Many gave up on this team and many wrote them off, but over the last month the Miami Hurricanes baseball team has undergone one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory. From a .500 record, 2-7 in the ACC, to a 29-18 record, 14-9 in the ACC and within a real shot of hosting a regional game, this scrappy mix of transfers and freshman have found a way to click as the season has gone on.
Here’s some takeaways of what’s gone into this streak and outlooks for the remainder of this season and beyond:
TAKEAWAYS:
Clear pitching identity
In my opinion the biggest factor in this hot-streak has been the adjustments to the pitching roles with the staff which starts with the two freshman who were thrust into starting roles. AJ Ciscar and Tate DeRias have flat out dominated over the last few weeks, showcasing maturity well above their years. The pair have been unfazed in their starts, consistently attacking hitters with strikes and keeping their pitch counts low.
Ciscar has been described as a “nightmare matchup” by other ACC hitting coaches and as one user in the forum pointed out, he has a mindset of “hurry up and step in the box, I’m going to get you out.”
But beyond the starters, the ’Canes have developed a clear relief order behind them. Will Smith has continued to do his thing in the setup role, but Carson Fischer has turned a real corner in the long relief role. The promise we saw in the fall from Fischer with his sinker/slider combo has come to fruition over the past few weeks and has allowed him to eat up multiple innings to set up the save in the ninth.
And that closer role has come from former Sunday starter Brian Walters. For Walters it was never a question about his stuff, it was whether he could attack hitters like a starter and go deep into games. Walters failed to make that step, but he’s been a different animal since moving back to the bullpen. Wether it’s a two-inning or typical save, Walters has been blowing 97-98 by hitters and leaving teams no hope when he gets the ball.
This team has a clear script when it comes to pitching games now and it continues to get stronger as the games go by.
Top of the order dominance
While Cuvet’s start to the season wasn’t “bad,” it wasn’t what you’d expect and need from your star All-American third baseman. Too often he’d be chasing pitches out of the zone and just not looking like himself. One of the main issues I saw was how much his head was bobbing during his load which looked to be causing his imbalance in the swing.
Whether it was a case of trying to do too much or just a mechanical fix, Cuvet has been on another planet these past few weeks. From setting the tone with first-inning bombs to dead center or late-inning heroics in Fenway park, he’s done it all for the ’Canes.
But it hasn’t all been Cuvet, as Jake Ogden and Max Galvin play key roles ahead of him in the lineup.
Ogden has been the best all-around player on the team, he simply plays the game harder and smarter than those around him. Hitting well over .330 in the leadoff spot, Ogden finds a way on and does whatever he can to score like stealing home to take the lead against NC State on Friday. He hits bombs, works quality at-bats, drops bunts, Mr. Do-it-all has consistently done whatever he can to win (and that’s without mentioning his quality defense at short).
Galvin has been one of the more interesting storylines of this resurgence. He started hot but went ice-cold as the Hurricanes began ACC play. And when you looked into it, he was one of the more unlucky hitters in the ACC, consistently lining out and making outs on hard contact. But that’s the beauty of baseball and those quality swings are now turning into hits at a rapid rate.
The top third in the order all have the ability to get on base consistently and even create runs by themselves and have all started to get hot at the right time.
Hot teams get lucky
Whenever I make takeaway articles, I like to end them with a caveat and I think this one is pretty clear to those who are consistently watching. This Hurricane team has gotten lucky from time to time. Whether it’s NC State running themselves out of multiple runs or repeatedly turning double plays at the most perfect times, everything seems to be falling the way of the ’Canes.
And while it may be “lucky”, that’s what happens to good teams, they find miraculous ways to keep winning. In many ways it can be attributed to the awful luck they began the season with where Miami essentially kept losing games off singular decisions and innings. Now everything seems to be going their way, and I for one am not going to be complaining.
OUTLOOK FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON AND BEYOND:
Matchup issues come postseason time
While I believe our starting staff fully capable of delivering come postseason time, I worry about our hitting matchups. The lineup is entirely lefty dominant, with only Ogden, Cuvet and Tanner Smith providing a righty threat after Derek Williams suffered a hamate injury. Williams may be eyeing a return during the ACC tournament, but hamate injuries are tricky and tough for hitters to come back from. His return cannot be relied on, so it’s up to the lefties in this lineup to start producing in lefty-lefty matchups against some of the best arms in the country.
