Baseball Returning Entire Lineup, Weekend Rotation For 2019
10/12/2018 12:42:00 PM | Baseball
Bears Opened Fall Workouts on Thursday, Playing Scrimmage Friday.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
In his 15 years as a head coach, Steve Rodriguez can't ever remember bringing back his entire starting lineup for the next season.
"I think seven was the most I've had, I've never had nine," said Rodriguez, who opened his fourth fall workouts at Baylor on Thursday with all of his position players and the weekend pitching rotation all returning from a Big 12 Championship team that won 37 games and advanced to the Stanford Regional.
"It's not normal at all, it really isn't. It's nice being able to have those guys out here, kind of leading the way. And at least at the start of things, knowing that they have a jumpstart on a lot of the other guys that have come in. I tell you what, though, some of these freshmen that have come in . . . they're going to make a push for some of those weekend spots."
Fresh in the Bears' minds is a 22-3 stretch at the end of the season that included sweeps of TCU and Kansas State and a 4-0 run to the first Big 12 tournament title in program history.
Senior outfielder/DH Richard Cunningham, who hit a team-high .342 last season with nine homers and 38 RBI, said building off last year's finish and avoiding last year's 14-16 start begins with "preparation on the front end."
"We absolutely have to as a team find a rhythm, find a groove . . . honestly, here in October, that builds to that," Cunningham said, "because you can't get to February and try to start figuring out things on the mound, try to start figuring things out in the box. We have to establish that right here, right now."
Junior catcher Shea Langeliers, a returning Gold Glove winner and second-team All-American, said "the road to Omaha starts right now. So, work every day like you want to go to Omaha (for the College World Series)."
Those are lofty goals for a team that has been there three times before but not since 2005.
"I talk about, not just this year, but every year since I've been here," Rodriguez said. "At the very beginning, I think they thought I was just the crazy guy coming from the West Coast. But, it has to be a realization, and I think they're starting to realize that now.
"Actions are a lot more prevalent than saying it as a catch phrase, so I hope they realize what exactly goes into that and what all that entails, because you need to stay healthy, you need to have a little bit of luck and you need to have some determination, and you really need to hate losing more than you love winning."
The list of returners includes a pair of All-Americans in Langeliers and junior left-hander Cody Bradford, who was 7-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts in earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors. Also back is Freshman All-American shortstop Nick Loftin, who hit .306 with 12 doubles, six homers and 36 RBI.
"It's going to be insane how much the game slows down for a Nick Loftin, a Davion Downey, a Tyler Thomas," Cunningham said, "those guys who were freshmen last year, kind of wide-eyed to everything, but still performing at a super high level. Now, they come back this year and things are going to be moving in slow motion for them. And you can't even fathom what it's going to be like for Davis (Wendzel), Shea, Bradford and all those guys. It's just a veteran team."
Loftin and Wendzel are back on the left side of the infield and are joined by senior second baseman Josh Bissonette and junior first baseman Andy Thomas, who made the transition last year from catcher. In the outfield are Downey and seniors Cole Haring and T.J. Raguse.
Bradford was part of a solid weekend rotation last season with Thomas and returning junior Hayden Kettler.
Even with the entire starting lineup returning intact, Rodriguez said he will use the fall to "tinker" and move guys around to different spots.
"In the perfect world, which baseball is not, everybody stays healthy and no one has to move around," he said. "But, that's just not going to be the case. So, we have to make sure we let guys experiment with different positions, put different guys at short, third and second base, and then put some guys in the outfield. Even in our first intra-squad, we might start them off where they're comfortable and then put some in some uncomfortable positions pretty quickly."
The Bears will have an intra-squad scrimmage at 3:30 p.m. Friday and added a pair of exhibition games next weekend on the road at McNeese State and Houston Baptist.
"Two years ago, we played Weatherford (College), but this is going to be different," Thomas said. "These are two bigger schools and good competition early in the fall. Also, we're going to go on the road, so that will give us a good test for the younger guys to see what it's like to play in a little different environment."
Baylor opens its spring schedule with a four-game home series against Holy Cross on Feb. 15-17 and also has non-conference series against Cornell and Cal Poly at home and Nebraska on the road. The Bears will get a big early test at the Shriners Hospital for Children Classic on March 1-3 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, facing Texas A&M, Rice and Texas State.
