Tag Archives: allmississippibaseball

19 Sep

welcome back

It was, to use Hunter Renfroe’s own word, “humbling” to be sent back to the minor leagues after almost five months as a big league regular with San Diego. “You either grow from it or you fail from it,” the ex-Mississippi State standout told The Associated Press. The 25-year-old rookie returned to the Padres with some vigor on Monday, hitting a three-run homer in his first at-bat that propelled the team to a 4-2 win over Arizona. Renfroe went down to Triple-A El Paso on Aug. 18 and hit .509 with four home runs in 14 games, then helped the club reach Game 5 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series. Monday’s homer was Renfroe’s 21st for the Padres. He also struck out for the 126th time; he has just 26 walks. How Renfroe handles the last two weeks of the season will be closely scrutinized. P.S. Brent Suter threw five shutout innings and fellow former Biloxi Shuckers star Brett Phillips threw out a runner from center field to end the game as Milwaukee kept its playoff drive alive with a 3-0 win at Pittsburgh.

18 Sep

school in session

Reid Humphreys, a dual standout at Mississippi State and Northwest Rankin High, is focused on pitching in pro ball, and he looked sharp in his second season. Humphreys, who’s on Colorado’s Instructional League roster for this fall, notched 13 saves in 14 chances with a 2.56 ERA at Class A Asheville. The Rockies drafted Humphreys – brother of Miami Marlins first baseman Tyler Moore, another ex-Bulldog — in the seventh round in 2016. Humphreys batted .310 with five homers and 44 RBIs and posted seven saves (despite a 5.56 ERA) in 17 mound appearances for State that year. The Rockies preferred him as a pitcher, and he has not disappointed. … Also slated for extended work in Instructional League in either Arizona or Florida are State product Ryan Gridley (Oakland), East Mississippi Community College alum Vijay Miller (San Diego), ex-State star Zac Houston (Detroit), Ole Miss alum Colby Bortles (Detroit), former UM standout Henri Lartigue (Philadelphia) and Ti’Quan Forbes, the 2014 Mr. Baseball from Columbia who was traded late in the season from Texas to the Chicago White Sox. Forbes, a former second-round pick now in his fourth pro season, hit .222 at Class A Down East before the trade and played just four games for Winston-Salem in the same league before the season ended.

18 Sep

exclamation point

Chuckie Robinson, the former Southern Miss star, capped an ascendant season with a brilliant performance in the Midwest League Championship Series clincher. Robinson went 4-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and four runs as Quad Cities, a Houston affiliate, beat Fort Wayne 12-2 on Saturday to claim the Class A league’s pennant. “Talk about your storybook ending,” Quad Cities manager Russ Steinhorn told the Quad-City Times. Robinson, a second-year pro, was the only player from the River Bandits’ opening day roster still with the team for the playoffs. Robinson, named the series MVP, also homered in Game 1 of the best-of-5, which the River Bandits swept. “Since the playoffs started, all season really, we’ve shown a resilience. We never quit,’’ Robinson told the QCT. Robinson, a catcher, batted .274 with 15 homers and 77 RBIs during the season. He earned MWL midseason and postseason All-Star honors. And he’ll probably get an invite to the Astros’ big league camp next spring.

17 Sep

go figure

The sight of Tim Anderson coming to the plate likely doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of many major league pitchers. But Detroit’s Matt Boyd, one out away from a no-hitter, might rather have faced someone other than the former East Central Community College star. Anderson, a .262 hitter on the season, entered today’s game batting .429 in September and coming off his first career four-hit game for Chicago. What’s more, the right-handed hitting Anderson was 8-for-23 (.348) against left-hander Boyd over the last two seasons. He’s now 9-for-27. In the ninth, Boyd fell behind in the count 2-0, then threw a changeup, which Anderson was looking for. He sliced it into right-center field for a double, spoiling the no-no in what was otherwise an awful day for the White Sox, who lost 12-0 at Comerica Park.

