Tag: Colby Halter

Florida 3B Colby Halter drafted by Oakland Athletics in 17th round

Colby Halter was the final Gator picked in the 2023 MLB Draft, but is there a chance he returns to the Swamp?

The Oakland Athletics selected [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] with the 496th overall pick of the 2023 MLB draft.

Day 3 selections don’t have slot values assigned to them, but anything over $150,000 comes out of a team’s bonus pool, according to Baseball America. That bonus pool money isn’t untouchable, but it is typically reserved for wooing high school players away from commitments.

Halter might not be the ideal candidate for a massive deal, which begs the question of whether he will return or not. It all comes down to money, but Halter just watched Josh Rivera gamble on himself and end up as a third-round pick.

While Halter’s .247/.354/.397 slash line may be somewhat underwhelming, his metrics paint a promising picture. Halter lowered his strikeout rate from 22.4% to 15.7% in 2023 and also started walking a bit more (10.2% to 11.6%).

His home run-per-fly ball rate was an incredibly low 4.0%, which suggests some unluckiness at the plate. Halter’s fly ball rate was higher than ever, though, jumping from 38.3% to 52.9% year over year. A little more muscle could call for a power surge from Halter in 2024 if he does return.

At the end of the day, the A’s can meet whatever number Halter gives and end all the speculation, but anyone who follows baseball knows that Oakland isn’t the most liberal with money.

If he does leave, Halter departs Florida with a career .259 average, a .354 on-base percentage, a .405 slugging percentage, 151 hits, 31 doubles, 14 home runs and 89 runs batted in over 163 starts in 173 games.

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PHOTOS: Highlights from Colby Halter’s 2023 campaign

Halter is one of those solid presences every great team needs to glue things together.

Junior infielder [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] has been a steady presence on the diamond for Florida baseball over the course of his three-year tenure with the Orange and Blue, providing a versatile glove at several positions while also holding his own at the plate. However, in 2023 he saw his playing time dwindle as other members of the team earned their reps.

The Jacksonville, Florida, native batted .235 this spring with a .348 on-base and a .404 slugging percentage. He was good for six doubles, four triples and three home runs in 2023, scoring 26 runs and driving in 25. With the leather, Halter slipped a bit, falling to a .940 fielding percentage with 18 putouts, 76 assists and six errors.

Take a look below at some of the top photographic highlights from Florida baseball’s star infielder Colby Halter’s likely final 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 comes alive late against UNF in tight midweek contest

Yoel Tejeda Jr. put together his best start of the season for Florida en route to a 6-2 win over the North Florida Ospreys. BT Riopelle and Luke Heyman each had two runs batted in.

The Florida Gators got back to their winning ways Tuesday night, 6-2, but the offense didn’t explode as many expected them to.

[autotag]Yoel Tejada Jr[/autotag]. delivered his best start of the season, allowing zero runs across four innings of work. He ran into trouble a few times but got timely strikeouts and ground balls to get out of whatever jam he found himself in.

Tejeda could have easily set a new career-high in innings pitched or strikeouts had he come out in the fifth, but Kevin O’Sullivan isn’t in the business of overusing arms.

Unfortunately, [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] struggled in the fifth and gave up a pair of runs. That’s all North Florida would get to him for, but it’s a blemish an otherwise decent outing.

Ficarrotta sat the Ospreys down in order in the sixth, but he was removed after surrendering a leadoff walk in the seventh. Left-hander [autotag]Phillp Abner[/autotag] took over and got out of the inning without any trouble, but he struggled in the eighth giving up back-to-back singles.

[autotag]Ryan Slater [/autotag]saved Abner with a strikeout and a lazy fly out into shallow left field.

Florida’s bullpen was overall shaky Tuesday night, but the same can’t be said about North Florida’s relievers. Tony Roca entered the game with an earned run average above 9.20, but he kept the Gators hitless for three-straight innings.

UF finally got to him in the eighth. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] produced a leadoff single, and Josh Rivera walked before [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] came up with a much-needed RBI single. Riopelle has been in a slump and striking out a ton, so it’s good to see him get one after a really tough series against South Carolina.

Riopelle’s RBI single was technically an insurance run since Florida had been leading all game, but it had been half a ball game since the Gators last scored and felt a whole lot bigger. Rivera singled, [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] homered (8) and Riopelle got a lucky sacrifice fly RBI on a foul out in the third to give Florida the three early runs.

