power outage

Hunter Renfroe took much of the fun out of the All-Mississippi Home Run Derby competition this season when he blasted 23 homers from May through July to reach the 30 mark. In this season of amazing long ball feats, the ex-Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs looked like a good bet to top Brian Dozier’s 42, the record for bombs in a single season by a Mississippi native. Alas, Renfroe hit just one homer in August while batting a miserable .185. Dozier, the Southern Miss alum from Fulton, is a distant second in the 2019 derby race with 19 homers, though he did show some life with four in August. McComb native Corey Dickerson hit five homers in an outstanding month for Philadelphia, but he has just nine on the year, having missed a big chunk of time with an injury. Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High product, is third on the derby list with 17 homers; he missed much of August with an injury and hit only one homer during the month. Amory’s Mitch Moreland also has battled injuries in 2019; he has 14 homers but only one since the All-Star break. East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson had a productive August, including three homers, and has 14 on the season. Even if he doesn’t turn up the power in September, Renfroe’s lead in the derby looks safe. P.S. MSU product Nate Lowe has been recalled to the majors by Tampa Bay, and former Ole Miss standout Mike Mayers is back up with St. Louis. JaCoby Jones, the Richton High product, was moved to the 60-day Injured List by Detroit; he had previously been pronounced out for the season with a broken wrist.