Tag Archives: Arizona Fall League

20 Nov

taking a flier

Atlanta, reportedly shopping for pitching this off-season, picked up former Ole Miss standout Ryan Rolison in a trade (for cash) with Colorado on Wednesday. Rolison, a 28-year-old left-handed reliever, doesn’t come with great MLB credentials. As a rookie last season, the injury-dogged Rolison had a 7.20 ERA in 31 games for the Rockies; he allowed 11 home runs in 42 1/3 innings. The Rockies designated him for assignment on Tuesday. Rolison, from Tennessee, won 16 games in two years as a starter at Ole Miss and was picked in the first round by Colorado in the 2018 draft. (Others taken in the first round in that draft include Casey Mize, Alec Bohm, Jonathan India, Brady Singer, Nolan Gorman and Brice Turang, all established big leaguers.) Injuries stalled Rolison’s advancement in the minors, where he has a 17-17 record and a 4.43 ERA over six seasons. P.S. USA Today/Sports Weekly ranks UM product Drew Pomeranz at No. 49 among the current free agent class. The veteran lefty reliever, 37, rejuvenated his career with the Chicago Cubs in 2025. … Ex-Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery made the All-Arizona Fall League team. The White Sox’s No. 1 prospect batted .366 in 12 games in the showcase loop.

15 Nov

he is worthy

Ace is a status that must be earned. And Garrett Crochet did exactly that in his first season with Boston, which traded a boatload of prospects to get the Ocean Springs native from the Chicago White Sox last off-season. Crochet went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA for a playoff team. In just his second year as a starter, he led the American League in quality starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Tarik Skubal, garnering four of the 30 first-place votes. The lefty also made the All-MLB first team. Crochet’s season — one of the best ever by a Mississippi-born pitcher — is worthy of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given here for the top performance by a Mississippian (native or school alum) in the big leagues. “He was phenomenal,” Craig Breslow, the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer, recently told mlb.com. “It’s what we had hoped he could be when we traded for him, but to see that actually materialize is great.” Crochet’s second-place finish in the Cy Young voting is the best by a Mississippi native. Weir’s Roy Oswalt placed third in 2004. Crochet was two wins shy of becoming the sixth Magnolia State native to win 20. That club includes Reb Russell (22 in 1913), Guy Bush (20 in ’33), Claude Passeau (20 in ’40), Boo Ferriss (21 in 1945 and 25 in ’46) and Oswalt (20 in both 2004 and ’05). … Other winners of AMB’s Bell Award: Brent Rooker, Justin Steele, Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Mitch Moreland, Brian Dozier, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. P.S. Nick Sandlin, former Ferriss Trophy winner out of Southern Miss, has been outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A by Toronto. Sandlin, in his first year with the Blue Jays, had a 2.20 ERA in 19 games but ended the regular season on the injured list and missed the postseason. … It’ll be interesting to see if former USM pitcher Tyler Stuart and ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan make the 40-man roster in their respective organizations. Both would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft next month if they aren’t protected on the big league roster. Stuart, a 6-foot-9 right-hander, went 2-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 10 games in an injury-curtailed 2025 season in the Washington system. He has a career 3.44 ERA and has pitched in Triple-A. Jordan, St. Louis’ No. 18 prospect, belted a career-high 19 homers in 2025, playing in Triple-A in both the Boston and Cardinals systems. Still only 22 years old, the fifth-year pro hit .270 with 99 RBIs all told last season. … Madison Central High alum Braden Montgomery compiled some amazing numbers in the Arizona Fall League. The White Sox’s top prospect went 15-for-41 (.366) in 12 games for Glendale, with a homer, six doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs, 12 runs, three steals and 13 walks. His OBP was .527. A switch-hitting outfielder, Montgomery batted .270 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs over three minor league levels in his first pro season. (He was acquired by the ChiSox in the Crochet trade with Boston.) … Brandon Woodruff, the ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler, has until Nov. 18 to make a decision on the one-year/$22.025 million qualifying offer he received from Milwaukee. Woodruff, who has spent his entire pro career in the Brewers’ system, became a free agent after the World Series ended. … MSU’s 2026 signing class was ranked No. 8 by Baseball America. The feature signee is catcher Will Brick from Memphis; he ranks among the top 10 prep prospects on Perfect Game’s latest chart.

