Jan. 20, 2009
ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - Part two of the 2009 UCF baseball season preview with head coach Terry Rooney focuses on the Knights' starting pitchers. On Wednesday, UCFAthletics.com will discuss what the make up of UCF's bullpen could be when the year begins Feb. 20.
Part One, Jan. 19 - Initial Outlook/Coaching Staff/Schedule
Part Two, Jan. 20 - Starting Pitchers
Part Three, Jan. 21 - The Bullpen
Part Four, Jan. 22 - Catcher
Part Five, Jan. 23 - First Base/Designated Hitter
Part Six, Jan. 26 - Second Base
Part Seven, Jan. 27 - Shortstop
Part Eight, Jan. 28 - Third Base
Part Nine, Jan. 29 - Outfield
The UCF Pitching Staff
Cody Allen - So. - RHP - 4.58 ERA, 2-1, 21 APP, 3 GS, 39.1 IP, 12 BB, 45 K
Bryan Brown - Fr. - RHP - Rehabbing from an injury suffered prior to UCF
Brennan Dobbins - So. - RHP - 5.33 ERA, 1-1, 14 APP, 0 GS, 27.0 IP, 12 BB, 28 K
Anthony Figliolia - Fr. - RHP - Had an 0.51 ERA last year for Winter Springs HS
Jaager Good - Sr. - RHP - UCF's No. 1 starter in 2007 earned a medical redshirt last year
Matt Goodyear - Jr. - RHP - 3.86 ERA, 1-0, 5 APP, 1 GS, 9.1 IP, 7 BB, 12 K
Gil Gomez - Sr. - RHP - Joins the Knights after attending Holy Cross for three years
Caleb Graham - Sr. - RHP - 6.11 ERA, 1-2, 10 APP, 5 GS, 28.0 IP, 10 BB, 29 K
D.J. Hicks - Fr. - RHP - Two-way player that may serve in the back end of the pen
Austin Hudson - Jr. - RHP - 5.06 ERA, 3-2, 20 APP, 3 GS, 42.2 IP, 25 BB, 38 K
Matt Manning - Sr. - RHP - Rehabbing from Tommy John surgery
Jordan Rasinski - Fr. - RHP - Rehabbing from an injury suffered prior to UCF
Evan Stobbs - So. - RHP - 6.83 ERA, 1-0, 11 APP, 0 GS, 29.0 IP, 12 BB, 31 K
Kyle Sweat - Sr. - RHP - 5.43 ERA, 5-5, 14 APP, 13 GS, 71.1 IP, 18 BB, 56 K
Cory Weech - Jr. - RHP - 13.50 ERA, 0-0, 3 APP, 0 GS, 4.2 IP, 3 BB, 5 K
Justin Weiss - Sr. - RHP - 3.41 ERA, 2-1, 7 SV, 21 APP, 0 GS, 34.1 IP, 14 BB, 34 K
Starting Pitchers
With Rooney containing a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the mound, UCF's pitching staff will see many familiar faces in 2009 even though left-handed starters Mitch Herold and Mitch Houck both were drafted and signed professional contracts in the offseason. Their craftiness on the hill will be missed, yet the Knights are prepared to fill in the gaps.
"We have several pitchers who have logged a considerable amount of innings in their time here at UCF," said Rooney. "No matter what, pitching has to be a strong point of this team because it all starts on the mound. When I look for pitchers, I want guys who compete, who pitch offensively and aggressively and who are going to dominate the strike zone.
"First of all, when you talk about potential starters, Kyle Sweat and Jaager Good are two of the veterans of this staff that we will look to during the year, and they have both experienced some success in C-USA. Another potential starter is Austin Hudson, who is a guy that I think has the most upside of any pitcher on our team. He throws from a tremendous high 10-11 o'clock arm slot, and he has really progressed since the fall. In a lot of ways he will be a key to our pitching staff's success. He needs to emerge as somebody who can contribute significant innings in C-USA. Cody Allen is another pitcher that can log a lot of innings near the top end of our rotation. Caleb Graham is veteran guy who has an opportunity as well. Graham has started in the past and is now a senior who has some feel of what it takes to win at this level.
"But I really feel like we've got guys who can fill a variety of rolls. We also have some younger pitchers who are continuing to gain experience and command the strike zone. Brennan Dobbins is somebody that we could see as a potential starter or long reliever because he has three pitches. Evan Stobbs has really come around and possesses a good two-seam fastball and is a sinker/slider type pitcher. Anthony Figliolia is a freshman on our staff and he has got an unbelievable future here at UCF. I think he can be a starter or a late-in-the-game type pitcher. He exudes confidence when he's on the mound, and has an upper-80s, lower-90s fastball. Anthony is someone that we could potentially build this staff around."