Antonio Knowles

Knowles had an excellent season as a reliever with Florida Southwestern State JC, pitching to a 1.35 ERA over 40 innings while striking out 72 batters (16.0 K/9) and walking just five (1.1 BB/9). Those numbers and that strikeout-to-walk rate alone would pique the interest of analytics-heavy teams, but Knowles has also shown solid stuff, with a fastball up to 94 mph and a slider that flashes plus at times. Knowles is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and doesn’t have the most physical presence on the mound, but his stuff generated plenty of ugly swings against juco competition. He has a definite reliever look on the mound, with significant effort and head whack in his delivery and an arm stroke that is lengthy in the back with some stabbing action as well. Knowles transferred from Stetson and pitched just 2.2 innings for the program in 2019. This spring he led NJCAA pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio and was named a first team NJCAA Division I All-American—the first Florida Southwestern State JC closer to receive the honor. Knowles is committed to Florida.