07 Nov

on this date

Jake Gibbs, the Ole Miss icon who played parts of 10 years in the big leagues, was born on this date in 1938. A two-sport All-America pick at UM, Gibbs chose to pursue baseball and shifted from third base to catcher in the New York Yankees’ minor league system. He reached the big leagues in 1962 and played until 1971, batting .233 with 25 home runs in 538 games, primarily as a backup. His best season was 1970, when he hit .301 with eight homers and 26 RBIs over 49 games behind Thurman Munson. Gibbs became Ole Miss’ baseball coach in 1972 and his first team won the SEC championship. He won 485 games over 19 seasons. P.S. Former Mississippi prep stars Braden Montgomery and Cade Smith have been chosen to play for the American League team in Sunday’s Fall Stars Game in the Arizona Fall League. Mississippi Braves alum Nacho Alvarez Jr. made the National League roster. … Ex-Southern Miss star Chuckie Robinson was outrighted to Triple-A by Atlanta. Robinson, a catcher who got one at-bat with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, was claimed off waivers by the Braves in late September but was never activated to the 26-man roster. He has been in pro ball for 10 years, with 52 MLB games under his belt. … Justin Dean, former M-Braves standout who played for the champion Dodgers in the World Series, was claimed off waivers by San Francisco. He played parts of four seasons (2021-24) in Pearl.

03 Nov

ring it up

Justin Dean doesn’t have a big league hit on his resume, but he will have a World Series ring. The ex-Mississippi Braves star, who won a Double-A ring in 2021, was in center field for the final out of Game 7 on Saturday night and celebrated with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates after they won the World Series for the second straight year. Dean’s postseason line with the Dodgers is interesting: 13 games, no at-bats, one run, one steal, six putouts. He played in three of the Series games and made that heady move in Game 6, throwing up his arms to signal that a ball had gotten stuck under the outfield padding for a ground-rule double. Toronto likely would have scored a big run on the hit. Dean, in his MLB debut, went 0-for-2 in the regular season for L.A., appearing in 17 games and making seven putouts. He has played 689 minor league games, having spent parts of four seasons with the M-Braves. In 2024, the team’s finale at Trustmark Park, Dean stole 47 bases and set the M-Braves career record with 117 bags. He signed with L.A. as a minor league free agent in December. … Former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman earned a second ring with the Dodgers, as did ex-M-Braves pitcher Evan Phillips, a reliever who made seven appearances in 2025 before going on the injured list and having elbow surgery in May. P.S. Braden Montgomery, former Madison Central High star and top Chicago White Sox prospect, is listed among the Arizona Fall League top performers for week four of the season by mlb.com. Montgomery, completing his first pro season, went 5-for-15 last week with a homer, a triple and five RBIs. He is batting .385 overall in the AFL and has drawn 10 walks. … Ke’Bryan Hayes won a second Gold Glove at third base in the National League; his dad, Hattiesburg native Charlie, never got one of those but did win a World Series with the 1996 New York Yankees. … Former Ole Miss standouts Chris Ellis and Cooper Johnson are batterymates in the Dominican Winter League with Cibao. Ellis, who has pitched in the majors, has worked three scoreless innings. He posted a 3.66 ERA and 19 saves in the Mexican League in 2025. Johnson, who played in the Texas system this past season, is 4-for-15 in seven games in the DWL. … Veteran slugger and ex-big leaguer Bobby Bradley from Gulfport is toiling for Tucson, an expansion team in the Mexican Pacific League; he is hitting .250 with a homer in 15 games. Bradley has 254 career homers in pro ball.

