looking up

In his third tour of the Low-Class A level, 22-year-old Brennon McNair is starting to put up numbers that might warrant a promotion. The former Magee High star, drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2021, is batting .276 (.364 OBP, .553 slug) with four homers, 14 RBIs, 17 runs and six steals in 22 games for the Columbia Fireflies. A righty-hitting outfielder, he homered Saturday for the second straight game. He is 9-for-26 (.346) in his last eight games. An 11th-round pick after batting .527 with 11 homers as a senior at Magee, McNair experienced growing pains in pro ball. He batted under .200 at Columbia the last two years, though he stole 19 bases in 2023 and hit eight homers in 2024. A trip Down Under this past winter may have helped McNair turn things around. In the Australian Baseball League, playing in 40 games for Brisbane, McNair hit .248 (.350 OBP) with 11 homers (tied for the league lead), 26 RBIs and 11 steals. He tied an ABL record with three homers in a single game. McNair’s recent hot streak at Columbia has to have garnered some attention in a minor league system that is regarded as thin on top-tier talent. High-A Quad Cities is the next rung on the Royals’ minor league ladder. Getting past A-ball is always a big step, especially for prep draftees. It’s been a stumbling block for many Mississippi players. P.S. Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in a rehab assignment in rookie ball for Arizona. Graveman, an MLB veteran, missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery and signed with the Diamondbacks a free agent in the off-season.