Two of the top arms in Florida’s 2023 recruiting class took the mound against one another Tuesday night, and Gators Wire caught up with them to talk about the future.
The future of Florida’s pitching staff is incredibly bright.
The Gators routinely welcome recruiting classes that rank among the top in the country, and the class of 2023 will be no exception. Near the top of Florida’s next crop of freshmen are two of South Florida’s finest arms, right-hander [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] and left-hander [autotag]Frank Menendez[/autotag].
Rodriguez pitches and plays outfield for the reigning back-to-back FHSAA Class 7A state champion Marjory Stoneman Douglas Eagles, and Menendez is the ace for the reigning Class 6A state champion Doral Academy Firebirds. The two programs clashed on Tuesday night, and both Florida commits were on the mound.
With nearly 40 college and pro scouts in attendance, Menendez and Rodriguez came out throwing heat. Rodriguez topped out at 97 mph and held 95 mph through the sixth inning, while Menenedez peaked at 95 mph and flashed his slider and changeup early.
Rodriguez ended up owning the night on his home field with 13 strikeouts through 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. He took a no-hitter into the sixth and generated 22 swings and misses throughout the night in a dominant performance against a good-hitting team.
A four-walk second inning cost Menendez the game, but he bounced back strong and finished out 4 2/3 innings. Menendez and Doral ended up taking a 3-0 loss to Rodriguez, but it was nothing but love between the two after the game. The two are incredibly close and could plan on being roommates next year if they both make it to Gainesville.
“If we end up at UF, I’m pretty sure we’re going to be roommates, me, him and (Jacob) Gomberg,” Menendez said. “So, we’re pretty close. I played with their summer team, Fitz’s summer team.”
Douglas head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald is part of the reason these South Florida arms are connected to Florida’s baseball program.
“(Florida assistant coach) Chuck Jerolomon played for me in the summers, and then Kevin (O’Sullivan) I’ve known for a long time. I had guys that played for him at Clemson,” Fitz-Gerald said. “We’ve got two guys up there now, [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag], and we’ve got three or four more going there.”
Along with Rodriguez, left-hander Jacob Gomberg, junior right-hander [autotag]Jayden Dubanewicz[/autotag] and freshman outfielder [autotag]Lorenzo Laurel[/autotag] are committed to UF. Rodriguez called Douglas the “headquarters” for Gators recruiting in a way.
“They like our guys,” Fitz-Gerald said. “They know that when they go in there, they are going to compete and aren’t going to slow anyone down. They’ll just have to bide their time, and when they get it, they’ll go off to great careers because they do a great job developing guys over there, especially on the pitching side.”
Rodriguez praised his head coach for linking him up with the Gators and said that he ended up picking UF because it was the best fit for him.
“The coaching staff, the track record, the facilities, everything you want, it’s the whole package (at Florida),” Rodriguez said. “Education, the area, there’s really nothing I don’t like over there. I love it… It’s really the full package like I said, and it’s just really hard not to choose Florida.”
Menendez was initially committed to Miami, but he changed things up and switched to the Orange and Blue in November of 2021. Rodriguez had already committed a month before, so he was a natural influence on his friend to flip. In the end, Menendez said he made the decision he thought would be best for his career.
Both arms might have to make another career decision over the summer once the 2023 MLB draft is underway. Florida got lucky in the most recent draft, but high school arms that hit 95+ mph are a rare commodity. If the Gators can get both guys to campus over the summer, the team will be adding another pair of dangerous arms to the staff.
Perfect Game ranks Rodriguez fifth among right-handers in Florida and No. 16 overall in the state. Nationally, he’s inside the top 100 at No. 96 overall and No. 23 among righties. Menendez is No. 186 overall on Perfect Games’ national rankings and No. 27 among left-handers in the class of 2023. He’s No. 26 overall in the state of Florida and No. 5 among lefties.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1740]
[mm-video type=video id=01gt5e60bzfe4mmajmnt playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gt5e60bzfe4mmajmnt/01gt5e60bzfe4mmajmnt-3fac49fdb00265554e0c495596851459.jpg]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
