Tag Archives: A’s

06 Apr

minor matters

A pair of 2024 first-round draftees with Mississippi connections strutted their potential on Saturday. Jurrangelo Cijntje, the switch-pitcher out of Mississippi State, threw four scoreless innings in his pro debut for High-Class A Everett (Seattle system), and Braden Montgomery, the Madison Central High alum drafted out Texas A&M, hit his first pro home run for Low-A Kannapolis (Chicago White Sox). Cijntje, 15th overall pick, faced 14 batters, pitching righty 11 times, lefty three times. He allowed just one hit (to a righty), two walks (both to lefties) and struck out six against Spokane (Colorado affiliate) in the Northwest League contest. Cijntje was 11-7 with a 5.25 ERA in two years at MSU but has much better stuff, from both arms, than those numbers would indicate. Montgomery, the 12th overall pick (by Boston), belted 62 homers in three college seasons, 27 in 2024 at A&M. A broken ankle delayed his pro debut to 2025, and in his second game in the Carolina League, the switch-hitting slugger went yard. A Gatorade player of the year while at Madison Central, he is off to a 2-for-8 start with four RBIs and a stolen base for Kannapolis. … In a High-A Midwest League game of some local interest, former Mississippi State standout Brooks Auger faced ex-Ole Miss star Dylan DeLucia, with Auger and the Great Lakes Loons beating Lake County 6-1. Auger, who famously shut down Ole Miss in that dramatic SEC Tournament game last year, went 5 2/3, allowing one unearned run in his pro debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a sixth-round pick last summer. DeLucia, a hero on UM’s national title team in 2022, yielded four runs in three innings and took the loss. A sixth-rounder by Cleveland in ’22, he has been limited by injuries to 14 pro games. P.S. In MLB on Saturday, Brent Rooker, ex-MSU star, hit his fourth homer of the season, helping the A’s set a franchise record. The team has homered in its first nine games for the first time. The A’s won 7-4 at Colorado to improve to 4-5.

17 Mar

digging the long ball

Brewton-Parker Field in Mount Vernon, Ga., isn’t especially small, but for William Carey University’s hitters, it played like a bandbox over the weekend. The Crusaders hit 19 home runs and scored 75 runs all told — 31, 11 and 33 — in a three-game sweep of the Southern States Athletic Conference series. “(P)laying in some of the smaller parks really plays into our power throughout the lineup,” Carey coach Bobby Halford said in a school release. Carey, ranked 12th in NAIA, is 22-4 and 13-2 in the SSAC with eight wins in a row. Brewton-Parker fell to 9-15, 4-11. High-scoring games aren’t uncommon at BP Field: Four times previously visiting teams had scored 13 or more runs in 2025. The host scored a season-high 17 in Game 1 vs. Carey. But still, the Crusaders’ show of power was jaw-dropping. Jayden Mark had a three-homer game, his first three of the season. Josh Alexander, Carey’s homer leader at 10, had two two-homer games, and Preston Ratliff and Rigoberto Hernandez each produced a two-homer game. The Crusaders entered the series with 17 homers over 23 games. … Of the state’s big four NCAA Division I schools, only one came out of the first weekend of conference play feeling very good. Southern Miss (14-6) took two of three from visiting Old Dominion to start Sun Belt play, though the Golden Eagles lost Game 3. Ole Miss (15-4) dropped two of three at home against Arkansas, Mississippi State (13-7) was swept by visiting Texas and Jackson State (12-6) went 1-2 at Prairie View A&M. … Millsaps College rallied from four runs down to beat Centre 5-4 at Twenty Field to split a Sunday doubleheader; Charles Hunt, a pinch hitter, knocked in the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. The Majors are 12-5, 1-1 Southern Athletic Association. Centre, nationally ranked in Division III, is 12-2, 4-1. P.S. In MLB, ex-State star Hunter Renfroe hit two doubles and a triple and drove in five runs for Kansas City in a Cactus League game. Veteran outfielder Renfroe is batting .348 with a homer and nine RBIs this spring. … Brandon Woodruff, former Bulldogs pitcher, threw a scoreless inning for Milwaukee in his first MLB game action since 2023. “It was a big day for me,” a beaming Woodruff, coming off shoulder surgery, told reporters. … Right-hander J.T. Ginn, another MSU product, was optioned to Triple-A by the A’s; Ginn made his MLB debut last season.

