Abner Poised for Big League Debut with Arizona
Although the Diamondbacks have on off-day on Thursday, they begin a three-game series against Philadelphia at home on Friday, Sept. 19 at 9:40 p.m. ET. As a relief pitcher, that contest represents Abner’s first opportunity to become the 88th Gator all-time to play in the MLB.
Abner is the third Gator to be promoted to The Show this season alone, following one-time teammates Jac Caglianone (June 3 – Kansas City Royals) and Brandon Sproat (Sept. 7 – New York Mets). When he delivers his first pitch, Abner will signify the 36th player of the Kevin O’Sullivan era to reach the MLB. In all, a nation-leading 40 Gators have made MLB debuts since 2008.
Despite being just two years removed, the 2023 Florida Gators baseball team has already seen five players reach the MLB: Abner, Sproat, Caglianone, Hurston Waldrep and Wyatt Langford.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/nJmgHc0h3w
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 18, 2025
Opening the 2025 campaign at High-A Hillsboro, Abner has made quite the ascension over the past six months. Pitching across three levels of the Minors, the southpaw produced a 3.07 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 70-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 58 2/3 innings. All 53 of Abner’s appearances came in the relief, resulting in seven saves and a 3-2 record.
After being promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 29, Abner dominated with eight scoreless appearances to earn the call of a lifetime. During his short stint at Triple-A Reno, the Charlotte, N.C. native surrendered just two hits and three walks against 11 strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames.
Abner has spent parts of three seasons in Arizona’s Minor League system after being selected in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He owns a 7-2 career record and 2.81 ERA across 99 1/3 innings pitched in the Minors, featuring a 10.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
Helping the Orange & Blue to an SEC Championship and College World Series Runner-Up finish in 2023, Abner pitched to a 3-0 record, 3.16 ERA and .220 batting average against across 25 relief appearances. The southpaw totaled 31 1/3 innings and struck out 51 batters against 19 strikeouts as the top lefty out of the Gators bullpen.
From 2022-23, Abner made 51 appearances for Florida. He concluded his UF tenure with a 4-1 career record, 5.20 ERA, .234 batting average against and 75-to-40 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB under O’Sullivan.
| MLB Players Under O’Sullivan | ||||
| Player | Drafted (Round) | MLB Debut | Team | |
| 1 | Nick Maronde | 2011 (3rd) | September 2, 2012 | Los Angeles Angels |
| 2 | Paco Rodriguez | 2012 (2nd) | September 9, 2012 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 3 | Mike Zunino | 2012 (1st – 3rd overall) | June 12, 2013 | Seattle Mariners |
| 4 | Kevin Chapman | 2010 (4th) | August 9, 2013 | Houston Astros |
| 5 | Matt den Dekker | 2010 (5th) | August 29, 2013 | New York Mets |
| 6 | Anthony DeSclafani | 2011 (6th) | May 14, 2014 | Miami Marlins |
| 7 | Cole Figueroa | 2008 (6th) | May 16, 2014 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 8 | Preston Tucker | 2012 (7th) | May 7, 2015 | Houston Astros |
| 9 | Brian Johnson | 2012 (1st – 31st overall) | July 21, 2015 | Boston Red Sox |
| 10 | Nolan Fontana | 2012 (2nd) | May 22, 2017 | Los Angeles Angels |
| 11 | Austin Maddox | 2012 (3rd) | June 17, 2017 | Boston Red Sox |
| 12 | Harrison Bader | 2015 (3rd) | July 25, 2017 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 13 | Bobby Poyner | 2015 (14th) | March 31, 2018 | Boston Red Sox |
| 14 | Justin Shafer | 2014 (8th) | August 19, 2018 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 15 | Eric Hanhold | 2015 (6th) | September 4, 2018 | New York Mets |
| 16 | Richie Martin | 2015 (1st – 20th overall) | March 28, 2019 | Baltimore Orioles |
| 17 | Pete Alonso | 2016 (2nd) | March 28, 2019 | New York Mets |
| 18 | Shaun Anderson | 2016 (3rd) | May 15, 2019 | San Francisco Giants |
| 19 | A.J. Puk | 2016 (1st – 6th overall) | August 21, 2019 | Oakland Athletics |
| 20 | Brady Singer | 2018 (1st – 18th overall) | July 25, 2020 | Kansas City Royals |
| 21 | Dane Dunning | 2016 (1st – 29th overall) | August 19, 2020 | Chicago White Sox |
| 22 | Jonathan India | 2018 (1st – 5th overall) | Thursday, April 1, 2021 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 23 | Jackson Kowar | 2018 (1st – 33rd overall) | Monday, June 7, 2021 | Kansas City Royals |
| 24 | Taylor Gushue | 2014 (4th) | Wednesday, June 30, 2021 | Chicago Cubs |
| 25 | Kirby Snead | 2016 (10th) | Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 26 | Mark Kolozsvary | 2017 (7th) | Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 27 | Alex Faedo | 2017 (1st – 18th overall) | Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | Detroit Tigers |
| 28 | Danny Young | 2015 (8th) | Monday, May 9, 2022 | Seattle Mariners |
| 29 | Dalton Guthrie | 2017 (6th) | Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 30 | Jacob Young | 2021 (7th) | Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | Washington Nationals |
| 31 | Wyatt Langford | 2023 (1st – 4th overall) | Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024 | Texas Rangers |
| 32 | Christian Scott | 2021 (5th) | Saturday, May. 4, 2024 | New York Mets |
| 33 | Hurston Waldrep | 2023 (1st – 24th overall) | Sunday, June 9, 2024 | Atlanta Braves |
| 34 | Jac Caglianone | 2024 (1st – 6th overall) | Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | Kansas City Royals |
| 35 | Brandon Sproat | 2023 (2nd) | Sunday, September 7, 2025 | New York Mets |
| 36 | Philip Abner | 2023 (6th) | TBD | Arizona Diamondbacks |
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