stretch run

At the moment, Mitch Moreland is probably the only Mississippian who knows he’ll be playing in the MLB postseason. The Mississippi State product from Amory, who has 22 home runs, has helped Texas take a commanding lead in the American League West. Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan and Greenwood native Louis Coleman are also on first-place clubs with secure leads, but neither can be certain he’ll be on the postseason roster. Coghlan is a versatile reserve for the Chicago Cubs, Coleman a middle reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the three battles still being furiously waged – AL East, AL wild card and NL wild card – there are a bunch of Magnolia State products clinging to hope. The hottest team in the big leagues is Seattle, which has won seven straight to stay in the AL wild card hunt. Former Ole Miss standout Seth Smith is swinging it well – a .381 average with three homers, including a grand slam on Tuesday, over his last seven games. Boston currently leads, by a slim margin, the AL East, and UM alum Drew Pomeranz has been a good addition to the Red Sox’s rotation even though his numbers (2-5, 4.60 ERA) aren’t great. MSU product Jonathan Holder is now in the bullpen of the resurgent New York Yankees – the Baby Bombers – who are very much alive in the AL East and wild card races. Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College standout, has helped keep Kansas City in the playoff chase, batting .290 with 12 runs, nine steals and solid defense in the outfield in his last 15 games. Rookie JaCoby Jones, the former Richton High star, doesn’t play a lot for Detroit – he is 4-for-18 – but has value as a late-inning sub at several positions. Houston, also still lurking in AL playoff race, would love to see Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum Tony Sipp (5.45 ERA) regain his career form (3.68) down the stretch. In the National League, former State standout Adam Frazier has been a bright spot (.333, two homers, nine RBIs, 14 runs in 99 at-bats) on a Pittsburgh team that seems to be fading away. UM alum Mike Mayers is on St. Louis’ expanded roster but, having allowed 15 runs in three appearances, doesn’t figure to get a lot of significant work. P.S. Mississippi is well-represented on Baseball America’s Classification All-Star teams. Hunter Renfroe (Mississippi State) made the Triple-A team, Bobby Bradley (Harrison Central High) the high Class A team and Austin Riley (DeSoto Central) the low-A team. Ozzie Albies of the Mississippi Braves is on the Double-A team. … Ex-MSU star Dakota Hudson, the first Mississippian chosen in this year’s draft (in the first round by St. Louis), only pitched 14 2/3 innings as a pro but fared rather well. The right-hander allowed only one earned run and struck out 19 over three different levels. He started with four games in the rookie Gulf Coast League, moved to Palm Beach in the Class A Florida State League (0.96 ERA in eight games) and finished with two scoreless appearances and a save for Springfield in the Texas League playoffs.