07 Jan

he’s in the money

Brent Rooker has performed like a superstar the past two seasons and now he’s getting paid like one. Rooker, national player of the year at Mississippi State in 2017, reportedly has been given a 5-year, $60 million contract extension by the (no longer Oakland) A’s. It’s the third largest contract in A’s history, per MLB Network, and includes an option that could push the value to $90 million. Rooker, 30, made $750,000 in 2024, when he batted .293 with 39 homers and 112 RBIs and won a Silver Slugger at DH in the American League. He has belted 69 homers in two seasons with the A’s, who gave him his first regular work after he had bounced around other organizations for three seasons. Armed with his new contract, Rooker will also have a new home in 2025; the A’s, ultimately bound for Las Vegas, will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif., for the foreseeable future. The team went 69-93 last season but has a good, young core that includes ex-State star J.T. Ginn and Ole Miss product Gunnar Hoglund on its pitching staff and ex-Mississippi Braves standout Shea Langeliers behind the plate.

20 Nov

mlb roster moves

A handful of Mississippi college products were added to major league 40-man rosters on Tuesday, most notably former Mississippi State star Jake Mangum, who has toiled in Triple-A the past three years with three different organizations. Outfielder Mangum, a .296 hitter over his five minor league seasons, was selected by Tampa Bay. (The Rays traded starting center fielder Jose Siri to the New York Mets for a pitcher on Tuesday.) MSU product Eric Cerantola made Kansas City’s 40-man protected roster and ex-Ole Miss stars Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy were added by Oakland and Cleveland, respectively. All three are pitchers who reached the Triple-A level this season. They’ll go to big league camp next spring, seeking to make the active roster for the 2025 season. … Atlanta added 2024 Mississippi Braves pitcher Rolddy Munoz and Milwaukee selected Logan Henderson, who pitched in Biloxi this past season. (As noted by mlb.com: Players signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 or older have to be protected within four seasons. The Rule 5 draft is next month.) P.S. A total of 26 Mississippians (native or school alum) appeared in major league games in 2024, with J.T. Ginn, Will Warren, Hurston Waldrep, Justin Foscue and Colt Keith making their MLB debuts. Keith, a Biloxi High alum who played for Detroit this year, was a Silver Slugger finalist at second base.

12 Nov

ring the bell

It’ll come as no surprise if Brent Rooker is awarded the Silver Slugger at DH in the American League. The former Mississippi State star hit .293 with 39 homers, 112 RBIs, 82 runs, 26 doubles, 11 steals, a .927 OPS and a 5.6 WAR for the (no longer Oakland) Athletics. All of those numbers were easily career-highs for the fifth-year big leaguer. He was tied for fourth in the AL in homers and ranked third in RBIs. No other Mississippian (native or school alum) came close to Rooker’s production this season, making Rooker a slam-dunk choice for the Cool Papa Bell Award. Other winners of the Bell — given here for the best performance by a Mississippian in MLB — include Justin Steele, Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Mitch Moreland, Brian Dozier, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. For the record, Rooker made $750,000 this past season; he is due for a big jump in salary arbitration. P.S. Vicksburg native Dmitri Young was a guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show today and did an engaging interview ranging from his baseball card collection to his rising star nephew Quentin to his first MLB game against studio host Al Leiter. Young hit 171 homers in a 13-year big league career. … Jared Johnson, who powered Class 1A Smithville High to a state championship back in 2019, has been traded by Atlanta to the A’s for infielder Nick Allen. Johnson, 23, posted a 2.60 ERA as a reliever at High-Class A Rome in 2024 and has a 3.98 over his five minor league campaigns. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has 225 strikeouts in 183 1/3 career innings. Allen is a good defensive shortstop who hasn’t hit in limited big league time. … Former Biloxi Shuckers star Jackson Chourio, now with Milwaukee, was named a finalist for National League rookie of the year. He hit .275 with 21 homers and 22 steals. … Shuckers alum Brice Turang, a Gold Glove winner at second base, won the NL’s Platinum Glove as the best overall defensive player in the league. Turang was a first-round pick by Milwaukee in 2018 and played for the Double-A Shuckers in 2021. He posted a .989 fielding percentage with just seven errors at second base in 2024. He had 379 assists and a hand in 78 double plays. He led all major league players with 22 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024 per mlb.com and all NL fielders in Baseball Reference’s Defensive Wins Above Replacement stat. … Louisville native Marcus Thames apparently will be retained as hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, who recently named Will Venable as their manager for 2025. The ChiSox went 41-121 last season, worst record in modern MLB history. … Brett Wellman, son of former Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman, has been named manager of the Down East Bird Dawgs, who’ll join the Mississippi Mud Monsters as an expansion team in the independent Frontier League next year. Brett Wellman, a bullpen catcher for the M-Braves when his dad was manager, played three years in the Toronto system.

