It took a few seasons, but in 2023 Florida baseball shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] emerged as one of the top players at his position in the collegiate circuit — both with the bat and the glove.
The junior out of Avon Park, Florida, bolstered his stock tremendously this spring, batting .361 — a marked improvement over his .254 average the year prior — while getting on base at a .460 clip with a .629 slugging percentage to boot. In 54 games played (and started) he scored 56 runs and drove in 58 along with eight doubles, a triple and 14 home runs.
With the leather, he managed a .968 fielding percentage, notching 63 putouts and 116 assists while making six errors. It was by far his best season both at the plate and on the clay and could be enough to see him taken among the first 100 picks in the MLB draft.
Take a look below at some of the top photographic highlights from Florida baseball’s star shortstop Josh Rivera’s final season of work in Gainesville during the 2023 season.