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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: Owls trending up following All-Star Break

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After a brief break for the All-Star Game, Rice Baseball‘s big leaguers returned to action. Here’s how the MLB Owls are doing since the midsummer classic.

JT Chargois – Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s been a mixed bag for Chargois after the break. He’s made four appearances, throwing a scoreless inning in two of them. In the other two, he allowed a pair of home runs and four runs. His season ERA has ticked up a bit to 5.11, but his 20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings is on pace to be the best mark of his MLB career.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey has also had four outings since the break, allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk. He earned holds against Cleveland and Oakland. Opposing batters are hitting .231 against him during that span

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Jon Duplantier – Arizona Diamondbacks

Duplantier was last active with Arizona on June 11, going onto the injured list soon afterward. Team beat writer Steve Gilbert reported on July 19 Duplantier would be optioned back to AAA. He has yet to make an appearance with the club since his assignment.

Brock Holt – Boston Red Sox

Holt has been on a tear. He’s reached base in seven of his last eight games, hitting .476 with a 1.208 OPS. He’s raised his already superb .317 batting average to .344 and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. He’s hit four doubles since the break with only three strikeouts in 24 plate appearances.

Anthony Rendon – Washington Nationals

Rendon opted to rest during All-Star week, giving up his spot after the first nomination of his career. That goodwill is turning out favorably for Rendon who is hitting .417 with a 1.056 OPS after the break. He’s hit five extra-base hits, has five RBI and has walked five times in nine games.

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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: MLB Owls riding high entering 2019 All-Star break

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Rice Baseball has five active players in the major leagues. Here’s how the current MLB Owls are doing at the 2019 All-Star break.

JT Chargois – Los Angeles Dodgers

Chargois made eight appearances before the All-Star break. He owns a 1-0 record through 8.2 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and three walks. He struck out seven of the last batters he’s faced across two appearances in the month of July. Those terrific outings lowered his WHIP to a career-best 0.923.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was used sparingly through the first several weeks of the 2019 season before a May 11 doubleheader thrust him back amongst the bullpen regulars for the Minnesota Twins. Over the course of 25 games, Duffey sports a 3.49 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 28.1 innings. He’s walked only six batters. His 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings is a career best.

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Jon Duplantier – Arizona Diamondbacks

Duplantier made his MLB debut on April 1, earning the save in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ win over the San Diego Padres. His first career start came almost two months later on May 31 against the New York Mets. He went five innings, striking out four with two walks and three runs allowed, earning a no-decision. Following two more appearances, he was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. His line at the end of the first half of the season is a respectable 4.32 ERA in 25 innings with 24 strikeouts and nine walks.

Brock Holt – Boston Red Sox

A hamstring injury slowed Holt in the latter portion of June, but it couldn’t cool his red-hot start to the summer. Holt is hitting .317 entering the All-Star break, but a blazing .384 since June 1. He’s racked up 28 hits and just 15 strikeouts over that period, collecting 14 RBI in the process. He’s never hit better than .281 over the course of a season, the mark he reached in his first full year in Boston in 2014.

Anthony Rendon – Washington Nationals

Name an All-Star for the first time in his career, Rendon will not play in the Midsummer Classic, opting instead to rest up and nurse some minor injuries before the second half of the season begins. Even though he won’t get the chance to show off his skills in Cleveland, he’s more than proven himself worthy of the recognition.

Rendon is in his third consecutive season as a .300 hitter and is on pace for 160+ hits, 40+ doubles and 80+ RBI. Achieving those milestones would mark the fourth consecutive year he’d done so. This is a contract year for Rendon, making the timing of his steadfast productive all the more impactful.

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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.

More: Redefining the culture Matt Bragga’s biggest win of 2019

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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