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Rice Baseball: 2021 Season Preview

February 17, 2021 By Matthew Bartlett

Rain, snow or shine, Rice baseball is set to begin their 2021 season soon. Here’s a rundown of the Owls on the mound and in the batter’s box.

The long wait is finally over for Rice baseball. The Owls saw their 2020 season come to a premature end because of COVID-19 and they’re anxious to get back onto the field at Reckling Park this weekend.

The pitching staff

The weeks leading up to the regular season is really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to how Rice baseball will deploy its pitchers. Head coach Matt Bragga has a general idea for which guys will get the nods to be at the top of the pitching rotation, but the finalized plan regarding how to divvy up the innings are still coming together.

Bragga knows he’ll need almost every capable arm in some capacity this season. The revised 2021 schedule includes grueling four-game weekends, including a Saturday double header. As a result, it’s going to require teams to find at least 15 more outs every weekend. That means more arms.

“I think this year could lend itself to playing more guys and pitching more guys,” Bragga said, going on to note a particularly important truth, “Our depth is definitely better.”

Projected weekend rotation

  1. Roel Garcia, RHP
  2. Blake Brogdon, RHP
  3. Mitchell Holcomb, RHP
  4. Brandon Deskins, LHP

Next up, Possible midweek starters

  • Alex DeLeon, RHP
  • Dillon Janac, RHP
  • Garret Zaskoda, RHP

The top of the rotation isn’t much of a surprise. Roel Garcia has the arm talent to be a true ace for Rice when he’s healthy. According to Bragga, Garcia feels as good as he’s felt in the past several years and “a Friday-night type of young man” and “a game one starter”. Having him fully healthy would be huge for the Owls.

After Garcia, Brogdon will look to build on a strong, albeit short, 2020 campaign. He went five innings in three of his five starts and had 18 strikeouts 19.1 innings. An improvement in command and a few less walks are key things for him to take the next step in his game this season.

Rounding out the rotation will be some combination of intriguing young arms or veteran pieces. Of that group, transfer Mitchell Holcomb looks like the most likely to clinch a weekend spot. A four-year weekend starter at Penn, Holcomb has impressed in his time at South Main, particularly catching Bragga’s eye with his superb command.

The last spot truly is up for grabs. Deskins was electric in fall intrasquad practices. DeLeon was the opening day starter a year ago. Janich is an intriguing freshman with a power arm and a great slider. Zaskoda is a bit of a wild card, but finished second on the team in ERA this fall (behind Holcomb) and showed tremendous improvement from his freshman season.

At first glance, the rotation lacks the punch of Rice rotations of old, but there’s still a lot to like. That said, the Owls have more options in the rotation than they did last spring. If Garcia steps into his role as an ace and someone else seizes the No. 2 role, the depth should be good enough to keep Rice in games and win a few of them almost on their own.

Key bullpen pieces (in no particular order)

  • Dalton Wood, RHP
  • Drake Greenwood, RHP
  • Kel Bordwine, RHP
  • Matthew Linskey, RHP
  • Micah Davis, RHP
  • Reed Gallant, RHP
  • Cristian Cienfuegos, RHP
  • AC Plum, RHP
  • Caleb Burgess, RHP

Rice baseball could be in line for a step change in their bullpen production compared to where things stood when Bragga arrived on campus. 16 of the 20 pitchers than threw in the fall hit speeds of at least 90 miles per hour. Bragga himself said, “that doesn’t win you games,” but it’s “an extra weapon that you have.”

That starts with Dalton Wood. A power armed righty that missed most of last year recovering from injury, he has the potential to be a shutdown option out of the pen Rice was earnestly searching for last spring.

After wood, guys like Greenwood and Bordwine should see work in the middle innings. Both have starting experience and have proven to be dependable for the Owls in the past. Others like Cienfuegos and Plum have shown flashes, but hope to build upon that with improved consistency.\

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Freshman Reed Gallant, Matthew Linskey and Micah Davis have inserted their names into the mix. Both stood out during scrimmage outings. Rice will need someone to shut things down in key moments. Could Davis’ and his 96 mph fastball get the call? It’s certainly possible.

