A's Archives - Page 12 of 15 - All Mississippi Baseball

31 Aug

wait till next year

The Oakland A’s are one of those teams that enters September thinking about next year. And one of the things the A’s must be thinking about is whether Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz can fill the bill as their closer in 2016. The big left-hander, a converted starter, has gotten some looks in that role in August and had some success. He is 2-for-4 in save chances for the month with a couple of holds and a 1.42 ERA in 11 games. “It seems like every time he’s out there he’s more and more comfortable,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin told mlb.com. For the year, in 43 games (34 relief appearances), Pomeranz has a 3.61 ERA, three saves, a 4-5 record and 75 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings. Pomeranz was the fifth overall pick by Cleveland in 2010 but hasn’t really blossomed over five tours as a big leaguer. Closing might be his calling, and next year might be his time. P.S. It has to have been a trying year for Roger McDowell, the former Jackson Mets star now in his 10th season as Atlanta’s pitching coach. The Braves’ pitching is a mess, and it’s not his fault. Trades and injuries have gutted the staff. The team has used 34 different pitchers, some of them very young, some way past their prime, very few effective. The staff ERA of 4.43 ranks 26th in baseball, and it’s 5.28 since the All-Star break. They’re second in the majors in walks. They’ve blown 21 saves, most in MLB. They just allowed 38 runs in three games at home against the New York Yankees. The Braves have been among the majors’ leaders in staff ERA every year under McDowell – first in 2013 and fifth in 2014 — and for many years before that. This is a shock to the system for Braves Nation and raises the question, Are they really going to be able to clean this up by 2017?

24 Aug

summer fun

Biloxi Shuckers fans were given quite a treat this summer. The first team Milwaukee sent to its new Double-A home won a first-half championship and was packed with prospects, including Orlando Arcia, who is still there and still raking. The Venezuelan shortstop, rated the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect and No. 13 overall by mlb.com, had his first career two-homer game on Sunday at MGM Park. He is batting .342 over his last 10 games and .302 for the year, with eight homers, 62 RBIs, 34 doubles and 23 steals. Arcia turned 21 earlier this month. Biloxi hitting coach Sandy Guerrero told milb.com that Arcia is not quite big league-ready, but “he’s not that far.” … Meanwhile, the Mississippi Braves have moved into first place in the second-half race in the Southern League South. Lucas Sims, one of Atlanta’s top pitching prospects, threw six strong innings, fanning 10, and Rio Ruiz, another prospect, homered as the M-Braves beat host Pensacola 3-1. If the M-Braves win the title — there are 14 games left — they would meet the Shuckers in the first round of the SL playoffs. That would be quite a treat for both fan bases. P.S. Former Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe hit his third homer in five Triple-A games for El Paso (San Diego Padres) on Sunday. … Ex-State standout Kendall Graveman threw six shutout innings for Oakland on Sunday but got a no-decision and remains winless in his last eight starts. What’s worse, he suffered an oblique injury and may have to go on the disabled list.

12 Aug

when the going gets tough

There is an interesting story on the Oakland A’s page on mlb.com in which Kendall Graveman talks about persevering through some tough times at Mississippi State and again earlier this season when the A’s sent him to the minors. Well, the times look tough again for the rookie right-hander. He went up against the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday and got burned in a 4-2 loss. Hurt by a couple of big errors, Graveman lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, a walk and four runs (two earned). His record dipped to 6-8. The last-place A’s are 0-6 in Graveman’s last six starts; he hasn’t won since July 4. Graveman’s ERA is a very respectable 3.89, and that’s even more impressive when you consider that it was 8.27 when the A’s demoted him to Triple-A after four starts in April. He went 5-2 in a nine-start stretch after his return in late May. Drafted in 2013 by Toronto, Graveman bolted through the minors and reached the big leagues last September. Oakland got him in the off-season trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Jays, and Graveman won a job in the rotation in spring training. This current victory drought isn’t likely to get him down. … Times are also tough for ex-State star Tyler Moore, who is hitless in his last nine at-bats (all as a pinch hitter) and is batting just .203 for Washington, which is scuffling as a team. Moore’s last hit was on July 24, his last home run on June 12. He belted 10 homers in 156 at-bats in his debut season in 2012 but has just 12 over three seasons since. He seems due for a breakout. P.S. Tampa Bay sent former Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings on another rehab assignment (see previous post), this one at Class A Port Charlotte.

