Here's an early preview as I will be out of town for a Board meeting later in the week before heading to Houston for the season-opener next Tuesday. Consequently, I may be unable to prepare even a brief preview on DBU.

After 4+ months of Fall and Spring intrasquads sandwiched around a historic trip to Cuba, the road to Omaha begins in earnest this weekend in Austin, with a four-game set against our long time, in-state foe Longhorns. Adding to the rivalry, former Rice assistant coach David Pierce, fresh off successful stints at Sam Houston State and Tulane (and who has now taken teams to the post-season for 16 consecutive years, dating back to his time at UH and Rice), ushers in a new era in the long and storied history of Texas baseball. Will be very interesting to see if he moves away from "Augie Ball" (small ball with focus on plate discipline, bunting and base stealing) to a more aggressive, more long ball oriented offensive approach. The fact that they moved the fences in at Disch-Faulk gives strong indication to the latter. We could see a bunch of home runs this weekend. Game times are scheduled for 6:30pm CT on Friday, 3:00pm and TBD for the Saturday doubleheader, and 2:00pm on Sunday.

While UT enters the season-opener ranked as high as #17 (by Perfect Game), most of the pundits and polls perceive Texas as a post-season team, but just outside the Top 35. Conversely, Rice is ranked consistently in the Top 20 - 27 range. Both teams bring back most of their starting position players from last year. However, the Longhorns bring back not only their weekend rotation, but 6 relievers who pitched 15+ innings last year. In many ways, the two teams are polar opposites with regards to strengths and perceived weaknesses/question marks. UT's strength is in their deep, talented and experienced pitching, led by preseason all-american, Morgan Cooper. Their question marks are in their overall depth, infield defense and offense, though they do bring back four players who hit over .290 last year, as well as Bret Boswell, who had a breakout Summer in the California League and earned Perfect Game's Summer Collegiate Player of the Year honor. Conversely, the Diamond Owls strengths heading into the season appear to be all-around defense and the potential for their best offensive lineup since the glory days of the mid-00s, led by 4-year starter Charlie Warren and one of the top middle infield combos in the country in Ford Proctor and Tristan Gray (recently ranked the #6 SS and #12 2B in the country at their positions by D1baseball). The big question mark will be the pitching, with the departures of Jon Duplantier and Blake Fox, and with near term injuries to Willy Amador (broken nose) and all-american closer, Glenn Otto (shoulder), which will likely make them unavailable for at least the Texas series. Ricky Salinas is the only returning weekend starter from last season, and Amador, Evan Kravetz, Dane Myers and Zach Esquivel are the only other returning pitchers who saw 15+ innings of action last year. Having said that, there's a lot of potential there, and new pitching coach, John Pope, brings a fresh perspective.

Further details on the Longhorns are provided in the articles and previews below. As for the Owls, Dominick DiCaprio takes over the primary catching duties (vs. serving largely as DH last season) and Tristan Gray moves back to middle infield (2B) after playing OF/1B last year. Our projected outfield of Wunderlich, Chandler and Warren is one of the fastest and best defensively in the country. We've added reinforcements and experienced depth with two Junior College transfers (OF Chase Sarchet, C/3B Robbie Lammons) and grad transfer OF/1B Darryn Sheppard, who was a 3-year, middle of the lineup starter for Baylor (hitting .294, with 8 HRs and 41 RBIs last year). A rarity for Rice, this year's roster features no less than four two-way players, all of whom are expected to see considerable action: 3B/1B/P Dane Myers, 3B/P Kendall Jefferies, 1B/P Addison Moss and 1B/OF/P Mackenzie Mueller. Here's my projection for our depth chart...

