Gator Baseball 2024 OFFICIAL ROSTER/Transfer Tracker/Lineup???

I think you may be downplaying Shelton just a little lol.
Jac as a freshman had an OPS of .887 and as a sophomore 1.127….pretty awesome wasn’t it?
Shelton…..OPS as a true freshman? 1.148. That’s right, higher than both of Jac’s seasons. Plus you can’t use the competition excuse.

 

Not sure what happened as I was replying to jd’s post about Sheltons swing and miss. Not sure how your post was quoted. I was going to reply to yours but your post wouldn’t load for me lol to mention Coppola as a potential starter.

 

Nick on the premium board stated at the end of the season that the coaches were confident Coppola was going to be good to go next season. We shall see!

 

As to your question on Cade Fisher @Matherly87 , I think we will see him excel as a weekend starter.

 

Texas A&M just got the crown jewel of the portal. OF from Stanford just announced. I guess I'm just glad he isn't going to Baton Rouge.

 

Hit .252 with 20 RBIs this past season at Charleston Southern as a 3B. Has the ability to play basically anywhere on the diamond. From what I've read, Wilson is not a fantastic defender at any position and the swing & miss is an issue. But, overall good depth signing.

 

Looks like the offense is going to take a step back in 2024, but since the 2023 offense was so awesome that's to be expected. But there have to be some guys who show marked improvement at the plate if we're going to have a top 1/2 of the SEC-type offense next season. The pitching has to be better to make the Gators a title challenger again, though, because we're not going to be scoring like we did in 2023.

 

I sort of agree with you here. I mean, it's going to be hard to replicate the production we got offensively from guys like Langford, Rivera, BT, etc. But, next season, we still have Cags & throw in guys like Colby Shelton & Donay. I think power won't be an issue. Now how the team performs with RISP and whatnot is TBD. As far as starting pitching is concerned, I think that might be the weakest link atm. That's not to say I'm doubting Cade (fisher), Neely, & Cags abilities. It's just I think it's disappointing that they haven't decide to pursue a starter via the portal. But, after last season, having a 1, 2 punch with Sproat & Waldrep, is going to be a hard thing to replace.

 

They did pursue and got Austin but he went MLB. They pursued and were in good shape for Holman but he went elsewhere. You can talk about Sproat & Waldrep (who I liked) but their production was not there. ERA’s over 4 does not give me the warm and fuzzies……maybe it does for you but I think we will have guys step up and give us better production next season.

 

I agree with the point that it's unlikely any squad that takes the field in '24 can equal the offense of '23. We might replace Riopelle and Rivera, but Wyatt was top five all time among Gator hitters. I limit that to top five because it's hard to compare different eras.

I also agree the college game has evolved to almost require stealing a good pitcher or two from mid-major programs or lesser programs in big conferences.

But the thing that has moved UF to the very top of college baseball has been the frosh pitching recruits Sully brings in year after year. I can't guess which of the new group will be a Barco, Faedo or Shore or even a solid middle reliever, but there are some guys we'll be praising over the next few years. That will be true of a position player or two or three, as well.

I assert it's a fact that Sully brings in better frosh pitchers than the top 1% of guys available in the portal. That point shows up from time to time in these discussions, but it too often is left out. I wish we had some transfer at the Holman level, but we are not on the brink of any abyss.

 

We are talking about replacing production from this past season and it has squat to do with future MLB success unless their future success in MLB will somehow change the 2023 season.

 

Not a starter but on record as saying then and even more so now, Nesbitt a definite loss.

 

That list is the reason I'm optimistic, plus the fact that I just can't help it.

Does the roster limit apply to fall practice? If not, I see plenty of possibilities for it to slim down by January. I don't have specific names in mind for that, but we generally lose a small number after the depth chart becomes more clear.

BTW Thanks for tracking the roster. It is a BIG help.

 

No program can replace a top 5 first round MLB draft pick.

we need to find better pitching. Need some of the true freshmen or year 2 kids to step up in a big way. Pitching is what will hold us back this year.

Not a fan of a .250 hitter from CS transferring after freshman year but understand depth holes go fill and appears to be good fielding utility player.

on a positive note it appears many Florida born kids want to come bs k closer go home to play if they have string year or two outside the State. Portal good in that regard

 

Cags is still a work in progress but hopefully he can fix the command issues and take the next step. Neely had a solid, albeit short summer with the US Team and will be a solid weekend guy should he indeed enter the rotation. Fisher had a really good FR season and hopefully continues to improve as he joins the rotation. Coppola is a major question due to injuries but obviously has the ability to be really good. Sully also has to be encouraged about the summer Jake Clemente had in the CP League. After slowly being worked in due to coming off injury, he showed positive signs giving up just three runs in his last 13 1/3 innings with 15 K’s. Looking forward to seeing him this fall as he can be really good if healthy.

Sully brought in a bunch of really good arms in this years FR class and hopefully 2-3 kids can contribute right away. Christian Rodriguez, Liam
Peterson and Luke McNellie all have really good potential and I think people are underestimating the impact of the Caden McDonald signing. The kid is just a really good player and like Peterson and Rodriguez, has the potential to be a two way player at UF. McDonald was probably the most productive player in Florida high school baseball this past year going 13-1 on the mound and finishing runner-up in Florida with 12 HRs. He is not as toolsy a player from the MLB scouts eyes but he is the best two-way player to come out of Florida since Jax Caglianone.

Agree it would have been nice to get a top pitcher out of the portal but there is no lack of quality arms on the roster and if certain piece fall in place, UF will have a solid pitching staff in 2024.

 

Julian Irizarry - Spring 2023

Will someone please put this kid on the UF baseball coaches radar. Senior in HS next year. Committed to Pitt. They have to go watch him play. I’ve watched a lot of baseball in the last 50 years. He is one of the best hitting HS kids I have ever watched. Great lead off hitter. I have never recommended anyone but there is something there with this kid. You know it when you see it and he will be a great college player