18 Aug

a few atta-boys

Emaarion Boyd, the second-year pro out of South Panola High, got the walk-off knock Thursday for Low-Class A Clearwater in the Philadelphia organization. Boyd was 2-for-5 with a walk, a run and a triple in the 5-4, 11-inning win against Dunedin. Boyd, 19, the Phillies’ No. 13 prospect, ranks second in the Florida State League in steals (49), fifth in runs (65), ninth in triples (five) and 10th in batting average (.272). “His ceiling is that of a speedy table-setter,” according to the scouting report on mlb.com. … Lance Lynn, former Ole Miss star, tossed seven shutout innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat Milwaukee 1-0 for their 11th straight win on an eighth-inning homer by Austin Barnes. The Dodgers are 4-0 in Lynn’s four starts since acquiring the veteran right-hander from the Chicago White Sox and 3-0 in his starts at Dodger Stadium. “I’ve always enjoyed pitching in this ballpark, and it’s definitely a lot better as a home player,” Lynn told mlb.com. He is 3-0 with a 1.44 for the Dodgers after going 6-9, 6.47, with the struggling ChiSox. … Tim Elko, the ex-Ole Miss slugger, hit his first Double-A home run for Birmingham and now has 23 for the season across three levels. A 2022 draftee by the White Sox, the big first baseman is batting .267 for the Barons, .301 with 88 RBIs for the year. … East Central Community College product Tim Anderson, now with the White Sox, finally issued an apology (on Instagram) for the fight he started with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez on Aug. 5. Anderson will begin serving a five-game suspension (reduced from six on appeal) today. The two-time All-Star and 2019 batting champ went 2-for-17 while his appeal was pending and is at .230 for the year. … Konnor Griffin, Jackson Prep’s two-way star, and Samuel Richardson, Lewisburg High slugger, are among the 50 players on the rosters for Sunday’s Perfect Game All-American Classic in Phoenix. Both played on state championship teams this past season. Pitcher/outfielder Griffin, an LSU commit considered a top MLB draft prospect for next summer, participated in the Baseball Factory/Under Armour All-America Game last Sunday in Arlington, Texas, and has been invited to USA Baseball’s 18U national team tryout camp set for Aug. 21-25 in California. Those who make the final roster will compete for Team USA in the U-18 World Cup in Taiwan in September. Richardson, a Missouri commit, played in the Hank Aaron Invitational in Atlanta on July 30. … Drew Davis, a pitcher/infielder at Sumrall, has made the 15U Team USA that is going to the Dominican Republic for a tournament in September.

17 Aug

to the rescue

On a night when ace Justin Verlander got a little wobbly, Kendall Graveman led a four-man relay team of relievers who carried home Houston’s 12-5 win against Miami. Former Mississippi State standout Graveman, rescued from the sinking Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline, has been just what the Astros wanted, posting a 2.35 ERA in seven appearances. After Verlander allowed a five-run lead to shrink to one on Wednesday night, Graveman replaced him in the sixth inning and put the Marlins down 1-2-3 on eight pitches. (None of the four Astros relievers allowed a hit.) It was Graveman’s fourth straight scoreless outing for a team that is trying to chase down Texas in the American League West. (The Rangers lost Wednesday and lead by just 2.5 games.) Graveman, a converted starter now in his ninth MLB season, is in his second stint with the Astros, who acquired him from Seattle in a deadline trade in 2021. After helping Houston reach the ’21 World Series, he went to the White Sox as a free agent. He pitched well there, racking up 14 saves and 35 holds in 110 games before the Astros, the reigning world champs, got him back. “It’s an organization that’s run very well and … (I’m) thankful that they would want me back,” he told the Houston Chronicle at the time of the trade. P.S. Charlie Morton was masterful for Atlanta in a 2-0 win against the New York Yankees, notching his 12th win of 2023 and 128th career. That total leads all former Mississippi Braves by a wide margin on the career wins list. For the record, the leader among former Jackson Generals is Freddy Garcia with 156. Kevin Tapani, with 143, is tops among ex-Jackson Mets. … Tough break for ex-Ole Miss star Justin Bench, who was hitting .354 at Low-Class A San Jose (San Francisco system) when he went on the injured list on Wednesday. A utility player who made the All-College World Series team for the ’22 champs, Bench hit .370 in rookie ball before moving up to San Jose in mid-July.

