Tag: Brady Singer

Former Gators India, Singer traded for each other at MLB non-tender deadline

Not one but two former Florida baseball stars were traded at the MLB non-tender deadline, and they were swapped in the same deal!

Former Florida Gators baseball stars [autotag]Jonathan India[/autotag] and [autotag]Brady Singer[/autotag] swapped teams in a trade between the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals on Friday, MLB’s non-tender deadline.

Both teams could benefit from the trade, according to Keith Law of The Athletic.

India, a middle infielder likely to stay at second base with Kansas City, fell out of favor in Cincinnati thanks to a surplus of talented position players.

He’s a former National League Rookie of the Year drafted fifth overall in 2018 who plays average defense and can get on base more than other infielders on the Royals’ roster. India posted his highest fWAR (2.8) since his rookie year breakout (3.4) and slashed .248/.357/.392 over 151 games.

Singer, the 18th pick in the 2018 draft, has posted steady numbers over hid five-year MLB career. His best season came in 2022 when he finished the season with 3.0 fWAR, a 3.23 ERA and an 8.8 K/9 rate. Similar to India, Singer had his second-best MLB season in 2024 — 2.5 fWAR, 3.71 ERA and a career-high 179 2/3 innings — but Kansas City has a lot of pitching talent in its organization.

With Singer offering the most trade value of any Royal brought up in conversations, it was a no-brainer to deal him at the non-tender deadline, even if it is losing a potential ace who is only 27 years old. The only problem with Singer is that his low arm slot from the right side doesn’t allow him to throw an effective offspeed pitch to attack lefties, who slashed .291/.367/.488 off him in 2024.

India, Singer at Florida

Not only were India and Singer drafted 13 picks apart after spending three years together at Florida and winning a College World Series, they were named the SEC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Singer also won the 2018 Dick Howser Trophy and was named the National Player of the Year by Baseball Americana and D1Baseball. He left Florida with a 23-10 record over 60 appearances (37 starts, 282 innings), a 3.22 ERA, 281 strikeouts (seventh all time), and four complete games.

India was a consensus First Team All-American at third base for Florida and semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award. He capped off his three-year Gators career with one of the best offensive seasons in program history, slashing .350/.497/.717 with 21 home runs — the most by any Gators third baseman — and 53 RBIs.

Over 194 games (189 starts) as a Gator, India slashed .310/.411/.530 with 31 homers and 126 RBIs. He walked 105 times to 141 strikeouts.

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Multiple Gators land on ESPN’s 2024 midseason top 100 MLB prospects rankings

Jac Caglianone headlines a group of Gators listed on ESPN’s 2024 midseason top 100 MLB prospects rankings.

Florida baseball has been dishing out MLB-ready players throughout the years with over 80 players making it to the Major Leagues in its history.

The amount of high-level talent that the Gators have produced is incredible. Florida alumni like [autotag]Pete Alonso[/autotag], [autotag]Brady Singer[/autotag] and Wyatt Langford have each made an impact on the professional stage.

So it comes to no surprise that a few former Gators have landed on ESPN’s MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel’s midseason top 100 prospects rankings.

The Gators that are mentioned in the top 100 rankings are Jac Caglianone, Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep. So where do they each rank on the list?

Jac Caglianone (Kansas City Royals) – No. 26

Position: 1B

Level: High-A

The Royals selected Caglianone with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft after the two-way player had a stellar career with Florida.

In his last season with the Gators, Caglianone started all 66 games and batted .419 with 35 home runs (a single-season program record) and 72 RBI.

As a pitcher, Caglianone threw for 73.2 innings, had a 4.76 ERA and 83 strikeouts.

There’s still some work that needs to be done fielding-wise. Now, the Royals haven’t necessarily shut the door on him pitching yet, but I just don’t see him being effective on the mound at the major league level. If he can work on his fielding at first base, there’s no doubt in my mind that Caglianone can be a great player in the pros.

Brandon Sproat (New York Mets) – No. 71

Position: RHP

Level: AAA

Sproat was selected No. 56 overall by the Mets in the second round of the 2023 draft.

Sproat’s variety of pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and cutter) are what makes him so deceptive on the mound. His fastball has touched triple digits before but it usually sits around 95-97 mph.

