early returns

Year 2 is going better for Blake Anderson, the first Mississippian picked (36th overall) in the 2014 MLB draft. The catcher from West Lauderdale High is batting .364 (8-for-22) with three RBIs in five games for Miami’s Batavia club in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Anderson hit just .108 in 26 games in the rookie Gulf Coast League last year. Meanwhile, Austin Riley, the first Mississippian picked this year (41st overall by Atlanta) out of DeSoto Central, is 0-for-8 in three games for the Gulf Coast League Braves. Other starts of note: LaDarious Clark, who played at Southeast Lauderdale and East Mississippi Community College, went 4-for-5 (with two triples) on Thursday, boosting his average to .360 in seven games at Spokane in the short-season Class A Northwest League. Clark was picked in the 12th round this year by Texas. Ti’Quan Forbes, the 2014 Mr. Baseball from Columbia and a second-rounder last summer, is also playing on that club, hitting .227 to date. … Ole Miss alum Scott Weathersby, picked in Round 10 this year by Houston, yielded two runs in two innings in his debut at Tri-City in the short-season New York-Penn League. … Ex-Rebels star Sikes Orvis (17th round, Chicago White Sox) is 2-for-20 at Great Falls in the rookie Pioneer League. … Northwest Mississippi CC product Dalton Dulin (17th round, Washington) is 5-for-11 for Auburn in the NYPL. P.S. Former Ole Miss ace Lance Lynn, back on the bump Thursday for St. Louis after 18 days on the disabled list, allowed two hits in six shutout innings to beat Miami. He is 5-4 and lowered his ERA to 2.84. ”That was a good one to come back to,” he told The Associated Press after the Cardinals’ 5-1 win.