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Miami Hurricanes Baseball: Preview of the Schedule & Key Players Lost, Retained, and Gained

By Justin Fessenden

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As the Miami Hurricanes baseball team enters the 2015 season, they will be looking to make their 43rd consecutive trip to the postseason (an astounding stat to say the least). On paper, the Canes shouldn’t have much of a problem making it to the postseason once again. The Canes rank in the top 15 of every preseason poll that has been released, and they have been ranked as high as #9.

In 2014, the Canes finished the season 44-19. They were regular season ACC Champions, finishing 24-6 in the conference. The Canes hosted a regional but unfortunately Texas Tech came out on top and advanced to the super regional while the Canes were sent home packing, ending their season.

Hurricane fans should be optimistic heading into the 2015 season. While some key contributors were lost in the offseason, some were retained. The Canes also boasted the #2 recruiting class according to Perfect Game.

Key Losses:

  • OF Tyler Palmer, Drafted 21st Rd by the Angels (2014 stats: .294 AVG, 15 doubles, 4 triples, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 19 stolen bases)
  • OF Dale Carey, Drafted 7th Rd by the Nationals (2014 stats: .305 AVG, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 16 stolen bases)
  • RHP Javi Salas, Drafted 10th Rd by the Brewers (2014 stats: 2.92 ERA, 4-3 record, 52.1 innings pitched, 15 walks, 43 strikeouts)
  • LHP Chris Diaz, Drafted 5th Rd by the Braves (2014 stats: 2.41 ERA, 9-1 record, 101 innings pitched, 41 walks, 86 strikeouts)
  • LHP Bryan Radziewski, Drafted 9th Rd by the Astros (2014 stats: 2.86 ERA, 8-2 record, 100.2 innings pitched, 49 walks, 111 strikeouts)

Key Players Returning:

  • C Zack Collins, 2014 National Freshman Of The Year (2014 stats: .298 AVG, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 11 HR, 54 RBI, 0 stolen bases)
  • 3B David Thompson, 2013 Freshman All-American 2nd Team (2014 stats: .278 AVG, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 0 stolen bases in only 30 games played)
  • OF Willie Abreu, 2014 All-ACC 3rd Team (2014 stats: .277 AVG, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 4 stolen bases)
  • RHP Bryan Garcia, 2015 Preseason All-American (2014 stats: 1.75 ERA, 7-4 record, 51.1 innings pitched, 19 walks, 56 strikeouts, 15 saves)
  • LHP Andrew Suarez, Drafted 2nd Rd of 2014 Draft by Nationals but returned (2014 stats: 2.95 ERA, 6-3 record, 109.2 innings pitched, 15 walks, 87 strikeouts)

Incoming Freshman To Keep An Eye On:

  • OF Carl Chester, Ranked #68 national high school prospect by Perfect Game, (Sr. Season Stats: .314 AVG, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 17 stolen bases)
  • OF Justin Smith, Ranked #51 national high school prospect by Perfect Game, (Sr. Season Stats: .321 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
  • RHP Jesse Lepore, Ranked #210 national high school prospect by Perfect Game, (Sr. Season Stats: 0.63 ERA, 8-1 record, 55.1 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts)

The Canes will play a very challenging schedule as the ACC conference accommodates 4 teams (5 including Miami) ranked in the top 25 of Perfect Game’s preseason rankings. The season consists of mainly 3 game series and single games in between (view the full schedule here).

Here’s a simple breakdown:

Home Series vs:

  • Rutgers
  • Wright St.
  • North Carolina St.
  • Duke
  • Virginia Tech
  • Florida State (preseason #11)
  • New York Tech
  • Georgia Tech

 

Away Series vs:

  • Florida (preseason #4)
  • Louisville (preseason #9)
  • Wake Forest
  • North Carolina (preseason #17)
  • Virginia (preseason #2)
  • Pittsburgh

 

Other games include:

  • FAU (2 home, 1 away)
  • Barry (home)
  • Marlins (@Jupiter)
  • Florida Gulf Coast (2 home, 1 away)
  • Stetson (home)
  • Army (home)
  • Bethune Cookman (2 home)
  • UCF (home)

 

The Canes will have a tough road ahead of them, especially since their toughest series are away from ‘The Light.’ The bullpen will need to come together quickly but it will be led by Andrew Suarez and closer Bryan Garcia, which is promising. The bats were fairly quiet last year but I am confident that will change. Star catcher Zack Collins should be very exciting to watch this season. Who will be the next young player to step up? There is only one way to find out. Experience it all by getting out to ‘The Light’, grabbing a famous Mark Light Milkshake, and enjoying what should be a very action-packed Miami Hurricanes baseball team.

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