Photo Credit by Roberto Jimenez (FIUSM)
Another Panther is into the big leagues.
Saturday marked an historic day for FIU baseball as junior Tyler Alexander received the nod to enter into professional baseball. Alexander joins a long list of other notable Panther pros such as Garret Wittels, Tyler Townsend, and Ryan Mollica.
The crafty left-handed pitcher led all FIU starting pitchers in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and complete games.
Alexander took over the number one spot in the rotation after ace Mike Ellis suffered a season-ending injury. Despite a 1-3 record to begin the regular season, Alexander managed to tally key wins against Arkansas State University and Conference rivals Middle Tennessee State.
Although Alexander finished with a sub-par record, a lack of run support attributed to many of his losses; with the Panthers averaging just over 2 runs in games Alexander loses. Apart from collective team offensive struggles, individually, Alexander also led FIU in various undesirable categories such as hits, earned runs, walks, and hit-by-pitch.
Alexander developed an infamous reputation for his inability to establish consistent quality outings and free passes.
As a pro, Alexander will need to improve his poise on the mound and raise his velocity.
At six-foot one-inch tall and 170 pounds, Alexander will not overpower batters. In that case, Alexander will also need sharpen his breaking balls and gain command of the strike zone in order to be success.
Alexander can be compared to Dodgers starting pitcher Ted Lilly in relation to body structure.