2017 Florida League Playoff Preview

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The final four teams are set to begin their playoff series on Wednesday night. #5 seed Winter Garden will face off against the #1 Sanford River Rats, while the #3 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs take on the #2 Altamonte Springs Scorpions.

Winter Garden (16-21) took out the Lightning by a score of 9-4 in the play-in game on Tuesday night, keeping their playoff hopes alive. The Squeeze ended the regular season with the worst team batting average in the league (.229), but exploded on offense against one of the top pitching staffs in the league. The Squeeze are ripe at the right time, having won three in a row, and four of their last five.

Sanford set a league record this year with 30 regular season wins against only 12 losses. They are 7-3 over their last ten games, and bring a near flawless home record to the playoffs. Sanford finished 19-2 this season as the home team at Sanford Memorial Stadium. As the #1 seed, they will have home field advantage, hosting game one and game three, if necessary, at their own ballpark.

While Sadler Goodwin has garnered most of the attention on offense throughout the year, a number of bats have gotten hot for the Squeeze in the past week. The return of OF Kyle Corbin (Bethune Cookman) and the late addition of Kyle Phillips (USF) to the lineup has sparked Winter Garden, who averaged 5.8 runs over the last five games. Drenis Ozuna (Connors State) has a pair of home runs in the last week as well.

Omar Villaman (Florida Southern) enjoyed another terrific season for Sanford, and is a finalist for the league MVP award after hitting .345. His 42 hits on the year were second most in the league. The Rats led the league in runs scored with 212 in 42 games, good for a mark of 5.04 per game. The Rats love to scurry on the basepaths, swiping 134 bags during the regular season. That was 60 more than Altamonte, who had the second most in the league with 74.

 

The bullpen combo of Lance Johnson (Troy) and Ethan Jones (Flagler) will spell trouble for opposing hitters. The righty pair has been phenomenal out of the bullpen for the Squeeze, tallying a combined line of 35 games, 53.1 innings, 40 hits, 13 runs, 12 earned runs, 14 walks and 49 strikeouts. They also have a combined record of 3-3 with 9 saves. Sadler Goodwin (Troy) will take the mound in game one. In six games, he has tossed 17 innings and allowed only three runs with 20 strikeouts.

Besides baserunning success, Sanford’s best weapon is probably their pitching depth. They have a strong rotation of starting pitchers, and an array of hard throwing arms available in the bullpen. Vladimir Nunez (Stetson) was the team leader in strikeouts with 37, and will get the call in game one. CJ Carter (Troy) has baffled hitters all summer long by changing his arm slot and throwing a ton of strikes. Carter has 31 punchouts in only 19.1 innings on the season, and tied for the league lead in saves with 8.

 

The River Rats dominated the season series, winning seven of nine games against the Squeeze. Four of those wins came on the road. For the season, Sanford outscored Winter Garden 46-22, and limited them to one run scored in four of the nine games.

All three games of the series will be played at Sanford Memorial Stadium. Sanford will be the home team on Wednesday and Friday. Winter Garden will act as host in game two on Thursday.

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Winter Park (19-18-1) held down second place in the standings almost all season, and then faltered down the stretch. The Diamond Dawgs limp in to the playoffs having lost seven of their last ten games, including Sunday’s regular season finale which dropped them to the #3 seed. Still, they boast a roster with good starting pitching and the most powerful offense in the league.

The Scorpions (19-17-1) jumped in to the two-hole during the final weekend of play. They swapped wins and losses for the last six games of the year, while battling a wave of injuries. Altamonte has had an up and down year, and they sit middle of the pack in most batting and pitching categories.

Winter Park earned most of their wins by outhitting their opponents. Despite playing only 38 games, they lead the league in homeruns (27), triples (8), extra base hits (82), total bases (469), SLG (.384), and batting average (.266). Jacob Katzfey (Wichita State) and Kyle Guttveg (Embry Riddle) have been outstanding for the Dawgs. Katzfey is the league leader in dingers with seven, while Guttveg is fourth in average (.331) and extra base hits (12). Additionally, Dany Rodriguez (Reinhardt) led the league in at bats (141) and hits (42).

Altamonte has plenty of pop of their own at the plate. Trace Thornal (Southeastern) took home the league batting title with a mark of .369. Teammates Ray Alejo (UCF) followed closely, ending the year in third place with a .340 average. Catcher Anthony George (UCF) has been a great addition as well, hitting .329 with three home runs, including a walk off bomb in their final regular season game. Jacob Corso (Georgia State) has also chipped in with nine doubles, second most in the league.

 

Winter Park’s staff took a hit with the loss of Conner Andrews (UNF) to injury a few weeks back. Still, they have one of the top arms in the league in Tyler Keysor (East Florida State), who will take the mound for game one. Keysor has been clocked up to 94 MPH, and has racked up 33 K in only 26.2 innings. He is flanked by Riley Troutt (West Virginia; 2.18 ERA, 31 K) and Brett Shure (Cornerstone; 2.33 ERA in 27 IP) to anchor the rotation. The bullpen is led by Eric Goldstein (Georgia Southern), who leads the team with three saves, and Zach Drury (UNF) who posted an impressive 32/8 K:BB ratio in 23.1 innings of work.

The Scorpions staff struck out the second-most batters in the league (292) while posting a 3.74 ERA. The lefty duo of Eric Keating and Jimmy Robbins, along with RHP David Litchfield, carried the Scorps for most of the season. Keating (FAU) earns the start for Game One with a 3-1 record on the year. He and Robbins will prove to be a tough matchup for the Dawgs, who have not hit lefties very well this season. Mat Oset (New Orleans) has been a gem out of the ‘pen for Coach Rikeman, leading the league in wins with 5. In 22 innings over 14 games, Oset led the team with 34 strikeouts and was sixth with a 2.45 ERA.

 

The two teams split the season series three games apiece. Winter Park earned one win on the road and two at home while the Scorpions won all three of their games at home. The Dawgs had the advantage in runs though, plating 32 in six games compared to Altamonte’s 25.

Because of a lightning strike that shut down the power at Lake Brantley High School, the Scorpions will be the home team on Wednesday, but the game will be played in DeLand. Game two will head to Bishop Moore with Winter Park playing host. If a third game is necessary on Friday, Altamonte will be the home team at a location to be determined.

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