FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern Baseball program was well represented in the professional ranks this season as 13 former Buccaneers were spread across 10 different Major League Baseball organizations.
Satchell Norman | FSW Class of 2022 | Milwaukee Brewers
After an All-Conference season for the Bucs in the Spring, Norman continued his success at the professional level this summer, hitting .344 in 10 games in the Arizona Complex League. He had four multi-hit games in his first five professional contests and also showed some plate discipline, walking five times to finish the year with a .447 on base percentage.
Magnus Ellerts | FSW Class of 2022 | Cleveland Guardians
Ellerts logged 69 innings and earned All-American honors for the Bucs in 2022 before going to the Cape Cod League and excelling there before being selected in the 11th round of the MLB Draft by the Guardians. He spent time in the Arizona Complex League with Cleveland's minor league club but didn't see action in an official game.
Nick Regalado | FSW Class of 2022 | Kansas City Royals
A free agent signee by Kansas City in late July, Regalado threw in four Arizona Complex League games for the Royals farm club to close out his 2022 season. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter in four innings pitched, allowing just one hit over his final two outings.
Jose Izarra | FSW Class of 2022 | Los Angeles Dodgers
Like Norman, Izarra scorched the ball during his limited stint in the Arizona Complex League, batting .391 and reaching base at a .440 clip for the Dodgers. He closed his first professional campaign with his in six straight games including multiple knocks in three of those contests.
Abimelec Ortiz | FSW Class of 2021 | Texas Rangers
Ortiz, who just turned 20 during his second year as a pro, playing in 93 games for the Single A Down East Wood Ducks. For the second straight season he clubbed 11 home runs as a pro, including one off former FSW teammate Carlos Rodriguez, while finishing the season hitting .226 with 39 RBIs.
Carlos Rodriguez | FSW Class of 2021 | Milwaukee Brewers
Rodriguez had a huge first professional campaign in the Milwaukee system in 2022, working his way up into the Brewers Top 20 Prospects list by seasons end. He threw in 26 games across two levels, finishing the season with a 3.01 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 107 innings pitched. He pitched even better after his midseason promotion to High A, going 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Alex Ayala | FSW Class of 2021 | Tampa Bay Rays
After briefly making his professional debut last season, Ayala played his first full season in 2022, working 57 innings and going 4-1 across two levels. He struck out 78 in 62 innings pitched this season including racking up 44 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched for the Low A Charleston RiverDogs. Earlier this week Ayala was selected to participate in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.
Marc Davis | FSW Class of 2021 | Washington Nationals
A two-time draftee out of FSW, Davis saw action in nine games out of the bullpen for the Fredericksburg Nationals this season. The fireballer went 2-1 with a save while striking out 26 in 22 innings of action.
Antonio Knowles | FSW Class of 2021 | Los Angeles Dodgers
A 2021 All-American for the Bucs, Knowles was a workhorse out of the bullpen for the High A Great Lakes Loons this season. He pitched in 36 ballgames, going 3-4 with a 4.74 ERA. As he did with the Bucs, Knowles piled on the strikeouts with a wipeout slider, punching out 63 opposing hitters in 43 innings of work with opponents hitting just .200 against him.
Mason Adams | FSW Class of 2020 | Chicago White Sox
Adams graduated from FSW in 2020 and spent his final two seasons at Jacksonville University where he was the Dolphins' top arm this Spring before signing with the White Sox. He threw in three games with the Sox' Arizona Complex League squad, posting a 7.36 ERA with four strikeouts in three innings worked.
Mitch Myers | FSW Class of 2019 | Oakland A'S
Myers started the season hot for the Stockton Ports, allowing more than one earned run just twice In his first seven starts of the season. He finished the season with a team high 124 innings pitched and a 5.50 ERA in the hitter friendly Cal League.
Ryan Gusto | FSW Class of 2019 | Houston Astros
The first All-American in FSW Baseball history, Gusto worked his way through two levels in 2022, eating up 90 innings between Class A Fayetteville and High A Asheville, going 6-5 with a 5.50 ERA and 96 strikeouts on the year.
Vince Vannelle | Class of 2018 | Chicago White Sox
Vannelle's story is somewhat unique as after graduating from FSW in 2018 and playing for three seasons at the University of Arizona, he went undrafted and unsigned in 2021. That didn't stop him from working in the offseason to earn a free agent deal with Chicago in 2022 and he made the most of his opportunity, rocketing through the White Sox system this summer, starting in Low A and finishing in AA Birmingham. He wrapped up the season with a 4-3 record and five saves while notching a 2.98 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched.