Jonathon Crawford is ready to be a starting pitcher again.
After seldom being used out of the bullpen as a freshman, Crawford, a starting pitcher before signing with Florida, feels he has matured enough to take the next step and contribute in a role No. 1 UF needs to fill entering the season: the midweek starter.
The only problem is the three fellow underclassmen standing in his way.
With the season set to begin Friday, Crawford and fellow sophomores Keenan Kish, a righty, and Daniel Gibson, a southpaw, along with freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi are all vying for the Gators’ midweek job.
“It’s really tight — you’ve got Johnny and us three sophomores,” Crawford said. “It’s really up for grabs for anybody.”
Although the competition is open, Crawford and Magliozzi appear to have the edge as the season approaches. Each tossed at least three innings in Florida’s intrasquad scrimmage at McKethan Stadium on Sunday, and each made his case for the starting job.
Crawford pitched the first three frames of the afternoon and surrendered three runs on three hits while striking out four and allowing four other batters to reach base.
Magliozzi tossed 3.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits as he struck out one and walked two.
While both labored at times, the underclassmen showed flashes of what they can bring to the midweek rotation for a Florida team that went 7-7 in regular-season midweek games and saw its starting pitchers go just 6-4 in those matchups.
At one point Sunday, Crawford struck out junior catcher Mike Zunino, making the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year whiff at a pitch below his knees.
Zunino walked back toward the dugout and looked up at Crawford while shaking his head with a smirk of disbelief.
“Just throw that for a strike every time,” Zunino said. “That was like 84 (mph) breaking two feet.”
The outing showed progress for Crawford, who saw the fewest innings of any of the pitchers in Florida’s bullpen last season. He appeared in just five games and pitched a total of 3.2 frames with a 4.91 ERA as a freshman.
In the offseason, however, he worked on dropping his arm slot and now gets more late movement on his fastball and slider — and more confidence on the mound, too.
“I’ve made a huge improvement from last year,” Crawford said. “This year, I throw a lot more strikes and don’t walk people.”
While Crawford has adjusted his mechanics and feels more comfortable on the mound, teammates have been impressed with Magliozzi in the short time the 20-year-old freshman has been on campus, and not just because of his reliable changeup and low-90s fastball.
Hudson Randall, who will take the mound for Florida’s season opener Friday, said he has really been impressed by Magliozzi’s maturity on the rubber.
However, coach Kevin O’Sullivan hasn’t tipped his hand just yet as to which underclassman will take on the role, saying the team needs to nail down that position, as well as the middle relief slots.
“They’re competitive,” left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson said. “They all know that there are spots open and having a spot doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed that spot every day.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Gators sophomore pitcher Jonathan Crawford is in competition for the midweek starter’s role. He threw just 3.2 innings as a freshman last year.