Baylor Bear Insider
In his 15 years as a head coach, Steve Rodriguez can't ever remember bringing back his entire starting lineup for the next season.
"I think seven was the most I've had, I've never had nine," said Rodriguez, who opened his fourth fall workouts at Baylor on Thursday with all of his position players and the weekend pitching rotation all returning from a Big 12 Championship team that won 37 games and advanced to the Stanford Regional.
"It's not normal at all, it really isn't. It's nice being able to have those guys out here, kind of leading the way. And at least at the start of things, knowing that they have a jumpstart on a lot of the other guys that have come in. I tell you what, though, some of these freshmen that have come in . . . they're going to make a push for some of those weekend spots."
Fresh in the Bears' minds is a 22-3 stretch at the end of the season that included sweeps of TCU and Kansas State and a 4-0 run to the first Big 12 tournament title in program history.
Senior outfielder/DH Richard Cunningham, who hit a team-high .342 last season with nine homers and 38 RBI, said building off last year's finish and avoiding last year's 14-16 start begins with "preparation on the front end."
"We absolutely have to as a team find a rhythm, find a groove . . . honestly, here in October, that builds to that," Cunningham said, "because you can't get to February and try to start figuring out things on the mound, try to start figuring things out in the box. We have to establish that right here, right now."
Junior catcher Shea Langeliers, a returning Gold Glove winner and second-team All-American, said "the road to Omaha starts right now. So, work every day like you want to go to Omaha (for the College World Series)."
Those are lofty goals for a team that has been there three times before but not since 2005.
"I talk about, not just this year, but every year since I've been here," Rodriguez said. "At the very beginning, I think they thought I was just the crazy guy coming from the West Coast. But, it has to be a realization, and I think they're starting to realize that now.
"Actions are a lot more prevalent than saying it as a catch phrase, so I hope they realize what exactly goes into that and what all that entails, because you need to stay healthy, you need to have a little bit of luck and you need to have some determination, and you really need to hate losing more than you love winning."
The list of returners includes a pair of All-Americans in Langeliers and junior left-hander Cody Bradford, who was 7-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts in earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors. Also back is Freshman All-American shortstop Nick Loftin, who hit .306 with 12 doubles, six homers and 36 RBI.
"It's going to be insane how much the game slows down for a Nick Loftin, a Davion Downey, a Tyler Thomas," Cunningham said, "those guys who were freshmen last year, kind of wide-eyed to everything, but still performing at a super high level. Now, they come back this year and things are going to be moving in slow motion for them. And you can't even fathom what it's going to be like for Davis (Wendzel), Shea, Bradford and all those guys. It's just a veteran team."
Loftin and Wendzel are back on the left side of the infield and are joined by senior second baseman Josh Bissonette and junior first baseman Andy Thomas, who made the transition last year from catcher. In the outfield are Downey and seniors Cole Haring and T.J. Raguse.
Bradford was part of a solid weekend rotation last season with Thomas and returning junior Hayden Kettler.
Even with the entire starting lineup returning intact, Rodriguez said he will use the fall to "tinker" and move guys around to different spots.
"In the perfect world, which baseball is not, everybody stays healthy and no one has to move around," he said. "But, that's just not going to be the case. So, we have to make sure we let guys experiment with different positions, put different guys at short, third and second base, and then put some guys in the outfield. Even in our first intra-squad, we might start them off where they're comfortable and then put some in some uncomfortable positions pretty quickly."
The Bears will have an intra-squad scrimmage at 3:30 p.m. Friday and added a pair of exhibition games next weekend on the road at McNeese State and Houston Baptist.
"Two years ago, we played Weatherford (College), but this is going to be different," Thomas said. "These are two bigger schools and good competition early in the fall. Also, we're going to go on the road, so that will give us a good test for the younger guys to see what it's like to play in a little different environment."
Baylor opens its spring schedule with a four-game home series against Holy Cross on Feb. 15-17 and also has non-conference series against Cornell and Cal Poly at home and Nebraska on the road. The Bears will get a big early test at the Shriners Hospital for Children Classic on March 1-3 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, facing Texas A&M, Rice and Texas State.
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