BREAKING: Gators catcher out for season after Tommy John surgery
The Florida Gators will be without Rene Lastres for the rest of the 2022 season. The freshman catcher underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, May 17 to repair his ulnar collateral ligament.
Lastres hadn’t played in a game since April 5 against FAMU. The freshman appeared in nine games, making two starts during his rookie campaign. Lastres introduced himself to Gators fans with a home run in his first collegiate at bat. He’ll finish his freshman season 5-15 (.333) with four RBI, three runs scored, and eight total bases.
Lastres came to Florida highly touted. He was a five-time letter winner in baseball under head coach Gil Morales at Calvary Christian Academy. Lastres was a four-time Perfect Game/Under Armour All-American in high school as well. He slashed .311/.483/.800 with seven home runs in just 45 at-bats as a senior, posting a .995 fielding percentage behind the plate. As a junior, he batted .367/.441/.466 with a .986 fielding percentage defensively.
Gators catchers without Lastres
Lastres had played sparingly during the Gators’ 2022 season. The tenderness in his elbow began to reveal itself weeks ago. In an 18-3 win over South Florida, the benches started to clear in the later innings. Matt Prevesk came in for Jud Fabian. Jorge De Goti replaced BT Riopelle, and Corey Robinson came into the game as well. Lastres didn’t, as it was already known inside the clubhouse that he would need surgery. It hadn’t become public yet but the fact that Lastres didn’t enter the game and Wyatt Langford remained in was foreshadowing the news.
Langford serves as the Gators’ emergency catcher and would have been needed to catch if something would have happened to Mac Guscette, who was catching that Tuesday night.
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Without Lastres the Gators will continue to lean on BT Riopelle and Mac Guscette. Riopelle has played in 50 of the Gators’ 52 games this season. He’s third on the team with a .310 batting average and third on the team with 14 home runs. Riopelle is also third on the team in hits (54), and second on the team with 50 RBI. The transfer from Coastal Carolina has been one of the most reliable players on the team and a great defensive catcher.
Guscette has played in 27 games this season, making 23 starts. He owns a .221 average with three home runs and 21 RBI.
Up next for the Gators
Florida has just three games left in the regular season. The Gators will host South Carolina at Condron Ballpark for a three-game series. After that, the Gators will head to Hoover, Alabama for the SEC Tournament. The Gators will play on Tuesday in a win-or-go-home game against an opponent that is to be determined.
