center stage

Chris Stratton, the former Mississippi State ace, is slated to start for the East in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, the Arizona Fall League’s All-Star showcase. Stratton, 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in four starts for Scottsdale, reached the big leagues in 2016 with San Francisco. The right-hander is joined on the East squad by 2016 Biloxi Shuckers stars Brett Phillips and Jacob Nottingham, Mississippi Braves alum Evan Phillips and former Petal High standout Anthony Alford. (Richton’s JaCoby Jones, a .341 hitter, was not selected.) The game is set for 7 p.m. (Central Time) in Surprise, Ariz., and will be televised by MLB Network. … Alford is slipping. A little. According to Baseball America. The 2017 prospect rankings are trickling out on the magazine’s web site, and Alford, the former Mr. Baseball, is ranked No. 2 in the Toronto system after being No. 1 last year. Alford had injury issues in 2016 playing at the high Class A level (.233, nine homers, 18 steals) but has seemingly regained his form in the AFL. He is hitting .295 with two homers and eight RBIs for Mesa. … M-Braves alum Dustin Peterson had three hits, Brett Phillips three, Jones two and 2017 M-Braves candidate Travis Demeritte two (including a homer) as Salt River banged out 20 hits and 17 runs in a game on Monday.