Gator Baseball 2023 Official Roster Tracker/Lineup???

Well I thought the 2023 Roster/Lineup/Tracker was done for the year but we still have a lineup spot in question. So let's look at the numbers. Granted this does not take into account plenty of other batting situations like timely hitting, homeruns, bunts, HBP, RBIs, etc. But for CF we can at least say he needs to get on base, therefore I've simplified it to hits and walks.

I was wondering how our batters have done since the NCAAT has started in comparison to Robertson and his CF spot. I compiled all the starters since our first game in the tourney against FAMU. These represent their total AT BATS/HITS/WALKS over the 7 games played. The first 7 batters played in all 7 games and the rest are partials in games they batted.

KURLAND --------27/6/4
LANGFORD ------26/5/6
CAGLIANONE ----27/6/2
RIVERA ----------25/9/5
RIOPELLE --------24/3/4
HEYMAN ---------25/8/3
SHELNUT --------22/7/4
HALTER (6) ------17/6/3
THOMAS (2) ------4/1/0
ROBERTSON (2) --5/1/1
SCHIEKOFER (4) -13/2/1
EVANS (1) ---------2/1/2

Key Points....
1. As far as batting average its easy to see Rivera, Heyman, and Shelnut are leading the way among the everyday starters. Yes I see Evans down there and he is an anomaly for one game, but it does make you wonder.
2. Halter (.353) would be second slightly behind Rivera (.360) but that shows you his impact in the 6 games he has played, not to forget his defense. Yes I get it that Evans is 1 for 2 and comes out to be 500. But we digress.
3. But when you start to compare who else would you put in the OF, none of them stand out. They have all got a hit or two and a walk or two. Reality is the Schiek has the lowest batting average of the available batters.
4. I think most of us believe our defense would be much better with Robertson in center and Langford back in left (shout out to 74Nole here for leading the charge on Langford). Unknown factor though is the effect these missed plays in the OF might be infecting their offense. Hhhmmm, not in a Covid way.
5. When you combine hits and walks for an on base look again its Rivera leading the way with Shelnut, Heyman and Halter having the biggest impact. But credit Langford for his 6 walks even though his bat has struggled with only 5 hits. That would be Mr. Langford's que to light it up for calling him out.
6. Well seems clear to me Robertson and the numbers back it up that Robertson still needs to be in CF. No one else has earned the spot.
7. Shelnut deserves to be in RF but I'd like to see Evans get time late in games for his defense.
8. Halter has clearly locked down 3rd base for the CWS.

It remains to be seen how this team will handle the big ballpark but that's why we built the Condron. Balls don't fly out as easily to center in Omaha so we need to be ready to manufacture some runs if needed. Cags, Langford, and maybe Rivera will still be able to reach the seats. If the wind is blowing in like normal then Riopelle and a few others might leave a few on the warning track if not pulled down the lines. Again its a big ballpark and plays big on a big time stage so experience matters and its time for Robertson and Halter to bring this defense back together. Go Gators!

 

Looking at Virginia they have plenty of LHP and LHH so we will have to be ready for about anything. That's what makes Virginia tough most years. Their hitters do hunt for fastballs but they are better hitters than SC was. They make good contact with breaking balls fairly well. It will take someone better than most of us to find many holes in these hitters since most everyone in the lineup is batting 290 or higher.. Their homerun hitters are mainly these four Gelof (23), Anderson (14), Tell (13), and O'Donnell (13). No one else has more than 5 HRs. The team batting average is currently 335.

Schedule wise they lost a series at Virginia Tech, went 3-0 at home against Miami, lost a series at home against Pitt, got swept on the road at Notre Dame, lost another series at home to Duke, and most everything else they won. I did look to see if they played Wake Forest this season and they did not. So to me their schedule was a little on the lite side but Virginia does have some success at the CWS to take them seriously.

I have to assume Sproat starts Friday but he better not toss them over the plate like last Friday. Perhaps the wind will be blowing in to help keep the ball in the park but Virginia is known for stringing hits together and this park will give up some doubles and triples in that big outfield. At this point I think it is a mistake not to start Robertson at CF in Omaha. The defense needs to protect the gaps and hope the infield can flash the leather.

Pitchers are Parker RHP, Early LHP, and Edgington RHP, all with ERAs under 4. But the hitters they face are batting around 250 which seems high in comparison. One interesting stat Parker has hit 14 batters, the same as Sproat. So look for Kurland and Cags to set up close to the plate in a squeeze. Their bullpen looks like they have plenty of options and plenty of innings pitched between 8-9 arms.

 

Mid season they were starting Edgington on Fridays, not sure when or why they changed. But yes Parker has done very well.

 

Just read that Halter is batting .388 in the NCAAT. This warrants consideration for him to leadoff. No other tourney stats were given to compare but the top 3 in the order better get hot and stay hot if we are going to make it thru. Its great to see the bottom half of the order doing so well when we need them most.

 

Just a thought before Wednesday. Who says if Robertson were to start his bat wouldn't spring to life? It happened for Evans so why not Robertson?

Let me start by saying I am on record several times that I would start Shelnut, Langford, and Evans across the outfield and bring Robertson in late in the last 2-3 innings. Evans has earned his spot back and continues to impress. Shelnut has also done well at the plate in post season play. His average continues to around 280 and he contributes in many games. Langford seems better suited to play LF but this lineup means he has to move to CF.

My point, most all of us here would not have brought Evans back in this late in the season a few weeks ago, myself included. But look what's happened, he's hitting better than he did at the start of the season. So could Robertson do the same? I'm not saying hit HRs like Evans but he could regain his hitting ability like he started. Nobody knows and that's up to Sully. Clearly Sully must have seen Evans putting in some good rips in practices to trust his playing time back in the lineup. But many of us would like to see Robertson back in center for his defense.

So which is better, an outfield of Langford, Robertson, and Evans, or an outfield of Shelnut, Langford, and Evans, or an outfield of Langford, Robertson, and Shelnut? Tough choices and I'm leaving it up to Sully.

 

On 5/7 after the TA&M game Kurland was batting .300. He's batting .291 now. It feels like more because two weeks later after the Kentucky game Kurland was up to .326. But yes he has been declining since his fast start on the season as a high school senior who is leading off the number 2 college team in the country. Could Sully do better, probably yes? Am I expecting Kurland to have a big multi-hit game or two before this coming Monday, you betchas!!!
And so is Sully....

 

Well said Apopka.