Franco Alemán will look to build off up-and-down season in 2022

The former FIU and JUCO player worked his way into the weekend starting rotation this season for UF, but he’ll need to be better in 2022.

Name: Franco Alemán

Number: 35

Position: Right-Handed Pitcher

Class: Junior (COVID-19)

Height: 6’6″

Weight: 215 lbs

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

High School: Alonso

Previous School: St. Johns River State College

Twitter: @franc0_26

2021 statistics:

G GS W-L IP H R BB K ERA WHIP
23 9 2-4 69 75 52 21 65 5.74 1.39

Overview:

Alemán was one of the nation’s better prospects coming out of high school, ranking 80th overall and No. 30 among right-handed pitchers. He could’ve gone to the professional ranks out of high school as he was drafted in the 38th round of the 2018 MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves. Instead, he chose to maintain his commitment to Florida International, where he saw significant action as a true freshman in 2019.

With the Panthers, he made 12 starts and had two relief appearances, netting a 3-5 record and 3.97 ERA on the season. After that season, he transferred to JUCO St. Johns River State College, where he made seven starts and posted a 3-1 record. His ERA that season was 3.26, and he totaled 51 strikeouts, two shy of his total at FIU despite appearing in half as many games as he did the season before.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 season was cut short, and Alemán signed with the Gators as a junior heading into 2021. He was expected to be a significant reliever, and he saw closing action early in the season. However, with struggles from Saturday starter Jack Leftwich, Alemán was moved to a starting role midway through the season with Leftwich taking his place at closer.

Alemán had his moments as a starter, but all in all the experiment didn’t really work. His ERA of 5.74 was the highest among UF’s weekend starters, and his 2-4 record left a lot to be desired. He did have a lot of strikeouts on the year with a career-best 65, though.

With ace pitcher Tommy Mace likely heading to the professional ranks this summer, Alemán will likely be a weekend starter once again in 2022 as a “COVID” senior. But Florida will need him to be much more effective and consistent on the bump than he was this season.

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