Gator Baseball Florida breaks ground on $65 million baseball stadium

QueenCityGator

University of Florida Alumnus
Aug 12, 2014
1,582
398
UNCW_GroundsCrew (@UNCWGroundsCrew) tweeted at 6:22 PM on Sun, Sep 01, 2019:
Flew over the future home of UF baseball. I know @campbet004 and @GatorTurfStaff will be stoked when it’s complete!! UNCW_GroundsCrew on Twitter
()

Why the heck is this account tweeting about our stadium? Is care for the turf being “outsourced” to another state university?
 

FireFoley

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 19, 2014
9,013
14,787
Not sure how many of our college guys were eligible, but I don;t think we had 1 current player selected. I thought maybe Mace or Leftwich might get a shot, but don;t guess they were overly highly thought of. Unless they get some kind of huge offer somewhere in Asia I expect them both back. And they might not even be the best of the returning pitchers. Barco and Sproat might vie for that honor as well.
 

Bullag8r

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 24, 2014
2,554
4,461
Not sure how many of our college guys were eligible, but I don;t think we had 1 current player selected. I thought maybe Mace or Leftwich might get a shot, but don;t guess they were overly highly thought of. Unless they get some kind of huge offer somewhere in Asia I expect them both back. And they might not even be the best of the returning pitchers. Barco and Sproat might vie for that honor as well.




[URL='https://twitter.com/KendallRogers']Kendall Rogers@KendallRogers

Here are ALL the[/URL]
@d1baseball
Top 100 College Prospects who did not get drafted in the top five rounds today and are headed back to college for another season.




Mace and Leftwich were in the D-1 Baseball top 100 but thankfully were not drafted and will return
 

DoubleGator87and90

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 8, 2017
151
470
Not sure how many of our college guys were eligible, but I don;t think we had 1 current player selected. I thought maybe Mace or Leftwich might get a shot, but don;t guess they were overly highly thought of. Unless they get some kind of huge offer somewhere in Asia I expect them both back. And they might not even be the best of the returning pitchers. Barco and Sproat might vie for that honor as well.
My son is a scout for the Yankees, so I have some insight on this. Mace and Leftwich are both very highly regarded. Mace for sure is considered a 1st round talent. Leftwich is fringe 1st round as well. The issue in this year's 5-round draft was "signability". Both of these guys were thought to have asking prices for their signing bonuses that were more than MLB teams were willing to pay in this quirky year. So, the thought was that both would prefer to return to UF for another year and then cash in on bigger paydays in a more normalized draft next year. The fact they didn't get drafted this week is not a comment on their talent-level or future MLB careers.
 

Bullag8r

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 24, 2014
2,554
4,461
My son is a scout for the Yankees, so I have some insight on this. Mace and Leftwich are both very highly regarded. Mace for sure is considered a 1st round talent. Leftwich is fringe 1st round as well. The issue in this year's 5-round draft was "signability". Both of these guys were thought to have asking prices for their signing bonuses that were more than MLB teams were willing to pay in this quirky year. So, the thought was that both would prefer to return to UF for another year and then cash in on bigger paydays in a more normalized draft next year. The fact they didn't get drafted this week is not a comment on their talent-level or future MLB careers.

When I grow up I want to become a baseball scout
 

FireFoley

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 19, 2014
9,013
14,787
My son is a scout for the Yankees, so I have some insight on this. Mace and Leftwich are both very highly regarded. Mace for sure is considered a 1st round talent. Leftwich is fringe 1st round as well. The issue in this year's 5-round draft was "signability". Both of these guys were thought to have asking prices for their signing bonuses that were more than MLB teams were willing to pay in this quirky year. So, the thought was that both would prefer to return to UF for another year and then cash in on bigger paydays in a more normalized draft next year. The fact they didn't get drafted this week is not a comment on their talent-level or future MLB careers.

