Monthly Archives: April 2017

20 Apr

farm livin’

Power is the tool that will carry Bobby Bradley upward, and the ex-Harrison Central High star has tapped into it again at Double-A Akron with home runs in his last two games. One of Cleveland’s highest rated prospects, the 20-year-old Bradley now has three homers and 11 RBIs, five of those collected on Wednesday. The lefty-hitting first baseman is batting just .184 with 16 strikeouts in 38 at-bats – but he has walked 11 times and has a .360 on-base percentage. … Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central standout and a top Atlanta prospect, had a four-hit game on Wednesday, perhaps a sign that he is finding a rhythm. Riley, playing third base at high Class A Florida, is hitting .250 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 14 games. … Petal High product Anthony Alford, one of Toronto’s top prospects, is rocking along at .475 with nine hits in his last five games for Double-A New Hampshire. … Mississippi State product Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2016, is 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA in three starts at Triple-A Colorado Springs. … Jacob Robson isn’t highly rated on Detroit’s prospect charts – yet – but the former State standout is surely getting some attention with his hot start at low-A West Michigan. The lefty-hitting outfielder, drafted last June, went 3-for-4 Wednesday to boost his average to .348. … Dakota Hudson, the first Mississippian picked in the ’16 draft (34th overall out of MSU by St. Louis), is 1-0, 2.31 at Double-A Springfield. He has 11 strikeouts and five walks in 11 2/3 innings. He worked only 13 1/3 innings in the minors last summer. … Ex-Ole Miss star J.B. Woodman, the second Mississippian drafted last summer (second round, Toronto), is off to a .267 start at low-A Lansing. … Angel Rosa and Wade Wass are familiar names on the roster of the Mobile BayBears, the Los Angeles Angels affiliate currently appearing at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Rosa, an infielder, is an Alcorn State alum, Wass, a catcher, a Meridian Community College product. Both played in Wednesday’s matinee, a 5-1 loss to the Mississippi Braves.

19 Apr

get in line

The way Jones County Junior College is barreling along, it appears that everyone else is playing for second place in the MACJC. Today, in Poplarville, Pearl River and Hinds actually will play for second place in the standings. Pearl River, under first-year coach Michael Avalon, currently sits at No. 2, 12-4 in the league, 21-9 overall. Hinds, led by veteran skipper Sam Temple, is third at 11-5 and 22-10. Lucas Scott, a George County High product, is PRCC’s leading hitter at .366, and Taylorsville’s Austin Moffett is batting .323 with 18 steals. But the Wildcats’ scariest offensive threat may be Simon Landry, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound freshman from Louisiana who has 11 home runs. Peyton Lee (4-0, 1.78 ERA), from Picayune, and Colby White (3-1, 1.83) have been PRCC’s best pitchers. Hinds has an ace in Caleb Morgan (4-0, 1.60), a Grenada product, and several well-credentialed hitters: Kyle Shimpf (.385, five homers), Brandon’s Jackson Mitchell (.373), Hernando’s Will Craft (.357) and Natchez’s Quinton Logan (.353, 30 RBIs, 32 runs). While the Wildcats and Eagles are battling it out at Wildcat Field, Jones (15-1, 33-1 overall and ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II) will host Gulf Coast for a twinbill in Ellisville.

19 Apr

zonk. kapow. bam.

Twenty hits, a 10-run inning, a 16-8 victory – eye-popping numbers from Southern Miss against Nicholls State on Tuesday night at MGM Park in Biloxi. “It seemed like everything we hit we squared up,” coach Scott Berry told the Biloxi Sun-Herald. Of course, that’s a familiar refrain for these Golden Eagles, who are 29-19 and ranked in most of the major polls. They’ve scored 13 or more runs in 12 games and are averaging 8.4 runs per game. They have nine players with 20 or more runs. The 10-run inning wasn’t even their best this season; they put up an 11 spot at Taylor Park back in February. The 20 hits was a season-high, but they average 11.2 per game. They’ve got five regulars batting .317 or better. Matt Wallner, the imposing freshman from Minnesota, leads the team in hitting (.346) and homers (11), but Dylan Burdeaux, Mason Irby, Taylor Braley and Hunter Slater are also having big offensive years. This is a team that should be fun to watch during tournament and regional time.