29 Oct

boys of fall

Checking in on Mississippi products in the Arizona Fall League:
David Mershon, former All-SEC shortstop at Mississippi State, has been filling the box scores in the AFL after a rough 2025 season in the Los Angeles Angels’ chain. Playing for Salt River, Mershon went 2-for-4 on Tuesday, boosting his average to .258 over 10 games. He has a homer, six RBIs, 10 runs, five steals and 11 walks. After a strong pro debut in Double-A in 2024, Mershon batted just .182 this past season, missing a chunk of time with injury. … Ex-MSU and DeSoto Central High standout Cade Smith worked three scoreless innings as the starter for Mesa and trimmed his ERA to 0.93 in three appearances. The New York Yankees prospect, a third-year pro, has allowed just three hits with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 AFL innings. … Former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery, playing for Glendale against Mesa, went 1-for-3 with a walk (and an HBP) and is hitting .429 (.652 OBP) with three stolen bases in five games. Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect, reached the Double-A level this summer in a solid pro debut. … Southern Miss alum Michael Fowler has put up a 0.00 ERA in four appearances (five innings) for Surprise. The well-traveled right-hander was signed by Milwaukee off the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters’ roster this summer and made a good impression in A-ball. … Former Ole Miss standout Derek Diamond has a 5.63 ERA in six games for Salt River. Diamond, in his fourth year in Pittsburgh’s system, has allowed nine hits and eight walks in eight innings in the AFL. He was limited by injuries to 13 appearances (19 1/3 innings) in 2025. P.S. Mississippi Braves alum Antoan Richardson will not return as first-base coach for the New York Mets, per reports. He is expected to catch on with another organization.

22 Oct

back with a bang

Idled by an injury since early September, Braden Montgomery returned with a literal bang on Tuesday, smacking an RBI double off the center-field wall in his first at-bat in an Arizona Fall League contest. The former state Gatorade player of the year at Madison Central High walked in his other three ABs for Glendale. “I just wanted to add a little bit of normalcy, see a bunch of pitches,” he said in a story on the AFL website. Montgomery, a first-round pick in 2024 out of Texas A&M, is rated the No. 1 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s system and No. 35 overall in the minors. In his first action as a pro this season, the switch-hitting outfielder batted .270 (.360 OBP) with 12 home runs, 68 RBIs and 14 stolen bases, moving seamlessly from Low-Class A to High-A to Double-A. His regular season ended Sept. 6 when he was hit by a pitch that broke a bone in his foot. He is playing catch-up in the AFL. On Tuesday, he also played right field, where his arm and athleticism are a good fit. Montgomery admits to being something of a copycat in his hitting approach. “I like watching Mookie (Betts) and how his hands work. I like watching Aaron Judge and his effortless pop. I like Shohei (Ohtani) and his torque. I like picking up and looking at tiny pieces of all the guys because I understand that everyone’s big picture is going to be different,” he said in a recent mlb.com story. At 22, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Montgomery is likely a year away from making the big leagues, though the White Sox (three straight 100-loss seasons) need immediate help. P.S. Southern Miss (and Mississippi Mud Monsters) alum Michael Fowler, pitching for Surprise, faced Montgomery once on Tuesday and walked him. Fowler, now in the Milwaukee system, has made three scoreless appearances in the AFL. … In another AFL game on Tuesday, ex-Mississippi State star Cade Smith worked 3 2/3 sharp innings for Mesa, retiring the first 11 batters he faced and yielding just a lone run. The New York Yankees prospect, a third-year pro, has a 1.35 ERA in two outings; he went 2-1, 2.50, in 11 starts in the low minors this season. … MSU product David Mershon, playing for Salt River, faced Smith twice Tuesday and grounded out both times. Mershon, a 2024 draftee by the Los Angeles Angels, is coming off a tough, injury-dampened season; he hit .182 in 91 games, 14 at the Triple-A level.