Thanx for the tidbit. I can understand the thinking of both sides, so only time will tell. Kind of like that kid from Miss St. who was a 1st rounder out of high school but had TJ surgery last year. Still was a highish pick, but hard to turn down 1st round money. I do not doubt your son's knowledge, but at their best neither Mace nor Leftwich are near that kid from Miss St when he was a frosh or that kid from UGA. I have watched a lot of good college baseball since 2010ish, and I am a little surprised to read that Mace and Leftwich are thought of that highly. They are good pitchers, but I don;t think either possesses anything special. But you might be correct about the draft issue. What little I saw, I kept hearing about many of the pitchers that this guy throws 95-100. Well most of these kids can reach upper 90's. Mace and Leftwich can't. But many a guy has been a great pitcher without a ton of heat and I think Mace or Leftwich have that ability. I always think of AJ Puk who was an A-Hole and sucked ballz for the most part but the pros were fawning over him. Time will tell and I have to think that we are going to see more than a few guys transfer out and with good reason.
 

DoubleGator87and90

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 8, 2017
151
470
Thanx for the tidbit. I can understand the thinking of both sides, so only time will tell. Kind of like that kid from Miss St. who was a 1st rounder out of high school but had TJ surgery last year. Still was a highish pick, but hard to turn down 1st round money. I do not doubt your son's knowledge, but at their best neither Mace nor Leftwich are near that kid from Miss St when he was a frosh or that kid from UGA. I have watched a lot of good college baseball since 2010ish, and I am a little surprised to read that Mace and Leftwich are thought of that highly. They are good pitchers, but I don;t think either possesses anything special. But you might be correct about the draft issue. What little I saw, I kept hearing about many of the pitchers that this guy throws 95-100. Well most of these kids can reach upper 90's. Mace and Leftwich can't. But many a guy has been a great pitcher without a ton of heat and I think Mace or Leftwich have that ability. I always think of AJ Puk who was an A-Hole and sucked ballz for the most part but the pros were fawning over him. Time will tell and I have to think that we are going to see more than a few guys transfer out and with good reason.

Mace is pretty highly regarded. Projects as a middle of the rotation guy, though, due to the lack of top end velocity. Funny, he sits 92-94 and nowadays that’s considered to be an average fastball. But, Mace is 6’ 6” tall and has a plus slider that has a really good spin rate.

Leftwich is more of a power pitcher, mid 90s. He’s a big body with pretty clean mechanics so low injury risk. His offspeed needs to improve but, more importantly, he needs better movement on his fastball because he can get hit hard at times.

Another year of SEC experience should really help both and they’re expected to both be 1st-2nd round picks in 2021.
 

DoubleGator87and90

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 8, 2017
151
470
When I grow up I want to become a baseball scout

Me too. But, honestly, he puts in a lot of hours and it’s not exactly a glamorous life. It’s his passion and like I’ve told him, how cool is it to wake up everyday and get to do what you love. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, it was pretty rough at first to see him wearing Yankees gear though. Not gonna lie.
 

Swamp Donkey

Founding Member
7-14 vs P5 Fire Stricklin First
Lifetime Member
Jun 9, 2014
78,161
109,974
Founding Member
Me too. But, honestly, he puts in a lot of hours and it’s not exactly a glamorous life. It’s his passion and like I’ve told him, how cool is it to wake up everyday and get to do what you love. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, it was pretty rough at first to see him wearing Yankees gear though. Not gonna lie.
yeah I know a guy too. he was actually assigned to Central American was living down there. well more like he was living down there and he got the gig as a side job. nothing glamorous about it at all. hell he was lucky when they had porta potties at the camps.

you can do a lot of flying or driving crappy Mexican rental cars without finding a single Fernando Valenzuela. He sometimes gets Cuba and Dominican also. Again lots of flying, lots of nights in fleabag motels.
 

DoubleGator87and90

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 8, 2017
151
470
yeah I know a guy too. he was actually assigned to Central American was living down there. well more like he was living down there and he got the gig as a side job. nothing glamorous about it at all. hell he was lucky when they had porta potties at the camps.

you can do a lot of flying or driving crappy Mexican rental cars without finding a single Fernando Valenzuela. He sometimes gets Cuba and Dominican also. Again lots of flying, lots of nights in fleabag motels.

That sounds awful. He must really love the game to put up with that life.
 

Swamp Donkey

Founding Member
7-14 vs P5 Fire Stricklin First
Lifetime Member
Jun 9, 2014
78,161
109,974
Founding Member
That sounds awful. He must really love the game to put up with that life.
He does. He was a college baseball player at Appy State. Very crunchy guy. Lived on the AT for a few years then went south.

