Missions baseball alumni update: Adrian Houser

Adrian Houser pitching in a 2021 spring training game in Phoenix on March 24. - photo by Joe Alexander
Adrian Houser pitching in a 2021 spring training game in Phoenix on March 24.
Adrian Houser pitched in four games for the 2019 San Antonio Missions – all starts. He had a 2-0 record with a 1.27 ERA in the Missions’ only season in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander is expected to be a part of the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation when this season starts.

Houser was a second-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 2011 and was sent to the Brewers in July 2015 as part of a six-player trade. He made his major league debut in 2015, making two relief appearances for the Brewers.

After starting 2019 with the Missions, he was called up to Milwaukee on May 3 and appeared in 35 games for the Brewers that summer including 18 starts. He finished the season with a 6-7 record with a 3.72 ERA in 111 1/3 innings.

In the covid-shortened 2020 season, Houser started 11 games and made one relief appearance. He recorded a 1-6 record with a 5.30 ERA in 56 innings.

Adrian Houser. The Missions beat the Sounds 5-4 Sunday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Adrian Houser pitching for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium during the 2019 season.

2019 Missions at Milwaukee Brewers’ big league spring training

Miguel Sanchez pitching for the Missions at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Miguel Sanchez pitching for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium during the summer of 2019.
The San Antonio Missions were the Triple-A farm club of the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2019 season. These players were in uniform for the Missions two summers ago and went to the Brewers’ big league camp for 2021 spring training:

PITCHERS
No. Player

50 Ray Black
66 Zack Brown
39 Corbin Burnes
37 Adrian Houser
64 Thomas Jankins
47 Angel Perdomo
70 Miguel Sanchez
35 Brent Suter
38 Devin Williams

CATCHERS
No. Player

26 Jacob Nottingham

INFIELDERS
No. Player

18 Keston Hiura
21 Travis Shaw

OUTFIELDERS
No. Player

78 Corey Ray
15 Tyrone Taylor

* 2019 Missions manager Rick Sweet is listed as an instructor

Tyrone Taylor playing for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium during the 2019 season. - photo by Joe Alexander
Tyrone Taylor playing for the Missions at Wolff Stadium during the 2019 season

San Diego Padres prospects at big league spring training

The following players are on the list of the top 30 San Diego Padres prospects for 2021 as ranked by MLB.com and are on listed on the Padres’ big league spring training roster:

PITCHERS
No. player       position rank
1   Mackenzie Gore     LHP   1
40  Ryan Weathers      LHP   5
97  Justin Lange       RHP   7
79  Reggie Lawson      RHP   8
71  Mason Thompson     RHP  11
70  Anderson Espinoza  RHP  12
73  Reiss Knehr        RHP  13
98  Jagger Haynes      LHP  14
67  Steven Wilson      RHP  17
93  Mason Fox          RHP  22
39  Jordan Humphreys   RHP  24
99  Dauris Valdez      RHP  25

INFIELDERS
No. player       position rank
87 CJ Abrams            SS   2
88 Tucupita Marcano    INF   6
94 Eguy Rosario        INF  18

CATCHERS
No. player       position rank
21 Luis Campusano        C   3

OUTFIELDERS
No. player       position rank
90 Robert Hassell       OF   4
63 Jorge Ona            OF   9
95 Joshua Mears         OF  10

Complete Padres prospects list on MLB.com

TCU baseball infielder Conner Shepherd: photo gallery

TCU third baseman Conner Shepherd, a member of the 2020 Flying Chanclas de San Antonio, plays against UTSA on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
TCU’s Conner Shepherd, a member of the 2020 Flying Chanclas de San Antonio, celebrates a home run during the 2021 college season.
Conner Shepperd spent parts of 2020 playing in relatively brief seasons for TCU and the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio.

The 6-foot-1 infielder from California started in all 15 games for the Horned Frogs in the covid-shortened 2020 college season.

He headed to San Antonio for the summer 2020 Texas Collegiate League season. Shepherd had four hits and five RBIs in the Flying Chanclas’ first six games of the season. He was later sidelined by an injury after taking a pitch off his hand.

Shepherd earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors at TCU in 2019 – the last full college season.

This season the left-handed hitter is third among the Horned Frogs in batting at .316 with one home run, one triple and three doubles with seven RBIs in 14 games. His home run came in San Antonio at Roadrunner Field against UTSA.

* Stats from gofrogs.com/

Conner Shepherd of the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio playing against the Acadiana Cane Cutters at Wolff Stadium on Friday, July 3, 2020. - photo by Joe Alexander
Conner Shepherd playing third base for the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio at Wolff Stadium during the 2020 Texas Collegiate League season.

Luke Boyers from TCU baseball and Boerne Champion: photo gallery

Former Boerne Champion outfielder Luke Boyers playing for TCU against UTSA at Roadrunner Field on March 10, 2021. - photo by Joe Alexander
Former Boerne Champion star Luke Boyers played right field, had a hit and scored a run for TCU against UTSA at Roadrunner Field on March 10, 2021.
TCU freshman Luke Boyers got to play close to home last week.

The outfielder from Champion High School in Boerne was in right field when TCU played on the road on Wednesday against UTSA at Roadrunner Field.

Boyers started 15 games so far this season and had at least one hit in 13 of those games. The 5-foot-11 switch-hitter is batting .352 and has walked six times.

