Florida adds JUCO right-hander after losing transfer to draft

Florida was hoping to get Samford right-hander Michael Ross on campus, but the Gators had to pivot when he signed an 18th-round deal with the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Kevin O’Sullivan had a plan, though, and earned a commitment from Sante Fe College (JUCO) right-hander Matthew Jenkins on the same day. The former Lafayette High (Mayo, Florida) ace announced the news on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He made 16 appearances for Sante Fe last season, starting two games. He held a 4.74 earned run average and allowed 1.93 walks/hits per inning while striking out 60 batters over 57 innings.

Walks are the only major red flag here. Jenkins nearly walked as many batters as he struck out last season. A 27.8% strikeout rate says that Jenkins has good “stuff,” but a 26.4% walk rate generates an equal amount of concern.

Of course, Jenkins is not a one-to-one replacement for Ross. He’s likely to work out of the bullpen instead of competing for a spot in the weekend rotation, but it fills the backend of the pitching staff while allowing another arm to step up.

Right now, the two top candidates to take that third starting spot are Clemson transfer Billy Barlow and rising redshirt sophomore Jake Clemente. The latter is tearing it up in the Cape Code League as you read this article, so don’t be surprised to see him at least get the shot in the fall. Barlow always seemed like a midweek guy anyway.

Jenkins is 6-foot-6-inches tall and can run his fastball up to 95-96 mph. Scouts would use the word projectable, and Jenkins had some draft chances this year as the 22nd-best JUCO prospect in the country, per Prep Baseball Report.

Developing a plus secondary is the next step. Florida’s pitching staff has helped plenty of quality arms add an offspeed to their arsenal while continuing to develop the primary breaking pitch. If everything goes right for him at Florida in 2024, Jenkins could be a starter in 2025.

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