Putting the Florida Gators' midweek games in perspective

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators fished a dramatic weekend with a walk-off win Sunday to beat the No. 21 Mississippi State 4-3. The win pushed Florida’s 2024 record to 16-11 and 6-3 in the SEC. Florida has won each of its first three league series but is just 10-8 outside of conference play, including a 3-5 mark in midweek games.

What gives? The Southeastern Conference has won four straight National Championships and five of the last six since Florida’s title in 2017 (there was no College World Series in 2020). It’s the most competitive league in college baseball and the Gators have not only won each of its first three SEC weekend series but have won 16 of their last 18 SEC series dating back to 2022.

The answer is the approach. The Gators had a huge freshmen class on the mound, signing 11 arms. The freshmen pitchers are talented but they’re still freshmen. Florida uses their midweek games to play instate opponents. They might not be name-brand schools, but the 11.7 scholarship limit for college baseball, coupled with Florida Bright Futures scholarships and the Florida Prepaid Program make it advantageous for a talent-rich state like Florida to keep players who might not get scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Miami and Florida State to stay close to home and play at smaller schools, who wind up playing Florida on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The ultimate goal is to win the SEC and to compete for a National Championship. In order to do that you need to win on the weekend. Midweek games are an opportunity for freshmen to gain experience and earn bigger roles and opportunities on the weekend in SEC play. That has always been the way Kevin O’Sullivan and the Gators have treated midweek games and it’s a proven strategy.

Florida leads the SEC in freshmen pitcher usage thrown overall (10) as well as in conference play (6). The next closest overall is Tennessee (8) and six teams are tied for second most freshmen used in conference play with just three. Not to mention, Florida also has the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country. It’s been a difficult road and the freshmen arms have had to grow up quickly.

Florida Gators missing key freshmen arms

The Gators’ freshmen pitching class is talented but it took some major hits before the season began. Right-hander Christian Rodriguez is missing the season due to injury. Two-way player Caden McDonald was up to 95 MPH on the mound the night he injured his arm, putting him on the shelf for the season. Left-hander Jacob Gromberg also suffered a season-ending injury. Gromberg would have given the Gators another left-handed option out of the bullpen, while Rodriguez would have been a major contributor. As a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, he posted a 0.69 ERA with 117 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 70.2 innings, going 12-0 across 13 starts. He was named the 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball and Gatorade National Player of the Year.

McDonald dominated at Sickels High School in Tampa. In 64 career games he slashed .488/.607/.975 for a 1.583 OPS while adding 20 home runs, 19 doubles, 77 RBI and 55 runs. On the mound, McDonald delivered 143.1 innings over his career with a 1.37 ERA, 20-3 record, and 183 strikeouts in 143.1 innings – good for 11.5 strikeouts per nine. Another freshman arm that would be getting meaningful innings for the Gators and will next season when he’s healthy.

The Gators did go after some veteran arms in the transfer portal, they signed Kelly Austin out of UCLA but he signed with the Houston Astros as a non-drafted free agent. Recruiting has never been an issue for O’Sullivan or the Gators but the NIL era hasn’t just changed college football and basketball, it’s made its way to the diamond. In order to recruit in the transfer portal, you need to have a strong NIL infrastructure in place.

Freshmen rounding into form

Florida’s freshmen arms are talented. Starting second baseman Cade Kurland noted that freshman pitcher Luke McNeillie “carved up” Florida’s offense all fall. McNeillie’s career started off rocky. He allowed 16 earned runs across his first 8.1 innings pitched. However, in his last 10 innings, he’s allowed just five hits, no earned runs, and has struck out 14.

Florida will continue to go back to its freshmen. Liam Peterson is experiencing growing pains of his own on the weekend but has been up to 98 on the season and has a four-pitch arsenal with a ton of potential. Grayson Smith, Alex Philpott, Grayson Smith, and Robert Satin are all earning meaningful innings and the experience they’re getting on Tuesday.

Ultimately, the 2024 Florida Gators are constructed to win a three-game series. They have shown that with strong pitching performances from Jac Caglianone on Sundays and a lineup that can score runs in bunches. Florida will be back on the field this Tuesday against FAMU. With Ryan Slater not getting on the mound this weekend, he’ll likely get some work against the Rattlers but the Gators will turn to their freshmen once again before heading to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers.