newsworthy

It wasn’t exactly big news when the Baltimore Orioles got minor leaguer Rhyne Hughes from Tampa Bay last summer in a trade for big league catcher Gregg Zaun. There wasn’t much fanfare when they put Hughes on their 40-man roster last week, which means he’ll go to big league camp next spring. Unless you are a big fan of Picayune High or Pearl River Community College, or perhaps the Montgomery Biscuits, you may not have even heard of Rhyne Hughes. Well, he’s a 6-foot-2, 175-pound, left-handed hitting first baseman with some ability that the Orioles seem to like. In 583 minor league games, Hughes has a .281 average, 71 homers and 299 RBIs. On several occasions, Hughes demonstrated his offensive skills at Trustmark Park as a member of the visiting Biscuits. Some may recall that in 2008, Hughes hit the 10th-inning homer that gave Montgomery an 11-10 victory in a game in which it had trailed 10-0. Last May, he had a huge series against the Mississippi Braves, blasting another game-turning homer among his big hits. Hughes led the Southern League in homers when he was promoted to Triple-A. He has never been a highly rated prospect, but plenty of players have come from off those charts to blossom into quality big leaguers. Keep an eye out next spring.