Monthly Archives: June 2015

11 Jun

by the numbers

2 – Number of Mississippians in the majors sent to the minors today. Southern Miss alum Scott Copeland, who got his first MLB win for Toronto on Wednesday, was optioned (for the fourth time this year) to Triple-A Buffalo. Ole Miss product David Goforth, who had pitched sparingly for Milwaukee, also was optioned to Triple-A.
2 – Teams (the Chicago Cubs and Toronto) reportedly interested in trading for ex-Mississippi State standout Jonathan Papelbon, who has 12 saves and a 1.13 ERA (plus a lot of attitude) for Philadelphia.
4.5 – Games that first-place Biloxi (36-23) is ahead of the Mississippi Braves (31-27) in the Southern League South standings. The teams play a five-game series starting tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The M-Braves took three of five in the teams’ inaugural series May 6-10, also played at the Tee-Pee. The first half ends June 21.
5 – Number of M-Braves on the SL South All-Star roster when pitcher Jake Brigham was added late Wednesday to a list that already included pitchers Tyrell Jenkins and Jorge Reyes, catcher Chris O’Dowd and outfielder Mallex Smith. Of course, O’Dowd won’t be playing in the June 23 game at Montgomery because he will be serving an 80-game drug suspension also handed down on Wednesday. O’Dowd had been on the inactive list since May 28.
8 – Number of Biloxi Shuckers named to the SL South All-Star team. Included are highly rated Milwaukee prospects Orlando Arcia, a shortstop, and pitcher Tyler Wagner.
8 – Home runs by Chris Coghlan, the former Ole Miss standout whose latest blast on Wednesday helped the Chicago Cubs pound Detroit 12-3.
15 – Days (at least) that ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart is expected to be out after hurting his knee on Wednesday. Cozart, on a roll with Cincinnati (.258, nine homers), is likely headed to the 15-day DL, according to various reports. Ex-Rebels ace Lance Lynn, 4-4 with a 3.07 ERA for St. Louis, is having tightness in his right forearm and could also land on the DL.
15 – Hits in his last 10 games for Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who is batting .324 for Tampa Bay, the best average among regulars on the team.
19 – Number of players plucked out of Mississippi schools in the MLB draft, from DeSoto Central High’s Austin Riley at No. 41 overall to Columbia’s C.J. Newsome at No. 1,136. Ole Miss had four players chosen (Christian Trent was drafted for the second straight year), Southern Miss three (including Ferriss Trophy winner James McMahon), Delta State two and Jackson State, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State one each. Five high schoolers and two junior college players were picked. Of note: Hinds CC, which won 43 games this season and had a plethora of NCAA Division I signees, had no players drafted. Also of note: Former Southeast Lauderdale and East Mississippi CC star LaDarious Clark was picked out of West Florida by Texas in the 12th round.

10 Jun

another one

Kyle Kubitza, who had a most impressive year for the Mississippi Braves in 2014 and then was traded in the off-season, made his big league debut tonight for the Los Angeles Angels. Kubitza is the seventh M-Braves product to debut this season, joining Brandon Cunniff, Cody Martin, J.R. Graham (Twins), Sean Gilmartin (Mets), John Cornely and Williams Perez. Kubitza was named Atlanta’s Double-A player of the year after hitting .295 with eight homers, 55 RBIs, 11 triples, 31 doubles and 21 steals. He is easily the best third baseman to play for the M-Braves in their 10-plus years. P.S. Randy Bell, the Hinds Community College right-hander, was named the NJCAA Division II pitcher of the year, adding to the first-team All-America honors he had already received.

10 Jun

buffalo shuffle

The elevator ride continues for Scott Copeland, the former Southern Miss pitcher, but he can’t really complain about these ups and downs. The Blue Jays recalled Copeland from Triple-A Buffalo to start today’s game against Miami at Rogers Centre. This is Copeland’s fourth call-up since May 2, when he made his big league debut. He went back to Buffalo on May 4, back to Toronto on May 18, back to Buffalo on May 28, back to Toronto on June 2, then back to Buffalo on June 3. Before today, Copeland had only pitched in two games for the Jays, both in relief, and hadn’t allowed a run over three innings. He is 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA for Buffalo. Originally drafted by Baltimore, Copeland signed with Toronto as a minor league free agent in the summer of 2012. P.S. Tampa Bay has announced that Desmond Jennings will undergo arthroscopic surgery today on his troublesome left knee. It’s unclear when the Itawamba Community College product might play again. He has been out since April 26. He missed the last month of 2014 because of issues with the same knee.

