Florida baseball is 16 days away from their first pitch of the 2023 season. The Gators kick things off against Charleston Southern on February 17th, the first of a three-game series.
Gator Country continues our position group breakdown, providing analysis and insight for each player at every position.
This is part one of Florida’s right-handed pitchers.
13 of the 19 pitchers on the Gators’ roster is right-handed.
RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS / PART ONE
NICK FICARROTA / RHP / #46
The redshirt sophomore was a crucial piece to the Gators bullpen in 2022. His 28 appearances ranked 2nd most on Florida’s roster.
Ficarrotta finished with a 4-0 record, three saves, a 3.90 ERA, and 63 strikeouts across 60 innings.
The 6-3, 190-pound pitcher had solid command last season, which is something Florida’s bullpen struggled to do for the majority of the year. His 15 base on balls equate to a 4.2 strikeout to walk ratio. Coach Sullivan doesn’t have much tolerance for walking batters; this is a main reason why Ficarrotta saw so much action in 2022.
The Palm Harbor product held batters to an average of .240 in 2022.
Ficarrotta will play an integral role in Florida’s bullpen once again.
FISHER JAMESON / RHP / #27
The Lake Worth native made ten appearances out of Florida’s bullpen in his freshman season. Jameson pitched to a 1-0 record with one save, a 3.72 ERA and .188 batting average against.
The 6-5, 220-pound right hander allowed just 13 hits while striking out 16 batters across 19.1 innings pitched.
Jameson’s best outing came against No. 5 Texas A&M in the SEC tournament where he tossed four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and zero walks in the contest.
Jameson did not allow a run across 1 1/3 innings of relief with two strikeouts vs. No. 9 Oklahoma on June 6, the final game of the 2022 season.
We saw Jameson improve as the season progressed. With a solid offseason jump, Jameson could find himself as a strong contributor in the Gators’ bullpen.
BRANDON NEELY / RHP / #22
The 6-3, 210-pound right hander found himself in the weekend rotation as a true freshman in 2022. Neely made 21 appearances (10 starts), finishing with a 3-3 record, one save, 3.76 ERA, and a .205 batting average against. Neely allowed just 53 hits and 20 walks in 69 1/3 innings while striking out 74 batters (9.6 K/9). He found himself in the Sunday slot because he’s a strike thrower, which gives you a leg up in the eyes of coach Sullivan.
Neely is by far the most experienced pitcher that’s competing for the Sunday spot in the weekend rotation. Other names in the mix are Jac Caglianone and Pierce Coppola.
I expect Neely to primarily pitch out of the Gators’ bullpen on the weekends, but don’t be surprised if Sully goes to him, especially early in the season.
TYLER NESBITT / RHP / #10
The redshirt sophomore is back in Gainesville for his fourth season as a Florida Gator. The Labelle, Florida product got off to a hot start in his collegiate career, making five appearances as a true freshman in 2020, finishing with a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA across 11.2 innings, helping Florida’s bullpen to a 1.76 ERA, and a 2.41 team ERA — which ranked 16th nationally. This season was cut short due to Covid 19.
Tommy John surgery sidelined Nesbitt for the entire 2021 season and 728 total days.
In 2022, Nesbit made 20 appearances including two starts on the mound, pitching to a 2-3 record and 4.59 ERA while totaling 33 1/3 innings.
Nesbitt struck out 29 batters and walked 14 while allowing just 29 hits, holding opposing teams to a batting average of .230.
The 6-3, 200 pounder isn’t going to overpower you at the plate, but his movement and command is among the best on the team. It’s clear that Nesbitt wasn’t as dynamic after his surgery, but with a full offseason of work and recovery, I’m hopeful Nesbitt can get back into the groove.
BLAKE PURNELL / RHP / #41
The St. Thomas Aquinas’ product burst onto the scene in 2022, posting a 3-3 record, four saves, and a 2.86 ERA across 50 ⅓ innings.
Purnell held opposing hitters to a .258 batting average and allowed just two home runs across 222 batters (.4 HR/9).
The 6-3, 210-pound side armed pitcher struck out 39 batters and walked 15 in his first season of work. Purnell’s style is more pitch to contact than high velocity and strikeout totals. You may start to notice a trend; the players who throw the most strikes are pitching the majority of the innings under Coach Sullivan (Neely, Ficarrotta, Purnell).
Purnell’s ability to avoid hard contact and keep the ball in the ballpark is why he’ll be one of the top relievers on the team once again.
RYAN SLATER / RHP / #13
Slater pitched in 26 games for the Gators while making three starts in 2022. He finished with a 6-4 record, six saves, and a 5.34 ERA. Slater struck out 48 batters, allowing 53 hits and 25 walks across 51 ⅓ frames (4th most on team).
The 6-3, 190-pound right hander held opposing teams to a .240 batting average.
The redshirt sophomore is a candidate to close games for the Gators in 2023.
SAM SLOAN / RHP / #21
The Bartow, Florida native played high school baseball at Lakeland Senior High School under head coach Len Brutcher.
From 2019-21, Sloan accumulated 79.2 innings pitched with a 3.08 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
Sloan was ranked by Perfect Game as No. 48 overall player and No. 17 right-handed pitcher in Florida in addition to being the No.
327 player and No. 114 right-handed pitcher nationally. His fastball topped out at 92 MPH on June 17th of 2020, according to Perfect Game.
In 2020, Sloan was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All- Region second team and in 2021 the PG Preseason All-Region first team.
Sloan did not appear in any games during his 2022 freshman season.
Part two of our right-handed pitchers position group breakdown is next.