closing in?

Add to the list of Mississippians in big league camps the names of Aaron Barrett and David Goforth, both right-handers out of Ole Miss and both aspiring closers. Barrett, on Washington’s 40-man roster, made his spring debut on Friday, working a scoreless inning against the New York Mets. A ninth-round pick in 2010, Barrett overcame some early struggles in pro ball and put up a 2.15 ERA with 26 saves in Double-A last season. The Nationals have a strong bullpen, so Barrett’s chances of making the club out of camp this year don’t appear great. Meridian native Goforth, on the other hand, is trying to crack the roster in Milwaukee, which would seem to have openings for relievers. Goforth, drafted in the seventh round in 2011, went 11-8 with five saves with a 3.17 ERA between high Class A and Double-A in 2013. He moved to the bullpen shortly after his promotion to Huntsville in the Southern League. He posted four saves and a 3.75 ERA in 12 games in the Arizona Fall League and enters 2014 as a top 10 Brewers prospect. P.S. Mississippi’s baseball talent gets some well-deserved recognition in the Feb. 28-March 14 issue of Baseball America. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton and Hunter Renfroe, the former Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs, are listed among the top 100 minor league prospects for 2014. Hamilton, who debuted last year with Cincinnati, is No. 43, Renfroe (San Diego) No. 80. Also mentioned as a possible top 50 prospect for 2015 is D.J. Davis, the ex-Stone County High standout now in the Toronto system. Bobby Bradley (Harrison Central first baseman) and Ti’Quan Forbes (Columbia shortstop) made BA’s high school preseason All-America chart, Bradley as a second-teamer, Forbes on the third team. And DeSoto Central, stocked with college prospects, was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll, and Oak Grove was 31st. … BA also has a note on the retirement of David Renfroe, the former South Panola two-sport star who had been playing in the Boston system.