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Gator Baseball 2024 OFFICIAL ROSTER/Transfer Tracker/Lineup???

Discussion in 'GatorGrowl's Diamond Gators' started by Matherly87, Jun 6, 2023.

  1. ocalaman

    ocalaman GC Hall of Fame

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    Good analysis. I'm still concerned about the starting pitching being able to consistently go 6 or 7 innings, especially with middle relief a question mark. Also, the left side of our infield is not as good as it has been and I'm wondering if the middle of the lineup, 4-7, can produce vs. SEC pitching. Love the team and I guess I'm comparing them to last year, but to me there are a lot of questions yet to be answered.
     
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  2. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Guys I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the starters going 6-7 innings yet. We need to take a step back and realize we are not talking about starting the season with a returning Sproat/Waldrep or Faedo/Singer. Sure Sproat was ready to handle a complete game the first SEC weekend last year but Sproat was an experienced pitcher that decided to forgo the draft the previous year. Plus we were only able to play 1 out of 3 games the first weekend this season and we still have another weekend to go before SEC play starts. Fisher and Cags don't have the best of ERAs right now either so Sully doesn't want to put them thru any more stress. With Peterson a true freshmen you don't want to put too high of an expectation on him as well.

    As I said going into this weekend Sully will be happy if each or any of the three starters get thru 4 innings or more. I put out a pitchers plan for the 3 days guessing how it might look. Game 1 was Fisher, Slater, Neely and they nailed it. Sure it would have been great if Fisher completed the 5th to get the statistical win but more important the fact that Sully didn't have to use anyone else and we only gave up 3 runs over 9 was a win-win for the weekend and the rest of the staff.

    I don't think Sully had a hard pitch count for Fisher to that extent. I based my comment in the game thread that Sully did the right thing getting him out in the 5th, on the thinking Sully didn't want him going over 70-75 pitches, especially in a stressed situation with Slater ready to go. Unfortunate that Slater let one get across but the move worked. We held the lead and the bats came thru. End of game, Gators get the win. Fisher's ERA went down from 9.0 to 7.71. It's not great but headed in the right direction. Credit Sully for protecting his young pitcher early in the season.

    All that to remind you on Saturday Peterson will be in a similar situation. Let's get him thru 4 innings if possible and see where the rest takes him. If he makes it to the 5th and gets taken out after a runner gets on, great job, mission accomplished. If he makes it thru 5, even better and we are ahead of track for next week. Any more than that all depends on pitch counts staying low each inning and runners off the base paths. Again Sully has some trust I believe in the freshmen Satin and Philpott and getting them in on the road in Miami during a critical game will bring big rewards once SEC play starts. If its close in the 9th, sure Sully will be measuring if he goes back to Neely, which he will to get the series win.

    Lastly don't forget about Cags the same on Sunday. Reminder, he had some arm soreness right before the season started. Then we got rained out on Sunday, which was probably part of why Sully slow played putting the team out there for Games 2 and 3. Not saying he did it on purpose but he probably felt another week off for Cags before he takes the mound probably isn't a bad thing. So now Cags sits at only 3 innings pitched and gave up the 3 run homer with another 9.0 ERA. Would Sully love getting Cags thru 4 innings and only give up a run or two? You better believe he would, especially with this batting lineup and possibly Slater and Neely ready to go.
     
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  3. jdgator

    jdgator VIP Member

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    Need to figure out 3B and Robertson. Both Thomas and Robertson having huge holes in their swings and approach. Can't have two easy outs even at the bottom of the order. That will catch up with us in sec play.
     
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  4. orlgator

    orlgator Premium Member

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    Disagree on Robertson. He has made big adjustments and will continue to get better. Not perfect but definitely improving.

    Thomas is who he is. He has played a more than solid third base through the spring camp but really need a stick as well at hot corner.
     
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  5. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    Robertson probably ain’t going anywhere. The difference between he and Dale’s start is night and day. Mikey has 12 hits and is over 300 ( good for 4th best on team). Dale 167 and 4 hits.
     
