progress report

Two weeks into the Southern League season, the Mississippi Braves are just treading water. The record is 6-7. Tough to tell which direction they might be headed. The pitching has been in good form. The club’s 3.01 ERA ranks fourth in the 10-team league. Williams Perez is 1-1 with a 1.26 and fellow Double-A rookie Jason Hursh is 1-1, 2.57. J.R. Graham, like Hursh a highly rated prospect, has not allowed a run in 9 2/3 innings heading into his third start tonight at Trustmark Park. Closer Shae Simmons has four saves, and the bullpen as a whole has a league-best eight holds (for whatever that’s worth). One of the few stragglers is Ryne Harper, who has a 6.75 ERA in five appearances; he was very effective in 2013. The hitters, with a few exceptions, are flailing about. The .230 average ranks sixth in the SL, the 42 runs seventh. Gustavo Nunez, now displaced at shortstop by Elmer Reyes, is at .306. Seth Loman is batting .302 with three of the team’s five home runs. Emerson Landoni is at .282 and Joe Leonard at .267. No other hitter is above .238. Needing to pick it up soon are Robby Hefflinger (.171, no homers), Kyle Kubitza (.206) and Matt Lipka (.227).