15 Oct

impressive debut

In an Arizona Fall League replete with highly ranked prospects, Cade Smith certainly looked like he belonged in his first appearance. The former Mississippi State standout, pitching in relief for Mesa on Tuesday night, threw three hitless innings, walking one and fanning five. The 23-year-old right-hander is ranked No. 19 among New York Yankees’ prospects by MLB Pipeline. He started his 2025 minor league season on the injured list and worked through three levels over the summer, finishing at High-Class A Hudson Valley. For the year, Smith was 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 11 starts. He went 6-7, 3.65, in A-ball in 2024. Smith was drafted in the sixth round in 2023 after three solid seasons at State, where he pitched for the College World Series champs as a freshman in 2021. He has a championship pedigree, having won two Class 6A state titles at DeSoto Central High. The Yankees’ system is stacked with pitching prospects, including lefty Pico Kohn, a 2025 draftee from MSU who is already rated their No. 14. … In other Yankees news, ex-MSU infielder Travis Chapman will not be retained as the club’s first-base/infield coach, per various reports. He has been on the MLB staff since 2022. P.S. Several Mississippi products are on track to be MLB free agents after the World Series concludes, per a recent report from mlb.com, and among them is Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss product who pitched so well for the Chicago Cubs this season. The 37-year-old lefty, back in the big leagues in 2025 after four injury-prone years away, recorded a 2.17 ERA in 57 regular season games and a 1.50 in the postseason. “I just wanted to get out there and pitch one more time, and here I am, however many appearances later,” he recently told marqueesportsnetwork.com. “It just doesn’t feel real sometimes. But I don’t take one single second for granted here, not at all.” Some team is sure to sign him for 2026. Other free agents-to-be include Adam Frazier (Mississippi State), Hunter Renfroe (MSU), Chris Stratton (MSU), Kendall Graveman (MSU) and Tim Anderson (East Central CC). All but Frazier were released during the season. … Brandon Woodruff (MSU), who had a bounce-back year with Milwaukee, is a potential free agent, though his contract contains a mutual option, so he is likely to be back with the Brewers. The team is still alive — barely — in the National League Championship Series, and Woodruff has said he hopes to come off the IL should they make the Fall Classic.

06 Oct

afl cranks up

Michael Fowler, who pitched for the Mississippi Mud Monsters this summer, has been pegged as an Arizona Fall League “under-the-radar” prospect by MLB Pipeline. Fowler, now in the Milwaukee system, pitched for Southern Miss last spring and then went 2-1 with a 1.92 ERA in seven games for the independent Mud-sters, striking out 15 in 9 1/3 innings. The Brewers signed him, and he posted a 1.08 ERA in Low-Class A, showing enough stuff to earn an AFL assignment. The prospect-filled AFL starts its season today with Peoria playing Scottsdale. Twelve of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 minor league prospects populate the rosters of the six teams. Fowler, not a rated prospect, is on the Surprise roster; the Saguaros open on Tuesday. Former Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect (No. 35 overall), is with Glendale, which also opens Tuesday. The switch-hitting outfielder, who reached Double-A in his first pro season, isn’t active yet, still recuperating from a foot injury. Former Mississippi State and DeSoto Central High standout Cade Smith, a New York Yankees prospect who pitched in A-ball in 2025, is on the Mesa roster. Ex-Bulldogs star David Mershon is with Salt River; he played at Double-A and Triple-A in the Los Angeles Angels’ chain this season but had some injury issues and scuffled at the plate. Also on the Salt River club is Ole Miss product Derek Diamond, a Pittsburgh prospect who missed much of the 2025 campaign. He pitched in Double-A at the start of the season. On the Glendale roster is former Mississippi Braves star Nacho Alvarez Jr., who finished the year with Atlanta; the third baseman missed much of the minor league season with injury.

