Right-hander Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee,
Fla.), shortstop Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.), left-hander Daniel
Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) and outfielder Taylor Ratliff (Perry, Fla.) from
the 2013 Gator baseball team each recently signed a professional contract.
Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first
round with the 20th selection in the Major League Baseball Draft, Crawford has
been assigned to the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League, the
organization’s Class A short-season affiliate.
Over a team-high 15 starts and 86.2 innings
this year, the righty led the Orange and Blue with 69 strikeouts and was 3-6
with a 3.84 ERA. During the Gators’ opening-round contest of the NCAA
Bloomington Regional, he limited second-seeded Austin Peay to one run and four
hits over 6.1 innings and registered five strikeouts. He was in line for the
victory before the Govs overcame a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 triumph and was later
chosen to the Regional’s All-Tournament Team.
Crawford was chosen as the Southeastern Conference
Pitcher of the Week on April 1 for the first time in his career after twirling
a two-hit shutout against No. 11 Ole Miss. After the Rebels claimed the opener,
4-3 in 11 innings, he evened the series on Saturday with his best outing of the
season. The righty allowed only singles in the fourth and sixth innings, set a
season high with eight strikeouts and issued a pair of walks. Ole Miss hitters
went 2-for-29 (.069) against Crawford, who went the distance for his second
career complete-game and second solo shutout – first since a 4-0 no-hitter
against Bethune-Cookman on June 1, 2012 during the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
Crawford also earned USA
Baseball’s International Performance of the Year Award for his efforts last
summer. As Team USA's starter in game one
of the inaugural USA versus Cuba Series in Havana, Cuba, his outing
set the tone for the 2012 Collegiate National Team season. The Okeechobee native went 6.1 innings, struck
out six Cuban batters and picked up the win in the club's 4-3 victory
at Estadio de Latinoamericana. On the summer, Crawford led the team with
26.2 innings pitched. Along the way, he picked up two more wins for Team USA to
finish the summer with a 3-0 record and a 2.02 earned run average.
Picked in the 22nd round by the Washington
Nationals at No. 676, Dent is playing for the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays, a Class
A short-season affiliate in the New York-Penn League. He made his professional
debut on Monday night and went 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI, a double and a
walk.
Dent started 48 games in his final collegiate
season, 37 at shortstop and 11 in center field, and saw action in 52 of the
Gators’ 59 contests. He had a .169 batting average, with 17 walks, 15 runs, 13
RBI, a team-high 10 sacrifice hits and three doubles. Named to the 2013 SEC
Community Service Team, Dent sported a .971 fielding percentage. A four-year
letterwinner for the Orange and Blue who enjoyed three-straight trips to the NCAA
College World Series, he was chosen to the CWS All-Tournament Team in 2011 and
played in 184 games with 101 starts as a Gator.
Chosen in the seventh round by the Arizona
Diamondbacks with the 210th overall pick, Gibson is suiting up for the
Hillsboro (Ore.) Hops of the Class A short-season Northwest League. Over 32
appearances this season, the second-highest total on Florida, he was 2-1 with a
4.42 ERA. The southpaw registered 31 strikeouts and issued 20 walks in 38.2
innings, while limiting opponents to a .254 batting average. Gibson notched the
Gators’ victory at No. 7 Florida State on April 9 with two scoreless frames and
earned the decision as UF completed a weekend sweep of No. 8 South Carolina at
McKethan Stadium on April 13.
In
23 outings during his sophomore campaign, Gibson was 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA and
collected one save. In 24.1 innings of work, the lefty totaled 17 strikeouts, permitted
11 walks and held foes to a .250 average. He did not surrender any runs during
his first eight appearances of the campaign. Gibson picked up first career save
to complete the Gators’ sweep of No. 8 Miami (Fla.), as Florida was down 5-3
entering the final frame and plated five runs to defeat the Hurricanes for the
11th-consecutive time.
Ratliff,
a 13th-round choice of the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 390, has joined Gibson
on the Hillsboro (Ore.) Hops of the Class A short-season Northwest League.
Ratliff sat out the 2013 campaign at Florida after transferring from
Jacksonville University.
