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The Florida League front office has selected the players for the 2020 1st and 2nd All-Florida League Teams. This season, the League added Extra Hitters (EH) into the lineup to help more players get at-bats since their college seasons were cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CATCHER: Josh Crouch (UCF)

Sanford River Rats

Crouch led all catchers with two home runs, .500 OBP, and .520 SLG, which was good for an OPS of 1.020. His .340 batting average was also tied for second at the position. With 17 hits and 14 walks he was constantly on base for his teammates. He also added 9 RBI’s for good measure. He was feared behind the plate with countless pickoffs to first base and kept the baserunners at bay. His productive season carried into the Playoffs as he helped lead the River Rats to their 5th Florida League Championship.

FIRST BASE: Alejandro Figueredo (Seminole State)

Leesburg Lightning

The three-hole hitter for the first place Lightning forced his way on this list with his league leading 21 RBIs. It wasn’t just the RBI’s that got him on here as he hit .349 (3rd for all 1B), with an OPS of 1.028 (2nd for all 1B), and three home runs which had him tied for second in the entire league. Figueredo continued his success in the Playoffs as he helped the Lightning get to the Championship Series.

SECOND BASE: Lucas Dunn (Louisville)

Winter Garden Squeeze

The 2020 MVP is a shoo-in for the All-Florida League Team. Dunn was either the league leader, or towards the top of the leader board in almost every offensive category. He led the league with four home runs, a .651 SLG, a 1.125 OPS, and a robust 18.22 runs created. He was also towards the top with a .365 BA (9th), .474 OBP (8th), 6 doubles (T-2nd), 15 runs (T-6th), and 11 RBI’s (T-10th). Don’t overlook his .987 fielding percentage either, which was at the top for infielders.

THIRD BASE: Kirby McMullen (Florida)

Orlando Scorpions

McMullen finished the season second in the league in RBI’s with 20, and he might have gotten the lead if he was able to play in the same amount of games as the league leader. He led all third basemen in batting average (.340), SLG (.540), and OPS (.933). He also had the most home runs (2), doubles (4), and hits (17) at his position.

SHORT STOP: Alex Freeland (UCF)

Leesburg Storm

The hitting machine for the Leesburg Storm made it look easy out there as an incoming freshman for the UCF Golden Knights. His .397 batting average was second in the league, and nobody walked more than he did with 18 free passes. Freeland got on base more than half of the time he stepped up to the plate with a .537 OBP. Add in four doubles, two triples, and 25 hits overall to his resume along with his seven stolen bases, it’s easy to see how he made the All-Florida League team!

OUTFIELD: Gabriel Rincones (St. Petersburg)

Leesburg Lightning

Rincones led all outfielders with three home runs and 18 RBI’s. With a .313 batting average, .484 OBP, and .489 SLG, it’s easy to see how he’d be towards the top of all outfield categories. He did fantastic on the defensive side as well throwing out multiple batters and making some pretty remarkable catches in the outfield.

OUTFIELD: Jeff Mejia (Northern Essex)

Leesburg Storm

To say that Mejia had a good season would be an understatement. He led the league with a .451 batting average (you read that correctly), led all outfielders with a .554 OBP, and lead all outfielders with a 1.044 OPS. Throw in 23 hits overall, 9 RBIs, and 12 walks with 9 stolen bases and you can chalk that up as a pretty good summer!

OUTFIELD: Jud Fabian (Florida)

Orlando Scorpions

You won’t find a better leadoff hitter or defender than Jud Fabian. Offensively he was constantly on base to lead off innings, which was a real thorn in the side of the opposing team. Fabian’s batting average was .304 with a stellar OBP of .484 with his 15 walks. Throw in his 1.006 OPS with two home runs, four doubles, eight stolen bases, and 11 RBIs, and you can see why opposing pitchers did not want to face him to start a ballgame. On the defensive side of the ball, Fabian led all outfielders with 4 outfield assists and sported a .971 fielding percentage in 35 chances. Several of his put-outs were highlight reel worthy.

EXTRA HITTER: Giovany Lorenzo (Stetson)

Seminole County Snappers

Lorenzo finished tied for second in the league with a .397 batting average. His OPS of .914 was second at his primary position (catcher) and his 19 RBIs were third in the entire league. The third hitter in the Snappers order accumulated 23 hits overall, with five of those being doubles. He also created 12.4 runs over the course of the season.

EXTRA HITTER: Joe Burke (Kentucky Wesleyan)

DeLand Suns

Burke was one of the hottest hitters to start the season receiving player of the week nominations for the Suns two weeks in a row. He finished the season tied for the most hits in the league with 25 hits and was fifth overall with his .379 batting average. The offensive leader for the Suns finished the season with two home runs, two doubles, and 13 RBIs. He also played a flawless first base with 0 errors in 127 total chances. Burke was no stranger to the Suns as this was his third season playing for them.

EXTRA HITTER: Jacob Southern (Indiana)

Orlando Scorpions

It’s not very often that you see a hitter in the bottom third of an order lead the team, let alone tie for the lead in the entire league in home runs, but that’s what we saw with Jacob Southern. He hit four home runs in 40 AB’s. Southern only finished behind the MVP with his 1.063 OPS. He finished the season hitting .325 and created 10.9 runs from the bottom third of the powerful Scorpions lineup.

