Author Archives: Mike Christensen

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.

06 Jul

in the summertime …

Ole Miss’ Hayden Dunhurst was 2-for-6 with an RBI in a three-game intrasquad series over the weekend for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. Rebels teammate Jacob Gonzalez went 0-for-1 in the lone game he played in. The Mississippi State contingent on the roster – Logan Tanner, Landon Sims and Jackson Fristoe – did not appear in the box scores. The Stars will face the Stripes in another intrasquad tonight in Greeneville, Tenn. … Up in the Cape Cod League: Former Germantown High and Pearl River Community College star Bryson Ware hit his first homer of the summer on Monday for Falmouth. Ware, currently at Auburn, is just 2-for-24 with 13 strikeouts in the prestigious college summer league. Ole Miss infielder Peyton Chatagnier went 1-for-4 Monday for Orleans. He is enjoying a good summer: .286, two homers, seven RBIs and two steals. Southern Miss’ Ben Ethridge threw a clean inning Monday for Bourne, trimming his ERA to 18.00 in three games. … Jackson State’s Chenar Brown, SWAC freshman of the year, is batting .246 with eight RBIs in 19 games for Danville in the Appalachian League. … Pearl River CC product Von Seibert, a Mississippi State signee, is hitting .274 with five homers and 15 RBIs for Thomasville in the Coastal Plain League. … USM’s Will Tynes is 2-3 with a 3.92 ERA in five starts for Acadiana in the Texas Collegiate League. … In the Cotton States League North Division (based in New Albany): Peeko Townsend, of Northwest CC, is putting up big numbers for the Tippa County Tribe with a .471 average, three homers, 11 RBIs and 11 runs. Itawamba CC’s Roe Ketchum is 3-0, 1.20 in four starts for the Golden Triangle Jets.

04 Jul

old home night

The game was played in Birmingham and the visiting team came from Chattanooga, but there was a lot of Mississippi sprinkled all over Saturday night’s Double-A South game at Regions Park. Chattanooga’s lineup included three Magnolia State college products — Ole Miss’ Errol Robinson and Braxton Lee and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson — while the host Barons’ featured former Columbia High standout Ti’Quan Forbes at third base plus Mississippi State’s Konnor Pilkington on the mound. Chuckie Robinson had the game’s big hit, a three-run homer off Pilkington in a four-run fourth inning that propelled the Lookouts, a Cincinnati affiliate, to a 10-4 victory. Errol Robinson (no relation) contributed two walks and a run, and Lee went 1-for-4 with a couple of RBIs. Pilkington, a third-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2018, took the loss and slipped to 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA. Forbes, a second-round pick way back in 2014, went 1-for-2 with two walks. Still only 24, he is batting .299 this season. The Chattanooga contingent are new this season to the Cincinnati system. The Robinsons were Rule 5 draft picks last December, while Lee – who has been on quite an odyssey (see previous post) – was signed out of an independent league last month. Errol Robinson, a shortstop, was a Los Angeles Dodgers draftee in 2016. He had a 10-homer, 18-steal season in Double-A in 2018 and reached Triple-A in the L.A. system. The Reds started him in Triple-A this year, but he hit just .176 at Louisville before being bumped down. Chuckie Robinson, a catcher, was drafted in 2016 by Houston and reached Double-A in 2019. A career .250 hitter with 34 homers, he is batting .258 with four homers in 2021. Lee, 27, a 2014 draftee by Tampa Bay, was a Southern League batting champion in 2017 who made the big leagues with Miami in 2018. A lefty-hitting outfielder with speed, he is batting .227 in 19 games for the Lookouts. P.S. Curious to see what the story is behind the sudden removal of Mitch Moreland from Oakland’s lineup on Saturday. The former State star from Amory was pulled for a “non-baseball related issue” and will not play today, the team announced.

03 Jul

an odd couple

A couple of pitching performances, from very different pitchers, jumped out from Friday’s array of games. Both, by sheer coincidence, involved the Detroit Tigers, who were on the losing side in each game. In the big leagues, former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn delivered one of his typical workhorse performances in the Chicago White Sox’s 8-2 win against the Tigers. In Triple-A, ex-Southern Miss star Kirk McCarty, a Cleveland farmhand, delivered one of his typical crafty performances in Columbus’ 7-1 win over Toledo, Detroit’s top farm club. The veteran Lynn threw 117 pitches to get through six innings. He allowed four hits, walked five, struck out nine and yielded just one run in improving to 8-3 for the first-place White Sox. His 2.02 ERA ranks second in the American League. The self-proclaimed “big bastard” just might get an All-Star Game invite. McCarty, a 5-foot-8 lefty in his fourth pro season, worked seven innings for Columbus, allowing four hits, two walks and the one run with six strikeouts. The only Toledo hitter who really gave him any trouble was Mississippi State alum Jacob Robson, who went 3-for-3. McCarty, an Oak Grove High product, is 6-1 with a 4.11 ERA in his first Triple-A campaign. The six wins rank second in the Triple-A East. He isn’t rated among the Indians’ top prospects, but he is surely on their radar.

02 Jul

that’s pretty cool

Mississippi will be represented by at least one state college product in the MLB All-Star Game for the sixth straight time. Adam Frazier, the Mississippi State alumnus now with Pittsburgh, was the winner in fan balloting to start at second base for the National League. It’ll be his first trip to the Midsummer Classic, and he is very deserving of the honor. The lefty-hitting Frazier, in his sixth MLB season, is batting .326 with 101 hits, four homers, 28 RBIs and 50 runs. “I don’t really love the spotlight itself. I just try to go about my business and take care of what I need to take care of,” Frazier said in an mlb.com article. “It’s pretty cool to have the support, and I’m happy for that.” This is also pretty cool: The last Pirates second baseman to start an All-Star Game was Bill Mazeroski in 1967. More Mississippians could be headed for Colorado for the July 13 game when pitchers and reserves are announced Sunday. In 2019, the last time there was an All-Star Game, Brandon Woodruff, the ex-State standout from Wheeler, went as a replacement to the National League pitching staff. He followed Mitch Moreland (2018), Zack Cozart and Corey Dickerson (2017), Drew Pomeranz (2016) and Brian Dozier and Jonathan Papelbon (2015) as recent All-Stars out of Magnolia State schools. … Former Mississippi Braves Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna also were voted in, as announced by MLB on Thursday. P.S. The all-Mississippi home run chase in MLB is proving to be quite interesting. DeSoto Central product Austin Riley belted his 14th on Thursday (off Jacob deGrom, no less), moving two ahead of ex-MSU star Hunter Renfroe and Bulldogs alum Nate Lowe, who hit two on Thursday to get to 12. Gulfport’s Bobby Bradley, who has only been up since June 5, has eight. Still waiting for former State standout Moreland to get it going; he’s at six. … Down in the minors, Houlka’s Tyreque Reed hit two bombs for High-A Greenville (Boston) and has 12 on the season.

01 Jul

in other news

Mississippians in the majors produced highlights aplenty on an eventful Wednesday in which more than 200 runs were scored. To wit: Mississippi State alum Hunter Renfroe, making a late push for All-Star reserve consideration, hit his 12th homer in Boston’s 50th win. He is hitting .272 with 43 RBIs. … Bulldogs product Adam Frazier, who leads the voting at second base for the National League All-Star team, went 2-for-5 for Pittsburgh, boosting his average to .327. … DeSoto Central High alum Austin Riley had three hits and three RBIs in Atlanta’s 20-2 romp over the New York Mets. … Ex-State star Kendall Graveman pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, trimming his ERA to 1.11, and got the win in Seattle’s extra-inning victory. … Harrison Central High product Bobby Bradley hit homers Nos. 7 and 8 (over 21 games) for Cleveland. … Former Ole Miss standout Mike Mayers got the win in relief for the Los Angeles Angels, benefitting from the team’s seven-run ninth-inning rally at Yankee Stadium. P.S. UM alum Bobby Wahl was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers (from Milwaukee) and optioned to their Triple-A club. … Ex-Rebels star Drew Pomeranz and Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton have come off the injured list for San Diego and the Chicago White Sox, respectively. … The latest mock draft on mlb.com has State’s Will Bednar, so dominant in the deciding game of the College World Series, going No. 11 overall to Washington. He has jumped up the boards from a rating of No. 41 back in December.