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

Newcomers are beginning to give clues of their current capacities and some are showing more than others. My assessments are purely from scrimmages and a little bit from BP. I'm certain that other workout activities that coaches manage provide much more info to them and that my assessments are far less competent than coaches', but since they don't make posts here (that we know of), this is what you get.

The returning position players generally are playing as well or better than what we saw last season. The exception is Evans who is sitting out. None of the newcomer position players have won a position with hitting or defense in scrimmages. All of them seem to be adequate or better in the field and have reinforced my belief that hitting will determine who makes the game lineups. The new guys who seem to be hitting best include Martinez and Yost who have done very well over the past week or two, Donay and Shelton were expected to be strong on offense and each has had some good scrimmage hits, but I can't call either exceptional. That probably also applies to Guy, as well. Albert, Brookins, Mummau and Russell have played well or very well in the field, but I haven't seen much offense from them.

Pitching seems to be a different story. I feel pretty good about fall performance for all of the frosh pitchers I have seen- Peterson, Jones, Menendez, Satin, Smith and McDonald. I haven't seen the others. The 2023 pitching staff ended up being a small group by the end of the season, but I believe there will be some newcomers who contribute throughout the year. BTW, I don't plan to review these comments in April to see how accurate they turn out to be.

 

Don't worry...we will review for you

 

Has there been any clarification on the nature of injury to Tyler Evans that’s holding him out of participating? I think what I initially read was he had some shoulder tenderness/issues when throwing from the outfield.

 

He had a weird wrap around his upper leg last week. Looks like a hammy or groin issue to me. He goes out for warmups and tosses the ball around, so don’t think it’s a shoulder. No running, fielding, or bp.

 

Thanks for sharing Nick's write-up 87. I've been to one scrimmage but share some of Nick's observations. Garrison seems a very solid defensive catcher although his hitting stats at Coastal were not particularly impressive he may be an option to share catching duties with Heyman.
On pitching: Grayson Smith looked very good in the scrimmage I attended and both Clemente and Satin looked good enough to circle them as likely contributors this year. Clemente has the better heat and Satin more of a strike thrower.. Clemente may get the nod as mid-week starter. It appears that Sully is leaning toward Purnell as the closer and Blake has looked very good thus far and hopefully with experience and maturity....but we've seen the movie before. We'll see.

 

I like Robertson and couldn't bring myself to mention the play Nick reported. There was a solid breeze blowing Tuesday, not extreme at all, but it fooled Mikey more than I can remember happening to any Gator OF in games or scrimmages. (I didn't see the infamous Rodney Brewer miss in Miami. I still feel good about him, too.) The hit was high and deep to left- near the track- and Mikey moved to his right, then left, then right and waved at the ball went over his head. It almost seemed he did a 360 at the last moment. I have no concerns about his defensive skills, but he looked a little silly on that one. I have seen opponents look MUCH worse during the past couple of seasons, which makes me feel I've been spoiled by talented Gator D.

 

Years ago, there was a columnist who often had a segment called, "Things I came across while looking for something else." Today, I started with a D1Baseball podcast that led me to about four other sites, ultimately to a video tour of the Gator ballpark. That vid was on YouTube, which connected me to the last three Gator Regional games and the Super- games against UConn, Tx Tech and SC. The vids were each 10-12 minute summaries of the games that reminded me of what a great team we had for 2023. A huge number of critical moments included Wyatt, Riopelle, Rivera, Halter, Waldrep and, interestingly, Schiekhofer. While only Wyatt is irreplaceable, it will be tough for the 2024 squad to perform at that level. The talent and potential is there for a CWS trip, but that talent and potential MUST be well developed and the returning players MUST improve, as well. I'm about to head for today's scrimmage somewhat chastened, but confident Sully and his coaches know how to craft great teams every year.

 

I think we have a ton of talent in the inf and of and there will be a ton of competition for pt. Kurland is really the only guy I’d say has a secure full time position. I just don’t see anyone challenging him for a spot at second. I see legit challengers pretty much everywhere else.

Sometimes it can be hard for a team to really gel if the lineup is different every night, but I think it’s usually a good thing. Especially in baseball. I think the success of this team is going to come down to what happens on the mound, and I really don’t know what to think about that at the moment. If pitching is solid, this could be a really special team.

 

Who is ready to step up and replace the consistent greatness of Langford, the defensive excellence and improved offense of Rivera and the power and leadership of Riopelle?

 

I don’t know that we have an equal replacement for any of them at the moment. Is there anyone in college baseball that’s equal to Wyatt? All three spots are up for grabs. Senior Josh and Wyatt would be hard for any team to replace. BT’s swagger will be hard to replace, but we have three guys that all look pretty solid behind the dish. I think competition will be fierce. Hardly anyone is going to be comfortable in the inf or of, as they’re all going to have someone nipping at their heels.

 

Confirmed lower body injury today. 3-4 more weeks of rehab. He’ll be ready for spring ball.

 

Me and @wingtee will give it a shot! But I gotta tell y’all—wing’s prone to swing for the fences!

 

Team leadership, with a mix of guts, is pivotal for a winning team. I witnessed it last year throughout but in post season, it was special. I remember Cade Fisher stepping up in an elimination game in the 2023 Regionals against Texas Tech on a hot Sunday night- throwing bullets and befuddling breaking pitches into the late innings and winning a gem. The next morning, I entered the ballpark from the rightfield entrance and walked along the RF wall with the Gators warming up in the outfield and I could see the absolute determination in BT's face-- someone he knew was walking in front of me and BT said-- "we've got this - we're on a mission"...The look of absolute confidence on his face said it all. That day, BT hit 2 HRs and drove in 4 runs in a 6-0 Gators win. The next weekend in the Super Regionals, I witnessed Hurston Waldrep in complete control vs Gamecocks striking out 13 and giving up only 2 hits, nodding his head knowing he had it. A dominant performance that took us to Omaha. That level of leadership is not easy to come by year after year. It happens and hope we have the team mesh, leadership emerge and the guys that can pull it off again in 2024.

 

77—

I’m real fond of this quote and it works well describing Cade Fisher—
“The game don’t scare him”……..

 

There is room to argue that Langford may be the GOAT of Gator players. He belongs on the wall next to Singer, Zunino and Wilkerson. He may have been better at the things he did than any of them- I think Allen Trammel would be in that argument, too. I admire the other first rate players from 2023, as well, but their talent level is consistent with the best Gator players since the Bergman era, especially those recruited by Sully. Some of this season's newcomers will shine during their careers, but I hope a half dozen or so will be big contributors next season.