Tag: Brandon Sproat

Brandon Sproat drafted by New York Mets in second round

For the second year in a row, Florida right-hander Brandon Sproat has been drafted by the New York Mets, but he’s expected to sign with them this time around.

Florida’s Friday night starter, right-hander [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], is trading in the Orange and Blue for… another pair of orange and blue.

No, the Gators aren’t getting Sproat back for another year. The New York Mets once again drafted the flamethrowing righty and are likely to sign him this time around. Those who follow closely will remember that Sproat turned down a third-round deal from the Mets after last year’s draft to chase a national championship in the Swamp.

While Sproat ultimately came up short of that national title quest, he did elevate his draft stock and earned himself a decent chunk of change. The slot value for the 56th overall pick this year is just under $1.5 million, while the 90th overall pick in last year’s draft was slotted to receive $691,300. That’s an increase of almost $800,000.

The stuff has always been there for Sproat. His fastball can touch triple digits and his changeup really turned into a devastating offspeed option this season. Establishing his breaking stuff should be easy if he can get those other two pitches down consistently. Scouts say they want to see that ride-and-run action on the fastball a bit more often than they did in 2023.

If Sproat can figure things out, he’ll move up the system rather quickly. A year or two in Double-A is reasonable if all goes well. Look for him to make the majors around late 2025 or early 2026 in that scenario.

Sproat leaves Florida with a career 4.27 ERA  over 223 2/3 innings. He struck out 242 batters while giving up 114 runs (106 earned) on 202 hits and 99 walks.

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A final look at Gators in MLB.com’s 2023 mock draft

Here’s a last glance at what some of the draft experts think will happen Sunday night.

The 2023 Major League Baseball amateur draft is scheduled to start on Sunday night at 7 p.m. EDT in Seattle, Washington, to kick off a week of All-Star Game festivities. This summer, a pair of former Florida Gators are expected to be selected in the first round of the draft — with a possibility of a couple more joining them in the compensations rounds.

The main focus has been on outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], who helped power the Orange and Blue to a College World Series finals appearance despite an injury that slowed him down midseason. According to both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo in their final mock draft for MLB.com before the fireworks begin, the standout from Trenton, Florida, is expected to be taken in the top spot by the Pittsburgh Pirates — which would make him the first Gator ever to achieve the feat.

Here is what Callis had to offer.

It looks like one of the three Southeastern Conference superstars for the Pirates, and probably one of the hitters. Money aside, most teams would take Louisiana State outfielder Dylan Crews, but clubs can’t just put money aside in the bonus pool era, and he’s going to command more than Langford. How much more? Probably $500,000 and maybe closer to $1 million. Personally, I’d take Louisiana State right-hander Paul Skenes because of the rarity of his talent, and it wouldn’t shock me if Pittsburgh opted for him.

As for Mayo, here is how he feels.

Here’s how I ended up with this, with the disclaimer that the Pirates will continue to work through all possibilities involving the top five players: There’s a growing sense that the Pirates are leaning toward a bat over an arm (Paul Skenes), and despite the buzz, I think Dylan Crews is still in play. That said, the chatter that he wasn’t their guy was hard to ignore. So if he’s off the table, that likely leaves Langford and Max Clark, and it could come down to whatever combination of agreement on talent and cost. There were scouts who felt Langford was just as good as Crews — or at least close — and would sign for less. And he’d be the “get to the big leagues faster” option over Clark.

The other former Florida product expected to go on the opening night is starting pitcher [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], who Callis has going at No. 12 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After being tied to Houck for a while, the D-backs apparently prefer collegians. Lowder, Teel and Dollander would be in play if still available. If not, Waldrep would be the top pitching option and several college shortstops (Maryland’s Matt Shaw, Stanford’s Tommy Troy, Wilson) could be attractive.

Mayo also agreed that the right-hander is a first-round talent, he picked him to be taken by the Milwaukee Brewers at No. 18 overall.

Sticking with the Brewers breaking their college hitter streak by taking Waldrep, the last of the college arms that seems certain to go in the opening round. But if they can’t kick the habit, they could look at Schanuel or Davis.

Also mentioned was starting pitcher [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], who Callis believes will be taken at no. 39 overall by the Oakland Athletics.

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PHOTOS: Highlights from Brandon Sproat’s 2023 campaign

A good deal of credit for Florida baseball’s success during the 2023 regular season was due to Friday night starter Brandon Sproat.

A good deal of credit for Florida baseball’s success during the 2023 regular season was due to Friday night starter [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], who represented the ace of the staff this spring.