Heyman came through in the eighth after Riopelle for an RBI single of his own, so it was a big day for the catchers altogether. [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] added another to the lead with a sacrifice fly, but that was all UF could muster up.

Slater finished off the ninth, stranding a man a third base on a game-ending fly out to the warning track.

Florida hosts Missouri over the weekend starting on Friday at 7 p.m. EDT.

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Gators walk it off against Georgia to even up series

Florida and Georgia played another game that was decided in the ninth inning, but this time it was the Gators who came out on top.

After a 24-run affair on Friday night, Florida and Georgia combined to score just three in the second game of their weekend series on Saturday. The Gators came out on top, 2-1, thanks to a walk-off RBI single from center fielder [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag].

Second baseman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] got the winning rally started for Florida drawing a four-pitch walk from Georgia right-hander Chandler Marsh. Third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] found the gap in the very next about to send Kurland around third, but the base coach threw up the stop sign and delayed the celebration.

[autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] pinch hit for right fielder [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who came into the game during the fifth inning for an injured [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag]. Schiekofer grounded out softly to first, but Robertson was ready to play the hero. He found the same gap in right-center that Halter did, and Kurland strutted into home to tie up the series.

After Friday night’s disastrous finish, Hurston Waldrep did everything he could to give the Gators a chance. He needed just 99 pitches to get through seven innings, and Waldrep was furious when Kevin O’Sullivan told him he wasn’t coming out to set a new career-high at Florida.

Waldrep struck out eight and was in control all night. He carved up the Georgia lineup with his splitter and pitched to contact when he needed to induce a double-play ball. The only blemish of the night was a leadoff double from Harber in the fifth that scored on a sacrifice bunt.

Florida tied things up almost immediately in the sixth with a pair of doubles from [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag]. Until then, Florida had been held hitless by UGA lefty Charlie Goldstein, who might have earned himself a permanent spot in the weekend rotation with the performance. Goldstein struck out seven and went five strong innings against the No. 3 team in the country. That deserves to be noticed, even in a loss.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] was the only arm out of the bullpen for Florida, and he was lights out en route to earning win No. 5 on the season.

Offensively, things were pretty quiet. Halter was the only Gator with multiple hits and the duo of [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] combined to go 0 for 8 with four strikeouts. Not great, but there’s always Sunday to bounce back.

The Gators and Bulldogs go at 1 p.m. to decide the regular-season series.

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Florida’s 4 homers delivers series win, Gators looking to sweep on Sunday

After getting swept by Tennessee at home a year ago, Florida has a chance to return the favor in Knoxville. The Gators claimed the second game of the series on Friday, 9-3.

The Florida Gators jumped all over the Tennessee Volunteers for the second night in a row and delivered a dominant 9-3 win to win the series.

Florida started scoring right out of the game, mostly thanks to a wild start from Tennessee starter Chase Burns, who is projected as a first-round prospect in the 2024 draft cycle. Burns walked [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] with the bases loaded to score [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] for the first run of the day.

[autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] got the start at designated hitter for the Gators and came up big with a four-RBI night. His first base knock of the night was a ground-rule double to left-center that scored two more. He’d homer in the fifth with a man on to cap off a terrific start, and there’s good reason to believe that Prevesk will contend for a starting outfield spot next season with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] moving on.

Florida hit three more homers throughout the night. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] delivered a shot to right-center in the second and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and Langford went back-to-back in the fourth. Langford’s cleared the wall in right-center just fine, but Caglianone’s was a no-doubter that went a projected 488 feet.

Florida’s bats quieted down after the fourth, much like in Game 1, which means that Tennessee’s bullpen has something figured out the starting rotation does not.

Fortunately, [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] was absolutely dealing for UF. He gave up three runs over seven innings of work and struck out nine while walking just the two in the seventh. Florida needed [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and Waldrep to both be on this weekend to take the series against Tennessee, and the duo did more than deliver.

Florida used lefty [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] to get through the eighth and ninth. He struck out the side in his first inning of work and added two more before closing out the game.

The Gators will go for their first sweep of the Volunteers since 2011 and the first in Knoxville since 1992. Caglianone is set to pitch for Florida.

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Key takeaways from Florida’s series win over Auburn

The Florida Gators took two of three from the Auburn Tigers this weekend to improve to 24-5 (7-2), but the team still has plenty to work on before the postseason comes around.

