2025 roster projection

I don't worry too much about players leaving that are drafted after the round 10. Sure it happens and teams can make them a big offer if they lose any of their top 10 picks. That said when I posted we only had 3 that had been drafted so I wasn't adding any further names to the post. I get your point that teams are made up of guys from more than one class but I was taking the view that we usually get many players drafted early every year, but not as many this year. And yes we can agree it was an odd roster with plenty of young pitchers and several guys that under preformed during the regular season.

 

Ross is going to be one we sweat out until the August 1 signing deadline. Think Lawson shows up but there is definitely a scenario where St. Lous may have excess pool money to throw at the kid.

 

Yes, limiting to the first 10 rounds changes the view. But your comment on making the final 4/development is an area that should look beyond the scope of the first 10 rounds IMO. Lot of really good if not great college players that may not fit that top 10 mold.
And we also come back to 74Nole making the perfect observation about the business of the draft. We know Shelton is a top 10 round talent....but didn't go because of the business aspect

 

I think we all agree that the roster looks better now than we thought it might be before the draft. Pitching is still the main issue for me. Hopefully the freshmen improve, an incoming pitcher or two can help out and it woule be nice if Michael Ross foregoes MLB for a year in Gainesville, then maybe we can pick up another pitcher or two somewhere.

 

Matthew Jenkins from Santa Fe commits to Florida

https://247sports.com/college/flori...nt-transfer-portal-matthew-jenkins-233873859/

 

Also bad news regarding Ross

https://247sports.com/college/flori...hael-ross-samford-mlb-draft-roster-233918884/

 

There's still some time left, but we had one of the worst pitching staffs in the nation last year, and walking away from the transfer portal with Billy Barlow and a JUCO pitcher who walked a batter per inning is not what I was dreaming of.

 

After Ross was drafted yesterday along with reports he was looking for a fairly low bonus number, the writing was on the wall.

 

We need help. In Sully we trust but hoping for good news this week.

 

From the Evans returning article. Has Shelton confirmed he is returning despite being drafted in round 20?

"Evans' return to Gainesville is very significant for the Gators, who are also set to bring back shortstop Colby Shelton, catcher Luke Heyman and left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola, all of whom were draft-eligible this year."

 

Don’t know about formerly but he rejoined the Cape Cod team after the draft signaling he’s coming back. Or that was my take anyway.

 

Within 3-4 years, we'll see the results of the scholly change and I feel certain some results will be completely unexpected. From my blind optimist perspective, I see Gators having some important advantages: top-level competition, great weather, nearly every game on TV, top academics (matters a lot to some guys), top facilities and team resources. We will get some guys who ended up at mid-major programs that offered more scholly support.

I don't see much change in the turnover every year. If overall squad size is reduced, there will be somewhat less competition for some positions, but by May, there normally will be set rotations in both pitching staff and position players. While there always will be guys who wait until postseason to get hot, there will be writing on the wall for half a dozen or so. I hope these sentences make sense: With a smaller overall squad, there will be fewer players left out of regular play, but there still will be only nine starters. The quality, rather than quantity, of available subs still will be a bigger factor on who gets playing time.

 

Anyone have anything on LHP Mason Laurito supposed to be committed to the Gators from 247sports.com?

 

x.com

He's from Ocala Forest. Freshman year at Gulf Coast State College, started 11 games, 2-1 record, 32.1 IP, 3.34 ERA, 42 K's, 1.61 WHIP.

 

That is an exceptionally high WHIP for a 3.34 ERA. Must have been good at stranding runners and avoiding self-made disasters. Not sure if I like that or not. If you walk a lot of batters in the SEC then teams will make you pay. I’ll take all the lefties we can get though.

 

Jenkins and Laurito both had serious control issues at the JUCO level last year. I guess the coaching staff is betting that they can harness the big arms and get them to throw strikes. It's a theory, I suppose.

 

LANDING SPOTS FOR SOME OF THE KIDS WHO TRANSFERRED OUT:


Transferring:
Fisher - P - TRANSFERRING (AUBURN)
Robertson - OF - TRANSFERRING (LIBERTY)
Russell - P/OF - TRANSFERRING (STETSON)
Satin - P - TRANSFERRING (UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA)
Whitmer - P - TRANSFERRING (FAU)
Smith - P - TRANSFERRING (TULANE)
Martinez - INF - TRANSFERRING (FAU)
Jones - P - TRANSFERRING
Mummau - INF - TRANSFERRING (JACKSONVILLE)