Anthony Rendon Update: March 14

Everyone knows that Anthony Rendon will be the Pirates' first overall pick in June. WFC Blog scouts report that he's half Ty Cobb, half Jesse Owens, and half Winston Churchill, and that's a legit #2 pick and defensible at #1.

A third baseman by trade, Rendon has DHed all year because of elbow problems. Since there's not enough pressure put on gifted athletes who are under 21, I'm keeping you updated each day.

March 11: Long Beach State 2, #15 Rice 1
Rice lost another disappointing decision to fall to 9-7. Anthony Rendon was no help as he went 0-for-4 and failed to score or drive in a run. Better luck next time.

March 12: Cal 7, #15 Rice 6
With Rice already up 5-1, Rendon singled in the fifth, stole second, and scored a run. But the Owls ended up losing in 15 innings with Rendon going just 1-for-6 with a walk, three strikeouts, and one run scored.

March 13: #15 Rice 2, UC Santa Barbara 1
With their backs against the wall, Rice finally came through with a win to improve to 10-8. Chase McDowell (2-1) went the distance but received little help from the Pirates' #1 pick. Rendon went 2-for-5 with a double but failed to score or drive in a run.

Weekend Statistics
3 games, 3-16, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Season Statistics
15 games, .358/.500/.627, 19 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 17 BB, 10 K

Next Games
Wednesday vs. Dallas Baptist, 6:30 p.m.
Friday vs. Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.
Sunday vs. Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m.

Anthony Rendon Update: March 10

Nobody with the Pirates wants to say it, but obviously Anthony Rendon will be the first overall pick in June. My latest scouting reports say that he's half Honus Wagner, half Bobby Orr, and half Mohandas Gandhi, and that's not a bad draft pick.

Rendon is a third baseman but he's mostly DHed this year due to injury. In order to further the goal of fueling hype and putting unnecessary pressure on young people, here's today's update on his season.

March 8: Sam Houston State 7, Rice 0
Starting again at DH, Rendon walked in the first and was stranded. He struck out twice and flied out once the rest of the way for an 0-for-3 day. It was a bad day for the powerhouse Rice team too. Playing as an unranked team for the first time, they never were in this game and fell to 8-6 on the seaosn.

March 9: Rice 10, Florida International 2
Apparently football is not the only FIU Golden Panthers program which exists only to lose non-conference games over 1,000 miles from home. Couldn't this be a two game series once we've flown from Miami to Houston? Anyway, with the Owls already leading 4-0, Rendon cracked a bases loaded triple. He scored on the play but was not credited with an inside the park home run as the scorer charged FIU shortstop Garrett Wittels with an error instead. Rendon finished 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and three RBI.

Week's Statistics
2 games, 1-6, 1 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K

Season Statistics
15 games, .404/.557/.731, 17 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 16 BB, 7 K

Next Games
Cal Tournament at AT&T Park San Francisco
Friday, vs. Long Beach State, 2 p.m. EST
Saturday, vs. Cal, 10 p.m. EST
Sunday, vs. UC Santa Barbara, 3:30 p.m. EST

Anthony Rendon Update: March 7

The Pirates are drafting Anthony Rendon first overall in June, and they really earned it. Personally I have almost never felt as tired as I did after the 20-0 loss on April 22. And there were 147 more games to go.

I'm not big on scouting reports, but Rendon is half Mike Schmidt, half Jim Thorpe, and half John Lennon, and that's a pretty good draft pick. Because the main purpose of the Internet is fueling hype and putting unnecessary pressure on young people, I decided to start posting updates on Rendon's season every time Pittsburgh's Savior plays.

March 4: #15 Rice 8, Kentucky 7
In the first game of a tournament at Houston's Minute Maid Park, Rendon went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. He started at designated hitter but moved to first base for the final two innings where he flawlessly handled two chances. It was Rendon's first action in the field; he had been the DH so far this season because of a shoulder injury.

March 5: #15 Rice 1, #9 Texas A&M 0
Nothing doing here, as Rendon was the DH, went 0-for-2, and failed to score or drive in a run. Texas righthander Michael Wacha hit Rendon with a pitch in his first two times at bat.

March 6: Baylor 12, #15 Rice 8
Rendon started at DH again in the final game of the weekend. He went 2-for-4 with a strikeout, a double, and most importantly his third home run of the year. He could have done more damage but was intentionally walked twice. Rendon moved to first base for the tenth inning, flawlessly handling one chance, but the Owls lost on a walk-off grand slam.

Weekend Statistics
3 games, 5-11, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K

Season Statistics
13 games, .435/.574/.761, 15 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 13 BB, 5 K

Next Games
Tuesday, home vs. Sam Houston State
Wednesday, home vs. Florida International