FSU series reveals some of University of Miami baseball team's pluses and minuses

Miami Herald

24-03-2025

How the Miami Hurricanes are doing in baseball this season depends on when you ask.
If one would have asked Thursday, the answer would have been 'not good' as the Hurricanes were routed at home, 14-1, by fifth-ranked Florida State in a game that was stopped after seven innings due to the mercy rule.
If the question came Friday, the answer would have been 'hopeful,' as Miami shocked FSU 9-6 on a night that the Seminoles started ace left-hander Jamie Arnold, projected by MLB.com to be the No. 2 overall pick in this year's MLB Draft.
Finally, if the question had come Saturday night after a 10-6 loss to FSU, the answer might have been 'it's complicated.'
Here then are five takeaways regarding Hurricanes baseball:
▪ 1. Coach remains optimistic: By the numbers, Miami is struggling. The Hurricanes have a 14-11 record overall, 2-7 on the road and 1-5 in the ACC.
They haven't won a three-game series in over a month, since completing a sweep over Princeton on Feb. 22.
However, coach J.D. Arteaga took plenty of encouragement from the win over Arnold, who allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks in his four innings against Miami.
'We showed we can beat a team that is ranked in the top five [nationally],' Arteaga said. 'We beat a pitcher who is probably the first pick in the draft in Jamie Arnold.
'We have the ability to do it. We have the guys to do it.'
▪ 2. Pessimism remains, too: Aaron Fitt, the editor in chief of D1Baseball.com, said he's not sure if Miami has the NIL money to compete with the big boys of the ACC in baseball.
'Now when everyone else has so much money to give to these players, you have to be able to compete on that front,' Fitt said. 'I can't speak to exactly what's going on with their NIL budget, but it feels like they need to do more.
'It's already hard for the Hurricanes to recruit because it's a very expensive private school with not a lot of institutional aid, and that's always been a challenge for Miami.'
Miami, of course has overcome that challenge in the past as evidenced by its four national titles (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001).
But the Hurricanes also missed the playoffs last year in Arteaga's first season as head coach.
NIL has changed everything it seems.
Gaby Sanchez, a former Hurricanes player and now an ACC Network analyst; said previous Miami coach Gino DiMare once told him that some recruits no longer returned his calls because of the finances.
'That never used to be a problem,' Sanchez said. 'Miami was the school where everybody wanted to go.
'But at a private school like Miami, the NIL money will be used to pay for tuition. At a public school, that money will go in their pockets.'
▪ 3. More focus needed: Miami allowed FSU to score in the first inning in all three games of the series.
In addition, Miami blew a 3-2 lead in Saturday's rubber game.
At issue Saturday, according to Arteaga, was a play in the third inning. That's when Miami's Derek Williams led off with a double before stealing third base.
However, after getting a safe call at third, Williams was called out due to a video review that showed the tag was applied in time.
That led, Arteaga said, to FSU scoring seven runs in the next inning against a deflated Miami team.
'We took one inning off, and you felt it as soon as that replay came back,' Arteaga said. 'You could feel it in the dugout.'
'The toughest part of not winning games is staying mentally positive. Once negative thoughts come in, things start happening.'
Indeed, Hurricanes starter Brian Walters (2-1) did not record an out in the fourth as FSU in that frame put together eight singles, two walks and one steal.
'The first three innings, everything felt good,' Arteaga said. 'We were getting after it. 'But as soon as that call [reversal] came in, it just changed.'
▪ 4. Cuvet may lack support in the lineup: Daniel Cuvet, a 6-4, 235-pound third baseman who should be a high-round draftee in 2026, is coming off a huge freshman season in which he led Miami in batting average (.351), homers (24) and RBI (75). He also broke Pat Burrell's 28-year-old record for most homers by a Miami freshman.
This year, Cuvet is off to a solid start but perhaps below his high standards. He is hitting .326 with eight doubles, five homers and 30 RBI. He also has a .936 OPS, which is well below his 1.165 OPS from 2024.
Cuvet has some solid players around him in Miami's lineup, such as DH Bobby Marsh (six homers, .939 OPS), right fielder Derek Williams (four homers, .946 OPS), and shortstop Jake Ogden (three homers, .934 OPS).
But is it enough to make Miami a playoff team?
'It does feel like [the Hurricanes] are light in the lineup around Cuvet,' Fitt said. 'They have some nice supporting pieces. But it doesn't feel like it's a top-half-of-the-league lineup.'
▪ 5. There's pitching potential: Miami's weekend starters are well regarded despite some high ERAs at the moment: Griffin Hugus (3.90 ERA), Walters (7.00 ERA), and Nick Robert (7.57 ERA).
'That's a pretty good trio,' Fitt said. 'They can compete in the ACC on the mound. They've done a pretty good job remaking the pitching staff.'