A deep statistical dive on what has plagued Florida State baseball in 2023

Florida State baseball has struggled under first-year head coach Jarrett Link.

Just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Seminoles. They sit 13 games below .500 at 15-28 overall and 6-24 in ACC play with 11 games remaining.

FSU leaves ACC play for a weekend series against visiting Mercer starting Friday at 6 p.m.

The Seminoles will likely finish the season with their first losing season in program history and making the ACC Tournament a long shot.

Below is a statistical look, with analysis, of what has gone wrong for FSU this season.

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FSU baseball statistics and analysis

2023 batting average/on-base percentage: .272, third-worst ACC/.341, worst in ACC

2022 batting average/on-base percentage: .263, third worst ACC/.361, second-worst ACC

2021 batting average/on-base percentage: .241, worst in ACC/.355, fifth worst

2019 batting average/on-base percentage: .270, fifth worst in ACC/.396, third best

2023 base on balls: 136, worst in ACC

2022 base on balls: 234, third-fewest in ACC

2021 base on balls: 264, best in ACC

2019 base on balls: 372, second-best ACC

Analysis: FSU has not been a program in recent history that has hit for a high average. But the lineup was still able to get on base at a good clip because of walks, including in 2019 when it posted an on-base percentage of .396.

The Seminoles have been trending in the wrong direction for walks for the past two seasons and that has resulted in the lack of a strong offensive attack.

FSU scored 152 runs in the first 18 games. It has scored 101 runs in the 25 games since, going 3-22 in that span.

2023 home runs: 45, tied for second worst in ACC

2022 home runs: 61, fewest in ACC

2021 home runs: 80, third most in ACC

2019 home runs: 81, third most in ACC

Analysis: The Seminoles don't get singles, they don't walk AND they haven't hit for power. Power is also another thing we can clearly see has been trending in the wrong direction.

The Seminoles have gone from a potent batting lineup to one that opposing pitchers don't fear. This is despite James Tibbs III and Cam Smith each hitting double-figure home runs on the season.

2023 stolen bases: 25-for-35, worst in ACC

2022 stolen bases: 42-for-60, 10th most in ACC

2021 stolen bases: 24-for-34, second worst in ACC

2019: stolen bases: 44-for-60, ninth most ACC

Analysis: This is one that stands out, as the Seminoles haven't been busy on the base paths the past couple of seasons. But in that same span, Jarrett's Irish teams stole 77 bases (second most in ACC) last season and 61 in 2021.

If Jarrett gets his players and they can find a way to get on with regularity, the Seminoles in 2024 could more closely resemble those Notre Dame teams that had success in 2021 and 2022.

More: Florida State baseball sees pitching staff's struggles continue, preparing for UF midweek

FSU pitching statistics and analysis

2023 ERA: 6.23, third worst in ACC

2022 ERA: 4.24, fourth best in ACC

2021 ERA: 3.45, best in ACC

2019 ERA: 4.54, ninth best in ACC

2023 runs allowed/earned runs: 314, second worst ACC/264, third worst

2022 runs allowed/earned runs: 290, fourth-least ACC/248, third least

2021 runs allowed/earned runs: 250, fourth least in ACC/190, second least

2019 runs allowed/earned runs: 318, fourth most in ACC/275, fifth most in ACC

2023 strikeouts/base on balls: 429, fifth most ACC/238, most

2022 strikeouts/base on balls: 694, most in ACC/208, fewest

2021: strikeouts/base on balls: 628, most in ACC/197, sixth fewest

2019: strikeouts/base on balls: 628, second most ACC/266, fourth-least

Analysis: A dropoff in pitching was expected this season as the Seminoles lost their top two weekend starters in All-Americans in Parker Messick and Bryce Hubbart

Carson Montgomery hasn't lived up to his potential and the team lost Wyatt Crowell to arm surgery early in the season.

Across the board, it's obvious that some of the arms being thrown out there either don't belong at this level of college baseball or are young and figuring out how to pitch at the level.

At times FSU pitching has been able to rack up the strikeouts, but the sequencing of allowing too many hits or free passes around those have led to big innings and big losses.

Jarrett is likely to hit the transfer portal hard this offseason to add pitching to the staff.

While hitting is important in the ACC, the fact is if you can't get hitters out, you're going to be in trouble more often than not.

More: Florida State baseball: Inside the transformation Colton Vincent into a switch-hitting star

FSU fielding statistics and analysis

2023 errors committed/fielding percentage: 58/.964, both worst in ACC

2022 errors committed/fielding percentage: 74/0.965, both second-worst in ACC

2021 errors committed/fielding percentage: 65, second worst in ACC/0.968, third worst

2019 errors committed/fielding percentage: 81, second worst in ACC/0.964, tied-third worst

Analysis: The fielding has been trending in the wrong direction for FSU for a while now. In 2019 and the COVID shortened 2020 season the Seminoles have been among the worst fielding teams in the conference.

Meanwhile, Jarret's Irish committed just 40 errors last season and 30 in 2021. Both those seasons were the best in the conference.

Jarrett has emphasized and harped on the fundamentals in practices throughout the season. To his credit, the Seminoles have had a lot of players playing out of position.

It should be noted the Irish tied with the Seminoles with a .964 fielding percentage in 2019, the year before Jarrett took over. This is something that should improve as Jarrett gets his guys into the program.

More: Baumeister dominant as Florida State baseball snaps program-record 10-game losing streak

Overall analysis

FSU has been a program on a downward slope for a couple of seasons and it has hit rock bottom in 2023.

The good news is that he has shown he can rebuild a program in this same conference. The Irish went 24-30 each of the two seasons before Jarrett took over.

In his first season in South Bend, his team started 11-2 in a COVID-shortened season and he went 86–32 in his tenure.

Florida State vs. Mercer

When: Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: Dick Howser Stadium

TV/Radio: ACC Network Extra/100.7 FM

Records: FSU, 15-28; Mercer, 28-17

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball: A deep dive into the statistics of the 2023 Seminoles