  6. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    agree for sure. Robertson has made big strides. Several hits oppo already this year including one last night.
     
  7. gator1977

    gator1977 GC Legend

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    87, thanks for your observations and optimism. My take: we knew going into this season that there very big shoes to fill: Langford, Rivera, Riopelle, Halter, plus Sproat, Waldrep.... Also key for a winning team is "leadership" that BT and Josh provided. It's early yet but I don't see some of those shoes being filled yet. Left side of infield needs a rethink and as others have mentioned the bottom half of order is questionable when one projects to SEC pitching. Evans is a career .240 hitter with some pop but 5 hole? Not sure. Shelnut will hit but his play in LF can be an adventure.... SP remains a concern and after three starts, I'm having an inkling of doubt about Fisher as the Friday night guy. I see Peterson start today as very important and would like to see him complete 5 strong innings- and why not consider him for the Friday slot? Note: we've yet to face a SEC quality team- Miami typically is the first test but I don't see them in that category at the moment.
     
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  8. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    All good comments guys and I appreciate your input as well.

    As to JDs comments on Robertson and Thomas, I mostly agree even though I'm a big fan of Robertson. I am concerned what will happen to his swing and results at the plate in SEC play. His swing has not been the same the last week or so that I saw over and over in practice. Those line drives to LCF have turned into lazy fly balls to left. Credit Mikey for having the most doubles on the team so he has contributed in many games already but I'm not seeing the consistency. Plus Miami starts two LHP today and tomorrow which Robertson struggles against. It might be a long weekend for him. Mikey is still the best CF we have so his starting spot remains solid for now.

    As to Thomas, he hasn't been the same since he started arguing with Slater after hitting the bomb off him in practice. That was Thomas fault and that's on him. Who knows if that ever got resolved. Clearly many on here, myself included, continue to run with the idea to put Albert at third since Thomas bat is almost as big a hole as Donay. Credit @apkgator or @jdgator or one of the insiders on here for that one because I first read it from them and added it to my list of wants. Several adaptations of the change are floating in these threads but Thomas spot at third if we can find the right guy defensively and be the spark in the bottom part of the order we need. I like Albert but still not sure if he will step up as a starter on this team.

    And to @gator1977, you continue to nail it man. Leadership is huge for this team and that's the unknown. Sure we have a few unknown pieces but I have no idea who really is the leader. Cags is the closest thing as a player at the plate, in the field and could be on the mound but I see nothing from him in the clubhouse that says the same. As to Fisher on Friday, I agree. It was you that first convinced me Peterson was the real deal. I remember once I gave into that I said he probably should be our Friday guy before the season started but Sully wouldn't do that to a freshman if needed. Plus others pointed out its a better rotation to go L-R-L on the weekend. I also said Fisher might not be the Friday starter halfway thru the season and Peterson would be. I don't think we are far away from that. Today will tell us more about the rotation than anything so far.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2024
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  9. 74nole

    74nole GC Hall of Fame

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    ^^^^
    Good points throughout your post @Matherly87. What I have seen in recent games with Robertson is the “lazy fly balls” off of his bat are coming from a little more uppercut in his swing. He was at his best earlier when you could see his top hand rolling and driving hard through his swing. Obviously he hits the ball with more authority this way.

    I agree with everyone’s assessment of Thomas—whether it’s Albert or Shelnut at 3rd base a change is needed.

    I am still very much a believer in Cade Fisher—I think as he stretches his arm out (building his pitch count) he will also fine tune his touch and command on his off speed pitches.
     
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  10. gator1977

    gator1977 GC Legend

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    74, I hope you are right about Fisher. I was on board with him being the Friday night guy but his performances to date haven't been what one would hope. L-R-L would be ideal and hope we can stay with it.
    Fully agree that Robertson has gone away from his start of the season approach at the plate.... Hoping Jeroloman can get him back to his line drive and oppo swing.
     
