Coach J.D. Arteaga joined the CanesInSight Podcast to discuss the latest with Canes Baseball coming off a five-game win streak heading into an important ACC matchup against Clemson. A transcript of the discussion is below:
DMoney:
A five-game winning streak—you guys are playing well. What are some of the things the team is doing that’s allowing this success?
J.D. Arteaga:
We’re swinging the bats very well. I think we’ve scored double-digit runs in each of the last five games. Our pitching has been good enough—we’re kind of patching it together a little bit. We’ve had some injuries in the rotation and bullpen, but some guys are starting to step up and pitch better. Definitely improved since that Sunday game at Duke.
DMoney:
I want to ask about the bullpen in particular. It hasn’t been perfect, but it seems like they’re starting to pitch better. What are you seeing from that group?
J.D. Arteaga:
If you look at the stats, they’re not horrible compared to the rest of the country. It just feels like when one guy struggles, they all struggle—it snowballs. That can be good and bad. They get their bad outings out in one game, but when they’re locked in, they’re getting outs and we’re winning games.
We’d like more consistency. Bilka has been better—throwing more strikes, very efficient Tuesday against FAU. We’re getting Frank Menendez back this weekend, which is exciting. Not sure what to expect yet, but he’s an experienced left-hander. We’re also about three weeks away from getting Nick Robert back.
Glidewell has been up and down, dealing with some lat issues. We held him out Wednesday to keep him fresh. Overall, it’s starting to come together.
DMoney:
On Menendez—fans are excited after what they saw at Florida. How do you make sure he doesn’t try to do too much coming back from injury?
J.D. Arteaga:
You have to understand it takes about a year to fully get back into pitching shape after that kind of injury. It’s not just the elbow—it’s getting back into rhythm, pitching in live situations, handling pressure.
We’re excited, but we can’t rely on him to be the answer right away. We can’t overuse him, and he needs time to get his command and execution back. That’s been our issue in the bullpen—location and execution, not stuff.
He might fall into that same category early, just because he hasn’t pitched in a year. Long term—May, June, July—he can absolutely be part of the solution. But right now, we’ll see what we get this weekend.
DMoney:
Let’s talk about the outfield. Derek Williams, Fabio Peralta hitting over .400, Dubovik contributing—how do you see that group shaping up?
J.D. Arteaga:
Max Galvin is starting to increase activity and should be back in a couple weeks. But we lost Mikey Torres for four to six weeks—he had a batting practice injury, ran into a pitcher. Luckily not season-ending, but still a loss.
Fabio is playing well, but losing Torres hurts our depth and defense. Dubovik has kind of hit the freshman wall—pitchers are adjusting, and now he needs to adjust back.
DMoney:
We saw a bullpen game midweek. What went into that decision, and how does it affect the weekend rotation?
J.D. Arteaga:
Ciscar isn’t available this weekend, and with a Thursday–Saturday series, it’s a shortened week. We couldn’t bring Rob back early. So we moved Sebastian Santos to Thursday and made Tuesday a staff day.
So now it’s Santos Thursday, Rob Evans Friday, and Collera Saturday. It was about managing rest and not risking anything this early in the season.
DMoney:
And Ciscar—this isn’t long-term, right?
J.D. Arteaga:
No, it’s a bicep strain. It’s close to the labrum area, so we have to be careful. He’s more week-to-week right now. Hopefully back next week, maybe out of the bullpen first with a pitch limit, then back into the rotation.
DMoney:
Midweek success has been big for you guys. How important is that consistency?
J.D. Arteaga:
It comes down to offense. Midweek games usually take about six runs to win, and our bats have shown up. We’ve been getting off to fast starts, which is key.
DMoney:
Back to Peralta—after a tough stretch last year, he’s come back strong. What’s been the difference?
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s done everything right. Even after a rough fall, he kept working, stayed positive, was a great teammate. When he got his opportunity, he made the most of it. You can’t ask for a better player or teammate.
DMoney:
What about Jake Ogden? Feels like he’s close to breaking out.
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s hitting the ball hard—just some bad luck. He’s not having bad at-bats. Baseball evens out, and soon those balls will start dropping. He’s mentally tough, so I’m not worried.
DMoney:
Daniel Cuvet has also been consistent. What stands out about him?
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s been consistent all season—good approach, not chasing. Honestly, I can’t say he’s getting hot because he’s been good all year.
DMoney:
Big series coming up at Clemson. What do you expect, and what do you need to do to win?
J.D. Arteaga:
They’re a great team. Records don’t tell the whole story—they’ve faced tough competition. It’s a tough environment, but a great opportunity for us. We’ve got a chance to prove ourselves against good teams.
DMoney:
Last thing—Rob Evans keeps getting better. What’s his ceiling?
J.D. Arteaga:
An ace. He dominated in inner-squads. That first outing set him back a bit, but I’m not surprised by what he’s doing now. He can be a number one guy—the kind that takes you to Omaha.
