Florida enters its series against LSU on Thursday with Jonathon Crawford and two question marks as its three starters.
That shouldn’t be the case for much longer after this weekend.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said on Tuesday that freshmen Danny Young and Jay Carmichael are on track to return from their respective injuries sooner rather than later.
After throwing 5.2 scoreless innings in last Friday’s 7-2 win against Tennessee, Young left the game after taking a line drive to his face. He had to get between 25 and 30 stitches in his lip. O’Sullivan said that while left-hander could take the mound this weekend, he might be held back a bit.
“I think he's going to be cleared to pitch this weekend, but in all fairness to him I don't feel good about starting him,” O’Sullivan said. “I think he probably needs to get his feet wet again. He probably says he's fine to start, but I'd probably feel more comfortable bringing him out of the pen in a short stint and see what it looks, and then kind of go from there."
Carmichael is close to returning from his second prolonged absence due to arm soreness this season.
The right-hander had worked his way from middle reliever to No. 1 starter before missing two weeks with an undisclosed injury following Florida’s series against Ole Miss in March.
In his first start back against South Carolina on April 13, O’Sullivan pulled him after he gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. O’Sullivan didn’t seem concerned after the game as he attributed Carmichael’s struggles to rust.
“He was fine,” O’Sullivan said after the game. “It was his first time back. I’m not going to look into it anymore than that.”
However, Carmichael hasn’t thrown since. O’Sullivan said he is back to throwing in competitive situations in practice.
"He's going to throw an inning today in intrasquad,” O’Sullivan said. “I think we have six guys total that are going to throw one inning apiece. I think he's ready to go. I think his arm feels fine."
When Carmichael returns, O’Sullivan said he won’t ease him back in with relief experience. Rather, Carmichael won’t see the mound until he can handle a starter’s workload.
“For me, he's either healthy and can start,” I don't know how I'm going to use him as far as role. I'm going to watch him throw today and see how he looks. To me if he's healthy enough to come out of the pen, he's healthy enough to start."
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Freshman starting pitcher Jay Carmichael warms up between innings during Florida’s 4-1 win against Kentucky on March 15 at McKethan Stadium. Carmichael only pitched 1.2 innings in April while dealing with arm soreness.