1B Sheppard, Moss, Mueller
2B Gray, Gneiting
SS Proctor, Gray
3B Myers, Jefferies, Lammon
C DiCaprio, Lammons, Frazier
LF Wunderlich, Sarchet, Staab, Mueller
CF Chandler
RF Warren
DH Sarchet, Lammons, Dunlap, Moss, Gneiting

Weekend starters: Myers, Salinas, Amador
Mid-week starters: Canterino, Jefferies, Esquivel, Garcia, Parthasarathy
Closers: Otto, Moss
Set-up: Kravetz, Esquivel, whomever isn't mid-week starter
Middle relief: Orewiler, Garcia, Gayle, Mueller

To a large degree our success will ride on the improvement of a quartet of Sophomore pitchers (Jefferies, Kravetz, Parthasarathy, Esquivel) as they move into more prominent roles in this year's pitching staff, and the development of a sextet of true Freshmen pitchers (Canterino, Moss, Gayle, Garcia, Mueller, Silber). With Otto and Amador out this week, it will be very interesting to see how Coach Graham elects to to construct the starting rotation and bullpen for our upcoming 5 games against UT and Dallas Baptist. The only given outside of Myers and Salinas as our Friday and Saturday starters will be that virtually everyone will be given an opportunity.

This is not an easy start to the season, especially being short-handed on the mound and facing 5 games against Top 40 teams in 5 days (four on the road). If we can take at least 3 of the 5 games, it will be a very good omen for what lies ahead. Let the games begin. Go Owls!

I've provided below the various preseason writeups on the Longhorns, as well as a couple articles on David Pierce's season outlook and a UT insiders projection of their likely lineup...

Eric Stitchhead Sorenson ranked the Longhorns #24 in his Top 299 countdown...
https://d1baseball.com/columns/stitchhea...n-top-299/

Quote:24—TEXAS (25-32, 10-14)
Projected Big 12 Finish: 4th
2016 ISR: 91
Starters Returning: 8
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (15+inns.): 6
A changing of the guard has David Pierce taking over for the legendary Augie Garrido, and he inherits a full cupboard in Austin. The pitching staff was all freshman and sophomores last year and RHPs Kyle Johnston (3-2, 3.72) and Morgan Cooper (3-5, 4.03) could be high-round picks in this June’s draft. Seven regulars return to the field/batting order, led by 1B Kacy Clemens (.303-5-31), 2B Zane Gurwitz (.295-5-36) and 3B Bret Boswell (.241). The banner recruiting class will provide quality depth, especially low-90s fireballer Blair Henley (22nd round pick, Yankees) and SS David Hamilton (28th round pick, Angels).

Collegebaseballmadness.com ranked UT #37 in their Top 44 countdown...
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/base...ews?page=2

Quote:Texas was a very young team last year and it showed. The Longhorns struggled to a 25-32 campaign and hope to turn things around in 2017 now that they have some valuable experience. That experience should be most noticeable on the mound where Connor Mayes, Kyle Johnston and Morgan Cooper are now all juniors and were regulars in the starting rotation. With talented freshmen like Blair Henley joining the mix, Texas should see a boost to their pitching numbers. New head coach David Pierce has the pieces at his disposal to turn Texas back into a winner very quickly.

2016: 25-32, 10-14
2016 Postseason: None
Coach: David Pierce

Key Departed Players:
Ty Culbreth, P, 3.74 ERA, 86.2 IP, 78 SO
Tres Barrera, .289 BA, 6 HR, 37 RBI

Key Returning Players:
Connor Mayes, P, 3.60 ERA, 60.0 IP, 53 SO
Kyle Johnston, P, 3.72 ERA, 67.2 IP, 64 SO
Morgan Cooper, P, 4.03 ERA, 67.0 IP, 70 SO
Kacy Clemens, IF, .303 BA, 5 HR, 31 RBI
Travis Jones, IF/OF, .300 BA, 3 HR, 22 RBI
Patrick Mathis, OF, .297 BA, 6 HR, 35 RBI
Zane Gurwitz, OF, .294 BA, 5 HR, 36 RBI
Kody Clemens, .242 BA, 5 HR, 28 RBI

Projection:
Freshmen should make a splash on offense as well, most notably David Hamilton and Austin Todd. But like the pitching staff, the lineup will rely on returning players who gained valuable experience in 2016. Kacy Clemens, Travis Jones, Patrick Mathis and Zane Gurwitz all hit .294 or better last season. Clemens was the team’s top hitter, batting .303 and adding five homeruns and 31 RBIs. Mathis is the team’s top returning home run hitter with six and Gurwitz drove in 36 runs. There is some power in this lineup, but consistency will be important if the Longhorns are going to compete for a Big 12 title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Perfect Game ranked Texas #17 in their preseason poll (the Longhorns highest ranking)...
https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vie...icle=13442

