Jackson Kowar

Kowar would be the Friday night starter at almost any other school in the country, but instead serves as Florida's "1b" starter behind righthander Brady Singer. Kowar was a top high school prospect coming out of North Carolina in 2015, ranking No. 99 on the BA 500, but was seen as a tough sign and made it to Gainesville after the Tigers selected him in the 40th round. A 6-foot-6, 185-pound righthander, Kowar has improved every year with Florida and has an ideal frame with plenty of room to add more weight. Kowar has a clean arm action that he uses to throw a low to mid-90s fastball and a changeup that is currently a 60-grade offering. He is comfortable using his changeup against both righties and lefties, as the pitch has terrific fading action with fastball arm speed and routinely comes across in the low 80s. Kowar's breaking ball is behind his fastball and changeup. He tinkered with a slider in the fall prior to the 2018 season, but scrapped the pitch and reverted to a curveball that ranges from the mid- to upper 70s with three-quarter breaking action that occasionally has good depth and shows signs of a third average pitch. The curveball has been too inconsistent for area scouts to throw an average grade on it currently, as it tends to blend into a sluvry offering when he gets on the side of the pitch. But teams who have seen it at its best might believe he can eventually figure it out and add a third average pitch to his repertoire. Kowar has a few medical concerns in his past, as he's dealt with multiple collapsed lungs, one of which caused him to miss the second half of his freshman season. Given his current stuff and the projection he still has with a lanky and athletic body, in addition to his developing SEC track record, he should give Florida a second first-round pitcher selected and there are teams who prefer Kowar to his rotation mate.