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Rice Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – September 10

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of September 10.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

At this point, it might be enough to leave this portion simple. Something like this: Anthony Rendon is good at baseball.

Rendon continues to produce and gives the Angels a chance. His bat helped lead the team to a series sweep over the Houston Astros over Labor Day weekend. He had a pair of home runs in the series and drove in five.

Through September 9, Rendon is hitting .291 with 15 extra-base hits, 30 walks and 24 strikeouts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey continues to be a workhorse for the Twins. He’s appeared in more than a third of their games and has only allowed any earned runs on three occasions. One of those off nights came this week against the Tigers. Duffey surrendered three hits and two runs (one earned) while fanning three in 1.1 innings. He was handed his first blown save of the season.

Through September 9, Duffey has a 2.16 ERA with a .840 WHIP. He’s averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Washington Nationals

Holt joined the Nationals at the end of August after he was released by the Brewers. His first start came on Sept. 2 at third base. A few days later his bat woke up from its slumber. Holt went 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 5. He raised his average more than 70 points in that outing alone.

Holt showed off his speed in the Nats next game, sliding under the tag to score from first on a single to right field.

Through September 9, Holt is hitting .250 overall and .400 with the Nationals. Since signing with Washington, Holt is 12-for-30 with four extra-base hits.

Other Owls

Jon Duplantier is unlikely to rejoin the Arizona Diamondbacks this fall. General Manager Mike Hazen indicated Duplantier’s season is most likely finished as he works to rehab from injury.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – September 3

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of September 3.

Brock Holt was released by the Brewers last week but wasn’t unemployed for very long. The utility man landed in Washington with the defending World Series Champs. Manager Dave Martinez was very complimentary about the new addition. “We think he can help,” Martinez said of Holt, “He can play multiple positions, he can swing the bat. He’s going to get a chance to play everywhere here.”

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon cooled down a bit this week after his torrid mid-August pace. He’s still on pace for a terrific season and currently sports what would be the highest on-base percentage of his career (.435). The former National has settled in quite nicely in Anaheim and the impact he’s had on the entire lineup has been noticeable, perhaps no more so than how pitchers have to game plan for his spot in the order.

There’s no more pitching around Mike Trout when you have to deal with Rendon at the plate after him. So far, Rendon’s been doing just fine with the arrangement.

Through September 2, Rendon is hitting .292 with 11 extra-base hits, 25 walks and 20 strikeouts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey took his first loss of the year this week, allowing a two-run home run in the fifth inning to Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera. Minnesota was unable to climb out of the two-run hole. He bounced back with his first multi-inning outing in his next appearance.

Through September 2, Duffey has a 1.88 ERA with a .4767 WHIP. He’s averaging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

Other Owls

Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen downplayed the chances of pitcher Jon Duplantier rejoining the rotation later in the season. Saying “I don’t think it’s likely” in response to a question about his availability in the coming weeks. If that is the case, we’ll have to wait until 2021 to see Duplantier on the mound again.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – August 27

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of August 27.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon had a stretch earlier this year where he went 0-for-21. Whether it was some rust from a longer than expected offseason or some bad luck, his slump has been emphatically ended.

From August 10 to August 24, Rendon hit .482 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 56 at bats. His OPS was 1.336. As David Adler points out in the tweet and story below, Rendon has been as consistent as ever.

According to Adler, “Rendon has been doing everything right when it comes to his hallmark, plate discipline. He was always swinging at all the right pitches; he just needed to hit them. Now the hits are coming. No one should be surprised.” Rice baseball fans certainly aren’t.

Through August 27, Rendon is hitting .316 with 10 extra-base hits, 20 walks and 19 strikeouts. His OPS is .982.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey is the only player in baseball who has appeared in at least 12 games with an ERA below 1.00 and a WHIP below .500. He’s just been dominant, allowing one hit or less in 11 of his 12 outings. He had two single-inning outings this week, striking out two batters apiece in each frame.

Through August 27, Duffey has a 0.75 ERA with a .417 WHIP. He’s averaging 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Other Owls

Brock Holt was released on Thursday after the Brewers designated him for assignment last week. He hit .100 in 30 at bats this season before being released. His versatility and reliable glove should get him another shot with a big league team in the future.

Jon Duplantier is in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ player pool as he rehabs from an offseason injury. There haven’t been any updates regarding his status or when he might rejoin the team since the season began. Arizona could certainly use him.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 Summer Ball end of season roundup

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Current, former and incoming Rice baseball players played in Summer Ball leagues around the country. Here’s what we learned this summer.

Summer seasons are finished. Rice baseball players across the country are headed back home after varied results over the past several months. Here are three takeaways from the summer with the final stats in the books.