07 Oct

tagging up

Colt Keith, the former state prep player of the year out of Biloxi High, doesn’t have a hit yet in his first MLB postseason, but he has had an impact for the upstart Detroit Tigers. The rookie second baseman, 0-for-6 so far, has walked five times (.455 OBP) and scored a run in the wild card win against Houston. The lefty hitter isn’t in the lineup for Game 2 today of the American League Division Series at Cleveland, which is starting left-hander Matthew Boyd, but expect Keith to get in the game at some point. The Guardians won Game 1 7-0. … Neither Hunter Renfroe nor fellow Mississippi State product Adam Frazier, both with Kansas City, played in Game 1 of the Kansas City-New York ALDS, won by the Yankees. Game 2 is tonight at Yankee Stadium. With the Yanks starting lefty Carlos Rodon, Renfroe figures to be in the lineup. … Andy Fletcher, the Ole Miss alum who lives in Olive Branch, is working the New York-Philadelphia NLDS, which is tied at 1-1. He reportedly missed 16 calls — getting a lot of unwanted attention — as the home plate umpire in Game 1, which the Mets won 6-2. He was manning the right-field line for the drama of Game 2, won by Philly 7-6. Brookhaven native Lance Barksdale is working the Kansas City-New York series. He was on the left-field line for Game 1. … The Arizona Fall League season starts tonight with Surprise playing Mesa. MSU alum Preston Johnson (Baltimore); Ole Miss product Houston Roth (Baltimore); UM’s Brandon Johnson (Kansas City); and ex-Rebel Dylan DeLucia (Cleveland) are on the Surprise roster, though not all may be active. Ex-MSU standout David Mershon (Los Angeles Angels) is on the Mesa roster. … In case you missed it, ex-State slugger Brent Rooker, who had a monstrous season for Oakland in 2024, reportedly has had elbow/forearm surgery but will be ready for spring training. … It’s cool to be a part of history, even if you’re on the “wrong” side of it. On this date in 2001, Vicksburg native John Thomson surrendered hit No. 3,000 to Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson on the final day of the regular season. Thomson was 63-85 in a 10-year MLB career and won 14 games for the 2004 Atlanta Braves. Also on this date, in 2013, Jackson native and former Ole Miss star Seth Smith homered for Oakland in an ALDS win against Detroit. It was the second of two postseason homers Smith hit in 18 career games dating back to his 2007 rookie year.

27 Sep

one for the books

A wide range of emotions were on display Thursday at Oakland Coliseum. For J.T. Ginn, there was the thrill of his first major league win, which happened to coincide with the Oakland A’s final game at the place they’ve called home since 1968. Former Mississippi State star Ginn, making his eighth MLB appearance, took a shutout into the sixth inning and wound up being charged with two runs over 5 1/3 in the A’s 3-2 victory against Texas. He is 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA. He got a standing ovation when he left the mound. The game, broadcast on MLB Network, drew a crowd of 46,889, many no doubt angered that the team’s owner is moving the club — first to Sacramento, then to Las Vegas — but also saddened to see the proud franchise pull up roots. “Today there is crying in baseball,” read one sign. In the ninth, someone threw a smoke bomb on the field, causing a delay. Former MSU star Brent Rooker had two hits for the A’s, and fellow former Bulldogs slugger Nathaniel Lowe went 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Rangers. … Mississippians have some interesting history in the green-and-gold. Belzoni’s Herb Washington, the track star-turned-designated runner, won a World Series ring with the 1974 team, the last of the Swingin’ A’s three straight titles. Grenada native Dave Parker, in the twilight of his excellent career, was the DH on the 1989 Oakland club that won the Earthquake Series, the last of the A’s world championships. Chad Bradford, the ex-Southern Miss standout from Byram, pitched and MSU product Adam Piatt played some first base for the Moneyball A’s of 2002, made famous by the book and the movie. That 103-win team, which had a 20-game win streak, didn’t make it to the World Series. In 2021, Amory native and former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland played the final season of his outstanding career with the A’s. In 1981, Kelvin Moore became the first Jackson State product to reach the majors when he debuted for Oakland in the second half of that strike-interrupted split season. Baseball is losing something without a team in Oakland. P.S. In Thursday games that were meaningful for other reasons, Detroit and Kansas City maintained their cushion over Minnesota in the American League wild card standings. Only two of the three will make the playoffs. Colt Keith, the rookie out of Biloxi High, went 2-for-4 with a couple of RBIs as the Tigers beat Tampa Bay 4-3, their fifth straight win and 30th in 41 games. Ex-MSU standout Adam Frazier delivered a pinch two-run knock in the ninth inning to propel the Royals to their third straight victory, 7-4 over Washington. Hunter Renfroe, another State alum, belted his 14th homer for KC.

