The 1-2 punch of [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] will lead Florida’s weekend rotation in 2023, but it’s going to take some time for the Gators to figure out who the third pitcher in the group will be with lefty sophomore [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] on the mend until conference play.
Gators head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] put the timeline for Coppola’s return out there on Monday during his first media availability of the preseason. Coppola, of course, started the 2022 season off as the Gators’ Sunday guy but had his season end after one start.
A bulging disc in his back that was already bothering him worsened quickly, and he had surgery on it. He’ll have to wait until the middle of March to get back out on the mound regularly, but Sully doesn’t seem to mind moving slowly on this one if it means keeping Coppola healthy.
“We’re just bringing Pierce along slowly,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, he didn’t play this summer. He pitched a very little bit this fall, so our goal with him is to get him to hopefully be at 100% by SEC play.”
In the meantime, O’Sullivan says the team has plenty of options to work with for the third starter spot. Guys like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] are candidates to get a shot at the Sunday spot, and there’s plenty of competition on the mound.
“I think you’ll probably have to look at Jac (Caglianone),” he said. “You have to look at (Brandon) Neely. Neely had a good freshman year. You know, Slater. (Phillip) Abner’s been throwing the ball better. We’ve got a lot of options, but I think the biggest thing is the next week or so is important. We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be that Sunday starter.”
Caglianone is coming off of Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. He returned to action in the second half of last season but stayed in the designated hitter spot to protect his arm. Now that he’s throwing from the mound again (and topping out in the upper 90s), Florida hopes to use him as a starter regularly.
“It’s really hard to bring a guy in the middle of a game and long relief, and honestly, if we’re going to be as good as we want to be, (Caglianone)’s going to have to pitch significant innings for us,” he said. “He’s just too talented to not run him out there as much as you can.
“There will be some growing pains because it’s been since I think May of his senior year that he’s actually pitched in a real competitive game other than the two fall games we had. You don’t have many players that can hit the baseball over 100 mph and throw close to 100 on the mound. They just don’t come around very often.”
[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] had a strong freshman year and is one of the other names O’Sullivan mentioned. He made 21 appearances, including 10 starts, in 2022, finishing the year with a 3.76 ERA and 74 strikeouts and just 20 walks. He could emerge as a strong weekday starter, too.
[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] could also get some looks on the mound after starting a game last year and making 26 total appearances for Florida. His 8.06 ERA left a lot to be desired and wasn’t making too many batter swing and miss, but he should take a step forward after a year in the league.
O’Sullivan obviously feels the pressure to figure out who his third starter is, but Florida can afford to give everyone a shot while Coppola is on the mend. They have an answer for the second half of the season, so it might be better to see what everyone’s got rather than establishing a starter and moving him out of that routine.
Florida’s first three-game series begins on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. EST against Charleston Southern.
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