24 Jul

about-face

Things were going well for Drew Pomeranz in his role as a relief pitcher. Twenty appearances, a 1.56 ERA. Well, forget that. The big left-hander out of Ole Miss is back in the Oakland rotation. He made an emergency start on Thursday – after the A’s traded Scott Kazmir – and it didn’t go so well. Eight batters faced. Two hits, a walk, two runs allowed (on a home run). The A’s wound up losing 5-2 to Toronto. Pomeranz now has a 4.67 ERA in nine starts this season. Thursday’s was his first since May 18. The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Pomeranz is with his third organization; he is 13-21 with a 4.14 ERA. He has always had trouble going deep into games as a starter. The move to the pen this season, which followed a stint on the disabled list, seemed like a good idea. And the results were good. Now he’ll have to readjust to starting for a team that’s out of the postseason hunt. “In five days I hope I’ll polish up a few things,” he told the San Jose Mercury News. Pomeranz’s next start figures to come against the Los Angeles Dodgers. P.S. David Goforth, another ex-UM star, was recalled by Milwaukee on Thursday and pitched in relief against Arizona. Didn’t go well for him either. Three hits, a walk and two runs allowed in one inning. Meridian native Goforth now has a 5.40 ERA in his five MLB appearances.

16 Jul

breaking away

The big league All-Star break, which continues through today, means different things to different players. Those who are slumping likely welcome the respite, while those on a roll are hoping not to lose their mojo. Seth Smith, the Ole Miss product from Jackson, falls into the latter category. He homered for Seattle in the last game before the break, giving him eight for the year. He is hitting .333 over his last 15 games to lift his average to .268. Former Mississippi State standout Tyler Moore had a big two-run double for Washington last Sunday and has seven RBIs in eight July games for the first-place Nationals. He would like to find his home run stroke, however; his last blast came on June 12. UM alum Drew Pomeranz, who has been rock solid since moving to the Oakland bullpen, had a 1.50 ERA over his last seven appearances heading into the break. The break might have been a good thing for Pascagoula native Joey Butler. So hot for Tampa Bay just a couple of weeks ago, he is batting .098 with one RBI over his last 15 games, dropping his average to .287. Ex-UM star Chris Coghlan’s consecutive games streak ended at 150 when he sat out on Sunday, getting a pre-break break. Coghlan hasn’t produced much of late for the Chicago Cubs, with just one RBI and four runs in 11 games in July. Tony Sipp, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product, has a 5.06 ERA – two runs higher than his season number — over his last seven games for Houston, which fell out of first place in the American League West on the last day before the break.

06 Jul

star charts

While we wait to see if Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier is picked for his first All-Star Game and if ex-Mississippi Braves star Brian McCann gets to make an eighth appearance, here’s what we do know about the upcoming All-Star buffet: Biloxi’s Orlando Arcia, one of Milwaukee’s top prospects, is headed to the All-Star Futures Game, set for July 12 in Cincinnati. Arcia, a shortstop from Venezuela, is batting .313 with four homers, 42 RBIs and 10 steals for the Double-A Shuckers. And Louis Coleman, the former Pillow Academy star and Greenwood native, is on the Pacific Coast League roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game, which is July 15 in Omaha. Coleman, 29, is 4-1 with a 1.58 ERA and six saves for Omaha in the Kansas City system. He has a 3.25 ERA over 148 major league games with the Royals, though he is no longer on the 40-man roster. … The MLB Home Run Derby contestants have not been finalized, but former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland would be a good choice. He has 14 homers for Texas this season and has hit some mammoth blasts in his career. The revamped derby is slated July 13 at Cincy’s Great American Ballpark, a great hitter’s park. P.S. Seth Smith, the ex-Ole Miss standout, delivered in the clutch for Seattle on Sunday, stroking a two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch and propelling the Mariners to a 2-1 win at Oakland. “I loved playing (at O.Co Coliseum) when I was with the A’s and especially day games have a good buzz,” Smith told mlb.com. Smith is 9-for-27 with a homer and five RBIs this year against the A’s, one of the four teams he has played for the last five years. He is batting .257 on the season with seven homers.

30 Jun

flipping the script

Seems sorta silly now. Mitch Moreland was projected to hit 13 home runs for Texas this season while batting .243, according to Rotowire.com. Speculation was that the former Mississippi State star would wind up in a platoon situation at DH. He had off-season ankle surgery after playing only 52 games (and hitting two homers) in 2014, and then underwent elbow surgery in late April. He had one homer at the time. When the Rangers reacquired Josh Hamilton, it was assumed Moreland’s playing time would drop. Flash to Monday. Moreland hit two homers in the Rangers’ 8-1 win against Baltimore, giving him 12 for the season, which is not yet half over. A career .258 hitter, he is batting .300 (and his average has been as high as .321). He plays every day, almost always at first base. (Prince Fielder is the regular DH; Hamilton has been injured.) Moreland, 29, is looking like the star the Rangers thought they had found when he broke in in 2010 with nine homers in 47 games for a team that made it to the World Series. P.S. Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton stole four bases and scored three runs on Monday, leading Cincinnati to an 11-7 win over Minnesota. Hamilton has a major league-best 40 steals and 37 runs in 67 games. … Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier homered for the 16th time for the Twins. … MSU product Kendall Graveman threw seven shutout innings as Oakland beat Colorado 7-1. Graveman is 5-4 with a 3.47 ERA. … Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan is MLB’s active leader in consecutive games played at 138 going into the Chicago Cubs’ game today against the New York Mets. Coghlan is batting .259 with eight homers in 74 games this season.

