Texas Tech baseball: Previewing the 2020 Red Raider season
Tech will have to replace some fantastic players from the 2019 team
It seems strange to suggest that this year’s version of Tech baseball will be better on paper than any team Tadlock has assembled given how many fantastic players left the program last year. In fact, some of the best to ever don the Scarlet and Black have to be replaced.
Most notably is Josh Jung, who split his time between third base and shortstop. He hit .343 with a career-high 15 homers to go along with 58 RBI. Named Big 12 Player of the Decade, he is the most accomplished Red Raider of all-time and after being taken No. 8 overall in last year’s MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, he leaves a huge hole to fill.
Across the diamond, another sizeable void can be found. The big bat of first baseman Cameron Warren is gone after a .355, 18-homer, 79-RBI season in 2019.
The 2019 Big 12 leader in hits (86) and RBI, the Oklahoma native is now in the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league system. How Tech replaces his incredible production and reliable glove at first will be a key question for Tadlock to answer early in 2020.
Another answer has to be found at the top of the order now that Gabe Holt is playing professionally in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system. Last year, the Red Raider leadoff man hit .318, stole 28 bases, scored 53 runs, and drove in 35 more. While his speed won’t be missed as much as Jung and Warren’s power given how much pure speed is on this year’s team, his ability to get on base (he had a career on-base percentage of .425) will be tough to replicate.
On the mound, starter Caleb Kilian is now with the San Francisco Giants’ organization. Last year, he amassed an 8-3 record and 3.92 ERA while going 7-0 in conference play. What’s more, he ranked third in the Big 12 during league play in ERA (2.70) and opponent’s batting average (.217) leaving a huge hole in Tech’s weekend rotation.
In the bullpen, Tech lost its best reliever, Taylor Floyd, who led the pen with 57.1 innings pitched and 88 strikeouts while compiling an ERA of 2.51, best on the team. The lefty was an absolute weapon out of the pen in the postseason as he pitched six scoreless innings in three College World Series appearances, including four against Florida State to propel Tech to the Final Four.
Losing that type of talent is never ideal but we are in an era when Texas Tech baseball is able to lose multiple All-American caliber players and remain a national contender on a yearly basis. That’s what many are expecting to happen again in 2020 because, though this team is rather young, it is stocked with blue-chip talent.