On Fridays and Saturdays, Kevin O’Sullivan doesn’t have much to worry about.
The Florida coach has two established starting pitchers in juniors Jonathon Crawford and Karsten Whitson.
Following a promising freshman season, Whitson tailed off in his sophomore campaign.
After being hampered by a lingering groin injury in the fall of 2011, he was behind the curve from the get-go in 2012.
But by all accounts, he is back to his old form and ready to assume one of the top spots in the Gators’ rotation.
Crawford, unlike Whitson, pitched the best ball of his career last year after throwing just 3.2 innings as a freshman. In 77.2 innings, Crawford recorded 73 strikeouts with a 3.13 ERA in 2012. He also threw Florida’s first no-hitter since 1991 in its NCAA Regional opener against Bethune-Cookman.
The third spot in the rotation? For the first time in many years, it’s up for grabs.
In 2012, the Gators returned their top three starters from the previous season — Whitson, Hudson Randall and Brian Johnson. Randall and Johnson were already mainstays in the rotation prior to the 2011 season, and the highly touted Whitson won a weekend spot early on. But even if Whitson disappointed as a freshman, O’Sullivan had Alex Panteliodis, who started 26 games between 2009 and 2010, ready to step in.
Florida does not have that same pitching depth, as a reloaded roster prepares for the 2013 season.
Sophomores Corey Stump and Johnny Magliozzi and junior Keenan Kish are candidates for the job.
Magliozzi is the only pitcher, aside from Whitson and Crawford, who has made more than two career starts.
Stump is, by far, the least experienced of the group with just four career innings pitched, but he should still be the one taking the mound on Sundays.
Stump should get the nod because, unlike Magliozzi, Whitson, Kish and Crawford, he is a lefty. The Gators are going to face teams that have multiple good left-handed hitters. Ideally, Florida would like to neutralize a lefty-heavy team with a southpaw at least once per weekend.
While he didn’t get on the field much in 2012, Stump has the pedigree to warrant a shot in the weekend rotation.
Prior to his freshman season, Stump was ranked as the No. 1 Top Prospect in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League by Perfect Game and was the fifth-ranked prospect in the country by Baseball America.
The 6-foot-5 Stump allowed one earned run in four innings in 2012.
His repertoire includes a fastball, a curveball and a changeup.
The sample size for Stump at the collegiate level is admittedly small, but that doesn’t mean O’Sullivan shouldn’t give him a shot in non-conference play. In addition to the other possible third starters, Florida has Daniel Gibson, Ryan Harris and Bobby Poyner in the bullpen to relieve Stump if he were to look shaky.
But the first couple of series would provide the best opportunity to test Stump as a starter.
Florida opens against Duke, which finished last season with a record of 21-34. Their second weekend series is against Florida Gulf Coast, which also ended last season worse than .500.
The track record might not be there, but the Gators should give Corey Stump a chance to give them the left-handed presence they’ve had in the rotation in each of the previous four seasons — all of which ended with at least 42 wins.
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan approaches the mound for a meeting with catcher Mike Zunino (3) and pitcher Daniel Gibson.
