2023 Texas Baseball

[torre 1,285]

http://pointstreak.com/baseball/team_stats.html?teamid=3427&seasonid=33239     (stats not always current)

 

Daly is playing SS/3B for Chatham at Cape Cod.    Only played 7 of 28 games and hitting .200.    Extreme competition, but may have benefited more in going to Santa Barbara or another team in the Calif Collegiate League for more PT at SS.

 

tl,dr:    Begin forming a 7 figure NIL deal for Faltine.      🙂

 

Edit:   May have an injury.    However,  often times they send you home if you will miss signficant number of games. 

Edited July 11, 2022 by torre

[Hookem2147 21,217]

1 hour ago, torre said:

http://pointstreak.com/baseball/team_stats.html?teamid=3427&seasonid=33239     (stats not always current)

 

Daly is playing SS/3B for Chatham at Cape Cod.    Only played 7 of 28 games and hitting .200.    Extreme competition, but may have benefited more in going to Santa Barbara or another team in the Calif Collegiate League for more PT at SS.

 

tl,dr:    Begin forming a 7 figure NIL deal for Faltine.      🙂

 

Edit:   May have an injury.    However,  often times they send you home if you will miss signficant number of games. 

I think Daly got a super late start since he was with the team in Omaha. Don't think he even reported to his summer team until the end of June/early July.

[torre 1,285]

23 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

I think Daly got a super late start since he was with the team in Omaha. Don't think he even reported to his summer team until the end of June/early July.

Excellent point !     Forgot all about the CWS.

Per schedule,  his first action was 30 June.

[Fletch 5,800]

I like it. He’s silky smooth at 2nd. Can he pull a Seth Johnston, make the move to short and have a career year at the plate plz?

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

The LSU board is saying Texas might be the front runner for USC's top starting pitcher with several other SEC schools involved. Here's a write up I found on Hurley. 

https://247sports.com/college/usc/Article/USC-baseball-pitcher-Charlie-Hurley-enters-NCAA-transfer-portal-189431764/

[Hookem2147 21,217]

28 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

The LSU board is saying Texas might be the front runner for USC's top starting pitcher with several other SEC schools involved. Here's a write up I found on Hurley. 

https://247sports.com/college/usc/Article/USC-baseball-pitcher-Charlie-Hurley-enters-NCAA-transfer-portal-189431764/

Rodriguez, Miller and the Occupy LF NIL account are all following Hurley on twitter.

[Hookem2147 21,217]

I’m going to have to see it to believe it with Skenes. I think Texas is in the mix but not at the front based off some breadcrumbs and whispers I’ve heard/read. I think people got way too excited and read way too much into the fact his coach said nice things about our program and that our fans gave his team a standing ovation.

At the end of the day he is trying to cash in with NIL and get to the next level. I just don’t think it is a recruitment we are equipped to win when going up against ALL big names.

[Levi 2,586]

Texas baseball should be at the very top every year for NIL, and be equipped to handle any type of recruitment. A high powered NIL machine at University of Texas for baseball would be really hard to beat.  

[Hookem2147 21,217]

Just now, DoneWithit said:

Texas baseball should be at the very top every year for NIL, and be equipped to handle any type of recruitment. A high powered NIL machine at University of Texas for baseball would be really hard to beat.  

No doubt, but I do not think we have a high powered NIL machine yet. Doesn’t mean we can’t get there or can’t get guys from the portal. Just makes it harder.

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

That was quick. 

The USC pitcher mentioned above committed to Texas. There's 1 weekend starter. We need these LSU insiders to come over here and tell us who were are recruiting. 

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

The LSU board also said that we were the front runners for Jackson Smeltz a few weeks ago. Purdue's best starting pitcher. 

I haven't seen anything on him recently. 

 

[Hookem2147 21,217]

5 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

That was quick. 

The USC pitcher mentioned above committed to Texas. There's 1 weekend starter. We need these LSU insiders to come over here and tell us who were are recruiting. 

Where you seeing that the USC pitcher committed?

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

1 minute ago, Hookem2147 said:

Where you seeing that the USC pitcher committed?

His instagram. I can't get it to embed because I'm dumb when it comes to technology but just search his instagram. 

Charliehurley_ 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Rickylovesweed

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

46 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

No doubt, but I do not think we have a high powered NIL machine yet. Doesn’t mean we can’t get there or can’t get guys from the portal. Just makes it harder.

I don't know about high powered but if the LSU board is to believed some big SEC powers wanted this USC catcher and pitcher. 

So Texas must have some type of NIL going in baseball. 

[Pablo 494]

Tulo was scouting for us when he went to USC to "interview" lol

[Hookem2147 21,217]

3 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I don't know about high powered but if the LSU board is to believed some big SEC powers wanted this USC catcher and pitcher. 

So Texas must have some type of NIL going in baseball. 

I think we also have a ton of open scholarship money with all the departures. If we can offer players a 60 or 70% scholarship it will beat some other schools. Other schools who don't have much of their 11.7 left are using NIL big time.

[OB3 3,608]

 

[OB3 3,608]

[Hookem2147 21,217]

Nice job by the staff so far in the portal. Catcher, bullpen arm and weekend starter. Would be really cool if the draft is kind to us next week.

[Hookem2147 21,217]

Oof. The wheels must have come off for Hurley late in the year. Gave up 5,4 and 8 runs in his last 3 starts. Had an ERA north of 5.50 in Pac12 play.

But still should be a solid addition.

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

1 minute ago, Hookem2147 said:

Oof. The wheels must have come off for Hurley late in the year. Gave up 5,4 and 8 runs in his last 3 starts. Had an ERA north of 5.50 in Pac12 play.

But still should be a solid addition.

That's what the article above said. 

Hurley had around a 2.50 ERA for most of the season and then the final 3 starts were bad for whatever reason. They implied he "ran out of gas" because it was the first time being an every day starter in college. 

[Levi 2,586]

1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

No doubt, but I do not think we have a high powered NIL machine yet. Doesn’t mean we can’t get there or can’t get guys from the portal. Just makes it harder.

Yep, we’ll get there. Just like football, when it does come it will be awesome. 

[kingkoopa6 8,350]

NOICE!

[Hookem2147 21,217]

If we can somehow sneak through the draft without losing Southard, I am going to be feel pretty good about this pitching staff heading into next year. The two pitchers we are adding from San Jac are legit and should fit in nicely.

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

31 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

If we can somehow sneak through the draft without losing Southard, I am going to be feel pretty good about this pitching staff heading into next year. The two pitchers we are adding from San Jac are legit and should fit in nicely.

I hope the rumors on the LSU board about Jackson Smeltz are true. He has injury issues but when healthy he looks like a very good pitcher based on the numbers.

 

[Levi 2,586]

Where can I find this LSU board? 

[Cairn Horn88 8,262]

14 minutes ago, DoneWithit said:

Where can I find this LSU board? 

You mean TigerDroppings?   ...   secrant

[40acredropout 2,902]

Hurley is pretty interesting to me.  He's 6'8 and PG had his velo at 93 out of high school-  no clue where he sits now.  That said, nobody on our squad who threw > 15 IP had a lower K/9 ratio.  Maybe some life/upside left in the arm?

*NERD EDIT* Another stat-  Looked at the 767 qualified D1 pitchers at D1's stat page.  There are 203 pitchers who had as low of a H/9 ratio as Hurley (8.38).  Every single one of them had a higher K/9 ratio.  Is this telling us he's fortunate he didn't get touched up harder?  Or is that some kind of proof of pitchability/ good stuff?  

Here's how Hurley / Skenes/ Smeltz (Purdue kid) stack up compared to this past years roster:

Edited July 13, 2022 by 40acredropout

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

The Smeltz rumor was prior to Allen being fired so not sure if that changes the big board. They thought it was likely going to be Texas or Mississippi State but that was a few weeks ago. 

Smeltz is an intriguing option because of the injury history but he’s also really good. Seems like somebody we should take a flier on. 

[Hookem2147 21,217]

This is why the Williams hire is so big/important. The hardest part in college baseball is translating projection into production. Guys like Hurley, LBJ, Southard, Harrison, Sthele, Duplantier, Gordon all have the "stuff" to be damn good pitchers. It's about putting it together, tapping into potential and trusting their stuff. If Williams can do that with 3 or 4 of those guys next year we are going to be a really good spot.

