Matchup of the Season: Mize vs Singer

Casey Mize and Brady Singer will go toe-to-toe on Thursday night in Gainesville. (Photos: Dakota Sumpter/Auburn Athletics and Steven Branscombe/USA Today)

Both are household names for their clubs. Both are projected top-15 picks in this summer’s Major League Baseball draft. On Thursday, in Gainesville, Florida, they will meet on the diamond.

Auburn’s Casey Mize and Florida’s Brady Singer have been the talk of the MLB scouts and General Managers for the last three seasons, due to their make-up and how effective their speed and approach is every time they take the mound. Mize has been known to top out in the mid-to-high 90s, and has an effective splitter that is one of the best off-speed pitches in the college game today, according to Perfect Game, who has him listed as the #1 pick in their latest MLB Mock Draft, going to the Detroit Tigers.

Singer, on the other hand, has caught the eye of MLB clubs since he was in high school. He turned down an opportunity to go pro in 2015 when he was drafted in the 2nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Eustis High School, just north of Orlando. While risky, it turned out to be a great decision, as he has struck out 240 batters in three seasons at the time of this post, including 129 strikeouts last season, which played a crucial part in Florida’s College World Series championship.

The similarities between the two aces do not stop there. Both players have stepped into new roles, filling in for two high-round draft choices one year ago. Mize is now in the Friday night role, a spot left by Keegan Thompson after he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the third round of the 2017 Draft. Singer is now the key arm in Florida’s rotation after Alex Faedo’s impressive career as a Gator, which ended when he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in last season’s first round.

This will be the second time that Mize and Singer have faced one another. Last season, the two right-handers squared off on a Saturday afternoon in mid-March at Plainsman Park… and it went as anticipated. Mize slightly edged Singer in a 2-1 win for Auburn, which clinched the series leading to a surprising sweep of the Gators to open SEC play. Both pitchers were effective and were able to go deep into the game, each getting seven innings of work. Mize allowed five hits, as did Singer. The category that separated the two, was strikeouts. Mize led the charge with eight, while Singer had four.

This season’s clash is expected to go the same way, in a “who will cave first” type of scenario. So, when 6 P.M. rolls around Thursday night… be sure that dinner is ready, crack open your favorite beverage, find a comfortable seat in front of your television, and tune it to ESPNU. You don’t want to miss this “ace-off.”