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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon’s LA debut and MLB Owls update

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All three active MLB Owls saw action with their big league clubs this week. Here’s the latest on the Rice Baseball alums in the pros.

Tyler Duffey was the only former Rice baseball player who saw action in the opening weekend of the MLB’s 2020 season. He threw a scoreless inning while the other Owls worked to get back into their respective lineups. Both Anthony Rendon and Brock Holt made debuts with their new clubs in the days that followed with Rendon making his presence known quickly.

Jon Duplantier is in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ player pool but is currently rehabbing. Reports of his progress have been positive.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon missed the Angels season-opening series against the Oakland Athletics with an oblique injury. He made his debut in their fourth game of the year, a home contest against the Seattle Mariners. He went 1-3, walking twice and scoring two runs in five plate appearances. His lone hit — his first as an Angel — was a big one. It came in the eighth inning against Mariners’ pitcher Zac Grotz.

Rendon also weighed in on what it’s like playing with fake crowd noise. “It’s like you have two of your senses that aren’t coinciding with one another,” he said. “It’s like you’re looking at pizza, but you’re smelling a hamburger.”

Through August 3, Rendon is hitting .200 with two extra-base hits, 10 walks and six strikeouts. His OPS is .867.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Tyler Duffey is as locked in as ever. The Twins reliever has allowed one hit and struck out six of the 10 batters he’s faced this season. 64 percent of his pitches have been strikes. He explains a bit of the modifications he made during the offseason that’s helped him have such a tremendous start to the season so far.

Through August 3, Duffey has a spotless 0.00 ERA and a 0.250 WHIP. He’s averaging 18 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Milwaukee Brewers

An ankle injury slowed Holt out of the gate. He’s only been used sparingly in the Brewers six games. His debut came on July 27th against the Pirates as a defensive replacement at third base in the 10th inning. He struck out looking in his only plate appearance but would come around to score as the “ghost” runner in the 11th to give the Brewers the win.

Through August 3, Holt is hitless in three plate appearances. He’s struck out once, been hit by a pitch and grounded out.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 Summer Ball July 27 Update

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Current, former and incoming Rice baseball players are participating in Summer Ball leagues around the country. Here’s the latest on those Owls.

First a quick note on rosters. I’ve tracked down all players that I could find with listed statistics, but I know there are others playing ball this summer. If you come across information on anyone else associated with Rice baseball playing summer ball, please send it my way. You can leave it in the comments or send it to me some other way. Thanks!

Hitters

Guy Garibay’s tremendous summer marches on at a breakneck pace. The Premier League stats aren’t completely up to date yet, but the Rice baseball signee will likely push his summer average up above .400 after an RBI-filled weekend. He’s hitting with power and spraying the ball all over the yard. It’s going to be nice when he brings that bat with him to Reckling Park.

Among the other Owls with strong weeks, Ben Dukes doubled his hit total for the summer, picking up four hits in seven at bats. Nathan Becker continues to rake and Cullen Hannigan notched his first home run.

Hitting Stats

Pitchers

There isn’t much to report this week on the pitching front. Ryan Rickett and AC Plum each made appearances. Plum added a few strikeouts in a three-inning outing but was tagged for two runs and three walks over the course of the outing.

Pitching Stats

*All stats as of July 27 taken from league and team websites. Not all players listed have complete stats and some have no official stats listed at all.

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Rice Baseball: Injuries plague MLB Owls in restart

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The injury bug has not been kind to the Rice Baseball alums in the MLB. Tyler Duffey was the first Owl to make his mark in 2020.

The first weekend of the 2020 MLB season is in the books and it didn’t contain many highlights from Rice baseball alums at the next level. Early season injuries have kept the Owls from making their mark on 2020 so far, with the notable exception of Twins reliever Tyler Duffey.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was the first of the Owls to make his 2020 debut. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the Twins 10-5 Opening Day victory over the Chicago White Sox. He threw 13 pitches (11 strikes), striking out two and allowing one hit.