Having this many options is a good problem for Bragga to have. As with the back end of the rotation, the key will be finding the handful of most dependable options as quickly as possible. This is a spot where the incoming freshman class could shine. The quantity of top-notch arm talent is exciting. Getting a few key innings out of the up-and-coming arms could elevate the whole group tremendously.

The Lineup

There will be several difficult decision Rice baseball head coach Matt Bragga will have to make before the Owls’ regular season arrived on Feb. 19. Piecing together the majority of the starting lineup shouldn’t be one of them. As Bragga himself admitted the lineup is, “truthfully, not that big of a secret.”

The straightforwardness of the Owls’ attack is generated by a strong contingent of returning veterans plus a few new live bats that could prove to be difference makers for Rice this spring.

Projected Lineup

1B – Austin Bullman
2B – Cade Edwards
SS – Hal Hughes
3B – Brayden Comeaux
C – Will Karp / Justin Collins
RF – Guy Garibay
CF – Connor Walsh
LF – Bradley Gneiting
DH – Nathan Becker

The Infield

There’s certainly no mystery here. With the exception of Trei Cruz, a third round MLB Draft selection of the Detroit Tigers last year, the remainder of the Rice infield returns for 2021 thanks in part to the extra year of eligibility afforded to all players. Upperclassmen Austin Bulman, Cade Edwards and Brayden Comeaux all figure to be top of the order bats with plus fielding attributes.

The newcomer on the dirt is LSU transfer Hal Hughes. The junior started 63 games as a true freshman for the Tigers and 109 games in his LSU career. His biggest asset is his glove. He holds a career .955 fielding percentage and has position flexibility, able to slide over to third or second should the Owls’ need it.

Designated Hitter and Catcher

As it has been over the past two years under Bragga, the designated hitter spot will likely start as a rotation of sorts until someone seizes the job (hopefully) for good. True freshman Tyler LaRue started at DH on Opening Day last spring, making it seem reasonable to expect another up-and-coming bat will get a crack at the spot early in the season. Freshman Nathan Becker, a highly-regarded first base recruit, is the favorite to get the first look.

Rice baseball could be turning to a new face at catcher in 2021. Bragga indicated he expected newcomer Will Karp, a grad transfer from Haverford, to get the nod behind the dish. Former starter Justin Collins’ availability was in question. While Bragga did go as far as sharing that his absence was “COVID-related”, he did not go into details. The positive note on the catching front was the impressive spring Karp has put together.

The Outfield

The outfield was somewhat of a work-in-progress last year, but Rice will be much deeper at the position this time around. True freshman Guy Garibay and redshirt freshman Connor Walsh, an Ole Miss transfer, both come to Rice with high expectations and should be fixtures in the lineup from the start. Both swing the bat well.

As was the case last season, left field should prove to be more contentious. There are a host of guys who will probably cycle through that position with repeat outings possible for those who earn extended playing time. Veteran Bradley Gneiting will get the first crack at the job and will probably see some time at designated hitter as well. Other returners like Justin Dunlap, Antonio Cruz and Daniel Hernandez are thought to be in the mix.

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Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: A.C. Plum, Alex Deleon, Austin Bulman, Blake Brogdon, Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Brandon Deskins, Cade Edwards, Caleb Burgess, Connor Walsh, Cristian Cienfuegos, Dalton Wood, Dillon Janac, Drake Greenwood, Garret Zaskoda, Guy Garibay, Hal Hughes, Justin Collins, Kel Bordwine, Matthew Linskey, Micah Davis, Mitchell Holcomb, Nathan Becker, Reed Gallant, Rice baseball, Roel Garcia, Will Karp

Rice Baseball: Owls ready for unique 2021 season

January 29, 2021 By Matthew Bartlett

The schedule is strange. Rosters are deep. But more than anything, Rice baseball wants to get back onto the field as soon as they can.

