Monthly Archives: August 2024

31 Aug

brewing a winner

A gaggle of former Biloxi Shuckers, products of Milwaukee’s rich farm system, had their fingerprints all over the Brewers’ impressive sweep of the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. The All-Shuckers Alumni outfield of Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Jackson Chourio combined for five hits, two RBIs and a run in a 10-inning 5-4 win in Game 1, which ex-Shuckers star Devin Williams closed out. In a 14-0 rout in Game 2, Mitchell homered, tripled, stole a base and scored three times; Frelick went 3-for-5 with two RBIs; and ex-Shuckers Brice Turang and Andruw Monasterio drove in a run each. Shuckers fans know these names. Heading into this season, the Brewers, despite three straight winning seasons, were not pegged as a playoff contender. But after Friday’s sweep, Milwaukee owns a 79-56 record and a 10-game lead in the National League Central. “Let’s face it, there wasn’t enough bratwurst and beer in the world to convince anyone outside Milwaukee that this team would be running away with the division,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently wrote. Popular and successful manager Craig Counsell bolted for Chicago after last season, replaced by Pat Murphy. Stalwart pitcher Brandon Woodruff, the former Mississippi State standout, has been on the injured list all year, and fellow ace Corbin Burnes was traded to Baltimore. But the plucky Brewers have found a way, relying mainly on young talent that has risen through the system. Chourio, age 20, is a shining example. Entering this season, he was regarded as one of the top two or three prospects in the minors and got a huge contract before ever playing an MLB game. After belting 22 homers and stealing 43 bases for the Double-A Biloxi club last year, Chourio is batting .273 with 16 homers, 62 RBIs and 19 steals, a rookie of the year-type season. Worth noting: Former Mississippi Braves star William Contreras, an All-Star catcher in 2024, homered in both games for the Shuckers on Friday and has 20 on the season. … Interestingly enough, a former Shuckers standout helped fuel Atlanta’s big win at Philadelphia on Friday. Orlando Arcia — much to the chagrin of Phillies fans — smacked two homers in the Braves’ 7-2 victory, which trimmed Philly’s lead to 5 games in the NL East. Arcia, having a down year with the bat (.228), does have 15 homers and is a very good defensive shortstop.

30 Aug

worth noting

Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark isn’t the place you’d choose for your first major league start, but J.T. Ginn handled Thursday’s appearance at that launching pad relatively well. The ex-Mississippi State star from Brandon went to the bump for Oakland and retired the first eight Reds batters he faced before Will Benson homered. Ginn yielded another home run in the fourth inning and a couple runs in the fifth but left with a lead. The A’s couldn’t hold it and ultimately lost 10-9. Ginn allowed four hits and a walk and struck out four. In three MLB appearances, the 25-year-old righty has a 5.19 ERA and eight K’s in 8 2/3 innings. He was 15-16 with a 4.68 over four minor league campaigns prior to his call to The Show earlier this month. … MSU alum Gavin Collins is enjoying a career revival at Triple-A Memphis in the St. Louis organization. He went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer Thursday in the Redbirds’ 18-2 win against Iowa and is batting .271 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 50 games. The versatile Collins, 29, who has played primarily catcher this year, was drafted by Cleveland back in 2016. He became a free agent in 2022, signed with Tampa Bay, got released and then batted .314 with 10 bombs in the independent American Association last season before signing with St. Louis. … Mississippi College product Blaine Crim and ex-MSU standout Justin Foscue homered for Triple-A Round Rock, providing all the offense in a 3-1 win over Oklahoma City. Crim has 17 homers, Foscue nine for the Texas farm club. … Ex-Southern Miss and Mississippi Braves star Hurston Waldrep allowed one run over five innings for Triple-A Gwinnett and has a 4.50 ERA in six games for the Stripers. The 2023 first-round pick may yet get another look in Atlanta, where he was shelled (13 runs in seven innings) in two outings earlier this season. … K.C. Hunt, signed as an undrafted free agent out of MSU by Milwaukee last year, will make his fourth start tonight for Double-A Biloxi, where he is 0-2 despite a 3.31 ERA. Hunt, the Brewers’ No. 29 prospect, has pitched at three levels this season and has a 7-3 record, 2.21 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings. … Kudos to Jason Heyward, the former M-Braves star who smacked a two-run double in his second at-bat for resurgent Houston, which beat Kansas City 6-3. Heyward, a 15-year MLB vet, was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers last week.

29 Aug

‘the bethancourt game’

The Chicago Cubs scored 11 runs over the final three innings to overcome a seven-run deficit and beat Pittsburgh 14-10 Wednesday at PNC Park. Amazing. More amazing might be the fact that Christian Bethancourt — remember him, Mississippi Braves fans? — drove in six runs in those last three frames and seven all told. “This will be remembered as ‘The Bethancourt Game,'” Cubs broadcaster Jim Deshaies said. Bethancourt, batting ninth on Wednesday, went 3-for-5 with a 431-foot two-run homer in the seventh, a two-run double in the eighth and a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth. The 32-year-old catcher, signed by the Cubs after being released by Miami, is hitting .407 with three homers in 11 games. “I don’t know how you can play better than he’s played,” manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “(E)very time he’s in there, there are extra-base hits, there are RBIs, throwing out runners.” The well-liked Panama native, whose pro career began in 2008 in Atlanta’s system, has had quite the odyssey. His transactions page on mlb.com could be published as a novella. He’s been everywhere, man. He has played for six different MLB teams, wearing seven different numbers, and passed through several other organizations. He has played in the Dominican Summer League and the Dominican Winter League. He has played in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game and the All-Star Futures Game. He has played in Korea and in the Caribbean Series (earlier this year, in fact). He even tried pitching, including 11 MLB appearances (9.31 ERA). He arrived in Mississippi in 2012 as a top Braves prospect and had a tough year. He returned to Double-A in 2013 and was a Southern League All-Star. He made his big league debut that fall. Bethancourt has played in almost 1,500 pro games and in 415 big league games. He’s had some moments but never a day like Wednesday, a day Cubs fans will always remember: “The Bethancourt Game.”

28 Aug

a bit of deja vu

Kemp Alderman’s pro career may be following the same path as his career at Ole Miss, where he started slowly before erupting in his final two years. The Decatur native and former Newton County Academy star hit his first home run for High-Class A Beloit on Tuesday, a game-winning shot to right-center field against Peoria. Alderman has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games for the Sky Carp and is batting .256 with nine RBIs and seven runs in 22 games since moving up. He hit .270 with five homers and 30 RBIs in 33 games in Low-A ball this year after batting just .205 with a single bomb in 34 games at that level in his pro debut. Alderman started quietly as a freshman at Ole Miss, rarely playing, then hit .286 with 11 homers for the 2022 College World Series winner. In 2023, he put up one of the best seasons in school history, winning the Ferriss Trophy and earning second-team All-America recognition while batting .376 with 19 homers and 61 RBIs. Miami drafted him in the second round — 47th overall — last summer. At 6 feet 3, 250 pounds, the 22-year-old outfielder has been compared to ex-Mississippi State star and current big league slugger Hunter Renfroe, who has 189 career MLB bombs. Alderman has that kind of power potential, and it is starting to show. Alderman is ranked as the Marlins’ No. 13 prospect by MLB Pipeline. P.S. Ole Miss alum James McArthur threw two hitless innings, MSU product Chris Stratton worked a clean ninth and former Bulldogs standout Adam Frazier scored a run as Kansas City beat Cleveland 6-1 and moved into a tie for the American League Central lead.

27 Aug

just stuff

Nick Sandlin, former All-America pitcher out of Southern Miss, made his first pro start on Monday for Cleveland and fared well: two strikeouts, two walks and a foul out in his one inning. However, the Guardians lost the game to visiting Kansas City and then lost again in the nightcap as their lead in the American League Central slipped to 1 game over the Royals. Sandlin was a lockdown reliever for two years at USM, moved to the rotation for his junior year (2018) and went 10-1 with a 1.06 ERA. He won the Ferriss Trophy, C-USA’s pitcher of the year award and a national player of the year honor. The Guardians drafted him and moved him back to the bullpen, and the right-hander has a 3.26 ERA in 198 MLB games. … Kansas City played without Mississippi State products Hunter Renfroe (on the injured list), Adam Frazier (sitting with a .211 average) and Chris Stratton (5.23 ERA), and ex-Ole Miss standout James McArthur (no longer closing) worked one scoreless inning in Game 1. Frazier is in the lineup tonight for Game 3 of the big series. … Colt Keith has eight RBIs in his last four games, all wins by Detroit. The rookie out of Biloxi High is batting .266 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs. … Ex-USM star Matt Wallner homered in the ninth inning of Minnesota’s loss to Atlanta. His 10th blast of the season was his first off a left-hander (Dylan Lee). … Justin Steele, former George County High standout, is back on the bump today for the Chicago Cubs against Pittsburgh. Steele (4-5, 3.07, overall and 2-0, 1.66, in August) has had problems with Pittsburgh’s Connor Joe, batting .538 with a homer in 15 plate appearances vs. the left-hander, per Baseball Reference’s Matchups to Watch. … Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn, on the IL (knee injury) since July 31 for St. Louis, is expected to make a rehab start this week with Triple-A Memphis. Lynn (6-4, 4.06) threw about 75 pitches in a live practice session Monday, reports said. … Ex-DeSoto Central star Blaze Jordan, out since Aug. 10 after getting hit in the face by a pitch, was activated today by Double-A Portland. The Boston Red Sox’s No. 26 prospect is hitting .253 with seven homers and 51 RBIs. … Mississippi Braves right-hander Lucas Braun was named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week after allowing just one run with 20 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings in two starts last week. Atlanta’s No. 21 prospect is 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 10 Double-A starts.

26 Aug

all in a day

On this date in 1934, at old Comiskey Park in Chicago, Starkville native and Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell scored the only run in the East-West Game, the Negro Leagues’ All-Star classic. Bell drew a walk to lead off the eighth inning against Alcorn State alum and Hall of Famer Bill Foster, stole second and ultimately scored on a two-out hit by Jud Wilson. Bell, one of the fastest players in the history of the game, was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords at the time, Foster with the Chicago American Giants. … On this date in 1939, at Ebbets Field in Brookyln, Columbus native and broadcasting Hall of Famer Red Barber was at the mic for the first televised major league game. Playing outfield for Cincinnati that day, in both games of a twinbill, was Ellisville native Harry Craft, who was hitless on the day. The Reds won the opener, the Dodgers took Game 2. … On this date in 1946, at Boston’s Fenway Park, Shaw native Boo Ferriss, a rookie with the Red Sox, won his 20th game, beating the Philadelphia A’s 4-3 in 10 innings. Ferriss also doubled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th, boosting his average to .260. … On this date in 1984, at Anaheim Stadium in California, Jackson native Chet Lemon hit the only grand slam of his career, helping Detroit beat California 12-6. Lemon, who won a World Series ring with the ’84 Tigers, belted 215 homers over a 16-year MLB career. … On this date in 2021, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Amory native Mitch Moreland played the final game of his MLB career, going 0-for-3 for Oakland. Moreland went on the injured list with a wrist injury a couple days later. He finished his 12-year career with 186 homers, a World Series ring, an All-Star Game appearance and a Gold Glove.

25 Aug

putting down roots

Between April and November of 2022, Brent Rooker was a baseball vagabond. The Mississippi State alum — a first-round draft pick in 2017 — bounced from Minnesota to San Diego to Kansas City, getting into only 16 big league games during the ’22 season. He was designated for assignment by the Royals after the season and claimed on waivers by Oakland, where he has not just found a home but thrived. Rooker hit his 30th home run of 2024 on Saturday, giving home 30 bombs in back-to-back years. The right-handed slugger became the 10th Oakland batter to accomplish that feat, a list that includes Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Reggie Jackson and Jason Giambi. “It’s pretty special. He’s going to continue to impress. What’s so great about Rook is he’s so humble, too, for the success he’s having,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said in an mlb.com story. Rooker was an All-Star in 2023 and has been ever better this season, despite not making the Midsummer Classic roster. After Saturday’s 3-for-4 effort, he is batting .289 with 22 doubles, 87 RBIs and 62 runs. He ranks fifth in the American League in slugging, sixth in homers and seventh in OPS. The 402-foot homer Rooker hit at Oakland Coliseum on Saturday was the 70th of his career; the first came on Sept. 8, 2020, with Minnesota. P.S. Two other Mississippi products homered in MLB on Saturday: Biloxi High alum Colt Keith hit his 12th for Detroit and ex-Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner his ninth for the Twins. Austin Riley (DeSoto Central) is second to Rooker on the all-Mississippi homer list with 19, and Jordan Westburg (MSU) has 18. Both are out with injuries that may be season-ending. Hunter Renfroe (MSU) has 12 and Nathaniel Lowe (MSU) 10. … Cal Conley, once a rated prospect in Atlanta’s system, hasn’t hit much for the Mississippi Braves (.227 in two Double-A seasons), but he can pick it at shortstop. In Saturday night’s game at Trustmark Park (a 3-0 loss to Chattanooga), the ex-Texas Tech star made four dazzling defensive plays. He had a hand in three double plays, one unassisted.

24 Aug

three stars

Hunter Renfroe joined the 500-RBI club — a pretty cool milestone — by driving in a pair of runs Friday night with his 12th homer of the year for Kansas City. The ex-Mississippi State standout from Crystal Springs walked twice and scored twice for the Royals, who beat Philadelphia 7-4 in an interleague matchup of playoff contenders. (If anyone is wondering, Dave Parker is the career leader in RBIs among Mississippi natives in MLB with 1,493. Ellis Burks had 1,206.)
David Mershon, a 2024 draftee thrown right into the Double-A fire, banged out two more hits for Rocket City and is batting .324 with three RBIs and five runs over 37 at-bats for the Los Angeles Angels’ affiliate. Mershon, a shortstop, was an 18th-round pick out of MSU, where he was an All-SEC performer.
Cooper Pratt belted his fourth homer, picked up two RBIs and scored twice for High-Class A Wisconsin. The ex-Magnolia Heights High shortstop, Milwaukee’s No. 2 prospect, is batting .228 in 21 games for the Timber Rattlers. A second-year pro, he hit .295 with three homers in 73 Low-A contests before his promotion.
P.S. Jackson Prep product Will Warren will get a fourth crack at his first big league win today when he takes the bump for the New York Yankees against Colorado at Yankee Stadium. Warren, who has 24 minor league victories on his resume, is 0-1 with an 8.59 for the Yanks but pitched well (two runs in five innings) his last time out. … Former Mississippi Braves pitchers Julio Teheran and Nolan Kingham got the win and the save, respectively, for Monterrey in Game 1 of the Mexican League Championship Series. Teheran went five innings as the starter in the 9-5 win over Dos Laredos, Kingham got the last out with a punchout. Teheran, 3-0 with a 3.38 in the LMB postseason, threw a combo no-hitter for the 2010 M-Braves. Kingham, four saves in the postseason, was 6-1 for the 2021 M-Braves championship team.

23 Aug

spotlight on …

A trio of former Mississippi high school standouts stuffed the box score Thursday night in a High-Class A game at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Park. Bryson Ware and Emaarion Boyd combined for six hits for Jersey Shore in a 10-1 win over the host Cyclones, with Kellum Clark getting a knock for the losers while having a hand in four double plays. Ware, a Germantown High product who also passed through Pearl River Community College and Auburn en route to pro ball, picked up four hits with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs. The third baseman, a 2023 draftee, is batting .348 in 14 games since Philadelphia moved him to Jersey Shore. He hit nine homers in Low-A ball. Boyd, who starred at South Panola, produced a triple, two runs, two RBIs and a stolen base, his 22nd. The Phillies’ No. 23 prospect (by MLB Pipeline) in his third pro season, center fielder Boyd is batting .238. Clark is an ex-Brandon High and Mississippi State standout who was drafted in the 20th round last summer. In 48 games for Brooklyn, the New York Mets’ High-A club, the first baseman is batting .217 with three doubles and eight RBIs. He smacked 30 homers in three seasons in Starkville but has yet to find that stroke in pro ball, with just one career bomb, none in 2024. P.S. Another state prep product, Spence Coffman out of Tishomingo High, got a shot at Low-A ball after hitting .295 with eight doubles, 24 RBIs and 19 steals this year in rookie ball, where he had been toiling since being drafted in the 19th round in 2022. Coffman, 20, a shortstop, is 6-for-27 (.222) in nine games for San Diego’s Lake Elsinore club; he was placed on the development list on Thursday but remains with the Storm.

22 Aug

numbers can deceive

He has only four wins in 21 starts, but don’t let that fool you: Justin Steele has been an ace for the Chicago Cubs this season. The ex-George County High star threw seven superlative innings today in a 10-2 win against Detroit at windy Wrigley Field. He allowed just four hits — two by Biloxi High alum Colt Keith — walked none and struck out 10. Steele doesn’t have enough innings to qualify for the official ERA stats — he missed a month-plus at the start of the year with a hamstring injury — but his 3.07 would rank eighth. The 2023 All-Star’s career ERA over four seasons is 3.24. Not a flamethrowing type, he has 125 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 123 innings. The left-hander befuddled the Tigers with pinpoint command, throwing 68 of 94 pitches for strikes. The proverbial “one mistake” he made was surrendering a two-run homer to Spencer Torkelson with one out in the seventh. The Cubs are 63-65, with barely a pulse in the National League wild card race. Imagine where they’d be without Steele. P.S. Tough day for Southern Miss product Nick Sandlin, who made “one mistake” in his outing for Cleveland against the New York Yankees. With the Guardians down 1-0 in the fifth, the sidearming Sandlin was called on to face Aaron Judge with two runners on and one out. Sandlin threw two balls, then walked Judge intentionally. Good call. He got a sac fly from Austin Wells that made it 2-0. One strike from escaping the jam, on a 3-2 pitch, Sandlin gave up a three-run bomb to Giancarlo Stanton. Ouch. The Yankees went on to win 6-0. Sandlin, with a 3.88 ERA, has seven wins, eight holds and a save in 56 appearances — but Thursday was not one of his better days. … Former William Carey standout Patrick Lee, signed as an undrafted free agent by Detroit in May, was promoted to Double-A Erie. He hit .272 with five homers, 29 RBIs and 32 steals at two levels of A-ball.