Tag Archives: 2025 MLB draft

19 Jul

quick pitches

Friday’s best: Former Mississippi Braves star Ronald Acuna’s throw. From the right field corner to third base — on the fly — to complete an Atlanta double play. ‘Nuff said. … JoJo Parker, the ex-Purvis High star, reportedly has agreed with Toronto on a $6.2 million bonus as the eighth overall draft pick. … Former Mississippi State standout Brent Rooker hit his 100th career MLB homer for the A’s. … MSU product Adam Frazier hit a two-run pinch double in his first at-bat for his new team, Kansas City. … Veteran right-hander Spencer Turnbull, Madison Central High alum, signed a major league contract with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent. … Khal Stephen, 2024 draftee out of MSU, was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire by Toronto after going 9-1, 1.75 ERA, in A-ball. … Dakota Jordan, another 2024 draftee out of MSU, was placed on the 7-day injured list at Low-Class A San Jose (San Francisco), where he is batting .302 with 10 homers and 27 steals. … Former Jackson Prep star Konnor Griffin, hit in the right hand by a pitch in the All-Star Futures Game last Saturday, did not play Friday for High-A Greensboro (Pittsburgh). … Batesville native Emaarion Boyd stole his 32nd base and scored the game’s lone run in a win for High-A Beloit (Miami). … Davis Bradshaw, McLaurin High and Meridian Community College product, came off the IL and went 2-for-2 in his first game since May 31 for the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters. … Bradley Pelle, the SAA player of the year at Millsaps, has signed with Ogden of the indy Pioneer League and went 1-for-4 in his pro debut. … Ex-Southern Miss slugger Christopher Sargent is hitting .383 with 17 homers and 76 RBIs for Ogden.

14 Jul

a bountiful crop

A total of 23 players from Mississippi schools were chosen on Day 2 of the MLB draft — and there were some surprises, as there always are. Southern Miss’ Nick Monistere, who wasn’t ranked among the top 200 prospects by MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, was taken in the fourth round by Houston, No. 126 overall. Monistere, a second baseman, was a first-team All-America selection and the Sun Belt Conference’s player of the year. Mississippi State’s Hunter Hines, who went undrafted as a junior in 2024, was picked in the 10th round by Washington. A first baseman/DH, he hit a school-record 70 homers and batted .282 for his four-year college career. Talon Haley, the lefty from Lewisburg High, slipped to the 12th round, 349th overall, taken by the Los Angeles Angels. A Vanderbilt commit, he was projected to go on Day 1. Purvis High’s Jacob Parker, twin brother of first-rounder JoJo (see previous post), was rated the No. 109 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline but lasted until the 19th round, picked by Arizona. The power-hitting outfielder might wind up at Mississippi State. Three junior college players were picked: Pearl River CC’s co-aces Jacob Johnson and K.K. Clark — Johnson in Round 11 to Texas, MACCC pitcher of the year Clark to Baltimore in Round 15 — and Meridian CC’s Connor Gehr, who went to Baltimore in Round 20. Other state draftees on Day 2: Luke Hill, Ole Miss, Cleveland/fourth round; Pico Kohn, MSU, New York Yankees/fourth; Will McCausland, UM, Cleveland/seventh; Riley Maddox, UM, Washington/eighth; Evan Siary, MSU, Texas/eighth; Karson Ligon, MSU, Toronto/ninth; Mason Nichols, UM, Tampa Bay/ninth; Luke Dotson, MSU, Arizona/11th; Connor Spencer, UM, Chicago Cubs/12th; Nate Williams, MSU, Chicago Cubs/13th; Jacob Pruitt, MSU, Philadelphia/15th; Patrick Galle, UM, Boston/17th; Landen Payne, USM, Chicago White Sox/18th; Brayden Jones, UM, Tampa Bay/18th; Sam Tookoian, UM, Los Angeles Angels/20th; Jay McQueen, Brandon High, Texas/20th. … Including the five state products picked on Day 1 (Rounds 1-3), Mississippi had 28 players chosen in 2025.

14 Jul

pick five

As the eighth overall pick in the MLB draft, Purvis High product JoJo Parker is in elite company. Only three other high school players from Mississippi have been drafted at No. 8 or higher in the 60-year history of the draft. Ted Nicholson was taken third overall in 1969 out of Oak Park in Laurel by the Chicago White Sox, Donny Castle went eighth in 1968 out of Coldwater High to the Washington Senators and Kirk Presley was selected No. 8 in 1993 out of Tupelo High by the New York Mets. Only Castle made it to the big leagues. Parker, a lefty-hitting shortstop, was the state Gatorade player of the year and is regarded as one of the best pure hitters in the 2025 draft class. He was picked by Toronto; the slot value of the eighth pick is $6.81 million, according to mlb.com. (Konnor Griffin, the ninth overall pick last year out of Jackson Prep, signed with Pittsburgh for approximately $6.5M; he already has reached the High-Class A level.) Interestingly, 11 of the top 24 picks, including No. 1 Eli Willits, are high school shortstops. … Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton was the 45th overall pick — the second pick of the second round — by Colorado. The right-hander was a 2025 All-America selection and the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner. On MLB Network’s draft coverage, he was described by Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as “the ultimate competitor” and “a truly tough kid,” qualities a player would need to pitch at Colorado’s Coors Field. Vitello said he recruited Middleton out of Benton Academy. … In the third round, East Union High pitcher Landon Harmon, who can throw 99, went to Washington at No. 80 overall; Jake Cook, an unsung speed demon at Southern Miss, was picked at No. 81 by Toronto; and Ole Miss righty Mason Morris went at No. 83 to Cincinnati. … All told, five players from Mississippi schools, all natives of the state, were drafted on Day 1, which covered the first three rounds and 105 picks. … Of note: Milwaukee took with the 20th overall pick Tennessee third baseman Andrew Fischer, who played at Ole Miss in 2024 and hit 20 home runs, then popped 25 for the Vols this season. He could be at Double-A Biloxi in short order.

10 Jul

here it comes

Strap in, seamheads. An action-packed stretch of star-quality baseball is coming up, and Mississippi connections abound. The rundown:
Friday: The HBCU Swingman Classic at Truist Park in Atlanta features Jackson State’s Robert Tate Jr., Jordan McCladdie, Joseph Eichelberger, Eric Elliott, Nkosi Didder and Erick Gonzalez, Jaylon Burrell of Alcorn State and Kade Wood of Mississippi Valley State. They are among the 50 HBCU players chosen for the third annual all-star game, set for 6 p.m. CDT and televised on MLB Network. Former Alcorn star Corey Wimberly is one of the coaches for the game.
(Also on Friday in Niigata, Japan, are Games 3 (and 4) of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series. Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Ryan McPherson are on the Team USA roster.)
Saturday: The All-Star Futures Game (3 p.m., MLB Network) at Truist Park. Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep), Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) are among the highly rated minor league prospects invited to this annual showcase. Former Jackson State star Marvin Freeman is a coach on the AL staff.
Sunday: The MLB draft begins with Rounds 1-3 (5 p.m., MLB Network). Mississippians JoJo Parker, J.B. Middleton and Landon Harmon, all ranked in the top 48 of MLB Pipeline’s latest draft prospect chart, are potential first-round picks. Former Ole Miss players Liam Doyle and Andrew Fischer, who played at Tennessee in 2025, could also be first-rounders.
(Game 5 of the USA-Japan collegiate series will played in Tokyo.)
Monday: The Home Run Derby at Truist Park (7 p.m., ESPN). Ex-MSU slugger Brent Rooker is in the field, along with former Mississippi Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., who’ll be hitting in his home park in the ATL.
(The MLB draft continues — and if past is prologue, a slew of Mississippi products will be picked on Day 2.)
Tuesday: The 95th All-Star Game at Truist Park (7 p.m., Fox). Rooker and Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet are on the American League roster. Acuna and fellow former M-Braves alum Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) were voted in as starters for the National League, and former Biloxi Shuckers Josh Hader (now with Houston) and Freddy Peralta (Milwaukee) and M-Braves alum Max Fried (New York Yankees) will also be there.
Wednesday: The Frontier League All-Star Game at Troy, N.Y. Brian Williams, Victor Diaz and Travis Holt of the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters have been invited.