Allen did a good job of getting these type of guys in the program, but that's the easy part. They have to take the next step once they get here.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Hookem2147

[hobbes2702 13,033]

14 hours ago, 40acredropout said:

Hurley is pretty interesting to me.  He's 6'8 and PG had his velo at 93 out of high school-  no clue where he sits now.  That said, nobody on our squad who threw > 15 IP had a lower K/9 ratio.  Maybe some life/upside left in the arm?

*NERD EDIT* Another stat-  Looked at the 767 qualified D1 pitchers at D1's stat page.  There are 203 pitchers who had as low of a H/9 ratio as Hurley (8.38).  Every single one of them had a higher K/9 ratio.  Is this telling us he's fortunate he didn't get touched up harder?  Or is that some kind of proof of pitchability/ good stuff?  

Here's how Hurley / Skenes/ Smeltz (Purdue kid) stack up compared to this past years roster:

That’s a lot of walks and not very many Ks. A guy that size with his supposed stuff shouldn’t look that way. Makes me think he needs a good pitching coach to teach him and to call pitches.

[torre 1,285]

15 hours ago, 40acredropout said:

  Is this telling us he's fortunate he didn't get touched up harder?  Or is that some kind of proof of pitchability/ good stuff?  

 

 

As indicated by 2147 and hobbes,  it indicates he needs coaching.     USC ranked 8th in the P12 in pitching only ahead of Utah, Wash, Wash St.   Pitching coach was Ted Silva,  former Fullerton pitcher, MLB (minors) pitcher,  and Darrin Erstad's  long time pitching coach at Nebraska.

At USC Hurley had a 45-32  and 19-14 K/BB ratio the last 2 years worse than our starters.   I'm guessing the H/9 ratio was to avoid walks and tend to throw( @zlavydra's favorite term) meatballs or cookie. 🙂  Taller pitchers  tend to have more command, injury, and mechanical issues which will be addressed by Williams.

 

From a purely mechanical look at pitching, the taller pitcher not only has the potential to have worse command problems due to the length of the forearm (not to mention the humerus), but also has a higher multiplier for torque and therefore stress on the structures of the human body.

https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2016/06/pitcher-height-comparison-velocity-elbow-injuries-mechanics/#:~:text=From a purely mechanical look at pitching%2C the taller pitcher,structures of the human body.

   

Edited July 13, 2022 by torre

[hobbes2702 13,033]

Just watched at video of him throwing at USC fall ball. There are some mechanical things that could be corrected that I imagine would help him pretty significantly. I’m not a pitching coach but he seems to be a short strider with very little engagement of the back leg. His arm slot also seems a bit low especially considering the height. 
His windup looks like someone taught him “tall and fall” and he took that too literally so he isn’t getting the power from push off. He just looks stiff overall. Nothing a good coach can’t correct though.

Edited July 13, 2022 by hobbes2702

[TrashMaster G 17,554]

On 7/4/2022 at 8:22 PM, Hookem2147 said:

Tadlock is starting to become known as an asshole and his approach to managing his roster is going to bite him in the ass. He oversigns every year and then just cuts a bunch of kids in the fall or tells him to enter the portal so he can use their scholarship money. They signed a 24 man recruiting class this year which is insane and he’s still is promising scholarship money and roster spots to portal and juco kids. Half those kids won’t even be on the roster next spring.

It was funny to read that article in The Athletic about Melendez when they talked about how Tech could have had him but Tadlock pulled his scholarship offer after Melendez visited campus and didn’t commit on the spot.

Does anyone have a subscription to The Athletic who would be willing to share the Melendez article?

[TrashMaster G 17,554]

On 7/8/2022 at 5:13 PM, Fletch said:

Man I wish the 2020 season happened. We were absolutely loaded that year. Oh well. The baseball gods owe us hard ever since that faithful day against tcu in 2010 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

faithful?

😂

[zlavydra 2,121]

1 hour ago, TrashMaster G said:

Does anyone have a subscription to The Athletic who would be willing to share the Melendez article?

Quote

 

OMAHA, Neb. — One year ago, Ivan Melendez warned everybody what he could become.

