Florida State Seminoles
Overall Rank: #17
Conference Rank: #5 ACC 
Florida State Team Page
Florida State was very consistent during the regular season, winning 21 games in ACC play enroute to a 43 win season overall in 2014. However, the Seminoles were not able to advantage of being at home in the Tallahassee Regional and were sent home early after being shocked by Georgia Southern and then losing to Alabama. Florida State is at a bit of a crossroads heading into 2015 as time is of the essence for the Seminoles to finally break through and get legendary head coach Mike Martin a national championship.
2014: 43-17, 21-9
2014 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Martin
Field Players:
Florida State only hit 26 homeruns in 2014, but they scored nearly 400 runs in 60 games. Thus, offensively they were pretty solid for the most part. Outfielder DJ Stewart is the top returning all-around player for the Seminoles this season. Stewart hit. 351 with seven homeruns, 50 runs batted in and had a .472 on-base percentage. Infielder Ben Deluzio brings the element of speed to the table for Florida State, stealing 16 bases in just 18 attempts. Outfielder Josh Delph will bring valuable experience and great plate discipline to the table. Delph walked 34 times to help the Seminoles as a whole lead the nation in walks.
Pitchers:
This is going to be a fun unit to watch. Outside of Mike Compton, it is going to be a pretty good competition for the rest of the starting rotation spots this season. Compton was 7-3 with a 3.23 earned run average in 15 starts last season for Florida State. Compton scattered 93 hits over 83.2 innings last season but did a nice job in limiting the amount of walks as opponents only drew 19 against Compton. Bryant Holtmann should also be a candidate for the weekend rotation. He was 5-1 last season while making six starts and limiting opponents to a .228 batting average.
Who to Watch:
With the Jameis Winston circus finally leaving Tallahassee, there is now an opportunity at the closer position for someone to step up and take control of it. Dylan Silva went 4-0 last season with a 1.90 earned run average and only surrendered 16 hits in 23.2 innings pitched. If Silva can take control of the closer position, the pressure will be off of the starting rotation to not have to go as deep in games, especially in the early part of the season.
Final Projection:
The Seminoles have a balanced non-conference schedule that should prepare them well for ACC play. A trip to Athens to play Georgia will test the starting rotation early. UNC Wilmington, who is usually in the mix as an NCAA Tournament team, will visit Dick Howser Stadium the following weekend in another good solid early season test. The series of games with Florida will be fierce battles that will be great opportunities for building up the NCAA Tournament resume for the Seminoles. Coastal Carolina also visits starting on May 1st for a three game series that will be a great tune up for NCAA Regional play. In conference play, the biggest challenges will be on the road as Florida State goes to Virginia in mid-March, Miami in late April, and Louisville from May 8-10. These nine games will swing the ACC Atlantic race for the Seminoles and, if they go 6-3 or better, they will win the ACC Atlantic Division. In short, this could be one of those seasons for Florida State fans where it takes until the early part of May until this team begins to play at its absolute best. So look for another 40-45 win season and a run to at least a Super Regional.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
Returning Leaders:
At Bats: Josh Delph, OF, 194; DJ Stewart, OF, 194
Hits: DJ Stewart, OF, 68
Home Runs: DJ Stewart, OF, 7
RBIs: DJ Stewart, OF, 50
Runs: DJ Stewart, OF, 45
Stolen Bases: Ben Deluzio, IF, 16
Wins: Mike Compton, P, 7
Innings Pitched: Mike Compton, P, 83.2
Strikeouts: Mike Compton, P, 50
Saves: Dylan Silva, P, 1
Madness 2015 MLB Draft Rankings:
#27 DJ Stewart
Madness 2015 Baseball Recruit Rankings:
#1 Cobi Johnson
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