first in line

Mississippi State’s Chris Stratton was picked in the first round of the major league draft tonight, but he wasn’t the first from the state to be called. That honor belongs to D.J. Davis, an outfielder from Stone County High who was plucked by Toronto with the 17th overall pick. Stratton went to San Francisco three picks later. Davis was projected by some as a potential first-rounder, based on his speed and athleticism. He is a 6-foot, 170-pound left-handed hitter who reportedly needs some polish. Perhaps the Blue Jays see him as a better (if somewhat smaller) version of Fred Lewis, another Stone product who played for them in 2010 and is now in the New York Mets’ minor league system. P.S. Overheard on MLB Network’s broadcast of today’s St. Louis-New York Mets game: Ex-Cardinals star Keith Hernandez isn’t bothered at all by the fact that Jackson native Chris Maloney, in his first season as the Cards’ first-base coach, was given Hernandez’s old No. 37. Hernandez said he never had any real attachment to that number. He switched to No. 17 when he played for the Mets.