Gator Baseball 2022 Roster/Lineup/Batting Order

Caught 4 innings of today's scrimmage. Abner pitching for Orange (Guscette C) Manning for Blue (Riopelle C)
Abner solid; Manning excellent
Abner in three innings, walked lead off man three times (on very close calls in my view) only gave up one hit and one run with 2 Ks. Manning had great stuff and stayed ahead of hitters. His line 0 runs, 2 hits (one a high chopper by Rivera, another a bloop to left by Guscette that should have been caught), 0 walks and 4 Ks-- and he was pitching against most of the A team. Sully was very pleased.
Spoke briefly with Pogue between innings and he hopes to start throwing for real in one month- I'm not sure how much work he'll get before SEC season.

 

Sorry to say but Calilao is slow afoot. Saw him today top a ball that many could have beaten for a hit and he didn't. Yes technically sound in outfield but covers too little ground. If he's not at first, DH is better.

 

Can’t agree with that at all. I would say he played a better outfield than Thompson. This year there are more options out there thankfully but he was far from being a liability in the outfield.

 

I can agree with that as Thompson (as a freshman) played out of position.
That said- Thompson has looked good at second in scrimmages. I'd test Thompson at 3rd as we mostly agree that Halter is the better DP turn option at 2nd. Lots of moving pieces at this point. Bottom line: Thompson has to be near top of lineup regardless his position.

 

Definitely has to play somewhere. May be the best bat in the lineup. Not sure how he fits in the infield unless Josh doesn’t come back to form as soon as they hope. I too thought he would play third but seems D Fabian may be the plan there.

 

Seems to be a lot more options with a deeper bench this year. The 8 field positions, batting order and platooning will all work itself out over time. Sully will give all the players who have proven themselves thus far in practice an opportunity to win a position against live competition. But as everybody has said before, it's all going to come down to how many of these pitchers can be successful against SEC competition.

 

In the infield, I've seen D. Fabian makes some nice plays at 3rd. Seems to have good footwork, instincts, and good arm. Thompson has also looked pretty good at 2nd- seems far more comfortable than in RF-- although we agree that 2nd is Halter's. Lastres was at 3rd for Orange yesterday and looked a bit shaky.
Agree with others, Sully will have a juggling act with lots of good field players to keep happy and it will all come down to pitching.

 

I like the promise from Lestres, but he's on the squad to develop. Reminds me somewhat of Zunino as a frosh, but that may be too much of a compliment. He'll get at bats and innings that will pay off next year. He's a catcher, he plays 3B in scrimmages to fill space.

 

Fully agree- Lastres is a catcher and he's playing third to fill space in the scrimmage. From behind the plate he's quick, with great baseball IQ and has a terrific and accurate arm- I expect he will be a star. From what I remember in the Fall- he's the best defensive catcher among the three though will have to bide his time this year with Guscette and Riopelle having the edge for now.

 

Competition is a good thing to have and a great motivator building the much needed team concept.

 

They would probably have been great softball and baseball players if they had chosen that path. Something about the air.

 

Caught first 3.5 innings of today's scrimmage and Coppola was lights out! Outstanding outing. He pitched three innings for Orange and struck out 9. Yes all nine outs were Ks-- he was working fast, throwing hard and gave up 0 hits. walked one (Halter) on a very close 3-2 pitch that I thought was a strike. Halter stole second and came all the way around from 2nd on pass ball (Guscette seemed crossed up on pitch). Otherwise Coppola flawless and definitely in the running for weekend slot-- maybe Saturday guy. Slater pitched for Blue and was solid- had a bit of rough second inning but aided by no-range Grad Asst. hits... Orange scored one run on three hits and a walk- with 3 LOBs...
Best defensive gems-- two outstanding throws by Lastres (guy has a gun). In 2nd inning with Armstrong on first, Slater bounced one and it rolled away some 10-12 feet- Lastres pounced quickly and threw a dart to nail Armstrong. In 3rd, after a Langford single, Lastres threw another dart to nail him- although Langford had a great jump. My view- Lastres has the best arm of the three catchers and arguably the better all-around on D. No sign of Riopelle today. Believe I spotted Gal in the stands so she should have a more complete play-by play. (I was in cycling clothes and wind from NE convinced me to leave early)
Note: I am optimistic that at least three freshmen pitchers will make key contributions this year: Coppola, Abner, Hartman- plus l see Manning putting it together as well.

 

87,
Late Sunday practice/scrimmage was scheduled from the first post by UF baseball two weeks ago- so assume it's still on although weather here is not the best.