Photo by Abigail Cook, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Series Preview: #1 Texas A&M at #2 Florida
Who: No. 2 Florida Gators (24-3, 4-2 SEC)
Where: Perry Field – Gainesville, Fla.
When: Friday 6:00 pm CT (SEC+)
Saturday 6:30 pm CT (ESPNU)
Sunday 1:00 pm CT (ESPNU)
There's a reason why many national pundits picked the Gators to win the national championship in 2016 — Florida is the best team on paper, bar none. Mitch Light, managing editor of Athlon Sports, said yesterday that this Florida team is the best college baseball team he's seen in over a decade.
On offense, Florida is hitting .291 as a team led by shortstop Dalton Guthrie (.358), Deacon Liput (.340), and Peter Alonso (.337). But batting average doesn't tell the whole story. Florida knows how to get on base and works deep in the count for free passes and forces the opposing pitcher to throw strikes. The Gators have walked a total of 119 times and five starters in the lineup carry an on-base percentage greater than .400.
They also possess power with 25 home runs, and three hitters with four or more long balls. Alonso and Mike Rivera lead the team with 28 RBI each. They also have speed in the batting order with Buddy Reed leading the way with 12 steals in 13 attempts. Overall, four starters have five or more stolen bases on the season.
Ironically, Puk has struggled in 2016 by this team's standards with a 1-2 record and a 3.49 ERA. He suffered one of the losses last weekend to Kentucky and he's been moved down to the Sunday start.
Friday night starter Logan Shore is a perfect 5-0 on the season with a stingy 2.89 ERA. Not to be out-done, Alex Faedo will bring a 5-0 record as well and a 2.70 ERA into his Saturday outing. Overall, the weekend starters have given up 30 fewer hits than innings pitched and have combined for a blistering 131 strikeouts and only 22 walks.
Shaun Anderson is the designated closer with a 1.56 ERA and four saves; he has not walked a batter this season in 17 innings of work. Florida is deep in the bullpen as expected, with its three top relievers sporting ERAs under 2.25. As a whole, the pitching staff has a team ERA of just 2.75. Texas A&M's pitching better be hitting on all cylinders, because this Gator pitching staff won't allow many Aggies to cross the plate this weekend.
And the Aggies won't get much help from the Florida defense, which is carrying a sparkling .982 fielding percentage. There's a reason college baseball pundits like this team — no weaknesses.
The Aggie offense is on fire at the moment with a team .335 batting average, which ranks fourth in the nation. Eight batters in the lineup are hitting over .300 and six are swinging at a .325 or higher clip. Texas A&M is doing it with power as well ranking sixth in slugging percentage (.508), but the Aggies also finding ways to get on-base (.411 OBP which places them 11th in the nation).
The offense starts in the leadoff spot with J.B. Moss, who is having a dream senior season with a .410 batting average and a scorching .680 slugging percentage.
The top of the order has been the catalyst all season. After a slow start, Ryne Birk has raised his average to .343 in the two-hole, while Boomer White has been phenomenal all season at .388 in the three-hole. Senior Hunter Melton has been in the clean-up spot all season leading the team in RBI (28) and home runs (4).
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies feature one of the nation's truly elite lineups, which could only be bolstered by Nick Banks rounding further into form.
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With all of that production in the 1-4 spots, the most critical hitter for the Aggies this weekend and beyond could be preseason All-American Nick Banks, who has struggled through the first five weeks of the schedule. However, after a critical home run in the LSU series and then a big three-hit game on Tuesday against UH, it appears that Mr. Banks is starting to hit the ball better — and that's bad news for SEC pitching. All three hits on Tuesday went the opposite way to left field which means Banks is seeing the ball better and waiting on it.
It may take an All-American caliber hitter to ding the first-round arms that Florida will be throwing.
The Aggies can match Florida's depth on the pitching mound, but can they match the elite arms in Florida's starting rotation? That has come into question with the sudden illness to Friday night starter Jace Vines. Originally ruled out for the series when he didn't travel with the team yesterday, Vines was given the all-clear sign by the doctors and he'll be on a plane Friday morning.
There's no way to judge whether Vines will be a factor this weekend, but with him traveling on game day, a Friday start is ruled out.
That leaves true freshman Tyler Ivey as the Friday night ace against the No. 3 team in the nation on their field. That is a tall order for any freshman, but Ivey has proven to be anything but a wide-eyed fish so far with a 1.97 ERA and a perfect record.
Kyle Simonds has been rock-solid this season after a shaky season debut in February. Simonds doesn't garner a lot of headlines or much buzz from the Texas A&M fans, but his 5-0 record and 2.83 ERA is every bit as good as the heralded Florida starting pitchers. The key for Simonds is to stay ahead in the count and keep his sinking pitches under the hands of the dangerous Gator hitters.