18 Apr

remember the time

He arrived in Jackson with a great deal of fanfare, a former first-round draft pick from California who batted .354 with 80 RBIs in 95 games in high-A ball before getting promoted to Double-A at age 19. Gregg Jefferies hit .421 in five games for the Jackson Mets in 1986. He was named Baseball America’s minor league player of the year and returned to Jackson, with even more hype, for the 1987 season. Thirty years later, that season at Smith-Wills Stadium still resonates. Jefferies, a switch-hitting shortstop, put up great numbers for the JaxMets: .367, 20 homers, 101 RBIs, 81 runs, 26 steals, 48 doubles, a .598 slugging percentage. He was shaky at shortstop and wound up moving to third base. And, yes, he was a little cocky. But he could ever more hit, and he led the team, managed by former Ole Miss player Tucker Ashford, to a Texas League East Division second-half title. Alas, the New York Mets summoned Jefferies as a September call-up, and he missed the TL playoffs, including the championship series loss to Robbie Alomar-led Wichita. Jefferies repeated as BA’s player of the year in ’87 and also won Texas League MVP honors. He became a regular with the New York Mets in 1989, displacing Wally Backman at second base, but hit just .258. He became a target of fan and media criticism in the Big Apple. Traded from New York after the 1991 season, he played nine more years in the big leagues, 14 seasons all told. While some would say he didn’t live up to the great expectations, Jefferies batted .289 with 1,593 hits and was a two-time All-Star. In 1993 in St. Louis, he batted .342 with 16 homers and 46 steals. That was the kind of season he seemed destined for in 1987. The 30th anniversary of that big year in Jackson is worthy of a salute.

18 Apr

transactions watch

Even though he had filled his role admirably, Tyler Moore was designated for assignment by Miami on Monday. The Marlins had to clear a roster spot for former Mississippi Braves star Martin Prado to return from the disabled list. Moore, the Northwest Rankin, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State product, was the odd man out in the numbers game. He was 4-for-11 with an RBI, used primarily as a right-handed pinch hitter. Moore is a .230 career hitter with 24 home runs in 285 big league games; 10 of those homers came with Washington in 2012, his rookie season. He may wind up at Triple-A New Orleans. … Also popping up on Monday’s MLB Transactions page were ex-State standout Kendall Graveman and Ole Miss alum David Goforth. Oakland put Graveman on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder strain. He is 2-0 with 3.00 ERA in three starts; reports indicate he’ll only miss one turn. Goforth, who was DFA’d by Milwaukee on April 14, was reassigned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. He got into one game, throwing a clean inning, for Milwaukee during his brief call-up. He has a 5.94 ERA in 36 1/3 innings in the majors.

