Tag: Jud Fabian

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Outfielders

Wyatt Langford is not just the guy to watch on the Gators this season, he’s one of the best college baseball has to offer. But what about the rest of Florida’s outfield?

Florida’s outfield returns two starters after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] to the MLB draft, but one of them is [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], who should be a top-five pick in this year’s draft.

Langford rose to stardom a year ago after hitting 36 home runs and tying the school’s season record. He hit leadoff and in the middle of Florida’s lineup throughout the season, finishing the season as one of the best in college baseball. This year, he’ll be the guy the rest of the SEC is planning for, so there won’t be any doubt about him when the draft rolls around.

Alongside Langford are presumed starters [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in center field and right field, respectively. Robertson sat out all of last year with an injury, but he should bring elite speed to the team in 2023. Evans took over in right field at the end of last year once Thompson moved to second base, so he should start the season off there again.

MLB Pipeline projects Florida OF as No. 1 pick of 2023 MLB draft

After a breakout year in 2022, all eyes are on Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford as one of the top draft prospects in college baseball.

The 2023 college baseball season hasn’t even started and Florida outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] is already earning No. 1 overall predictions from MLB.com draft expert Jonathan Mayo.

Langford landed at No. 3 on MLB.com’s prospect rankings, but Mayo thinks that he’s the guy to go with ahead of LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander. With an entire season to play, scouts will get to compare Crews and Langford against the same level of competition. Mayo believes that Langford’s defense will play a role in making him the top pick.

“I think Langford is going to show people he can play center field — he hasn’t played it before — he runs a bit better than Crews, I think he’s a little more athletic …” said Mayo. “I don’t think there’s that much separating the two and I think there will be some spirited conversations, but I’m going to listen to the two different scouts that I spoke to when we were putting together our list and take Langford.”

The move to center field has gone fine, according to fall reports, so Langford could prove that he’s a legitimate five-tool player this year. Everyone knows he can hit for power after a 26-home-run season in 2022, and he’s patient enough to hit for a good average (.355) and on-base percentage (.447).

The big change this year for Langford is that he’ll be the guy every pitcher is planning for. There’s no more [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] or [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] to clutter the scouting report, although [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] is back for another year and warrants consideration. Still, Langford is the focal point of the lineup and will have every chance to prove himself in 2023.

He doesn’t need to break the school’s single-season home run record to get to the No. 1 spot, but Langford can’t falter in what needs to be a bounce-back year for the Gators. He needs to lead the charge behind a weekend rotation that features two of the top arms in the draft, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag].

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3 Gators among top 20 college prospects for 2023 MLB draft

Florida baseball is the only program in the country with three top-20 college prospects for the 2023 MLB draft, per MLB.com.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis released his top 20 college prospects for the 2023 MLB draft last week, and the Florida Gators are the only program to have three players named on the list.

There’s an elite group of talent returning to Florida and it’s led by the top bat of 2022, left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], who are expected to be at the top of Florida’s weekend rotation all season, join him on the list.

LSU and Wake Forest are the only other schools to have multiple players featured, but Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt all have a top-20 player and one of Callis’ players to watch.

Last year, Callis had [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag]and [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] in his preseason top 20. Both ended up being taken in the first three-rounds, and Barco was having a first-round worthy season before Tommy John surgery took him down. Callis had Barco at No. 11 on that list and Fabian at No. 16. Langford is No. 4 this year, so that gives you an idea of how good he’s expected to be.

Gator sits atop ESPN’s way-too-early 2023 MLB draft rankings

Wyatt Langford’s monster year for Florida in 2022 has him on top of ESPN’s way-too-early rankings of 2023 MLB draft prospects.

After leading the Gators in nearly every major offensive statistic in 2022, outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] is the first player on ESPN’s list of players to watch for next year’s draft.

While the players were grouped by future value grade, meaning any of them could wind up better than the other, MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel put Langford at No. 1 on the list for a reason. Langford quietly took over the starting left field spot for UF after serving as a backup catcher his freshman year. He blossomed into a plus defender, one that McDaniel thinks might be a center fielder when all is said and done.

With [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] now with the Baltimore Orioles and Mercer transfer commit [autotag]Colby Thomas[/autotag] with the Oakland Athletics, Florida needs a center fielder in 2023. I had penciled in [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] to at least get an audition at that spot after missing his freshman year with injury, but Langford certainly deserves one, too.

Langford has come out of nowhere, getting to campus as a low-profile backup catcher and then becoming Florida’s regular left fielder as a sophomore. He’s surprisingly good defensively in a corner and, also surprisingly, will give you a plus run time here and there, so he might be a center fielder.

He’s tops for me because 1) he has a quiet, repeatable, low-maintenance swing that kind of reminds me of Pete Alonso mechanically (though Langford has only 55-to-60-grade raw power, good for 25-ish homers annually in the big leagues) and 2) Langford as a sophomore just had basically the same season that Jonathan India did as a junior, a campaign that propelled India from his prior third-round projection to the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 draft.

