Gator Baseball 2018

Jbossgator8

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Great read. We should be pretty good next year too. Haters and Complainers will be out in full force as usual BUT Sully has his National Championship and that solidifies his greatness as the BEST coach in UF HISTORY!! Go Gators!!
 

FireFoley

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Good read DZ. The thing I most agree with is moving Indy to SS and leaving Liput at 2B. I think Indy is our best infield glove. Congrats to Kolo, but that was quite a surprise he was drafted so high. And with 2 catcher recruits not showing up, it will create a dilemma. This is not a knock but JJ is a below average catcher and I don;t think is an everyday catcher in the SEC. Would you leave him at 1B or would you make him the permanent DH? If he does catch that opens up spots at 1B for maybe Hicks and Bell or possible Hicks plays some 3B. I personally do not want to see Hicks at SS and am afraid Sully may go that route. I would like to see JJ as DH and let him concentrate solely on hitting mostly b/c that will be his calling card if he can make it to the bigs.

Pitching will be interesting after Singer and Kowar on Friday and Saturday. I like Byrne and he was one of the main reasons for our success, but as was seen at the Series, he is very hittable. But he throws strikes and I personally would like to see him as a midweek starter and then as major relief guy on the weekends, kind of like Dunning was used in different situations. I am not saying Byrne is as good as Dunning, but I think he is versatile enough to help in many roles b/c he throws strikes. Dyson put us over the top in the Supers and the Series, but I would like him as a closer and hope one of the other guys develops into a midweek or Sunday starter. Good thing is that the fall will give everyone a chance to improve, and if Brown, Langworthy, Baker Milchin etc. can step up, then maybe Byrne can be the jack of all trades guy next spring.

Still enjoying the 1st trophy and next year is a new year. Don;t think about defending, think about winning the 2018 trophy!
 

dz_23

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I like JJ at DH/first and India at SS. I also like to keep Bryne at closer and Dyson at number 3. These kids develop so much from year to year, so you never know about Hicks, Reese, or Bell.
As hard as I was on Ryan L, he was a big surprise for me this year. Nelly and Langworthy will keep the OF in check.

I do not know much about the incoming class (will know more after MLB signing window), but Sully says we will have more depth on the mound. I hope we get a 3B in this class, but looking forward to A Bakers development. Hicks maybe another to watch, he was swinging great down the stretch and showed some power over a 3 game stretch early in the year.
 

itsgr82bag8r

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Pitching staff looks to be nasty again next year!
 

BMF

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Vanderbilt, Florida Lead All-Time Ranking Of Most BA 500 Recruits


http://www.baseballamerica.com/coll...g-of-most-ba500-recruits/#CcgEDwoum4BgIcZX.97


In the long run, Vanderbilt and Florida recruit like no one else.

A half-dozen top schools are getting their highest-rated recruit in years following the latest draft including Florida, Louisiana State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Miami, and Auburn. However, the largest benefactor from 2017’s recruiting efforts is Vanderbilt, which sees 10 ranked players on their way to Nashville.

That’s by far the largest ranked incoming class since the expansion of Baseball America’s draft rankings to 500 players in 2012, and the only class to ever feature more than eight members, the previously-held record set by Vanderbilt in 2015. In total, coach Tim Corbin’s squad has brought 30 BA 500 players into the fold over the past six years.

Florida’s 26 ranked players are the second-most and include players such as Alex Faedo and Logan Shore, who went on to become All-Americans. But none of the Gators’ well-regarded recruits came as highly rated as shortstop Brady McConnell, the 39th ranked player in this season’s list. Vanderbilt’s highest-ranked recruit to make it to campus was Donny Everett, who ranked No. 21 in 2015. He tragically died in 2016. Other highly ranked recruits include Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer and Dansby Swanson, all of whom were picked in the first round in 2015.

During the BA 500 era, Vanderbilt and Florida have also fared especially well in recruiting rankings. The Commodores and Gators have combined for three No. 1 recruiting classes in the last five years, and both have ranked every year. Those classes have helped produce two national champions and five College World Series appearances between the two schools.

The highest-ranked player to go unsigned was lefthander Brady Aiken. The top-ranked player in the 2014 draft, Aiken briefly played with IMG Academy’s post-graduate team following his infamous contract dispute with the Astros.

2017 boasts the most prep players heading to college in BA 500 history. In total, 136 high schoolers will be enrolling with a university or junior college this fall, nine more than last year.