We'll have to wait and see who Rob Childress throws on Sunday. For now, you have to think it's Vines because he made the trip and he'll have an extra two days to regain his strength.
However, the key to winning a game or two in Gainesville could come down to the effectiveness and command of Ryan Hendrix. While he's gotten the job done this season (2.03 ERA, five saves), he hasn't been smooth and has had to work out of some difficult jams due to his lack of control (nine walks in 13 innings). He won't be able to get away with that against this UF lineup.
Everything is at stake this weekend. The Aggies are putting their No. 1 ranking on the line against arguably the best college team in the nation at a venue where the home team is riding a school record 24-game winning streak. This is the toughest assignment of the season by far.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
With a series win, Rob Childress' team could give itself an essential leg up in the race for the SEC crown and a national seed.
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All eyes of the college baseball world will be fixed on Gainesville this weekend, as will ESPN for the Saturday and Sunday contests. Pundits and the rest of the SEC want to see if the Aggies are for real.
It's also another important SEC series, and while the Aggies are No. 1 in the nation, they trail South Carolina in the conference standings by two games heading into the week's series. Losing two or three games in Florida will hurt more than just the bruising from losing the No. 1 ranking on national television. A bad weekend could find Texas A&M significantly behind the leaders in the SEC race.
A good weekend with a series win will validate the team's No. 1 ranking and will place the Aggies squarely near the top of the SEC standings. More importantly, a series win against such a high-caliber team in its house will give Texas A&M a huge confidence boost going forward. If they can beat Florida in Gainesville, the Aggies can beat anybody, anywhere because it doesn't get tougher than this weekend — and that includes the postseason and Omaha.
Win this weekend and the sky is the limit for this squad.
With that said, this is one of eight remaining tough SEC series. Whatever happens this weekend will get a lot of publicity, but there are still 21 SEC contests after this weekend. Winning this series won't make the season for the Aggies. Losing the series won't end the season for them either. It's a statement weekend, but ultimately every weekend in the meat grinder known as SEC baseball is a statement weekend.
This one just has a little more buzz to it.
Where: Perry Field – Gainesville, Fla.
When: Friday 6:00 pm CT (SEC+)
Saturday 6:30 pm CT (ESPNU)
Sunday 1:00 pm CT (ESPNU)
Pitching matchups
- Friday: Tyler Ivey (RHP, 2-0, 1.97) vs. Logan Shore (RHP, 5-0, 2.89)
- Saturday: Kyle Simonds (RHP, 5-0, 2.83) vs. Alex Faedo (RHP, 5-0, 2.70)
- Sunday: TBA vs. A.J. Puk (LHP, 1-2, 3.49)
Florida players to watch
The better question is who not to watch. This is a loaded team from top-to-bottom. There are no weaknesses and many strengths.There's a reason why many national pundits picked the Gators to win the national championship in 2016 — Florida is the best team on paper, bar none. Mitch Light, managing editor of Athlon Sports, said yesterday that this Florida team is the best college baseball team he's seen in over a decade.
On offense, Florida is hitting .291 as a team led by shortstop Dalton Guthrie (.358), Deacon Liput (.340), and Peter Alonso (.337). But batting average doesn't tell the whole story. Florida knows how to get on base and works deep in the count for free passes and forces the opposing pitcher to throw strikes. The Gators have walked a total of 119 times and five starters in the lineup carry an on-base percentage greater than .400.
They also possess power with 25 home runs, and three hitters with four or more long balls. Alonso and Mike Rivera lead the team with 28 RBI each. They also have speed in the batting order with Buddy Reed leading the way with 12 steals in 13 attempts. Overall, four starters have five or more stolen bases on the season.
Overall, the weekend starters have given up 30 fewer hits than innings pitched and have combined for a blistering 131 strikeouts and only 22 walks.
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With all that said about the offense, pundits point to the arms on the mound as the main reason Florida separates itself from the rest of college baseball with three potential first round picks in the weekend rotation — led by all-American A.J. Puk. Ironically, Puk has struggled in 2016 by this team's standards with a 1-2 record and a 3.49 ERA. He suffered one of the losses last weekend to Kentucky and he's been moved down to the Sunday start.
Friday night starter Logan Shore is a perfect 5-0 on the season with a stingy 2.89 ERA. Not to be out-done, Alex Faedo will bring a 5-0 record as well and a 2.70 ERA into his Saturday outing. Overall, the weekend starters have given up 30 fewer hits than innings pitched and have combined for a blistering 131 strikeouts and only 22 walks.