Top of the ninth inning. All tied up with Mississippi State. Two on, one out, full count. A fastball down in the zone. He instantly knew where it would land.

On that late and rainy night here last summer, Melendez flipped his bat, hopped and pounded his chest with pride. He stomped on home plate. And Texas’ run at the College World Series lived on another day.

“That was electric,” Melendez said, “just knowing I’ve never played in front of that many fans, I’ve never played on such a big stage, in such a big game. And it was such a clutch home run.”

The one thing that bothered him?

“I thought it was going to go a lot further,” he said. “It kinda hit some rain and only went five rows deep.”

 

He can look back now and chuckle and say that bomb could’ve been even better. But he recognizes it was one of those rare perfect moments, one that proved he belonged and propelled him even further. A year later, he’s back on this stage in another pressure-packed spot. His life has changed considerably in between.

Melendez established himself as the best player in college baseball. He has hit 32 bombs this year, breaking the Division I single-season home run record since the BBCOR era began in 2011, and leads the nation in RBIs (94) and slugging percentage (.877) while hitting .393. The “Hispanic Titanic” nickname given to him by this Texas squad is now pasted all over tees and tweets. The trophy case is filling up fast.

Even those who have long believed in him didn’t anticipate he’d get this good. “I never saw this coming,” Texas coach David Pierce said. But Melendez? He always told himself he’d end up where he is today.

He was no high school phenom out in El Paso, Texas, nor even a Division I recruit. Melendez took a detour, beginning his journey to the top at the junior college level at Odessa College. He got this far on underestimated talent and undeterred focus.

“If I had to do it all over again, I’d take the same path,” Melendez said. “I don’t regret anything. That’s my roots. That’s the reason why I’m here today. If I didn’t take that route, I wouldn’t be here.”

---

 

Since an 0-for-8 start to Texas’ Big 12 tournament run in late May, Melendez is 11-for-34 at the plate with four homers in his last nine games.

When you’re trying to get recruited out of El Paso, it can feel like you’re living on an island. That’s how his father Raul Melendez described it. Ivan remembers traveling to tournaments, answering where he’s from and hearing lines like: There’s not much out there, huh?

He easily rattles off a list of El Paso guys like him — Adrian Torres, Brandon Pimentel, Erick Martinez, Darell Hernaiz — who are playing D-I or in the pros. But in their border city, fighting that perception and getting noticed isn’t easy.

“It’s kinda in the middle of nowhere,” Raul said. “If you’re not throwing 95-plus mph, they’re not gonna come look at you.”

Chuck Duarte, their Baseball Next Level travel team coach, said they’d have to go out to Phoenix, Houston or Dallas to compete in tournaments that had scouts in the stands. He wonders, too, if those scouts questioned the level of competition Melendez faced. But outside of the summer, a Division I coach would’ve had to go out of his way to see him. Not many have the budget to fly out to El Paso just to evaluate one kid. Wade Regas, a former Odessa College assistant now at Grayson Junior College, wants to believe a player like Melendez wouldn’t go unnoticed these days.

“With PBR Texas, Five Tool and Perfect Game, there isn’t a pitch that’s thrown in the state of Texas anymore that’s not put on Twitter,” Regas said. “It’s definitely different now. There really is no such thing as a hidden gem.”

But back in 2017, Melendez was still well-hidden entering his senior year at El Paso Coronado. Oftentimes in recruiting, your fortune comes down to who you know. Duarte played for Odessa College coach Kurtis Lay at Western Texas. He called up his former coach that September to say he had five players who merited a closer look. Lay was looking for arms, and Duarte had an ambidextrous pitcher he thought Lay might find intriguing. He also had Melendez, who wasn’t generating much interest. Lay invited the group out to Odessa for a workout.

The Ivan Melendez he saw that day was a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher throwing 88-91 mph. He was thinner at the time but passed the eye test. He also played third base and didn’t have his heart set on pitching. Regas said they weren’t too sure what he would be. But they liked him.

“At the junior college level, if you see a kid with that type of velocity, you’re signing the kid,” Lay said. “If nothing else, you take him as an arm.”

He asked why Melendez wasn’t committed somewhere. There were no red flags. “No one had really asked about the kid, to be honest,” Duarte said. Lay didn’t waste time. He called Melendez during their four-hour drive home and asked what it would take to get him to Odessa College.

