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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: 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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Rice Baseball: Shortened draft a plus for Owls

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Rice baseball only lost one player to the 2020 MLB Draft. Aside from shortstop Trei Cruz, the Owls will return most of their roster next spring.

The Houston Astros selected Shay Whitcomb with the 160th pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, wrapping up a five-round affair in just two days. Rice baseball had only one current player selection, star shortstop Trei Cruz. He was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the third round with the 73rd overall selection.

Undrafted players can still sign with MLB teams, but signing bonuses for such players will be limited to $20,000. It’s expected that the vast majority of them will return to school, which means Rice baseball is unlikely to have any further draft-related losses.

Players like pitcher Roel Garcia and catcher Justin Collins both went undrafted. Garcia was selected in the 27th round last year despite missing the season prior with injuries.

Avoiding additional draft losses would have been less likely had 1,200+ players come off the board as happens in the more traditional years. Hard decisions of whether or not to return to school no longer have to be made. Bradley Gneiting, who briefly entered the Transfer Portal during the offseason, has announced his intention to return. For the most part, Rice should be getting most of their key pieces back.

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And then there’s the addition of Ole Miss transfer Connor Walsh. He didn’t play last year with the Rebels, sitting behind Anthony Servideo who was chosen the subsequent following Cruz in Thursday’s draft. Walsh will slide into Cruz’s vacated spot, giving the Owls a formidable roster despite the presumed departure of their top bat.

It’s a bit early to pen down an exact roster, but with the draft in the rearview mirror, the pieces are coming together.

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MLB Draft: Trei Cruz selected by Detroit Tigers in Third Round

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Former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz has been selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. Like his father and grandfather before him, Trei will play pro ball.

Trei Cruz entered the 2020 MLB Draft with the chance to accomplish the rare feat. Being selected would earn him the distinction of becoming a third-generation Major Leaguer. Now, like his father Jose Cruz Jr. before him and his grandfather Jose Cruz Sr. before him, Trei will be a professional baseball player. The shortened draft did not seem to limit Cruz, who fulfilled expectations, hearing his name called on the second day of the two-day event.

His opportunity will come as a member of the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system after he was selected by the Tigers with the 73rd pick (Round 3) in the 2020 MLB Draft. Trei was previously selected in the 35th Round by the Astros in the 2017 draft and in the 37th Round by the Nationals in the 2019 draft. Like his number in the sequence of family pros, the third time should be the charm.

His father, Cruz Jr., was selected in the first round by the Seattle Mariners in the 1995 amateur draft. He made his debut two years later in 1997.

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Trei Cruz leaves Rice baseball with a robust collection of stat lines. He slashed .296/.406/.484, improving in all three measures from his freshman season in 2018 to the Owls’ abbreviated 2020 campaign. Trei also holds the distinction of being second all-time in RBI in a single game at Rice. He drove in nine against Rhode Island in 2019. The record, 10, belongs to his father.

Rice baseball will miss Trei Cruz, but won’t be without his bloodline just yet. His brother, Antonio still plays for the Owls. He was a sophomore this past season.

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Rice Baseball: What to expect for the Owls in 2020 MLB Draft

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Rice Baseball should have at least one player selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. Here’s what to expect from the Owls and how to watch the draft this week.

The 2020 MLB Draft is going to be different in more ways than one. First, it’s typically aligned with the end of the college baseball season which came to a screeching halt in mid-March. Second, and most importantly, it’s only five rounds long. Rice baseball had six players selected in the 2019 Draft, but that came over the span of 40 rounds.

How to Watch the 2020 MLB Draft

Round 1

Dates: Wednesday, June 10
Times: 7 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network / ESPN
Picks: 1-37

Rounds 2-5

Dates:  Thursday, June 11
Times: 5 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network / ESPN2
Picks: 38-160

What to expect for Rice Baseball

The abridged nature of the draft makes it increasingly likely that few Owls, if any, will hear their names called this week. Standout shortstop Trei Cruz is the only player that most experts believe will be selected. D1 Baseball rated him as the No. 35 college prospect ($) in the draft. Most mock drafts in recent weeks have projected him as a Day 2 selection.

With so few selections, teams will be less inclined to gamble than they would have been in a 40 round draft. Less high school prospects will be taken with more pro-ready college players available. Players with injury concerns, like Rice pitcher Roel Garcia, will see their draft chances lessened from where they might have stood in a traditional year.

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Players who aren’t drafted are allowed to sign for a reduced bonus. There will be a handful of prospects that opt to go that route, but many will choose to return to college for the upcoming season. That’s going to make the 2021 Draft class impressive.

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