TCU’s Baker Takes Center Stage In Houston
HOUSTON—Minute Maid Park could one day have been Luken Baker’s home stadium. The Astros drafted him in the 37th round last year, even after he sent every major league team an email before the draft that requested he not be drafted, that he intended to uphold his commitment to Texas Christian.
There were never serious discussions between the Astros and Baker, a product of Oak Ridge High in Houston’s northern suburbs. He was sure before the draft that he wanted to go to TCU and continue his maturation before entering professional baseball.
But on Saturday night at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic with Baker on the mound and TCU using the home first base dugout, it wasn’t hard from the outside to imagine the what-if. Baker, however, didn’t think so.
“Even if I’d signed, I’d still be down in the minors and not playing on this stage right here,” Baker said. “So I think this was a step up.”
Baker took center stage Saturday, wearing the purple and white of TCU. And even though he is just a freshman beginning his college career, it is already readily apparent the kind of impact talent he possesses. Facing Rice, he threw six scoreless innings, holding the Owls to four hits and striking out seven. He also homered and scored two runs, as No. 17 TCU won, 10-0, in seven innings.
It was the kind of night coach Jim Schlossnagle envisioned while recruiting Baker.
“If you’d (asked) the 30 teams, probably half liked him as a hitter and half liked him as a pitcher,” Schlossnagle said. “And you saw why tonight.”
At the plate, Baker went 1-for-3 with a walk to go with his mammoth home run to lead off the third. In nearly any other ballpark in the country, either in college or the pros, he would have had a second home run the next inning, as he drove a ball to the warning track in dead center field.
Baker said his home run Saturday ranks high among his all-time greatest hits.
“I think that was probably the hardest one I’ve ever hit, in my opinion,” Baker said. “It looked cool either way.”
On the mound, Baker threw his fastball 91-93 mph, touching 94. He effectively mixed in both his changeup and curveball, stymying the Owls hitters. But he also did a good job of locating his pitches, and did not issue a walk.
Rice coach Wayne Graham said Baker’s ability to locate his pitches was the difference Saturday.
“He’s obviously extremely powerful and throws hard,” Graham said. “He throws strikes, he hit some spots and we didn’t.”
Baker has now made two starts on the mound for the Horned Frogs, and has yet to allow a run in 12 innings. He has also tallied 13 strikeouts and walked just one batter, while homering in both his starts.
Schlossnagle said Baker is advanced both as a pitcher and hitter, not just relying on his power to succeed.
“He has a good arm and he can run his fastball into the mid 90s, but from the second we started to recruit him, he’s a better pitcher than he is a power pitcher,” Schlossnagle said. “He used his changeup, he used his breaking ball. They were swinging early in the count, so I think he did a good job of taking advantage of their aggressiveness.”
Baker is one of the rare two-way players where there is little consensus about his future position. He has the powerful bat necessary to be a full-time hitter, but also has a power arsenal on the mound.
The Horned Frogs have the luxury of letting Baker hit in the middle of their lineup and pitch in their weekend rotation. He said it has been “awesome” to be able to immediately fill both roles for a team that has made back-to-back College World Series appearances.
“It just shows the product of all the work that I’ve put in over the years, and the great coaching staff here that’s taken what I’ve been able to do and multiply it by so much,” Baker said. “I’m just glad I have the opportunity.”
That Baker’s big night came in Minute Maid Park, his favorite stadium, made it that much more special. He said much of his family was at the game, as well as a few former teammates. It all came together for a night Baker and the Horned Frogs won’t soon forget.
“I was glad for him, in his hometown, on this stage, against a great program, to play the way he did,” Schlossnagle said.
Davis Stays Locked In
Houston freshman Joe Davis has started off his college career locked in at the plate. The Texas prep product went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a walk Saturday, improving his season line to .636/.714/.1.045 in six games. Despite Davis’ big day at the plate, No. 9 Houston lost to Arkansas, 12-3.
Hitting has never been much of a question for Davis, who was one of the top power hitters in last year’s high school class and won the home run derby at the 2014 Area Code Games. Houston coach Todd Whitting has high hopes for Davis, and so far he’s lived up them. He has stepped into the three-hole in the Cougars lineup and has shown off his advanced feel for hitting.
“He’s just a confident kid,” Whitting said. “He thinks he can hit; he can hit. Mindset is a powerful, powerful thing and he’s got a lot of confidence right now.”
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was impressed by Davis on Saturday.
“I don’t think anybody’s gotten him out,” Van Horn said. “At this pace, he’s going to think college is easy.”
Davis, primarily a catcher in high school, played first base Saturday and will likely see most of his time there or at DH this season.
Texas Tech Gets Another Solid Start
A day after upsetting No. 9 Houston, 3-2, in the opening game of the Shriners College Classic, Texas Tech scored another big win, defeating No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette, 5-3, in 10 innings. While the Red Raiders needed a late-inning comeback against the Ragin’ Cajuns, they got another solid effort from their starting pitcher.
On Friday, it was righthander Ryan Moseley. Saturday, it was righthander Ty Harpenau’s turn. The freshman (5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K) threw his fastball around 89-90 mph and got good sink on the pitch.
Harpenau’s father, Dale, won more than 500 games in 16 years as the coach of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Thanks in part to that background, Harpenau has an advanced feel for pitching, and has made a smooth transition to college. After two starts, the righthander is 2-0, 2.70 with nine strikeouts in 10 innings.
“We’re very fortunate to have him,” coach Tim Tadlock said. “He’s a competitor. He’s a guy that without coach (Ray) Heyward, he’s probably not standing in Lubbock right now. We’re lucky to have him.”
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