Tag Archives: Arizona Fall League

23 Oct

here and there

Former Picayune High star T.J. House, whose 2015 season with Cleveland was derailed by arm problems, is doing a rehab assignment with Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League. Left-hander House, 25, who last pitched on June 8, worked a spiffy 1-2-3 inning on Thursday, throwing eight pitches. House went 5-3 with a 3.35 ERA for the Indians in 2014 and made the rotation in spring training this year. After four starts, and with an 0-4 record and a 13.15 ERA, he went on the disabled list and then was sent to the minors. He was 0-2, 3.38 in five minor league appearances before being shut down. House’s teammates on the AFL Scorpions include Richton High product JaCoby Jones (Detroit) and Ole Miss alum Stuart Turner (Minnesota), who were in the lineup on Thursday – and went a combined 0-for-8 in a 7-6 loss to Surprise. … Mississippi State product Adam Frazier (Pittsburgh) is 4-for-6 with three walks in two games for Glendale in the AFL. … Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz had shoulder surgery on Thursday. The Oakland A’s left-hander shifted from the rotation to the bullpen last season, putting up a 2.61 ERA in 44 relief appearances after posting a 4.63 ERA in nine starts. His 2016 role reportedly is still undecided.

19 Oct

in the zone in arizona

Former Richton High star JaCoby Jones has come out swinging in the Arizona Fall League and ranks among the league leaders in several categories. Jones, a shortstop in the Detroit system, is batting .538 (7-for-13) with a league-leading five runs plus two homers (tied for the lead) and four RBIs. Jones, 6 feet 2, 205 pounds, was drafted in the third round out of LSU by Pittsburgh in 2013 and was traded to the Tigers this summer. He batted .250 with six homers, 20 RBIs and 10 steals in 37 games for Erie in the Double-A Eastern League; he was rated the Tigers’ No. 10 prospect at season’s end. … Ole Miss product Stuart Turner, a Minnesota prospect, is on the Scottsdale team with Jones but hasn’t played yet. Turner, a catcher, played for Southern League champ Chattanooga this summer. … Ex-Mississippi State star Adam Frazier went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and two RBIs in his one AFL game to date with Glendale. Frazier, a lefty-hitting shortstop in the Pirates’ organization, hit .324 in Double-A in 2015 and has a .291 career average over three pro seasons. … Johan Camargo and Connor Lien, who figure to be with the Mississippi Braves in 2016, are playing for Peoria. Shortstop Camargo is 3-for-8, outfielder Lien 1-for-8.

02 Sep

a look ahead

With the Mississippi Braves’ final homestand of 2015 concluded, and no surety that a postseason berth is forthcoming, it’s a good time to ponder what the M-Braves’ 2016 roster might look like. (Keep in mind that Atlanta GM John Hart is a constant threat to make more trades that will impact the Double-A club.) Current position players likely to return to Pearl include third baseman Rio Ruiz, outfielder Sean Godfrey and infielders Levi Hyams and Eric Garcia. Late-season roster additions Zack Bird, Mauricio Cabrera, John Gant and Lucas Sims could well be back on the pitching staff. On the high Class A Carolina roster, Connor Lien’s stats stand out. An outfielder, he was batting .286 with seven homers, 43 RBIs and 32 stolen bases through August. Other Mudcats bucking for promotion include shortstop Johan Camargo (Atlanta’s No. 22 prospect in the most recent rankings by mlb.com), third baseman Carlos Franco (nine homers), outfielder Dustin Peterson (.258, eight homers), catcher Joseph Odom (seven homers) and first baseman Jacob Schrader (268, 15 homers, 59 RBIs). Starting pitchers Brandon Barker (8-5, 3.00 ERA), Blair Walters (2.93) and Seth Webster (8-7, 2.75) have good numbers, as does reliever Justin Jackson (three wins, four saves, 2.28). The 2016 campaign, the M-Braves’ 12th in Pearl, begins on April 7, with Pensacola visiting Trustmark Park. Mississippi will host the Southern League All-Star Game for the second time on June 21. P.S. It’s not likely that outfielder Mycal Jones will be back, but who expected he’d return for a sixth tour in 2015? Jones, a fourth-round pick by Atlanta out of Miami-Dade College in 2009, has worn an M-Braves uniform for at least part of every season since 2010. He has played in 362 games for the Double-A club, with 306 hits, a .247 average, 16 homers, 121 RBIs and 144 steals. … The M-Braves averaged an announced 3,190 per game in attendance for 68 dates this season. That ranks seventh in the Southern League and is up marginally from 2014 (3,152). … Sims, Cabrera, Lien, Camargo, Odom and current M-Braves pitcher Andrew Thurman have been assigned by Atlanta to the Arizona Fall League. … Seven Biloxi Shuckers/Milwaukee prospects are headed to the AFL: pitchers Jacob Barnes, Josh Hader, Adrian Houser and Damien Magnifico, infielder Yadiel Rivera and outfielders Brett Phillips and Michael Reed.

