July 2015 - Page 2 of 5 - All Mississippi Baseball

26 Jul

fun facts

Did you know that Rust College has produced one and only one professional baseball player? His name is Otis Edwards; he played one season in the minors in 1991. Stumbled across this fascinating bit of data on the wonderful web site baseball-reference.com. Atop the list of most pro players produced by a Magnolia State college is Mississippi State, with 196, including 49 major leaguers. Ole Miss is second (at 193 and 48), Southern Miss third (109/23) and Jackson State fourth (62/9). The rest: Delta State 47/10, William Carey 39/1, Mississippi Valley State 21/0, Alcorn State 16/1, Mississippi College 15/7, Belhaven 10/0 and Millsaps 8/4. More on Edwards: Undrafted out of NCAA Division III Rust, he signed with Cleveland and played 29 games at the rookie and short-season Class A levels, batting .152 with seven RBIs, eight runs and three steals. He also pitched a scoreless inning for Burlington of the rookie Appalachian League. The one Carey player to make The Show? John Stephenson, the ex-Crusaders coach. The one Alcorn player? Al Jones, a pitcher in the mid-1980s. … Stumbled across a couple more interesting items in the July/August issue of Baseball Digest. To wit: Don Kessinger was a six-time All-Star and a career .252 hitter with 1,931 hits over 16 years in the majors. But as a pinch hitter, he was 0-for-37, the worst drought of any player in MLB history with at least 20 pinch-hit appearances. Kessinger did draw four walks as a pinch hitter, but still, it makes you wonder, when he reached 0-for-36, why in the world did his manager send him up there again? Also on the list of pinch-hit futility: former Jackson Mets standout Stanley Jefferson, who was 1-for-32. Then there’s this: The dubious distinction of worst-hitting Gold Glove winner in any season belongs to Greenville native George Scott. “Boomer” hit .171 as the Boston Red Sox’s first baseman in 1968, his third year in the big leagues. Scott, a career .268 hitter with 271 home runs, won eight Gold Gloves over his lengthy career. P.S. The current issue of Sports Illustrated (July 27) has a cool photo essay and brief article on the Anderson Monarchs’ Civil Rights Barnstorming Tour that made a stop for a game at Jackson State’s Braddy Field last month. The 23-day, multi-state trip was a living history lesson for the Philadelphia (Pa.) area youth team, which included 2014 Little League World Series star Mo’ne Davis. It’s unclear whether any of the pictures were taken in Mississippi.

25 Jul

noteworthy

Chris Coghlan set a career-high with his 10th homer on Friday for the Chicago Cubs, but the former Ole Miss standout is a long way back in the all-Mississippi home run derby. The leader, Southern Miss product Brian Dozier, shows no signs of powering down. He yanked his 21st of the year on Friday, a second-deck shot at Target Field in Minnesota. Second on the list is Mitch Moreland, the ex-Mississippi State star, who has 16 for Texas. … Several clubs are asking about Moreland’s availability in a trade, reports say. The left-handed hitting first baseman, having a big year, is making an affordable $2.95M; he is eligible for arbitration in 2016. The Rangers reportedly are not eager to deal him. … MSU product Jonathan Papelbon, who is on the trading block but with no apparent takers, notched save No. 17 (in 17 opportunities) for Philadelphia. … Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson returned to the Colorado lineup on Friday and banged out two hits in his first game since June 16 (plantar fasciitis). He is hitting .308 with five homers in 39 games. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton grounded into a double play on Friday, just the fourth time in 250 career MLB games that he has been doubled up. … Ex-State star Tyler Moore picked up a couple of RBIs for Washington, giving him 22 for the season in 139 at-bats, but he still hasn’t homered since June 12. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler has gone 23 days without an RBI for Tampa Bay; he has 21 in 64 games. … Ole Miss alum Alex Presley was outrighted to the minors by Houston. There had been speculation that the lefty-hitting outfielder might be traded when the Astros designated him for assignment a week ago.

24 Jul

catching up

Delta State, the 2,700-student school up in Cleveland with its proud baseball tradition, has produced, remarkably enough, three major league catchers. Carlos Leal has designs on being the fourth. Leal, in just his second pro season, is playing in the Class A Midwest League and batting .314 with two homers and 26 RBIs for Wisconsin in the Milwaukee system. Leal, from Puerto Rico, was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference catcher at DSU and an All-Stater at East Central Community College before that. But he was drafted as a pitcher (34th round) last year by the Brewers, who were impressed by his strong arm in a workout. He did not make a smooth transition last summer, putting up an 8.53 ERA in six rookie-league appearances. Milwaukee brass decided in the off-season to give Leal a shot at making one of the minor league clubs this spring as a catcher. He not only made the Wisconsin roster, he became the Timber Rattlers’ No. 1 catcher and made the MWL All-Star Game last month. “You could tell he has a passion for catching,” Charlie Greene, a Brewers minor league instructor, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At 24, the left-handed hitting Leal could and probably needs to move up quickly. It’s a long way from A-ball to the big leagues, but Leal certainly appears to have a shot at joining Barry Lyons, Scooter Tucker and Eli Whiteside as Statesmen who’ve caught in The Show.