The Mets just moved Sproat up after a 13-strikeout performance to Triple-A. Posting a 2.45 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 62.1 innings of work in Double-A, the right-hander is the highest-rated prospect in the Mets’ farm system.

Hurston Waldrep (Atlanta Braves) – No. 98

Position: RHP

Level: AAA

At the 98th spot, Waldrep just snuck into the rankings, but nonetheless, the right-handed pitcher shows why he belongs.

The Atlanta Braves selected Waldrep with the 24th overall pick in the 2023 draft. The 22-year-old is pitching at the Triple-A level where he has an ERA of 5.68 with 19 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.

Waldrep even played a couple of games at the MLB level but they were shaky. He gave up six and seven earned runs to the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals, respectively.

There’s no doubt that Waldrep has some things he needs to work on such as his command and control. But he’s still very young and I believe he has a lot of potential.

ESPN’s Top Five Prospects

The top five prospects on McDaniel’s rankings are Jackson Holliday (Baltimore Orioles), James Wood (Washington Nationals), Carson Williams (Tampa Bay Rays), Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays) and Marcelo Mayer (Boston Red Sox).

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Royals’ Brady Singer goes off on umpire Angel Hernandez after a roller-coaster inning of weird calls

Here we go again.

Normally, when we post about umpire Angel Hernandez, it’s because he screwed up a call or two during an MLB game and fans are roasting him on Twitter.

In this case, I’m going to say that I don’t think this is all on Hernandez. But it’s sort of like a running back who’s known to fumble — managers and players are already primed to argue and be angry because Hernandez is involved.

Here, we have a whole inning full of calls. It started with a pitch in Wednesday’s Cleveland 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals that Hernandez said hit Jose Ramirez. Upon a challenge from the Royals, it was somehow upheld even though the pitch looked like it didn’t hit him.

Then, with two runners on, Royals pitcher Brady Singer tried to pick off Ramirez … but Hernandez called him for a balk. Everyone went off, Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred and manager Mike Matheny got tossed … and when the inning was over, Singer was furious at Hernandez and also was ejected.

Watch the whole sequence here:

 

Yikes. Again, even if Hernandez wasn’t completely at fault — although you may not agree it was a balk — it’s still not great!!

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Here’s a look at all nine former Florida Gators included on MLB opening day rosters

A look at all nine former Florida Gators baseball players who were included on their respective teams’ MLB roster for opening day 2021.

Major League Baseball’s opening day is here and this time around it looks like the boys of summer will play out their full schedule, COVID allowing. As such, it is time to take a look at our beloved Florida Gators alumni competing in the world’s greatest collection of baseball players.

Kicking off 2021, UF has nine former players listed on MLB opening day rosters, though one alumnus finds himself on the injured list to start the season. The other eight include a home run champion, a few grizzled veterans, a highly-touted pitcher and a member of the national championship making his major league debut.

Below, you can find all nine former Florida Gators baseball players who made the 2021 opening day roster for their respective teams.

Former Gator Brady Singer shuts down Tigers, continues ascent in majors

Pitcher Brady Singer appears to be quickly maturing in the big leagues thanks to the trial-by-fire offered by the floundering Royals.

Brady Singer is a name that any Florida Gators fan should be familiar with if they have ever paid even a modicum of attention to the baseball program over the past few years. The former national championship-winning pitcher and first-round draft pick has been making waves in the majors this summer in his rookie campaign for the Kansas City Royals. Wednesday night was a glimpse at what the future holds in the bigs for the erstwhile Gators hurler.

His performance in his last start was a continuation of some recent brilliance he has displayed. After beginning his season with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, giving up at least two runs in each of his first eight starts while throwing at least five innings each outing, Singer has blanked his last two opponents, nearly throwing a no-hitter in his previous start against the heavy-hitting Chicago White Sox and then shutting out the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

His latest triumph was a result of six innings of two-hit ball, in which he gave up a single walk while striking out eight hitters. His efforts these past two games lowered his numbers to a much more respectable 4.14 ERA and and impressive 1.18 WHIP with 52 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings pitches. Maybe more importantly, he just looked good out on the mound with command over his three-pitch arsenal consisting of a four-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup — all plus pitches.

Singer appears to be quickly maturing in the big leagues thanks to the trial-by-fire offered by the floundering Royals. Hopefully, the former Gator will continue his meteoric ascent in pro ball for the pride of the Gator Nation.

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