Tag: Luke Heyman

Florida catcher cracks top 25, per D1Baseball position rankings

Florida catcher Luke Heyman is looking to follow up on a strong freshman year. D1Baseball has him ranked inside the top 25 to start 2024.

As a freshman in 2023, Florida catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] quickly established himself as the successor to BT Riopelle for the Gators.

His skills behind the plate were unmatched in his high school class, and that translated to SEC ball. Heyman’s bat also played in college as he slashed .314/.366/.555 and belted 12 home runs.

Based on those numbers, D1Baseball ranked Heyman No. 23 among college catchers heading into the 2024 season.

With more consistent playing time, Heyman should be able to beat his power numbers from last year. Twelve home runs could come during non-conference play and 20 seems well in reach. Depending on where he hits in the order, reaching 40 runs batted in could come easily, too.

Despite being a sophomore, Heyman will be draft-eligible come the summer. Second-year players who are 21 or older can enter their names into the draft pool year early.

Florida brought in senior Tanner Garrison from Coastal Carolina and sophomore Brody Donay from Virginia Tech to add some depth behind Heyman, but neither is ranked inside the top 50.

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Four Florida Gators among D1Baseball’s Top 100 College prospects

Jac Caglianone could be the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, but who are the other Gators that have draft potential?

Fall baseball is just about to begin, and the folks at D1Baseball.com are getting the ball rolling with an early ranking of the top 100 college prospects for the upcoming MLB draft. Four Gators made the cut.

First baseman and left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone sits at No. 1 and figures to be one of the most interesting players in the country to follow over the next 10 months. Caglianone put up record power numbers at Florida as a sophomore. He led the nation with 33 home runs and finished the season with a 1.122 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

On the mound, things didn’t go as well for Cags, but there’s no denying he has some of the best stuff in the country when he’s on. His fastball can touch triple digits, but he’s more likely to throw it for a strike around 96 mph. The slider is devastating against lefties, and the changeup showed a ton of promise a season ago.

If Caglianone can live up to the lofty expectations set for him, he’ll easily hang on to that No. 1 spot.

Alabama transfer Colby Shelton was the biggest offseason addition to Florida’s roster, and he should man either third base or shortstop for the Gators this season. As a freshman with the Crimson Tide, Shelton hit 25 homers and put up a 1.143 OPS (higher than Caglianone).

Despite being a sophomore, Shelton will be draft-eligible by age in July. D1Baseball has him at No. 50 on its list.

Right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely is the next Gator on the list at No. 67 overall. He transitioned to the bullpen and thrived as a closer last year, but Neely could revert back to a starter with Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep gone.

Rounding out the group is catcher Luke Heyman, who is another draft-eligible sophomore. Heyman took a while to catch fire, but he has a ton of power in his bat. He hit 12 homers in 55 games as a freshman, but that number could jump up to 20 with ease this year.

The Florida Gators usually have a few names go in the first few rounds of the draft each season, and it looks like that trend isn’t going to break anytime soon.

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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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Florida baseball humbled and swept by South Carolina

Well… at least the weekend is over and Florida can reset with UNF on Tuesday. Tough series for the Gators in Columbia against a dominant South Carolina club.

The Florida Gators have held onto the No. 3 spot in the D1Baseball.com rankings for over a month, but a sweep at the hands of No. 6 South Carolina over the weekend should change that.

UF dropped Game 3 of the weekend series, 7-5, on Saturday, following up a 13-3 mercy rule loss and a 5-2 affair on Friday night.

South Carolina jumped on [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] early. Left fielder Dylan Brewer hit a leadoff double and shortstop Braylen Wimmer homered to left. Caglianone struggled with command a bit, but this was more of a case of the Gamecocks hitting the ball well all weekend.

Kevin O’Sullivan got some options warming up in the bullpen, but he didn’t have to go there until the fourth. A leadoff walk ended Caglianone’s day on the mound, and he shifted to designated hitter as [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] came in to pitch.

Fisher gave up a double to Ethan Petry that scored two, making it 5-1 in favor of South Carolina. Jonathan French drove in one more in the bottom of the fifth, right after [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] hit his second home run of the day for the Gators. Fisher struck out six over three innings, and then Sully turned to [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] for the final two frames.

Slater gave up multiple hits in each inning, but South Carolina only managed to add one insurance run between both threats. Florida’s offense finally came alive in the top of the eighth, but two runs weren’t enough to tie up the game. Caglianone and [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] got the RBIs.

[autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] scored as a pinch runner for [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag], who singled into center field to start the ninth, but [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] struck out with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] on deck to end the game.

Florida really struggled to hit South Carolina’s pitching staff this weekend, and starter Matthew Becker kept everyone but Kurland at bay for five innings. James Hicks was strong for his first two innings of relief, and Chris Veach got the save despite a shaky ninth.

There’s no way to sugarcoat a loss like this. Gators Wire predicted a 3-0 sweep from Florida and received the exact opposite result. It’s a reality check for what is still one of the top teams in the nation, but now it’s LSU and South Carolina at the top of the SEC.

