Monthly Archives: September 2013

The odds certainly appear to be stacked against the Mississippi Braves in the Southern League South Division championship series. Not only do they have to play the first two games on the road — and Games 4 and 5 if the series goes that far — but in tonight’s crucial opener at Hank Aaron Stadium, they go up against Mobile’s Archie Bradley, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ top prospect. Right-hander Bradley, who had a 0.90 ERA in two starts against the M-Braves this year, was named the SL’s pitcher of the year after going 12-5 with a 1.97. He’ll be opposed by right-hander Michael Lee, a six-year minor league veteran who finished 9-8, 3.71 this season. The M-Braves’ best pitcher, Gus Schlosser (7-6, 2.39), won’t be available until Game 3 at Trustmark Park on Saturday. Mobile was the league’s best team in 2013, going 79-60 and winning both halves in the South to earn the huge home-field advantage. The BayBears also are going for a third straight pennant, something done only once before in the SL’s long history. The season series was tight: Mobile won 11 of the 20 meetings. And the teams finished 1-2 in staff ERA and 2-3 in team batting. The BayBears have league batting champ Justin Greene (.308) and power-hitting veteran Nick Evans (19 homers). The M-Braves’ top hitters are Tommy La Stella (.343 in just 81 games), Jose Martinez (.285) and SL All-Star Christian Bethancourt (.277, 12 homers). The M-Braves earned their first playoff berth since 2008 by winning an hotly contested, extra-inning battle against Jacksonville on the last day of the regular season. “They’re going to have energy,” Mobile manager Andy Green, the SL manager of the year, told al.com. Will there be enough energy to overcome the long odds? There is some karma working for the M-Braves, however. This is the fifth anniversary of their first — and only — SL title, the 10th anniversary of the independent Jackson Senators’ only Central League crown and the 20th anniversary of the Jackson Generals’ first Texas League pennant. So there.

Struggling Tampa Bay got a boost Tuesday night from former Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings, who hit his 12th home run in a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jennings also stole his 19th base for the Rays, who are clinging to the second wild card in the American League despite just two wins in their last 10 games. … Mitch Moreland added a long ball, No. 22 for the Mississippi State product, in Texas’ 5-1 win over Oakland. The Rangers are a game up on the A’s in the AL West; Oakland leads the wild card race. (Isn’t this fun?) … And former Mississippi Braves stars Evan Gattis and Andrelton Simmons went yard for Atlanta, which beat the New York Mets 3-1 and remained 2 games ahead of the L.A. Dodgers in the race for the best record in the National League. Gattis, just back from a short sojourn at Triple-A Gwinnett, hit homer No. 16, his first since July 24. Simmons belted his 13th, a go-ahead shot in the seventh. P.S. Good to see that Texas recalled Pascagoula High product Joey Butler. The minor league veteran got a call-up in early August when Nelson Cruz was suspended, played in two games (going 2-for-4), then went back to the minors when the Rangers acquired Alex Rios. Butler, in his third tour at Triple-A Round Rock, batted .291 with 12 bombs and 51 RBIs this season.

Billy Hamilton’s first major league stolen base came tonight in his MLB debut and is one worthy of any and all hoopla it generates. The Taylorsville High product entered a scoreless game as a pinch runner in the seventh inning for Cincinnati, drew three throws to first base and then swiped second – against St. Louis’ Yadier Molina, perhaps the best defensive catcher in the game. Hamilton scored the game’s only run on a hit by Todd Frazier. The win was a big one for the Reds, who are chasing both the Cardinals and first-place Pittsburgh in the National League Central. Hamilton has 395 minor league steals on his ledger, with a success rate of 82.5 percent. Can he have that kind of success in The Show? Well, he’s off to a darn good start.