There were two stages in generating these school rankings. At the outset, the harmonic mean is found for each school based on the rankings of past players that committed there. The harmonic mean is a type of average that more heavily weights lesser numbers, which applies in this case because the pool of draftable players is exponentially more talented at the top, and because lower-ranked players should still make a positive impact on a class.

To illustrate this point, imagine if Vanderbilt only recruited the No. 1 and No. 500 players. The arithmetic mean would be 250.5. Now, if they were to recruit the No. 250 and No. 251 players, that average would be exactly the same despite having, as a whole, less talented recruits.

The rankings wouldn’t be complete without finding the frequency at which a school adds a ranked player to its program. So to finalize the ranking, the count of ranked players is multiplied by a transformation of the harmonic mean to get each school’s index.

The top of the coaching carousel has been busy this season, with 26 head coaching vacancies created this year. While there are still time for more changes, that does not match the 33 coaching changes from last year, a record since Baseball America began cataloging the coaching carousel in the Almanac in 2002.

Looking beyond the changes in head coaches, however, shows this has been a volatile summer for assistant coaches, especially in the pressure-packed Southeastern Conference.

Ten of the 28 full-time assistant coaching jobs in the SEC have changed hands this offseason, one fewer coaching change than in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference combined. Half of the SEC’s 14 schools have changed recruiting coordinators in the last six weeks. That comes on the heels of six schools hiring a new recruiting coordinator last offseason.

The reason for the changes this year have been varied. Brad Bohannon and Tony Vitello were hired away from being recruiting coordinators at Auburn and Arkansas, respectively, to become the head coach at Alabama and Tennessee. Three other recruiting coordinators were caught up in head coaching changes and two more were simply replaced.

Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn, who has 15 years of experience in the SEC, said he wasn’t sure there was one explanation for the rate of the recent turnover.

“Some guys are advancing their career and doing what they want to do, which is be a head coach,” he said. “I think it’s like anything else, when a lot is given a lot is expected, I guess. There’s a little more pressure to win.”

Bohannon’s and Vittelo’s moves were examples of the hottest trend for hiring head coaches in the SEC. Five of the eight head coaches hired by SEC schools in the last 20 months were assistants at other schools in the conference.

Auburn coach Butch Thompson, who was an assistant coach in the SEC for 13 years before becoming a head coach in October 2015, said he thinks the hiring patterns in the conference are cyclical.

“For ever and ever I wanted to be head coach before now, but I never got an opportunity before this time with Auburn,” he said. “For my first 10 years in the SEC nobody was going to hire an assistant coach to be a head coach. The last time it was kind of in cycle, you got (Kevin) O’Sullivan and (Tim) Corbin out of it. It seems like it cycled back around.”

Between Florida hiring O’Sullivan away from Clemson in June 2007 and Thompson joining Auburn, an SEC school hired a head coach from the assistant ranks just three times, and in all three cases it was an internal promotion. Thompson’s hiring seemed to break the dam, as four other assistants have since risen to the head coaching ranks.

It is unclear whether the current trend will be able to continue much longer, however. After so much turnover among the SEC assistants, only eight have been full-time assistants in the league for at least four seasons.

Mississippi recruiting coordinator Carl Lafferty is the longest continuously tenured full-time assistant coach in the SEC (Jerry Meyers has totaled 14 years as South Carolina’s pitching coach over two separate stints sandwiched around six seasons as Old Dominion’s head coach). Lafferty was promoted from volunteer assistant to a full-time position in 2008, and last year landed the first top-ranked recruiting class in any sport in school history. Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco is also the longest-tenured head coach in the conference, at 17 seasons.

Another outlier from the churn has been Florida, the reigning national champion. O’Sullivan hired assistant coaches Craig Bell and Brad Weitzel shortly after he arrived in Gainesville in 2007 and the trio has been together for 10 seasons. Even volunteer assistant coach Lars Davis has been at Florida for three seasons, longer than 18 full-time assistant coaches in the league.

After the Gators’ won the SEC regular-season title, O’Sullivan cited the continuity of their coaching staff as one of the reasons for their success this season.

“Brad and Craig been with me for 10 years,” O’Sullivan said. “They do an unbelievable job. They’re so instrumental in success. Lars Davis is a star—he’s going to be a super coach. We’ve only had two strength coaches, we’ve had continuity in our staff. Ann Hughes, our academic advisor, has been with us our whole ride, I’ve known (director of operations) Buddy Munroe since I recruited him to Clemson.

