Tuesday night’s visit to Sessions Stadium marked the first road game for the 2018 Seminoles. FSU rode excellent pitching from Andrew Karp and Jonah Scolaro for a 4-0 win over the Dolphins. The Seminoles are now 8-0. The last Seminole baseball team to win its first eight games was the 2013 squad, which started 16-0.

Heading into 2018, it was easy to point to this team and say it’s strength would be pitching. Florida State returned its top four starters from 2017, Tyler Holton, Cole Sands, Drew Parrish, and Andrew Karp. A recruiting class ranked as high at #5 nationally, was largely driven by premium arms, thought capable of coming in and contributing immediately.

That staff was dealt a blow when Friday starter Tyler Holton was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery after throwing just 4 2/3 innings in the season opener. Losing a starting pitcher is never ideal. Losing a preseason All-American who is a proven top of the rotation guy can be devastating. Holton was going to be counted on to be a shutdown guy on Friday nights. The guy you roll out against the other team’s ace, knowing you have an edge over your opponent because of him. In 18 starts in 2017 he only allowed more than three earned runs against Virginia Tech, N.C. State, and Miami. Those kinds of numbers take a tremendous amount of pressure off of your bats.

Despite the influx of talented young arms, the Florida State pitching staff was already dealing with the losses of Chase Haney, Will Zirzow, and Ed Voyles. The trio of upperclassmen have a combined 201 appearances during their careers. Haney will not pitch in 2018. The return of Zirzow and Voyles are up in the air at the moment, with no definitive timetable for when they’ll be available. So head coach Mike Martin and pitching coach Mike Bell already figured there would be a need to rely on some of the young, talented arms, before the injury to Holton.

The response through eight games by the pitching staff has to be encouraging for the Seminole coaches. After the Jacksonville game, the FSU starters have worked 44 innings with a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 0.80 and an ERA of 1.02. The bullpen has added 28 innings to the statline, with a WHIP of 1.25 and an ERA of 2.57. As a whole, FSU pitchers are averaging 12.63 strikeouts per nine innings, while holding a K/BB ratio of 4.59/1.

There were high expectations going into the season for Cole Sands, Drew Parrish, and Andrew Karp. That trio has been excellent so far. In 34 2/3 innings of work, they have an ERA of 1.04 and have struck out 43 opposing batters.

The concerns with this staff shifted with Holton’s injury. Instead of figuring out the bullpen innings, including end of game scenarios, the spotlight shifted to an area that didn’t figure to be a question mark, one of the starting spots. In the first weekend following Holton’s injury, Mike Bell turned to another lefty, and Lincoln High graduate, in Austin Pollock (side note: do you know how hard it has been to keep from spelling that Pollack?). His first start was certainly encouraging, as Pollock (see, I’m getting the hang of it) gave up just one earned run in a six inning outing against Troy. He will have another opportunity prior to the start of conference play, with a start this weekend against UNC-Asheville. Pollock, like Holton, possesses an excellent changeup, but also brings a low 90’s fastball to the table.

The Seminole coaching staff had high expectations for Pollock and hoped he’d be a big contributor early. If one were to rate the pitchers by Major League Baseball evaluations, Shane Drohan and C.J. Van Eyk would probably join Pollock as the most hghly regarded members of this freshman class. Coach Bell has high hopes for both, though they have combined for just two appearances in the first eight games. Two other members of this freshman class, Conor Grady and Jonah Scolaro have combined for seven appearances in the first eight games, with the coaching staff showing plenty of confidence in putting them on the mound in tight situations. Both have been impressive in the early going, with Scolaro throwing the final three innings of the Noles’ 4-0 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday night. Another freshman, Tyler Ahearn, made his debut in Sunday’s win over Troy. Though he struggled with location, it’s easy to see why the coaching staff is excited about his potential. It’s a great situation for Bell to be in as he tries to find innings for the youngsters.

The other innings out of the bullpen thus far have been handled by sophomore Clayton Kwiatkowski, junior Cobi Johnson, and junior Gage Hutchinson. Kwiatkowski proved to be a valuable arm out of the bullpen for the 2017 FSU ballclub that made its way to the College World Series and is expected to see an increased role in 2018. Hutchinson, a member of this latest recruiting class, as a junior college transfer, won’t make the radar gun dance, but is armed with a sharp, sinking fastball that is difficult for hitters to lift over the infielders.

Johnson could be a wild card. The junior was a member of the weekend rotation in 2015, as a freshman. In 2016 he was being used out of the bullpen, and was starting to show dominant stuff, with a fastball up to 96 MPH. But his season ended prematurely due to an elbow injury, and he missed all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Johnson is still working to regain his location, and his velocity. While sitting in the 89-91 MPH range and hitting 93 MPH in early appearances, Johnson has struck out 10 batters in only four innings of work. FSU hopes Johnson continues to progress as he gets more work.

While the Noles haven’t yet begun Atlantic Coast Conference play, the schedule has offered up some good challenges for this pitching staff. FSU certainly can’t replace Tyler Holton, though the Noles are still in a good position to have its rotation be the strength of the team. Though the bullpen doesn’t possess much experience, there does seem to be a plethora of talented arms to work with. How those arms develop in the early going will have a big say in how this season goes for the Seminoles. While the coaching staff is still feeling their way through who will fill what roles, including how to handle end of game scenarios, they have to be please with what they’ve seen so far in 2018.