Earlier this week, Texas Longhorns right-hander Andre Duplantier announced his return to the team under Jim Schlossnagle, the new pitching coach and head coach.
After four seasons at Texas, Duplantier was undrafted in this month’s MLB Draft and chose to return for a fifth year on the Forty Acres after a good season with the Longhorns.
A two-way player in 2020, Duplantier showed promise on the mound before sustaining an elbow injury that necessitated Tommy John surgery and forced the Humble Summer Creek native to miss the next season.
In 2022, Duplantier started six of his 17 games but struggled to regain his mound rhythm, hitting eight batters and surrendering six home runs while having a 5.90 ERA.
In 2023, Duplantier worked completely out of the bullpen, improving his ERA to 2.40 while allowing less extra-base hits, despite opponents hitting better, up to.288 from.248.
Duplantier advanced as one of the few pitchers to improve after former head coach David Pierce took over as pitching coach, emerging as the setup man for right-hander Gage Boehm and collecting three saves with a 3.09 ERA. Five home runs allowed were a step back for the 6’2, 215-pounder, but he also limited opponents to a.192 batting average and struck out 53 batters in 43.2 innings.
As a fifth-year senior in 2025, Duplantier may not pitch as many high-leverage innings as Weiner and Schlossnagle strengthen the bullpen, but having a consistent, veteran presence like Duplantier would undoubtedly help the Longhorns next season.
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