September 8, 2017 - All Mississippi Baseball

rising star

Ronald Acuna didn’t waste much time producing a wow moment for the Mississippi Braves. First at-bat. First pitch. Boom. Home run. Acuna was named Baseball America’s minor league player of the year today, capping a season that saw the 19-year-old Venezuela native dominate at three levels of pro ball. He started at high-A Florida and finished at Triple-A Gwinnett, batting .325 with 21 homers and 82 RBIs combined. In his Double-A debut on May 9, he went 3-for-4 with that jaw-dropping homer and three RBIs. He played only 56 more games for the M-Braves, moving up after batting .326 with nine homers, 30 RBIs and 19 steals. He goes 6 feet, 180 pounds and can play center or right field. Atlanta will have to make room for him in its outfield in 2018. … This is the fourth time a Jackson area Double-A player (JADAP) has earned BA’s minor league POY award. Gregg Jefferies won it twice, in 1986 and ’87, after spending part of both of those seasons with the Jackson Mets. Former M-Braves star Jason Heyward, who blew through Pearl much like Acuna did, took the honor in 2009.

good enough

Sometimes, good isn’t good enough. Ole Miss product Lance Lynn went into Thursday’s game for St. Louis leading the majors with 21 starts in which he had given up two earned runs or fewer. He made it 22 with a six-inning outing against San Diego, allowing only one run. But it wasn’t good enough for a win. The Cardinals were shut out by Clayton Richard and three relievers and lost 3-0. “That’s just baseball sometimes …,” Lynn told The Associated Press. Lynn fell to 10-7 and the Cardinals to 72-68, 5 games back in the National League Central and 3 off the pace in the wild card chase. Lynn, who has a 2.94 ERA over his 29 starts, has risen to the occasion in what could prove to be a pivotal season in his career. He missed the 2016 MLB season following Tommy John surgery and will be a free agent after this season, his sixth in the big leagues, all with the Cardinals, who drafted him in the first round (supplemental) out of Ole Miss in 2008. Lynn was the subject of trade rumors in mid-July, but the Cardinals held on to him and the 30-year-old right-hander has helped the club stay in playoff contention. He is 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA – and seven no-decisions — since the All-Star break. In short, he’s been good — good enough that he’ll likely find no shortage of suitors in the off-season.