Tag Archives: A’s

22 Aug

pitching in

J.T. Ginn made a pretty impressive big league debut on Wednesday night, one of several noteworthy pitching performances from Magnolia State products in pro ball. Ex-Mississippi State star Ginn, called up by Oakland on Tuesday (see previous post), struck out the side around a walk in his first inning and finished with two hitless innings of relief work in the A’s 4-2 loss against Tampa Bay. … Southern Miss alum Tyler Stuart, making his Triple-A debut in the Washington chain, went 6 2/3, allowing one hit and one run with six strikeouts, to notch the victory for Rochester in a 4-1 win over Lehigh Valley. … Landon Harper, another former USM standout, pitched the last three innings for the Mississippi Braves and earned his first Double-A save in a 4-2 win vs. Chattanooga at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Harper has a 1.46 ERA in 19 appearances, with three holds and two wins. … Tanner Hall, the 2022 Ferriss Trophy winner at USM, allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings in his second High-Class A start in Minnesota’s system. Hall (two hits, two walks, four K’s) got a no-decision in Cedar Rapids’ 4-3 loss to Dayton. … Cam Schuelke, a 2024 draftee out of MSU by Cleveland, got the last two outs for Low-A Lynchburg in a 3-2 victory vs. Salem and earned his second save. He has not allowed a run in four games. P.S. Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet, now working limited innings for the Chicago White Sox, yielded two runs in four innings and got a no-decision in the club’s 6-2 win at San Francisco. The All-Star lefty, who has a 3.64 ERA, has pitched four innings or fewer in his last eight starts and is 0-3 in that span. … In the independent Frontier League, ex-Itawamba Community College star Tyreque Reed hit two of the five homers allowed by Belhaven product Brett Sanchez in Washington’s 8-2 win over Joliet. Reed is batting .339 with 10 bombs. Sanchez slipped to 4-6, 4.48 ERA, after allowing eight runs in five innings.

21 Aug

the big step

It wasn’t smooth sailing for J.T. Ginn, but the former Mississippi State standout from Brandon arrived in the big leagues on Tuesday and was in the bullpen for Oakland’s game against Tampa Bay. Ginn, 25, was 4-3 with a 5.72 ERA at Triple-A Las Vegas (where ERAs tend to run high) and 8-4 with a 5.26 overall in 2024. He was primarily a starter in the minors but is expected to fill a relief role for the A’s. Ginn was a two-way star at Brandon High when the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the first round in 2018. He passed on a lot of money, chose to attend MSU and was the SEC freshman of the year in 2019. An elbow injury early in 2020 led to Tommy John surgery, but the New York Mets drafted Ginn in the second round that summer as a draft-eligible sophomore. The Mets traded him to the A’s in March of 2022 in the deal for big leaguer Chris Bassitt. Ginn, 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, has endured myriad injuries while in the A’s system but appeared in 21 games (20 starts) this season between Double-A and Triple-A. He allowed just two runs in 12 innings in his last two outings, both wins.

11 Aug

rising to challenge

Tim Elko is fitting in just fine at the Triple-A level. The former Ole Miss standout belted a pair of home runs for Charlotte on Saturday and now has five in 11 games. He is batting .311 and slugging .667 with eight RBIs and 10 runs for the Knights. If the parent Chicago White Sox – who are awful and fairly desperate for offensive punch – decide to hold open auditions down the stretch, they might give Elko a call. He isn’t on the 40-man roster and isn’t a Top 30 prospect, but he has handled every test in pro ball so far. A 10th-round pick in 2022, the 25-year-old first baseman/DH has posted a .288 career average with 47 homers in the minors. He has 14 bombs between Double-A and Triple-A this season. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Elko left Oxford in 2022 after blasting a school-record 24 homers during the Rebels’ amazing run to the national championship. They erected a statue of Elko outside Swayze Field that confirms his status as one of the most popular players ever to suit up for UM. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State star Brent Rooker hit his 29th homer for Oakland on Saturday, the only run of the game in the A’s win against Toronto. If he weren’t stuck with the lowly A’s, Rooker (.290, 82 RBIs, .951 OPS) would likely get strong American League MVP consideration. … Biloxi Shuckers alum Devin Williams, who came off the injured list on July 28, notched his first save of the season, punching out the side in Milwaukee’s 1-0 win over Cincinnati. Williams has a 2.25 ERA with eight K’s in four games for the first-place Brewers. He had 36 saves in 2023.

