We are headed into Week 4 of the college baseball season and we are currently left with two undefeated teams.
One of those teams is the Florida State Seminoles, who sit at 14-0, and the other team is the SEC'S very own, Texas A&M Aggies, who sit at 16-0. I believe the Aggies have an argument to be the #1 ranked team in the country. Let's dive into why that is.
We're first going to start off with the most important thing in baseball, and that is pitching. The Aggies lead the SEC in staff ERA with an astounding 1.81. The next closest team is the South Carolina Gamecocks with a 2.15. A&M's starting pitchers this year have combined for an insane ERA of 0.63.
I don't care who you're playing against, that is an absurdly low number for anyone. The bullpen ERA is second in the SEC, only trailing the Gamecocks. We'll have a really good chance to see what this team is made of this weekend, as they travel to Gainesville to kick off SEC play against the Florida Gators. It will be the first true test for the pitching staff to prove what they are made of.
Now let's turn it over and check out what the Aggie's offense has been doing so far this season. Through 16 games, the Aggies have a team slash line of .316/.470/.569. This puts them as the 26th best hitting team in the country, only trailing Bama, Georgia, and Tennessee in the SEC. The offense ranks 6th in On-Base Percentage and 22nd in Slugging Percentage.
This offensive attack has been led by the star transfer, Braden Montgomery, who leads the team with an average of .397. Jace LaViolette is tied with Montgomery for the team lead with seven big flies so far this season. In the preseason, I talked about both Jackson and Appel and Hayden Schott being key pieces for this team, and they have proved to be that, as they both carry .333 average's as well as slugging percentages in the .500's.
This weekend against the Gators will prove a lot about what this offense is actually made of, especially Sunday's game, presumably going up against Jac Caglianone.
A team that has the number 1 pitching staff in the country that also boasts a top 18-20 offense overall, as well as being undefeated should not be ranked #4 behind two other SEC foes. The Texas A&M Aggies should be the #1 team in the country headed into opening weekend of SEC Baseball.