If Langford can hold his own in center field as he did in left, and he takes a more patient approach at the plate, the Gators could have a potential No. 1 pick on their hands. Of course, it will be hard for Langford to repeat the year he had in 2022. He slashed .355/.447/.719 with 26 home runs and 63 RBIs.

If he comes close to providing the same production while being the sole focus of most opposing pitching staffs, then the only thing he stands to improve on is a 36 to 44 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Proving he can go deep into the count would solidify him in many scouts’ eyes as a first-round talent.

It’s still way-too-early, as ESPN suggests, but the Gators have a star on their hands in 2023. Perhaps Florida’s first No. 1 overall pick?

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2022 MLB Draft: Tracking every UF player/signee selected

Follow along for complete and total coverage of the 2022 MLB draft as it pertains to Florida Gators.

The 2022 MLB draft kicked off Sunday night and 80 of the finest prep and college players in the country heard their names called.

Day 2 kicked off on Monday, July 18, at 2 p.m. with coverage of Rounds 3-10, and then Day 3 begins Tuesday at the same time for the final 10 rounds. Gators Wire will be tracking every Florida player drafted, including those who have only signed a letter of intent and have yet to play a game at Condron Family Ballpark.

Four Gators heard their names called on Sunday: incoming first baseman [autotag]Xavier Isaac[/autotag], outfielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag], left-handed pitcher [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and outfielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag]. All are expected to sign deals with the clubs that drafted them, but that might not be the case for those selected on Day 2 or 3.

Entering Day 2, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has produced 97 draft picks under his tutelage in Gainesville. He should hit 100 by the end of the draft.

Check back here throughout the draft to stay up to date with all of the moves that concern the orange and blue.

Brandon Sproat drafted in 3rd round by New York Mets

That’s four Gators in the first three rounds! Brandon Sproat has been drafted by the New York Mets.

The first Florida Gator to come off the board on Day 2 of the 2022 MLB Draft was right-handed pitcher [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] at No. 90 overall in the third round to the New York Mets.

Sproat took over for [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] as Florida’s No. 1 after the latter went down with Tommy John surgery, and he stepped up big toward the end of the season. He gave up just one run in 8 1/3 innings against South Carolina during the SEC Tournament and lasted seven innings of one-run ball against Central Michigan in the super regionals.

He led the team with 89 2/3 innings pitched on the year and finished with a 3.41 ERA. Barco and Blake Purnell finished with a lower ERA but only threw 50 1/3 innings a piece.

Sproat’s fastball should play at the major league level. It sits in the upper 90s and has touched 99-100 mph. The problem is that he hasn’t quite found the consistency that MLB clubs are looking for. Of course, that’s something to work on in the minors, but Sproat features first-round stuff at times.

That begs the question of whether or not he’ll return. After Florida’s season came to an end Sproat posted on social media that he “didn’t know what the future held” for him. Many took that to mean a possible return if he didn’t get picked high enough, but the third round should be good enough money for him to figure out a deal. As a rising redshirt junior, Sproat has enough eligibility left to use as leverage in negotiations, though. It’s similar to what we saw from [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] last year.

Sproat was drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers 205th overall. The jump up to No. 90 moves the slot money from $233,400 to $691,000, which is a significant jump. It should be enough for Sproat to go pro.

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OF Jud Fabian selected 67th overall in 2022 MLB draft

After returning to Florida for another year, Jud Fabian has been drafted in the second round by the Baltimore Orioles.

The third Florida Gator to hear their name called in the 2022 MLB draft was none other than center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag].

The Baltimore Orioles snapped up the slugger with the 67th overall pick, which was the first pick of the competitive balance B round. It’s a 27-spot drop from last year’s selection at 40th overall by the Boston Red Sox. Fabian returned to Florida after failing to agree on a deal with Boston in hopes of improving his stock. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but Fabian did improve slightly in the areas scouts hoped he would.

The scouting report on Fabian has always been that he’s an above-average fielder with some plus power in his bat. His contact tool was a bit of a question mark following 2021 after striking out 79 times and walking just 40 as a redshirt sophomore. In nine more at-bats as a junior, Fabian lowered his strikeout total by 10 and upped the walks to 62. However, he batted just .239 overall — the second worst number of his Gators career — and .185 against the conference.

The SEC is well-regarded as the top conference in college baseball, and there should be concerns about Fabian’s struggles late in the year.

Still, he leaves Gainesville as one of the best outfielders to ever wear the orange and blue.

Year AVG GP GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO
2019 .232 56 54 168 32 39 9 0 7 26 28 45
2020 .294 17 17 68 19 20 6 0 5 13 13 18
2021 .249 59 59 225 51 56 10 0 20 46 40 79
2022 .239 66 66 234 63 56 10 1 24 55 62 69

Fabian set the single-season program record for home runs in a season by an outfielder, passing Brad Wilkerson’s 23 by just one homer, and he is third all-time in long balls with 56 behind Matt LaPorta (74) and Preston Tucker (57).

