Tag: Perfect game

Which Florida baseball players are among the best in their class?

Perfect Game released four lists, ranking the best players in college baseball by class, and several Gators made the cut.

Perfect Game, the world’s largest and most comprehensive scouting organization, recently released a series ranking the best college baseball players in each class.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, several Florida Gators made it onto those various lists, but that’s merely a testament to the quality of program Kevin O’Sullivan has built in Gainesville. Florida baseball should be prosperous for years to come if these rankings are anywhere near accurate.

Let’s take a look at each Gator that made a list.

Three LSU Freshmen make Perfect Game’s Top-75 Freshmen list

There are three LSU Tigers on that list and one of them is No. 1.

[autotag]Perfect Game[/autotag] recently released a list of who they view as the top-75 college baseball freshmen as we head into the 2024 season. There are three LSU Tigers on that list and one of them is No. 1.

[autotag]Cam Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag], and [autotag]Steven Milam[/autotag] are the three Tigers that made the list and all of them have a chance to play a big role for LSU this spring.

Johnson was the prize of the 2023 recruiting class. He is a left-handed pitcher who was rated as the No. 42 overall prospect in the 2023 MLB draft. Instead of starting his MLB journey with the St. Louis Cardinals, he chose to go to Baton Rouge. He was ranked as the No. 1 incoming freshman by Perfect Game.

Brown was the No. 1 high school baseball player in the state of Louisiana and he brings multiple skills to the table. In high school, he played in the outfield and was a pitcher. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the MLB Draft but chose to go to LSU instead.

Milam was the No. 1 overall player from the state of New Mexico. He won the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Mexico after batting .627 with 52 hits, 50 RBI and 65 runs. All three of these guys are names you should learn as we get ready for the 2024 season.

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Florida baseball No. 4 in Perfect Game Preseason Rankings

The national experts are expecting another big year from Florida’s baseball team. Perfect Game has the Gators in its preseason top five.

After finishing as the runner-up in the 2023 College World Series, the Florida Gators opened the 2024 season as the No. 4 team in the country.

Perfect Game, “the world’s largest most comprehensive scouting organization,” ranked Florida behind Wake Forest, Arkansas and LSU on the preseason list.

The Tigers beat the Gators in the CWS finals, and the Demon Deacons also made it to Omaha in 2023. The Razorbacks have reloaded after coming up short in the Fayetteville Regional last year. Florida will face both SEC teams ranked above it on the road this season — Mar. 22-24 at LSU and April 26-28 at Arkansas.

Florida returns a good amount of talent from its dominant 2023 club, but some of the biggest pieces on both sides of the ball have moved on. If the transfers and freshmen can step into those roles somewhat seamlessly, Florida has a chance to finish the year ranked in one of the three spots ahead of its preseason placement.

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Where does LSU rank in Perfect Game’s preseason top 25?

Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers are getting ready to defend their national title.

College baseball season is right around the corner, and [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers are getting ready to defend their national title.

Perfect Game has released their preseason top 25 before the season gets here. Where do the reigning national champs land on the poll?

LSU will start off the 2024 season as the No. 3 team in the country according to Perfect Game. The Tigers find themselves behind two teams that they beat in 2023. Wake Forest, whom LSU beat in the College World Series, and Arkansas, whom LSU won a series against during the season, are No. 1 and No. 2 on Perfect Game’s poll.

On Friday, Perfect Game named [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] as Preseason All-Americans. Those two players will be pivotal to LSU’s success this year. [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] returns to the team as well as some new faces straight out of high school in what could be another great season at Alex Box Stadium.

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Perfect Game names 3 Gators as Preseason All-Americans

Baseball season is just around the corner and Florida once again features some of the nation’s best — three Preseason All-Americans, in fact.

Baseball season is just six weeks away, and the Florida Gators are gearing up for another College World Series push after finishing as the runner-up in 2023.

Florida lost an incredible amount of talent to the draft, including two starting pitchers and No. 4 overall pick Wyatt Langford, but Kevin O’Sullivan knows how to reload for each season. The Gators start the season with three All-Americans on the roster, according to Perfect Game.

Making the first team, as a two-way player, is Jac Caglianone. He set the school record and national BBCOR-era record with 33 home runs a season ago and served as Florida’s Sunday starter for most of the season. Fall reports have Caglianone nearing triple digits off the mound, but accuracy is always the question. If he can locate his fastball at that velocity, he’ll become one of the most interesting draft prospects of all time.

On the second team is a new Gator, transfer infielder Colby Shelton. He slashes .300/.419/.729 for Alabama as a freshman in 2023 and could easily work his way up to the first team. Shelton’s bat is as sure as it gets, but the glove is the question mark in his game, especially moving from third to short.

Finally, Brandon Neely — who served as Florida’s closer last year — is on the third team. He’s listed as a relief pitcher, but there has been some talk of Neely returning to the starting rotation. Neely was a starting pitcher for Florida as a freshman, but he moved into that closer role and thrived.