17 Sep

shucker factor

The Milwaukee Brewers, desperate for every win they can get, will send former Mississippi State standout Brandon Woodruff to the bump today to face Miami, which is the “home” team at Miller Park. The Brewers are 4 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and running 3 games off the pace in the wild card race. Woodruff, a rookie, has pitched well. The big right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.14 ERA in his five career starts. He is one of several former Biloxi Shuckers who could be key figures in the Brewers’ drive for the postseason. Seventeen Shuckers alums have reached the majors since the team debuted in 2015. The most accomplished of that group so far is shortstop Orlando Arcia, who is batting .273 with 14 homers, 48 RBIs and 13 steals in his second season as a starter. Brett Phillips, a spare outfielder for the Brewers, is the only other ex-Shuckers position player of note; he is batting .220 with two homers in 24 games. There are Shuckers aplenty on the Milwaukee pitching staff. Josh Hader, an electrifying left-hander, has had a significant impact out of the pen, posting a 1.85 ERA in 30 games. Brent Suter also has been effective with a 2-2 mark and 3.66 ERA in 19 games, including 11 starts. Jacob Barnes is 3-4, 4.29 with two saves. Taylor Williams (5.40 ERA in two appearances) and Aaron Wilkerson (scoreless inning in his debut on Friday) are the most recent call-ups. P.S. Northwest Mississippi Community College product Cody Reed notched his first career save for Cincinnati on Saturday, getting the last out against Pittsburgh. … Ex-State star Jonathan Holder has been recalled from the minors by the New York Yankees, who remain in the thick of the playoff race in the American League. Holder had a 1.69 ERA for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season and has a 3.58 in 34 games for New York.

16 Sep

stepping up

From Mike Minor’s save in Cleveland to Blaine Boyer’s last pitch at Tampa Bay, it was quite an eventful night for former Mississippi Braves in the major leagues. Minor notched the first save of his pro career on Friday as Kansas City stopped Cleveland’s record win streak at 22 games with a 4-3 victory. Minor, who has 17 holds and a 2.71 ERA, allowed a leadoff hit but then struck out the side to nail down the win for a Royals team clinging to postseason hopes. Ryan Buchter, another M-Braves alum, also threw a scoreless inning for KC. … Charlie Morton worked six innings for his 12th win and Evan Gattis went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs to help Houston knock off Seattle, another American League wild card hopeful. … Alex Wood tossed six shutout innings and fanned eight in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rout of Washington in a battle of the National League’s two best teams. Wood is now 15-3. … Andrelton Simmons went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help the Los Angeles Angels, who sit in the No. 3 spot in the AL wild card standings, beat fading Texas 7-6. … In a game of much less significance, Sean Newcomb started and Arodys Vizcaino closed as Atlanta beat the New York Mets. Newcomb picked up his third win, Vizcaino his 11th save. … And in the game of the night, Boston scored seven runs in the 15th inning to finally put away Tampa Bay 13-6, with Boyer, a member of the 2005 M-Braves, working the last inning for the Red Sox as the 21st pitcher to appear in the game. Boston remained 3 games up on the New York Yankees in the AL East, while the Rays suffered a crippling defeat. P.S. Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland homered for Boston and needs one more to become the fifth Mississippian (native or college alum) with 20 bombs this season. Ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier hit his 31st for Minnesota on Friday, and Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart hit Nos. 21 and 22 for Cincinnati. Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson has 26 homers and former State standout Hunter Renfroe 20.

15 Sep

on this date

On this date in 1990, former Mississippi State standout Bobby Thigpen became the first pitcher in baseball history to reach the 50-save mark. Pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Thigpen closed out a 7-4 win over Boston. He had already set the MLB record for saves in a season with his 47th on Sept. 3. Thigpen finished the 1990 season with 57 saves, a mark that stood for 18 years. Francisco Rodriguez broke it in 2008 en route to 62. Thigpen’s mark is still second on the all-time list. Only 16 pitchers have reached 50 saves in a season. Thigpen, who retired in 1994 with 201 career saves, coached in the White Sox’s system for many years and as recently as last season was the big league team’s bullpen coach.

