catch as catch can
Who’s next? It might be Stuart Turner, the former Ole Miss star who is playing his second season at the Double-A level (Chattanooga) in the Minnesota system. Southwest Mississippi Community College product Kade Scivicque, now in high-A ball (Carolina) in the Atlanta organization, appears to be rising fast. Or it could be one of the five Mississippi-connected catchers who entered pro ball this summer. This much we know: There are no Mississippians (native or college alum) playing catcher in the big leagues in 2016. Ex-Mississippi State standout Ed Easley, who caught three games for St. Louis, was the only one to appear last season. He was released out of Triple-A in June. Mississippi has produced a few big league catchers of note – Jake Gibbs, Barry Lyons, Jerry Moses – but it is not a position of tradition for the state. Turner, who won the Johnny Bench Award at UM, was a third-round pick by the Twins in 2013 but isn’t currently listed among their Top 30 prospects by mlb.com. He is batting .237 with five homers at Chattanooga. It was interesting, to say the least, when MLB teams picked five catchers out of Mississippi in this year’s draft and inked another as a free agent. (Dustin Skelton of Magnolia Heights, a 36th round pick by Toronto, didn’t sign and is now at State.) Of those in the pro ranks, State alum Gavin Collins (13th round, Cleveland) and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson (21st round, Houston) have had the most success, both in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. For the record, Collins has played mostly third base. UM’s Henri Lartigue, picked in the seventh round by Philadelphia, also is in the NYPL, and State’s Jack Kruger (20th round, L.A. Angels) is in the rookie Pioneer League. Jackson State’s Carlos Diaz, recently signed by the Chicago Cubs, is toiling in the Arizona League, the beginner’s level. One of the big surprises in recent drafts came in 2014, when West Lauderdale High catcher Blake Anderson was selected 36th overall by Miami. But Anderson has been injured most of this year and hasn’t played above short-season A-ball. There are a handful of other catchers in the pipeline. Ole Miss alum Will Allen also was drafted in 2014 – 13th round by Detroit – and is having a solid season (.263, four homers, 68 RBIs) at low Class A West Michigan. Delta State’s Carlos Leal was picked in 2014 as a pitcher and converted to catcher by Milwaukee. But after hitting .309 in low-A ball in 2015, he has missed all of this season with an injury. Meridian CC product Wade Wass is in Double-A, though he is batting just .191 in 36 games for the Los Angeles Angels’ Arkansas club. Keep an eye on Scivicque, a 2015 draftee (from LSU) recently acquired by Atlanta from Detroit. He was hitting .282 with six homers at the high-A level for the Tigers. Atlanta’s system is thin on catchers, so he might move quickly. Here in Mississippi, the watch is on.