“His response was, ‘I’d like to have a scholarship,’” Lay recalls. “I said, ‘All right, well, how much do you want?’ I kinda put the ball in his court. He said, ‘Well, if you can give me a full scholarship, that’d be great.’ I said, ‘All right, fine, that’s all I need to know. Full it is.’”

Melendez committed right away and later signed as a two-way athlete. Regas distinctly remembers a moment seven months later. Odessa was hosting a series against El Paso Community College and one of their coaches let him know: “Your boy Ivan is going off.” Melendez hit 15 homers during his senior season of high school, earning all-state honors. Did that mean more D-I schools were suddenly interested?

“Not really,” Melendez said. “They’d tell me, ‘Oh, we’re out of money at this point’ or ‘We already have all our commits.’”

New Mexico State entered the picture but only offered a 25 percent scholarship. Lay assured him that if he put in two years in Odessa, there was no telling where he could go.

“If you put in the work,” Raul Melendez said, “people will come looking for you.”

---

If you ask Kyler Castillo about life in Odessa, he’ll offer a succinct summary: “A lot of oil fields, a lot of wind and that’s about it.”

The former Odessa College outfielder didn’t find much else in a town known more for “Friday Night Lights” and its famed Permian Panthers. But he admits that boredom wasn’t all bad, as it kept guys out of trouble. Lay had some players who liked to go fishing and others who’d golf. Not Melendez. He preferred to work out.

“There wasn’t much to do besides get better at baseball, so that’s what I did,” Melendez said. “You’ve gotta love it. You’ve gotta love playing baseball if you’re gonna go the JUCO route in a small city. I just kinda saw it as this is where I’m gonna get better. I’m gonna go to the gym twice a day or go hit in the cages at 8 a.m. I was extra focused and used that to my advantage.”

He befriended Jacob Maiwald, a pitcher from Amarillo. What would they do to hang out? “Whenever me and him would see each other, it would literally just be going to the gym,” Maiwald said. He noticed Melendez was always punctual and never forgot his bag, glove or water. This freshman didn’t mess around. Odessa College’s baseball team would lift four days a week in the fall and two days a week in the spring. Melendez and a group of players would go back in after dinner and lift at night.

“He was all about the grind,” said Castillo, who earned WJCAC co-MVP honors in 2019 and now plays high-A ball in the Miami Marlins organization. “Definitely a kid you wanted on your team.”

The guys called him “Big Draco” back then, a reference to Soulja Boy. Like “Hispanic Titanic,” it just happened one day and caught on. Lay had no idea what it meant. Melendez earned this team’s respect with his effort and brought plenty of confidence. Regas remembers him saying early on, “I’m gonna have to take somebody’s job. I’m gonna play.” It wasn’t a given that he’d be their everyday third baseman, and he got off to a slow start in the fall.

Then came a setback. Melendez dove for a ball in the fall and dislocated his left shoulder. It had popped out four or five times since his senior year of high school. He finally conceded he needed labrum surgery, which came with a five-month recovery including a couple of months in a sling.

“You could feel the hunger,” Regas said. “He did not want to be just another anonymous guy. There was definitely a hunger to prove to people that he was good enough to play anywhere.”

He missed 10 games before he was cleared to play in mid-February. He hadn’t seen live pitching in months and started 2-for-26 at the plate. And then, as he tends to do, Melendez settled in and got hot: he hit .474 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI over his final 41 games.

“I think that’s pretty solid,” Melendez said with a laugh.

The one hit his coaches and teammates still talk about came in mid-April on the road at rival Midland College. Melendez stepped up to the plate in the last inning of a 4-4 game with the bases loaded. There’s an overpass, East Loop 250 North, about 270 feet behind the left-field fence at Christensen Stadium. You’d have to hit a ball more than 600 feet to reach it. Everyone swears Melendez came close.

“He damn near put that thing on the highway,” Castillo said.

“It was 550,” Maiwald insists. “It was tanked.”

“Absolutely torched,” Lay said. “Not a lot of balls I’ve seen hit in my lifetime that were hit that hard.”