10 Jun

swing and a drive

There is so much more to baseball than home runs – but there’s nothing more fun, is there? Former Mississippi Braves star Joey Terdoslavich hit the first of his career on Tuesday night, an eighth-inning shot that propelled Atlanta to a thrilling 6-5 win over visiting San Diego. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Terdoslavich will no doubt hit some more. He has 64 career minor league homers (since 2010) and has hit as many as 20 in a season. He hit five in 78 games for the M-Braves in 2012. Meanwhile, Ole Miss product Zack Cozart cranked his ninth bomb of the year and closed the gap on ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier, who has 11, in the all-Mississippi MLB home run derby. Cozart’s third homer in his last seven games – plus Joey Votto’s three long balls — helped Cincinnati wallop Philadelphia 11-2. Cozart hit just four homers all of last season. Mississippi State alum Mitch Moreland belted his seventh homer of the year as Texas beat Oakland 2-1. Ex-UM star Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs also is sitting on seven. P.S. Day 2 draft picks from Mississippi included Pearl River Community College right-hander Jacob Taylor (Pittsburgh), Ole Miss righty Scott Weathersby (Houston) and Delta State righty Witt Haggard (New York Mets). Haggard is a former Lamar School football star who walked on as a quarterback at Ole Miss in 2010, then transferred to Meridian CC to focus on baseball before heading to DSU. He posted a 3.24 ERA in 14 games as a senior this season.

09 Jun

minor matters

D.J. Davis, the first Mississippi-connected player chosen in the 2012 draft, is making a strong bid for promotion in the Toronto system. The ex-Stone County High star drove in eight runs on Monday for the low Class A Lansing Lugnuts. The lefty-hitting outfielder, who went 4-for-5 with a home run and two doubles in the game, is batting .294 with three homers, 30 RBIs, 32 runs, four triples and nine steals over 53 games in his second tour of the Midwest League. A key for Davis this year has been cutting down on his strikeouts. … Chris Stratton, also a first-rounder in 2012 (No. 20 overall to Davis’ 17), made his Triple-A debut in the San Francisco system last Friday. Stratton, from Tupelo by way of Mississippi State, allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings in a victory by Sacramento. He was 1-5 with a 4.14 ERA at Double-A Richmond before his promotion. … Knocking on the Double-A door is Horn Lake’s Cody Reed, a second-round pick out of Northwest Mississippi CC by Kansas City in 2013 (and the third Mississippian picked in that draft, after Hunter Renfroe and Tim Anderson). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound left-hander is 5-3 with a 1.29 ERA for Wilmington in the high-A Carolina League. … Anderson, the East Central CC alum who missed a couple days with a shoulder injury, is playing again at Double-A Birmingham (Chicago White Sox) and is hitting .304 with 21 bags. MSU product and Crystal Springs native Renfroe, at Double-A San Antonio in San Diego’s system, has scuffled a bit (.226, three homers). … Ole Miss alum Bobby Wahl, another 2013 draftee, is also toiling in Double-A and has a 3.76 ERA with four saves for Midland (Oakland) in the Texas League. P.S. Ed Easley, drafted way back in 2007 out of MSU, got his first big league RBI on Monday for St. Louis. He is still looking for his first hit; he is 0-for-2 in three plate appearances. … Hinds CC’s Randy Bell was named an NJCAA first-team All-America pitcher. The South Alabama signee was 12-0 with a 2.37 ERA for the state champion Eagles.

09 Jun

a power play

High school draftees from Mississippi generally have had a tough time making it to the big leagues, Billy Hamilton being a noteworthy exception to that rule. But Austin Riley’s power, in both his bat and his arm, apparently convinced the Atlanta Braves to pick the DeSoto Central High product as a third baseman in the Competitive Balance Round A of Monday’s MLB draft. Riley was the 41st overall pick and Atlanta’s third of its five selections on the draft’s first day. Baseball America had Riley No. 164 in its last pre-draft rating. Riley, 6 feet 3, 230 pounds, played mostly shortstop for the Jaguars when he wasn’t on the mound, where his fastball reportedly reached 95 mph. Riley batted .423 with 11 homers and 14 doubles for the state champions this year. Riley is a Mississippi State signee, but he’ll likely get a sweet enough financial offer from the Braves to make him forgo college ball. The Braves need some power in their minor league system; there isn’t much on the Double-A Mississippi Braves’ roster.

08 Jun

not in the cards

Opened a random pack of baseball cards on Sunday and got a Kendall Graveman, who just happened to be pitching for Oakland. Good omen? Yes … and no. Graveman, the former Mississippi State standout, pitched great, taking a five-hit shutout into the eighth inning against Boston at Fenway Park. He yielded a leadoff home run to Rusney Castillo, left the game and then watched the A’s bullpen give up six more runs that led to a 7-4 loss. That’s some hard luck. Graveman, who was sent to the minors in late April with an 8.27 ERA, has pitched much better since his return. Over his last four starts, the right-hander has allowed six earned runs in 24 2/3 innings (a 2.55 ERA), cutting his season ERA to 4.83. His record is 3-2, though he could easily have a couple more wins. Graveman, drafted by Toronto in 2013, blew through four levels of the minors in 2014 and got a September call-up from the Blue Jays (and his picture on a trading card). He was traded to Oakland in the off-season as part of the Brett Lawrie-Josh Donaldson deal and made the A’s rotation in spring training. Whatever led to his early season struggles, he seems to have ironed it out. P.S. Joey Butler just keeps hitting for Tampa Bay. The former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star from Pascagoula got a couple more hits on Sunday and is now batting .330 with four homers, 11 RBIs and 13 runs in 30 games. He is batting .357 over his last 15 games. Getting his first extended MLB playing time in his eighth pro season, the 29-year-old outfielder appears to have locked down a job with the Rays. Butler’s minor league numbers were always good (.294, 78 homers), but “to see it all come together here in the big leagues is pretty amazing,” he told mlb.com.