The junior out of Pace, Florida, featured an electric four-seam fastball that reached the high-90s mph as well as a mix of sliders, changeups and curveballs to keep his opponents off balance. The fourth-year hurler actually took a slight step back from his 2022 campaign but still managed to mow down most of his Southeastern Conference opponents.

Sproat recorded a 4.85 ERA over 78 regular-season innings, notching a 7-3 record while limiting opposing batters to a .200 batting average. The right-hander struck out 100 hitters against just 35 walks but also had some control issues with 14 hit-by-pitches and six wild pitches.

Take a look below at some of the top photographic highlights from Florida baseball’s ace pitcher Brandon Sproat’s full season of work in Gainesville during the 2023 season.

Neely holds on for second-straight save, Florida sweeps Mizzou

After being swept a week ago by South Carolina, the Florida Gators brought the brooms out and took care of Missouri.

For the second-straight night, Florida’s closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed out the game and delivered the Gators an 8-7 win over the Missouri Tigers.

Saves aren’t always notable, but they are when a closer is coming back from being ejected and suspended for four games. That’s what happened to Neely on the final day of the Georgia series, which meant he had to miss all three games Florida played against South Carolina last week. The bullpen seemed uneasy without Neely as an anchor, and the SEC saves leader showed exactly why he’s so important to this club on Sunday against Mizzou.

Neely entered the game after [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] surrendered three straight singles in relief of [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag]. A five-run lead had shrunk to just two, and Kevin O’Sullivan wasn’t risking things. Of course, Neely set the three batters he faced down in order, ending things with a looking strike out on Luke Mann. A run did score on a sacrifice fly for out No. 1, though.

Neely had little margin for error in the ninth, and it was a roller coaster of an inning. The first two outs came like clockwork, but Juju Stevens almost hit a game-tying home run that landed maybe six inches foul of the pole down the left-field line. Richie Schiekofer made an incredible effort on the ball and nearly robbed it. He’ll probably have a sore shoulder tomorrow.

The drama didn’t end there. Stevens reached on catcher’s interference after connecting with BT Riopelle’s glove on what should have been strike three. The training staff took a look at him and let him stay out there to close out the game. Riopelle will be lucky if he avoids any broken bones and was probably just running on adrenaline at the end there.

It can’t be said enough how important Riopelle is to the team, both from an on-the-field standpoint and as a leader. Losing him for any length of time would be detrimental to the team, but all Gator fans can do right now is hold their breath.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got his usual Sunday start despite not being listed at the start of the series. With [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] throwing a shortened complete game and Florida using up just two bullpen arms on Saturday, O’Sullivan figured he could give Caglianone a shot without worrying about a short afternoon.

Cags lasted through the third and looked decent through those innings, but the fourth was a different story and he got pulled after loading the bases without getting an out. Sully mentioned that batting in the bottom of an inning and pitching in the top can rush Caglianone, and he’s still learning to make that transition.

It’s worth discussing Fisher as the Sunday starter and moving Caglianone to a long-relief or close role for a bit. His power arm might be best served in short bursts, and there won’t be as much pressure to keep some left in the tank for a fourth or fifth inning as a reliever.

Still, splitting innings with Caglianone and Fisher isn’t a bad idea either, especially if the goal is to keep the former on a progression track as a starter. He only gave up one earned run and struck out five on Sunday, after all.

Fisher looked really comfortable, too. He didn’t have his best strikeout stuff today, but it’s good to see him pitch to contact a bit and work out of jams. Pro scouts will be happy to see it as well.

Offensively, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] led the day with four hits, including home run No. 10 in the first. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] hit No. 25 in the fifth and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] got No. 13 in the seventh. Florida entered the weekend with the fourth-most homers of any ball club in the country, and the power is only picking up as the season continues.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] also had multi-hit days with runs batted in. Tyler Shelnut finally cooled off with an 0-for-2 afternoon, but he still drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

It was a good win to close out a strong weekend for Florida. Missouri isn’t close to the top of the division, but this is still the SEC and sweeps are hard to come by.

Florida travels to Jacksonville on Tuesday to go for the season sweep against Florida State in the neutral site game. Then, it’s off to College Station to face the Texas A&M Aggies.

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Florida mercy rules Mizzou to kick off weekend series

Florida is back to its winning ways against the SEC. The Gators finished things in seven innings Friday night with an 11-1 win over the Missouri Tigers.