02 Sep

random numbers

7 – Outfield assists for Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College product who got another on Tuesday for Kansas City in just his 61st game.
5 – Triples for Seth Smith, the Ole Miss alum who legged one out for Seattle; he now has 31 career triples and 20 career stolen bases.
20 – Home runs this season, at two levels of the minors, by Hunter Renfroe, the former Mississippi State star who went deep for Triple-A El Paso (San Diego system).
8 – Number of Mississippians (natives or college alums) currently on the MLB disabled list.
3 – Mississippians in the minors assigned to the initial rosters for the Arizona Fall League: State alum Adam Frazier (Pittsburgh system), Ole Miss product Stuart Turner (Minnesota) and ex-Richton High star JaCoby Jones (Detroit).
50 – Runs for Chris Coghlan, the ex-Ole Miss standout who scored one in the Chicago Cubs’ 5-4 win over Cincinnati.
68 – RBIs by Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss star who picked up a couple for Minnesota and is three shy of his career-high.
3 – Home runs allowed, in 10 big league appearances, by David Goforth, the UM product who gave up a pair for Milwaukee against Pittsburgh.
9 – Hits in big league games by former Mississippi Braves no longer playing for Atlanta; included were homers by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Phil Gosselin of Arizona.
3 – Hits by former M-Braves currently playing for Atlanta, two by Freddie Freeman, the other by Daniel Castro. The Braves lost to Miami 7-1, their 14th loss in 15 games.
38 — Wins, vs. 57 losses, for Dan Jennings, the USM and William Carey alum who took over as Miami manager in mid-May. Reports are that Jennings will return to GM duties in 2016.

18 Nov

catching up

With five hits in his last three outings, Anthony Alford appears to be finding his stroke in the Australian Baseball League. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal High is 5-for-12 with a home run, six runs and two RBIs in his last three games for Canberra. For the young ABL season, Alford is at .219. Drafted by Toronto in the third round in 2012, Alford has just 94 minor-league at-bats to date as he had been focused on football, which he has now given up. … Mississippians Hunter Renfroe and Tim Anderson got kudos from mlb.com’s Jim Callis for their work in the Arizona Fall League, which wrapped up last week. Mississippi State product Renfroe, a San Diego prospect, batted .284 with a league-best six homers and 20 RBIs. He also led the AFL in extra base hits, total bases and slugging. Anderson, a Chicago White Sox prospect from East Central Community College, hit .301 with six steals. “(F)ew shortstops can match his tools,” Callis wrote. … Tyrell Jenkins, the 6-foot-4 right-hander acquired by Atlanta from St. Louis in the Jason Heyward deal, posted a 2.22 ERA in the AFL. Jenkins, 22, is a candidate for the Mississippi Braves’ roster in 2015, which will be his sixth pro season. He pitched in high-A ball this past season. … Former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur will get another shot (how many is that?) at making a big league club next spring, this time with Philadelphia. Francouer had a big year (.289, 15 homers, 69 RBIs) in Triple-A with San Diego in 2014, though he didn’t hit at all in his MLB trial. … Ex-MSU standout Tyler Moore is batting .299 with six homers, 17 RBIs and 19 runs in 22 games in the Dominican Winter League as he attempts to improve his stock in the Washington organization. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alumnus Roy Corcoran, 34, is pitching in the Mexican Pacific League. The onetime major leaguer is 2-3 with a 3.66 ERA for Hermosillo. Corcoran, who originally signed with the Montreal Expos in 2001, pitched in independent ball the last two years. His last MLB season was 2009; he has a career 4.17 ERA in 82 games. … Belhaven University is ranked No. 14 in the NAIA preseason poll. The Blazers open the 2015 campaign on Jan. 30 at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. William Carey also opens that day in Hattiesburg.

09 Nov

here and there

Hunter Renfroe mashed a grand slam in a televised Arizona Fall League game on Saturday. The former Mississippi State standout and San Diego prospect is batting .271 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in the AFL. … East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, also playing in the AFL, had another three-hit game on Saturday and is batting .313 with two homers and five stolen bases. The Chicago White Sox prospect missed a big chunk of the 2014 season because of a broken wrist. “I definitely saw some things that helped me become a better ballplayer,” he told mlb.com about his downtime. … Former Petal High star Anthony Alford, understandably rusty, is 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts in the Australian Baseball League, where Toronto sent him to get some work in preparation for his return to the minors in 2015. … Belhaven University senior second baseman Paul Pickerrell has been named to the NAIA preseason All-America team. The Pearl River CC transfer batted .345 with 38 runs and 38 steals for the Blazers in 2014. … Preston Brown threw five scoreless innings and Reid Humphreys, the former Northwest Rankin High star, went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as the Maroon beat the Gray 8-0 in a Mississippi State fall scrimmage on Saturday. … Hinds CC, the NJCAA Division II runner-up in 2014, will open its 2015 season on Feb. 7 in Raymond against Mineral Area (Mo.) College. The Eagles will play 28 MACJC games next season. With Meridian re-joining the state association, every team in the league will play two games against every other team. There are still North and South divisions, but the playoff qualifying system has been altered slightly.

