June 10, 2021 - All Mississippi Baseball

divergent

Braxton Lee, signed out of independent ball last week, went 2-for-5 Wednesday in his debut with Cincinnati’s Double-A Chattanooga club, the latest stop in what has been a whirlwind career for the 27-year-old one-time major league outfielder. Lee played at Picayune High, Pearl River Community College and Ole Miss, where he had a nice season (.281, 30 steals) for the 2014 team that reached the College World Series semifinals. Lee was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2014 and began his pro career at Hudson Valley. From there he made stops in Port Charlotte and Montgomery before being traded in mid-2017 to Miami. The Marlins sent him to Jacksonville (where he won the Southern League batting title). He stood out for Salt River in the 2017 Arizona Fall League, then made the big leagues with the Marlins to start 2018. He spent time at four different levels that year, including Triple-A New Orleans, Class A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville. He went 3-for-17 in two stints in the majors. The New York Mets claimed Lee on waivers in the fall of 2018, and he spent 2019 bouncing between Binghamton and Syracuse in that system. With no minor league season in 2020, he had no team to play for. He declared free agency last fall and signed with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, playing four games (batting .438 under manager Stan Cliburn) before his contract was purchased by the Reds. Through it all, Lee has batted .266 in 606 minor league games. … Jacob Lindgren’s second – or third — chance at returning to The Show ended on June 4, when the Mississippi State product from Biloxi was released out of Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. The 28-year-old left-hander had a 10.13 ERA in eight games for Charlotte. A second-round pick out of Starkville in 2014, he made the majors with the New York Yankees the very next year, appearing in seven games. Unfortunately, injuries – two Tommy John surgeries — derailed him thereafter. He spent time in Atlanta’s system and was signed by the White Sox in 2019. Lindgren had some positive results that season and was invited to their alternate site in 2020 and to big league camp this spring. The onetime strikeout machine had eight K’s and 15 walks in eight innings for Charlotte. P.S. Former State standout Jacob Robson, promoted to Triple-A upon his return from playing for Team Canada in an Olympics qualifier, went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs Wednesday for Toledo in Detroit’s chain. Robson, a sixth-year pro with previous Triple-A experience, was hitting .424 in Double-A this season. The Tigers might have plans for him.

where are they now?

Of the Mississippians drafted in 2020, Garrett Crochet was the only one to make his pro debut last season, jumping right into the MLB fray with the Chicago White Sox. The Ocean Springs native, the 11th overall pick (out of Tennessee), has fared quite well: 0.37 ERA over 22 career games. Of those whose pro debuts were delayed until 2021, Jordan Westburg has had the best start. The ex-Mississippi State star, the 30th overall pick by Baltimore, already has earned a promotion to High-A ball. After batting .366 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 20 games at Low-A Delmarva, Westburg was moved to Aberdeen on June 1. He is at .250 with six RBIs in six games there. Justin Foscue, the 14th overall selection out of MSU, is batting .182 with two homers and six RBIs in 12 games at High-A Hickory in the Texas’ system. He is currently on the injured list, as are the two players drafted out of Ole Miss last year. Third-rounder Anthony Servideo is at Low-A Delmarva (Orioles), where he is at .246 with seven RBIs in 20 games. Fourth-rounder Tyler Keenan is batting .163 with a homer and 12 RBIs with Seattle’s High-A Everett club. Former State star J.T. Ginn, drafted in the second round by the New York Mets, made his second career start on Wednesday, throwing four innings for Low-A St. Lucie. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Ginn has a 1.29 ERA in seven innings. Colt Keith, a fifth-round pick from Biloxi High, is 2-for-7 in two games for Low-A Lakeland (Detroit). Blaze Jordan, the highly publicized slugger picked in the third round out of DeSoto Central, has yet to debut in Boston’s system.