25 Jun

big league chew

He ranks first in runs, first in home runs, first in RBIs and second in slugging percentage among American League second basemen. Brian Dozier’s 56 runs are tied for the most in the entire AL, and he is second in the league in doubles. Surely, the ex-Southern Miss standout will make his first All-Star Game this year. He had two hits against Chris Sale on Wednesday, scoring a run and knocking in another to help Minnesota to a 6-1 win against the Chicago White Sox. Dozier is batting .261 with 14 homers and 36 RBIs for a good Twins club. … Kendall Graveman, the Mississippi State alum pitching for Oakland, beat Texas to square his record at 4-4 and trim his ERA to 3.86. Graveman is 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA in seven starts since returning from a stint in the minors. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton, back in the leadoff spot for Cincinnati, drew a first-inning walk, stole second and third and scored to start the Reds on their way to a 5-2 win at Pittsburgh. Hamilton was hitless in his other four at-bats, dropping his average to .223, but he has 35 steals and 33 runs in 62 games. … Ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star Jarrod Dyson, whose speed may rival Hamilton’s, stole his eighth bag (in 34 games) for Kansas City in a win over Seattle. … Ole Miss product Lance Lynn (4-4, 3.07) is slated to come off the disabled list and start today for St. Louis against Miami. The Cardinals are 47-24, best record in MLB. … Worth remembering: Wednesday (June 24) was the 53rd anniversary of Silver City native Jack Reed’s only big league homer. It came in the 22nd inning of the New York Yankees’ 9-7 win at Detroit. Reed played parts of three seasons (1961-63) with the Yanks.

24 Jun

it’s a first

Drew Pomeranz, the former Ole Miss standout, achieved a career first on Tuesday night. The left-hander earned career save No. 1 by getting the last five outs in Oakland’s 8-6 win at Texas. He induced ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland to hit into a double play in the ninth and then ended the game with a strikeout. Pomeranz might be best suited for a bullpen role. He began this season in the A’s rotation and was 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA when he went on the disabled list in mid-May. In only two of his eight starts did he go more than 5 1/3 innings. He has worked exclusively in relief since returning and has yielded just two runs in 10 appearances, picking up four holds. Used mostly as a starter in pro ball since Cleveland drafted him fifth overall in 2010, Pomeranz is 11-21 with a 4.20 ERA for his MLB career. P.S. East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson was named MVP of Tuesday’s Southern League All-Star Game. On his 22nd birthday, the Chicago White Sox prospect went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run to pace the North stars to a 9-0 victory at Montgomery, Ala.

09 Jun

minor matters

D.J. Davis, the first Mississippi-connected player chosen in the 2012 draft, is making a strong bid for promotion in the Toronto system. The ex-Stone County High star drove in eight runs on Monday for the low Class A Lansing Lugnuts. The lefty-hitting outfielder, who went 4-for-5 with a home run and two doubles in the game, is batting .294 with three homers, 30 RBIs, 32 runs, four triples and nine steals over 53 games in his second tour of the Midwest League. A key for Davis this year has been cutting down on his strikeouts. … Chris Stratton, also a first-rounder in 2012 (No. 20 overall to Davis’ 17), made his Triple-A debut in the San Francisco system last Friday. Stratton, from Tupelo by way of Mississippi State, allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings in a victory by Sacramento. He was 1-5 with a 4.14 ERA at Double-A Richmond before his promotion. … Knocking on the Double-A door is Horn Lake’s Cody Reed, a second-round pick out of Northwest Mississippi CC by Kansas City in 2013 (and the third Mississippian picked in that draft, after Hunter Renfroe and Tim Anderson). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound left-hander is 5-3 with a 1.29 ERA for Wilmington in the high-A Carolina League. … Anderson, the East Central CC alum who missed a couple days with a shoulder injury, is playing again at Double-A Birmingham (Chicago White Sox) and is hitting .304 with 21 bags. MSU product and Crystal Springs native Renfroe, at Double-A San Antonio in San Diego’s system, has scuffled a bit (.226, three homers). … Ole Miss alum Bobby Wahl, another 2013 draftee, is also toiling in Double-A and has a 3.76 ERA with four saves for Midland (Oakland) in the Texas League. P.S. Ed Easley, drafted way back in 2007 out of MSU, got his first big league RBI on Monday for St. Louis. He is still looking for his first hit; he is 0-for-2 in three plate appearances. … Hinds CC’s Randy Bell was named an NJCAA first-team All-America pitcher. The South Alabama signee was 12-0 with a 2.37 ERA for the state champion Eagles.