Who steps up in the bullpen?
Even though the major question going into the remainder of the year is the hitting, good postseason teams need a army of arms in the bullpen to use at anytime. Over these past few weeks we’ve stuck to the script of starter-Fischer-Smith-Walters nearly every game. And while that’s a good identity to have, it’s not always going to be possible and other arms need to step up. Can you rely on a Jackson Cleveland, a Reese Lumpkin, a Alex Giroux, or even a Mikey Fernandez come postseason time? If we are going to rely on them as the second calvary we need them to get more innings down the road here. Both Fernandez and Cleveland have demonstrated sparks from time to time, but their consistency comes into question. And what seems to be the opposite of the hitters, we have lacked innings from lefty relievers. Can Rob Evans, Ryan Ashford, or Jake Dorn step up with Fernandez to provide a matchup opportunity in relief? Time will tell who will step up in the bullpen and my money is on Cleveland to regain the promise he showed in the fall.
Cornerstone pieces for years to come
What’s so promising about this team is how it has spotlighted players who can be the stars for years to
come. More than likely you’re losing Hugus, Ogden, and Walters to the draft this summer. You’re returning Cuvet for only one more year, but you’re returning some of these freshman for years to come. Ciscar and DeRias will only get better as the years go on, both have the ability to put on a solid three mph on their fastballs and that’s without mentioning the development of their offspeeds. And in the field you have two outfielders who have already proven their defense to be elite in Mikey Torres and Fabio Peralta. The bat clearly isn’t there yet for the pair, but they’ve shown sparks of their hitting potential. Peralta has demonstrated he has that ability, hitting nearly .400 for parts of this season, and Torres has shown his ability to get on base at an impressive clip with his eye. Not only are the pieces in place this year, pieces are in place to build around that will only get better.
Whether you always expected this turnaround or gave up after the first series loss, this team is performing and is incredibly fun to watch. These guys love performing in front of a packed Light, so make sure to swing by for one of the remaining games this season!
Here’s some takeaways of what’s gone into this streak and outlooks for the remainder of this season and beyond:
TAKEAWAYS:
Clear pitching identity
In my opinion the biggest factor in this hot-streak has been the adjustments to the pitching roles with the staff which starts with the two freshman who were thrust into starting roles. AJ Ciscar and Tate DeRias have flat out dominated over the last few weeks, showcasing maturity well above their years. The pair have been unfazed in their starts, consistently attacking hitters with strikes and keeping their pitch counts low.
Ciscar has been described as a “nightmare matchup” by other ACC hitting coaches and as one user in the forum pointed out, he has a mindset of “hurry up and step in the box, I’m going to get you out.”
But beyond the starters, the ’Canes have developed a clear relief order behind them. Will Smith has continued to do his thing in the setup role, but Carson Fischer has turned a real corner in the long relief role. The promise we saw in the fall from Fischer with his sinker/slider combo has come to fruition over the past few weeks and has allowed him to eat up multiple innings to set up the save in the ninth.
And that closer role has come from former Sunday starter Brian Walters. For Walters it was never a question about his stuff, it was whether he could attack hitters like a starter and go deep into games. Walters failed to make that step, but he’s been a different animal since moving back to the bullpen. Wether it’s a two-inning or typical save, Walters has been blowing 97-98 by hitters and leaving teams no hope when he gets the ball.
This team has a clear script when it comes to pitching games now and it continues to get stronger as the games go by.
Top of the order dominance
While Cuvet’s start to the season wasn’t “bad,” it wasn’t what you’d expect and need from your star All-American third baseman. Too often he’d be chasing pitches out of the zone and just not looking like himself. One of the main issues I saw was how much his head was bobbing during his load which looked to be causing his imbalance in the swing.
Whether it was a case of trying to do too much or just a mechanical fix, Cuvet has been on another planet these past few weeks. From setting the tone with first-inning bombs to dead center or late-inning heroics in Fenway park, he’s done it all for the ’Canes.