24 Jul

about-face

Things were going well for Drew Pomeranz in his role as a relief pitcher. Twenty appearances, a 1.56 ERA. Well, forget that. The big left-hander out of Ole Miss is back in the Oakland rotation. He made an emergency start on Thursday – after the A’s traded Scott Kazmir – and it didn’t go so well. Eight batters faced. Two hits, a walk, two runs allowed (on a home run). The A’s wound up losing 5-2 to Toronto. Pomeranz now has a 4.67 ERA in nine starts this season. Thursday’s was his first since May 18. The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Pomeranz is with his third organization; he is 13-21 with a 4.14 ERA. He has always had trouble going deep into games as a starter. The move to the pen this season, which followed a stint on the disabled list, seemed like a good idea. And the results were good. Now he’ll have to readjust to starting for a team that’s out of the postseason hunt. “In five days I hope I’ll polish up a few things,” he told the San Jose Mercury News. Pomeranz’s next start figures to come against the Los Angeles Dodgers. P.S. David Goforth, another ex-UM star, was recalled by Milwaukee on Thursday and pitched in relief against Arizona. Didn’t go well for him either. Three hits, a walk and two runs allowed in one inning. Meridian native Goforth now has a 5.40 ERA in his five MLB appearances.

23 Jul

upwardly mobile

Gloom has gathered over the Chicago White Sox’s season. Fans of the last-place club needing something to brighten their day can look to Double-A Birmingham, where shortstop Tim Anderson is having a star-quality season. Rated by some as the organization’s top prospect entering 2015, the East Central Community College product appears close to being big league-ready. Anderson, 22, the Southern League All-Star Game MVP, is batting .311 with seven triples, 35 RBIs, 53 runs and 35 steals for the Barons. An athletic 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, he is hitting .298 with 69 steals over his three pro seasons. If there is a negative in his offensive numbers, it’s that he doesn’t walk much (15 times this season while serving primarily as a leadoff batter). Reports indicate that Anderson’s defense is steadily improving; in fact, some of the reports are glowing. Anderson made his Double-A debut, with a bang, at Pearl’s Trustmark Park last August. The Barons come to the TeePee again this August (18-22). Of course, by then Anderson might be in Triple-A. P.S. Thirty games into his pro career, LaDarious (aka LeDarious) Clark, the East Mississippi CC alum from Meridian, paces the short-season Class A Northwest League in homers (8, including two on Wednesday), average (.377), hits (49), slugging percentage (.685), runs (32), triples (5) and total bases (89). He also has 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Texas’ Spokane club. Promote him, already. … After roughly a month in the high Class A Florida State League, former Petal High star Anthony Alford is batting .333 with a homer, nine RBIs and 18 runs at Dunedin. Toronto promoted the 21-year-old outfielder, playing his first full pro season, after he hit .293 with 49 runs and 12 steals in 50 games at low-A Lansing.

23 Jul

here and there

Jonathan Papelbon worked two scoreless innings and got the victory in Philadelphia’s 5-4 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday, dropping his ERA to 1.63. He has 16 saves. And yet reports are that interest from other clubs in acquiring the disgruntled former Mississippi State star has waned. Isn’t this odd? … Former Southern Miss star Connor Barron, who went undrafted in June after his senior year, remains unsigned, which raises the question of whether he is healthy. Barron can play. He was an All-State shortstop at Sumrall High, where he played on four Class 3A championship teams. Injuries plagued his first three years at USM, but, after a strong 2014 summer season in the Texas Collegiate League, he put up good numbers for the Golden Eagles this season. A lefty-hitting outfielder, Barron batted .290 with eight homers, 40 runs and 13 steals for a good team. … The first-place Mississippi Braves (16-9) took a six-game win streak, matching their season-best, into Wednesday’s game against Mobile at Trustmark Park in Pearl. When you look at their lineup and stats, you have to wonder, How does this team do it? … Biloxi native Barry Lyons threw out the first pitch at the Biloxi Shuckers game at MGM Park on Tuesday night. Lyons, who starred for Delta State and the Jackson Mets before going on to the big leagues, played an unsung part in bringing pro baseball to the Coast. … Mississippi State’s Jacob Robson is scheduled to play in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game on Saturday. Canada native Robson, a CCBL player of the week earlier this month, is batting .297 with eight RBIs and 11 runs in 24 games for the Bourne Braves. Robson batted .324 with 41 runs in 54 games for the Bulldogs this past season.