Almost a year removed from an abridged 16-game season, Rice baseball is ready to give it another go. The Owls had barely begun conference play last spring when COVID-19 brought a swift halt to their season. The ripple effects from that strenuous week are still being felt.

The most notable deviation from “normal” will be the 42 players listed on the roster this season. In a typical year, rosters are capped at 35 individuals. Rice will have seven more this season, primarily composed of seniors who believed their last year of college baseball was going to wrap up last summer. Veterans like Braden Comeaux, Cade Edwards and Bradley Gneiting will don pinstripes for one more ride.

Head coach Matt Bragga is excited about the depth, which along with an influx of talent, should help him navigate this team to a better season than last year’s shortened start. But his optimism don’t stop at the walls of Reckling Park. In his estimate, “this should be one of the best years in the history of college baseball.”

The MLB Draft was shortened from 40 rounds to five rounds. Roster limitations have been suspended for the season. Every roster has more talent, more weapons, than they thought they’d have before the pandemic arrived. Now each team will have to make the best of it that they can.

“We’re anxious to get back out,” Bragga said, “I really like this crew. The product continues to get better, as it should.”

The return to action includes a revised schedule with less distanced travel and a few interesting twists. There are less midweek games. When conference play arrives on March 26 they’ll play just one team outside of C-USA.

Conference weekends will look different too. Rather than the standard Friday to Sunday three-game slate, there will be four games played each weekend, with a Saturday doubleheader of seven-inning games injected to increase the chances of playing as many games as possible. Bragga wanted four full nine-inning games but was in the minority

Whether it’s three-game weekends or four, Bragga just wants to get back onto the grass.  “I don’t like being judged on 28% of a season,” he said, recalling a disappointing 2020 start. He and the Owls will have their chance in a few short weeks. Opening Day against Arkansas Little Rock is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19. Stay tuned for future updates on the pitching staff and the lineup.

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Filed Under: Baseball, Archive Tagged With: Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Cade Edwards, Rice baseball

Rice Baseball: Way too early look at 2021 lineup

June 17, 2020 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2021 Rice baseball lineup will look different without Trei Cruz. Here’s a first pass at what players might trot out for the Owls on opening weekend next season.

Rice baseball hasn’t played many games since we last projected the starting lineup. Even still, so much has happened with the canceled season at the forefront of many of the developments.

Most notably, Trei Cruz was recently drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He has since signed. Rodrigo Duluc and Tyler LaRue intend to transfer. Those are the notable changes to the roster as of mid-June.

Earlier in the spring, the NCAA announced seniors in spring sports would be granted an additional year of eligibility. How that plays out from a scholarship situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis. To that end, we don’t have a definitive answer on which seniors will (or won’t) return in 2021. For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll assume they will come back.

With that in mind. Here’s what our lineup projection looked like entering the 2020 season.

Starting lineup projection as of Jan 31

  1. Braden Comeaux, 3B
  2. Bradley Gneiting, RF
  3. Trei Cruz, SS
  4. Austin Bulman, 1B
  5. Brayden Combs, DH
  6. Cade Edwards, 2B
  7. Justin Collins, C
  8. Tyler Larue, LF
  9. Aaron Beaulaurier, CF

And here’s our projection in mid-June, taking into account the losses of Trei Cruz and Tyler LaRue.

2021 starting lineup projection

  1. Braden Comeaux, 3B
  2. Cade Edwards, 2B
  3. Bradley Gneiting, RF
  4. Austin Bulman, 1B
  5. Justin Collins, C
  6. Connor Walsh, SS
  7. Brayden Combs, DH
  8. Aaron Beaulaurier, CF
  9. Antonio Cruz, LF

The most important new addition is Ole Miss transfer Connor Walsh. His commitment in early June was huge for the Owls. He’s the likely replacement behind Trei Cruz. The third outfield spot is a mystery at this point. Antonio Cruz, Justin Dunlap and Dominic Cox are the front runners by seniority, but nobody seized the job this past spring. Incoming freshman Guy Garibay Jr is a name to watch.

What are your thoughts? Share your guesses as to who suits up for the Owls in 2021 in the comments.

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Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Aaron Beaulaurier, Antonio Cruz, Austin Bulman, Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Brayden Combs, Cade Edwards, Connor Walsh, Justin Collins, Rice baseball, Trei Cruz, Tyler Larue

Rice Baseball 2020: Owls swept by No. 2 Texas Tech

March 8, 2020 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice baseball pushed No. 2 Texas Tech to the wire on multiple occasions but left Lubbock without a win. More on the good and bad from the wild weekend.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Texas Tech wins series 3-0

1. The starting pitching is gradually getting better

Texas Tech scored in droves over the weekend, but the Rice bullpen was the primary victim of the rain of runs. Starters Alex DeLeon (5 IP, 3 ER), Blake Brogdon (3.2 IP, 1 ER) and Drake Greenwood (5 IP, 2 ER) were able to battle and keep the potent Texas Tech offense at bay.

It wasn’t all positive. Although all of the Owls starting pitchers surrendered less than three earned runs, none made it through the sixth inning, the bar necessary to earn a quality start. A quality start isn’t a perfect measure of a pitcher’s mettle, but the toll exacted on the bullpen from the starter’s short outings couldn’t have been any more apparent after Texas Tech exploded at the end of games. 21 of their 33 runs were scored in the sixth inning or later.

2. Top-heavy lineup

Rice jumped out to a multi-run lead in two of the three games in this series. Given the Owls’ propensity to play from behind, a cushion for the starting pitching was an encouraging sign. The chief contributor for the early success was the top bats in the Rice lineup showing up in big ways.

The usual cast of characters — Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, Austin Bulman and Cade Edwards — gave the Texas Tech pitching staff fits. The bottom half of the order was an entirely different story. Justin Collins had a few hits, but struck out eight times. Aaron Beaulaurier and Antonio Cruz went 0-fer at the dish for the weekend.

On Saturday, Rice exhibited how dangerous this lineup can be when the top hitters are in a groove. The difference in the game, though, was the ability to score runs from the back half of the lineup. Rice 6-7-8-9 hitters had one combined RBI. The same portion of the Texas Tech lineup had 14 RBI.

3. Not yet five units strong

Before the season began, Rice skipper Matt Bragga said the team needed to be five units strong. That meant consistent pitching, Hitting and defense (catching, infield and outfield). Rice has had flashes of greatness in all three levels, but the defense has been the only facet this team can rely on with any level of dependability.

The defense has had blips here and there, but those units looks night-and-day different from where they started in 2019. The bats seem to be inching in the right direction; Rice has scored five or more runs three times since Feb. 28 after topping out a four runs in their 0-7 start.

Individual pitchers have had solid outings, but collectively they’ve struggled. Rice has held an opponent to fewer than four runs twice (not counting sunday) in 15 tries. That’s not going to cut it, especially when the offense isn’t able to consistently put up crooked numbers.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Texas Tech 7 – Rice 1

Rice baseball fell behind early on Friday night against Texas Tech and was unable to battle back. The one-two punch of Clayton Beeter and Micah Dallas completely flummoxed the Owls, who struck out a season-high 17 times. It’s hard to mount any sort of rally when punchouts outnumber hits (Rice had six) by nearly three to one.

Even with the lack of production at the plate, Rice kept things within striking distance until starter Alex DeLeon left the ballgame. Freshman Matthew Santos came in and threw 1+ inning, walking three and allowing four runs. A 4-1 deficit became a 7-1 deficit, a score which held for the final two frames.

SATURDAY | Texas Tech 19 – Rice 12

Through two and a half innings, Rice led the No. 2 team in the nation 7-1. Blake Brogdon had worked through some trouble on the bases, but kept Texas Tech limited at the plate. Control issues and a rising pitch count forced Rice to go to the bullpen, opting for Cristian Cienfuegos in the fourth inning.

