Gator Baseball 2022 Roster/Lineup/Batting Order

That was Sully's plan to have him bat third and we saw that in the first two weeks of practice. Sully started shuffling the lineups and Rivera dropped down. Rivera seems probable to play but they are being very careful with his comeback since Deric is capable of 3rd or SS. I believe we will eventually see Rivera batting 3rd. I'm just not sure what to expect if he plays or where he bats tonight.

 

Glad to see Thompson and Langford still on a roll. Sully said they will look to move Langford up but starting him batting 8th to protect him since he barely played last year. I don't think he needs protecting much longer. Rivera has been spotty at best the last few weeks. I guess they plan to get him throwing might be effecting his chances to swing the bat some. We will have a really good top 4 for the lineup once Wyatt moves up. Then I believe Armstrong should come around soon which would give us 5 strong batters. That's why its so important either Calilao or Rivera get it going because 6 key hitters are hard for a pitching staff to work their way through. I do expect Deric will eventually get some key hits but how long is hard to say. I've seen him for a few years and know what's coming and it will be good.

 

That's the way I felt about Armstrong at the start of spring but Langford has far out performed in scrimmages. We all know KA is capable of great things but right now Langford is best in the 4 spot. KA seems to be in a funk right now but I don't expect it to last long. He put a lot of time in at third and even at first. So maybe not getting the start at either spot could be wearing on him. I hope not because we need his bat as the season goes along. Don't forget if Rivera needs a rest day Deric could easily slide over to short and KA will play 3rd. He might hit better if given the chance.

 

I don't either on Rivera. The top half is coming from Sully when he said they had him penciled in batting third coming out of the winter break. I'm wondering how much time he had in the cages while recovering from the wrist surgery. Wyatt has been cranking them since day one this spring. See comments above.

 

Yep Yep Yep. I was very surprised by Manning today. We hadn't seen that kind of performance since the fall. I hope he gets another chance next weekend maybe as the Sunday starter because right now I have no idea who should get a weekend start other than Barco and Coppola.
About a week ago my rotation was Barco, Coppola, and Manning. Then all the people on twitter etc. were still insisting Sproat was the Saturday starter. I'm sticking with Coppola in the Saturday spot going forward. I won't even pretend to know a Sunday starter until I see someone step up. I got to trust Coppola will have a good day tomorrow. So take heart Gator fans someone will eventually settle down with some consistency. Now the bullpen is a totally different situation.

 

Keep an eye on Rivera. I've been noticing during the games between innings as he takes grounders, his throws to first have a lot of fall off to them. He makes plays fine but you can tell he is not putting any torque on that arm unless he has to. I suspect they will give him a few days rest here and there until he settles in and can put some zip on that ball. If so look for Deric to play SS and Armstrong will be at 3rd. This will also allow someone else to get time in at DH.

 

I get this is only after game 2 but after 65 at bats we are batting .200. Sure that's against a decent opponent but hopefully we can reach 10+ hits on Sunday. Calilao and Rivera are still looking for their first hits. Sterlin and Wyatt are leading with .375 averages.

 

Anyone care to take a stab at who we might see on the mound after Coppola is done?
Pitchers -
Starters - Barco-L, Pierce Coppola-L(Fr), Manning-L, Sproat-R, Milchin-R,
Relievers - Kyle Hartman-R, Philip Abner-L, Slater-R, Brandon Neely-R, Luethje-R, Ficarrotta-R, Carsten Finnvold-L, Purnell-R, Fisher Jameson-R, Samuel Sloan-R, Anthony Ursitti-R
.....Unknowns - Pogue-R (TJ), Nesbitt-R (TJ), H McMullen-R, Jac Caglianone-L (TJ)

This weekend we haven't seen Luethje, Finnvold, Jameson, Ursitti for good reason. Certainly several of the other guys had some short appearances but that may not be a good thing either. If Coppola gets us through 5 and we have a decent lead you better keep your fingers crossed.

 

Talking with a member of the Fabian family tonight and loved a comment I heard. On Opening Night when Sterlin Thompson hit the grand slam, two of the base runners were Deric and Jud Fabian. That meant of the four runs scored off that one hit, 3 of the runs were scored by players from........you guessed it.....Ocala. I wonder if in the history of Florida baseball, has one hit scored 3 players from the same city?
I must be lookupable somewhere.