At Champion, Boyers earned San Antonio Express News All-Area team honors. He holds Champion school record for career triples (21), RBIs (83), walks (66) and stolen bases (72).

* Stats from gofrogs.com

Former Flying Chanclas baseball infielder Shepherd homers for TCU in win over UTSA

Conner Shepherd hit TCU's only home run, a solo shot down the left-field line in the fourth inning of a 6-3 victory over UTSA on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
Conner Shepherd hit TCU’s only home run, a solo shot down the left-field line in the fourth inning of a 6-3 victory over UTSA on Wednesday.
Lefty-hitting Conner Shepherd drilled TCU’s only home run on a night that felt like it was made for right-handed batters to go deep.

Shepherd’s opposite-field blast down the left-field line in the fourth inning was part of a nine-hit attack by the Horned Frogs in a 6-3 victory over UTSA at Roadrunner Field on Wednesday.

UTSA got home runs by right-handed batters Nick Thornquist and Kyle Bergeron, but had only one other hit in the game. The wind was steadily blowing straight out to left field all night.

TCU is No. 11 in the NCAA rankings and No. 9 by Baseball America.

Shepherd, a senior from California, played for the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio during the 2020 Texas Collegiate League season. He started at third base for TCU on Wednesday. He is hitting .294 and Wednesday’s homer was his first of the season.

TCU’s Luke Boyers, a freshman from Boerne Champion High School, walked and scored in the first inning. The Frogs grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with two hits and a UTSA error. TCU led the rest of the way.

TCU's Luke Boyers scores in the top of the first inning against UTSA on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
TCU’s Luke Boyers scores in the top of the first inning against UTSA on Wednesday.
UTSA's Kyle Bergeron celebrates with coach Pat Hallmark after hitting a fifth inning home run against TCU on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Kyle Bergeron celebrates with coach Pat Hallmark after hitting a fifth inning home run against TCU on Wednesday.
UTSA's Nick Thornquist celebrates in the dugout after hitting a sixth-inning home run against TCU on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Nick Thornquist celebrates in the dugout after hitting a sixth-inning home run against TCU on Wednesday.

UTSA baseball infielder/outfielder Jonathan Tapia: photo gallery

UTSA's Jonathan Tapia playing against UT-Arlington on Saturday, March 6, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Jonathan Tapia tags out a UT-Arlington runner trying to steal second base on Saturday, March 6, 2021, at Roadrunner Field.
Jonathan Tapia is a junior at UTSA and has started six of seven games so far this season, hitting .350 and seeing action mostly at second base but also in the outfield.

Tapia played his high school ball not far from UTSA at O’Connor. He played in 44 games as a UTSA freshman in 2018 and 51 games as a sophomore in 2019. He also saw action in 15 of 17 UTSA games in 2020 in the covid-shortened season.

Tapia played in the 2020 Texas Collegiate League, starting the season in Victoria and moving to the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio later in the summer.

Jonathan Tapia from UTSA and O'Connor High School made his debut with the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio against Texas USA on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jonathan Tapia from UTSA and O’Connor High School made his debut with the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio against Texas USA on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020.

UTSA baseball outfielder Ian Bailey: photo gallery

UTSA's Ian Bailey playing against UT-Arlington on Friday, March 5, 2021, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Ian Bailey playing against UT-Arlington on Friday, March 5, 2021, at Roadrunner Field.
UTSA outfielder Ian Bailey is a grad student who returned to San Antonio after playing at Grambling. He is from Stevens High School.

Bailey has 13 hits and 10 RBIs and has scored nine runs through the Roadrunners’ first two series of the season. He hit home runs in back-to-back road games games against Sam Houston in UTSA’s opening series.

UTSA baseball pounds UT-Arlington in final game of series

Shane Daughety raised his season record to 2-0 by going the distance in Saturday's seven-inning first game. - photo by Joe Alexander
Shane Daughety raised his season record to 2-0 by going the distance in Saturday’s seven-inning first game.
UTSA exploded for 18 hits including home runs by Chris Shull and Dylan Rock to beat UT-Arlington 16-1 on Sunday in the finale of a four-game series at Roadrunner Field.

Reece Easterling pitched the first six innings for UTSA to earn his first win of the season. He allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

Shull and Rock both homered in the six inning. Joshua Lamb had three hits and four RBIs. Jonathan Tapia had three hits and scored twice.

UTSA won three of the four games over the weekend to run its season record to 5-2.

UTSA's Dylan Rock (left) celebrates after hitting a sixth-inning home run against UT-Arlington on Sunday at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Dylan Rock (left) celebrates after hitting a sixth-inning home run.
UTSA's Chris Shull (center) celebrates after hitting a sixth-inning home run against UT-Arlington on Sunday at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Chris Shull (center) celebrates after hitting a sixth-inning home run against UT-Arlington on Sunday at Roadrunner Field.

UTSA baseball splits doubleheader with UT-Arlington

Shane Daughety raised his season record to 2-0 by going the distance in Saturday's seven-inning first game. - photo by Joe Alexander
Shane Daughety raised his season record to 2-0 by going the distance in Saturday’s seven-inning first game.
UTSA pitchers had a strong day Saturday as the Roadrunner split a doubleheader with UT-Arlington at Roadrunner Field.

UTSA’s Shane Daughety pitched a shutout and Dylan Rock, Ian Bailey and Austin Ochoa had key at-bats as the Roadrunners beat UT-Arlington 3-0 in 7 innings in the first game.

UT-Arlington won the second game 2-1.