Florida looked dominant once again in an 11-1 win over Missouri Friday night that only needed seven innings to reach a conclusion.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] pitched a complete game, striking out seven over as many innings while allowing just three baserunners. His only walk of the night came in the top of the seventh, and he threw 70% strikes. The changeup was dynamite tonight and the fastball had some nice run on it early on.

The offense did most of the scoring in the second inning when both [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] each hit three-run homers. Shelnut is getting his shot in right field in place of a struggling [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag], and a 2 for 4 night with four RBIs should keep him there through Sunday.

Caglianone’s homer was his 24th of the year, and he is now three away from breaking the program record that Wyatt Langford tied a season ago. It’s not a question of if but when with Caglianone, and it might get done within the next week if he can stay hot.

[autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] hit his first collegiate home run, and everyone in the stadium was happy for him. Robertson is a fantastic center fielder with elite speed, but he’s not exactly a power hitter. He got a hold of this one, though, sending it 374 feet and 105 mph off the bat.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] homered in the fifth and had a nice 2 for 3 night with a walk after struggling recently. If Riopelle can return to First Team All-SEC form just ahead of the playoffs, the Gators will be better for it and have a real shot at winning it all.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] drove in [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the sixth, Riopelle scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and Shelnut walked it off with an RBI single to put the run rule into effect.

This was the kind of night Florida needed, even if it is against a Missouri team that might not be up to par with the rest of the SEC. The Gators are back at it on Saturday at noon to avoid some nasty weather coming in later in the day, so set your alarms!

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Major takeaways from Florida’s humbling series loss to South Carolina

The Gators left Columbia, South Carolina with a bitter taste in their mouths after going 0-3 against the Gamecocks, but it’s how Florida responds to an ugly series that matters most.

For the first weekend in 2023, it was tough to be a Florida baseball fan.

The Gators were swept on the road by the South Carolina Gamecocks by scores of 13-3 (7), 5-2 and 7-5 in a three-game set that ran from Thursday to Saturday. It’s UF’s first series loss of the season and moves the club to 31-10 overall and 11-7 in SEC play.

The Florida pitching staff left a lot to be desired this weekend. Things seem to go downhill as soon as Kevin O’Sullivan turned to the bullpen, and the offense couldn’t do much until late in the final game of the series.

This might be the worst Florida fans will feel all season long, but that’s dependent on whether or not a team capable of competing for a national championship adjust after getting smacked in the mouth.

It’s ugly to go over, but there is no need for Gator Nation to sense doom and gloom. Florida is still a top-five program in the country that simply ran into a buzzsaw.

Series Preview: Florida headed to South Carolina for top-10 matchup

Florida is back on the road for a three-game set with No. 6 South Carolina. The Gators haven’t dropped a series all year, but this will be a major test for the club.

Florida’s top-10 matchup with South Carolina over the weekend should be the toughest test of the Gators’ season so far.

The Gamecocks are ranked No. 6 in the country by D1Baseball.com and feature one of the most dangerous bats in the country in freshman right fielder Ethan Petry. Vanderbilt managed to snag two from South Carolina last weekend, and Florida hoping it can do the same.

To do so, the duo of [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and Hurston Waldrep need to continue to be elite for the Gators. Waldrep has worked himself into top-10 draft pick territory with some big strikeout numbers, and Sproat is starting to show some of the consistency scouts have been hoping for since laying eyes on his 99 mph fastball.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] had his first good start in almost a month last weekend against Georgia, and a repeat performance this week would be a major confidence boost.

Regardless of what he does on the mound, Caglianone is going to hit. He’s four homers shy of the school record and there are still 17 games left in the season. A big weekend could get him there on the road.

South Carolina’s starting rotation is strong, though. Maybe not as good as Florida’s, but it should be one of the best Florida sees all year. Of course, the same could have been said before the Tennessee series too.

Here’s a look at the weekend ahead and everything you need to know going into a major SEC series for the Gators.

Florida losing towering LHP for second-straight season

Florida won’t be getting left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola back anytime soon, as the Gators provided an injury update Sunday that puts him out for the remainder of the season.

Some Gators fans spotted the 6-foot-8-inch left-hander in a brace on Sunday during the SEC Network’s broadcast of Florida’s 11-6 win over Georgia, but head coach Kevin O’Sullivan made things official and announced that redshirt freshman [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] will miss the rest of the spring after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier in the week, according to Gators Online.

Coppola entered each of his first two seasons in Gainesville as the favorite to take over the Sunday starter spot, but injuries have continued to plague him and remove him from the conversation. Following just one start in 2022, Coppola ended his season early and underwent surgery for a bulging disc in his back. Now he’s out for all of 2023 and is hoping to play his first true season of college ball in 2024.

