Prep Baseball Report

Prospect Review: Florida


PBR/D1 Staff

Prospect notes on the Gators from Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball during his travels around the country this fall.

Florida performed very well in a Nov. 1 scrimmage against Georgia in front of about 8,500 fans in Jacksonville — especially on the mound, where the Gators rolled out one huge power arm after another. Eleven Florida arms combined to strike out 14 and allow just four hits and four walks in that 5-3 victory in nine innings. And Florida continued to look great in all facets this past Sunday in Gainesville against South Florida. This team looks deep and balanced, without any discernible weakness.

The Gators don’t have an established Friday night ace, but they have two experienced juniors who are both capable of dominating in that role in righthanders Jack Leftwich and Tommy Mace, who combined to make 29 starts a year ago, though both posted ERAs around 5.30. Both have progressed very well this fall, showing more maturity, more strength, better fastballs and better breaking balls. In Jacksonville, Mace started and struck out two, sitting at 91-93 with a good 79-81 slider and a wicked 87-88 cutter. He was mostly 93-94 in his scoreless frame against USF.

Leftwich sat 93-95 in Jacksonville and flashed a filthy putaway slider at 81-84, though his command of it was a bit inconsistent, and he issued two walks but fanned two in his inning of work. He started against USF and struck out two in a scoreless frame, showing better command of the slider.

Florida supplemented its returnees with the most impressive group of freshmen I’ve seen all fall — a group with huge ceilings but also the polish to hit the ground running, particularly because they can lean on older players to carry the load while they get their feet wet. One of those freshmen, lefthander Hunter Barco, has put himself in position to earn a weekend rotation job right away, showing the makings of three above-average to plus pitches and good polish and competitiveness. He struck out the side in order against Georgia, pounding 93-94 mph fastballs along with an outstanding changeup at 82-83 that was a swing-and-miss pitch against both righties and lefties. He worked a quick 1-2-3 innings against the Bulls, when he topped out at 93 and also featured his slider more — an 82-84 mph pitch with good tilt that he threw for a strike or a chase to the back foot of a righty.

The Gators also have two very good strike-throwing lefties in the bullpen: junior two-way talent Jordan Butler and graduate transfer Trey Van Der Wiede. Butler worked at 88-91 from a three-quarters slot in his two appearances in the exhibitions, along with a quality changeup and slider. Van Der Wiede, who threw 71 innings last year for USC Upstate, presents a funky crossfire look and the ability to carve up the zone at 88-91 along with a good changeup.

Another newcomer who will have a big role as a freshman and an even bigger role down the line is righthander Brandon Sproat, an unsigned seventh-round pick by the Rangers. A physical righty with a strong lower half and an easy delivery from a high slot, Sproat worked 94-97 in Jacksonville and sat 96-97 in USF, even bumping 98 on Florida’s gun. He also showed the makings of a wipeout power slider at 85-86 and a useful curveball at 78-81.

And the premium velocity on this staff doesn’t end there — far from it. Sophomore righty Christian Scott was electric in Jacksonville, attacking at 93-95 from a three-quarters slot; his ball gets on hitters in a hurry. He also got a strikeout with a good front door slider at 82. Fellow sophomore righty Ben Spechthas been up to 95, sitting 92-93, with a quality slider and changeup. He’s a strike-thrower, but the next step in his development is commanding within the zone better, staying out of the middle of the plate. Two more sophomore righties, Nick Pogue and David Luethje, have been up to 94 this fall, though I saw both pitch at 90-92. Pogue has good downward angle on his fastball and showed a very good downer breaking ball at 79-81 against Georgia, though it looked more like a true slider at 81-84 against USF. Luethje’s solid 80-83 slider had big tilt against UGa.

Sophomore righty Nolan Crisp also has swing-and-miss stuff and notched eight saves as an early enrollee last spring; he threw 17 more innings in the Cape Cod League, and I did not see him in either scrimmage this fall. Senior righty Justin Alintoff could also be a useful piece; he worked at 88-90 on Sunday with a short cutter/slider at 82-84, a decent three-quarters slurve at 77 and a changeup at 78. And three more freshmen provide even more depth. Righty Tyler Nesbitt has a projectable frame and a clean high three-quarters arm action, suggesting there’s plenty more velocity in the tank, though he sat in the high 80s in Jacksonville. He also...

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