Quote:17. Texas

Bret Boswell (Texas Athletics)
Head Coach: David Pierce
Conference: Big 12
2016 record: 25-32 (10-14 Big 12)
2016 finish: Did not play in postseason

Top returning hitters: 1B Kacy Clemens (.303-5-31), CF Travis Jones (.300-3-22), RF Patrick Mathis (.297-6-35), 2B Zane Gurwitz (.294-5-36), LF Tyler Rand (.265-1-17), IF Kody Clemens (.242-5-28), 3B Bret Boswell (.241-2-20), C Michael Cantu (.214-0-8)

Top returning pitchers: RHP Connor Mayes (0-4, 3.60, 60 IP, 53:28), RHP Kyle Johnston (3-2, 3.72, 86.2 IP, 64:43), RHP Beau Ridgeway (3-1, 3.31, 35.1 IP, 20:3), RHP Nolan Kingham (2-3, 3.79, 38 IP, 16:16), RHP Mogan Cooper (3-5, 4.03, 67 IP, 70:17), RHP Chase Shugart (2-3, 4.53, 43.2 IP, 38:24, 5 SV)

Top newcomers: RHP Blair Henley, CF Austin Todd, SS David Hamilton, IF Andres Sosa, RHP Beau O'Hara

Top 2017 prospects: RHP Morgan Cooper (81), RHP Kyle Johnston (169), 3B Bret Boswell, C Michael Cantu

Why they’re here: Sleeping giant? 'Giant' may be too strong of a word, but this team has a lot of untapped talent, particularly in the pitching staff, with several players showing flashes of what they're capable of but struggling to this point of their college careers to enjoy strong, consistent seasons. The weekend starting trio of Morgan Cooper, Kyle Johnston and Connor Mayes could be a potentially dominant one, with Cooper showing a 92-97 mph fastball in fall practices and Johnston showing similar stuff while enjoying a big summer in the California Collegiate League. Freshman Blair Henley, the team's projected mid-week starter, also looked strong in the fall.

Difference maker: Bret Boswell. Boswell's talents have long been known, especially while holding a bat in his hands, but he has battled injuries off and on which are often attributed to him not reaching his lofty potential. He exploded last summer in the California Collegiate League and was named not only the league's Player of the Year but also Perfect Game's Summer Collegiate Player of the Year after hitting .392/.470/.715 for the league and National Baseball Congress champion Santa Barbara Foresters.

Fun fact: Sixteen. The number of years in a row (2001-2016) newly appointed Head Coach David Pierce has made the NCAA postseason either as an assistant or as the Head Coach while with Houston, Rice, Sam Houston State and Tulane.

Baseball American picked the Longhorns to finish 4th in the Big 12, behind TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech...while rating UT's Patrick Mathis the conference's best outfield arm and RHP Morgan Cooper the conference's best breaking ball pitcher...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2...OlKIuvm.97

Quote:Texas: A new era is underway in Austin, as former Tulane coach and Texas native David Pierce takes over the program after 20 years under Augie Garrido, college baseball’s all-time winningest coach. Pierce inherits a team that went 25-32 last season but should have the talent to compete in the postseason in 2017. The rotation will be the biggest strength, with a trio of prospects in Jr. RHPs Morgan Cooper, Kyle Johnston and Connor Mayes.

D1baseball also projects UT to finish 4th in the Big 12, with RHP Morgan Cooper the conference's Pitcher of the Year and top 2017 prospect...
https://d1baseball.com/analysis/2017-con...ws-big-12/

