Three of the Terps’ most-promising bats heading into this season followed last year’s impressive performances in Big Ten play with standout summers. Randy Bednar, Maxwell Costes, and Michael Pineiro all performed exceptionally well at the plate in summer league play. 

Bednar, who ended his sophomore campaign hitting at a .288 clip with a team- high 70 hits, continued to swing a hot bat with the Keene Swamp Bats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. There, he hit .333 while compiling 44 RBI in just 48 games. Bednar complemented his formidable average with power, hammering nine home runs in his stint with the Swamp Bats. 

Not only was Bednar named one of the NECBL’s All-Stars, but he also received All-NECBL First Team honors.

Bednar’s summer league showing came on the heels of his second-team All-Big Ten sophomore season, giving the Terps a reason to set even higher expectations for their star right fielder. 

Pineiro also had a dominant summer league performance with the West Virginia Miners of the Prospect League. After finishing the 2019 season with a .252 batting average, Pineiro exploded, batting .333 over the summer. In only 36 games he managed to score and drive in 25 runs apiece. 

With the Miners Pineiro showed patience at the plate as well, drawing 23 walks for more than double his base-on-balls output from all of last season, an encouraging sign for the Terps. 

After a breakout freshman season last year, which amounted to 15 home runs and 45 RBI and earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten honors, Maxwell Costes continued to flex his power at the plate over the summer. 

 In summer league play Costes continued to rake with the Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. There he exploded for 15 homers and 42 RBI in just 42 total games. Costes also improved on his .266 average in his freshman season, hitting .380 over the summer. 

Costes also shined in the postseason for the Mohawks, tallying three home runs and six RBI while hitting a monstrous .421. His performance over the course of summer play earned him 2019 PGCBL Player of the Year honors and a spot on the Mohawks’ All-Decade team.

One of the most impressive numbers of Costes’ summer was the mere 17 strikeouts, showing an improved plate discipline to build on in his sophomore season at Maryland.

If Bednar, Pineiro, and Costes can keep up their offensive production from summer league, the Terps could prove to be a dangerous lineup to face in the Big Ten.