12 Aug

here and there

Back in May, playing for Ole Miss, Calvin Harris hit four home runs in a game. On his list of 2023 highlights, that might still be No. 1 — but what he did Friday night has to be a close second. Harris’ first homer as a pro was a two-run walk-off shot that gave Low-Class A Kannapolis an 8-7 win against Down East. A fourth-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, Harris, a catcher, is batting .297 in seven games for the Cannon Ballers. … On Fernando Valenzuela Night at Dodger Stadium, ex-Ole Miss ace Lance Lynn threw five innings, allowing one unearned run, and struck out nine as Los Angeles beat Colorado 6-1. Lynn, 36, is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA since joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline. He has 1,881 career strikeouts over 333 career games. … Former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley went 3-for-4 with his 27th homer and two RBIs in Atlanta’s 7-0 win over the New York Mets. Riley, a 2023 All-Star, is batting .355 with five homers in his last 15 games and .333 with 11 bombs, 28 RBIs and 21 runs since the All-Star break. … In manager Bruce Bochy’s return to San Francisco, former Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe belted his 14th homer — 70th career in MLB — to help Bochy’s Rangers beat the Giants 2-1. Bochy, in his first year in Texas, won three championships with the Giants; the Rangers are seeking their first. … Southern Miss product Nick Sandlin threw four pitches and got a hold in a Cleveland win on Thursday. On Friday, he threw three pitches, the last of which was blasted for a walk-off homer by Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco. That came after the Guardians had scored three times on wild pitches in the top of the ninth. … Olive Branch native Kendall Williams tossed six shutout innings in his second start for Double-A Tulsa in the Dodgers’ system. The 22-year-old right-hander is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA for the Drillers. … The Double-A Mississippi Braves scored 18 runs in a sweep at Rocket City, getting homers from Luke Waddell, Drew Lugbauer and Jesse Franklin V. Franklin has a 22-game on-base streak.

06 Aug

the only one

Al Jones, a tall right-hander from Charleston, made his big league debut for the Chicago White Sox on this date in 1983, becoming the first and to date only Alcorn State alumnus to make The Show. On in relief against Baltimore at old Memorial Stadium, he gave up two hits, got Cal Ripken Jr. to hit into a double play, then was pulled after walking the next batter. He wound up being charged with a run but got a hold in a game the White Sox won 6-4. Jones pitched only 26 more games in MLB, finishing his career in 1985 with a 3.77 ERA and five saves. He stayed in the game, pitching until 1999 in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, where he had a 3.69 over six years. Alcorn’s program, which has fallen on hard times in recent years, has produced some good players, foremost among them Bill Foster, a Negro Leagues legend from the 1920s and ’30s who is enshrined in Cooperstown. The Braves have had 13 players drafted, including Jones (13th round in 1981), Corey Wimberly, Angel Rosa, Marcus Davis and John Harrington. Greg Daniels hit .545 for the 1983 Braves, the second-highest average ever by an NCAA Division I player. Current Atlanta star Michael Harris II’s father played at Alcorn. But Jones is the only one to reach the big leagues — 40 years ago today — and there are no Braves alums currently in affiliated ball. P.S. Up in the Cape Cod League, Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton got the win and Kros Sivley the save as Hyannis beat Falmouth on Saturday to advance in the playoffs. USM’s Will Armistead pitched the ninth inning in Hyannis’ win in Game 1 on Friday. … Yarmouth-Dennis, with Braden Montgomery (Madison Central alum) and Hunter Hines (Mississippi State) on its roster, faces a decisive Game 3 today against Brewster. Montgomery is 2-for-9 with a homer in the series; Hines, the CCBL home run champ, didn’t play in a win in Game 2. … The semi-pro Hattiesburg Black Sox went 2-2 in the NABF Major Division World Series in Michigan, bowing out in Saturday’s quarterfinals. … The Smith-Wills Stadium-based Hank Aaron Sports Academy is holding its Fantastic 44 “Winner Take All” game today at 6 p.m. The 44 participating players are from high schools all over the state and were selected by coaches and instructors that oversaw three showcase events this summer at the Jackson facility.