It was a good night at the office for Duffey, who made  Tim Anderson and two-time All Star Yasmani Grandal look silly with some impressive punch outs.

Brock Holt – Milwaukee Brewers

Holt signed with the Brewers this offseason after spending the entirety of his career before that with the Boston Red Sox. A sprained ankle has hindered him from making his debut. He did not play in the Brewers opening series against the Chicago Cubs, which they dropped 2-1.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

All signs point to Rendon making his Angels debut, but the World Series Champ did not appear in the first three games of the Halos four-game series with the Oakland Athletics. Rendon has been battling an oblique injury but has thus far avoided a stint on the injured list.

Jon Duplantier – Arizona Diamondback

Jon Duplantier made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He started this year in the Diamondbacks 60-man player pool, but off the 30 man roster as he works back from injury. There is no clear timetable for his return.

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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon preparing for first action with Angels

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Anthony Rendon is one of four Rice baseball alums who will be a part of the shortened 2020 MLB season, scheduled to start in the coming weeks.

The most notable of the Rice baseball alums in the bigs right now, we last saw Rendon as he hoisted the World Series Trophy. In the months that followed he signed a 7-year, $245-Million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Then he navigated the challenges of moving from Houston to Arizona to California amidst a pandemic.

Finally settled in with a few months tucked away in his new home with his family, Rendon and his new team are ready to play baseball. The Angels finished 72-90 last season. That was 35 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West and 24 games out of the wild card. Rendon was brought in to narrow that gap. With his help, the Angels hope to push their star-studded lineup past the Astros’ mighty array of bats.

Rendon hit a career-best .319 last season with 44 doubles and 126 RBI. It was his clutching hitting in the World Series that played a huge role in the Nationals’ winning it all. His stellar year earned him his first All-Star nomination, but he missed the game with minor injuries. The shortened season means the star third baseman will have to wait at least one more year before he gets his shot at another All-Star selection.

During some of his off time this spring, Rendon stopped by The Roost Podcast for an interview. We talked everything from his World Series adventures to the new contract to why he chose to sign with the Angels. Plus, he shared some of his tips on how to best throw a tee-shirt inside Tudor Fieldhouse and more.

The Angels are scheduled to open their season on Friday, July 24 at the Athletics. First pitch is tentatively set for 9:10 p.m. CT. Rendon has dealt with some oblique tightness during summer camp, but expects to

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Rice Baseball alum Trei Cruz returns to the diamond in Sugar Land

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Former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz returns to the field Friday. He’ll take part in the Sugarland Skeeters’ Constellation Energy League.

The last time many heard from former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz he was being drafted by the Detriot Tigers. A few weeks removed from that top-of-the-world experience he’ll return to the diamond, it just won’t be with the Tigers or one of their affiliate teams as he might have expected.

The Minor League Baseball was officially canceled on June 30th. That left Cruz, among others, with an open schedule this summer and an extended absence from baseball. He last took the field on March 10 during a midweek game against Texas A&M.

Cruz is slated to take part in the Sugar Land Skeeter’s four-team Constellation Energy League as a member of the Eastern Reyes Del Tigre. He’ll square off with the Skeeters, Team Texas and the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths. Notable managers include former Major Leaguers Dave Eiland and Greg Swindell as well as the father-son duo of Roger and Koby Clemens.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Former Rice infielder Ford Proctor will join Cruz on Eastern Reyes Del Tigre. Several other current and former minor leaguers are scattered across the four teams. Josh Breaux, a 2018 second-round pick of the Yankees will catch on Cruz’s team.  Former Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp will suit up for Team Texas.

Games will begin on Friday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Constellation Field. That’s a slight change from the original schedule with including opening night on July 3. Games were delayed one week because of the rise in COVID-19 cases in the area. Assuming things go as planned, the season is now scheduled to run through August 30th. The games will be open to the public.

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