Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Nothing sets off alarms in a baseball scout's mind quite like a top pitching prospect who has to leave a game due to an injury.

When your job is to advise a big-league club whether someone is worth dropping millions of dollars on, the sight of a pitcher leaving the mound after one pitch in the second inning can prompt a scout to grab a bottle of TUMS.

That was the case when Gators left-hander A.J. Puk, projected by many as the potential No. 1 pick in June's MLB amateur draft, departed his start against Texas A&M on April 3 after only 10 pitches.

 

"The minute you hear of any injury there starts to be some concern until it's proven otherwise,'' Scout.com MLB draft analyst Jeff Ellis said in a video post following Puk's early departure. "A player just gets a red mark."

Perhaps those red marks will be erased after Puk's performance in Florida's 2-1 loss to Georgia in 12 innings on Thursday night.

The official report was that Puk experienced back spasms in his brief outing against the Aggies earlier this month. He was sharp in the first inning, striking out a pair of batters. However, after an awkward follow-through on his first pitch of the second, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan, one of the best pitching minds working in the college game, immediately trotted to the mound to check on Puk.

O'Sullivan took him out as a precautionary measure and Puk didn't pitch again for 11 days. He returned on April 14 and earned the victory at Arkansas with nine strikeouts over five innings.

Puk was better Thursday night at McKethan Stadium with a pack of scouts in attendance to check out the pitching matchup between Puk and Georgia right-hander Robert Tyler, another potential first-round pick.

Both delivered performances worth the price of admission.

Puk was the sharper of the two, retiring 18 consecutive batters during one stretch. He received a no-decision after going 6 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one run. Puk struck out 10 and walked one. Of his 103 pitches, 73 were strikes.

"That's the best that A.J. Puk has looked all year, so I'm pleased with how he threw,'' O'Sullivan said. "He looked comfortable. After the first inning, he settled in and got back into his pitch count after four innings. He pitched great.

"The story of the game, we scored in the first and we got shut out 11 straight innings."

O'Sullivan is correct on one hand -- Florida's lackluster offensive performance did Puk no favors -- but for the scouts in the stands armed with radar guns, Puk and Tyler were the main attraction.

Following a leadoff single by Nick King and a walk to Skyler Weber in the top of the first, the 6-foot-7 Puk took charge and showed why he is such an intriguing prospect. He struck out six of the next nine batters and didn't allow another baserunner until Trevor Kieboom led off the seventh with a double.

Puk departed after he gave up a two-out RBI double to Daniel Nichols that tied the game at 1. The Bulldogs scored the winning run in the 12th, more than two hours after Puk's departure.

He left the ballpark disappointed at the loss but content with his outing.

"Because of my back, I wasn't really able to do my normal routine with my dry runs and normal throwing,'' Puk said of his extended break. "This week, I was able to get back in my normal routine. It felt really good being out there."

The No. 2-ranked Gators will try to even the series tonight behind starter Logan Shore. However, with national championship aspirations, they had to feel good about Puk's most impressive outing in a month.

"I have a ton of confidence in him,'' catcher JJ Schwarz said. "He pitched his butt off. It kind of fell on us. You can't expect to win with one run."

Not on this night. Even with the way Puk pitched.

O'Sullivan wanted better at-bats. The Gators wanted more runs. Puk wanted his final pitch back. The scouts? Well, they got what they came for. A reminder of why Puk is such a coveted pitching prospect.

No TUMS needed.