30 Jul

present arms

Stars must have been aligned on Saturday night. By some cosmic coincidence, five Magnolia State college products got the ball as starting pitchers in minor league games, scattered from Double-A to Low-Class A. Collectively, they pitched pretty darn well, allowing five runs and striking out 21 batters over 25 innings all told. Only one got a decision, however, and that was a loss. Most impressive among the bunch was former Ole Miss star Gunnar Hoglund, who delivered four perfect innings, fanning three, for Low-A Stockton (Oakland system). The 19th overall pick in the 2021 draft (by Toronto), Hoglund spent several weeks on the injured list this season and has scuffled (6.32 ERA in nine starts) since his return. Saturday’s outing certainly was a good sign. The hard-luck loser on Saturday was Southern Miss alum Dalton Rogers. He threw 5 2/3 innings for High-A Greenville (Boston), allowing just two runs. He dropped to 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA; he had a 2.49 ERA in Low-A to start the season. Ex-Ole Miss star David Parkinson, in pro ball since 2017, worked 6 2/3 for Double-A Reading (Philadelphia), allowing a lone run with six strikeouts. He trimmed his ERA to 4.61. Former USM standout Hunter Stanley tossed 4 2/3 innings for Double-A Akron (Cleveland), giving up a lone run with four strikeouts. He trimmed his ERA to 5.02. Houston Harding, a Mississippi State and Itawamba Community College product, made his first start for Double-A Rocket City (Los Angeles Angels) in the Southern League and went four innings, allowing one run (a home run). Harding had a 1.32 ERA in A-ball this season but has not been as effective (12.42) in nine Double-A appearances. Saturday’s start was a positive step. P.S. A pair of Mississippians in the majors hit noteworthy homers: Tim Anderson belted his first in over a year and Brent Rooker hit his first since appearing in the All-Star Game. East Central Community College product Anderson, who has 98 career bombs, hit a leadoff shot for the Chicago White Sox, his first in 327 at-bats this season. Slumping for much of the season, Anderson is 20-for-57 (.351) since the All-Star break. Ex-MSU star Rooker’s homer was his 17th for Oakland but first in 20 days. His bomb at Colorado went 462 feet, longest by an A’s player this year. He is batting .269 since the break, .248 on the year.

29 Jul

on the rise

The Biloxi Shuckers won their fourth straight game Friday night at MGM Park and moved into a tie for first place in the Southern League South, fueled by a pair of the top prospects in Milwaukee’s productive pipeline. Jackson Chourio, the No. 2 prospect (per mlb.com) in the minor leagues, went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs in the Shuckers’ 9-5 win against Birmingham, and Tyler Black — the Brewers’ No. 5 prospect — added a triple, two RBIs, two runs and a stolen base. Chourio, signed out of Venezuela in 2021, is batting .281 with 15 homers, 65 RBIs, 57 runs and 31 steals. Black, the 33rd overall pick out of Wright State in 2021, is at .281 with 14 bombs, 46 RBIs, 67 runs and 45 steals, which leads the league. Black leads off and Chourio hits second for a Shuckers team that features six of the Brewers’ top 15 prospects. Four recent Shuckers alums — Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, Joey Wiemer and Abner Uribe — have had an impact as rookies for the Brewers, who lead the National League Central. The Shuckers, winners of eight of their last 10, moved to 15-10 in the second half with Friday’s win. They got an assist from the Mississippi Braves, who took down first-place Pensacola 4-1 Friday at Trustmark Park as Nolan Kingham threw five shutout innings, Jesse Franklin V banged out three hits and two RBIs and Drew Lugbauer slugged his 15th homer. P.S. Former Mississippi State star Adam Frazier didn’t get a hit Friday for Baltimore but made two great stops at second base and turned a double play to help the first-place Orioles beat the New York Yankees — and Aaron Judge — 1-0 at Camden Yards. Anthony Santander hit a walk-off bomb in the ninth. … As part of the Chicago White Sox’s fire sale, Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers and ex-MSU standout Kendall Graveman went to Houston. Lynn is 6-9 with a 6.47 ERA this year but is 129-93, 3.71, for his career. Graveman, who pitched for the Astros in 2021, is 8-for-12 in save opps with a 3.48 ERA in 2023.

