FAU coach John McCormack talks to some of his players during the first practice of the season on Friday. (FAUOwlAccess Photo)
Getting ready for 2010
With the FAU baseball team holding its first pre-season practice over the weekend, it’s time to take a look at what the Owls hope to accomplish before the season-opener on Feb. 19.
Originally published on
2/2/2010
by
Marcus Nelson
BOCA RATON – The Florida Atlantic baseball team began workouts this weekend for the 2010 season. FAUOwlAccess.com was there for the first workout and talked with coach John McCormack about the preparation for the season opener vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 19.
Here’s five burning questions for the Owls as they begin to get ready for the season.
What will the starting rotation look like?
Last season FAU was constantly tinkering with its weekend conference rotation to find the right combination, eventually using six players to start conference games. Mike Gipson (4-5, 5.93) will have the most experience. Lefthander Barry Rooks (3-2, 5.46) started nine games last season and Ahmed Garcia will also be in the mix.
“We talked to some of the guys about the consistency,” said FAU coach John McCormack. “We told them that every time we call on you we should have a good feel of what we are going to get.”
The Owls are hoping for big things from junior college transfer Taylor Everist and freshman Kevin Alexander who likely will be in the rotation as well.
What about another area that was up and down last season - The bullpen?
It was a risky proposition last season using true freshman Hugh Adams in the closer role. This year, the Owls are leaving nothing to chance and will start the season with junior Glen Troyanowski (4-3, 5.75), who led the team with 6 saves, coming out of the pen to close out games. Adams will still be asked to contribute, but Troyanowski should help the confidence of the Owls’ young starting pitchers.
“Glen is going to be the closer,” McCormack said. “He has a comfort level there which is good.”
Junior college transfer Jason Kitchen will also get plenty of work out of the bullpen.
Who has to pick up the offensive load for the loss of players who combined to hit 49 of the Owls’ 59 homers last season?
The Owls have plenty of holes to fill with loss of William Block, Travis Ozga, David Wilson and the dependable Tom Hatcher. The punch in the lineup will have to come from catcher Mike Albaladejo, who caught fire down the stretch and shortstop Nick DelGuidice, who had plenty of key hits last season.
Also the Owls will be looking for some newcomers to come in right away and contribute including junior college transfers Andy Mee and Dan Scheffler.
“I don’t think we’ll hit 100 homers, but I think we’ll be close to where we were,” McCormack said. “Dan Scheffler is from junior college and he’s about as big a power guy as we’ve had here in 10 years. I think we we’ll have a good lineup from top to bottom.”
What position battle will be worth watching closely in the pre-season?
Like last season, there is a tight battle for the starting third baseman spot. This year it's between junior Colby Gratton, junior Sean Bukovich and freshman Chase Vergason.
Gratton hit .333 last season and Bukovich hit .309. Vergason played last season for Bishop Moore High School.
The battle last season between Bukovich, Troy Bubley and Joey Burkhalter was eventually won by Bubley, but the competition made all the players better and all contributed. A similar situation could happen this season.
How much different will it be for the Owls in the second year with McCormack as the head coach.
Last season McCormack didn’t have long to prepare for his first season as a head coach after he was hired in June 2008, but he could lean on his 19 years as an Owls assistant to guide him through the rough patches.
But the Owls rallied at the end of the season winning four out of their final six SBC games to qualify for the SBC Tournament.
This year’s team has most of the players who were recruited by McCormack and his staff, so it will be interesting to see how the team evolves after last year’s 30-26 mark.
“I learned a lot,” McCormack said. “The biggest thing was to trust yourself and trust your gut. You don’t stop taking advice from other people, but at the end of the day I have to make the decision. This year we have had more time to put our stuff in and we’re better for it. This is a good group of guys who believe in the team concept and we’re ready to get started.”