17 Apr

m-pressive start

Ten games in, the Mississippi Braves’ young rotation looks like a team strength. And that’s a good strength to have. Each of the five starters has an ERA of 3.52 or better – four are under 2.50 – for a team that is off to a 6-4 start. The M-Braves begin a five-game homestand against Mobile tonight at Trustmark Park. Mike Soroka, 19 years old and Atlanta’s No. 4 prospect (by MLB Pipeline), is 2-0 with an 0.77 in his Double-A debut. Kolby Allard, also 19 and the No. 3 prospect, has a 1.80 in two starts. No. 15 prospect Patrick Weigel, 22 and the only starter with any Double-A experience before this year, has a 2.00; No. 8 prospect Max Fried is at 3.52; and Matt Withrow, 23 and in his first full pro season, has a 2.45. Weigel is slated to start tonight, followed by Allard, Withrow, Fried and Soroka. Akeel Morris, a grizzled vet at 24, has been perfect as a closer: no runs allowed, three saves in three appearances. The bullpen has let a couple of games get away – including blowing a 7-0, ninth-inning lead last Thursday at Tennessee – but the staff ERA of 3.07 is still pretty darn good. Kade Scivicque, Joey Meneses, Luis Valenzuela and Carlos Franco are batting .300-plus, and the team is second in the Southern League in runs (44) and homers (eight). Ten games in, it looks like a competitive club. … Biloxi, meanwhile, is 4-6 after a 1-4 homestand at MGM Park, hampered by an anemic offense that is last in the league in batting (.191) and ninth in runs (28). A 2.40 staff ERA has kept the Shuckers afloat.

17 Apr

big league chew

Apparently, Brian Dozier’s bruised knee is just fine. After sitting out Saturday’s game, the former Southern Miss star smacked an inside-the-park home run on Sunday, producing the only run Minnesota would score in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. It was Dozier’s 119th career homer but first inside-the-parker. “I put it in a different gear,” he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Dozier’s recent power surge has overshadowed the fact that he can run a little bit. He has five steals already this season and has swiped 12 or more bags in each of the last four seasons. … Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland continues to deliver big hits for Boston, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs on Sunday. He had the go-ahead hit in the seventh inning of the Red Sox’s 7-5 win over Tampa Bay at Fenway Park. Moreland is hitting .356 with a homer, five RBIs and seven runs in his first season with Boston. “It’s been a smooth transition,” he told The Associated Press. … Jarrod Dyson, inserted as a pinch hitter, sparked a ninth-inning rally for Seattle with an infield hit and a stolen base, his fourth of the year. “We are down one (run), and I am on base with no outs? I am looking to go — and go early,” McComb native Dyson told the Bellingham (Wash.) Herald. He scored the tying run in the Mariners’ 8-7 win against Texas at Safeco Field. Dyson is batting just .200 with five runs in 12 games for his new club. … Ex-State star Adam Frazier, Pittsburgh’s super utility man, went 3-for-4 with homer – his first – and three RBIs as the Pirates completed a sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 6-1 victory at Wrigley Field. Frazier is batting .343. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan, who’s due a World Series ring from the Cubs, got his first hit and first RBI for Toronto, but the scuffling Blue Jays fell to Baltimore 11-4 at Rogers Centre. Coghlan was called up from Triple-A last week as a replacement for injured Josh Donaldson.

16 Apr

numbers to crunch

.485 – Zack Cozart’s batting average. The ex-Ole Miss star went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI in Cincinnati’s 7-5 win over Milwaukee on Saturday.
.464 – Anthony Alford’s batting average. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal High hit his first Double-A home run for New Hampshire (Toronto system) on Saturday.
9 – Doubles for Mitch Moreland. The Mississippi State product, who leads MLB in two-baggers, got one Saturday along with his first homer of the year to spark Boston’s 2-1 win against Tampa Bay.
3 – Homers this season for Hunter Renfroe. The State product hit his latest on Saturday for San Diego, the first bomb by a visiting player at Atlanta’s new SunTrust Park.
3 – Homers this season for Carlos Franco. The Mississippi Braves infielder hit his third on Saturday in the first game – a loss — of a pair against Tennessee; he is at .323 with 11 RBIs for the Double-A M-Braves (6-4), who return to Trustmark Park in Pearl on Monday.
19 – Consecutive series losses for Ole Miss against LSU in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers won Saturday’s rubber game 3-2.
0 – Runs allowed by Delta State’s Zach Osbon, Tre Hobbs and Seth Birdsong in the Statesmen’s sweep at West Florida. Osbon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save in Friday’s opener, Hobbs followed with a four-hit shutout and Birdsong capped the weekend with a five-hit shutout on Saturday. Nationally ranked DSU is 32-8, 22-5 Gulf South Conference.
7 – Wins for Jacob Mardick. The Millsaps left-hander beat NCAA Division III No. 2 Birmingham-Southern with a complete-game effort on Saturday as the Majors salvaged the SAA series finale and improved to 16-20, 7-10. Mardick also beat No. 1-ranked Emory earlier this season.
12 – Strikeouts by Hunter Mullis. The Mississippi College left-hander beat Alabama-Huntsville with a six-hit shutout on Friday; the Choctaws lost the series rubber game on Saturday to slip to 16-22, 12-14 GSC.
32 – Runs yielded by Blue Mountain in three straight losses at Middle Georgia State. The Toppers (26-22, 7-11 SSAC) have dropped seven of their last eight.