25 Jul

clearing the bases

Jordan Westburg is on the board. The ex-Mississippi State standout hit MLB career home run No. 1 on Monday, helping Baltimore beat Philadelphia 3-2 in a big interleague series. Westburg is batting .266 in 20 games; he has 60 minor league homers on hs ledger. … Also going yard for the first time in the big leagues was former Biloxi Shuckers standout Sal Frelick, whose blast in his third MLB game helped Milwaukee beat Cincinnati 3-2 in a big National League Central contest. … Coincidentally, those homers came on the same day as Will Verdung’s first as a pro; the Itawamba Community College alum, a recent draftee, went deep in his debut for Atlanta’s rookie club (see previous post). … And in keeping with that theme, South Panola High product Emaarion Boyd hit his first pro homer on Sunday for Philadelphia’s Low-Class A Clearwater team. A 2022 draftee, the 177-pound Boyd, 19, leads the Florida State League in steals with 41. … Jacob Gonzalez and Calvin Harris, both drafted out of Ole Miss by the Chicago White Sox, made their pro debuts on Monday in the Arizona Complex League. Gonzalez started at shortstop and went 0-for-1 with two walks; Harris started at catcher and went 1-for-3. … All 14 players drafted out of the state this year have signed. Tupelo High’s Johnathan Rogers, a 6-foot-3 right-hander picked in Round 20, has inked with Detroit, though mlb.com’s draft tracker doesn’t indicate the bonus. … In Monday’s huge American League West clash between Texas and Houston, ex-MSU star Nathaniel Lowe went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and an RBI but the first-place Rangers fell to the Astros 10-9 at Minute Maid Park. Former Ole Miss star Grae Kessinger, a backup infielder, did not play for Houston, which closed to within 2 games of the division lead. … DeSoto Central High alum and current Braves star Austin Riley earned NL player of the week honors after smacking six homers and driving in 16 runs last week. Riley tied a franchise record with homers in five straight games. … Ole Miss product Lance Lynn is listed in an mlb.com article as one of the 17 players most likely to be traded before the Aug. 1 deadline. The veteran pitcher, 36, has had a rough season with the White Sox. … Detroit has announced that former Madison Central standout Spencer Turnbull, on the injured list since May 6, will make a rehab start tonight and another Sunday in A-ball. Turnbull, coming back from 2021 Tommy John surgery, was having a rough time before injuring his neck.

22 Jul

three stars

Austin Riley: The ex-DeSoto Central High star smacked his fifth home run in four games, powering Atlanta to a 6-4 win Friday against Milwaukee in a matchup of first-place teams. Riley has 21 homers and 58 RBIs on the season and is batting .321 with 14 RBIs and nine runs in his last seven games. “I want to go out there and do my job as the third hitter, which is to drive in runs and do damage,” Riley told mlb.com.
Nathaniel Lowe: The former Mississippi State standout hit a two-run homer that put Texas ahead in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who rallied to win 11-5 in another matchup of first-place teams. Texas had won six straight. Lowe, who also walked twice and scored another run for the Rangers, is hitting .440 with two homers, five RBIs and nine runs in his last seven games. He’s at .281 with 11 homers on the season.
Justin Steele: The George County High product notched his 10th win of the season — and third against rival St. Louis — as the Chicago Cubs won 4-3 in a matchup of National League also-rans. Steele, bouncing back from a rough outing, yielded one run in 6 1/3 innings and struck out a season-high nine. The All-Star left-hander is 10-3 with a 2.95 ERA on the year.
P.S. Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn, reportedly a coveted trade piece, allowed four home runs in the Chicago White Sox’s 9-4 loss to first-place Minnesota. Lynn is 6-9 with a 6.18 ERA and has surrendered an MLB-high 28 homers. … Kemp Alderman, the 2023 Ferriss Trophy winner out of Ole Miss, has signed for $1.4 million with Miami, which drafted him in the second round. Other newly reported signees include Magnolia Heights’ Cooper Pratt (Milwaukee), Southern Miss’ Matthew Etzel (Baltimore) and Itawamba Community College’s Will Verdung (Atlanta). Of the 14 players drafted out of the state, only Tupelo High’s Johnathan Rogers, 20th-round pick by Detroit, is unsigned, per mlb.com. Former Pearl River CC star Bryson Ware, who played at Auburn, has signed with Philadelphia, and Hinds CC alum Landon Tompkins, a Louisiana Tech alum, signed with Pittsburgh. … Mississippi Valley State will name CJ Bilbrey as its new head coach, according to blackcollegenines.com. Bilbrey will replace Milton Barney Jr., who went 15-36 in his one season. Barney replaced Stanley Stubbs, who coached one season after replacing Aaron Stevens.

