Three Gators named Top-20 Collegiate MLB Draft Prospects
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators will have one of the best teams in college baseball this season. The Gators are the only program in the country with three players listed as Top-20 MLB Draft prospects.
Outfielder Wyatt Langford, along with pitchers Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep were all named by MLB.com as top-20 college prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft.
Langford burst on the scene last year. The then sophomore led the Gators in every offensive statistic, while playing a near flawless left field. Not to mention he came to Florida as a catcher, so he was playing a new position as well.
Sproat ascended into the Friday role after Hunter Barco was lost for the season. He answered that call. Sproat went 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA and .218 batting average against in his last six starts of the season, including two postseason starts. His final outing was the best of his career. Sproat threw 114 pitches over eight innings. Sproat’s line against Central Michigan was: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6K, 114 pitches (80 strikes) in a 7-3 win
Since Kevin O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival in Gainesville, Florida’s 99 total draft picks and 11 first-round selections both rank second in the country. Also during that time, the Orange & Blue has seen 20 pitchers chosen in the first-five rounds – a total which is tied for third nationally. In all, 55 Gator pitchers have been drafted in 15 seasons under O’Sullivan, equating to 3.7 per year.
Gators projected as top prospects
4. Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
After collecting just four at-bats as a freshman, Langford led the SEC with a school-record 26 homers last spring while batting .355/.447/.719. He’s similar to Crews and some scouts prefer Langford because he has a better right-handed swing as well as more speed and athleticism, though he has spent most of his college career in left field.
16. Brandon Sproat, RHP, Florida
The highest unsigned player in the 2019 Draft (seventh round, Rangers), Sproat boosted his stock by allowing just seven earned runs in his final six starts last spring while pushing his fastball to 99 mph and his slider to 91. The Mets took him in the third round without discussing financial parameters, and he turned them down to try to go higher in 2023. He also can miss bats with a low-80s curveball and mid-80s changeup, and if he can maintain the improved control and command he showed down the stretch, he could fit in the first round.
19. Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida
A seldom-used reliever as a Southern Mississippi freshman, Waldrep logged a 3.20 ERA with a 140/33 K/BB ratio in 90 innings as a starter last spring, ranking third in NCAA Division I in whiff rate (14.0 per nine innings) before transferring to Florida. His fastball parks at 94-96 mph and peaks at 98 mph, though it gets hit harder than his mid-80s slider and changeup, and his delivery creates some reliever risk.