15 Apr

thoughts on the day

It was a nice honor for Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton that he was chosen to appear on the edition of MLB Network’s “Play Ball” that aired today, the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s historic debut in the big leagues. The number of African-American players on MLB rosters has dwindled in recent years and, according to a USA Today report, is at its lowest percentage (7.1) since 1958. There are a variety of factors at play in this development, one of which is just simple opportunity. Hamilton’s backstory, which he talks about in the “Play Ball” segment, is inspirational in this regard. He talks about starting out on a sandlot behind a church playing with a stick and a tennis ball. He credits a man named Jim Ford, still a mentor in Hamilton’s life, for providing him and his friends with some actual baseball equipment and a team to play on. Hamilton played football and basketball coming up but says baseball became his favorite sport. Drafted by Cincinnati in 2009 out of Taylorsville High, Hamilton passed on a football scholarship to Mississippi State to tackle pro baseball, where his speed is becoming the stuff of legend. Now the Reds’ center fielder and frequent leadoff batter, Hamilton said on the “Play Ball’’ segment that he wants to teach the game to kids when he’s through playing. … It was unfortunate that other than a pop-up graphic that appeared briefly on the screen, it wasn’t mentioned in the “Play Ball” segment that Hamilton is from Mississippi. … A recent Sports Illustrated report noted that there are only five black catchers in all of the minor leagues. One of those is Chuckie Robinson, the former Southern Miss star now in his second pro season in the Houston system. Robinson, whose dad played pro ball, was a 21st-round draft pick in 2016 and is currently playing at Quad Cities in the Class A Midwest League. … “He did far more for me than I did for him.” The celebration each year of Jackie Robinson’s debut always brings to mind that comment made by Red Barber, the Columbus native who was the Brooklyn Dodgers radio voice in 1947 when Robinson broke in. Barber, a son of the segregated South who had considered quitting rather than cover a team with a black player, ultimately came to grips with his prejudices and learned to accept and appreciate Robinson “as a man, as a ballplayer.” If you’ve never read Robert Creamer’s “Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat,” a Barber biography, you should.

14 Apr

watch for it

It is with great anticipation that we should watch what Kendall Graveman does tonight in his third start of the season for Oakland. The ex-Mississippi State standout, who is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA, faces Houston’s loaded lineup at Oakland Coliseum. Graveman, the A’s opening day starter, has beaten the Los Angeles Angels and Texas, limiting hitters to a .178 average. He has 12 strikeouts in 13 innings. And he’s done it with essentially one pitch: the fastball. As si.com reports: “Through his first two starts of 2017, a jarring 87.8% of Graveman’s pitches have been sinkers. Even that figure doesn’t tell the whole story though. All but 1% of his pitches have been sinkers … or four-seam fastballs and cutters.” Can he beat the Astros that way? P.S. Also watch for T.J. House’s second outing of the year for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. The left-hander out of Picayune High was struck in the head by a batted ball in spring training with Toronto (see previous posts) and was on the shelf for several weeks. House threw five shutout innings in his first start on Monday. He has a 4.44 ERA in 27 career MLB appearances, all with Cleveland.