04 Nov

movin’ on up

Ed Easley’s strong season in Triple-A has been rewarded. The St. Louis Cardinals have added the former Mississippi State standout to their 40-man roster. He is currently one of four catchers, joining Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz and A.J. Pierzynski. Easley, who’ll be 29 in December, has played eight pro seasons but has yet to make the big leagues. He batted .296 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 80 games at Memphis in 2014, his first season in the St. Louis system. There was speculation he might get his first call-up when Molina was hurt late in the season, but it didn’t happen. It appears now that Easley at least will get a fair chance to make the club in spring training. … Meanwhile, another former State star had a monster day in the Arizona Fall League on Monday. Hunter Renfroe, who homered in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, belted two more (one an inside-the-parker) in Surprise’s 19-6 win against Glendale. Renfroe, San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013, went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, boosting his season stats to .279 with four homers and 13 RBIs. For the record, East Central Community College alumnus Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox) went 1-for-5 for Glendale and is batting .304.

01 Nov

familiar names

While perusing box scores from the various winter circuits, ran across a couple of names of note in the Puerto Rican (a.k.a. Robert Clemente) League: Angel Rosa and Ramon Castro. Rosa, an Alcorn State alumnus and Puerto Rico native, just finished his second season in the Los Angeles Angels’ system and looks to be making progress. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound shortstop hit .246 with seven home runs, 46 RBIs, 23 doubles and 15 steals in the Class A Midwest League, then batted .348 in 28 games in the high-A California League. Rosa doesn’t show up on the prospect charts, but he certainly is worth keeping an eye on. Castro is on the other side of the hill. The former Jackson Generals catcher, a first-round pick by Houston in 1994, is 38 years old and hasn’t been in an MLB game since 2011. But he is playing winter ball in his home country, showing an admirable love for the game. P.S. The Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game will air tonight at 7 on MLB Network. Daniel Castro, a 2014 Mississippi Braves star, is in the starting lineup for the West, and ex-Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe (San Diego Padres) will come off the West’s bench.

29 Oct

star power

Former Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe shook out of a slump on Tuesday with a couple of hits, including a home run, in the Arizona Fall League. Renfroe, who had gotten off to a hot start in the AFL, is now batting .232 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games for Surprise. Renfroe, a fast-rising San Diego Padres outfield prospect, is slated to play in the AFL’s Fall Stars Game on Saturday. “It’s going to be cool,” Renfroe told mlb.com. Also booked for the all-star contest is Daniel Castro, who finished the 2014 season as the Mississippi Braves’ starting shortstop. Castro, from Mexico, is batting .231 for Peoria; he batted .277 in 51 games for the M-Braves. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star now in the Chicago White Sox system, also had a good day in the AFL on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 for Glendale. Anderson, a shortstop, is hitting .309 with a homer and six RBIs. … Itawamba CC product Tim Dillard, in the Milwaukee system in 2014, still has not allowed a run over 9 1/3 innings for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. P.S. Ole Miss has set its rosters for the Pizza Bowl fall ball championship. The series, which is essentially a 16-inning game spread over two days, will be held on Friday and Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium. … In Starkville, junior college transfer Logan Elliott and returning star Ross Mitchell combined on a two-hit, five-inning shutout as State continued its fall ball schedule. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play again on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

16 Oct

warming to the task

Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, is heating up in Arizona after a chilly start. The Chicago White Sox’s 2013 first-round pick has five hits, including his first home run on Wednesday, over his last two games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League. In six games, Anderson, 21, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound shortstop, is batting .400 with four runs, two RBIs and three steals. He spent most of the 2014 season, his first full pro year, at Class A Winston-Salem, hitting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals. After he recovered from a late-season broken wrist, Anderson was sent to Double-A Birmingham and hit .364 in 10 games. … Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro, who played for the 2014 Mississippi Braves, are hitting .300 and .263, respectively, for Peoria in the AFL. … Former Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College standout Tim Dillard is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. Dillard, 31, a onetime big leaguer, posted a 3.13 ERA at Double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee system this past season. P.S. Wednesday was a big day for Butch Thompson. The Mississippi State associate head coach was named the national assistant coach of the year for 2014 and also was announced as an inductee into the Itawamba Community College Athletic Hall of Fame. Thompson, an Amory native, was a closer at ICC in 1989 and ’90. He is currently in his seventh year of working with MSU’s pitchers. … State’s second fall scrimmage is slated for Friday at Dudy Noble Field.