The Chicago White Sox tossed Tim Anderson, their first-round pick in June out of East Central Community College, into a full-season Class A league for his pro debut. He fit right in. Shortstop Anderson, the 17th overall pick, batted .277 with 45 runs, 24 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 68 games for Kannapolis in the low-A South Atlantic League. Only 20 years old, he could be on a fast track. Hunter Renfroe, the ex-Mississippi State slugger who was picked 13th overall by San Diego, batted .271 with six homers and 25 RBIs at two levels; he hit just .212 after his promotion to the low-A Midwest League. Renfroe’s former State teammate Adam Frazier had a better debut, batting .332 with 34 runs and 27 RBIs in 56 games in short-season Class A for Pittsburgh. JaCoby Jones, the former Mississippi Mr. Baseball from Richton, hit .311 with the same Pirates club but saw his season end after 15 games because of a knee injury. Other noteworthy 2013 debuts: Ole Miss product Stuart Turner (Minnesota) batted .264 with three homers and 19 RBIs in rookie ball and ended the year on the Double-A roster; ex-Rebels ace Bobby Wahl (Oakland) posted a 3.92 ERA in short-season A-ball; and former Vancleave High star Colin Bray (Arizona) hit .280 with three homers and 27 RBIs at the rookie level. P.S. MSU alum Chris Stratton, a 2012 draftee by San Francisco, had a strong season in the low-A Sally League: 9-3, 3.27. The top pick from the state last year, outfielder D.J. Davis (Toronto) from Stone County High, batted .240 with six homers, seven triples, 25 RBIs and 13 steals in rookie ball.

Former Jackson Generals ace Freddy Garcia was quite impressive in his Atlanta debut on Sunday, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief against Miami. The Marlins had KO’d former Mississippi Braves lefty Alex Wood in the third inning en route to a 7-0 win. Garcia, 36, an accomplished pitcher with 155 MLB wins, should only benefit from working with Atlanta pitching coach Roger McDowell, the former Jackson Mets standout. Garcia can fill a variety of roles for the Braves. The more impressive debut on Sunday was made by Ole Miss product Alex Presley, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run to help his new club, Minnesota, beat Texas 4-2. The Rangers’ division lead over Oakland dropped to one game; the two American League West rivals begin a 3-game series today at O.Co Coliseum. A more anticipated debut could come today: Cincinnati is expected to add former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton to its roster. Hamilton set the professional baseball stolen base record with 155 in 2012. Reds manager Dusty Baker told mlb.com that Hamilton is much more than another Herb Washington, the Belzoni native who served as a pinch runner for Oakland in the mid-’70s without ever batting or playing the field. Hamilton can do those things, though speed on the bases is his game-changing tool. The Reds host division rival St. Louis, which is tied with Pittsburgh atop the National League Central standings. P.S. Texas activated ex-Generals star Lance Berkman from the disabled list. Lingering injuries may limit Berkman’s contributions down the stretch.

It was apparent that Alex Presley was no longer in Pittsburgh’s plans, so the move from the contending Pirates to also-ran Minnesota may not be all that bad for the former Ole Miss standout. Presley, swapped for Justin Morneau in one of Saturday’s big moves, is scheduled to join the Twins today. Presley, who has had several stints in Pittsburgh this season, was playing in Triple-A and hitting .298 with five homers and 17 stolen bases. Twins GM Terry Ryan called Presley “a catalyst type.” He is a left-handed hitter with speed and a little pop who can play anywhere in the outfield. … Ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier hit his 15th home run, a leadoff blast, for the Twins on Saturday. … Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn got rocked (seven runs in four innings) by Pittsburgh in his big start for St. Louis on Saturday. The Bucs are now a game up on the Cards in the National League Central. … Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings had a ninth-inning RBI hit for Tampa Bay, but the Rays lost to Oakland 2-1 and lost ground in the American League East and wild card standings. They are 4.5 games back of first-place Boston and a game behind wild card leader Oakland. … Miami has activated UM product Chris Coghlan from the disabled list. The oft-injured outfielder was hitting .277 for the Marlins before his latest setback. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson hit his third homer for Colorado on Saturday. … The Rockies, who are going nowhere this year, announced that Roy Oswalt, the former Holmes CC star from Weir, will make a rehab start on Tuesday and possibly rejoin the big league team after that. He is 0-4, 7.64 in 2013. … Toronto goes for the 3-game sweep of Kansas City today in the matchup of former Jackson Mets catchers-turned-managers John Gibbons and Ned Yost.