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

Discussion in 'GatorGrowl's Diamond Gators' started by Matherly87, Jun 6, 2023.

  1. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    HA you nailed me on that one 77. I was fishing for straws on that one trying to come up with my top 8. I didn't want to add another freshman to the loop and have people thinking whoever I named was above the rest. Last year Sully dialed in on 8 arms in the postseason for the most part so that's the bar I was trying to get to in my comments. Apparently the last hurdle in the 110m got me. I didn't want to lose what I had already typed and go searching thru my notes so Jameson was all I could think of in returning pitchers. HA
    We probably have 3-4 other freshmen who have pitched better than Jameson this fall. That said I'll wait until spring begins to rethink the rotation. Thanks for calling me out on that one. LOL
     
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  2. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Slight change in the O&B schedule this week, now on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Looks like Saturday will be my only option. It mentions further updates coming so look for more changes ahead.

    Tuesday, Nov. 7 OFF OFF
    Wednesday, Nov. 8 2:30 PM NONE
    Thursday, Nov. 9 2:30 PM Orange & Blue Series (~4:00 PM)
    Friday, Nov. 10 1:45 NONE
    Saturday, Nov. 11 10:00 AM Orange & Blue Series (~12:00 PM)
    Sunday, Nov. 12 10:00 AM Orange & Blue Series (~12:00 PM)

    The Orange & Blue Series signifies the end of Florida's fall season. More information regarding the Orange & Blue Series will be announced this week.
    https://floridagators.com/news/2023...ball-to-conclude-with-orange-blue-series.aspx
     
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  3. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Two comments I've picked up watching ball Saturday. Donay was in RF some and he had the best throw to third I've seen by a RF this fall. He fired a dart straight to third on a rail. Big windmill throw that probably was as good as Evans on a good day. That's part of the problem we have with our backups in the outfield. No one has the arm Sully is looking for to put in RF except Evans and Donay, as least that I've seen.
    Second, Robertson has clearly won the starting spot in CF. Even if he is not hitting well, he continues to get on base. He's not very good at breaking balls but he is seeing pitches much better than last year. He hasn't been slamming line drives oppo into left center like the first two weeks of fall ball either. Jaylen Guy has really dropped off from his plate production like he started with. Now I see Robertson had a clutch double in Sunday's finale. I look for Robertson to have a breakout year. at least until SEC play begins.
     
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  4. TheBoss

    TheBoss Premium Member

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    I'll reinforce your comment on Donay's arm. He was in RF during scrimmages when he wasn't catching during the second half of the fall and I saw at least a couple of high quality throws to 2nd and third.
     
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  5. TheBoss

    TheBoss Premium Member

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    I enjoyed fall workouts this year differently from last year. Last fall, I told friends the '23 team would be very good and they earned their way to within inches of the title. With so many newcomers, I won't be so confident for '24, but there is a lot of talent and potential. I'm less certain than some members of our group about the opening day- or closing day- lineup and I'll bet there are significant changes between February and June. The top fall performers were the more experienced guys, but some younger guys may get hot enough to get on the field. Plus there will be an injury or two to keep us guessing, but there is good depth throughout the team.

    Outfield: I agree with those who see Robertson starting in CF, but Guy's defense is a bit better and if he hits, he can push Mikey to LF. I felt Shelnut was the best hitter of the fall and has won a position, he can play the corners in both OF and IF and his OF defense is better than last year. Donay's bat and arm give him advantages for RF. Both Russell and Yost played a lot of OF and may well be starters on the '25 team. Wilson didn't surpass the older guys, but he contributed. Brookens appealed to me, but may have had the lowest fall BA on the team. I think he had as many hits in the final two weeks as he had the rest of the fall. Here's an edit to add Evans: He had a long, awful slump through more than the middle half of the season, but looked good on either end, especially the CWS. I feel the new guys create a very different environment, but an OF of Shelnut, Evans and Robertson could be a winner.

    Infield: Cags is in the lineup and may become the top player in the country. He didn't put on the same power show this fall, but clearly was a better hitter. There are enough other people who can play 1B that he may end up doing more DH, but he is a solid fielder and it's nice to have a southpaw at 1B. Figuring out how to prepare him to balance being so important on both the mound and at bat will be what matters. 1B will be well played, even if Jac is watching from the dugout. Heyman, Shelnut and Garrison can play 1B at any time. Kurland looked more mature this fall and he actually should be a frosh. We had all the "He should be at prom" jokes I could stand last year. He filled out some and a year as an SEC starter surely made him better. I worry a little about the speed of his throws, but he seems able to agjust his throws and get the ball to first before the runner gets there. Shelton will do well next year because of his bat, but he seemed pretty steady on D. He doesn't have the speed, quickness or arm that Rivera showed, but he was consistent. Thomas did well with the bat, too, and was also solid in the field. I perceive him a tiny bit slower than Halter, but he is the top 3B at the end of fall. Russell, Martinez, Mummau and Albert can step in for 2B, 3B or SS and play defense, but the first two hit significantly better.

