From Gators to Ducks

Jack Leftwich, Tommy Mace and Franco Aleman are teammates once again.

The three pitchers joined forces for the first time in 2021 on the pitching staff of the University of Florida.

Leftwich and Mace had been at Florida since they were freshman in 2018. Aleman came to the Gators in 2021 after transferring from St. Johns River State College.

“They [Leftwich and Mace] taught me how to work out in the weight room, which I had an idea, but I wasn’t that good at working out until I got with them,” Aleman said. “And that is when I started throwing a little harder and learned the things I needed to do, like eat a little better and sleep a little more, from these older guys, who I am blessed to be together again with.”

The Gators went 36-22 in 2021 and hosted a regional. Mace led the staff tossing 90.1 innings pitched while Leftwich (69.2) and Aleman (69.0) were third and fourth respectively in innings pitched that spring. After the 2021 season, all three arms were drafted by Cleveland in the 2021 MLB Draft.

And after making their professional debuts during the 2022 season, Leftwich became of the first of the three to make it to the RubberDucks opening the 2023 season in Double-A.

While Leftwich spent some time on the injured list in 2023, the right-hander has been lights-out since returning on July 7 going 1-2 in eight games while not allowing more than two runs in any appearance. Leftwich also recorded his 200th career strikeout on Aug. 24 in Altoona.

Mace became the second of the three former Gators to make his way to Akron in 2023, being promoted from High-A Lake County on June 5. The right-hander has struck out 48 batters in his first 13 Double-A appearances.

“Having Jack [Leftwich] to just bounce questions off, but also playing with majority of guys on this team last year, it was like a really easy clubhouse to walk into and know everyone, which is very settling to calm the nerves of jumping to the next level,” Mace said. “A lot of people say that Double-A is a pretty big jump in your professional career, so having these guys to kind of ask questions and how the flow works and what {RubberDucks manager] Rougie [Odor] expects as a manager and how [RubberDucks pitching coach] Brad Goldberg is as a pitching coach and things like that, just little questions that I could ask to feel more comfortable and to jumpstart my routines here definitely helped.”

This comfortability in the clubhouse has definitely helped the last of the three Gators to reach Akron, Aleman, settle in. The right-hander has not allowed a run in his first 19.1 innings in Akron while striking out 29 batters in 13 games since being promoted on July 1.

Together Aleman, Leftwich and Mace have each made contributions to the RubberDucks since their different arrivals, but they still have their eyes on other former Florida Gators, who found themselves drafted by other organizations.

“I think it's six or seven guys at Double-A all from that [2021] team, which is really, really cool.,” Mace said. “And we're able to see each other like we're playing against Jacob Young, who was in our draft classes, as well. So it's a lot of fun to see how much success everyone is having and being able to kind of check up on everybody, but also compete against them on different teams.”

And all three are ready to continue the success the 2021 Cleveland draft class has already made at the Major League level.

“Jack and I talk all the time about different things and we've seen each other for it's going on what six years together and seeing each other pitch and pitching against each other in fall and, and pregame or spring,” Mace said. “And in spring like we get to see each other but also help each other which is really nice. I think that culture is from the top down of the whole organization. Everyone's really rooting for each other, and I really love that about this organization and the atmosphere that we've built, or they have built to create that.”