Gator Baseball 2022

[ocalaman]

7 players from the 2021 team were drafted in the 1st 10 round by MLB, tied for the most in the NCAA. The highest pick, Jud Fabian, could not come to terms with the Red Sox and is returning for another year in Gainesville. Christian Scott, Tommy Mace, Nathan Hickey, Jack Leftwich, Jacob Young and Franco Aleman all signed to go pro, 4 of them pitchers. In addition, 9 players off the 2021 roster have transferred out: Brock Edge, Jordan Carrion, Ben Specht, Cory Acton, Jordan Butler, Hunter Mink, Chase Centala, Ryan Cabarcas and Mark Roberts. So we lost 5 pitchers, plus 2 other guys who played a position and pitched to the transfer portal. We had 2 JUCO pitchers who had signed with Florida, but both were drafted and signed pro contracts. We had the #1 recruiting class in the nation, but 3 of those guys were drafted in the 1st round and another in the 3rd round and all of them signed pro contracts. There is still a strong group of high school players coming aboard in the fall and here is a list, along with their Perfect Game National Ranking and a link to a brief synopsis of each:

#31, C Rene Lastres Rene Lastres Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#33, LHP, 1B, OF Jac Caglionone Jac Caglianone Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#50, LHP, 1B Pierce Coppola Pierce Coppola Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#67, LHP, 1B Philip Abner Philip Abner Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#121, OF Ty Evans Ty Evans Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#137, RHP, INF, OF Brandon Neely Brandon Neely Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#139, OF, MIF Michael Robertson Michael Robertson Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#165, OF, Corey Robinson Corey Robinson Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#192, SS, 2B, Derec Fabian Deric Fabian Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#196, RHP, 1B, Fisher Jameson Fisher Jameson Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#210, RHP, Anthony Ursitti Anthony Ursitti Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#256, RHP, 1B, Kyle Larsen Kyle Larsen Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#278, RHP, 3B, 1B Karl Hartman Karl Hartman Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#296, OF Matthew Prevesk Matthew Prevesk Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#300, SS, 3B, OF Jorge De Goti Jorge De Goti Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#327, RHP, OF, Samuel Sloan Samuel Sloan Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA
#500, LHP, Carsten Finnvold Carsten Finnvold Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA

So in addition to Jud Fabian and the above-listed freshmen, we have the following players scheduled to return: Position Players - Mac Gussette, Kris Armstrong, Kendrick Calilao, Sterlin Thompson, Colby Halter, Josh Rivera, Tucker Talbott and Wyatt Langford. Not sure about the status of catcher Cal Greenfield. Returning Pitchers - Hunter Barco, Brandon Sproat, Ryan Slater, Tyler Nesbitt, David Leuthje, Nick Pogue, Hunter McMullen, Blake Purnell, Timmy Manning, Nick Ficarotta and maybe Garrett Milchin. Milchin came to UF in 2017, but missed 3 seasons due to injury, then saw decent action in 2021. He may come back for a RS senior season, could try to catch on with a pro team or could just hang it up. Pogue & Nesbitt are coming off arm surgeries and it's not known if they'll be ready for 2022 and if they are how effective they will be. Barco & Sproat are pitching for the U.S. Collegiate National Team this summer and Kevin O'Sullivan is the pitching coach, so it would be a good guess that these 2 guys will be weekend starters next season. Where the 3rd weekend starter, midweek starters and the primary bullpen will come from is anybody's guess at this point. Hunter McMullen has spent 2 seasons rehabbing an injury, Timmy Manning came in as a highly-touted freshman but struggled in midweek appearances this year and Leuthje, while seeing some relief action over his time at Florida, will be entering his redshirt junior year with only limited action from the bullpen. I don't recall Slater, Purnell or Ficarotta ever throwing in a live game. So opportunities will be there for freshmen pitchers or for older guys to step up. But there will be a ton of question marks about the pitching staff going into 2022. The starting 8 should be solid, the offense should be good and several freshmen will be given a chance to win a position or earn significant playing time. Let's hope, too, that the defense tightens up and gets back to the Gator standard of being one of the best in D1. O'Sullivan always has talent, as his recruiting classes are consistently Top 5, but there will be more unknowns going into 2022 than in any season I can remember. Lots of new faces, especially on the mound.

 

[instaGATOR]

Good stuff ocala,,, but will you get bagged on for that length and depth of a post?

Or is that just reserved for some of my posts???

 

[ocalaman]

Good stuff ocala,,, but will you get bagged on for that length and depth of a post?

Or is that just reserved for some of my posts???

It's a long one, no doubt. But I was trying to give as much info. as possible in one swoop. There's a Diamond Gators section on the Swamp Gas message board that has thread after thread on UF softball and baseball and we go into much depth on both sports over there. Many on Rivals just prefer the football talk, with some basketball thrown in. That's OK, but I figured I'd start this thread and see what happens.

 

[Nicktheslick]

It's a long one, no doubt. But I was trying to give as much info. as possible in one swoop. There's a Diamond Gators section on the Swamp Gas message board that has thread after thread on UF softball and baseball and we go into much depth on both sports over there. Many on Rivals just prefer the football talk, with some basketball thrown in. That's OK, but I figured I'd start this thread and see what happens.

Great job as always.