Florida Gators baseball preview

Here's a look at the Florida Gators heading into the 2021 season.

2020 record/RPI: 16-1 (2)

2019 record/RPI: 59-12, 23-7 SEC (1)

Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan (14th season at Florida, 547-256)

Rank in preseason polls: No. 1 (Unanimous)

Rank in conference forecasts: No. 1 (Unanimous)

Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2019 (Lost in Lubbock Regional)

Home field: Florida BallPark (First season)

Left: 330, left center: 380 , center: 400 , right center: 380 , right: 330

The Florida Gators took their lumps in 2019. A young roster struggled to play consistently and was ultimately bounced out of the Lubbock Regional unceremoniously.

The team came back with a score to settle and rattled off 16-consecutive wins to start the season, including a road sweep of in-state rival Miami. Florida dropped its final game to Florida State 2-0 to finish the 2020 campaign with a 16-1 record.

This year the Gators return every starter and key contributor outside of Austin Langworthy and Brady Smith. Florida was lucky to retain Friday and Saturday starters Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, throw in Hunter Barco, and the entire weekend rotation returns in 2021.

There's a lot to like here and there will be a lot of competition for two or three positions. Youn can use a sharpie to write down some guys like Jacob Young, Jud Fabian, and Josh Rivera into the lineup but there will be competition at both corner positions in the infield and at right field. Also, senior Cal Greenfield will have to fend off Nathan Hickey and Mac Guscette behind the plate, but he gets the nod to begin the season.

Florida's hitters have lagged behind the pitching but this season it would appear the Gators have their deepest offense in years. Florida has power with Fabian and Kris Armstrong. The latter has been peppering the new scoreboard, which is approximately a 400-foot shot to reach. Fabian has developed into a true five-tool player and had six home runs in Florida's first 17 games last year. Hickey continues to hit the ball well and with power also.

The defense is another strong suit for the Gators. Defense is a point of emphasis for the Gators under Kevin O'Sullivan. Last year Florida was tied for ninth in the nation in terms of errors per-game and the 2021 team will be strong defensively as well.

The biggest changes in the lineup will come at catcher, first, and right field. There are some young players like Sterlin Thompson will challenge for a spot in the lineup. The freshman has been moved to the outfield in an attempt to get him more playing time. Kendrick Calilao has bounced around in his career, and while he can play first or a corner outfield position, is settling in at right field right now. Mac Guscette and Nathan Hickey will also be challenging Cal Greenfield behind the dish. Greenfield is the favorite catcher for his roommate and Friday night starter Tommy Mace, but it will come down to who is hitting the best.

Florida would have been fine with a weekend rotation of Hunter Barco, Nick Pogue, and Christian Scott, which was the original plan for 2021. When Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich decided to return it made the Gators' rotation even better. It might not be the best starting rotation in the country, that distinction goes to Vanderbilt, but nobody will feel bad for the Gators and their pitching depth.

We know what to expect from Mace but would like to see a full healthy season from Jack Leftwich, who has all the talent in the world but has struggled with some unforeseeable bad luck in terms of injuries.

Barco has had a jump in velocity. The freshman's fastball ran in the low-to-mid 90s in 2020 but he's seen a jump up to 96-97 this spring. Barco is developing a changeup, but it's not a pitch we'll see much of yet as he continues working on it. He'll stick with his slider and splitter to compliment the new faster fastball.

Nick Pogue and Christian Scott could both be Friday night guys in the SEC but will work out of the bullpen, for the most part, this season. Pogue and Scott may get a few spot starts during the week but when SEC play starts Florida will use the two veteran right-handers out of the bullpen.

Two newcomers to watch are Franco Aleman and Timmy Manning. Aleman is a flamethrowing junior college transfer who could earn a few starts in midweek games or eventually take over the closer role. Freshman LHP Timmy Manning is also a guy that will make a lot of appearances. Manning has a good fastball but it's his curveball that really shines. A true 12-6 breaker that you don't see a lot of. Manning is a pitcher in the sense that he knows his stuff, spots his pitches, and throws strikes.

Another arm that might get lost in the shuffle in terms of preseason hype is Tyler Nesbitt. The second-year pitcher doesn't have the eye-popping velocity that some of the Gators' pitchers have but he gets outs. Nesbitt threw 11.2 innings over five appearances and didn't give up a single run, earned or unearned. He has a good mix of pitches and is a reliable arm to bring out of the bullpen in any situation.