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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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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon leads the way for MLB Owls

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Rice baseball boasts a long tradition of excellence at both the collegiate and professional level. This year five Owls have made MLB appearances.

While the college squad works to secure a Conference USA Tournament berth, five MLB Owls have made at least one appearance in The Show in 2019. Jon Duplantier made his MLB Debut and two of the Owls’ most prolific pro hitters have fought through injuries to make an impact on the field this season.

JT Chargois

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft, Chargois spent the last two seasons with the Dodgers. He made 35 appearances last season but has only been elevated to the big leagues once in 2019. Chargois threw in back-to-back games against the Saint Louis Cardinals in April, allowing two runs on a home run to Marcell Ozuna in 1.2 innings pitched. He was then sent back to Triple A.

Tyler Duffey

Like Chargois, Duffey saw limited action in 2019 before returning to the minor leagues. He made four appearances for the Twins in April. In two of them, he held his opponent to one hit and no runs. In the other two games, though, he allowed five runs including a three run home run into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park to Jose Altuve.

Jon Duplantier

Duplantier made his MLB Debut on April, earning a three-inning save for his Arizona Diamondbacks over the San Diego Padres. Through three career outings, he’s maintained a spotless 0.00 ERA with three hits allowed, four walks and seven strikeouts over the course of eight innings. His last appearance came against the Chicago Cubs on April 28.

Brock Holt

After a scratched cornea courtesy of his son hampered Holt’s ability to play earlier in the season, a shoulder injury sidelined him in through mid-April. Since then he’s participated in one rehab and assignment and is on track to get back on the field with the Red Sox in the coming days. Manager Alex Cora expects Holt to resume baseball activities on Monday.

Anthony Rendon

The starting third baseman for the Washington Nationals, Rendon is off to the hottest start of his professional career. Already the owner of a 17-game hitting streak this season, Rendon leads his team with a .342 batting average, .433 on-base percentage and .711 slugging percentage. He’s mashed six home runs with 10 doubles in 21 games.

Rendon was hit with a pitch on April 20, sidelining him for several weeks. He was activated on Tuesday and played in the team’s last two games, both against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Anthony Rendon red-hot with Washington Nationals

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Rice baseball product Anthony Rendon is currently mashing his way through the MLB, riding one of the hottest streaks of his professional career.

Anthony Rendon earned the Howser Trophy when he was named National Player of the Year with the Owls in 2010. He later went on to be a first-round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2011 and been a successful big leaguer ever since. Currently in his sixth season in the bigs, Rendon is having one of the best stretches of his career.

A career .280 hitter with a decent amount of pop, Rendon has had a two-week stretch to remember. Beginning on June 17 against the Blue Jays, Rendon currently carries a nine-game hitting streak in which he’s been red-hot. He’s hit three home runs, six doubles and driven in seven RBI. Over the course of the nine games, Rendon is slashing .438/.471/.875. That’s an astounding 1.346 OPS. There are few hitters in the MLB seeing the baseball as well as he is right now.

Despite Rendon’s successes, the Nationals haven’t fared well. They’ve gone just 3-6 against the Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Phillies and Rays in that stretch. The Yankees are a real World Series contender, but the rest of those clubs shouldn’t be able to keep up with the Nats’ firepower at the plate or arms on the mound. Regardless of the outcome, Rendon has done his part.

As of the latest update, Rendon wasn’t in the top-5 of the National League All-Star voting recipients at third base. He trails the Rockies’ Nolan Arendo, the Cubs’ Kris Bryant, the Braves’ Johan Camargo, the Reds’ Eugenio Suarez and the Dodgers’ Justin Turner. Perhaps an electrifying finish to the first half will be enough to change the minds of enough voters to earn Rendon his first All Star selection of his career.

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