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  11. triplegator84

    triplegator84 Freshman

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    First time post but long time reader. I have a bit of insider info on the leader of the team… and it’s sucks cause he’s in the biggest slump but sully and the team look to Thomas as one of the main leaders on the team. Just a bummer that while he fills that role for the team his bat has not matched it. He’s very much a first guy in last guy out always there for a teammate and pushing sully’s vision for what gator players are. Hopefully he finds his bat and stops pressing so hard at the plate. I will say he has had a knack for working a walk out of a 0-2 count but I do agree that if he can’t find more than that at the plate he’ll have to lead from the dugout.
     
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  12. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Welcome to the club. I appreciate your input.
     
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  13. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    Love that guy!!!only offense we have had all day came from him.
     
  14. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    Garrison needs to catch more. Defensively he changes things.
    Great receiver and big league arm.
     
  15. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    I saw Shelton as a guy that hits that pitch right there 400 feet
     
  16. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    I was real surprised Sully did not use Satin or Philpott today. They will be good to go tomorrow as will Neely. Wondering if Slater can handle a few innings or is he just possible for an inning if needed. Can't forget we have two challenging midweek games this week as well against FAU and UCF.
     
  17. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Scratch Peterson off the list. We have Philpott, Satin, Smith, and Witmer still at zero ERA.
     
  18. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    I love his makeup and think he’s a true bulldog, but I’m wondering if he will make it through SEC schedule on Friday nights. I’m like you and don’t worry about velo ( Maddux is my favorite pitcher of all time but he’s 1/10,000) but Cade has to be very Sharp without an overpowering fastball and we really have not seen it. I do think he can do it. Part of that “ make up” is his pace in which he “speeds” guys up, but again as you know without overpowering stuff he has to be very precise.
    The other part of this is who else could be Friday night guy? There’s only one and that’s Neely and he’s our closer so it’s almost Fisher by default. Keeping fingers crossed.
     
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  19. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    Stop, don't look down this post......
    Of the Gator hitters, who do you think has the best walks plus HBP to strikeouts ratio??? (BB+HBP)/SO
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    Here's the list by player names, BB, HBP, SO and ratio....(minimum 15 AB)
    Caglianone - (8+1)/4 = 2.25
    Shelnut - (7+1)/10 = 0.80
    Shelton - (9+4)/8 = 1.63
    Evans - (4+5)/8 = 1.13
    Heyman - (9+3)/5 = 2.40
    Thomas - (8+1)/5 = 1.80
    Kurland or Robertson - not even close
    And your winner is....
    Albert - (6+3)/2 = 4.50

    Sure Albert only has 15 registered at bats but that's still good he is getting on base some how and has a .333 batting average and leads the team with a .583 OB%. If he keeps starting and gets moved to third I hope he gets put in the 9 hole. I'd rather increase my chances with runners on for Kurland and Cags than keeping Thomas and Robertson at the bottom.
     
  20. Matherly87

    Matherly87 GC Hall of Fame

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    What should we expect from Cags on Sunday?

    Many on here would say he never was consistent last year and he already gave up 3 runs in 3 innings in his first appearance against Columbia so there's no telling what we get. Another poster on here said a fan in Miami suggests "Just ask Matherly". So on the surface I think its best to agree with the rest and say there's no telling. But I still ask myself, do you believe everything you saw in the fall and spring? And I told myself Cags was the best we had over the fall scrimmages and as starting spring as well. He regularly went out there and got thru 2-3 innings without a threat. My reports said Cags was a changed pitcher. Now some of you are rolling your eyes thinking he's giving editorials of his self. Please make him stop. (Jim Gaffigan annoyed comedy plug-in goes here)
    [​IMG]

    I was Cags biggest advocate on here for him to be the Friday guy, not understanding the both ways player needs to pitch on Sundays. Now I'm left hoping the good Cags shows up again tomorrow and surprises many of us. Sully has said he was on arm rest just before the season so its still unknown if that has any concern. So I go into this game expecting Cags will get us thru 4 or more without giving up the big inning or another 3 run HR. Just don't hold it against me....HA
     
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