1. The incoming hitters are going to fight for at bats soon

Rice baseball hit .260 in their truncated 2019 season, 10th best in Conference USA. With Trei Cruz off to the MLB, finding players ready and able to produce at the plate was an essential task this offseason. Head coach Matt Bragga did his part, bringing in some important transfers as well as promising young freshmen.

Nathan Becker and Guy Garibay, both members of the incoming 2020 Rice baseball recruiting class, led the way for the Owls at the plate this summer.

Becker finished with a final slash line of .404 / .448 / .635 and an OPS of 1.083. He had 21 hits in 19 games, seven of which went for extra bases. And he did all that while only striking out nine times in 58 plate appearances. He has power and good plate discipline.

Garibay’s numbers dipped a bit at the end of the season, but his impressive final line gives a pretty good indication of just how good he was. He ended the summer slashing .318 / .444 / .614 with a 1.058 OPS.

Of the other Owls we did get final numbers for, none posted an OPS above .650. A cursory look at the current abbreviated major league season reminds us not to overreact to 20 game samples. But it’s worth noting. If either Becker or Garibary can be anywhere near that consistent at the collegiate level, the Rice offense is going to tick upward during their tenure.

2. Quiet summers from fringe bats

Assuming Rice is able to bring back the majority of their upperclassmen-laden lineup and combine it with those young hitters, at bats could come at a premium in 2020. Veterans like Austin Bulman, Cade Edwards and Braden Comeaux don’t have much to worry about. Others like Dominic Cox, Aaron Beaulaurier and Justin Dunlap will have some added pressure this offseason.

Cox, along with infielder Brayden Combs and catchers Cullen Hanigan and Eric Benitez will be among the players competing for those at bats outside the top half of the order. A slow summer won’t doom them, but it’s worth noting that each played at least 10 games and none hit better than .200.

Fall camp and the offseason training program will play much larger roles in determining where all four of those guys fit in the fight for playing time, so it’s important not to read too much into a rather chaotic summer. But the missed opportunities are worth paying attention to, especially with others maximizing their chances.

3. Cautiously optimistic about returning arms

Rice is expected to lose Ben Content as a transfer this offseason. His dazzling 0.00 ERA was clear evidence he’s recovered and is ready to pitch at a high level.

Of the arms Rice will get back next season, several had promising outings this summer. Brand Deskins and AC Plum pitched particularly well. Deskin finished with a 1.08 ERA in 8.1 innings, averaging 21.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He was absolutely phenomenal.

Plum didn’t finish with a remarkable stat line, but pitched well prior to his final outing of the summer. Through his first eight appearances, Plum had a 2.31 ERA with 17 strikeouts and only six hits allowed in 11.2 innings. His 13 walks across that span is a bit concerning, and it caught up to him when he walked seven in two-thirds of an inning to end his summer on a low note. The total body of work, though, was largely positive.

Garrett Zaskoda and Mitchell Holcomb each posted ERAs of 2.70.

Hitting Stats

Pitching Stats

*All stats as of Aug 23 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: 2020 MLB Owls update – August 20

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The 2020 MLB season is in full swing and Rice baseball alums are having great years. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls from this week.

Jon Duplantier is in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ player pool but is currently rehabbing. There hasn’t been a clear indication yet as to when he might rejoin the team. Here are updates on the three former Rice baseball alums currently active.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

It took Rendon a while to get going, but once he was on, the balls went flying off his bat. From August 10 to August 16, a span of six games, Rendon launched five home runs and tallied seven RBI. His OPS during that stretch was an unbelievable 1.738. Somehow the Angels managed to go 2-4 during those games, but his work with the bat was not to blame.

Through August 20, Rendon is hitting .289 with 10 extra-base hits, 20 walks and 18 strikeouts. His OPS is 1.028.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

It’s been a phenomenal start to the 2920 season for Tyler Duffey, and his rapid ascent has not gone unnoticed. National outlets are picking up his feel-good story, including The Athletic ($) who published an excellent feature on the former Rice baseball hurler’s journey up til now.

The story is worth reading, but this quote from manager Rocco Baldelli sums it up quite nicely:

“He went out there and made incredible adjustments … and turned himself into one of the best relievers in the game.”

This week, Duffey gave up his first run in his tenth inning of work.

Through August 20, Duffey has a 0.90 ERA with a .500 WHIP. He’s averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Milwaukee Brewers

Widely regarded as the kind of guy you want to have in your clubhouse, Holt seems to be making the best of a tough start at the plate. So far this season there have been snippets of him lifting up his teammates and having a good laugh in the midst of the challenging first few weeks.

For one, here’s his reaction after grounding into a double play this past week.

Through August 20, Holt has three hits in 27 at bats. He has three walks and nine strikeouts.

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