The Germans had their blitzkrieg. The Spanish, their Armada. Kevin O’Sullivan’s arsenal of hurlers may do more damage.
The nation’s No. 1 team is powered by a strong contingent of pitchers, returning the weekend rotation and nearly every valuable arm from last season.
Florida’s manager, and pitching coach, presides over a seasoned bag of riches, unusual in the college ranks due to graduation and players being plucked by the MLB Draft. Although other nationally renowned programs return major components of their rotation, most teams experienced significant attrition.
Despite returning one of the best bullpens in the country, defending national champion South Carolina lost both its front-line starters. The Gators are one of three teams in Baseball America’s top five to return their entire weekend rotation, and No. 2 UCLA and No.3 TCU must replace three and four steady bullpen arms.
But not Florida.
O’Sullivan’s highly touted staff lost just one major contributor from last season in closer Kevin Chapman. Florida has a luxury most others do not: depth, and the infusion of more talent.
O’Sullivan’s recruiting philosophy of collecting high-quality arms has paid sizable dividends to UF’s chances to win its first national championship.
“Very rarely do you ever get your whole weekend rotation back,” he said. “To have all three guys back, and to add some really talented freshmen and some other guys that have improved as well, is great.”
While Florida doesn’t roll out a traditional Friday night ace, its strength is in numbers.
There’s no Roger Clemens Award candidate like Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State, 2009) or Andrew Miller (North Carolina, 2006), but “we’ve got a lot of really good players,” O’Sullivan said.
Despite leading the Gators in wins (11), strikeouts (82) and innings (100) last season, Alex Panteliodis isn’t slated to start in the weekend rotation. Junior Tommy Toledo started 11 games as a freshman, but his role this season is undefined.
Brian Johnson, a gifted sophomore who started in the weekend rotation a year ago and is slated to take the mound for tonight’s opener against South Florida, said UF has a talented group of throwers who could be prominent weekend starters on most teams.
Florida’s skipper agreed, saying, “We’ve got five or six options we can go start.
“Every year, it’s the same thing. The weekend rotation at the beginning is never the same at the end. It always works out that way.”
Last season, Panteliodis led the way with 11 wins, but he opened the season in the bullpen. Hudson Randall, scheduled to start Saturday, led all starters in ERA, but the righty began the year as a long reliever.
Johnson, a left-hander, was the only hurler who stayed in O’Sullivan’s original weekend rotation for the season’s entirety.
O’Sullivan’s wealth of options strengthened this offseason when freshman Karsten Whitson, the ninth overall pick by San Diego, turned down $2.1 million to play at UF.
The hard-throwing right-hander is set to start Sunday’s finale against USF, but he is just one of several promising freshman O’Sullivan is excited about.
O’Sullivan’s third consecutive top-five recruiting class produced lefty Daniel Gibson and righty Keenan Kish. Both could contribute immediately.
Last year’s two freshman All-Americans, Johnson and Randall, said competition has been a driving force this offseason, pushing every pitcher to make adjustments and improve just to maintain their slot.
“You know you can’t foul up because someone is going to take your spot and fill the hole,” Johnson said.
Randall, known for his pinpoint control, worked on his velocity by getting stronger and shoring up his mechanics. During his stint on Team USA, Johnson picked the brain of UCLA ace Gerrit Cole and developed a changeup.
Juniors Nick Maronde and Greg Larson, two promising pitchers who struggled with control last season, concentrated their side sessions on location.
While Johnson and Randall played coy about their starting roles, others are just waiting for their names to be called.
Sophomore Steven ‘Paco’ Rodriguez, a lefty with a nasty diving cutter, said he strained his body in conditioning and training and is ready to make the most of his opportunity.
Rodriguez, along with Maronde, Larson and others, form a deep bullpen likely to operate without defined roles.
When asked about specific slots for a staff with so much depth, O’Sullivan responded rhetorically: “Is Paco our closer? I don’t know. Is Maronde our closer? I don’t know. Can Tommy Toledo go out there and shut down the ninth? I don’t know. Is he one of our top three starters? I don’t know, but we’re going to try a lot of different things and see what happens.
“I do know this: You have to pitch and play defense to give yourself a chance to win every day, and we’re going to do that.”