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Smith named preseason All-American by Perfect Game

Hagen Smith garnered first-team All-American recognition by Perfect Game on Friday in advance of the 2024 season.

Arkansas southpaw Hagen Smith is going to rack up the preseason accolades before the February 16 season opener.

Smith, the Razorbacks’ ace, was named a first team preseason All-American by Perfect Game on Friday.

Perfect Game’s analysis was basically what most Arkansas fans already knew.

Smith jumped around in terms of role a little bit for the Hogs in 2023, as Smith figures to be Arkansas’ biggest weapon on the mound in 2024. It’s electric from the left side with an upper-90s fastball and a wipeout breaking ball. The walks got a little high last year but in terms of competitiveness and overall stuff, Smith ranks among the best in the nation.

A semifinalist for last year’s Golden Spikes Award as well as the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, Smith was one of two starting pitchers, along with LSU’s Paul Skenes, to garner first-team All-SEC praise in 2023. He became Arkansas’ first starting pitcher to earn first-team All-SEC honors since Ryne Stanek in 2013.

James Madison comes to town for a four-game set starting in mid-February. Smith will most likely get the ball in the season opener.

Two LSU Tigers make Perfect Game’s 2024 MLB mock draft

Perfect Game has released its latest mock for the 2024 MLB draft and two LSU baseball players have made the list.

Perfect Game has released its latest mock for the 2024 MLB draft and two LSU baseball players have made the list.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] are both projected to get drafted near the end of the first round of the MLB draft. Tommy Tanks transferred to LSU last season after breaking the single-season home run record for NC State as a freshman. White had a phenomenal year in Baton Rouge as he finished with a .374 batting average with 24 doubles, 24 homers and 105 RBI.

Hurd emerged as a star pitcher for the Tigers midway through the season and he hurled a gem in the College World Series against Wake Forest and Florida. He had a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA in Omaha as he gave up three runs over 12 innings pitched and struck out 13 hitters and walked six.

Both of these guys will be big contributors for the Tigers this spring as they look to defend their national title.

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Manny Ramirez’s son, Lucas Ramirez, hits walk-off home run

Lucas Ramirez, committed to Tennessee baseball, hit a walk-off home run and showed energy similar to his dad Manny.

From the left side of the plate, Lucas Ramirez’s batting stance isn’t anything like his father’s, but the excitement and energy evoke memories of the retired superstar. Ramirez blasted a walk-off home run in the 2023 World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) semifinals, sending his team to the championship game.

With that hit (and bat flip) and the ensuing tweets of excitement, the son of Manny Ramirez became known to a broader audience than before. Not that he needs it — Ramirez, in the class of 2024, is rated highly on Perfect Game and already committed to Tennessee, who has appeared in two of the last three College World Series.

Here’s another angle of the bomb:

 

We’ve entered another generation of the sons of yesterday’s stars. Whether it’s players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bobby Witt Jr., who are already in the bigs, or prospects like Druw Jones and Jack Leiter, or guys like Lucas Ramirez in high school, the future is bright with the flames of the past.

 

Perfect Game’s latest MLB mock draft has a new No. 1

We are one week away from the 2023 MLB draft, and Perfect Game’s latest mock draft has a new No. 1.

We are one week away from the [autotag]2023 MLB Draft[/autotag], and Perfect Game’s latest mock draft has effectively thrown a wrench in the way some people are thinking about the upcoming picks.

For the past few weeks, it has been widely assumed that either [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] or [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] will go No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perfect Game says otherwise.

It has [autotag]Max Clark[/autotag], an outfielder from Franklin Community High School in Indiana, as the first overall pick.

Clark was recently named Baseball America’s 2023 High School Player of the Year. Clark is currently committed to Vanderbilt, but money talks.

And I don’t mean that in a facetious way, either. When it comes to the MLB Draft, it isn’t like other sports. Each draft pick has a slot value and you only have so much money you can spend on signing your draft picks.

It all comes down to how much will it take to sign a high school guy instead of a collegiate prospect. With Clark as their projected No. 1 pick, Perfect Game has Skenes going at No. 2 overall to the Nationals and Crews going at No. 3 to the Detroit Tigers.

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MLB perfect games: The complete list of all 24 pitchers to do it, including Domingo German

Here’s every perfect game thrown in MLB history.

What you have here is one elite list, one that doesn’t necessarily include some of the greatest pitchers of all time.

But it’s rarified air: Every MLB pitcher to throw a perfect game — 27 up, 27 down, not a single hit, walk or anything allowed. And as of June 2023, it has a new name added: Domingo German threw the 24th perfect game of all time against the Oakland A’s.

I would say with confidence that we’ll add to this list as more names come in, but given the time between No. 23 and German’s accomplishment, it may be a while.

Here’s the complete list: