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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon theatrics highlight MLB Owls in August

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Almost a month removed from the All-Star break, Rice Baseball’s active MLB players are still going strong. Here’ the latest on the five MLB Owls.

JT Chargois – Los Angeles Dodgers

Up and down remains the story for Chargois in LA. He’s worked at least one scoreless inning in four of his nine outings since the break, but given up runs in the other five appearances. His strikeout numbers are down a bit, but he’s also been the victim of some unlucky ball placement. Opposing batters have a .375 BAbip (batting average on balls in play) after the break compared to a .286 mark before.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey has been excellent for the Twins as a set up man this year, continuing that success into August. He’s picked up six of his seven holds over the past month, striking out 13 batters in nine combined innings and allowing one extra-base hit. Opposing batters are hitting an eye-popping .103 against Duffey since the All-Star break.

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Jon Duplantier – Arizona Diamondbacks

Duplantier has been with Arizona’s AAA affiliate in Reno since the break, rehabbing after a stint on the injured list in June and July. He’s made three AAA appearances over the past two weeks, each of which have been rocky, ending in four innings or less.

Brock Holt – Boston Red Sox

Holt has cooled off a bit since our last update, going hitless in his last six games. Even with that brief dip, he’s hitting .308 since the break, a testament to his stellar July. Primarily serving as Boston’s second baseman, Holt has taken on a variety of roles and is occasionally removed at the end of games. He’s played seven complete games since the break, participating in 17, and remaining steady regardless of what role he’s asked to play.

Anthony Rendon – Washington Nationals

The All-Star keeps doing All-Star things. Rendon owns a .357/.455/.595 slash line since the break and a 1.051 OPS. He’s racked up 12 extra base hits, including this breathtaking grand slam.

This has become par for the course for Rendon, who’s team-leading 4.4 fWAR is better than his next closest teammates, Juan Soto and Trea Turner’s combined fWAR (4.1). Rendon’s WRC+ (weighted runs created plus) is third in the National League.

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Rice Baseball Minor League Roundup: Matt Canterino makes pro debut

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Rice baseball products are making headlines in the minor leagues. Updates on the 2019 draftees and Owls currently in the pipeline.

2019 Draftees

Garrett Gayle

Gayle has appeared in four games for the Tri-City ValleyCats (Astros) following his 12th round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft. He has a 3.00 ERA over four games with eight strikeouts and five walks. His most recent outing came on July 11th, a three-inning save, the first save of his pro career.

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Evan Kravetz

A fifth-round pick of the Reds this year, Kravetz has made one appearance so far this summer. He threw one scoreless inning in a start for the Greeneville Reds on June 22, retiring all three batters he faced without allowing a hit.

Matt Canterino

Canterino’s first action following his second-round selection by the Twins came on July 13 with the GCL Twins. He threw two innings, allowing one hit and one run with two strikeouts and a walk.

Other minor league notables

After spending 2018 in lower-A ball, Ford Proctor was promoted to single-A this season where he’s currently hitting .276 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods. He leads the team with 18 doubles and 48 runs scored.

Ricky Salinas was named Reds MiLB Player of the Month, and for good reason. Salinas started five games in June and finished with a jaw-dropping 1.03 ERA and a 0.911 WHIP. Opposing batter hit .181 during that span.

It was a good spring for Glenn Otto with the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees). He made seven appearances, all starts allowing more than two earned runs in just one outing. Among pitchers who made at least five starts, Otto was second on the team with a 2.87 ERA.

Tony Cingrani was pitching well in limited action with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He posted a 2.45 ERA in eight appearances (one in with Rancho Cucamonga) before he had surgery to repair his labrum. He’ll miss the remainder of the season.

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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon’s All-Star nomination long overdue

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Former Rice Baseball slugger Anthony Rendon’s All-Star caliber play has finally been rewarded. The honor is long overdue.

The fact that Anthony Rendon received his first All-Star nod during his age 29 season is baffling. Rendon was the No. 6 overall selection by the Washington Nationals in the 2011 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 2013 hitting .265/.329/.725. Since then he’s become even more productive.

Currently in his seventh season, Rendon is in the midst of his third consecutive year with a .300+ batting average. He’s hit 68 home runs over that span and still has half of the 2019 season to play. His OPS+ has been better than 135 in each of those seasons and he’s finished in the Top 11 of MVP voting in each of the last two seasons, ending up as high as sixth in 2017.

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By every measure, Rendon is one of the most outstanding players in professional baseball. Since 2014, his first complete season in the big leagues, Rendon has an fWAR (Fangraph’s measure of WAR) of 27.9. That’s seventh best among all position players during that time.

Perhaps he was overshadowed by the super-ego of Bryce Harper or perhaps the Nationals’ postseason failures limited his opportunities to gain more exposure. Whatever the reason, Rendon’s numbers speak for themselves. He is one of the best players in the sport right now and is well deserving of his 2019 All-Star selection.

Rendon’s banner year might have come at just the right time. He’s in the final season of his current contract with the Nationals and will be eligible for free agency following this year. He’s due to make a significant payday one that should put him among the elite third baseman in terms of salary. Maybe that will be enough to put his name at the forefront of public perception, too.

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Rice Baseball: MLB Owls Update – JT Chargois called up and Tyler Duffey deals

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Rice Baseball‘s former players are playing well in the major leagues. Here’s the latest from the current crop of MLB Owls.

JT Chargois

Chargois got called up again this week after a month long hiatus from the big leagues. He appeared in two games for the Dodgers, the first of which earned him his first win of the 2019 season. Chargois threw 2.0 innings against the San Francisco Giants on June 20, striking out five of the eight batters he faced. His next outing was brief. He faced two Arizona Diamondbacks batters, walking one and striking out the other.

Tyler Duffey

Duffey has been sharp since he rejoined the Minnesota Twins in midmay. He’s allowed no earned runs and struck out three over his last three outings. Two perfect innings this week against the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays dropped his season ERA to 1.90.

Jon Duplantier

Duplantier hasn’t seen any innings since he was put on the injured list with shoulder inflammation two weeks ago. The Diamondbacks are playing it safe with the talented young hurler. There’s no indication of when he’ll rejoin the team or begin rehab starts.

Brock Holt

Holt was in the midst of a red-hot streak before he left Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a hamstring injury. It looks like he’ll avoid the injured list, but the fact that he’s missed a few games this week is unfortunate. Prior to going down Holt was hitting .390 with a .950 OPS in the month of June with 23 hits and 12 RBI in 18 games (15 starts).

Anthony Rendon

Rendon has done nothing but bolster his All Star candidacy of late. He’s hitting .313 in June including three multi-hit games this week. He’s maintained an OPS better than 1.000 since March 31. There’s a lot of good players vying for the National League’s third base slot and Rendon is trailing in the voting. If he’s going to make the mid-summer classic, it’ll most likely be a reserve. You can vote for Rendon here.

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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon’s All-Star bid leads way for MLB Owls

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Anthony Rendon and the rest of the MLB Owls have had a strong start to the summer. How are the Rice baseball products fairing through mid-June.

The Rice baseball season has long since wrapped up. Postseason reviews for the starting pitching, the bullpen, the lineup and the defense have been logged, but the MLB season is still young. Here’s how the MLB Owls are fairing as the summer heats up.

JT Chargois

Chargois last pitched in April, appearing with the Dodgers in two games against the Cardinals. He was then sent back to Triple A and hasn’t resurfaced in the majors yet this season.

Tyler Duffey

Recalled as the 26th man for the Twins doubled header with the Detroit Tigers on May 11, Duffey has bounced back and forth between AAA Rochester and the big leagues for the past two months. During that time he’s been effective, sporting a 2.51 ERA in 12 appearances. He’s posted 22 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting .237 against him.

Jon Duplantier

After making his first career start on May 31, Duplantier made two more starts with the Diamondbacks in the month of June. His opponents (Los Angeles and Philadelphia) made for a tough task. He went five innings against the Dodgers, allowing two earned runs and three innings against the Phillies, allowing four earned runs. He was awarded the loss in the latter game, his first of his career. Duplantier was recently placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

Brock Holt

The month of June has been a good one for Holt. He’s hit safely in nine of 12 games with a .432 batting average and a 1.095 OPS. He has three extra base hits over that span with eight RBI. Since June 1, he’s raised his batting average 120 points.

Anthony Rendon

Rendon hasn’t slowed from his impressive early season pace as he vies for an All Star nomination. He’s hitting .321 this season and .340 over the month of June. He’s hit six home runs in his last 14 games, driving in 16 runs in that time period. As of Monday he ranked fifth in the voting among NL Third baseman, slightly behind the Braves’ Josh Donaldson and the Dogers’ Justin Turner. You can vote for Rendon here.

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