“We’ve had a nice run at this thing.”
 

BMF

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Florida baseball: Austin Langworthy on tear in Cape Cod League, more summer ball updates

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-baseball-summer-ball-update-07242017

Fifteen players from Florida’s national championship-winning baseball team are currently playing in summer baseball leagues around the country. Here’s the latest update on how they are doing, organized by summer league.

Cape Cod League
RHP Michael Byrne, Cotuit Kettleers
Florida’s closer threw 5 scoreless innings over two relief appearances last week and earned his first save of the summer. He gave up just 2 hits in those appearances. For the summer, Byrne has thrown 7 scoreless innings over three appearances and has struck out 6 batters compared to 3 walks.

3B Jonathan India, Harwich Mariners
After getting off to a blistering start in his first week, India hit .250 over his five games last week with a solo home run and 2 runs scored. For the summer, India has a .286 batting average with the home run, 1 RBI and 6 runs scored.

OF Austin Langworthy, Falmouth Commodores
Langworthy found his groove last week, hitting .391 (9 for 23) with 4 RBI and 6 runs scored over six games. For the summer, Langworthy has a .295 batting average in 11 games with 7 RBI and 9 runs scored.

2B Deacon Liput, Falmouth Commodores
Liput did not play last week. For the summer, he has appeared in one game for the Commodores, going 0 for 4 at the plate and committing an error in the field.

Northwoods League
OF/LHP Andrew Baker, Madison Mallards
Baker threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts in his lone relief appearance last week. For the summer, Baker has a 2.07 ERA and a save in six relief appearances. He has struck out 13 batters while walking just 2 in 13 innings.

RHP Nate Brown, Madison Mallards
Brown threw 5 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts in his lone start last week but received a no-decision. For the summer, Brown has a 0-0 record and a 2.57 ERA over three starts. He has thrown 17 strikeouts to 7 walks in his 14 innings.

RHP Tyler Dyson, Madison Mallards
Dyson earned a win in his lone start last week, giving up just 1 earned run while striking out 6 over 5 innings of work. For the summer, Dyson is 2-0 in his three starts with a 1.20 ERA. He has 14 strikeouts to just 2 walks over 15 innings.


OF Austin Bodrato, Kenosha Kingfish
Bodrato posted a .231 batting average (3 for 13) in four games last week. For the summer, Bodrato is batting .236 with 2 RBI and 5 runs scored.

RHP Nick Long, Kenosha Kingfish
Long had two relief appearances last week, giving up 4 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out 9 batters. For the summer, Long has a 0-0 record over five appearances and a 14.62 ERA (13 earned runs over 8 innings).

RHP Billy McKay, Kenosha Kingfish
McKay earned a save in his lone relief appearance last week, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout. For the summer, Mckay is 2-2 with 9 saves in 19 relief appearances and holds a 2.52 ERA. He has 31 strikeouts compared to 10 walks.

Valley League
1B/OF Keenan Bell, Charlottesville TomSox
Bell posted a .158 batting average (3 for 19) over five games last week with an RBI and 3 runs scored. For the summer, Bell has a .176 batting average in 10 games with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored.

LHP Cole Maye, Charlottesville TomSox
Maye earned his first start and his first win last week, giving up 1 earned run over 4 innings of work. For the summer, Maye has a 4.05 ERA with 6 strikeouts and 8 walks allowed in 6 2/3 innings.

INF Blake Reese, New Market Rebels
After starting the summer in the Cape Cod League, Reese is now playing in the Valley League. Over his seven games with the Rebels, Reese is hitting .318 (7 for 22) with a home run, 6 RBI and 4 runs scored.


New York Collegiate Baseball League
RHP/OF Kirby McMullen, Olean Oilers
McMullen once again was solid at the plate last week, posting a .368 batting average (7 for 19) with a home run, 8 RBI and 7 runs scored over six games. For the summer, McMullen is batting .391 with 4 home runs, 22 RBI and 21 runs scored in 18 games.

On the mound, McMullen earned his first loss of the summer after giving up 3 earned runs over 6 innings of work. For the summer, he is 2-1 in three starts with a 4.41 ERA (9 earned runs in 18 1/3 innings) with 20 strikeouts to just 4 walks.

RHP Cam Weinberger, Olean Oilers
Weinberger won both of his starts last week, giving up 4 just earned runs over 13 1/3 innings while striking out 11 batters. For the summer, Weinberger is 4-0 in eight starts and has a 2.59 ERA over 52 innings. He has struck out 43 batters while giving up 16 walks.
 

