Can Texas A&M baseball still win a championship sans Shane Sdao and Braden Montgomery?
The penultimate goal has been reached for this Texas A&M baseball season: the Aggies have reached Omaha. Now, only one thing remains—going out and winning the whole thing.
This is a Texas A&M baseball team that, throughout the season, has been tabbed as one of the favorites to do just that. They’ve romped through an extremely tough schedule, and though they faltered late in the regular season, have emerged undefeated out of the regional and super regional rounds.
Though their record may be unblemished, their roster has taken a couple of hits. Braden Montgomery, one of the best players on the entire team and a projected top pick in the upcoming MLB draft, suffered a clean break of his ankle in game one of the Super Regional against Oregon. The team rallied to win that game, but game two brought more misfortune, as starting pitcher Shane Sdao had to exit with what appeared to be discomfort in his elbow.
It is certain that Montgomery cannot return after undergoing ankle surgery. It is exceedingly likely that Sdao will not be back. How much does this affect the Aggies chances of winning the College World Series?
I won’t lie: these are substantial losses. I am actually more concerned about Sdao than I am about Montgomery; though Braden is a true star, the value of hitters tends to be more dispersed over the course of the entire season than a small sample size like the weekend up in Omaha. The Aggies will need their best arms against several of these squads, and Sdao has played well enough this year to be a reliable option in just such a situation.
Does that mean this Texas A&M baseball team can’t win the national championship? I don’t think that’s the case at all. Ryan Prager has had excellent stuff throughout the season, and if Lamkin and Jones can step up, the Aggies could still yet be in good shape on the mound. That’s not to mention Chris Cortez, who has had an absolute renaissance of late as a reliever.
This Aggie team is deep and talented. Their ability is unquestioned; however, they now face their toughest challenge yet. They’ll have to work through adversity if they want to emerge from the pack in Omaha.
But no one ever said winning a championship was easy.