Gator Baseball 2023 Official Roster Tracker/Lineup???

Here's my entry into the foray. Thanks 1977 for doing the heavy lifting....
L - Robertson CF - Sully indicated he hopes 11 will lead off and he has in most every scrimmage
R - Langford LF - following the scrimmage plans
L - Caglianone 1B - perfect spot for the produce director, no can of corn from this bat
R - Rivera SS - starting to remind me of Nelson Maldonado
L - Riopelle C - He's going to hit a lot of HRs this year
R - Evans RF - my choice for most improved hitter
R - Lastres DH - Sully loves talking about players who battle back from injury so he gets opening day DH
L - Halter 3B - probably lowest average hitter in scrimmages but doubtful Sully puts him last from experience
R - Kurland 2B - rookie spot for Sully and better production with his bat as a 9/1 combo and back to LRLR

SP - Sproat - I've been preaching he is number one since first day of fall in the head to head with Waldrep
Mid Reliever - Ficarrotta - On second thought CSU has too many RHH so Ficc is more likely to keep CSU from any momentum, Jameson if we get a big lead
Closer - Purnell - best closer in the spring but I'm still wondering if Sully is over Slater, I hope so, plus Abner a lefty before him makes it harder to adjust

Notes: its a very balanced batting order with plenty of power from both sides, speed up front, and many other options for Sully to push these guys in practice. I'll be watching to see how many times Robertson gets on because the game changes any time he is on the bases. With this lineup its very important for Rivera and Kurland to be productive. They don't have to have high averages but they have to put the ball in play and move runners up. Rivera should see lots of good pitches. Sproat is obvious and hopes he breezes thru 5, then go from there. I know Abner has been up and down but CSU has too many RHH so Ficc gets the nod. Situational is the unknown so it could be anybody. Monday's scrimmage said it all when Sully used Purnell for 1 inning to close and then stopped the scrimmage abruptly. That said no need to see more, Shut him down until Friday.

 

Here's 10 questions to ponder for opening day and the weekend...
1. If Robertson leads off, how many times does he get on base? I don't care if its by walk, error, bad throws or whatever. He just needs to be on base with Wyatt or Cags following.
2. Does Sproat breeze thru 5 innings showing good command and control? Just know he might give up a few hard hit balls but expect him to hammer over 80% of his pitches around the plate.
3. Who is our closer on a close game situation? Purnell should be the one but the weekend should give us a few ideas.
4. Who is in at DH assuming Cags at 1st and Riopelle behind the plate? We might see a different DH everyday this weekend. Sully has options.
5. Who is first out of the bullpen? Sure its situational but I feel Sully has a plan he wants to stick to for the first weekend.
6. What is Mike Rivera's duties on game day? Is he a base coach or in the dugout? What players does he spend time with?
7. Does Kurland start at second and where does Sully have him in the lineup? If so expect him to put the ball in play often.
8. Will Sully actually have Rivera bat 4th? I get it but then I don't get it. If he hits above 300 I could easily see him batting second at times.
9. Do our hitters step in the box ready to swing or do they show patience? This could be a player to player thing (ex Langford attacks, Rivera waits)
10. Has Riopelle improved his timing on throw downs to second? All other catchers seem to be faster but he is the most experienced with our pitchers.

 

We are hoping this team gets better, not stays the same.

 

After reviewing the CSU roster I'm changing my Mid Reliever to Nick Ficc as well. Turns out CSU has mostly right hand hitters so Sully should stick to RHP. If we get a big lead then I hope Jameson gets an inning as well.

 

As to pitching to Langford or Robertson, I think the point is not comparing the two batters but only comparing Langford. What I mean by that, as a pitcher would you rather pitch to Langford with no one on base or with a runner on base that's one of the faster players in college baseball. Are you going to ignor the runner so you can be effective with your pitches to the plate or are you going to let the runner pull your attention away as you try on put one across the plate. Sure all this is dependent to Roberson getting on base but we have been waiting for this since the start of practices. I get Robertson is "unproven" but Robertson has been hitting leadoff since the first week of fall. Any time Sully had MR and WL on the same team then MR was leadoff and WL batting second. All preseason we have been wondering about the leadoff spot if Robertson can do it. My whole picks and questions about the season start with Robertson if he can get on base. All of this is unknown until we get to real game action. I will say this. Don't try to compare Robertson's numbers to Langford's numbers. They are two different players and affect the game differently. If Robertson has a 280 average and gets on base somewhere in the 350 range, I'm fine with that.
I believe the 9 spot would go to someone else like Kurland who is good with the bat and could be that rally guy low in the order.
Ultimately we all want this team to score more runs and win more games.

 

Here's a bit of tid....
I did a little peeking into Charleston Southern's roster and it looks like they lost most of their fielders. I count at least 8 that have moved on and all but one of their best hitters. They do have 17 seniors and graduates and are a team half built with jucos. Even though last year's win loss was a 50/50 season, I don't expect much from this year's team to start the season. Whatever their ranking index was last year is probably not going to be as good this year.

 

Great article that speaks to Deric's climb back and how much he wants to be back.
Broken but not beaten, Deric Fabian stands tall in the box
Sounds like the kind of guy that Sully wants on his team.