BMF

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More summer league updates:

Florida baseball: Jonathan India solid again in the Cape Cod League, more summer ball updates

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-baseball-summer-ball-07312017

Thirteen players from the Florida Gators’ national championship-winning baseball team are playing in summer baseball leagues around the country.


Here’s the latest update on how they are doing, organize league:

Cape Cod League
Third baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Austin Langworthy each had respectable weeks at the plate last week in Cape Cod.

India, playing for the Harwich Mariners, posted a .263 batting average (5-for-19) in seven games with an RBI and 3 runs scored. India also drew 8 walks to post a team-high .464 on-base percentage. For the summer, India is second on his team with a .293 batting average with 2 RBI and 9 runs scored in 17 games.

Langworthy, playing for the Falmouth Commodores, posted a .231 batting average (6- for-26) with 3 RBI and 5 runs scored. For the summer, Langworthy is hitting .258 with 9 RBI and 12 runs scored in 17 games.

Right-handed pitcher Michael Byrne, who is coming out of the bullpen for the Cotuit Kettlers, threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in two relief appearances last week. Byrne has yet to give up a run this summer in 10 1/3 innings spanning five relief appearances.

Infielder Deacon Liput, who began the summer in the Cape Cod League with the Falmouth Commodores, is no longer on the roster. He played in one game.

Northwoods League
Outfielder Austin Bodrato is coming off his best week of the summer. The rising sophomore posted a .346 batting average (9-for-26) with a home run, 7 RBI and 4 runs scored over his last eight games with the Kenosha Kingfish. Bodrato is now hitting .269 over the summer with 9 RBI and 9 runs scored in 21 games.

On the mound, Tyler Dyson was once again dominant for the Madison Mallards. The 6-foot-2 righty won both of his starts last week, giving up just 3 earned runs while striking out 13 batters in 11 2/3 innings. Dyson is now 3-0 for the summer with a 1.66 ERA (4 earned runs in 21 1/3 innings) and 21 strikeouts in four starts.

Here’s how the remaining four Gators in the Northwoods League have fared:

  • Two-way player Andrew Baker posted a .346 batting average (9-for-26) with 6 RBI and 5 runs scored for the Madison. On the mound, Baker went 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA (3 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings) over two relief appearances. For the summer, Baker is hitting .244 at the plate and has a 2.79 ERA on the mound.
  • Right-handed pitcher Nate Brown went 0-1 in two appearances (one start) for the Mallards last week, giving up 4 runs (2 earned) over 3 innings of work. For the summer, Brown is 0-1 with a 3.17 ERA.
  • Right-handed pitcher Nick Long went 1-0 in two appearances (one start) for the Kingfish last week, giving up 1 run in 8 1/3 innings of work. Long’s stellar performance on the mound last week dropped his ERA for the summer from 25.07 to 9.69.
  • Right-handed pitcher Billy McKay went 0-1 in his three relief appearances for the Kingfish last week, giving up 5 runs (3 earned) in 4 2/3 innings on the mound. For the summer, McKay is 2-3 with 9 saves and a 3.03 ERA in 22 relief appearances.
Valley League
The Valley League is in the first round of its playoffs, and two Gators are still competing for the league title.

Left-handed pitcher Cole Maye and his Charlottesville TomSox went 2-0 to open the 2017 playoffs. Maye had a heavy hand in the first playoff game, throwing 3 innings of 1-run ball with 4 strikeouts to close out the TomSox’s 11-2 win over the Staunton Braves on Saturday.

For the summer, Maye is 2-0 in four relief apperances with a 2.45 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.

Infielder Blake Reese and his New Market Rebels are 1-1 in the first round of the playoffs and will play a must-win game on Monday. After hitting .412 with 10 RBI and 11 runs scored in nine regular-season games, Reese has struggled at the plate in the playoffs, going just 1-for-8.

Keenan Bell, who was a member of the TomSox along with Bell, is not active for the playoffs. He finished his time in the Valley League with a .158 batting average, 3 RBI and 4 runs scored in 11 games.

New York Collegiate Baseball League
Florida’s two players in the NYCBL — pitchers Kirby McMullen and Cam Weinberger — saw their summer ball season with the Olean Oilers come to an end after a 4-2 loss to Genesee Rapids on Monday. McMullen drew the season-ending loss on the mound after giving up 4 earned runs over 6 innings of work.

