Nice article, though it really doesn't contain any new insights...

https://collegebaseballcentral.com/25-mo...t-2/18434/

Quote:Rice

It will be interesting to watch the 2019 season play out for Rice regardless of how things go on the field, simply because someone other than Wayne Graham will be the head coach.

The new head coach, Matt Bragga, comes to Houston from Tennessee Tech, where he was last seen taking his Golden Eagles to the program’s first super regional, making him a particularly fun head coaching hire to follow. Recruiting for the two programs is different, there’s a difference between CUSA and the OVC, and there’s obviously very different histories between the two.

So with that in mind, how will Rice look with Bragga at the helm? Will the Owls begin to put up offensive numbers like that of an OVC team? Or will Rice continue to be a pitching-oriented program, as they were for so long under Graham? Will it be something in between? That all remains to be seen, and it will take more than the 2019 season to get those answers.

What we do know is that he’ll be tasked with turning things around, as Rice finished 26-31-1 in 2018 and missed the postseason for the first time since 1994.

What will make that a tough job in 2019 is that Conference USA looks to be as competitive at the top as it has been in a long time, perhaps since before conference realignment shifted many of the league’s best teams to the American Athletic Conference.

The good news, however, is that this is far from a complete rebuild from a talent perspective. On the mound, Bragga will have a true Friday night ace on his hands in Matt Canterino. Addison Moss isn’t a bad guy to have behind Canterino in the rotation either. He also has a couple of high-octane arms in the bullpen Garrett Gayle and Roel Garcia. You factor in proven commodities like Evan Kravetz and Zach Esquivel, and suddenly, you’ve already got the makings of a really good pitching staff.

Offensively, there’s not really anyone of Canterino’s pedigree, but Braden Comeaux and Trei Cruz are a pair of quality infielders around which to build a lineup, a fully healthy Dominic DiCaprio is a dangerous bat to have in the order, and there’s a ton of power potential in the bat of Justin Collins.

New faces will certainly have to emerge and hold down major roles for Rice to be back in the postseason in 2019, but the foundation seems to be in good shape for that to happen.

I do think this team will go as far as the pitching staff can take it. With Canterino - Moss as very formidable co-aces, with both Parthasarathy and Esquivel back healthy and showing a return to form during Fall Ball, with improved maturity and consistency from Gayle/Garcia/Kravetz, and with the addition of Soph transfer RHP Greenwood and true Freshman LHP Deskins, this staff could be special.

I see this team as a 33-27/34-26 type team. Two really good starting pitchers, but IMO, the rest of the pitching is either mediocre or unproven.

I’m not exactly hopeful at the plate given what we saw in the scrimmages vs. Sam and A&M.

Finally, we do have a pretty tough non-conference schedule as always.

(11-26-2018 05:43 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I see this team as a 33-27/34-26 type team. Two really good starting pitchers, but IMO, the rest of the pitching is either mediocre or unproven.

I’m not exactly hopeful at the plate given what we saw in the scrimmages vs. Sam and A&M.

Finally, we do have a pretty tough non-conference schedule as always.

I think you're grossly underestimating our pitching staff. Parthasarathy was a stud his Freshman year before getting injured, and throughout this past Fall Ball he finally looks to have regained his form (not to mention losing 20+ lbs). A healthy Esquivel doesn't have elite stuff, but he was arguably our best starter in 2017, before getting dead arm late in the year. I really like him as a 1 - 2 inning reliever, where he can be very effective going through a lineup just one time. He was injured all of last season, despite being used by The OG. Agree that both Garcia and Gayle are still unproven, but both have elite stuff, and have flashed their potential at times, and against quality opponents. Let's see if Corey Barton can take them to the next level. And, as I mentioned above, both Greenwood and Dreskins have been impressive throughout Fall Ball.

Agree that our offense will be a work in progress, particularly in the outfield, but keep in mind that during Fall Ball we were without two of our best hitters (DiCaprio, Edwards). We really need Gneitting to return to his Freshman year form, and build on it. He was a disaster last year both offensively and defensively. Assuming Edward (2B) can finally get his elbow healthy, I think we should have an above average infield defense, which should help the pitching staff.

I suppose I agree with your assessment of the pitching staff, but there’s still lots of ifs/buts/maybes there.

Even if we can be above average there (I think even you’d concede that we don’t have the proven depth to be considered elite... Last time we had that was maybe 2013-14), we’ll still consider it a success to be average at the plate. Let’s assume we’re slightly above average in the field... That gives you a slightly above average team... Hence by prediction of 7-8 games above .500... An improvement over the last two years but an at-large bubble team at best.