2023 Baseball Season Preview: Bullpen

With one day left until the start of the 2023 college baseball season, Gators Wire is looking at Florida’s bullpen.

The first thing that stands out is just how much depth there is separate from Kevin O'Sullivan’s starting rotation. The team is returning seven contributing arms from a season ago and has added one key transfer and four freshmen to the ‘pen.

In a big game, it’s fairly clear who would pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for Florida, and there are plenty of options that can go long if a starter has to leave a game early. Florida’s only losing about 20 innings out of last year’s bullpen, so fans should see a considerable amount of growth from the sophomore class.

Leading the way statistically are Nick Ficarrotta and Blake Purnell. Junior college transfer Clete Hartzog is in line to step into the closing role, at least to begin the season, and there’s a handful of second and third-year guys ready to eat innings.

This should be an efficient group for Florida, but the top of the bullpen is a lot stronger than the middle and bottom.

Most Returning Innings: No. 46 Nick Ficarrotta

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union

Height: 6-3

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

B/T: R/R

Hometown: Palm Harbor, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): Palm Harbor University

Nick Ficarrotta is usually good for two.

Through 27 relief appearances in 2022, Ficarrotta pitched two or more innings for Florida, often going three or four innings. If a starter is struggling, Fic is the guy Florida wants out there first. If the Gators need someone to pitch the seventh before sending in the setup guy and closer, Fic is the guy they want out there.

He proved himself as one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen a season ago, and that’s coming off a season of no in-game action on the mound. In 2022, Ficarrotta struck out 63 and walked just 15 over 60 innings of work. His ERA crept up to 3.90, but he finished with a 1.15 WHIP and opponents batting .240 against him.

Ficarrotta is going to need to play a similar role for Florida this season, but he should have a bit more help as the younger arms mature.

Most Returning Appearances: No. 41 Blake Purnell

Mark Zaleski/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK

Height: 6-3

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

B/T: R/R

Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): St. Thomas Aquinas

Blake Purnell appeared in over half of Florida’s games in 2022.

He was constantly called upon out of the bullpen as a redshirt freshman and rose to the occasion by posting a 2.86 ERA over 50 innings. A few meltdowns were bound to occur, but Purnell enters 2023 as one of the most trusted arms in the bullpen. He could compete for the closing role or move into the setup role.

Similar to Ficarrotta, Purnell needs to have a repeat season or better for Florida to reach the College World Series.

New Addition: No. 26 Clete Hartzog

Height: 6-0

Class: Junior

B/T: L/R

Hometown: Panama City, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): Mosley (Wallace CC-Dothan)

Clete Hartzog transferred in after claiming the 2022 ACCC South Division Pitcher of the Year award while at Wallace Community College-Dothan in Alabama. He’s the only major transfer to impact the bullpen, but Hartzog might be Florida’s closer in his first year with the team.

At the junior college ranks, Hartzog excelled at getting the swing and miss. He struck out over 220 batters while limiting walks to just 96 over 187 innings. Now he’ll get to test himself against the SEC’s finest. He’s used to being a starter, but Hartzog is going to be a major part of Florida’s bullpen this season. Perhaps he’ll even get the nod to close on Opening Day.

Potential Starters: No. 13 Ryan Slater and No. 55 Phillip Abner

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CecIyAPgNVv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] and P[autotag]hillip Abner[/autotag] might both bounce between the starter and reliever roles this season depending on how the other does in the second weekday starter spot. O’Sullivan named both as candidates to start during the week, but [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] likely has a hold on the first weekday spot and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] will start on Sundays to begin the season.

Slater saw way more action out of the bullpen last year and even made three starts, so expect him to take the bigger step forward. Once Pierce Coppola returns and takes up yet another starting spot, expect both Abner and Slater to move to full-time relief roles.

For more on these two, check out our preview of the starting pitchers here.