“The adrenaline hit, I made contact and … yeah,” Melendez said.

He was an NJCAA All-American at the end of his debut season. Now he had people’s attention.

---

Texas always was the dream school for Melendez. He almost didn’t go.

Nebraska came in first and tried to sign him at the end of his freshman season. Assistant coach Lance Harvell said Melendez was one of their first offers after the staff was hired in June 2019. They even sent a coach out to watch Melendez play summer league ball in Bancroft, Iowa.

“He came back and said, ‘Yeah, we need to get that guy. He’s a no-doubter,’” Harvell said.

Melendez was the first recruit they brought in for an official visit. He enjoyed his trip and liked the school but said the scholarship offer wasn’t enough to get him to leave. Lay convinced him the big in-state offers Melendez coveted were coming.

“That one definitely still stings a little bit,” Harvell said with a chuckle.

Regas reached out to Texas assistant Sean Allen in June 2019 and assured him Melendez was worth his time and needed to be on his radar. Pierce has credited former Texas great Omar Quintanilla with playing an influential role, too. The El Paso native had trained Melendez, vouched for him and insisted he needed to be a Longhorn.

But Texas Tech emerged as the favorite. The Red Raiders had reached the College World Series in four of the last six seasons. “They were the ‘it’ school at the moment,” Melendez said. Many high school classmates went there, too. When he got a good look at their hitter-friendly ballpark during his official visit, he knew he’d put up big stats.

“I told Sean at one point: You do not want this guy hitting at Texas Tech,” Regas said.

But at the end of his official visit, Melendez wasn’t ready to commit. His parents encouraged him to take all five official visits. He hadn’t been to Austin yet. When Melendez told Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock he was going to visit Texas, Tadlock rescinded his scholarship offer.

The Melendez family has not forgiven or forgotten. “But things happen for a reason,” Raul said. “That’s why we’re here, in a better place.” When Ivan got to play a three-game series in Lubbock this season, he hit .750 with three home runs. He was stunned by the tactic, but it clarified where he needed to be. Texas let him take his time, didn’t apply pressure and secured his commitment.

Melendez always believed he could play at this level but struggled in his first fall with the Longhorns in 2020. He was pressing, trying too hard to prove himself right away. “In the first three intersquads, I was hitless,” he recalls. “I went from batting fourth to 10th. There’s not 10 hitters in the lineup. I was kind of freaking out.” When asked last week what initial expectations he had for Melendez, Pierce thought back to the freshman who wasn’t sure of himself.

“I can look back and see him hanging out in our dugout, a little insecure and just hoping he fits into the program and he can be a contributor,” Pierce said, “and then thinking that he’s just an OK player.”

Added Lay, “You just never know how they’re going to produce at the next level. You never know how a kid’s truly gonna respond. So what he’s done is … wow.”

---

 

Ivan, center, and his family with the Dick Howser Trophy before Texas’ CWS run began.

After his home run in the College World Series, Melendez believed he could become one of the best hitters in the country. The Marlins made him a 16th round draft pick last summer, but he wasn’t leaving. He knew he had so much more right in front of him.

“Everyone talks about the power, and I understand that,” Texas assistant Troy Tulowitzki said. “But since he’s been here, he’s become a complete hitter.”

Pierce calls him one of the most impressive young men he’s ever coached, one who exemplifies everything you’d ever want in a player and teammate. He’s shining now but still operating like the dude who was trying to get out of Odessa. Melendez didn’t go home much this offseason. He stayed in Austin, went into the facility twice a day, built his routine and trained like a pro.

“He’s the best player but he works like he’s not even close,” Texas catcher Silas Ardoin said.

“You see some people having a good week or two. He’s had a good, I don’t know, five months?” Texas shortstop Trey Faltine said. “That’s the craziest part. He’s continuously doing it. It’s almost like you go to the ballpark every day and he does something even crazier than he did the game before.”

Melendez’s exploits do unlock a higher level of pressure. Raul can tell people expect moonshot homers from every at-bat now. “If he gets a single, they’re like, ‘Aw, man…’” he said. This newfound fame is surreal to family and friends. Back home, Duarte now sees people wearing No. 17 tees at the grocery store. “Ivan is making El Paso proud,” he said. Regas was at Globe Life Park in Dallas when Melendez hit home run No. 29 to break Texas’ single-season home run record and admits his eyes got “real watery.” When they caught up the night before, he was struck by how ho-hum Melendez was about his monster season.