His 143 career walks are also good for fifth all-time, and his 24 sacrifice bunts are good for a share of the No. 6 spot on the all-time list since 1985. On the other side of that coin, his 211 strikeouts put him at second-most all-time in a Florida uniform.

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Here’s where Florida’s final 2022 season ranking per D1Baseball

The Gators made the top 25 so I guess that’s good? Disappointing year for the Orange and Blue out on the diamond.

The 2022 season was not quite what the Gator Nation expected out of Florida baseball when star center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] shunned the Boston Red Sox to return to Gainesville while Hunter Barco emerged as the ace of the starting pitching staff. An underwhelming campaign by the former along with a season-ending injury to the latter — among many other disappointments — put a damper on [autotag]Kevin Sullivan[/autotag]’s lofty plans coming into spring.

Florida ended up putting together a 42-24 record overall while going just 15-15 in Southeastern Conference play as the team simply could not find any consistency. UF did show some life in the SEC tournament, fighting its way to the final game against the top-ranked (at the time) Tennessee Volunteers, who ended the Orange and Blue’s Cinderella run with a hard-fought 8-5 victory.

The Gators failed to get out of its regional round for the third-straight season — the second-straight in which they hosted — beating the Central Michigan Chippewas twice while going just 1-2 against the Oklahoma Sooners, who took the regional final after a rain delay put a wet blanket on Florida’s near-victory. Now that the Ole Miss Rebels have been crowned College Baseball World Series winners, it is time for the season’s final rankings to roll in.

According to D1Baseball, Florida finishes ranked No. 21 in the nation, giving the SEC seven total teams in the top 25. Obviously, The Rebels finished first, while the Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked third and fourth, respectively, with the Auburn Tigers coming up at No. 7, Tennessee at No. 9 and LSU Tigers rounding things out at No. 25.

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Tracking Florida baseball’s 2022 transfer portal movement

It could be a busy offseason for Florida baseball in the transfer portal. Here are the latest moves being made.

It could be a busy offseason for the Florida Gators in the transfer portal, including additions and subtractions from the 2022 team. A few players have made their intentions to depart known early and the Gators are expected to at least compete for some of the top talent in the portal (yes, Tommy White is still an option but FSU is the favorite).

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] tested the waters a year ago by bringing in catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and that worked out beautifully. Riopelle was an All-SEC First Team selection and is now expected to return, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. It’s worth pursuing some more talent after a success like that, and Florida will have holes after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] among others to the draft and graduation.

Florida did have 16 new faces join the team last year with all but one being freshmen, so some were bound to transfer out. Gators Wire will keep track of those roster movements as they come in and keep an eye on where they land.

It will be interesting to see just how much Florida utilizes the portal this offseason. The new rules changed the game immediately for football and basketball, but it seems that baseball is just now catching up.

What’s next for Florida baseball: A post-mortem of the 2022 season

Buckle in, Gators Wire’s 2022 Baseball Season Recap is finally here. We dive into all 35 players one by one and go over where they stand after the season.

The Florida Gators’ 2022 baseball season ended Monday with a 5-4 loss in the regional finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament against Oklahoma. The year was filled with ups and downs, but being six outs away from a Super Regional berth isn’t too shabby for a team with 16 new players on the roster.

Pitching was a bit of a disappointment early on, but a few freshmen started to stand out from the bunch. That depth allowed the Gators to make a deeper run than most expected in the playoffs and finish the year 42-24.

Conference play was a bit of a struggle. UF finished the regular season .500 against the SEC, including series losses to Georgia (sweep), LSU, Tennessee (sweep) and Vanderbilt. A 9-3 finish against the weaker members of the conference (Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina) allowed Florida to finish with a respectable record, but things didn’t really turn around until Texas A&M beat them via the mercy rule.

After that 10-0 loss, Florida played like the team it needed to be all year. It even got legendary performances from the likes of Carsten Finnvold, a freshman who hadn’t seen game action since April when he got the start against Tennessee in theSEC Tournament.

Then there’s the offense. At times, the veteran group didn’t back up the young pitching staff as it was expected to. Jud Fabian was a disappointment down the stretch, hitting just .185 against the conference and going 1-for-30. To his credit, Fabian struck out 10 times less than he did a year ago in about 40 more plate appearances. Walks were also up considerably, so his eye definitely improved despite the low average.

On the other side of things, Wyatt Langford made a complete transformation over the offseason and became one of the best leadoff guys in baseball. He led the team in most major offensive categories and tied Matt LaPorta’s 2005 school record of 26 homers in a season.

There’s a lot to celebrate about with this team, and a lot to address moving forward. Many of them have played their final games in the Orange in Blue, and others are just starting to tell their story.

What will the team look like next year? There’s only one way to properly answer that question and it’s long-winded. Feel free to jump to the sections that interest you the most as we break down the team position by position.