22 Jul

small wonder

His name doesn’t show up among the MLB statistical leaders in any category. Jarrod Dyson is just a part-time player for Kansas City, but when his times come, the McComb native has a knack for making things happen. Take Tuesday, for example. Batting in the eighth inning of a scoreless game, facing Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole, with runners at second and third and the infield in, Dyson dropped a single into right field. Two runs scored. Dyson, blessed with great wheels, took second when the outfielder misplayed the ball. He stole third and scored on another hit. The Royals held on to win 3-1. They are 56-36, 6.5 games up on Minnesota in the American League Central. They are 8-3 since star outfielder Alex Gordon went down with an injury. Dyson has helped fill that void. “I just want to play, man. That’s been my theory since I got here,” the Southwest Mississippi Community College alumnus said in a Kansas City Star article. Dyson, a 50th-round pick in 2006, arrived in the big leagues in 2010 and is one of the longest tenured Royals. The 5-foot-10 left-handed hitter doesn’t have any big numbers on his 2015 ledger, but he has a lot of little ones. In 49 games, 119 at-bats, Dyson has 18 runs, 11 RBIs, 15 steals, four triples, two sacrifice bunts, four outfield assists and zero errors. He is batting .261. Most important, his team is in first place.

21 Jul

rolling with changes

Change has become a constant for the Mississippi Braves’ pitching staff, which will roll out Lucas Sims tonight for his Double-A debut at Jackson, Tenn. Sims, Atlanta’s top draft pick in 2012 and current No. 3 prospect (by mlb.com), was 3-4 with a 5.18 ERA in nine starts at Class A Carolina. Perhaps the Braves just thought he needed a change of scene. The M-Braves recently added No. 17 prospect Mauricio Cabrera, who also had so-so stats at Carolina (5.52 ERA). He debuted on Sunday, throwing two scoreless innings in a win against Jacksonville. In that same game, ex-starter Jason Hursh, the No. 12 prospect, notched his first save. Hursh was 2-6, 5.63 as a starter. He has allowed two runs in six innings out of the pen. The M-Braves already have a standout closer: LSU product Tyler Jones, who has taken the reins from promoted Ryan Kelly, has 11 saves and a 1.55 ERA. The M-Braves’ rotation, which lost No. 10 prospect Tyrell Jenkins to Triple-A Gwinnett earlier this month, includes two other July additions: No. 26 prospect Steve Janas, 1-2, 3.86 in four starts, and indy league-signee Andrew Barbosa, 2-1, 6.23. … Kudos to manager Aaron Holbert for becoming the team’s all-time wins leader on Monday with 269. He passed Phillip Wellman, who has one thing Holbert would love to add: a Southern League championship ring. The M-Braves, 15-9 and first in the SL South entering tonight’s game, return to Trustmark Park in Pearl on Wednesday to face division rival Mobile.

21 Jul

more field notes

Auston Bousfield, the ex-Ole Miss standout, extended his hitting streak to eight games on Monday with a single for Class A Lake Elsinore in the San Diego system. Bousfield, batting leadoff and playing center field for the California League club, is at .294 for the season with three homers, 30 RBIs, 45 runs and 18 steals in 79 games. He was a fifth-round pick by the Padres in 2014, one of the nine Rebels drafted that year. … Mississippi State product Hunter Renfroe, another Padres farmhand, saw his six-game hit streak end on Monday but, with 10 hits in his last seven games, has boosted his average to .269 at Double-A San Antonio. Renfroe, the first Mississippian picked in the 2013 draft, has 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 86 games. Renfroe, an outfielder, finished the 2014 season with San Antonio, hitting .232 with five homers in 60 games. … Bradley Roney, the former Southern Miss closer, has allowed just one run while notching three saves in his last five appearances for Class A Rome in Atlanta’s system. Roney, a 2014 fifth-rounder, missed a month with an injury. He has a 4.07 ERA and four saves in 16 combined games at rookie-level Danville and low-A Rome. … Jovany Felipe, Jackson State’s catcher in 2015 who signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay, is 3-for-16 with an RBI in seven games for the rookie Gulf Coast League Rays. He hit .317 with five homers and 54 RBIs for the Tigers. P.S. East Mississippi Community College alum LaDarious Clark is surging again with 10 hits in 24 at-bats over his last five games. Clark, a 12th-round pick this year by Texas, is playing at short-season Class A Spokane, where he is batting .367 with six homers, four triples and 14 steals.

20 Jul

on the move

Corey Dickerson has taken another step on the path to returning to the Colorado Rockies’ lineup. The former Brookhaven Academy and Meridian Community College star played left field and went 1-for-3 on Sunday in the first game of his rehab assignment. He is with Class A Modesto in the California League. Dickerson, dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, has only 127 MLB at-bats this season and is hitting .299 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. He last played a game for the Rockies on June 16. Colorado manager Walt Weiss told the Denver Post that Dickerson would get about 25 rehab at-bats and should be back with the Rockies “real soon.” Dickerson had a breakout year in 2014, when he batted .312 with 24 homers, 76 RBIs and 74 runs in 131 games. He was All Mississippi Baseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award winner, given for the best season by a Mississippian in the majors. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, designated for assignment by Houston on Saturday, may soon land with another MLB club, according to various reports. Presley, a lefty-hitting outfielder who had just 12 ABs with the Astros this season, is a .259 career hitter who can do a lot of little things well.