Florida could get a chance at redemption in the SEC or NCAA Tournament, but the stakes will be even higher then. Until then, it’s time to shake off a bad weekend and reset with a Tuesday game against North Florida. Following that, Missouri and Texas A&M sandwich a neutral site game against FSU on the schedule, so Florida has a good chance to recover before hosting No. 4 Vanderbilt.

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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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Gators mercy ruled in series finale against No. 11 Tennessee

Florida still won the series, but the Gators are leaving Knoxville with a bitter taste in their mouth after falling, 14-2, in eight innings against Tennessee on Saturday.

Florida hasn’t swept the Tennessee Volunteers since 2011, and the Gators will have to wait at least another year before breaking that streak after dropping the 2023 series finale, 14-2, on Saturday in eight innings.

Unlike the first two games of the series, Florida struggled to get UT’s starter, Drew Beam. He lasted seven innings for the Volunteers, giving up just two runs on a seventh-inning home run from Florida catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag].

Beam nearly had a shortened complete game as Tennessee threatened a mercy-rule win with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, but the Gators held on to play eight. The duo of Kirby Connell and Aaron Combs got the Vols through the eighth.

Things started off badly on the mound for Florida. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] didn’t make it out of the first inning, allowing three runs to score on six walks and no hits. Caglianone has struggled over recent weeks with his fastball command, but he’s at least made it to the fourth inning in his last two starts.

After this one, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Cags get a weekend off, but Georgia might be the perfect get-right opponent for him. It will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Sullivan approaches the situation. Yes, location is a problem, but Caglianone is in his head and that problem doesn’t typically disappear on its own.

[autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] pitched the next three innings for Florida, giving up five runs overall but only two earned. An error from [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the third inning led to all three unearned runs and served as a turning point in the game.

Griffin Merritt smashed a two-run shot off Nesbitt in the fourth, bringing the lead to eight, and Florida turned to [autotag]Nick Ficarotta[/autotag] to get through the fourth and fifth. Fic had the only scoreless [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] came in to pitch the sixth and walked both batters he faced. Sully quickly replaced him with [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag], who allowed three runs to score. It hasn’t been a good year for Jameson.

Blake Purnell walked three but got through the seventh without giving up a run. Unfortunately, he gave up a go-homer (a walk-off home run that delivers a mercy-rule victory, as defined by D1Baseball.com’s Stephen Schoch), and the Gators walked off the field looking like a completely different team than they were over the first two games of the series.

There’s no doubt that rain played a role in this game, but that score can’t be blamed on Mother Nature entirely. A bad pitching day killed any momentum Florida had early and the Gators seemed fine with losing.

It’s a disappointing finish to an otherwise great series win for UF, and the mercy rule might keep the Gators from taking over the No. 1 spot in the country.

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Florida claims Game 1 against No. 11 Tennessee

Brandon Sproat bounced back from an ugly start against Auburn with a strong outing against No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday.

A pair of back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning sealed the deal for Florida, as the Gators went into Knoxville and took game one of a three-game set with the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday night, 6-1.

[autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] delivered a three-run blast to extend a one-run lead, and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] followed that up with a solo shot to left field. Both of those homers came off right-hander Seth Halvorsen. Neither club scored over the remaining four innings of the game thanks to strong outings by both bullpens (excluding Halvorsen).

Florida’s two other runs came off a [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] RBI single in the second and a [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] home run in the fourth. Kurland finished 2 for 4 after starting off conference play with a sub .250 average. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also had a two-hit day, but he didn’t drive in any runs.

Kevin O’Sullivan went with a different lineup than usual for this game. He had [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], Caglianone, Rivera and Riopelle filling out the first four spots in the order, and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the five and six holes.

Langford excelled in the leadoff spot last year, and he was able to draw a pair of walks on Thursday despite ending the night 0 for 3. Sully might be on to something with this new lineup theory. Chase Dollander cruised through the first inning of the game, but Florida was getting to him by the fourth with its best hitters seeing him for a second time earlier than usual.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] got his typical Friday start and was much sharper than he was a week ago against Auburn. He struck out nine Vols through 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on four hits and four walks. The free bases aren’t ideal, but it’s hard to knock a guy who earned the win and was one out away from a quality start.

Tennessee’s lineup was incredibly strikeout prone all night, finishing the evening with 18 K’s. The Volunteers’ three and four hitters, Christian Moore and Jared Dickey, finished the night with a combined seven strikeouts.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] continued his spectacular sophomore campaign with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, where he struck out six batters and allowed just three baserunners (two hits, one hit batter). Abner has become Florida’s best reliever and is virtually a lock to pitch a clean inning or two whenever he comes out.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed out the ninth for Florida. He ran into a little trouble, walking two and allowing a base hit, but he ended up striking out the side.

Tennessee’s lone run of the night came on a Blake Burke homer in the second, which briefly tied the game.

Game 2 is set to begin at 7 p.m. EDT on Friday night.

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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.

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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