Florida survived a bit of a scare from Auburn over the weekend to win its seventh-straight three-game series of the regular season.

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the offense and defense against the Tigers. The Gators struggled on both sides of the ball Friday night en route to a 10-1 loss, which is by far the worst defeat of the season for the club. Saturday might be another bad day on the bump, but [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] regained his composure after allowing a few early runs and earned a quality start.

Sunday was… weird. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who is hitting just as well as he has all year, struggled with his command for the second game in a row. He was knocked out of the game during the fourth inning in line for the loss, but Auburn’s bullpen couldn’t buy a strike for the final five innings of the game.

What makes Sunday’s 17-8 win even more bizarre is that the Tigers opted to go to their bullpen relatively earlier. Starter Tommy Vail was at 92 pitches with one out to go in the fifth when he was pulled. Maybe the bullpen would have blown it eventually, but Vail seemed to know the game was already over when he handed the ball to his coach.

Here are some major takeaways from the weekend that was.

Florida baseball outlasts Auburn, takes weekend series after late surge

There were times when things seems a bit tumultuous, but never give up on the Gators’ offense!

The outcome of the game was uncertain, to say the least, after the first five innings but Florida baseball eventually exploded against the Auburn Tigers to take the rubber match in the weekend series, 17-8.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got the start for the Orange and Blue, and for the first time this weekend, managed to blank the Tigers in the opening frame — albeit working out of a jam created by an error and a hit-by-pitch. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] pushed things forward in the bottom half of the inning, plating three on a bases-loaded, two-out single plus a fielding error that gave the Gators the early lead.

Auburn answered quickly with a solo home run to lead off the second and threatened to score more, but a leaping catch in center field by [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] prevented any further damage. The Gators threatened in the bottom half putting runners on thanks to an HPB and a walk, but Calianone was unable to help his own cause, striking out for the second time to end the threat.

Cags managed to get through the top of the third, but not without a little bit of drama that pushed his pitch count to 65 — not exactly a paragon of efficiency. The Orange and Blue failed to capitalize on a leadoff walk by [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] to put up a goose egg in its half as well.

The Tigers slugged their second home run of the game with one on and no outs in the top of the fourth — on a hit-and-run, no less — to knot things up. A single and a double chased Caglianone off the mound after 81 pitches, bringing high-leverage reliever [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] in to put out the fire.

He did not put out the fire but did limit the damage to just one more run, giving the visitors their first lead of the day before giving way to [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag]. But the Tigers were not done scoring just yet.

Auburn added its third home run of the day — a two-out, three-run shot — to stretch the lead to 8-3 over Fisher and the Gators. After giving up that dinger, the Tigers managed to follow up with a double but a strikeout stopped the bleeding.

The Orange and Blue showed some life in the bottom of the fifth, plating two runs thanks to an RBI single by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] followed by a bases-loaded walk that pushed the score to 8-6, but unfortunately, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s squad could not push any more home.

Auburn went down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth, giving way to a two-run inning for the Gators that began with a bases-loaded walk to Luke Heyman and a subsequent sacrifice fly by Langford that tied the game; a Matt Prevesk strikeout ended the threat.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag], who took over to start the sixth, threw four straight clean innings with four strikeouts. His efforts in the seventh set the table for a two-RBI single from Caglianone in the seventh to reclaim the lead — a lead that would be padded to the tune of a 12-8 score by the end of the frame. A diving catch by Auburn’s centerfielder saved a couple of runs to end the inning.

The scoring continued into the bottom of the eighth, with the Gators adding a whopping five runs that included a grand slam to put the score on the verge of mercy-rule territory. The Tigers failed to respond, resulting in a 17-8 win for the Orange and Blue, with Slater earning the win.

Next up for Florida are the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats who travel to Gainesville to take on the Gators on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT and the game can be followed either on the SEC Network+ or ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.

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Freshmen lead No. 3 Florida to sweep of No. 13 Ole Miss

Florida baseball hasn’t lost a series this season and is sweeping teams ranked No. 13 overall in the nation. If you’re not paying attention yet, now is the time to get on the bandwagon.

After taking both games of a Saturday doubleheader, Florida kept its winning ways going against Ole Miss on Sunday and completed the three-game sweep, 7-2.