Shaun Anderson is the designated closer with a 1.56 ERA and four saves; he has not walked a batter this season in 17 innings of work. Florida is deep in the bullpen as expected, with its three top relievers sporting ERAs under 2.25. As a whole, the pitching staff has a team ERA of just 2.75. Texas A&M's pitching better be hitting on all cylinders, because this Gator pitching staff won't allow many Aggies to cross the plate this weekend.
And the Aggies won't get much help from the Florida defense, which is carrying a sparkling .982 fielding percentage. There's a reason college baseball pundits like this team — no weaknesses.
Texas A&M players to watch
After reading the Florida section, the task looks daunting on the road. But, Texas A&M has a few weapons as well and currently holds the nation's No. 1 ranking in most polls. This team can hit and pitch with the best of them, too.The Aggie offense is on fire at the moment with a team .335 batting average, which ranks fourth in the nation. Eight batters in the lineup are hitting over .300 and six are swinging at a .325 or higher clip. Texas A&M is doing it with power as well ranking sixth in slugging percentage (.508), but the Aggies also finding ways to get on-base (.411 OBP which places them 11th in the nation).
The offense starts in the leadoff spot with J.B. Moss, who is having a dream senior season with a .410 batting average and a scorching .680 slugging percentage.
The top of the order has been the catalyst all season. After a slow start, Ryne Birk has raised his average to .343 in the two-hole, while Boomer White has been phenomenal all season at .388 in the three-hole. Senior Hunter Melton has been in the clean-up spot all season leading the team in RBI (28) and home runs (4).
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies feature one of the nation's truly elite lineups, which could only be bolstered by Nick Banks rounding further into form.
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It may take an All-American caliber hitter to ding the first-round arms that Florida will be throwing.
The Aggies can match Florida's depth on the pitching mound, but can they match the elite arms in Florida's starting rotation? That has come into question with the sudden illness to Friday night starter Jace Vines. Originally ruled out for the series when he didn't travel with the team yesterday, Vines was given the all-clear sign by the doctors and he'll be on a plane Friday morning.
There's no way to judge whether Vines will be a factor this weekend, but with him traveling on game day, a Friday start is ruled out.
That leaves true freshman Tyler Ivey as the Friday night ace against the No. 3 team in the nation on their field. That is a tall order for any freshman, but Ivey has proven to be anything but a wide-eyed fish so far with a 1.97 ERA and a perfect record.
Kyle Simonds has been rock-solid this season after a shaky season debut in February. Simonds doesn't garner a lot of headlines or much buzz from the Texas A&M fans, but his 5-0 record and 2.83 ERA is every bit as good as the heralded Florida starting pitchers. The key for Simonds is to stay ahead in the count and keep his sinking pitches under the hands of the dangerous Gator hitters.
We'll have to wait and see who Rob Childress throws on Sunday. For now, you have to think it's Vines because he made the trip and he'll have an extra two days to regain his strength.
However, the key to winning a game or two in Gainesville could come down to the effectiveness and command of Ryan Hendrix. While he's gotten the job done this season (2.03 ERA, five saves), he hasn't been smooth and has had to work out of some difficult jams due to his lack of control (nine walks in 13 innings). He won't be able to get away with that against this UF lineup.
What's at stake this weekend...
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
With a series win, Rob Childress' team could give itself an essential leg up in the race for the SEC crown and a national seed.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"With a series win, Rob Childress\u0027 team could give itself an essential leg up in the race for the SEC crown and a national seed.","MediaItemID":66716}
It's also another important SEC series, and while the Aggies are No. 1 in the nation, they trail South Carolina in the conference standings by two games heading into the week's series. Losing two or three games in Florida will hurt more than just the bruising from losing the No. 1 ranking on national television. A bad weekend could find Texas A&M significantly behind the leaders in the SEC race.
A good weekend with a series win will validate the team's No. 1 ranking and will place the Aggies squarely near the top of the SEC standings. More importantly, a series win against such a high-caliber team in its house will give Texas A&M a huge confidence boost going forward. If they can beat Florida in Gainesville, the Aggies can beat anybody, anywhere because it doesn't get tougher than this weekend — and that includes the postseason and Omaha.
Win this weekend and the sky is the limit for this squad.
With that said, this is one of eight remaining tough SEC series. Whatever happens this weekend will get a lot of publicity, but there are still 21 SEC contests after this weekend. Winning this series won't make the season for the Aggies. Losing the series won't end the season for them either. It's a statement weekend, but ultimately every weekend in the meat grinder known as SEC baseball is a statement weekend.
This one just has a little more buzz to it.
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