11 Sep

touching the bases

Blaine Crim, the former Mississippi College slugger, had a hand in a very rare feat on Wednesday night, hitting his 21st homer and driving in three runs as Triple-A Albuquerque scored in every inning in a 21-10 romp over El Paso in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. (Only 20 times in major league history has a team scored in every inning.) Crim now has 21 Triple-A homers in 2025, split between Albuquerque (Colorado system) and Round Rock (Texas). He got up briefly with the Rangers. … Former Mississippi State ace Dakota Hudson notched his seventh win for Triple-A Salt Lake in the PCL, yielding three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings for the Los Angeles Angels affiliate. Hudson is 7-7 with a 6.98 ERA. The former first-round draftee (2016) has 80 career wins, 40 in both the minors and the majors. He pitched for Colorado in 2024. … Konnor Griffin, the phenom from Jackson Prep, smacked his fifth homer for Double-A Altoona just as dad Kevin — the Belhaven University softball coach — was stepping into the broadcast booth in the fifth inning at Erie, Pa., per an milb.com story. “I might stay up here the whole game,” Kevin Griffin said. Konnor, No. 1 prospect in the minors, has 21 homers at three levels in the Pittsburgh chain this season. … Ex-MSU star Brent Rooker, having another big year for the A’s, crushed his 39th and 40th doubles of 2025 — ranking third in MLB — and now has 70 extra-base hits, 27 of them homers. The resurgent A’s beat Boston — and Aroldis Chapman — 5-4 on Wednesday in West Sacramento, Calif. … In the Frontier League playoffs, Ole Miss alums Anthony Calarco (3-for-5, three RBIs) and Banks Tolley (2-for-5, run) sparked Schaumburg to a 9-0 win over Gateway and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 conference series. Calarco, the indy league’s MVP for 2025, has eight RBIs in the postseason after plating 116 runs in the regular season. Former St. Andrew’s star Tolley hit a three-run bomb in the Boomers’ 11-6 win on Tuesday. Dallas Woolfolk, former UM pitcher, also plays for the Boomers. … The Arizona Fall League rosters for 2025 include several Mississippi connections: Former Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect, with Glendale; MSU alums Cade Smith (New York Yankees) with Mesa and David Mershon (Angels) with Salt River; Ole Miss product Derek Diamond (Pirates) with Salt River; and ex-Southern Miss pitcher Michael Fowler (Milwaukee) with Surprise. Luke Adams, current Biloxi Shuckers infielder and a top Brewers prospect, is also on the Surprise roster. Former Mississippi Braves star Nacho Alvarez, currently filling in for Austin Riley as Atlanta’s third baseman, is on the Glendale roster; he missed much of the minor league season with injury. The AFL season runs Oct. 6-Nov. 15.

05 Jun

charging rapidly …

After enduring a curious power outage in the month of May, Kemp Alderman is starting to light it up again at Double-A Pensacola. The former Ole Miss star from Decatur extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his sixth homer of the season on Wednesday night against Columbus. After going homerless in 26 games in May, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound slugger — the No. 10-rated prospect in Miami’s organization — has gone deep in two of three games this month. His average had dipped to .238 before his current hit streak began. He is up to .282 with 24 RBIs and 13 steals in 50 games all told. In a recent Baseball America article, Alderman said one of his goals this season was a 20-homer, 20-steal season. He might have a shot. He isn’t known for speed, really, but his raw power is unquestioned. In the 2024 Arizona Fall League, he hit a 119.5 mph home run, the hardest hit ball in that elite league last year. He smacked six homers in just nine games there after hitting eight in an injury-shortened (77 games) 2024 season spent at four levels of the minors. In 2023, Alderman put up one of the best seasons in Ole Miss history, batting .376 with 19 homers and 61 RBIs, winning the Ferriss Trophy and earning second-team All-America honors. Miami drafted him in the second round, 47th overall, that summer. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report hails Alderman’s power tool but notes that “he’s prone to chasing all types of pitches out of the zone.” Alderman told Baseball America that’s something he’s working to improve on in 2025. He has struck out 39 times (with 19 walks) in 181 at-bats with an on-base percentage of .348. P.S. DeSoto Central High product Blaze Jordan, also renowned for his power (see previous post), hit a homer Wednesday in his second game at Triple-A Worcester and now has 50 in his pro career in the Boston system. He’s not quite ready for The Show, but Red Sox fans should note: Jordan, 22, can play first base.