Quote:Looking for your 2017 version of first-year coach Dan McDonnell at Louisville or first-year coach Jay Johnson at Arizona — both coaches who took their teams to the College World Series in Year One? New Texas head coach David Pierce could be that guy. While the Longhorns certainly have some question marks, simply put, this isn’t some grand rebuilding job. The ‘Horns return more than enough key pieces to make a solid postseason run. On the mound, righthander Morgan Cooper leads off the weekend rotation, and there’s an abundance of buzz about him right now. Cooper has good size and continues to show premier velocity, bumping 95-96 in last week’s alumni game, while settling in at the 90-93 range with his fastball. Cooper possesses an effective changeup and throws two variations of a breaking ball that have received rave reviews over the past few weeks. Fellow RHP Kyle Johnston is another premier arm to watch in the rotation. Johnston needs to improve his command this season, but will sit anywhere from 91-94 and up to 95 with his fastball, along with a wipeout slider. RHP Connor Mayes rounds out the rotation and he’s an 88-91, and up to 92-93 guy who will attack hitters with a four-pitch mix. The back-end of the bullpen is in good shape with hard-nosed Chase Shugart leading the way. Shugart will sit anywhere from 90-94 and up to 95 with his fastball, while also adding a weapon, an 86-88 cutter during fall workouts. LHP Nick Kennedy could be a big surprise if he can command his stuff. Kennedy will get up to 94-95 from the left side and has a three-pitch mix. Again, command is the key with the draft-eligible sophomore. Who has the best chance to enter the weekend rotation at some point? That’d be freshman RHP Blair Henley. Henley, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, looks the part and showed good stuff in the fall with a fastball sitting 89-92 and up to 93-94, while also showcasing a slider and pitchability.
The grand caveat with this team is the offense. As we’ve documented time and time again, the Longhorns haven’t had a potent offense in years, and that’s part of the reason that long-time head coach Augie Garrido is no longer with the program. The Longhorns were much more aggressive in the fall, but we’ll see if that translates into better numbers this spring. OF Patrick Mathis and 1B Kacy Clemens are the top returning hitters. Mathis has some athleticism and very good raw power, while Clemens is one of those unassuming players who tallies better numbers than you’d think. He’s a consistent player. 2B Zane Gurwitz and 3B Bret Boswell are the guys to watch. Gurwitz had a strong fall and has gap power with some speed, while Boswell has increased his power potential and hopes to build off the scouting buzz he received from a strong summer with the Santa Barbara Foresters. Boswell could shoot up the draft boards this summer if he puts everything together. C Michael Cantu is another guy to watch. Cantu, a 6-foot-3, 240-pounder, has the tools and looks the part, but has been unable to put all the puzzle pieces together so far in his career. It’s there, though. In terms of newcomers, SS David Hamilton, CF Austin Todd and DH Ryan Reynolds are the leaders. Hamilton is a fluid defender who could be a spark plug near the top of the order, Todd has pop in his bat and is very athletic with good instincts in the field and Reynolds showed power from both sides of the plate during fall workouts.

Here's an Inside Texas blog interview with new head coach Pierce, providing his outlook for the season as he opens Spring intrasquads...
http://insidetexas.com/pierces-first-sea...-optimism/


And, finally, here's Organgebloods.com's assessment and projections of the Longhorns lineup and pitching rotation...
https://texas.rivals.com/news/texas-base...on-players

A split would be a pleasant surprise.

Here's a series of articles previewing the upcoming season in this week's Thresher...

http://www.ricethresher.org/section/sports

Weather on Sunday looks crappy. Bet that game gets cancelled unless they play a doubleheader on Friday.

I read this as encouraging news from Kendall...

Quote:Kendall Rogers ‏@KendallRogersD1 53s53 seconds ago
More
Nice chat w/ @RiceBaseball HC Wayne Graham. Said if Glenn Otto (forearm discomfort) or Willy Amador (broken nose) throw vs UT, 1-2 inn. max.

With Willy, it's a comfort and peripheral vision thing as he recovers from the broken nose...but he only missed 2 weeks of action. Even if Glenn is now pain free and he feels comfortable after throwing a couple bullpens, one would think he'll need a couple weeks of bullpens to rebuild arm strength and regain control. Remember, he hadn't thrown since mid-October. Note Wayne is now saying forearm discomfort and not shoulder. Hmmm...sounds more like a nerve issue then.

Sounding more and more that until Willy returns, our top 4 starting pitchers will be Myers, Salinas (who struggled during Spring intrasquads), Esquivel and Canterino (who has been dominant, but has struggled at times with his control; not unusual for a Freshman). That 5th starter for the DBU game is anyone's guess. Let's not forget that starters are unlikely to go more than 5 innings the first week or two of the season; meaning the bullpen will be heavily worked. Also appears that at least until Otto returns, The OG is holding Kravetz, Jefferies, Moss and Parthasarathy to anchor the bullpen, with the other Freshmen serving as long/middle relievers. But what do I know.