Right-Handed Depth Option: No. 10 Tyler Nesbitt

AP Photo/Gary McCullough

Height: 6-3

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

B/T: R/R

Hometown: LaBelle, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): LaBelle

After undergoing Tommy John and missing all of the 2021 season, [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] made a nice return for Florida in 2022. He struck out 29 in 33 1/3 innings and limited opponents to a .230 batting average. His 4.59 ERA could be a bit lower, but coming from two years away from pitching isn’t easy.

With all of the drama and emotions behind him, Nesbitt can focus on being a key part of a championship roster at Florida. He could end up starting another game or two, but it sounds like O’Sullivan is content to use him in relief.

Right-Handed Depth Option: No. 50 Anthony Ursitti

Jake Crandall/Advertiser/USA TODAY NETWORK

Height: 6-4

Class: Sophomore

B/T: R/R

Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): Canterbury

As a true freshman in 2022, [autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] threw 21 1/3 innings river 15 appearances, including one start. His best outing of the season came against Tennessee, when he lasted 3 2/3 innings without surrendering a run.

If Ursitti can learn to manage the long ball a bit better, he’ll be a solid piece of the bullpen in 2023.

Reserve Right-Handed Arm: No. 27 Fisher Jameson

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cof84DZrk4B/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Height: 6-5

Class: Sophomore

B/T: R/R

Hometown: Lake Worth, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): Park Vista

Maybe it’s unfair to give [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] the reserve title, but the line has to get draw somewhere between those likely to play on a weekly basis and those who will be lucky to see consistent playing time. Jameson made 10 appearances out of the bullpen as a true freshman last year and finished the season with 19 1/3 innings under his best.

He’ll probably see more time than that this year, but Jameson isn’t the first or even fifth option out of the ‘pen for Florida in a big game. However, if Jameson comes out pitching anywhere near as well as he did against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K), he could become a regular contributor later in the season.

Reserve Left-Handed Arm: No. 49 Carsten Finnvold

AP Photo/Gary McCullough

Height: 6-1

Class: Sophomore

B/T: L/L

Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida

High School (Previous Univ.): American Heritage

[autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] was rarely called upon last season and not much is likely to change in 2023 despite a stellar nine-inning performance in the NCAA Tournament to keep the season alive. Finnvold’s high 80s fastball just won’t cut it as a regular yet. Perhaps Sully will be more likely to pull the trigger on bringing him out of the bullpen as a sophomore, but Florida has too much depth to give the offspeed king a chance.

The Freshmen: No. 3 Cade Fisher, No. 17 Yoel Tejeda Jr., No. 20 Jake Clemente and No. 47 Chris Arroyo

David Rosenberg/Gators Wire

Florida is bringing in four freshmen arms this season, three back-to-back Florida high school state champions and a Georgia state record holder.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] is the left-handed Peach State product that holds the state ERA record after a strong four-year career at Northwest Whitfield High. There’s still room for Fisher to grow physically and pick up speed on his 91 mph fastball, so don’t expect a ton of looks from him this season.

Florida’s other freshman lefty is [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag]. He was a standout for Marjory Stoneman Douglas with a 0.99 ERA and 169 strikeouts as an upperclassman. O’Sullivan seems high on him and could look to get the two-way player some early looks both at the plate and on the mound.

“Chris Arroyo’s always got a smile on his face,” O’Sullivan said. “Left-handed, throws a ton of strikes. Good breaking ball, good changeup, up to 91-92 mph. He’s got a chance to be really good.” 

Right-hander [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag], who also went to Douglas with Arroyo, is coming off a similarly brilliant high school career. Unfortunately, he’s dealing with some shoulder soreness, so he could get delayed to start the season. Expect him to get a few looks, though.

Finally, there’s [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr.[/autotag] out of North Broward Prep. The 6-foot-8-inch righty can reach the mid 90s with his fastball and is a fierce competitor on the mound. Like Arroyo, he could see early action pitching and on offense. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with their 19th-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, so he has a pro future ahead of him if things go right.

Read more

Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2023 season:

• Catchers

• First Basemen

• Second Basemen

• Third Basemen

• Shortstops

• Otufielders

• Starting Pitchers

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire