Monthly Archives: July 2021

12 Jul

day 2 draft stuff

Two more Mississippi college products were plucked early on Day 2 of the MLB draft, with Ole Miss left-hander Doug Nikhazy going to Cleveland in Round 2 (58th overall) and Southern Miss outfielder Reed Trimble, eligible as a second-year freshman, to Baltimore in the competitive balance round at No. 65 overall. Nikhazy went 12-2 with a 2.45 ERA and won a number of big games this year for the Rebels. Trimble, a Northwest Rankin alum, is a switch-hitter who batted .345 with 17 homers and 12 stolen bases in 2021. With Mississippi State’s Will Bednar and UM’s Gunnar Hoglund getting picked in Round 1 on Sunday, Mississippi schools produced four of the top 65 picks. Later on Day 2: State’s Tanner Allen – SEC player of the year and Ferriss Trophy winner – went in Round 4 to Miami; the Bulldogs’ Eric Cerantola and Christian MacLeod, the big lefties, both went in Round 5 to Kansas City and Minnesota, respectively; Ole Miss closer Taylor Broadway was pegged in Round 6 by the Chicago White Sox; Ryan Och, a shutdown reliever at USM this year, went in Round 7 to San Diego; right-hander Will Warren, a former Jackson Prep standout who pitched at Southeastern Louisiana, was picked in Round 8 by the New York Yankees.

12 Jul

minor matters

In his first game since the Chicago Cubs decided to return him to a starting role, Justin Steele threw the first 3 2/3 innings Sunday of a seven-inning no-hitter for Triple-A Iowa. Left-hander Steele, a George County High alum, struck out five and walked two in the 1-0 win against St. Paul. Former Delta State star Trent Giambrone drove in the game’s only run with a walk-off sac fly. Former Mississippi State star Brent Rooker went 0-for-3 for St. Paul, a Minnesota farm team. Steele, a starter most of his lengthy minor league career, made his long-awaited MLB debut this season and had a 2.03 ERA in 11 games for the Cubs before landing on the injured list. … MSU product Ethan Small gave up three hits and two runs but got the last two outs in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday. Small is now at Triple-A Nashville in Milwaukee’s system. … Ole Miss alum Thomas Dillard belted his 10th homer for High-A Wisconsin in the Brewers’ chain. Former Hattiesburg High star Joe Gray, Jr., was recently promoted to Wisconsin after batting .289 with 12 homers in Low-A ball. Gray is at .158 in six games at the new level. … Ex-Bulldogs standout Justin Foscue, recently back from the IL, put up a 3-for-4 that included his third homer for High-A Hickory in Texas’ system. Foscue, a 2020 draftee, is batting .237. … Ole Miss product Parker Caracci notched his sixth save for High-A Vancouver in the Toronto organization. The Jackson Prep alum has a 2-2 record and 1.50 ERA in 22 games in his second pro season. Toronto picked ex-UM star Gunnar Hoglund in the first round (19th overall) of Sunday’s MLB draft; his pro career will be delayed to 2022 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. … MSU’s Will Bednar, taken with the 14th overall pick by San Francisco, likely would start his pro career in the Arizona Complex League or at Low-A San Jose.

11 Jul

running hot

There’s hot and then there’s whatever the Mississippi Braves are right now. The top team in the Double-A South won its sixth straight game on Saturday night at Trustmark Park. The last five of those wins have come against the league’s second-best team, Pensacola. Saturday night’s win rated an exclamation point. Not only were the Blue Wahoos dismissed by a 6-0 count, Bryce Elder and Daysbel Hernandez combined on a no-hitter. On a night when top-rated prospects Shea Langeliers and Braden Shewmake went 0-for-8, two others stepped up with big hits. Justin Dean, the diminutive, dynamic leadoff batter, belted a two-run homer to dead center field, and Trey Harris, the brawny right fielder, smacked a three-run, opposite-field double. The defense was clean and even produced three double plays. Can they bottle this? Elder, Atlanta’s No. 11 prospect, threw seven innings in his third Double-A start; he is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. The talented arms just keep coming in the Braves’ system. The M-Braves, 37-22 and 4 games up in the Double-A South’s South Division, go for seven in a row today against Pensacola. On the bump? Spencer Strider, the No. 20 prospect who has climbed three levels this season. He is 1-1, 3.95 in three starts. P.S. Meanwhile, the season-ending injury to Ronald Acuna might open the door for former M-Braves star Cristian Pache to get another shot in Atlanta. The swift center fielder is batting .252 with three homers and 13 RBIs at Triple-A Gwinnett. Another possibility is Drew Waters, the 2019 Southern League MVP for the M-Braves who is batting .257 with five homers, 18 RBIs and 15 steals for the Stripers. He is slated to play in today’s All-Star Futures Game in Colorado.

10 Jul

walk it off

He has mashed 167 home runs in his pro career, but Friday night’s bomb was unique for Bobby Bradley. The ex-Harrison Central High star from Gulfport hit his first career walk-off homer, lifting Cleveland to a 2-1 victory against Kansas City. Bradley, 25, in his second big league season, did a modest bat flip as the line drive sailed out to right-center at Progressive Field. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates, who were celebrating their second straight walk-off win after a nine-game skid. “Everybody was pumped up and beating me up a little bit and throwing water everywhere,” Bradley told mlb.com. “It’s awesome.” The article said it was Bradley’s first walk-off homer at any level, though it’s hard to imagine he didn’t hit one at Harrison Central. The left-handed hitting first baseman has 10 homers in 100 at-bats this season, which is an amazing ratio even for a small sample size. He has 11 in 145 MLB at-bats overall, one per 13.2 ABs. Mark McGwire’s career record is 10.6. Babe Ruth had an 11.7, Barry Bonds a 12.9. Bradley has 156 minor league homers (one every 16 ABs) since 2014, when the Indians drafted him in the third round out of high school. That’s a special kind of power. P.S. Former Mississippi State star Brandon Woodruff is slated to pitch Sunday for Milwaukee, which means he can’t pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. He has been replaced on the National League roster by teammate Freddy Peralta, another Biloxi Shuckers alumnus. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz has returned to the injured list (forearm) for San Diego. Pomeranz, who missed most of May and June on the IL, has a 1.59 ERA in 18 relief outings.

09 Jul

star struck

Taylorsville High’s Aiden Moffett is the lone Mississippian on the roster for tonight’s High School All-American Game, which will unofficially launch MLB’s All-Star Game festivities in Denver. The high school game, featuring players from the class of 2022, will be livestreamed on mlb.com at 6 p.m. CDT. Moffett, 6 feet 2, 185, is listed as a right-handed pitcher on the roster and has signed as a pitcher with LSU. He was 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA for the state Class 2A champion Tartars in 2021. He was also a .300 hitter. … The All-Star Futures Game is Sunday — former Mississippi Braves star Drew Waters is slated to play — followed by the first round of the MLB draft. Ole Miss’ Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy, Mississippi State’s Will Bednar and Madison Central High’s Braden Montgomery are potential first-rounders. All are ranked in the top 66 by mlb.com. (Atlanta picks 24th, Milwaukee 15th.) The draft continues on Monday and Tuesday, when the Home Run Derby and MLB All-Star Game are scheduled at Coors Field. … Montgomery, the state’s Gatorade player of the year, is the lone prep player ranked among the top 250 in the mlb.com draft chart, but there are always surprise picks. A few to watch out for: Terry pitcher Darious Anderson, Jackson Prep/Oxford shortstop Kelly Crumpton, Tupelo left-hander Hunter Elliott, Madison Central third baseman Hunter Hines and Lewisburg pitcher Brady Tygart. … Worth noting: Jerrion Ealy, the ex-Jackson Prep star and current Ole Miss running back, is eligible for the draft again. An outfielder, he was the top high school player in the state in 2019 but was firmly committed to UM. Arizona took a flyer on him in the 31st round.

09 Jul

worth noting

There may be no hotter team in pro ball than the Mississippi Braves, who won two games on Thursday at Trustmark Park, extending their win streak to four, and have won 31 of their last 45. At 35-22 overall (22-11 at home), the M-Braves have the best record in the Double-A South. (And, yes, there will be a postseason to crown a champion in September.) Atlanta prospects Shea Langeliers and Braden Shewmake stood out on Thursday. Langeliers hit his 14th homer, tied for the league lead, and Shewmake homered, his sixth, and extended his hit streak to 11 games. The M-Braves play Pensacola again tonight (6:35) at the TeePee in Pearl.
Jake Mangum hit his fourth homer for Binghamton, the 16th extra-base hit for the former Mississippi State standout in 36 games for the New York Mets’ Double-A team. Mangum, batting .275, is slugging .450. He slugged just .297 in A-ball in 2019.
Former Mississippi College standout Blaine Crim hit his fourth home run in three games for High-A Hickory in the Texas system. Crim, in his second pro season, is batting .275 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs.
Pascagoula High product Willie Joe Garry, Jr., went 3-for-5 with his third triple of the season for Low-A Fort Myers in Minnesota’s chain. Garry, 21, in his third pro season, is batting .196 with two homers, 12 RBIs, 19 runs and 13 steals.
The scuffling Chicago Cubs are returning Justin Steele, the ex-George County High standout, to a starting role at Triple-A Iowa. Steele, a starter his first six seasons in pro ball, worked in relief for the Cubs as a rookie this season, posting a 2.03 ERA in 11 games before landing on the injured list. “We’re going to try to put him in a role where he can face the lineup a couple times, and there’s no reason he can’t do it,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said in an nbcchicago.com report. The left-hander will start for Iowa on Sunday and likely will be in the Cubs’ rotation soon.
Bobby Bradley hit his first home run since June 30 in Cleveland’s win over Kansas City on Thursday. The Harrison Central High alum now has nine bombs on the season in just 97 big league at-bats. He had nine in 97 at-bats at Triple-A Columbus when he was called up to the big club on June 5.
Ex-Mississippi State star Kendall Graveman, now Seattle’s closer, was in the middle of a conflict between the Mariners and New York Yankees on Thursday. Graveman, on in the ninth to close out a 4-0 M’s win, brushed D.J. LeMahieu’s jersey with an inside pitch. LeMahieu barked at Graveman, who stared him down. More shouting and posturing ensued at game’s end involving multiple players. LeMahieu brushed it all off in a comment to nj.com: “He threw one in on Rougned (Odor) and the next one in on me. It looked suspicious, but it’s just baseball.”

08 Jul

maroon alert

Local high school products Tanner Leggett and Preston Johnson, stars on Mississippi State’s national championship team, will throw out ceremonial first pitches at the Mississippi Braves’ game on Friday night at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The first pitches will occur around 6:15 p.m., per the M-Braves release. The Double-A South game is scheduled for 6:35 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Gates open at 5:30. Leggett, from Raymond, is a Central Hinds Academy product. Johnson, from Crystal Springs, attended Copiah Academy and Hinds Community College. … Bulldogs fans might also want to heckle Pensacola catcher Nick Fortes. He played at Ole Miss.

08 Jul

access denied

Tim Anderson has won a batting title and a Silver Slugger award. The former East Central Community College star, now in his seventh big league season, led his team, the Chicago White Sox, to a playoff berth in 2020 and to the top of the American League Central standings as of today. And yet: He hasn’t earned an All-Star Game invite. Granted, for a shortstop in the AL, that’s no easy feat. Xander Bogaerts was voted in by the fans. Carlos Correa and Bo Bichette, also deserving of consideration, were picked as reserve shortstops. Anderson — currently batting .307 with six homers, 29 RBIs, 50 runs and 14 steals — was snubbed, and Frank Thomas, the former White Sox star and Hall of Famer, was outraged (really). “Tim Anderson has proven to be a superstar in this league,” he said during a rant on a ChiSox pregame TV show. The normally outspoken Anderson has let his bat talk. He is 8-for-12 since the reserves were announced on July 4. He put up a 4-for-4 game on Wednesday as Chicago – and Ole Miss product Lance Lynn, an All-Star pick – beat Minnesota 6-1. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson combined for 11 hits, four RBIs and seven runs in Atlanta’s 14-3 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Some other ex-M-Braves also showed out: Jason Heyward put a 4-1-1-1 in the box score and made a great catch in right field as the Cubs snapped their 11-game skid; Craig Kimbrel got the last three outs. Jose Peraza hit a late game-tying homer that propelled the New York Mets to a win over Milwaukee. Phil Gosselin went 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Los Angeles Angels in a 5-4 win against Boston. And Alex Wood worked seven innings for his eighth win as San Francisco topped St. Louis 5-2.

07 Jul

whatever happened to …

Aaron Barrett, the ex-Ole Miss standout who completed a courageous MLB comeback from injuries two years ago, is still pitching — and coming back from yet another injury. Barrett, 33, is with Washington’s Double-A Harrisburg club, where he has a 3.00 ERA in two appearances. He started this season on the Triple-A injured list following spring knee surgery. Barrett was an effective reliever as a rookie for the Nationals in 2014, putting up a 2.66 ERA. He hurt his arm late in 2015 and missed most of the next three seasons following Tommy John surgery and a career-threatening broken humerus bone. Against all odds, he made it back to Washington in 2019, appearing in three games for the eventual world champion. He didn’t play in the 2019 postseason but threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a roaring crowd at Nationals Park prior to the National League Wild Card Game. Several hours later, the Nationals pulled off a dramatic comeback to beat Milwaukee 4-3. Barrett pitched briefly for the Nats in 2020 and re-signed as a minor leaguer in the off-season. P.S. Blaine Crim’s fast start to his pro career – a .348 average at two levels of rookie ball in 2019 — was derailed by the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season. The former Mississippi College star may be getting back on track. Now at High-A Hickory in the Texas system, Crim hit his eighth home run Tuesday and boosted his average to .269 with 37 RBIs as a middle-of-the-order bat for the Crawdads. Crim was a 19th-round pick in 2019 by the Rangers after winning Gulf South Conference player of the year honors at MC.

07 Jul

hold on there

Shohei Ohtani, the amazing double-duty All-Star, got the win and Raisel Iglesias the save in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-3 victory against Boston on Tuesday night. Former Ole Miss star Mike Mayers was the “bridge guy,” pitching the eighth inning, between Ohtani and Iglesias. Mayers was credited with a hold, that somewhat obscure statistic that gives middle relievers something to, er, hold on to. A hold is awarded to a reliever who enters in “a save situation and maintains his team’s lead for the next relief pitcher, while recording at least one out.” Mayers’ scoreless inning of work gives the right-hander 11 holds on the year; the MLB lead is 17. He has a 4.17 ERA and two saves in 41 appearances. Drew Pomeranz, another UM product, fills a similar role to Mayers’ for San Diego. The big lefty notched his eighth hold on Tuesday, pitching a scoreless eighth in the Padres’ 7-4 win over Washington. Pomeranz, who recently came off the injured list, has a 1.59 ERA in 18 games. Chris Stratton, the ex-Mississippi State standout from Tupelo and another middle relief specialist, pitched a scoreless seventh inning in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win against Atlanta. But the score was tied when Stratton worked – so, no hold. He has four on the year, along with a 2.96 ERA and a save in 35 appearances. P.S. If there was a bright spot in the Braves’ second straight lackluster performance against the lowly Pirates, it was the hitting of Orlando Arcia. Arcia, the second Biloxi Shuckers alum (after Jed Bradley) to play for Atlanta, went 2-for-3 and homered for the Braves’ lone run. He is 4-for-11 with two RBIs, two runs and a steal in three games since being called up from Triple-A Gwinnett, where he was batting .303 with 13 homers. He was Milwaukee’s starting shortstop the previous five years. … To the long list of great catches by Billy Hamilton, make room for the one he made Tuesday. The Taylorsville High product, playing center field in the ninth inning for the Chicago White Sox, ran full speed and laid out for the acrobatic snag, then slid across the rain-soaked warning track to complete the play. “I think that’s the top one, to be honest with you,” Hamilton said in an mlb.com story.