But it hasn’t all been Cuvet, as Jake Ogden and Max Galvin play key roles ahead of him in the lineup.
Ogden has been the best all-around player on the team, he simply plays the game harder and smarter than those around him. Hitting well over .330 in the leadoff spot, Ogden finds a way on and does whatever he can to score like stealing home to take the lead against NC State on Friday. He hits bombs, works quality at-bats, drops bunts, Mr. Do-it-all has consistently done whatever he can to win (and that’s without mentioning his quality defense at short).
Galvin has been one of the more interesting storylines of this resurgence. He started hot but went ice-cold as the Hurricanes began ACC play. And when you looked into it, he was one of the more unlucky hitters in the ACC, consistently lining out and making outs on hard contact. But that’s the beauty of baseball and those quality swings are now turning into hits at a rapid rate.
The top third in the order all have the ability to get on base consistently and even create runs by themselves and have all started to get hot at the right time.
Hot teams get lucky
Whenever I make takeaway articles, I like to end them with a caveat and I think this one is pretty clear to those who are consistently watching. This Hurricane team has gotten lucky from time to time. Whether it’s NC State running themselves out of multiple runs or repeatedly turning double plays at the most perfect times, everything seems to be falling the way of the ’Canes.
And while it may be “lucky”, that’s what happens to good teams, they find miraculous ways to keep winning. In many ways it can be attributed to the awful luck they began the season with where Miami essentially kept losing games off singular decisions and innings. Now everything seems to be going their way, and I for one am not going to be complaining.
OUTLOOK FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON AND BEYOND:
Matchup issues come postseason time
While I believe our starting staff fully capable of delivering come postseason time, I worry about our hitting matchups. The lineup is entirely lefty dominant, with only Ogden, Cuvet and Tanner Smith providing a righty threat after Derek Williams suffered a hamate injury. Williams may be eyeing a return during the ACC tournament, but hamate injuries are tricky and tough for hitters to come back from. His return cannot be relied on, so it’s up to the lefties in this lineup to start producing in lefty-lefty matchups against some of the best arms in the country.
Who steps up in the bullpen?
Even though the major question going into the remainder of the year is the hitting, good postseason teams need a army of arms in the bullpen to use at anytime. Over these past few weeks we’ve stuck to the script of starter-Fischer-Smith-Walters nearly every game. And while that’s a good identity to have, it’s not always going to be possible and other arms need to step up. Can you rely on a Jackson Cleveland, a Reese Lumpkin, a Alex Giroux, or even a Mikey Fernandez come postseason time? If we are going to rely on them as the second calvary we need them to get more innings down the road here. Both Fernandez and Cleveland have demonstrated sparks from time to time, but their consistency comes into question. And what seems to be the opposite of the hitters, we have lacked innings from lefty relievers. Can Rob Evans, Ryan Ashford, or Jake Dorn step up with Fernandez to provide a matchup opportunity in relief? Time will tell who will step up in the bullpen and my money is on Cleveland to regain the promise he showed in the fall.
Cornerstone pieces for years to come
What’s so promising about this team is how it has spotlighted players who can be the stars for years to
come. More than likely you’re losing Hugus, Ogden, and Walters to the draft this summer. You’re returning Cuvet for only one more year, but you’re returning some of these freshman for years to come. Ciscar and DeRias will only get better as the years go on, both have the ability to put on a solid three mph on their fastballs and that’s without mentioning the development of their offspeeds. And in the field you have two outfielders who have already proven their defense to be elite in Mikey Torres and Fabio Peralta. The bat clearly isn’t there yet for the pair, but they’ve shown sparks of their hitting potential. Peralta has demonstrated he has that ability, hitting nearly .400 for parts of this season, and Torres has shown his ability to get on base at an impressive clip with his eye. Not only are the pieces in place this year, pieces are in place to build around that will only get better.
Whether you always expected this turnaround or gave up after the first series loss, this team is performing and is incredibly fun to watch. These guys love performing in front of a packed Light, so make sure to swing by for one of the remaining games this season!
