Gator Baseball 2022 Roster/Lineup/Batting Order

By definition it's when a batter takes a full cut and swings thru the pitch barely making contact on the top of the ball sending the ball rolling slowly down the third or first base line thus causing the fielder to take 3 steps back until realizing the mistake the batter must have made and causing said fielder to stand watching the ball hoping it rolls foul. For the Gators on defense this usually means surely 1 if not 2 or more runs will then score later in the inning. Easier said than done. I used to do this quite often when coach used to ask me to hit fly balls to the outfielders before the game during practice and got quite good at it I don't mind saying.

 

Alright here are my notes from DAY NUMERO UNO. Good to see Gabe and Ethan out there today. Man was it ever good to hear the catcher's mitt echoing thru the park again. This will not be with many details because Gabe showed up and my pen stopped working (HA). Actually with a short staff both teams only had 7 hitters and the dugout made a few judgement calls on plays that changed some inning outcomes. Deric Fabian and Jorge De Goti were both no shows, thus out with illness. The Orange had many of the starters and the Blue had a few starters and some Grad Assts. Orange had Rivera at SS and Caglianone at 1B and neither were allowed to throw overhand. Therefore I'm just listing a few details on each player. Also Ethan or Gabe feel free to correct me since my eyesight isn't what it used to be and thanks for all the answers to my questions about who's on first.

Orange won 7-6 scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to come from behind. (5 innings)

Orange Lineup and Batting Order
CF - Jud Fabian - 1 for 2 - w, w, pop out, single
2B - Sterlin Thompson - 3 for 4 - DP, HR(415 to dead CF off the batter's eye), oppo HR, single
SS - Josh Rivera - 1 for 4 - single, SO, SO, GO
3B - Armstrong - 2 for 4 - GO, single, pop out, double to fence
LF - Wyatt Langford - 1 for 2 - w, double to right ruled by dugout, SO, w
C - Mac Guscette - 1 for 3 - GO, sac fly, single, GO
RF - Matthew Prevesk - 0 for 3 - line out, FO, GO
Caglianone at 1B did not bat and no DH

Blue Lineup and Batting Order
SS - Colby Halter - 3 for 3 - HBP, single, single, triple to RF corner
1B - Kenny Calilao - 2 for 4 - HR to left center, GO, line out, single
C/3B - BT Riopelle - 2 for 4 - double, GO, HR to right, pop out
3B/C - Rene Lastres - 0 for 4 - SO, SO, GO, SO with the hat trick
OF - Mikey Robertson - 2 for 3 - single, single, GO
OF - Ty Evans - 0 for 3 - GO, SO, GO
LF - Tucker Talbott - 3 for 3 - single, single, single
Grad Assts played at 2B and RF

Notes on batters......
Clearly Thompson shined with 2 HR and a single. If you watch Ethan's twitter post on his first HR you can hear the reactions from Gabe and me. Let's just say Sproat and Hartman need to get some more movement on their fastballs. I was very impressed by Jud's approach at the plate on all 4 for his ABs. He was very patient and only swung at quality pitches. Yes that's right I said Jud was patient and only swung at quality pitches. Halter and Talbott both had 3 solid singles. Calilao's HR was off of Barco. Riopelle was both good at hitting and behind the plate. His HR to right looked like a fly ball but just kept carrying over the fence.

Notes on pitchers....
Barco started for the Orange and gave up 3 runs in the fifth, ouch. That was on a HBP, HR, double, SO, single, GO, and a single when the inning was called. Sixth inning he only faced 4 batters giving up 1 single and then exited after 2. Purnell pitched the 7th giving up 3 hits but no runs scored. Neely pitched the last 2 innings giving up 3 runs including a HR in the 8th and a triple in the 9th.
Coppola started for the Blue going walk, DP, single, GO, and an extra batter walk when the inning was called with no runs scored. Sproat pitched the 6th and 7th innings for the Blue giving up 3 runs from a HR in the 6th and a double and sac fly in the 7th. Hartman pitched the 8th, faced 4 batters and gave up a solo HR. In the 9th he had to leave the game after 2 pitches when something happened to his wrist. Ficarrotta came on but couldn't close it out giving up 3 runs facing 8 batters.
With as many players out you would have thought today could have been an advantage for the pitchers but clearly they all struggled to some extent. There were plenty of extra base hits to go around and there really wasn't many errors to go around by the regulars other than the Grad Assts trying to stab a few for fun. So after one day it looks like this team has to score 6 or more runs each time out to have a chance at the win. Hopefully we can improve on that before the season gets here.

Other notes....
I got there shortly after 3 pm and everyone was out working on bunts. Batters were rotating taking turns laying 1 down and each pitcher rotating in to field and either throw to third or to first (base runner was at second for the drill). Special note for John these hitters were actually holding their bats over the plate trying to make contact, not the full swing bunt variety. If still confused you might try attending practice every once in awhile. HA
Seeing the Orange batting order made it fairly clear the lineup I posted on the previous page might be more accurate than even I imagined. Yes sports fans Jud Fabian appears to be our lead off hitter to start the year. Clearly Sully is looking at the top half of the order something like Jud, ST, Rivera, KA, and Langford. Fielders will clear up after Deric returns because without him 3 other players were potentially out of position (KA at 3rd, ST at 2nd, and KC at 1st). Guscette caught all 5 innings for the Orange so that says he has the lead for the starting catcher spot. I still believe Riopelle is a very close second in line and each will start depending on pitcher. Special shout out to Sully who looks like he put on another 10 pounds of muscle and leads this team in the weight room.

 

Great info Shane and glad to have another eye on the practice. I'll be watching Jud on Tuesday and hoping that patience continues. Exactly right on ST and the breakout player. I still haven't seen Guscette hitting like he did the first half of last season. I think its important for his playing time he gets off to a fast start again this year or Riopelle might overtake his number one position. I agree with everyone else that Calilao needs to be on the field but Sully has so many other players someone is going to be sitting. Even the DH will be competitive which is a great problem to have. Same issue with Robertson, if you put him in the outfield then who do you take out? I would like to see him leading off as well but I just don't see Sully putting a freshman in the leadoff to start the season. I'm thinking the week before the season starts I'll update the lineup to who I think Sully will start and a lineup I hope we see.

 

Maybe that's why Sully bulked up some to help get his point across. HA

 

I must say I'm a bit surprised by some of these MLB preseason draft rankings. These are SEC players only so the rankings are inflated. They expect Barco to be the 4th highest drafted in the SEC and even Sproat 17th highest.

Select Gators Honored in D1Baseball's SEC Season Preview - Florida Gators
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Seven Gators have been ranked among the Southeastern Conference's top-100 prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft, as announced by D1Baseball in the publication's SEC Season Preview on Friday. D1Baseball also tabbed six Florida players as top prospects for the 2023 Draft and another eight Gators as top-50 impact freshmen.

2022 MLB Draft
LHP Hunter Barco – No. 4
OF Jud Fabian – No. 15
RHP Brandon Sproat – No. 17
OF Sterlin Thompson – No. 18
INF Colby Halter – No. 22
INF Josh Rivera – No. 27
RHP Nick Pogue – No. 50

2023 MLB Draft
LHP Philip Abner – No. 11
OF Michael Robertson – No. 24
INF Deric Fabian – No. 25
LHP Timmy Manning – No. 34
C Mac Guscette – No. 36
C/1B/OF Wyatt Langford – No. 38

 

Wyatt Langford being Wyatt Langford hitting the ball hard...