DMoney:
A five-game winning streak—you guys are playing well. What are some of the things the team is doing that’s allowing this success?
J.D. Arteaga:
We’re swinging the bats very well. I think we’ve scored double-digit runs in each of the last five games. Our pitching has been good enough—we’re kind of patching it together a little bit. We’ve had some injuries in the rotation and bullpen, but some guys are starting to step up and pitch better. Definitely improved since that Sunday game at Duke.
DMoney:
I want to ask about the bullpen in particular. It hasn’t been perfect, but it seems like they’re starting to pitch better. What are you seeing from that group?
J.D. Arteaga:
If you look at the stats, they’re not horrible compared to the rest of the country. It just feels like when one guy struggles, they all struggle—it snowballs. That can be good and bad. They get their bad outings out in one game, but when they’re locked in, they’re getting outs and we’re winning games.
We’d like more consistency. Bilka has been better—throwing more strikes, very efficient Tuesday against FAU. We’re getting Frank Menendez back this weekend, which is exciting. Not sure what to expect yet, but he’s an experienced left-hander. We’re also about three weeks away from getting Nick Robert back.
Glidewell has been up and down, dealing with some lat issues. We held him out Wednesday to keep him fresh. Overall, it’s starting to come together.
DMoney:
On Menendez—fans are excited after what they saw at Florida. How do you make sure he doesn’t try to do too much coming back from injury?
J.D. Arteaga:
You have to understand it takes about a year to fully get back into pitching shape after that kind of injury. It’s not just the elbow—it’s getting back into rhythm, pitching in live situations, handling pressure.
We’re excited, but we can’t rely on him to be the answer right away. We can’t overuse him, and he needs time to get his command and execution back. That’s been our issue in the bullpen—location and execution, not stuff.
He might fall into that same category early, just because he hasn’t pitched in a year. Long term—May, June, July—he can absolutely be part of the solution. But right now, we’ll see what we get this weekend.
DMoney:
Let’s talk about the outfield. Derek Williams, Fabio Peralta hitting over .400, Dubovik contributing—how do you see that group shaping up?
J.D. Arteaga:
Max Galvin is starting to increase activity and should be back in a couple weeks. But we lost Mikey Torres for four to six weeks—he had a batting practice injury, ran into a pitcher. Luckily not season-ending, but still a loss.
Fabio is playing well, but losing Torres hurts our depth and defense. Dubovik has kind of hit the freshman wall—pitchers are adjusting, and now he needs to adjust back.
DMoney:
We saw a bullpen game midweek. What went into that decision, and how does it affect the weekend rotation?
J.D. Arteaga:
Ciscar isn’t available this weekend, and with a Thursday–Saturday series, it’s a shortened week. We couldn’t bring Rob back early. So we moved Sebastian Santos to Thursday and made Tuesday a staff day.
So now it’s Santos Thursday, Rob Evans Friday, and Collera Saturday. It was about managing rest and not risking anything this early in the season.
DMoney:
And Ciscar—this isn’t long-term, right?
J.D. Arteaga:
No, it’s a bicep strain. It’s close to the labrum area, so we have to be careful. He’s more week-to-week right now. Hopefully back next week, maybe out of the bullpen first with a pitch limit, then back into the rotation.
DMoney:
Midweek success has been big for you guys. How important is that consistency?
J.D. Arteaga:
It comes down to offense. Midweek games usually take about six runs to win, and our bats have shown up. We’ve been getting off to fast starts, which is key.
DMoney:
Back to Peralta—after a tough stretch last year, he’s come back strong. What’s been the difference?
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s done everything right. Even after a rough fall, he kept working, stayed positive, was a great teammate. When he got his opportunity, he made the most of it. You can’t ask for a better player or teammate.
DMoney:
What about Jake Ogden? Feels like he’s close to breaking out.
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s hitting the ball hard—just some bad luck. He’s not having bad at-bats. Baseball evens out, and soon those balls will start dropping. He’s mentally tough, so I’m not worried.
DMoney:
Daniel Cuvet has also been consistent. What stands out about him?
J.D. Arteaga:
He’s been consistent all season—good approach, not chasing. Honestly, I can’t say he’s getting hot because he’s been good all year.
DMoney:
Big series coming up at Clemson. What do you expect, and what do you need to do to win?
J.D. Arteaga:
They’re a great team. Records don’t tell the whole story—they’ve faced tough competition. It’s a tough environment, but a great opportunity for us. We’ve got a chance to prove ourselves against good teams.
DMoney:
Last thing—Rob Evans keeps getting better. What’s his ceiling?
J.D. Arteaga:
An ace. He dominated in inner-squads. That first outing set him back a bit, but I’m not surprised by what he’s doing now. He can be a number one guy—the kind that takes you to Omaha.