But.... he lives on some island in the caribbean the rest of the time running some sort of non religious hippy thing orphanage/ school/ boys and girls club.
 

gatormandan

Are we back yet?
Lifetime Member
Oct 15, 2014
12,120
16,824
He does. He was a college baseball player at Appy State. Very crunchy guy. Lived on the AT for a few years then went south.

But.... he lives on some island in the caribbean the rest of the time running some sort of non religious hippy thing orphanage/ school/ boys and girls club.

A neighbor of yours?
 

PhD Gator

UF Ph.D. 2011
Lifetime Member
Sep 8, 2014
487
1,297
Nice little blurb about the Gators in an ESPN article regarding winners from the MLB Draft (Kiley McDaniel: My favorite and least favorite MLB draft picks)

Day 2 thoughts
Score one for the Gators

One of the big winners of Day 2 was the University of Florida. The Gators' two top veteran starters, Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, both went undrafted, but fit in the second and third rounds, respectively, based on talent. Both put out big signability numbers and had the potential to go higher with a strong spring but didn't get the chance.

On top of that, Florida saw two top-100 talents -- prep commits LF Sterlin Thompson and SS Colby Halter -- not get drafted through five rounds. Thompson will be sophomore-eligible in 2022 and was a second-round talent with a big hit/power combo on some clubs' boards. Halter is a hit-first, heady player from the Jacksonville area who plays the middle infield but has more average-type tools. Similar things were said about fifth overall pick Austin Martin when he opted to go to Vanderbilt -- admittedly a best-case scenario for Halter. Prep commit LHP Timmy Manning also would have gone in the top five rounds if he were signable.

Also talented enough to go in the fourth or fifth round: 2B Jacob Young, 3B Cory Acton and RHP Christian Scott. The Gators should be loaded next season.
 

FireFoley

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 19, 2014
9,013
14,787
Nice little blurb about the Gators in an ESPN article regarding winners from the MLB Draft (Kiley McDaniel: My favorite and least favorite MLB draft picks)

Day 2 thoughts
Score one for the Gators

One of the big winners of Day 2 was the University of Florida. The Gators' two top veteran starters, Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, both went undrafted, but fit in the second and third rounds, respectively, based on talent. Both put out big signability numbers and had the potential to go higher with a strong spring but didn't get the chance.

On top of that, Florida saw two top-100 talents -- prep commits LF Sterlin Thompson and SS Colby Halter -- not get drafted through five rounds. Thompson will be sophomore-eligible in 2022 and was a second-round talent with a big hit/power combo on some clubs' boards. Halter is a hit-first, heady player from the Jacksonville area who plays the middle infield but has more average-type tools. Similar things were said about fifth overall pick Austin Martin when he opted to go to Vanderbilt -- admittedly a best-case scenario for Halter. Prep commit LHP Timmy Manning also would have gone in the top five rounds if he were signable.

Also talented enough to go in the fourth or fifth round: 2B Jacob Young, 3B Cory Acton and RHP Christian Scott. The Gators should be loaded next season.

Thanx for the post. I was ready to buy every bit of it until it mentioned Young and 4ht/5th round. Two years ago he was forced into 2B b/c he was hitting. He had never played 2B and he was terrible with a noodle arm. Not his fault but he was there for his bat. They relegated him to OF last year where he belongs but I view him as only average defensively with the same weak arm. I don;t get the draft area for him. Hopefully there is a season in '21 and he can prove me wrong.
 

Bullag8r

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 24, 2014
2,554
4,461
Thanx for the post. I was ready to buy every bit of it until it mentioned Young and 4ht/5th round. Two years ago he was forced into 2B b/c he was hitting. He had never played 2B and he was terrible with a noodle arm. Not his fault but he was there for his bat. They relegated him to OF last year where he belongs but I view him as only average defensively with the same weak arm. I don;t get the draft area for him. Hopefully there is a season in '21 and he can prove me wrong.

I have seen players make great strides in defensive ability from year to year but with the loss of the spring season along with no summer league, big improvement is less likely. Hopefully Young will get some extra coaching and be much improved.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Help Users

You haven't joined any rooms.

    Members online

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    31,642
    Messages
    1,615,446
    Members
    1,642
    Latest member
    fishermb