02 Aug

three shining moments

Around the minors on Thursday, Tanner Hall pitched an immaculate inning, Blaze Jordan got a walk-off hit and Gunnar Hoglund made an impressive debut. Hall, the former Southern Miss All-America, pitching for Low-Class A Fort Myers in the Minnesota chain, struck out the side on nine pitches in the fifth inning against St. Lucie. What’s more, Hall threw six innings — his longest outing of the year — struck out nine all told and got the win in a 7-2 game. The 2022 Ferriss Trophy winner, a fourth-round pick in 2023, is 3-0 with a 5.22 ERA in 14 games in his debut season. Jordan, the ex-DeSoto Central High star, was 0-for-5 when he stepped into the box in the 10th inning for Double-A Portland (Boston), then delivered an RBI hit to give the Sea Dogs a 6-5 win over Erie. Boston’s No. 19 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Jordan is hitting .252 with 41 RBIs in what has been an uneven season. He was riding a 17-game hit streak when he broke a finger in mid-May and missed a month. The right-handed hitting first baseman/third baseman hit 18 homers in 2023 but has just six this season, only one since June 21. Ole Miss product Hoglund, Oakland’s No. 17 prospect, made his first appearance for Triple-A Las Vegas, pitched a 1-2-3 first inning with two K’s and worked five more innings against Albuquerque. He yielded five hits and three runs, fanned seven and got a no-decision. The 6-foot-4 right-hander, the 19th overall pick in 2021, was 9-4 with a 2.84 ERA in Double-A this season. P.S. Hoglund was one of three Mississippians pegged by MLB Pipeline as pitching prospects to watch down the stretch. The others were ex-Mississippi State star Cade Smith (6-6, 3.48, at Low-A Tampa in the New York Yankees’ system) and former Bulldogs closer Landon Sims (1.21 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings at High-A Hillsboro in the Arizona system).

31 Jul

fresh cut

A bunch of faces turned up in new places on Tuesday: Thrown into the cauldron at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, Will Warren acquitted himself well in his big league debut. The former Jackson Prep standout from Brandon gave up four early runs but nothing more over 5 1/3 innings as a spot starter for the New York Yankees. The Yanks rallied to beat the Phillies 7-6 in 12 innings. Warren, New York’s No. 7 prospect, threw a fastball past Bryce Harper in the first inning for his first strikeout. … Ex-Ole Miss star Tim Elko homered in his first game for Triple-A Charlotte after being promoted by the Chicago White Sox. Elko, who hit 46 homers in five seasons in Oxford, has 42 career bombs in three years of pro ball. … Southern Miss product Tyler Stuart, traded to Washington by the New York Mets, pitched five innings (three runs, five K’s) in his debut with Double-A Harrisburg. … Former USM star Matthew Etzel, traded to Tampa Bay by Baltimore, went 0-for-4 in his debut with Double-A Montgomery. … Cooper Pratt, 2023 Gatorade player of the year at Magnolia Heights, hit a homer and a sac fly in his first game at High-Class A Wisconsin in the Milwaukee system. … David McCabe, Atlanta’s No. 11 prospect, came off the injured list for the Double-A Mississippi Braves and went 0-for-3 with a walk in his 2024 debut. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound third baseman hit .276 with 17 homers in A-ball in 2023. … Ole Miss product Gunnar Hoglund, 9-4 with a 2.84 ERA in Double-A, was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas by Oakland but did not pitch on Tuesday. P.S. Brent Rooker, subject of many trade rumors, stayed put with Oakland on deadline day and belted his 26th homer of the season in a 5-2 win at San Francisco. The ex-Mississippi State standout leads the majors with 11 homers in July. … Former DeSoto Central star Austin Riley had his first four-hit game since June 8, 2023, in Atlanta’s 5-1 win at Milwaukee. Riley boosted his average to .259. … Recently signed by Gastonia of the independent Atlantic League, MSU alum Jacob Robson hit his first homer of 2024 in his third game on Tuesday. The well-traveled Robson played in four MLB games with Detroit in 2021 and most recently played in Australia.