McMullen, a two-way player heading into his sophomore year at Florida, finished the summer with a .377 batting average (26-for-69) with 4 home runs and 22 RBI over 19 games. On the mound, McMullen went 2-2 with a 4.81 ERA (13 earned runs over 24 1/3 innings). He struck out 23 batters.

Weinberger went 4-0 in eight starts and had a 2.59 ERA over 52 innings of work. He struck out 43 batters while giving up 16 walks.
 

BMF

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Florida baseball: Two Gators reach Cape Cod League playoffs

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-baseball-cape-cod-update-08072017

The summer baseball season came to an end on Sunday for the three Gators playing in the Cape Cod League.

And all three held their own throughout their month in Massachusetts as they played in the premier college baseball summer league.

Two Gators — right-handed pitcher Michael Byrne (Cotuit Kettleers) and outfielder/pitcher Austin Langworthy (Falmouth Commodores) — made it to the playoffs, but their teams were eliminated in the first round.

Byrne, a relief pitcher who set the Gators’ single-season saves record last season at 19, posted a 0.63 ERA over 14 1/3 innings spanning seven appearances. He gave up just 2 runs (1 earned), 10 hits, struck out 13 batters and walked 5.

Langworthy, who just finished his freshman season at Florida, was used primarily as a hitter and an outfielder during his time at the Cape. In 22 games, Langworthy posted a .223 batting average with 12 RBI and scored 14 runs. The left-handed pitcher also had two appearances on the mound, giving up just 1 earned run and 2 hits in 2 innings of work.

Infielder Jonathan India, the third Gator to finish the season in the Cape Cod League, did not get to experience the playoffs as his Harwich Mariners went 15-28 and finished last during the regular season. In 19 games, India was third on the Mariners’ roster with a .273 batting average with 3 RBI and 9 runs scored. Six of India’s 18 hits went for extra bases — including 1 home run — and his 13 walks tied for the second most on his team.

All three are expected to play big roles for the Florida in 2018 as the Gators look to repeat as national champions.

Northwoods League
Outfielder Austin Bodrato, a spot-player during his freshman season for the Gators and one of six Gators in the Northwoods League this summer, had another solid week playing for the Kenosha Kingfish. In five games last week, Bodrato posted a .467 batting average (7 for 15) with an RBI and a walk. For the season, Bodrato is hitting .293 in 25 games.

Here are how the other five Florida players in the Northwoods League are performing:
  • Right-handed pitcher Tyler Dyson is now 4-0 with a 1.58 ERA over five starts after giving up just 1 earned run over 6 2/3 innings last week.
  • Left-handed pitcher Andrew Baker lowered his ERA to 2.41 after throwing 3 scoreless innings in one relief appearance last week.
  • Right-handed pitcher Nate Brown dropped to 0-2 and saw his ERA jump to 3.37 after giving up 4 runs (2 earned) over 4 1/3 innings in his lone start last week.
  • Right-handed pitcher Nick Long, who had a rough first two weeks in the Northwoods, threw 6 scoreless innings in a start last week to lower his ERA to 6.63. Long has given up just 1 earned run over his last 11 innings (0.82 ERA).
  • Right-handed pitcher Billy McKay, a reliever, went 0-1 and recorded a save in three appearances last week. He gave up 3 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings. He has a 2.85 ERA with 10 saves in 25 relief appearances.
 

PhD Gator

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Where do we currently stand with this year's recruiting class? Which of the players that committed have signed with MLB teams? Is there a deadline when that decision has to be made by?
 

BMF

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Anybody still want to run off this coach?

Gators Rated as Top Program in the Country

http://floridagators.com/news/2017/9/22/baseball-gators-rated-as-top-program-in-the-country.aspx

image_handler.jpg

It's hard to argue with the facts, and here they are:
  • Florida has made six trips to the College World Series in the past eight seasons, more than any school in the country.
    • UF and North Carolina are the only schools EVER to make six CWS trips in an eight-year span.
  • The Gators have 156 wins over the past three seasons, more than any school in the country.
  • Under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, UF has eight national seeds in 10 seasons and earned a top four seed seven times in the past eight seasons.
  • Since 2010, the Gators have won four Southeastern Conference titles -- the most of any team in arguably the toughest conference in college baseball.
  • In 10 years under O'Sullivan, Florida has won 192 SEC games, the most in the conference.
 

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