Top 25 Returning Big 12 Baseball Players, No. 25: Shea Langeliers, Baylor C/1B
Our list starts with one of the two 2019 Big 12 Championship Most Valuable Players.
Why not start it off with a bang? Shea Langeliers is a leader for the Baylor Bears. He is the Joe Mauer of the Big 12 Conference and shown the potential of becoming a five-tool player. His career tallies so far: 21 homers, .281 average, 32 doubles, five stolen bases and four triples. Those aren’t typical stats for a catcher. By the way, speaking of Mauer, he also played eight games at first base in 2018.
Many can make the argument Langeliers should be a lot higher than No.25 on our list. I agree with that statement, but he took a step back in 2018 from 2017. That might be from the fact Baylor was supposedly rebuilding. There were some growing pains in the 2018 season, but the Bears ended up winning the Big 12 Tournament Championship and advancing to an NCAA Regional.
Langeliers also has plenty of talent around him. He shared the MVP with battery-mate Cody Bradford, who just happens to be the reigning Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year. Although Langeliers is talented and proven he can compete with the best, the Big 12 has forced him through struggles at times. The 6-foot, 190-pound Keller product finished Big 12 play with a .247 average and the third most strikeouts for the Bears in 2018.
2019 will be Langeliers junior season and he will become draft eligible this year. The Bears are picked to finish second and scored two first-place votes. With another year of experience under his belt and experienced talent around him, look for the average to rise and the strikeouts to drop. It’s not a matter of if Langeliers will be drafted this year, but at what spot?
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