Q&A with UCF Pitching Coach Justin Parker
Who will be UCF's No. 1 starter? What will be the makeup of the starting rotation?
Those are challenging questions that will soon have to be answered by head coach Greg Lovelady and pitching coach Justin Parker.
The Knights have at least four pitchers, maybe five, who could make a legitimate argument to be at the top of the rotation.
There's lefty Joe Sheridan, coming off a 10-win Freshman All-American season.
Chris Williams was at the top of his game late last season, leading the team with a 2.65 ERA.
Two junior college newcomers, J.J. Montgomery and Jordan Spicer, bring incredible versatility to the rotation. Montgomery is a hard thrower, topping out in the high 90s.
Then there's Cre Finfrock, UCF's No. 1 starter in 2016 who missed last season due to injury. He's back and fully healthy but coaches plan to ease him back into action, first in the bullpen with hopes of a rotation return later in the year.
At the recent media day, Parker spoke about the talent he has to work with in 2018.
What's it been like working with this staff?
"We had a lot of guys come back so we felt like we're a lot further along this year than we were last year. The nucleus is good. A lot of veterans, a lot of mature guys. A lot of performers returning and then some of the talent we have coming in has really been a surprise. You never know what you're going to get. We felt good about them when we signed them last year and they've answered the bell. We're excited about what we got. We're certainly deep, old and mature. I feel like we have the stuff to have another good year."
Catcher Anthony George said his hand hurts after catching for (JUCO newcomers) J.J. Montgomery and Jordan Spicer. What kind of stuff will those guys bring?
"Both of those guys, stuff wise, is exactly what you look for. Weekend type stuff. Front end, weekend starter type stuff. Montgomery has been in the mid-to-upper 90s with really good off-speed stuff. And he's got starter stamina. Spicer is a competitor. His ball moves to both sides of the plate. He has a good cutter, good sinker, good changeup. The full repertoire. He has four or five ways to beat guys which is nice to have with his power stuff. He's a low 90s guy that has a power arm too. Those two guys mixed in with the guys that we feel good about returning, the guys who had great years lats year, it's a good mix."
How have you seen Joe Sheridan grow since last season?
"I would say Joe has been the hardest working guy. He's a local guy so he's been able to use the facilities. His work ethic is second to none. He's a guy that's super consistent to start with and we're just kind of fine tuning everything that he does and hopefully building off that year he had last year."
How intense do you expect the competition to be to figure who will be your weekend starters and the No. 1 guy?
"That's the million-dollar question for us right now. We've got three weeks luckily to get a bigger sample size. We'll give everybody another look and organize them the best way possible based on our schedule. Stay tuned."
The bullpen was a real strength last year. With Bryce Tucker still being an anchor in the back end, and the guys you've added, do you think you can be just as good as last season?
"I love where we're at in the bullpen. I think if you look at it we've got 16 guys and all of them are capable of getting guys out and they're really good at it with their strengths. I'm excited about Cre Finfrock coming back. He's been outstanding this segment. Couple him with guys like Eric Hepple and Thad Ward coming back who will be a flex starter, pen guy. Tucker creates a great anchor. We've been able to build around him. Any time you have a power left-hander like that it creates end-of-the-game matchups that guys aren't used to seeing."
Can you talk about Cre Finfrock a little bit? Two years ago he was a Friday night starter. Coming back from the injury, what will his role be?
"Right now, just because of coming off the surgery, he's 18 months off so he's fully healthy, but we want to be careful with him and make sure it stays that way. The stuff is different. You guys have seen the stuff in the past. It's back to normal. He's really good. Been really good. We're going to start with him in the pen. Get his feet back under him. Get his innings up a little bit and hopefully transition him down the stretch to a front-line role. When you look at the stuff he has, it's different than almost everybody else we have."