The Florida Gators have seen more than 100 players selected in the MLB draft since [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] took over, and that number is only set to grow in the upcoming cycle.
D1Baseball included four returning Gators — [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag], [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag], [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] — and incoming Miami transfer [autotag]Blake Cyr[/autotag] on its list of the top 100 MLB draft prospects at the college level heading into 2025.
Although the list came out in the days after the draft, Shelton only made his return official at the end of July. He’s now officially the highest-ranked Gator on the list at No. 34 overall and fifth among shortstops.
Right-hander Jake Clemente is next at No. 51 and should be a scout favorite after tearing it up in the Cape Cod League over the summer. He should get a chance to start in Gainesville this year, potentially as the third piece of the weekend rotation.
Which Gators are on the bubble?
The other three mentioned above are all in the 94-98 range. Cyr and Donay are both bat-heavy prospects who don’t really have a position.
D1Baseball lists Donay as an outfielder instead of a catcher, but he only played five summer ball games in right to seven games behind the dish and 10 at first. Donay’s height makes him a nice fit at first base, but he’s still looking for ways to utilize his arm strength on the field.
Cyr is another SEC-caliber bat with no clear position heading into 2025. He started off at second base with Miami but moved to left field last year. The only conference in college baseball tougher than the ACC is the SEC, so it’s unlikely we see Cyr move back to the infield but remains an option.
Both Cyr and Donay have 20-homer potential going into next season, but scouts are going to limit the ceiling of any prospect who doesn’t have a future at a coveted position on the field. That’s the reason for Shelton’s high ranking, even though numbers took a dip.
Finally, there’s second baseman Cade Kurland, who has a position but struggled to field it at times during his sophomore season. A bounce-back season defensively could vault him up from the No. 95 spot without much resistance. Bringing his strikeout rate back down five points to his freshman-year numbers would also help.
Who could join the list?
It’s always hard to predict which players will break out coming into a season, but a few proven names in Gainesville were left off this list.
Left-hander [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] might end up being the most impressive piece of the weekend rotation if his strikeout rate stays above 30%. Then there’s catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag], who went through the same sophomore slump Kurland did but has a chance to stick at catcher.
A longshot to make the top 100 would be outfielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag], who was on fire for most of 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury. He’ll lose most of his draft leverage as a senior, but there’s still a shot at being selected in the first five rounds.
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