Witherspoon Among Florida Collegiate Summer League Pitchers To Watch
Witherspoon Among Florida Collegiate Summer League Pitchers To Watch
A group of outstanding pitching prospects, including 2022 Arizona Diamondbacks draftee Malachi Witherspoon, headline the Florida Collegiate Summer League.
The next generation of star pitchers have taken to the Florida Collegiate Summer League for the 2023 season.
A cast of hurlers already on the Major League radar, and some intriguing college players aiming for their breakthroughs, headline the staffs around the FCSL this summer.
Get to know some of the names poised to shine on the mound in the 2023 FCSL season — and beyond.
Riley Fitzgerald, Leesburg Lightning
Riley Fitzgerald was the Sunshine State's No. 61-ranked lefty pitching prospect coming out of Tavares High School in 2022.
A signee to Flagler College, Fitzgerald has a ton of potential ready to be unfurled, as shown in his first few outings for the Leesburg Lighting.
Fitzgerald has a start and two bullpen appearances through the first week of the FCSL season, working a total of 7 2/3 innings with a 2.34 ERA.
Jordan Huskey, Winter Garden Squeeze
A member of the NCAA Division I powerhouse Arkansas Razorbacks roster, Jordan Huskey was tabbed just outside the top 100 of all left-handed pitching prospects in PerfectGame.org's 2022 rankings.
Huskey has demonstrated his potential quickly with Winter Garden, allowing just five hits and striking out 11 through his first two FCSL starts.
Expect big things from the SEC Southpaw all summer.
Nick Jennings, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs
Saint Leo product Nick Jennings comes into the FCSL after an excellent collegiate season.
He made 18 appearances, totaling 31 2/3 innings coming out of the Lions bullpen, during which time he struck out 35, walked just four and posted an impressive 1.42 ERA.
In his first two appearances for the Diamond Dawgs, Jennings has yet to allow an earned run and has struck out 12. Eight of those punchouts came in a four-inning effort that shows Jennings' ability to go long out of the pen, when necessary.
Ashton Pocol, DeLand Suns
Coming off a solid debut season at the University of Tampa, where he had the opportunity to both start and come out of the bullpen, Ashton Pocol made quite an impression to kick off the FCS campaign.
Pocol did not allow a run through four relief appearances in the season's first week, working a total of 6 1/3 innings. He struck out 10 in that stretch and walked three. Through June 8, he has not allowed a hit.
Pocol made two starts in the college season at Tampa and pitched seven times out of the bullpen, amassing a 3.20 ERA for the campaign.
Malachi Witherspoon, Sanford River Rats
A 2022 draftee of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Malachi Witherspoon arrived in the FCSL already squarely on the Major League radar.
His debut with the Sanford River Rats has not disappointed to that end. The 6-foot-3 right-hander went five innings with seven strikeouts and no runs allowed in his first Sanford start.
Witherspoon's encore was a five-inning, nine-strikeout showing against Leesburg, and he again refused to yield a run.
