One of the best freshmen ( actually best pitchers) we have seen in a while and definitely deserves first team all SEC accolades. King is now down to a 2.63 ERA. This puts him at #2 in the entire sec as true freshman… Kudos to Sully as he knew what he saw. King was somehow ranked the number 13 Right handed pitcher in the state of Florida last year.
As long as the silliness hasn't taken over baseball, I anticipate King to be in a Gator uniform for the next two years. Damn, what a find!
For sure, data says he’s one of the best in league. He’s got Friday night stuff and the mental toughness is just as impressive.
Next years pitching staff should be very strong and have more seasoned returners relying on mostly freshmen. However we must find a SS, 1B and C.
I’d like to think kolt Myers is our ss or the new freshman jj schwartz. Clayton is redshirting with the intention that he’s our catcher next year but I’d love to see us pick up a catcher in the portal. After seeing Lawson at 1st vs 3rd I’m ok keeping him at first and finding a 3rd baseman. But really I want like 3-4 pitchers from the portal with one being a clear weekend starter quality.
Shane, I played golf with Aidan’s grandfather the other day, great guy. He said that Aidan took a different path than most highschool players not participating much in camps and such like Perfect Game. Caused him to fly under the radar so to speak. You may recall that Aidan threw a no hitter against a top Jacksonville Providence team in the playoffs and struck out 20. Struck out the 20th on his 105th pitch to end the game. Dennis said that Aidan has settled in and really enjoys being a Gator. He said the King’s are a family of Gators and that Aidan knew where he wanted to go when it was time to choose!
That’s awesome, thanks so much for sharing that story!! Love to hear about kids that fly under the radar. The travel ball life is a lot and glad to see kids can make it to the big time without all the travel ball. Also know without travel ball probably a lot less wear and tear on arm. King reminds me of some of our big time pitchers from the past in that he’s not scared to go right at hitters ( Sully’s kind of pitcher). In fact he wasn’t scared even early. Trusted his stuff.
I really think ( without injuries) next year Pitching could be a major strength and that’s without Freshmen coming in. Starters Liam Aidan Sunday Lefty Transfer like a Dempsey from FGCU. Bullpen and Midweek: with top 4 returning we are very good but need more so look for a portal transfer. McNellie- closer- really this kid and his growth. C Rod middle guy Menendez- Set up guy Rowland- mid week starter and middle guy. Has a very good future. Portal transfer Janssen- midweek starter and situational lefty out of pen. Biemiller- Midweek and situational lefty out of pen. Philpott-
Whritenour and Sandford are also top 100 recruits coming back from injury. Barberi and McDonald with a year under their belts should be better. A lot of NIL money should free up, I would try and use some to lure Clemente back like they did w Neely (my guess is thats unlikely)
Aiden has a lot of good things going for him. While his fastball isn't overpowering he has good command of both the four and two seamers. And his two seamer has both armside motion and late sink. Not a huge amount of armside motion but more than I would have thought with his velocity. He also has command of secondary pitches and I have seen him throw some NASTY spiltters. Not having mid-90's and up on his fastball might have put him under the radar (gun). LOL. But pitching is a lot more than just throwing hard and this kid is a VERY good pitcher. I am impressed. While having starting pitching problems on the Gator staff early on hurt our team it really helped Aiden get valuable experience pitching against SEC batters. You don't get that level of competition at mid-week games unless facing FSU.
Yeah, kid knows how to pitch and I will say this, his 84th pitch is sometimes as fast as his first pitch as he sits around 92 but can dial it up to 93 and 94 when need be. With nasty splitter, his mindset, and make up, he’s not only our best pitcher but one of the Sec’s best top pitchers ( top 6-7). I’ll take a pitcher over a Thrower any day, especially when the mechanics are good and motion is very repeatable. Very Difficult to see what he is throwing as doesn’t tip pitches.
Aidan King reminds me a lot of Tanner Burns (Tanner Burns College & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com), who was the starter in Auburn's 2 wins @ UF in 2018. A freshman pitcher who has better numbers than their "ace" (though Peterson ain't no Mize... at least not yet) as a "pitcher, not thrower". Aidan's advantages are the splitter (h/t @GatorLurker) and that he's 5.5 months younger (year adjusted), so maybe will pick up a couple MPH. His biggest disadvantage is that 2 HR in 65.1 IP is wildly unsustainable. I hope we can keep 2 or 3 of Clemente/Barberi/Rodriguez/McNeillie for 2026 -- but with only Sunday starter, 4th/midweek starter, and closer to offer, at least one's gonna walk. Philpott will probably stick a foot into the portal again to play both sides, just in case. The lefties are more likely to stay -- lots of room in that lane.
I talked to Alex a few weeks ago and he wants to come back, however he’s been in Sully’s dog house so it might be a “he’s been told to explore” portal entry.
That’s a good comparison on Burns. I think we keep Barbieri, McNellie, and CRod. Agree on Philpott and young lefties staying.
That’s really a pretty short story. ANYBODY who doesn’t throw strikes in a game is assured of getting in Sully’s doghouse.
