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The 2026 MLB Draft kicks off early Saturday afternoon, and this year, one Florida baseball player is expected to be taken in the first round of the event.
Junior right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson, who has been among the top projected picks for quite some time, landed with the Texas Rangers at No. 16 in ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel's final mock draft. The 6-foot-5-inch starter out of Palm Harbor, Florida, comes in ranked No. 12 on McDaniel's final draft rankings — which represents the order in which he would pick the players — and is included among the 45 FV (future value) tier.
"I've heard mostly college pitchers linked to this pick, and Peterson is a nice fit with potential No. 2/No. 3 starter-level stuff if he can shape up his fastball command a bit," he said of Peterson's profile.
Peterson is a three-year weekend starter for Florida who possesses elite stuff and a solid arsenal, featuring a fastball that sits in the upper-90s and touches triple digits, along with two distinct breaking balls and a passable changeup. His walk rate has dropped every season, reaching a career low of 9.8% in 2026, while his strikeout rate has always been high, finishing the last two years above 30%.
However, he has dealt with some command issues as exemplified by his elevated walk rate, and has been hittable with a career batting average against of .255 with the Gators. One problem Peterson had was pitching for the strikeout, which led to walks and high pitch counts, resulting in limited innings — something not expected of a top-end college starter.
Back in 2023, the Rangers also picked a former Gator in the first round: outfielder Wyatt Langford with the fourth overall pick. Across the seasons in the big leagues with Texas, Langford has a slash line of .251/.333/.433 with 46 home runs and 157 RBIs, amounting to an 11.5 bWAR over 309 games.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Here's where Liam Peterson is taken in ESPN's final 2026 mock draft
Continue reading...
Junior right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson, who has been among the top projected picks for quite some time, landed with the Texas Rangers at No. 16 in ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel's final mock draft. The 6-foot-5-inch starter out of Palm Harbor, Florida, comes in ranked No. 12 on McDaniel's final draft rankings — which represents the order in which he would pick the players — and is included among the 45 FV (future value) tier.
"I've heard mostly college pitchers linked to this pick, and Peterson is a nice fit with potential No. 2/No. 3 starter-level stuff if he can shape up his fastball command a bit," he said of Peterson's profile.
Peterson is a three-year weekend starter for Florida who possesses elite stuff and a solid arsenal, featuring a fastball that sits in the upper-90s and touches triple digits, along with two distinct breaking balls and a passable changeup. His walk rate has dropped every season, reaching a career low of 9.8% in 2026, while his strikeout rate has always been high, finishing the last two years above 30%.
However, he has dealt with some command issues as exemplified by his elevated walk rate, and has been hittable with a career batting average against of .255 with the Gators. One problem Peterson had was pitching for the strikeout, which led to walks and high pitch counts, resulting in limited innings — something not expected of a top-end college starter.
Back in 2023, the Rangers also picked a former Gator in the first round: outfielder Wyatt Langford with the fourth overall pick. Across the seasons in the big leagues with Texas, Langford has a slash line of .251/.333/.433 with 46 home runs and 157 RBIs, amounting to an 11.5 bWAR over 309 games.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Here's where Liam Peterson is taken in ESPN's final 2026 mock draft
Continue reading...