“Your heart goes out to him. It’s really disappointing,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. ” Nobody feels worse than he does. We all feel bad. The bottom line is we’re going to keep encouraging and we’re going to be there for him. We can’t wait until he gets back on the mound.”

The emergence of [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] as a viable starting option has made Coppola’s injuries easier for Florida to navigate, but having a player ranked No. 50 overall in 2021 by Perfect Game couldn’t hurt the team. In a perfect world, Coppola manned the Sunday spot in preparation for the ace role next year, with Caglianone finding his footing during the week.

O’Sullivan expressed hope for Coppola to be “100 percent” by SEC play, but it was apparent that he wouldn’t be ready by the time the Alabama series rolled around.

Assuming Coppola gets healthy for next year, he and Caglianone will be the top two guys in the rotation. [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] are first-round guys and won’t be returning, so the future is left-handed for the Gators on the mound.

It feels like the hope is to get either [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] or [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]. ready for the Sunday spot, but transfers could come in and take that spot.

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Gators drop series opener to Georgia following ugly ninth

Florida’s bullpen has been really strong after receiving some early-season criticism, but disaster struck in the eighth and ninth innings Friday night against Georgia.

Florida had everything in place to get its first win over Georgia in two years, but disaster struck in the ninth and the Gators couldn’t recover from a 13-11 final score.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] got the start for the Gators and went seven innings strong against UGA, struggling only in the third inning. A leadoff walk came back to haunt Sproat as Georgia’s best hitter, Charlie Condon, blasted a two-run homer later in the inning. Three runs were scored in total in the frame, but Sproat kept things quiet for the next three innings.

Condon got to him against for a solo shot in the sixth, but that was the only other hit Sproat gave up all day. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] came in to pitch the seventh for Florida, but he struggled more than he usually does. Condon hit another two-run shot, his third homer of the day, off Abner in the eighth. It’s only the second time this season he’s given up runs, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in to close out the game, but Kevin O’Sullivan’s top bullpen arms simply weren’t at their best tonight. Georgia loaded the bases and Connor Tate launched a grand slam before Condon could even get up to bat. A ground-rule double two batters later gave the Bulldogs the lead, and UGA tacked on two more for good measure

Florida scored fine throughout the day. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] answered a loud third from Georgia with a salami of his own, and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] also went deep with the bases loaded in the sixth. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] also drove in a run during each of those innings, raising his team-high total to 49.

They got the bases loaded again in the ninth with Rivera at the plate, but he could only produce a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag]. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] drew a full count and was hit for the third time to load the bases back up. Riopelle reached six times on the night, all on free bases.

Unfortunately, Luke Heyman couldn’t hit his second grand slam of the day and struck out to give Georgia the win.

There’s no doubt that Florida will come out with some anger after letting this one slip away from the school’s biggest rival. The Bulldogs aren’t a powerhouse in this sport, yet they have taken nine of the last 11 from the Gators. Something has to change Saturday night.

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Series Preview: Florida looking to stay dominant in SEC play against Georgia

Florida vs. Georgia is always a big deal. The two SEC rivals are meeting up on the baseball diamond this weekend. Here’s what Gators fans need to know.

The Florida Gators are staying in Gainesville this weekend to host the Georgia Bulldogs for a weekend series, and UF is looking to get some revenge on the diamond for what’s been a lopsided series on the football field for the last few years.

Thankfully, Georgia is much worse at baseball than it should be considering the Peach State is one of the most-talent-rich prep regions in the country for the sport. Florida has no such problem and regularly recruits the top pitchers and position players from each state (see [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag]).

That difference should be apparent on the scoreboard over the weekend, and Florida could get another mercy rule win after succumbing to the new rule last Sunday. It will be interesting to see how Florida’s weekend rotation gets along. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] seem to be hitting a nice streak of near-quality starts and are this close to being a lights-out 1-2 for UF.

There were flashes of it last weekend against Tennessee, and Georgia isn’t a team either arm should struggle against. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] is the big question mark after failing to make it out of the first inning last Sunday. All eyes will be on him to see if Florida needs to make a change to the rotation or not.

Offensively, this team is going to keep hitting and they’re going to do it well. Florida is third in the nation in home runs and boasts three of the best players at their positions in the country: left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], first baseman Jac Caglianone and shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag].

The trio has shifted to the top of the order and produced strong results against UT last week.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap for the weekend.