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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.

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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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Rice Baseball: 2020 Summer Ball July 5 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

As for the players I was able to track down, the most impressive start has come from a player who has yet to suit up for Rice baseball. Incoming outfielder Guy Garibay has been smashing the baseball in the Texas Premier League. He’s 6-for-20 this summer, but almost all of his hits have gone for extra bases. He’s hitting with power to all fields, including this bomb to straight away center:

Of the current Owls, none have done much to impress so far in their limited action. Dominic Cox has amassed a .400 OBP, but has just two hits in nine games.

Hitting Stats

Pitchers

Pitchers have had fewer outings than the hitters. AC Plum currently sports a 0.00 ERA through three appearances. He’s gone five innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. We haven’t seen much from him at Reckling thus far, but a solid summer will only help his chances to get on the bump. Brandon Deskins has yet to give up a hit in three innings, working 3.1 innings with nine strikeouts.

Pitching Stats

*All stats as of July 4 taken from league and team websites.

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Rice Baseball: Way too early look at the 2021 pitching staff

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The 2021 Rice baseball starting rotation might look different next year, but the Owls look to have avoided significant losses to the MLB on the mound.

The NCAA’s decision to award an extra year of eligibility to spring sport seniors could come into play here as well. There hasn’t been much in the way of definite statements as to which players will (or won’t) be returning to Reckling Park next season. For now, we’ll assume most players will.

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

Projected Starting Rotation as of Jan 31

  1. Alex De Leon, RHP
  2. Roel Garcia, RHP
  3. Kel Bordwine, RHP
  4. Dalton Wood, RHP
  5. Drake Greenwood, RHP

For the time being, none of these five have announced plans to be anywhere else in 2021. That includes Garcia, who likely would have been a draft pick had the draft not been severely shortened and his health afford him more chances on the rubber this past spring.

2021 Projected Starting Rotation

  1. Roel Garcia, RHP
  2. Blake Brogdon, RHP
  3. Dalton Wood, RHP
  4. Alex DeLeon, RHP
  5. Kel Bordwine, RHP

Garcia and Wood’s almost nonexistent usage in 2020 was driven by injuries. With another full offseason (and more) to recover, both should challenge for weekend rotation spots next season. That would make DeLeon the man on the bubble after Brogdon impressed in his first few turns through the rotation in 2020. His 4.19 ERA was the second-best among all weekend starters except for Drake Greenwood’s 3.94.

The Bullpen

The bullpen had a lot of unknowns entering 2020. Some of those were answered. Brandon Deskins came on strong. Cristian Cienfuegos, Garret Zaskoda and Joshua Larzabal each had extended looks. All four will likely factor into the bullpen usage in some way in 2021. Who else earns key roles will depend on what happens with fall practice and preseason scrimmages.

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Rice Baseball: Way too early look at 2021 lineup

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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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