21 Sep

odds and ends

Garrett Crochet’s 2024 numbers, most of them, are pretty good. The Ocean Springs native, starting for the first time since his college days four years ago, has a 3.68 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, a .220 batting average against and 203 strikeouts with just 32 walks in 142 innings. The tall left-hander, an All-Star back in July, struck out eight with no walks in a four-inning scoreless outing on Friday. His team, the mournful Chicago White Sox, lost again to fall to 36-118. Crochet’s record is 6-12. How’d he ever win six? … Ex-Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner went 2-for-6 with an RBI knock in the 12th inning as Minnesota beat Boston 4-2 at Fenway Park to climb to within a game of slumping Kansas City for second place in the American League wild card race. Detroit, which lost Friday to wild card leader Baltimore, is a game back of the Twins, and Seattle is a game back of the Tigers. Three wild card teams make the postseason. … Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull is slated for a rehab appearance at Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday; the right-hander, on the injured list since late June, is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 games for Philadelphia, which clinched a postseason berth on Friday. When he might return to the active roster remains unclear. … J.T. Ginn, the former Mississippi State pitcher from Brandon, worked five innings, allowing one run, for Oakland against the New York Yankees Friday but got a no-decision in a game the A’s would lose 4-2 in 10 innings. Rookie Ginn is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA in seven games. … Ex-USM star Matthew Etzel went 1-for-3 and scored a run as Montgomery beat Biloxi to claim the Southern League South Division title. Former Magnolia Heights standout Cooper Pratt homered for the Shuckers. Birmingham won the North Division title over Tennessee with Ole Miss product Jacob Gonzalez going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. The SL Championship Series starts Sunday at Montgomery. … USM alum and erstwhile big leaguer Kirk McCarty is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 starts for CTBC Brothers, which has the best overall record in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

12 Sep

central characters

With just a couple weeks left in the major league season, four of the five teams in the American League Central are very much in the playoff hunt. And, yes, there are Mississippi products in impactful roles on all of these clubs. To wit: Former Southern Miss star Matt Wallner homered for Minnesota in a win against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. It was his 13th of the season, 12th in 51 games since he was recalled from the minors on July 7. Wallner hit a majestic 444-foot blast in the Twins’ win on Tuesday. The Twins, third in the division, are third in the wild card standings, 1.5 games back of Kansas City. The Royals, who swept the Twins last weekend, lost in extra innings to the New York Yankees on Wednesday, falling 4.5 games behind AL Central leader Cleveland. Ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe, who didn’t play Wednesday, is hitting .240 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs for the Royals. MSU product Adam Frazier (.204) plays a utility role for the team, and James McArthur (Ole Miss) and Chris Stratton (MSU) work out of the bullpen, though both have struggled of late. Cleveland won its third straight on Wednesday, beating the lowly Chicago White Sox. USM alum Nick Sandlin pitched 1 1/3 innings for the Guardians and cherry-picked the victory, his eighth, all in relief. He has nine holds, a save and a 3.78 ERA. Cool moment: In the sixth inning Wednesday, Sandlin faced ChiSox catcher Chuckie Robinson, his batterymate in Hattiesburg back in 2016. Sandlin struck out Robinson on a 3-2 pitch. Lurking in fourth place in the wild card standings is Detroit, just 3 games back of Minnesota. Ex-Biloxi High standout Colt Keith, the Tigers’ rookie second baseman, is batting .262 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. He was 1-for-3 in a win over Colorado on Wednesday. The battle for postseason spots between the AL Central clubs intensifies next week: The Guardians and Twins meet in a four-game series, while the Tigers and Royals play a three-game set. P.S. Brent Rooker, the former SEC player of the year from MSU, knocked in two runs for Oakland on Wednesday, giving him 101 RBIs on the season. That’s tied for fifth in MLB, third in the AL.

06 Sep

highlight refresh

The game-winning bomb he hit against Ole Miss back in May no doubt still occupies the top spot on Connor Hujsak’s career highlights page. But his performance on Thursday night in pro ball was pretty special, too. The Mississippi State alum hit three home runs for Low-Class A Charleston in the Tampa Bay system. A 13th-round draft pick in July, Hujsak is batting .297 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 19 games for Charleston this season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound outfielder hit .325 with nine homers for MSU this season, his second in Starkville. His walk-off two-run shot against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament elimination game is one Bulldogs fans won’t soon forget. … Interestingly enough, the Rays have three other Mississippi college products in their minor league chain: Jake Mangum (MSU) in Triple-A, Matthew Etzel (Southern Miss) in Double-A and Colton Ledbetter (MSU) in High-A. Mangum leads the International League in hitting, while Etzel (No. 25) and Ledbetter (No. 22) are among Tampa Bay’s Top 30 prospects. P.S. In the big leagues, ex-State star Brent Rooker hit two homers for Oakland, his fourth multi-homer game of the season giving him 35 all told. The single-season homer record for Mississippians (native or school alum) in MLB is 47, which former Bulldogs star Rafael Palmeiro reached twice (1999 and 2001). … Tyreque Reed, the Houlka native who played at Itawamba Community College, led the independent Frontier League in hitting this year with a .341 average. The veteran pro hit 12 homers and drove in 52 runs for Washington, which finished with the best record in the league at 67-28. The playoffs began Thursday.