Bryson Smith’s bat has never been in question. His glove – that’s another matter.
Smith, the National Junior College Player of the Year, transferred from Young Harris College in the offseason with intentions to slide into the middle of Florida’s lineup. But first, the junior third baseman has worked hard to make sure his defense is where it needs to be.
The questions about Smith’s defensive ability come with good reason. Despite the offensive output and broken records at Young Harris last season, Smith put up an .899 fielding percentage. A late season wrist injury didn’t help his case.
Third base has been a problem for the Gators defensively over the past few years. Brandon McArthur’s leadership and bat were undeniable during his six-year career in Gainesville, but his range and mobility were limited. Jon Townsend played some third base a few years ago, but his glove also had some holes.
Smith is ready to buck the trend, and he has worked hard to make it happen. The right wrist injury that occurred near the end of his season at Young Harris wasn’t corrected until mid-June surgery. Rehab hurt his ability to work with the Gators when he got to campus, but he was back to full health by the end of the fall.
Between then and now, Smith has taken countless ground balls.
“I’ve worked on it daily,” Smith said. “(Assistant coach) Brad (Weitzel) makes us take 100 ground balls a day. I’ve seen dramatic improvement. They’ve really worked with me, and I feel a lot more comfortable.”
His defensive performance in scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday showed the progress. He made two plays on the first day that Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan enjoyed. Thursday, he made a nice play going hard to his left, only to stay down on a tough ground ball the next inning for another nice play.
“First it was fundamentals, but then it’s reps,” O’Sullivan said about the coaching staff’s approach to improving his defense. “Get him a good base by teaching fundamentals, but there’s no substitute for reps. He comes out here on his off days and does work on his own. He has taken it as a challenge and has improved a lot.”
The only hurdle Smith had to climb was getting back into the groove after not playing all summer or early fall. He was able to watch how things were done in the Florida program from the dugout, but there isn’t a replacement for experiencing it himself.
However, his fall wasn’t great for Smith. The Gators use wood bats during fall workouts, which hurts the offensive numbers, and Smith’s were no different.
They never struggled before. Last season at Young Harris College, Smith hit .467 with 21 home runs and 90 RBI. The home field he hit at last season is known as an offensive stadium, but the numbers show he will be able to hit at any level.
The reasoning his numbers weren’t great during the fall had a lot to do with the wrist injury. O’Sullivan even said that his fall performance was difficult to evaluate because of it. It wasn’t the only reason the fall was tough though. The transition from junior college to the SEC level played a part.
“Velocity was about the same as junior college, but the off-speed (pitches) guys have here is ridiculous,” Smith said. “It took a little adjustment to get used to.”
The 6-2, 200-pound slugger is now preparing for a season where he will face quality pitching every at-bat. He estimated seeing only two good pitchers a week last season, and that most of those guys transferred to major colleges or were drafted.
There is no better way to prepare for good pitching than facing what Smith is every day. The Gators have one of the deepest pitching staffs in the country this season, and even some of the lesser-known pitchers have impressed Smith with their ability.
“It’s been quite a change from junior college,” Smith said. “There’s not as much depth as there is here. It’s pretty amazing the depth we actually have.”
His spot in the lineup is still yet to be determined. O’Sullivan said they were looking at hitting him second, fifth or sixth right now, but the lineup will still be determined by the remaining two weeks of practice.
“I really like his makeup,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s very steady and business-like every time he comes out here. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he works as hard as anybody, if not harder. He doesn’t take days off practice.”
In baseball, as Bryson Smith knows, the defense never rests.