Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Three former Longhorns were cut from their Minor League Baseball teams this week.
Uncertainty continues to surround Minor League Baseball. Continue reading “Former Texas star Kacy Clemens among those cut in minor league”
Former Longhorns catcher Tres Barrera is hoping to get his Major League Baseball opportunity with the Nationals in 2020.
Tres Barrera’s major league career has been a short one so far. After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. The former Longhorns catcher was invited to the Nats’ major league camp in 2019 before being assigned to Double A Harrisburg Senators.
In the minors during the 2019 season, Barrera batted .249 with eight HRs and 46 RBIs. He was called up to the big leagues on September 8th. He went hitless in two at bats while appearing in two games. He was not a part of the postseason roster as the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros to win the World Series.
In 2020, Barrera will be looking to have more of a role with the Nationals. Following the World Series victory for Washington they declined the second-year option of catch Yan Gomes who was behind the plate for the final four games of the fall classic. That might have opened the door for Barrera, however Gomes was brought back on a new two-year deal.
The other catcher on the roster Kurt Suzuki will be in the final year of his contract. Suzuki will be 36 this season which marks his 14th in the league. Given that Gomes and Suzuki are in place for the Nat’s title defense run, it might be another year that Barrera will have to plug away in the minors in hopes of earning his shot in 2021.
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.
Former Texas Longhorn Brandon Belt is looking for a bounce back season in 2020 for the San Francisco Giants.
Former Longhorn and current Giants’ first baseman Brandon Belt is preparing to head into his 10th season in the majors, all of which have been with the Giants. Belt received his call to the big leagues in 2011, appearing in 63 games while batting .225 with nine home runs and 18 runs batted in at the age of 23. Outside of an injury-riddled season in 2014, that would be the fewest games that Belt would play in.
In 2019, the former Longhorn and Nacogdoches native appeared in a career-high 156 games that he also matched in the 2016 season. Belt batted just .234 with 127 strikeouts to only 83 walks. He added 17 HRs and 57 RBIs. Looking for a bounce back season, Belt will report to spring training for the Giants in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 16th.
The Giants will be looking to overtake the two teams that finished above them in 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants finished with a combined record of 16-22 against those two clubs. For Belt, he is trying to bring the Giants back to contention. The team hasn’t had a playoff berth since 2016 and haven’t won the pennant since 2014 when they won the World Series.
Belt spent 2008-2009 with the Texas Longhorns. He decided to go to school over starting his baseball career when he was selected in the 11th round by the Boston Red Sox straight out of Lufkin High School. Belt spent 2007 with San Jacinto college where again he was drafted in the 11th round by the Atlanta Braves. He transferred to Texas where he would spend the next two seasons.
As a member of the Longhorns team in 2008, the team finished with a 39-22 record and was eliminated in the NCAA Regionals after falling to Rice 7-4. The following year Belt transitioned to first base and gave up pitching due to his shoulder. The Longhorns finished as runner-up in the 2009 College World Series. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 MLB Draft.
Brandon Belt’s MLB Accolades
Texas freshman pitcher and infielder Andre Deplantier II was seen with a soft cast on his non-throwing hand.
The Texas Longhorns baseball team is only a matter of weeks away from their season opening series against Rice. Freshman Andre Deplantier II was seen with a soft cast on his non-throwing hand according to Dustin McComas of Orange Bloods.
Bummer to see Fr. Andre Duplantier II with a soft cast on. RHP/3B fractured hamate bone in left hand and had surgery recently. Best-case scenario he’s swinging a bat in 3-4 weeks but injury typically affects power longer; was likely starter. He’s focusing on pitching now. #HookEm
— Dustin McComas (@DMcComasOB) January 24, 2020
The fractured hamate bone injury might push Deplantier to focus on just pitching for the immediate future. According to his Texas bio, Deplantier was a force on the mound and in the infield.
Lettered in every season at Summer Creek High School under head coach D.J. Wilson…named the 2019 Summer Creek baseball team MVP and Pitcher of the Year…unanimous first team All-District pitcher and second team third baseman…helped lead the team to the most wins in school history and the first playoff series win…recorded a 9-0 record in 10 starts with 90 strikeouts and batted .304 with 33 RBI as a senior…played third, shortstop, and pitched…named first team All-District pitcher as a junior and senior and second team All-District at third base in both of those seasons…named to the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship All-Tournament team as both a hitter and pitcher on three occasions (2016, 2017, 2018)…member of the National Honor Society.
With the injury to Deplantier, recovery will be key to get him back on the diamond and help bring Texas back to the top of the college baseball world in the Big 12.
Baseball America has released their preseason top 25, with three Big 12 teams in the polls the Texas Longhorns miss making the cut.
Baseball season is almost upon us and the Texas Longhorns are looking to return to Omaha in 2020 for the College World Series. The Longhorns didn’t have the best regular season a year ago but they were able to finish with the best conference record. It marked the first time since 2015 that Texas would get to Omaha.
With the success of last season, the Longhorns are looking to repeat as conference champions. They finished the regular season without being ranked in the top 25. Baseball America has come out with their preseason top 25 rankings and the Longhorns didn’t make the cut.
Our brand new Preseason Top 25 is HERE: https://t.co/t0eb1B5TZe pic.twitter.com/eID4rjQEe8
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 21, 2020
There are three teams from the Big 12 ranked in the preseason rankings with Texas Tech (6), Oklahoma State (16) and Oklahoma (19). The Longhorns will need another 2018 like season to take down three of the best teams in the country to build upon last year’s success.
The Texas Longhorns baseball team just unveiled its new player development center, called the J. Dan Brown Family Player Development Center
The Texas Longhorns baseball team just unveiled its brand new, state-of-the-art player development center, called the J. Dan Brown Family Player Development Center. This facility is packed to the gills with amenities aimed to help players improve and for Texas to field the best group of players it possibly can on any given day. Check out this video giving a brief tour through the facilities:
Honoring the past. Building the future.
This is the J. Dan Brown Family Player Development Center. This is Texas. #HookEm 🤘 pic.twitter.com/AX9Z1srQhm
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) November 22, 2019
This center makes its’ mark as the first fully donor-funded athletics facility on the Forty Acres. It includes a sports performance center for weight training, a nutrition center, a multi-use turf room outfit with multiple batting cages, the new Roger Clemens pitching lab, and an alumni locker room for former Longhorns who have since gone pro to work out in the off-season.
This facility is truly remarkable, and is another way that Texas sets itself apart from the competition. The Longhorns baseball team will utilize the facility in hopes of making a run at the College World Series this season.
