Where Are The River Monsters and How Can They Make a Push For The Playoffs?

By E.J. Sanchez

The first half of the Texas Collegiate League season has come and gone,

and the Seguin River Monsters have certainly weathered the storm in the first half of 2025. They sit at 7-15; third place in the Texas Division, behind the first-half champion, Victoria Generals and the Brazos Valley Bombers. While nobody in River Monsters Nation is elated about the start, there are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about the possibilities of a late playoff surge. How? You might ask. Well…

1. Beauty of the Texas Collegiate League

At the beginning of every baseball season, baseball fans are told that the regular season is a marathon, not a sprint. This makes sense since Major League Baseball is 162 games and high school and college seasons take up 4 or 5 months to crown a few of individual playoff qualifiers. Not in the TCL. For those unfamiliar with the playoff formatting, the first half champions of each division are guaranteed a playoff spot in the 4-team tournament, which begins at the conclusion of the second half of the season (July 27th). This means that the Baton Rouge Rougarou (20-3) and Victoria Generals (14-8) have already punched their tickets to the playoffs. But as of July 1st, the slape is wiped clean, kinda. Let me explain. For right now, treat the second half of the regular season as if everyone has 0 wins and 0 losses. A new season. If the River Monsters have the best record in Texas Division at the conclusion of their 24 game, second-half schedule, they are in. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Now if the Victoria Generals repeat their first-half success and win the second half title as well, then the second qualifier from the Texas Division would come down to who has the best overall record combined from BOTH halves of the season amongst the other two teams in the division. Simply put, the River Monsters have to have the best record in Texas over the next 24 games OR make up 3 games on Brazos Valley total, whom they face 4 more times in the last 24 games. 

2. Improved Pitching

Over the course of the last two weeks, the ‘Sters have been playing in significantly more close games than they did in the opening weeks of the season. A big reason for that has been the improvement from the pitching staff. Try these comparisons for example. In the opening week of the season, the River Monsters pitching staff yielded fifty-seven earned runs, nearly ten runs per game. The following week they surrendered 37, albeit in one less game (rainout). Good enough for 7.4 runs a contest. Improvement. Marginal, but encouraging. Fast forward to the final week of the first half and the River Monsters only gave up 4.2 runs per game, with four of those games coming against division rival, Brazos Valley. After a few weeks to evaluate roles, it’s clear that Tony Perez has found something that works in terms of defined roles. For starters, Zac Coletti, the former UT-Arlington Maverick, has turned into the team's ace. Among pitchers with at least 4 starts, Coletti is top 5 in ERA, 7th in strikeouts, and 3rd in walk rate in the TCL. A “stopper”, if you will. Andrew Rodriguez, who is also searching for a new home after a couple of great seasons at New Mexico Highlands University, has shown significant signs of being one of the better innings-eaters in the league. On June 22nd against Brazos Valley, the junior tossed 6 innings of shutout baseball and followed it up with a 6-strikeout performance against Brazos Valley on June 29th where he went 5.2 innings. Cameron O’Banan (Texas State) and Cody Edwards (Southern Arkansas) have yielded only 3 earned runs combined in 18.1 innings of work to form one of the better 1-2 punches out of the bullpen in the Texas Division. Also, Garrett Thiele (Arkansas State) has been scoreless in 4 of his last 5 outings and Brady Elwartowski (Coastal Bend) has shown the capability to be a very versatile arm with a 4.32 ERA after 2 starts and 3 relief appearances. If the Monsters can find their way into a playoff series, they have the guys to make a serious run.

3. It’s Happened Before

Diehard River Monsters fans will remember the magical run in 2023 that saw the ‘Sters erase a 7-16 first half and go 15-12 in the second to claim the second half title and win the 2023 TCL Championship. In the Pre-Two Division era, that got them into the playoffs, and the rest is history. They finished the season at 22-28, 6 games below .500 and found a way to win a title. Also, 7-16? The Monsters are nearly identical at 7-15. Doesn’t matter how you start. It’s how you finish.