Tag: Michael Robertson

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?

[mm-video type=video id=01g95xyvaaf7sc2r8wz2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g95xyvaaf7sc2r8wz2/01g95xyvaaf7sc2r8wz2-ef51b5048ea298e9e80d8f945de30f85.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=87946,86951,86490,86473]

[listicle id=85310]

[listicle id=85639]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

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.

Oklahoma’s Tuesday night game with Texas Southern postponed, will play doubleheader Wednesday

Oklahoma baseball’s Tuesday night game with Texas Southern was postponed due to weather, they will now play a Wednesday doubleheader.

Oklahoma baseball was all set and ready to begin a two-game midweek series against Texas Southern on Tuesday night, but mother nature had other ideas.

Less than ten minutes before the Sooners and Tigers were set to get things underway, it was announced the game would be postponed to Wednesday due to impending weather in the area. That came just a short while after the second game of the series was moved up from a 4:00 p.m. CT start to a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch.

The two squads will face one another in a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT, with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after the first one concludes. Also of note, the two games will both be just seven innings as opposed to the full nine.

So Oklahoma and Texas Southern will now take an unexpected night off before matching up for 14 innings (at least) tomorrow at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

When, where, how to watch Oklahoma baseball’s midweek series against Texas Southern

Everything you need to know before Oklahoma baseball’s two-game midweek series against Texas Southern starts Tuesday night.

Oklahoma (16-15, 3-6) is continuing their homestand this week with a two-game, midweek series against a familiar foe in recent years in Texas Southern (9-20, 8-7) out of the SWAC. Continue reading “When, where, how to watch Oklahoma baseball’s midweek series against Texas Southern”