3 Players Texas A&M Needs to Watch vs. Houston Cougars

After a high-stakes series at home over the weekend against the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M baseball turns its eyes to the other program down the road.

That’s Houston out of the Big 12 conference.

The Cougars have not had their best season; for most of the season, they have been at the bottom of the standings. As for the Aggies, they have been completely different, sitting in the middle of the pack in the SEC standings, hoping to return to the regionals after missing it a season ago.

As both schools collide on Tuesday evening, there could be a major upset brewing if A&M cannot find a way to slow down the barrels of these three studs.

Xavier Perez

All season, the best player that has stepped up to the plate for the Cougars has been Xavier Perez, the first baseman and outfielder for head coach Todd Whitting. The 6-foot star from Corpus Christi, Texas, has arguably been the most consistent in the lineup, which is why he is where he is now.

As a hitter, Perez is batting .305 with a 1.012 OPS, .603 slugging percentage, and .417 on-base percentage. He leads the roster in batting average, slugging percentage, runs batted in, triples, home runs, total bases, hits, and at-bats. He’s an all-around player who could make the A&M pitching staff pay for the pitches it offers.

Tyler Cox

Another player Houston will likely play on Tuesday is a native of Valley Glen, California. Tyler Cox is a right-handed infielder who played at Harvard-Westlake High School. He transferred from Dartmouth and has produced solid numbers since joining the team.

As a batter, he is going .304 as a hitter with an OPS of .772, a slugging percentage of .366 and an on-base percentage of .417. He has appeared in 34 games with 34 hits and has racked up many other numbers that have helped keep the Cougars in games. He leads the team in the most sacrifice bunts and is also tied for the most appearances all season. Watch out for this talented playmaker.

Riley Jackson

If anyone looks at the Houston numbers this season, they’ll know that Riley Jackson is another guy the school really relies on in a season that hasn’t particularly gone the way the program hoped it would. Jackson is a .268 hitter who has accumulated 14 RBI’s with 26 hits and seven home runs.

This season, the 6-foot-1 athlete from Melbourne, Florida, has helped the pitching staff a lot behind the plate as the catcher of the team. He’s a guy out of Eau Gallie High School who originally played baseball for Florida State before joining Houston. He’s now contributed significantly in the lineup and fielding, so he’s going to have a heavy presence come this week.

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