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Florida Gators announce opening weekend pitching rotation

Untitled designby: Nick de la Torre02/13/24delatorre
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Photo courtesy of UAA Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2024 Florida Gators baseball season is just a few days away. Despite winning more games than any other team in program history, the Gators fell one game short of winning their second National Championship.

This Friday, the official march to winning a second national title begins when the Gators host St. John’s starting Friday, Feb. 16. But who will toe the rubber this weekend for the Gators?

Florida is looking to replace weekend starters Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep, the latter is already in the Atlanta Braves big league spring training camp. Replacing your Friday and Saturday starters isn’t easy but Kevin O’Sullivan is confident with the trio of arms he’ll throw out this weekend in sophomore Cade Fisher, freshman Liam Peterson, and junior superstar Jac Caglianone.

More on the Florida Gators new weekend rotation

Cade Fisher came on late in the year and showed his competitive edge. The left-hander was 6-0 but made just two starts over 27 appearances. He was named a Freshman All-American by Perfect Game in addition to earning a mention on the Freshman All-SEC Team. Fisher struck out 48 batters against just 13 walks in 49.1 innings. Fisher was used in leverage situations and, even as a freshman, the stage wasn’t too big for him. You’ll often hear Kevin O’Sullivan talk about “having the right heartbeat”, meaning staying calm in big situations, and Fisher has shown that.

Coming in behind Fisher will be true freshman Liam Peterson, one of the top right-handed arms in the state of Florida and the entire country.

[RELATED: An exclusive interview with Florida freshman Liam Peterson]

He had an impressive senior season a posting 1.78 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 39.1 innings. Peterson has had an uptick in velocity and topped at 98 this fall. He’s put himself in a position to be a weekend starter, and I’m projecting him to continue on that trajectory. He’ll be a name you know soon if you don’t already.

Peterson’s fastball has seen a slight uptick in velocity, sitting in the mid to upper 90s. He has a four-pitch mix with a slider, 12-6 curveball, and a changeup. Peterson struggled somewhat with his command and walking batters during his senior year of high school but has tightened that up since arriving in Gainesville.

Jac Caglianone will resume his Sunday role for the Gators. The thought at the end of last season was that Caglianone would be the Friday guy, however, there is a solid thought process in leaving him on Sundays. The physical toll of starting a college baseball game is great. There’s a reason college starters only throw once a week, it’s intensely taxing on the body and Caglianone isn’t just an arm for the Gators, he’s one of if not the most important bat on the team as well. Leaving Caglianone on Sunday allows him to play first base on Friday and serve as the designated hitter on Saturday, keeping him off his feet prior to his Sunday start. It lets him focus on his offense, which Florida will rely on, before sending him to the mound to close out a series.

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