Cienfuegos had been one of the Owls’ more dependable bullpen pieces, but wasn’t able to do anything against the Red Raider lineup. He was tattooed for nine runs (eight earned) in two innings. Josh Larzabal and Johnny Hoyle, who followed Cienfuegos, were equally scarred. The Rice offense tied a season-high with 12 runs, but couldn’t keep pace with the home team.

SUNDAY | Texas Tech 7 – Rice 6 (11 inn)

Things started out on the right for the Owls in the series finale. Rice struck for four runs in the first inning despite only recording one hit. Texas Tech starter Austin Becker walked the bases full setting up a 2 RBI double by Rodrigo Duluc. Up big early for the second day in a row, all the Owls had to do was hold on.

Both teams had scary moments, loading the bases in the later innings with the chance to push the game to one extreme or the other. The differentiator was a bases loaded walk by Justin Collins and a deftly induced double play ball by Branden Deskins. Everything finally came together to help Rice salvage a much-needed marquee win.

ON DECK | vs Texas A&M (Tues), vs Marshall (Fri-Sun)

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Filed Under: Featured, Archive, Baseball Tagged With: Aaron Beaulaurier, Alex Deleon, Austin Bulman, Blake Brogdon, Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Cade Edwards, Cristian Cienfuegos, game recap, Johnny Hoyle, Josh Larzabal, Justin Collins, Matthew Santos, Rice baseball, Trei Cruz

Rice Baseball 2020: Houston takes Game 1 of Silver Glove Series

March 5, 2020 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice baseball dropped the first game of the Silver Glove Series on Wednesday night, falling to Houston 6-4 at Reckling Park.

Wednesday night’s narrow loss was the latest in a series of tough blows to a Rice baseball program still in search of consistency. Rice held Houston off the board in the first, but allowed the Cougars to score in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Despite leading 2-1 after two frames, Rice fell behind 5-2 and was unable to rally.

The Rice loss put Houston ahead 1-0 in the battle for the Silver Glove. Rice won the series in 2019.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Lineup TBD

Matt Bragga has said on multiple occasions he’d prefer to pick one lineup and stick with it. Wednesday was far from that ideal, but that’s what happens when previous lineups fail to get the job done. Freshman catcher Cullen Hannigan got his first career start (and first collegiate hit).

The outfield consisted of Dominic Cox, Antonio Cruz and Aaron Beaulaurier, almost a complete 180 flip from the trio of Beaulaurier, Daniel Hernandez and Bradley Gneiting who started the first game of the Missouri State series. Hernandez did not appear, while Gneiting moved to first base, shifting Austin Bulman to third as Braden Comeaux remained out of the lineup.

Starting Pitching TBD

The midweek starting spots are still up for grabs. First, the Owls are still working to settle in on a weekend rotation that will include Roel Garcia when he’s back to full strength. Beyond that, the Owls haven’t had anyone come in and seize the job or force themselves into the conversation for a Sunday start.

Brandon Deskins got the nod tonight and turned in a serviceable performance. He allowed two runs (one earned) in three innings, one which came on a wild pitch. Looking past that misstep, and considering the lack of proven alternatives, Deskins probably deserves another midweek start at the very least.

Offensive execution continues to be a sore spot

Down 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Rice had a golden opportunity to tie the game. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. They had three opportunities. And they wasted each of them. After Cade Edwards and Trei Cruz had delivered RBI hits to set the table, Austin Bulman, Rodrigo Duluc and Bradley Gneiting struck out in order with runners on second and third.

Not converting with runners in scoring position happens to every team, but it’s happened with far too much regularity with the Owls. There is simply no reason the 3-4-5 hitters in any lineup can’t get the tying run 90 feet with three tries. A bad indiviual at bat happens, but three in a row from the better hitters on the team is a problem. If the approaches in those situations don’t change, it’s going to be hard to trust this team to get hits when the pressure rises even higher.

Up Next | Texas Tech (Fri-Sun)

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Filed Under: Archive, Baseball Tagged With: Austin Bulman, Bradley Gneiting, Cade Edwards, Rice baseball, Rodrigo Duluc, Trei Cruz

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