    Catcher: Heyman, Garrison and Donay will make C a strength. Each also can play elsewhere. Their playing time will be determined by batting success. Without seeing stats, I put Heyman as third best fall hitter behing Cags and Shelnut, but the others hit adequately well. They'll share 1B and DH with Jac.

    Pitching: Neely didn't grab a starting spot, but might do so when the season starts. I hope he ends up as closer. Peterson and Cags were the top pitchers for fall, probaably in that order. McNeillie or another frosh might be the third weekend starter. Rodriguez got some attention early, but didn't perform at the level of Peterson and McNeillie. Sadly, McDonald won't pitch this season. Menendez, Satin, Witmer and Clemente should get a lot of innings- including midweek and maybe weekend starts.I especially liked Jones' breaking balls that fooled a lot of fall hitters. Gomberg was very good at the end of fall and Philpot had some good innings. Purnell and Jameson had some good innings, but, like Neely, were banged around some. If they are consistent in the season, Gator pitching will be great. Sure would be nice to see a healthy Coppola.

    Coaching: Best coaching in the college game.

    Overall: The Gators will be deep everywhere in 2024, but will they have championship performances? In their few innings facing actual competition, they were MUCH better than their opponents. It would be nice if that were true all season.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2023
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  6. stjohnsgator

    stjohnsgator VIP Member

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    No mention of Cade Fisher. How do you see him fitting in? I figured he would be a weekend guy after his freshman year
     
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  7. apkgator

    apkgator GC Hall of Fame

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    Good overview....have to add Fisher to the starting rotation, and Evans likely plays into the corner OF scenario
     
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  8. TheBoss

    TheBoss Premium Member

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    I was sure I was missing a potential starter. I looked at the roster to see who was missing, but I simply left out Fisher. He definitely was top three during the fall.
     
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  9. toprowgator

    toprowgator GC Legend

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    Man, you had me panicking. It's been about a week since I checked in on this board so I thought something might have happened to him recently after you left him out. Whew!
     
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  10. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    What great summary and right in so many ways. I wouldn't change a thing other than including Fisher. I am keeping my reservations on the weekend starters until we get back in the spring. Sure I keep a run down of what I see as the starting lineup on page 1 but I still change it about every month or so. Sully has lots of moving parts and pieces to work with. I, as well, see a team a step below last year's team at this time. Last year felt special and I knew we needed someone like Robertson to step up consistently to get us a championship. No blame on Mikey for last year, just a comment how potentially close we were coming out of fall.
    For now my hope is all returning starters have better years than last year, especially Robertson, Evans, and Shelnut. Our bullpen experience is very thin so I hope the freshmen arms are the best we have seen in a long while. They better be or we are going to give away too many games in the late innings. The first 3 weeks with 2 mid-week games and the 3 day weekends are going to stress these freshmen arms early, so hold on until things settle in and we will know what to expect when SEC play starts.
     
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  11. GatorLegend

    GatorLegend VIP Member

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    Excellent analysis. I agreed with everything except for your omission of Fisher. See you commented on him later. I’ve got to believe from the four scrimmages that I watched the five pitchers with the best chance of making the weekend rotation are Jac, Peterson, Fisher, Neely and McNeillie. Don’t think it will be determined until after spring ball.
     
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  12. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Alright I'm going to put this out there because nothing else makes sense here in late November. Several times a week I keep checking the Gators site for an official roster to post for the 2024 season. Most every team they face next year have posted their rosters including FSU. Miami, UCF, TA&M, LSU and others. With nothing showing for the Gators, other than the printouts you get at scrimmages, it leads me to believe we are holding an official online update because of possible additions or subtractions that might be in the works. Not trying to start a completely unknown rumor but its unlikely we would be so late in getting team info out to the public.
    Some on here have thrown out a few high schoolers that might reclassify and you never know in these days when someone might jump ship. Others have dropped rosters from other sites but I'm unsure if that came from UF or someone's tracker. So I'll continue to wait for the UF list that will eventually post before I redo mine.
     
  13. apkgator

    apkgator GC Hall of Fame

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    They do this every year
     
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  14. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Yeah but some years they post the early roster as the fall starts then take it back down. I didn't see that this year or might have missed it. They obviously have taken the photos they need for the webpage but are still sitting on it. The later it gets makes me wonder if a surprise is in the making.
     
  15. 74nole

    74nole GC Hall of Fame

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    Come on guys & gals—y’all know that they’ve got to sift through all of our notes, data, and stuff here on the board before they feel good about releasing anything…..:ninja3:
     
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  16. ocalaman

    ocalaman GC Hall of Fame

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  17. gatorjjh

    gatorjjh A Gator with a Glass half full attitude VIP Member

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  18. paidinfull

    paidinfull GC Hall of Fame

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    Is Shelton eligible? I thought we had him for two years.
     
  19. neutrino_boi

    neutrino_boi All American

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  20. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Is it just me or are more and more kids being held back each year by parents to start school so their kid has a developmental advantage over the rest? Not saying Shelton fits the mold here but makes me wonder about many other sports as well.
     
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