Here's OrangeBloods' detailed breakdown and scouting report on UT pitching...

https://texas.rivals.com/news/texas-base...e-pitchers

...the offense is going to face one of it's toughest tests of the season right out of the gate. In all likelihood, the UT and Stanford pitching staffs will be the best we'll face until the post-season.

So will Augie Garrido be there in the stands for the games? I see where he's now a special assistant to the AD (which is good because UT has a glaring need for more of those), but I'd imagine it might be a bit awkward if he shows up to Pierce's first few games in Austin.

Who was our last 2-way player (every day position hitter and starting pitcher) before Myers? I'm sure there have been some but the only one I can think of recently is Joe Savery. I guess Myers has 2 career starts but they were both spot starts so I don't think he qualifies until this year I'd say.

(02-15-2017 07:33 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  So will Augie Garrido be there in the stands for the games? I see where he's now a special assistant to the AD (which is good because UT has a glaring need for more of those), but I'd imagine it might be a bit awkward if he shows up to Pierce's first few games in Austin.

Who was our last 2-way player (every day position hitter and starting pitcher) before Myers? I'm sure there have been some but the only one I can think of recently is Joe Savery. I guess Myers has 2 career starts but they were both spot starts so I don't think he qualifies until this year I'd say.

I believe Savery is the only one in the Wayne Graham era. Wade Townsend did some limitted DHing, but only in 2003, and both Matt Ueckert and Bobby Bramhall saw limitted OF action early in their careers, but that was before either earned prominent roles on the pitching staff. Myers qualified last year since he did pitch out of the bullpen sporadically throughout the year until he became a fixture late in the season (after his thumb injury forced him out of the lineup). In addition to Myers, both Jefferies (3B when Myers pitching) and Moss (DH/1B) should both see steady two-way action this year, and Mueller could do the same if an injury forces him into the lineup.

There were plenty of 2-way guys early in the Wayne Graham era when the roster wasn't as big as it tends to be now. Dana Davis and Mark Quinn are two who come to mind although I can't recall now if Quinn started much or mostly was used in relief.

(02-15-2017 08:35 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  There were plenty of 2-way guys early in the Wayne Graham era when the roster wasn't as big as it tends to be now. Dana Davis and Mark Quinn are two who come to mind although I can't recall now if Quinn started much or mostly was used in relief.

??? The term two-way player applies to any player who both hits and pitches; it doesn't distinguish between pitching as a starter or reliever.

Mike Wilson, Matt Euckert (sp) and Lance Pendleton also come to mind.

(02-15-2017 09:55 AM)bobreinhold1 Wrote:  Mike Wilson, Matt Euckert (sp) and Lance Pendleton also come to mind.

Yeah, forgot about Pendleton. Same era though-- Pendleton, Ueckert and Bramhall all saw limitted two-way action.

Blake Fox more recently did some hitting when a LH bat was needed.

(02-15-2017 10:03 AM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  Blake Fox more recently did some hitting when a LH bat was needed.

Yeah, but that was VERY limitted. Has he ever had more than 10 - 15 ABs in any season for us?

Chase McDowell
JT Chargois

(02-15-2017 10:29 AM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  Chase McDowell
JT Chargois

How quickly we forget! Good catch!

(02-15-2017 08:35 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  There were plenty of 2-way guys early in the Wayne Graham era when the roster wasn't as big as it tends to be now. Dana Davis and Mark Quinn are two who come to mind although I can't recall now if Quinn started much or mostly was used in relief.

Kevin Hodge threw 11 innings in 1998 and was the primary 3B.

Is Khevin Brewer still on the team? According to the stats on RUBPA, he didn't play at all in the spring intrasquads.

(02-15-2017 11:59 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  Is Khevin Brewer still on the team? According to the stats on RUBPA, he didn't play at all in the spring intrasquads.

FWIW, he was suited up for the Fan Fest.

Jesse Roman, Jayme Sperring and Tony Adler were all two-way guys that, at least by my recollection, had significant at-bats and innings pitched. Bobby Bryan, Bubba Gentry and Billy Jacobson were others that had fewer at-bats and innings pitched.

Adler, Roman and Sperring, in fact, all pitched in the 2000 regional final at UH. Adler started and moved to third while Roman and Sperring both took the mound from other other defensive positions.