Corey Knebel – Syndication Server

3 reasons the Dodgers starting Corey Knebel as an ‘opener’ in Game 5 is brilliant

So smart.

Well, well, well. We have ourselves a chess match already before Game 5 of the NLDS matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, which promises to be an amazing matchup of rivals.

The Dodgers announced that reliever Corey Knebel would be starting the game and not Julio Urias.

That’s right, it’s an “opener” in a winner-take-all playoff game, a move that could backfire badly in the first inning … or be the very thing that propels the Dodgers to the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves.

Obviously, you can tell from the headline what I think. But here’s why it’s so smart:

Corey Knebel Eyeing Mid April Return To The Mound?

Former Texas Longhorns closer and current Milwaukee Brewer Corey Knebel is eyeing a mid April return to the mound.

It wasn’t quite the 2019 season that former Texas Longhorns pitcher Corey Knebel had hoped for. After a career year in 2017 for the Milwaukee Brewers, the numbers weren’t quite up to snuff in 2018. For Knebel, he was an All-Star for the Brewers in 2017.

That year he led the Majors in appearances with 76, while getting the save in 39 games. He would finished the season with a 1.78 (ERA) earned run average. His 2018 season wouldn’t be near as kind as Knebel posted a 3.58 ERA with a 4-3 record in 57 appearances while earning 16 saves. The 2019 season was hoping to see him return to his All-Star form for the Brewers.

In March of 2019 it was reported that Knebel would miss the season due to an injured elbow that would require Tommy John surgery to repair a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. The typical recovery and best case scenario is a 13-month recovery time to begin playing baseball again.

According to CBS Sports, Knebel is eyeing a mid-April return to the mound. Barring any setbacks which the report states that there were none, fits right in with the 13-month recovery period. The former Longhorn will likely come in as a middle reliever and eventually getting an opportunity to earn his spot as the Brewers’ closer once again.

Knebel came to Texas in 2011 where he became the closer. That year he recorded 19 saves earning him First Team All-American honors and tying a school record. He played until 2013 where he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the 39th overall pick.

He made his Major League Debut against the Texas Rangers in 2014 before being traded from Detroit to Texas. That year Knebel sprained that same UCL before being shut down. In the offseason, Knebel was part of a package that sent him to Milwaukee. In 2017 he was named National League All-Star.

Four Longhorns named to Big 12’s All-Decade baseball team

Kody Clemens, Mark Payton, Taylor Jungmann, and Corey Knebel are named to D1 Baseball’s Big 12 All-Decade team.

It was a successful decade for Texas baseball, consistently winning throughout all ten years. Winning the Big 12 regular season three different times in 2010, 2011, and 2018. The only other program to come close to the Longhorns was Texas Tech, also winning three.

Texas also added a Big 12 tournament win in 2015, sending them straight to the NCAA tournament. Making it to the tournament in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018, the Longhorns got to the College World Series in three of those years.

All of this success was due to a few players who made it into the D1baseball.com Big 12 All-Decade Team. Kody Clemens, Mark Payton, Taylor Jungmann, and Corey Knebel all made it in for the Longhorns. You can check out the full team here:

Here are the four players that made it into the Big 12 All-Decade team:

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