UTILITY: Collin Teegarden (Valdosta State)

Leesburg Lightning

The ultimate utility player in the league hit .371 in 17 games for the first place Lightning. He was second in the league in walks with 16, which rounded out to a .574 OBP, which was the best in the league. Teegarden forced his way into the lineup and played around the field at 2B, 3B, OF, and EH.

STARTING PITCHER: Parker Messick (Florida State)

Winter Garden Squeeze

The 2020 Cy Young Award Winner finished the season 3-0 with a 0.49 ERA in 18.2 innings on the mound. The ace for the Winter Garden Squeeze struck out 27 batters, only walking three and only allowing five hits on the season. This was good for a stellar 0.44 WHIP and he held hitters to an astounding .083 BAA. Not a single wild pitch was thrown, and he threw two strikes for every ball. He threw a strike 67.7% of the time, and had 13.26 K/9.

STARTING PITCHER: Bryce Hubbart (Florida State)

Winter Garden Squeeze

The 1-2 punch for the Squeeze was outstanding this summer, and Hubbart is a big reason why. Through 15 innings, Hubbart produced a 0.60 ERA, striking out 31 and holding batters to a .122 BAA. His 18.6 K/9 was the best in the league for all qualified pitchers.

STARTING PITCHER: Tony Rossi (State College of Florida)

Sanford River Rats

Right behind Hubbart for K/9 this season was Rossi at a 17.36. In 18.2 innings, Rossi struck out a league leading 36 batters in that time and finished the season with a 1.45 ERA. Rossi’s dominant season continued in the Playoffs as he pitched the River Rats into the Championship Series. This is the second consecutive year that Tony Rossi has made the All-Florida League Team.

STARTING PITCHER: Dylan Ross (Northwest Florida State)

Seminole County Snappers

The Ross brothers took the Florida League by storm this summer. Dylan Ross threw 15 innings, allowing only one earned run over the course of the season. His 0.60 ERA was tied for second among all starting pitchers. He only gave up five hits over the course of six games, holding batters to a .100 BAA. He struck out 23 batters resulting in a 13.8 K/9 that was the third best in the league, and finished with a WHIP of .80

RELIEF PITCHER: Dalton Ross (Bryan College)

Seminole County Snappers

We’re keeping it in the family here with the 2020 Reliever of the Year. The Seminole County Snapper finished the season with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 17.1 innings of work. Through his 17.1 innings on the mound, he only threw one wild pitch the whole season. Ross struck out 29 batters this summer. Half of the batters that he got out were by the strikeout, which was good for 12.98 K/9. Batters only hit .103 off of him and he had a 0.58 WHIP. He only threw a ball for every two strikes that he threw which was also towards the top of the league. He threw a first pitch strike 69.4% of the time.

RELIEF PITCHER: David Litchfield (UCF)

Orlando Scorpions

The feared saves leader for the Florida League earned his way on to this team as the go-to stopper for the Orlando Scorpions. The closer for the UCF Golden Knights finished the season with four saves, striking out nine in 8.2 high leverage innings of work. His 9.35 K/9 was 5th among all qualified relievers and finished the season with a 2.07 ERA.

RELIEF PITCHER: Zach Henderson (Daytona State)

Leesburg Storm

Henderson finished the season with the second best ERA among all qualified relievers with a 1.19. It’s also more impressive when you consider he threw the most innings in the league with 22.2 IP. With a .84 WHIP that was good for 4th in the league and a BAA of .192, it’s easy to see how he was one of the best relievers this summer.

RELIEF PITCHER: Luke Drummond (Birmingham Southern)

Seminole County Snappers

Drummond finished the season with a 1.88 ERA in 14.1 innings of work. His .63 WHIP, .083 BAA, and .111 BIP were the best among all relievers this summer. He was also second in the league with 20 strikeouts and 12.56 K/9.

TWO-WAY: Jarrod Cande (Florida Southern)

Sanford River Rats

Cande did it all this summer for the 2020 Champion River Rats. On the mound, he finished with a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings, striking out 31 which was the second highest in the league. At the plate, he finished the season with a .417 OBP, walking eight times and scoring six runs. He also finished the season with the biggest swing of the summer: a two run homer that led to the River Rats breaking it open late against the Lightning in Game 2 of the 2020 Championship Series.

The following players were recognized as the All-Florida League 2nd Team for their performances this summer:

C: Christian Pregent (Stetson), Suns

1B: Cole Beeker (George Washington), Diamond Dawgs

2B: Tom Josten (UCF), River Rats

3B: Ryan Fischer (Indiana), Loggerheads

SS: JD Urso (Tampa), Snappers

OF: Noah Dickerson (Arkansas Little Rock), Squeeze

OF: Dylan Crews (LSU), River Rats

OF Robert Chayka (Kentucky Wesleyan), Suns

EH: Justin Farmer (FIU), River Rats

EH: Chenar Brown (Lake Sumter), Diamond Dawgs

EH: Tommy Seidl (Harvard), Lightning

UTIL: Robbie Scott (North Florida), Lightning

SP: Jack Leftwich (Florida), Scorpions

SP: Sam Bennett (Pennsylvania), Lightning

SP: Nick Pogue (Florida), Scorpions

SP: Nate Henderson (Flagler), Lightning

RP: Grayson Moore (Vanderbilt), River Rats

RP: Cameron Sereda (St. Johns River State), Scorpions

RP: Connor Gleeson (Gardner-Webb), Lightning

RP: Nicholas Shower (Ohio Valley), Squeeze

Two-Way: Jovan Gill (Stetson), Suns