Where do ya'll think Luke McNeillie fits in? Who will be our closer? And who will eat up innings as primary middle relief? Lots of questions to be answered. I hope a couple of our freshman will be able to step in right away.
I feel sure that he would like to have a chance at the starting rotation but the later part of last season he seemed to have the mentality it takes to work in the closer role IMHO.
More D1Bsb reporting on Gators on the Cape, Brewster: Colby Shelton, SS, Florida (2024) — Shelton arrived on the Cape late after making the decision to eschew professional opportunities to return to Florida for the 2025 season. After an up-and-down offensive campaign in Gainesville in the spring, Shelton never really got going for Brewster, batting .205 with one homer (which came in the last game of the season) in 44 at-bats. He had a particularly tough time in left-on-left matchups and sometimes looked as if he was looking for contact early in counts rather than working the count. Given his track record of power production, however, it’s likely his light-hitting ways on the Cape are little more than a hiccup in an otherwise strong college career. Much like during the spring, Shelton’s defense at shortstop was more than solid, and by now it appears that he’s just more comfortable there than at third base, his original position. He’s more instinctual at shortstop and has a better feel for playing the hops there. Brody Donay, C/1B/OF, Florida (2025) — Donay’s six home runs this summer were tied for second on the club with Cuvet, and as is the case with him, his round-trippers were often majestic and he consistently put up high-end exit velocities. He has double-plus raw power and can run the ball out of the ballpark from foul pole to foul pole. The key for Donay moving forward will be to have that power come with less swing and miss. With 41 strikeouts in 97 at-bats with the Whitecaps, that was an issue for him over the summer much like it was in the spring. Donay has tools that play defensively, including a bazooka of an arm that is an asset behind the plate and in right field, but it’s still unclear exactly where he will profile best as a professional.
If I had to guess what our weekend rotation would be I would guess it would be Peterson, Clemente and Coppola but maybe not in that order. I think that McNellie is too good for the midweek starter and will find an important role out of the pen.
That's as good a projection as any. May work out that way and based on where things stand right now that makes sense. Lots of roles to be earned/won on that pitching staff and lots of position battles upcoming as well.
D1Bsb report on Coppola at Hyannis this summer: Pierce Coppola, LHP, Florida (2024) — Despite his track record of injuries and relatively few career innings, there was some thought that Coppola would get drafted and be signed this summer based on his immense potential alone. That didn’t happen, though, and the 6-foot-8 lefthander will return to Florida, where he will look to prove himself as a workhorse over a full season. Certainly his summer with Hyannis was a step in the right direction, albeit in a fairly small sample. In 7.1 innings over two starts, he held batters to a .185 average and struck out 15. There’s no doubting his stuff, as he shows a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and can approach the high 90s when he’s really clicking, a slider that had a 40% whiff rate last spring and a 50% whiff rate over the summer, and a usable changeup. Coppola’s ceiling as a prospect is higher than any other pitcher who took the mound for Hyannis this summer.
That would be nice. I wonder how frequently our weekend starters lasted 5-6 innings this season? It feels like it wasn’t over 50% of the time.
Ideal would be two times through the opponent’s lineup which should be 6 innings—and on any given start should our SP be strong through 7 innings, all the better. This would also help our bullpen to develop it’s best abilities or personality.
I worry a bit that I post a lot of tidbits from D1Baseball, but some of them have good info. For example, they published a list of fall practice games that includes a pair for the Gators, Friday, November 1 at JU, Sunday, November 10 at home against USF. Also, here's a link to the Gator website that reports on the Baseball America rankings of transfers. Three Gators Tabbed BA Top-100 Transfers - Florida Gators
Are we really at JU or is this the annual game in Jax against UGly the night before the football game?
You surely are right. D1Bsb has a matrix that lists away as Florida, home as Jacksonville and I was 100% thinking in a baseball mode. I'd much rather sit at the JU ballpark than with dawg football fans, so a touch of wishful thinking may have been involved. No trip to that mess for me.
Yeah, for me, all desire to attend that game ended around 30 years old. Same for Baton Rouge. All desire to attend an away Miami game ended about an hour after arriving for my first game down there.
87— With the implementation of NIL$$$ and the transfer portal ALL COLLEGE SPORTS have ceased to function and exist as we have always known them. There is no more commitment to your word much less your team or school. I am sad to say GREED and ENTITLEMENT have won out. I will always follow Florida Gators Baseball, but I’m afraid that the game the way we have always known and loved it is now in the rear view mirror. I truly wish it wasn’t so…..
Florida has the money to compete NIL-wise. We have more NIL deals in place than any other school in the country. The leadership has chosen, for whatever reason, not to use it in a big time way to bring in enough elite athletes. Check these links: Top 10 schools based on total number of NIL deals for athletes https://247sports.com/longformartic...programs-ranked-by-nil-efforts-235181311/amp/ On3's top 20 most ambitious NIL collectives There's a disconnect. Florida has plenty of money coming in from generated revenues as well as donors. We have the most NIL deals in place and yet the NIL collective is not even in the Top 20 as far as aggressively using our resources to get the top athletes - or at least enough of them.
We might have more NIL deals, however that doesn't mean we are offering competitive type deals. No one can compete with Texas AM when it comes to Baseball NIL. The closest two are probably TN and Wake right now followed by LSU.
