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

Yesterday, I finally got out to the ballpark for a four inning scrimmage and my first reaction is - wow- we have a brand new team... very few familiar faces (and numbers) from last year. Clemente started for Blue (against the mostly "A team" for Orange) and despite some control issues, especially with his off speed stuff threw consistently in the 94-95. Gave up one run in two innings, with 3 Ks. I circled him as possible mid week starter or for middle relief. Satin started for Orange and is a strike thrower but does not have the same stuff as Clemente, main positive he throws strikes. He gave up one run in two innings but after breezing through the first gave up three consecutive hits in second before wiggling out of it. Grayson Smith looked very good in his one inning of relief and I circled his name as possible contributor this season.
Jameson got hit hard pitching for Orange given up the two deciding runs in his one inning. I am a little surprised that Sully did not encourage him to look elsewhere. Purnell breezed through his innning- closing it out for Blue in a 3-1 win.
It will be interesting to see how the new team meshes and who emerges as the team leaders. We'll miss the steady leadership qualities, maturity and talents of Josh and BT and the overall extreme talent of Wyatt. Pitching is an open question as well with big losses to Pro ball and if Neely moves to starter -- who will be the closer?
PS: Coppola sighting but not throwing or participating in any way. Very sorry for the young man who had great potential. I'm not confident he will be able to help out this seasonn- we shall see.

 

Nice write up. Missed the scrimmage but during the practice part, Coppola was throwing flats with the other pitchers. He was also actively shagging fly balls during BP. They seem to be bringing him along slowly for good reason.

 

We all know that Cags will garner the attention and headlines, and I think everybody’s fine with that.

I really have the feeling that Cade Fisher will be the anchor of our starting rotation.

 

I fully agree 74. I thought going into the new season, Fisher would likely be the Friday night guy with Neely also a weekend starter. Unless Cags' control issues can be ironed out, I am not fully convinced of how effective he can be on a consistent basis. I know, many will argue that with his stuff he's gotta be out there on the weekend but it seems to me when he's on, he's great; but when he's off ... it goes south quickly. That is what is most concerning-- once he loses it, he has not shown the ability to regain his compusure. I'm hopeful that it can be ironed out with coaching and one more year of maturity.
I've not heard reports about Liam Peterson from the scrimmages but he is a top pitching prospect and it's great that he made it to campus. They gave him Barco's old #12 and we remember how good Barc was as a freshman. Lots of pieces for Sully to juggle along with a boatload of question marks with really big shoes to fill.

 

The best freshman pitcher I remember is Logan Shore from Minnesota. He came in as a weekend starter and stayed there for 3 years. Very consistent battler.

 

In my experiences working with pitchers-IMHO-Cag’s mechanical issues can be corrected with both work and effort.

The first hurdle for any pitcher is for him to understand what he’s asking his body to do mechanically and duplicating those mechanics to the point of positive habits.

Cags generally struggles with arm side misses (both running pitch counts up and setting negative mindsets). What I see that causes this are three things strung together which makes each thing more highly contributing to control issues. First, the front side (lead shoulder/right) flies open too early. Second, this pushes to too long a stride. And third, this creates a “shotgun” (inconsistent) release point which greatly deteriorates command/control.

IMHO these things are relatively easy to correct and implement with regular work/duplication in a positive work environment.

 

Coppola has been a wild man in the outfield during bp, lol. By far the most active guy out there at the practices I’ve made. Don’t know if we’ll ever see him pitch, but glad he’s still engaged and enjoying himself.

 

Thanks 74 for your expert analysis. One doubt that I have is as a two-way player is Cags able to put in the necessary time working on his pitching mechanics which would enable him to get to that point of duplication?

 

For me the real issue is how it’s addressed. Is it a situation where ok, he throws a pen today and everything was better so—good until next time, or are the issues that lead to the control/command issues discussed, broken down, proper mechanics to solve the issues put in place, and the correct mechanics reenforced to the point of habit.

Hoping it’s better next time is not a solution.

 

87, thanks for the invite. Should be fun under the lights and weather is great. I have family commitments so won't be able to make it but look forward to your and others' observations.

 

Hasn’t Sully’s tendency been to start non-weekend starters in this game similar to playing FSU so as to not give an early look to conference opponents in the fall?

 

Last year Waldrep started against Jaden Woods.