2025 roster projection

I like your comments, but it's far too soon to leave anyone out of the position competition. I agree that Kurland, Shelton, Evans and Heyman already have shown they can win a position, but all four have performed relatively poorly at times. Jones does sound promising, but in the one scrimmage I've attended, I couldn't spot #3 in either dugout or in the post game huddle. Yost's brief spurt late last season certainly earned a shot when he returns. While Brookens looks super when he steps to the plate, his hitting was awful, but he had a couple of good swings Saturday, including a hard double to the wall.

I'm repeating my most common assertion from last year that most positions will be filled by guys who get hits. No one has secured a position yet. Even the best returnees will be sent to the bench if they don't hit. I'm blindly optimistic that the offense will improve next season. In 2024, there were several offensive failures from players with histories of decent hitting. Of the returnees in 2024, only Cags and Evans improved from past performance. I can't help feeling offense will be good in 2025.

It's too early to say much about pitching, other than there have been too many walks.

 

Not to pat myself on the back too much, but the lineup for game one aligned pretty perfectly with this. Well, I didn’t predict an 11-man lineup and three DHs, but still.

 

If Jones doesnt hit...maybe Cyr slides over or Nadeu plays CF allowing Ashton Wilson to get into the mix. Jones must hit. Period

 

You nailed that! But of course, it also applies to every other position player. Jones seems to have made good contact both in BP and scrimmages, but so far, but he has not yet won the job. Apparently, the workout time he missed early was due to a left wrist injury. The wrist has been taped since he's been on the field. I would love to see his hitting move from good to very good when preseason workouts start and the injury is behind him. His speed helps his offense and his threat to steal is a decent trade off for batting .250, but there will be alternatives sitting on the bench. Brookins (I've moved Jones ahead of him in my projected lineup), Wilson, Nadeau, Yost, Clayton and others will be waiting for an opportunity. I can see guys currently working in the infield being moved to OF if they hit better than others.

Evans, Heyman and Shelton can be first round picks if they keep ponding the ball as hard as they have done so far this fall. Cyr clearly is mature and skilled enough to win a position and even be a star. Kurland has hit above .300 at times and is the other vet who seems to have won a job again. The battle for positions has been fun to see. I'll be optimistic in the spring (I count February games as spring) because I've been optimistic every spring since Sully took control, but this group will be good. My few doubts are driven by the tough opponents they face.

BTW- I have not seen Lawson dressed out in over a week

 

D1Baseball has adopted the gimmick of creating lists and rankings, not just for traditional overall team performance ranking, but an array of individual rankings and other factors. For the most part, they are interesting, at a minimum for comparisons that include Gators. Today they started a series ranking the top 50 impact transfer hitters with #41-50. One Gator listed so far:

46. Bobby Boser, INF (South Florida to Florida) After two straight ultra-productive seasons with the Bulls, Boser is headed to the SEC to try his hand with the Gators. Boser, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, showed premium power and hit for a solid average the last two seasons. As a sophomore, he hit .323 with three triples, 15 homers and 41 RBIs, while last season, he hit .299 with five doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He also swiped six bases and finished the year with a 1.018 OPS.​

FWIW This assessment is consistent with his performance in the workouts I've seen. I see him at 3B on opening day, but other players with hot/cold bats might move him to any other IF position, or even OF. I anticipate Stripling being ranked 25-35 and Cyr top 15. Nadeau has shown promise, but I see him behind the others on this list.

 

Pretty much every player, especially with a deeper roster this year, must hit to stay in the starting line up.

Jones has been battling the injury and he will be fine come spring.

 

It would be great to see all of our outfielders as a group to commit to eliminating base runners from picking up the extra bases.

I think hustle and strong accurate throws to either cut off men or bases gets this done.

 

It seems I missed my guess about Stripling appearing on this list, but his fall performance makes him a near certain contributor and possible starter. I was right that Cyr would rank high. For now, he likely fits in with Waldrep and Riopelle as Sully's top transfers. but the season is yet to be played.

11. Blake Cyr, OF (Miami to Florida) The Gators picked up a productive and experienced offensive piece in the 5-foot-11, 190-pound, Hurricanes transfer. Cyr is coming off two straight productive seasons with the ‘Canes, hitting .305 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs as a freshman before hitting .284 last season with three doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He also swiped three bases. Cyr should make a very smooth transition to the Florida program and SEC. ​

 

For me watching Cyr in practice, he usually makes good contact but doesn't get as many hits as you would think over the entire fall. I expect he will make improvements this spring but I'm not sure where he fits in the lineup yet.

 

One of my biggest gripes with baseball announcers is when a lollipop throw lucks out and gets a runner and they say it was a great throw. It isn't. It is a low percentage play. A great throw is a laser through the cut-off man to nail the base runner.

 

When I was still coaching our defensive days were geared towards the entire defense. If an outfielder missed a cutoff man everybody in the outfield dropped and gave 10 push-ups. Same thing for an errant throw in the infield.

The salvation was if the cutoff man “picked” and handled the throw as well as any infielder “picked” and saved the play-that nullified the push ups. TEAM effort is key.

Oh, and even if you’re less talented, you can hustle.