The freshmen led the day for the Gators, both at the plate and on the mound. Catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] homered twice, once in the fourth and again in the eighth, and second baseman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] finished the day 3 for 5 with four RBIs. Kurland also homered in the eighth and singled in runs in the fourth and sixth.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who started on the mound for Florida, got the scoring started in the first with his nation-leading 17th home run of the year. He’d finish the day 2-for-5, but things didn’t go so well on the mound.

Caglianone lasted just 3 2/3 innings against Ole Miss and walked eight batters, including three in the fourth. His command wasn’t there from the start with his arm side stuff, but the walks didn’t hurt him until the fourth. Fortunately, [autotag]Blake Purnell [/autotag]was able to get the final out of the inning without giving up any more runs, which is a big outing for a guy who has struggled this season.

Left-handed freshman [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] made a rare appearance and might have earned himself some more playing time. He faced the minimum through two innings, striking out four batters and holding the Rebels hitless. His slider was working well in particular, buckling the knees of lefties and baiting righties to swing and miss at it.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched a clean seventh but saw ran into trouble in the eighth after the second error of the day from [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]. The team’s closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in for Abner after an unearned run scored and traded a run for a double play.

He closed out the eighth and ninth innings for Florida, securing the first road sweep of Ole Miss for the program since 1988.

Defensive honors go to [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] at first and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in right for each making a diving play that saved a double during the game.

This was a massive series win for Florida that validates the No. 3 ranking. Alabama and Miami were good wins too, but the reigning national champions are a different story.

Up next, Florida plays its neutral site game against Florida State on Tuesday and then prepares for a four-game homestand against Auburn and Bethune-Cookman.

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Florida finishes off doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss

Florida put up a dozen en route to beating Ole Miss for the second time on Saturday. The Gators play for the sweep on Sunday at 2:30!

After taking down Ole Miss in comeback fashion in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, the Florida Gators got out to a fast start in Game 2 and never looked back en route to a 12-8 victory.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] was the offensive leader of the day. He drove in three runs and hit for the two hardest legs of the cycle. Riopelle was a First Team All-SEC catcher in 2022, but somehow he’s fallen out of the spotlight for Florida as other bats in the lineup continue to thrive. Not tonight, though.

He was a key piece of Florida’s four-run third inning, homering with [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] on base and putting Florida up 5-0. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also homered in that inning after driving in a run in the first. Riopelle tripled in Rivera during his next at-bat in the fifth, and he showed off his wheels by scoring on a passed ball.

His final plate appearance of the night came in the ninth and called for a sacrifice bunt. Riopelle got the job done without issue. Both runners ended up scoring later in the inning on an error put in play by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag], making the sacrifice more than worth it in the end.

Caglianone, Halter, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], Riopelle and Rivera all finished with two hits, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] was the only starter to end the night without a base knock. [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] replaced him in the ninth for a pinch hit.

Langford homered for the first time since coming back to the lineup and avoided a two-game hitless streak after missing almost two weeks of action. [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who started both games in left as Langford played designated hitter, also drove in a pair of runs.

[autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] got the start in this one and looked fairly strong despite a five-run third inning. Kevin O’Sullivan let Waldrep miss and miss and miss until he got out of it, which cut Florida’s six-run lead down to just one.

Waldrep has ace stuff, but he hasn’t quite shown the consistency some thought he might, especially against the SEC. He has time to figure all that out and still struck out nine on a bad day by his standards, but Waldrep hasn’t been at his best since the Miami series.

Making it through the fifth earned Waldrep a win, and then freshman left-hander Cade Fisher came in to get through the seventh. He’d make it through 1 2/3 innings, striking out two and allowing two hits. Nick Ficarrotta closed things out through the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on a home run in the ninth.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway of this doubleheader is that Florida’s bullpen seems to be headed in the right direction, but it is hard to ignore the offense.

Jac Caglianone is back. He blasted three homers over the two games today and seems a lot more comfortable with Wyatt Langford hitting in front of him again. He’ll have to learn to perform without that safety cushion in the lineup before next year, but this was a good rebound day for him.

Florida is now 21-4 overall and 4-1 in SEC play. It doesn’t get much better than that, but the Gators can’t afford to get complacent on Sunday. Caglianone did not have a great start last weekend, also pitching the back half of a doubleheader, and he needs to bounce back on the mound just as strong as he did at the plate.

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