08 Jun

draft notice

The major league draft often produces surprises, but it’s safe to assume that the Mississippi benchmark set 30 years ago by Will Clark will go unchallenged today. Former Mississippi State star Clark was the second overall pick in 1985 by San Francisco. No Mississippi-connected player before or since has gone No. 1 overall, though the state has had its fair share of first-rounders, including a No. 3 (B.J. Wallace of State by Montreal in 1992), a No. 5 (Drew Pomeranz of Ole Miss by Cleveland in 2010) and two No. 8’s (Kirk Presley of Tupelo High by the New York Mets in 1993 and Paul Maholm of State by Pittsburgh in 2003). Just last year, Blake Anderson, a catcher from West Lauderdale, went in the supplemental phase of Round 1, No. 36 overall to Miami. MSU alum Hunter Renfroe (13th overall) and East Central Community College product Tim Anderson (17th) were first-round picks in 2013, and Stone County’s D.J. Davis (17th) and State’s Chris Stratton (20th) went in Round 1 in 2012. Other first-rounders (including supplemental picks) over the last 30 years include ex-State star Rafael Palmeiro (No. 22 in 1985), Jackson State’s Earl Sanders (1986), Steve Pegues of Pontotoc (1987), Stone County’s Sam Hence (1990), State’s Carlton Loewer (1994), ex-Bulldogs star Eric DuBose (1997), Oak Grove’s Donnie Bridges (1997), Matt Ginter of State (1999), Michael Rosamond of Ole Miss (1999), UM’s Chris Coghlan (2006), Wendell Fairley from George County (2007), State’s Ed Easley (2007), former Rebels star Lance Lynn (2008) and Madison Central’s Ryan Bolden (2010). Lynn, Easley, Coghlan and Pomeranz are currently in the big leagues. The first round of the draft will be televised tonight on MLB Network. No Mississippians are expected to be picked – but you never know. Anderson wasn’t projected to go on the first day last year.

07 Jun

the core four

There is a special group of former Mississippi Braves playing in the big leagues. Call them the Core Four. As the M-Braves celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first season at Trustmark Park, there are four players from the team’s original 2005 roster still in The Show. Each was a star in Double-A, and each is still capable of shining moments. Saturday was such a day for all four. Brian McCann, a perennial All-Star catcher, went 2-for-5 with a home run (No. 9) as his first-place New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-2. Gregor Blanco, who has won two World Series rings in San Francisco, went 1-for-4 with a run to help his second-place Giants beat Philadelphia 7-5. Jeff Francoeur, who made the Phillies’ roster as a minor league free agent this spring, went 2-for-4 with a grand slam (off Madison Bumgarner); he’s at .252 with four homers for the struggling Phils. And Blaine Boyer, who has bounced around the last several years, threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for first-place Minnesota in a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee; Boyer has a 2.17 ERA. McCann was the first of this foursome to make the big leagues, promoted on June 10, 2005. Boyer and Francoeur followed that summer. Blanco didn’t get up until 2008. Two other original M-Braves, Anthony Lerew and Matt Wright, are still pitching in the independent Atlantic League. … An M-Braves alum of more recent vintage, Christian Bethancourt, hit his first career home run for Atlanta on Saturday, a ninth-inning game-winner in a 5-4 victory against Pittsburgh. P.S. Biloxi won its long-awaited first home game at MGM Park on Saturday, topping Mobile 5-4 in 14 innings. The first-place Shuckers lead the M-Braves, who lost at Montgomery, by 3½ games in the Southern League South. The teams meet in what could be a pivotal five-game series at Trustmark Park June 11-15. The first half ends June 21.

05 Jun

whatever happened to …

Jarrod Dyson still plays for Kansas City, he just doesn’t play very much. The former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout from McComb has appeared in three games since May 17. In 25 games total, Dyson, an outfielder, is batting .219 with five stolen bases and nine runs. Dyson led the Royals with 36 steals in 2014, when he hit .269 in 120 games. He appeared frequently as a defensive replacement (for the since departed Nori Aoki) or pinch runner, but those opportunities have been limited this year. The Royals’ starting outfield of Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios (recently back from the disabled list) is pretty solid in all phases of the game. KC, the defending American League champ, is currently 30-21, a game back of Minnesota in the Central. P.S. Oakland reportedly has called up switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, who may soon become the first pitcher to throw both right-handed and left-handed in the same MLB game since Jackson Mets alumnus Greg Harris did it in 1995. Harris, who spent 15 years in the majors, got outs with both arms in a game for Montreal in September of his final season. A natural righty, Harris went 14-20 with a 3.29 ERA for the JaxMets from 1977-79.