ragsdale is "lost for the year to Tommy John surgery."

"That hurts because he was finally turning the corner and was up to 95 before he got hurt," Mohl added. "He's a big loss for us, especially coming off the regional he had last year where he went back-to-back-to-back outings and threw really well."
 
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and followed that success with a 42-19 record and second NCAA regional trip in three years in 2017. The Bulls continued the success under first-year head coach Billy Mohl in 2018, reaching 36 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls for the final two months. USF earned its third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. The team had four players drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first rounder, Shane McClanahan. Junior third baseman David Villarwas taken in the 11^th round after tallying 24 doubles and hitting better than .370, being named first team all-conference and an All-American. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA tournament appearances.
 
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