GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Arizona Diamondbacks have selected the contract of former Florida left-handed pitcher
Philip Abner from Triple-A Reno and added him to the Major League roster in advance of their upcoming weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Although the Diamondbacks have on off-day on Thursday, they begin a three-game series against Philadelphia at home on Friday, Sept. 19 at 9:40 p.m. ET. As a relief pitcher, that contest represents Abner's first opportunity to become the 88th Gator all-time to play in the MLB.
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Abner is the third Gator to be promoted to The Show this season alone, following one-time teammates
Jac Caglianone (June 3 – Kansas City Royals) and
Brandon Sproat (Sept. 7 – New York Mets). When he delivers his first pitch, Abner will signify the 36th player of the Kevin O'Sullivan era to reach the MLB. In all, a nation-leading 40 Gators have made MLB debuts since 2008.
Despite being just two years removed, the 2023 Florida Gators baseball team has already seen five players reach the MLB: Abner, Sproat, Caglianone,
Hurston Waldrep and
Wyatt Langford.
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Opening the 2025 campaign at High-A Hillsboro, Abner has made quite the ascension over the past six months. Pitching across three levels of the Minors, the southpaw produced a 3.07 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 70-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 58 2/3 innings. All 53 of Abner's appearances came in the relief, resulting in seven saves and a 3-2 record.
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After being promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 29, Abner dominated with eight scoreless appearances to earn the call of a lifetime. During his short stint at Triple-A Reno, the Charlotte, N.C. native surrendered just two hits and three walks against 11 strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames.
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Abner has spent parts of three seasons in Arizona's Minor League system after being selected in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He owns a 7-2 career record and 2.81 ERA across 99 1/3 innings pitched in the Minors, featuring a 10.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
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Helping the Orange & Blue to an SEC Championship and College World Series Runner-Up finish in 2023, Abner pitched to a 3-0 record, 3.16 ERA and .220 batting average against across 25 relief appearances. The southpaw totaled 31 1/3 innings and struck out 51 batters against 19 strikeouts as the top lefty out of the Gators bullpen.
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From 2022-23, Abner made 51 appearances for Florida. He concluded his UF tenure with a 4-1 career record, 5.20 ERA, .234 batting average against and 75-to-40 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB under O'Sullivan.
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| Florida's Nation-Leading 40 MLB Debuts Since 2008 |
|
Player |
Drafted (Round) |
MLB Debut |
Team |
| 1 |
Darren O'Day |
Undrafted |
March 31, 2008 |
Los Angeles Angels |
| 2 |
Matt LaPorta |
2007 (1st - 7th overall) |
May 3, 2009 |
Cleveland Indians |
| 3 |
Bryan Augenstein |
2007 (7th) |
May 13, 2009 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
| 4 |
Ryan Sadowski |
2003 (12th) |
June 28, 2009 |
San Francisco Giants |
| 5 |
Nick Maronde |
2011 (3rd) |
September 2, 2012 |
Los Angeles Angels |
| 6 |
Paco Rodriguez |
2012 (2nd) |
September 9, 2012 |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 7 |
Mike Zunino |
2012 (1st - 3rd overall) |
June 12, 2013 |
Seattle Mariners |
| 8 |
Kevin Chapman |
2010 (4th) |
August 9, 2013 |
Houston Astros |
| 9 |
Matt den Dekker |
2010 (5th) |
August 29, 2013 |
New York Mets |
| 10 |
Anthony DeSclafani |
2011 (6th) |
May 14, 2014 |
Miami Marlins |
| 11 |
Cole Figueroa |
2008 (6th) |
May 16, 2014 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
| 12 |
Preston Tucker |
2012 (7th) |
May 7, 2015 |
Houston Astros |
| 13 |
Brian Johnson |
2012 (1st - 31st overall) |
July 21, 2015 |
Boston Red Sox |
| 14 |
Nolan Fontana |
2012 (2nd) |
May 22, 2017 |
Los Angeles Angels |
| 15 |
Austin Maddox |
2012 (3rd) |
June 17, 2017 |
Boston Red Sox |
| 16 |
Harrison Bader |
2015 (3rd) |
July 25, 2017 |
St. Louis Cardinals |
| 17 |
Bobby Poyner |
2015 (14th) |
March 31, 2018 |
Boston Red Sox |
| 18 |
Justin Shafer |
2014 (8th) |
August 19, 2018 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
| 19 |
Eric Hanhold |
2015 (6th) |
September 4, 2018 |
New York Mets |
| 20 |
Richie Martin |
2015 (1st - 20th overall) |
March 28, 2019 |
Baltimore Orioles |
| 21 |
Pete Alonso |
2016 (2nd) |
March 28, 2019 |
New York Mets |
| 22 |
Shaun Anderson |
2016 (3rd) |
May 15, 2019 |
San Francisco Giants |
| 23 |
A.J. Puk |
2016 (1st - 6th overall) |
August 21, 2019 |
Oakland Athletics |
| 24 |
Brady Singer |
2018 (1st - 18th overall) |
July 25, 2020 |
Kansas City Royals |
| 25 |
Dane Dunning |
2016 (1st - 29th overall) |
August 19, 2020 |
Chicago White Sox |
| 26 |
Jonathan India |
2018 (1st - 5th overall) |
Thursday, April 1, 2021 |
Cincinnati Reds |
| 27 |
Jackson Kowar |
2018 (1st - 33rd overall) |
Monday, June 7, 2021 |
Kansas City Royals |
| 28 |
Taylor Gushue |
2014 (4th) |
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 |
Chicago Cubs |
| 29 |
Kirby Snead |
2016 (10th) |
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
| 30 |
Mark Kolozsvary |
2017 (7th) |
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 |
Cincinnati Reds |
| 31 |
Alex Faedo |
2017 (1st - 18th overall) |
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 |
Detroit Tigers |
| 32 |
Danny Young |
2015 (8th) |
Monday, May 9, 2022 |
Seattle Mariners |
| 33 |
Dalton Guthrie |
2017 (6th) |
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 |
Philadelphia Phillies |
| 34 |
Jacob Young |
2021 (7th) |
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 |
Washington Nationals |
| 35 |
Wyatt Langford |
2023 (1st - 4th overall) |
Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024 |
Texas Rangers |
| 36 |
Christian Scott |
2021 (5th) |
Saturday, May. 4, 2024 |
New York Mets |
| 37 |
Hurston Waldrep |
2023 (1st - 24th overall) |
Sunday, June 9, 2024 |
Atlanta Braves |
| 38 |
Jac Caglianone |
2024 (1st - 6th overall) |
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 |
Kansas City Royals |
| 39 |
Brandon Sproat |
2023 (2nd) |
Sunday, September 7, 2025 |
New York Mets |
| 40 |
Philip Abner |
2023Â (6th) |
TBD |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
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