19 Jul

random numbers

7 — Austin Riley’s career-high RBI total from Tuesday night’s game, which Atlanta lost 16-13 at home to Arizona. DeSoto Central High product Riley hit two home runs — both go-ahead bombs — and now has 18 on the year with 52 RBIs.
3 — Hits by Tim Anderson in the Chicago White Sox’s 11-10 loss to the New York Mets. The ex-East Central Community College standout might finally be heating up. With seven hits in his last four games, he has lifted his average to .234. (He did, however, make the last out of the game with the go-ahead run at second base.)
197 — Total runs scored in MLB games on Tuesday, a season-high; there were four games in which both teams scored double-digits, a modern era record. Riley scored three of those runs, Anderson two and Nathaniel Lowe, Mississippi State alum now with Texas, scored once. No other Mississippians contributed a run.
1.54 — Tyler Stuart’s ERA, which — as of Tuesday a.m. — led all qualified minor leaguers, per mlb.com. The ex-Southern Miss star, a 2022 draftee by the Mets, was 4-0, 1.55, at High-Class A Brooklyn and allowed one run in six innings in his Double-A debut for Binghamton last Saturday. The 6-foot-9 Stuart pitched mostly in relief in two seasons at USM. The Mets made him a starter this spring. “I feel like I get better as the game goes on,” he said in an mlb.com piece.
8 — Wins by Derek Diamond, the former Ole Miss standout now at Low-A Bradenton in Pittsburgh’s system. The right-hander, a 2022 draftee, threw seven innings on Tuesday, allowing four hits, a walk and a lone run to beat Fort Myers 5-2. He is 8-3 with a 3.98.
6 — Appearances in the Florida Complex League by Colby White, who is on a rehab assignment with Tampa Bay. White, an ex-MSU star, blew through four levels of the minors in 2021 (4-3, 11 saves, 1.44 ERA all told) and went to spring training with the Rays in 2022 before an arm injury cost him the entire year. He has a 1.59 ERA in the FCL this season and may be close to making his big league debut.
16 — Number of 2023 Pearl River Community College players bound for four-year schools this fall. It’s a program record, according to a release from the school. Of note: Gabe Broadus and Landen Payne are USM signees, Will Passeau is off to MSU, Tristan Hickman to Delta State, Blaise Breerwood to Mississippi College, Bobby Magee to William Carey and Alex Perry to Tennessee. PRCC won the NJCAA Division II national title in 2022 and was the preseason No. 1 this year.

17 Jul

remember that guy …

Drew Waters had a season for the ages in 2019 with the Mississippi Braves, winning the Southern League batting title and taking MVP honors. Only four Jackson area Double-A players have earned an MVP award, the others being Darryl Strawberry, Gregg Jefferies and Roberto Petagine, all in the Texas League era. A true five-tool player and switch-hitter, Waters batted .319 with five homers, 41 RBIs, 63 runs, 35 doubles, nine triples and 13 stolen bases in 2019. Then he sort of faded away. Squeezed out in the talent-thick Atlanta system, the outfielder was traded to Kansas City in July of last year. Now in his second big league stint with the Royals, Waters is starting to make some noise. He went 2-for-4 Sunday with a 465-foot homer, a triple and two RBIs to help the awful Royals (27-67) beat first-place Tampa Bay 8-4 at Kauffman Stadium. Waters started the 2023 season on the injured list and scuffled when he first returned. But he has hit .319 over his last 15 games to boost his average to .252. He has four homers and 14 RBIs in 40 games. He might be a smart pick to click down the stretch. P.S. Cristian Pache, another former M-Braves standout, has had his resurgent season with Philadelphia interrupted by elbow surgery to have a screw removed. He previously had knee surgery this year. A onetime top Atlanta prospect, Pache is batting .327 in 32 games for the Phillies, his third MLB team. … Jake Mangum, former Mississippi State and Jackson Prep star still seeking his first big league call-up, is batting .333 in July and .293 overall at Triple-A Jacksonville in Miami’s chain. He hit his third homer on Sunday and now has 32 RBIs plus nine steals on the year. … Ole Miss alum Tim Elko belted his second homer and first grand slam at High-Class A Winston-Salem in the Chicago White Sox’s system and is batting .294 in 13 games at this new level. He hit .297 with 17 homers at Low-A Kannapolis. … The White Sox have signed former Ole Miss star Jacob Gonzalez, their first-round draft pick, for a $3.9 million bonus.