14 Sep

still out there

Hattiesburg native and onetime big leaguer Robert Carson is still out there chucking it in the hinterlands of pro baseball. Carson is a main bullpen piece for Southern Maryland, which won the first-half title in the Freedom Division of the independent Atlantic League. The Atlantic League, which is filled with a lot of veteran talent, is in the last week of its regular season with the playoffs looming. Carson, 28, a large left-hander, has a 4.00 ERA and a 3-4 record in 55 games for the Blue Crabs. He is in his 11th pro season, with 447 appearances on his ledger, including 31 for the New York Mets in 2012-13. Also in the league is former Ole Miss pitcher Hawtin Buchanan, who has put up a 3.26 ERA in 37 games as a reliever for York. The Revolution is close to clinching the second-half race in the Freedom Division. The 6-foot-8 Buchanan, originally drafted by Seattle in 2014, was released by Cincinnati in the spring. Alcorn State product Angel Rosa is the shortstop for Bridgeport, hitting .219 with two homers and 16 RBIs for a team that has the league’s best overall record but likely will miss the playoffs. Rosa, who played in the Southern League for Mobile this year, was released in mid-summer by the Los Angeles Angels. Jackson native Stan Cliburn, a veteran Atlantic League manager, is the skipper in New Britain, but his Bees are not a postseason contender in 2017.

14 Sep

time grows short

September is not the time to fall into a hitting funk. With their teams fighting for postseason berths, three Mississippians, all toiling in the American League East, are fighting slumps. With less than three weeks left in the season, Mitch Moreland, Seth Smith and Corey Dickerson need to rise and shine. Boston leads the division but only by 3 games over the New York Yankees. Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, has had a productive first year with the Red Sox (.248, 18 home runs, 68 RBIs) but currently finds himself in a 6-for-38 skid. He is homer-less in September. Jackson native and Ole Miss product Smith is just 2-for-23 in September for Baltimore, which sits 4.5 games out in the wild card chase and is desperate for some offensive spark. Smith, batting .259 overall, has contributed 13 homers and 31 RBIs in his first (and probably last) year with the Orioles. Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes are also rather dim; the Rays are 5 games out. Dickerson, the McComb native and ex-Meridian Community College standout, is just 3-for-35 this month and has been slumping for a while. He was hitting .312 at the All-Star break – when he started for the AL – but has hit .218 since with just 18 RBIs. For the year, he’s at .277 with 26 homers and 60 RBIs. The Rays would certainly love to see the All-Star version of Dickerson reemerge. P.S. For the record, ex-State star Dakota Hudson got the win for Memphis in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League title series on Wednesday night; former Bulldogs slugger Hunter Renfroe went 1-for-4 for El Paso.

13 Sep

farm livin’

Crackle … buzzzz … crackle … We interrupt coverage of the heated major league races to take you to Memphis’ AutoZone Park, where, tonight, the Memphis Redbirds and El Paso Chihuahuas will open the best-of-5 Pacific Coast League Championship Series. Mississippians could play prominent roles. Dakota Hudson, former Mississippi State star, will start Game 1 for the Redbirds, a St. Louis affiliate, and he’ll likely face another ex-Bulldogs standout, Hunter Renfroe, an outfielder for the Chihuahuas, a San Diego farm club. Hudson was the Double-A Texas League pitcher of the year but scuffled a bit in Triple-A, going 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA in seven starts. He delivered a strong start in winning Game 1 of the PCL semifinals, yielding one run in six innings. Ole Miss product Mike Mayers works out of the Memphis bullpen. He had a 3.28 ERA in 31 games and made three scoreless appearances in the semifinal series. Renfroe, sent down by the Padres last month, hit .509 with four homers in 14 games in his return to El Paso, which he led to the PCL pennant in 2016. He had a homer and three RBIs in the Chihuahuas’ semifinal series sweep of Fresno. Renfroe should have some fond memories of AutoZone Park; he made his Triple-A debut there last summer and hit a home run, one of the 105 he has blasted in his five pro seasons.