“It’s almost like the guy has no idea he’s about to win the Heisman Trophy for baseball,” Regas said.

Melendez was presented the Dick Howser Trophy last Friday and could become the first player to move up from junior college to D-I and win the Golden Spikes Award later this week. At the moment, though, he’s in no mood to reflect on this incredible year and what it has meant.

“We still have games to play,” he said.

After a 7-3 loss to Notre Dame in which Melendez went 1-for-4, the Longhorns now face an unbelievably intense elimination game against rival Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon. It’s another now-or-never moment, just as it was last weekend at East Carolina and last year against Mississippi State. For this Texas team and its resilient star, it’s once again time to shine.

“Who knows what’s gonna happen?” Tulowitzki said. “He’s gonna have a lot of pressure on him. But at the same time, the track record of what he’s done this year has been special. It’s a historic season. And we want him up there, I’ll tell you that.”

 

 

[shadow_operative2.0 15,973]

Thank you to whichever mod fixed that. 

[Fletch 5,800]

1 hour ago, TrashMaster G said:

faithful?

😂

Posting stoned is fun 

[HenryJames 66,048]

 

[Valmy77 13,226]

Just four days away from the MLB draft. Orioles got the #1 pick but they probably won't use it to draft Melendez. 

[txhorns 2,409]

6 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Just four days away from the MLB draft. Orioles got the #1 pick but they probably won't use it to draft Melendez. 

There’s a reason they have the #1 pick

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

This pitcher is being mentioned with Texas. I wonder if Rodriguez and his California connections are helping? The USC pitcher was also from California. 

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by Rickylovesweed

[Hookem2147 21,217]

25 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

This pitcher is being mentioned with Texas. I wonder if Rodriguez and his California connections are helping? The USC pitcher was also from California. 

 

I think you are onto something. Woody Williams is following him on twitter.

[40acredropout 2,902]

2 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

This pitcher is being mentioned with Texas. I wonder if Rodriguez and his California connections are helping? The USC pitcher was also from California. 

 

WANT.   

13.67 K/9 and threw a No-No against UC Riverside (I'm aware how shitty they are).

He got better as the season went on- reached season low ERA after last appearance. 

While Big West competition has slipped recently (19th best RPI conference), he did show he can do it against legitimate competition:

Gonzaga:  7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 7K, 1 BB
Oregon State:  3.1 IP,  0 H, 0 ER, 6K, 3 BB

[hobbes2702 13,033]

3 hours ago, 40acredropout said:

WANT.   

13.67 K/9 and threw a No-No against UC Riverside (I'm aware how shitty they are).

He got better as the season went on- reached season low ERA after last appearance. 

While Big West competition has slipped recently (19th best RPI conference), he did show he can do it against legitimate competition:

Gonzaga:  7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 7K, 1 BB
Oregon State:  3.1 IP,  0 H, 0 ER, 6K, 3 BB

Yup. I like that a lot. I haven’t watched him but those numbers show command and power. Something we were badly missing as a combo this season

Edited July 15, 2022 by hobbes2702

[Rickylovesweed 14,297]

The numbers look good and he was named a 2nd team Freshman All-American by D1 baseball. 

 

[UnhappilyMarried 815]

https://medium.com/@tieranbaseball/mlb-draft-top-500-prospects-fba9fe7fceaf
 

Very in-depth on the top 100 prospects. Fun read on Ivan. Says Bolte is asking for $2.5MM. I never like having hope during draft week

[Hookem2147 21,217]

49 minutes ago, UnhappilyMarried said:

https://medium.com/@tieranbaseball/mlb-draft-top-500-prospects-fba9fe7fceaf
 

Very in-depth on the top 100 prospects. Fun read on Ivan. Says Bolte is asking for $2.5MM. I never like having hope during draft week

Bolte wanting $2.5 million means he wants top 40 pick money. Not sure he’s going to get that. Should be interesting.

[OB3 3,608]

 

[OB3 3,608]

27 minutes ago, OB3 said: