Florida baseball is 16-3, ranked fifth overall in the country and riding a seven-game winning streak heading into conference play, but everything isn’t perfect in Gainesville after a strong start to 2023.
Those three losses all have a common denominator, an implosion from the bullpen, and it’s no secret that relief depth is Florida’s weak point. Kevin O’Sullivan has been figuring out which members of the ‘pen he can trust, and there are fewer names on the list than he would like.
Still, starting pitching and hitting are two very strong areas for the Gators, so they’ll be in most games they play in. The weekend rotation has been particularly strong for UF this year, and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] has made a seamless transition as a two-way player. In front of him are two potential first-round picks, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], that have only gotten better as the season’s carried on.
The injury bug did bite the Gators last week, but most of the team should be healthy for the start of SEC play on Thursday against No. 24 Alabama. Florida has played just one series against a ranked opponent this season against Miami. UF took two of three games and ended the weekend with a mercy-rule win.
Things look good for Florida with conference play set to begin, but the Gators still have to get the job done on the field. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about the team over the first 19 games of the season.