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The Florida Gators are 24 games into their 55-game schedule for 2021. Florida is currently 16-8 (3-3 SEC) on the year and coming off of a disappointing sweep on the road at South Carolina.
Nick de la Torre and Hector Rodriguez answer three questions about the team, how the season is going, and where the Gators are headed, plus a bonus recruiting question about the Gators' No. 1 ranked recruiting class.
What were your thoughts on the Gators after their disappointing weekend versus South Carolina?
Nick: The magic number to win the SEC is typically 20. There are 10 series, so you’re aiming to win two of three every weekend. Florida sweeping Texas A&M was a great start but you’re back to square one after being swept. South Carolina is very good at Founders Park. They are 12-1 at home this year. Going into the weekend I didn’t expect Florida to sweep but I did expect them to win the series. Ultimately they were let down by their starting pitching and situational hitting. Starting pitching had been good — not Logan Shore, Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Alex Faedo level – but good. This weekend not at all. Situational hitting has been a bugaboo all year and showed up again this weekend.
Hector: Obviously it’s never good to get swept. South Carolina came to play this weekend and Florida didn’t. The Gators need to turn this around quickly with a midweek game on Tuesday versus Mercer and a three-game weekend series against Ole Miss
What things does Florida need to improve on?
Nick: Strikeouts and fielding. Florida is striking out at alarming rates. Jud Fabian leads the country with 45 strikeouts this season and Florida has not fielded the ball cleanly. Josh Rivera (more on him later) has eight errors — and some favorable home hit/error calls might have saved him a few. That’s not an SEC shortstop, and definitely not a Florida shortstop. The biggest thing though is I don’t see the intensity and fire in the dugout. Guys aren’t picking each other up. When a pitcher comes out of the game it’s like he had COVID and everyone avoids him, while other teams — and Florida in the past — would get out and great him, whether he pitched well or poorly — and meet him outside of the dugout. I don’t see a group of guys that have gelled and that are rallying around each other.
Hector: They need to cut down on strikeouts especially Jud Fabian. Pitching wasn’t great this weekend and I need to see the fire they had last season. The 2020 Gators looked like they were on a mission after a rough 2019 season. I haven’t seen much of that fire this season.
What do you think Josh Rivera has to do in order to break out this season-long slump?
Nick: Rivera was a preseason second-team All-SEC selection, so if you're just tuning in now you might be wondering why he’s in the lineup at all while hitting under .200 with eight errors. He has all the potential in the world and he’s a future professional baseball player. I can’t tell you what’s wrong with him right now but I honestly might lock him out of the facility for a week. Just get away from everything right now because it has to be mental. He’s too talented and too good of a player to be performing like this and I think he needs to relax, take a breath, and start having fun again because he’s certainly not having fun right now.
Hector: He needs some time off to try to get himself in the right headspace. He’s pressing and it’s affecting him on offense and defense. He should at least sit this midweek game off to look at what he’s doing wrong and get his head straight. Baseball is a mental game that can really eat you alive if you’re not in the right headspace.
Florida has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. How many of those guys do you actually make it to campus?
Nick: There’s a major give and take when it comes to baseball recruiting. On one hand, it’s much less hectic and stressful than football. Top guys typically commit as freshmen or sophomores and stay committed. The issue is that at a program like Florida you need to sign the best of the best, while also maintaining the knowledge that some of your best prospects might not make it to campus. Why sign guys that you think might not get to campus? Well, for every 10 that don’t a Brady Singer slips through the cracks. This year Florida has two RHP that throw upper 90s in Andrew Painter and Chase Petty — Petty has been clocked at 101 and 102 already. Those guys probably don’t make it to campus. With a 20-round draft, things will be more normal this year and I could see Florida losing 4-6 guys from their recruiting class.
Hector: Florida has 23 commits in their 2021 recruiting class including two JUCO commits. Out of the 23 commits, I think Florida loses 5-6 as of now. RHP Andrew Painter & RHP Chase Petty are probably the most likely to sign with an MLB organization. After them, I think OF Jay Allen, LHP Philip Abner and C Rene Lastres could also go. Don’t be surprised if JUCO commit RHP Shawn Guilliams is also drafted high
