Prospect Review: Georgia

Scott Stricklin prepped me before I made the trip to see Georgia this fall: I wouldn’t see his top draft-eligible power arms. Flame-throwing righties Emerson Hancock (No. 1 in our 2020 college prospect rankings) and Cole Wilcox — two strong candidates to be drafted in the top half of the first round next June — were both shut down to get some extra rest, and so were likely 2020 rotationmates C.J. Smithand Will Proctor. Hard-throwing lefty Ryan Webb, the favorite for the closer job, also didn’t throw in Georgia’s scrimmage against Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 1.

And yet, I walked out of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville feeling like the UGa. arms I had just seen could match up with just about anybody. Indeed, even without those five big veteran arms, the Bulldogs largely went toe-to-toe with Florida’s parade of velocity — and the insanely talented Gators threw all of their big guns. It was a sign that Georgia will remain very deep on the mound even after losing four key arms from a team that rode premium pitching and defense to the No. 4 national seed last year.

Georgia’s most impressive performance of the night came from...