short hops

Worth noting from pro ball: Desperate for healthy arms, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed ex-Mississippi State standout — and Kansas City Royals cast-off — Chris Stratton and had him in their bullpen for Monday’s game against Cleveland; he didn’t pitch in a 7-2 L.A. win. MLB vet Stratton had a 7.94 ERA for the Royals before his release. (One wonders if ex-Bulldogs star Hunter Renfroe, also cut loose by K.C., might also land a new team. The veteran outfielder was hitting .182 with no homers.) … Drew Pomeranz, former Ole Miss star, made his 13th straight scoreless appearance Monday for the Chicago Cubs in their win against Colorado. Back in The Show for the first time since 2021, the big lefty is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 12 2/3 innings for the first-place club. … MSU product Adam Frazier has started to click at the plate for Pittsburgh, batting .348 over his last 15 games. He is at .260 with 14 RBIs and 13 runs for a disappointing team. … Blaine Crim, the former Mississippi College slugger, is getting another shot with Texas. He was 0-for-11 during his first call-up. … The normally slick-fielding Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High alum, has been charged with five errors in his last 15 games for Atlanta. Braves manager Brian Snitker said third baseman Riley had gotten bad hops on some of those “errors.” … Down in Mexico, ex-Ole Miss ace and erstwhile big leaguer Chris Ellis, 32, has nine saves and a 3.07 ERA in 15 games for Monterrey. … Former Rebels star Houston Roth, a 2019 draftee by Baltimore, has reached Triple-A and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his Norfolk debut. The right-hander from Oxford has a 1.32 ERA in nine games overall this season. … MSU product Colton Ledbetter, now in the Tampa Bay chain, ranks fifth in the Double-A Southern League in hitting (.284) and third in stolen bases (17). He also has three homers and 19 RBIs for Montgomery. … Ex-DeSoto Central standout Blaze Jordan is having a red-hot May at Double-A Portland in the Boston system. Jordan, only 22 in his fifth pro season, is batting .379 (.481 OBP) with five homers and 17 RBIs this month. He’s up to .306 for the year with 30 RBIs. … Ole Miss product Brandon Johnson leads the Texas League with nine saves and as a 0.79 ERA at Northwest Arkansas, the Royals’ Double-A affiliate. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, first-rounder out of MSU last summer, has won four straight starts with a 2.05 ERA at High-A Everett in the Seattle system. The switch-pitcher, who is throwing mostly righty, has a 4.12 ERA in 11 appearances overall. … Khal Stephen, drafted in Round 2 out of MSU last year by Toronto, went 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA at Low-A Dunedin and yielded one run in three innings in his High-A debut for Vancouver in Toronto’s organization. … And still out there raking in A-ball are former state prep stars and 2024 first-round picks Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep). Montgomery, now in High-A in the White Sox’s system, is batting .299 with seven homers and 37 RBIs. Griffin, in Low-A with Pittsburgh, is at .307 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and 18 steals.