24 Jul

duel for the ages

On paper, it was the must-watch pitching matchup of the night in the big leagues. Lance Lynn, 37, the graybeard out of Ole Miss, a veteran of 336 big league starts, against Paul Skenes, 22, the rookie from LSU with the trendy mustache, taking the mound for just 12th time. And it was a great duel — while it lasted. St. Louis ultimately handed Skenes (6-1) his first loss, 2-1 on Tuesday night at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. It was scoreless through four innings. Lynn lasted just one more frame (86 pitches) but left with a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Nolan Arenado homer. The Pirates tied it in the eighth against the St. Louis bullpen, and then the Cardinals pushed across the winning run against Skenes in the ninth. Skenes, frequently hitting 100 mph, went 8 1/3, allowed just four hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. The All-Star Game starter has 97 K’s in his 12 games. Lynn, still pumping his four-seamer up to 95 mph, allowed four hits and three walks and fanned two, including career K No. 2,000. “His competitive nature has allowed him to really accomplish cool things in this game,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol told mlb.com. Lynn’s record this season stays at 5-4 (141-99 career), his ERA dips to 4.17. The Cardinals, running second in the National League Central, moved to 53-48, 2 games better than the third-place Pirates. P.S. On the trade candidate watch: Ex-Mississippi State star Brent Rooker belted his 23rd homer for last-place Oakland, his fifth bomb in his last seven games; he is batting .291. Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet worked just four innings (74 pitches) for the Chicago White Sox, allowed two runs and took a loss; he is 6-7 with a 3.07 for the last-place ChiSox.

21 Jul

family affair

On a three Dog night in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, only Jordan Westburg came away feeling any joy. Ex-Mississippi State star Westburg and the Baltimore Orioles celebrated an 8-4 win against Texas, handing former Bulldogs Nathaniel Lowe and Justin Foscue another hard loss. Westburg, a teammate of Foscue’s in Starkville, went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs as the Orioles, first in the American League East, won their 60th game. The Rangers, defending World Series champs, dropped their second straight to the O’s out of the All-Star break and fell to 46-52, 6 games back of surging Houston in the AL West. Lowe and rookie Foscue — recalled from the minors on Saturday — each had a hit and scored a run in the Rangers’ second inning, when they cut a 4-0 deficit to 4-2. It got no closer. Foscue was hitting .241 with three homers and 15 RBIs at Triple-A Round Rock; Saturday was his first MLB game since April 7, when he went on the injured list. Westburg, a 2024 All-Star, is batting .273 with 16 homers for a Baltimore club that leads the majors in bombs. For the record, Brent Rooker, another ex-State star, hit his 22nd homer Saturday for Oakland and leads all Mississippians (native or school alum) in homers this season. (Rooker reportedly is a hot trade candidate.) DeSoto Central High product Austin Riley belted his 13th homer for Atlanta. Of note: Former Southern Miss standout Chuckie Robinson went 1-for-3 in his 2024 big league debut for the Chicago White Sox.

15 Jul

sweet finishing kick

Brent Rooker, who isn’t going to the MLB All-Star Game, put an exclamation point on his all-star caliber first half on Sunday. The ex-Mississippi State standout crushed a pair of 450-foot home runs — two of a club-record eight hit by the Oakland A’s in an 18-3 win at Philadelphia — and heads into the break with a .291 average, 21 homers and 62 RBIs. Those are better numbers than he had last year when he made the American League All-Star squad as the A’s lone representative. Rooker did admit some disappointment at not getting another invite — he also would have been a great Home Run Derby participant — but said he wasn’t going to dwell on it. “I’m just looking to finish the first half strong,” he told mlb.com. Mission accomplished. He hit .458 over his last seven games, and the two homers on Sunday were jaw-droppers. Teams looking to add power for the stretch drive surely have noticed. … Like Rooker, Austin Riley was a 2023 All-Star who isn’t going to Arlington, Texas, this week. Also like Rooker, the DeSoto Central High product finished the first half strong for a resurgent Atlanta team. Riley went 1-for-4 in the Braves’ 6-3 win at San Diego on Sunday and has reached base safely in 12 of 13 July games, batting .307 over the last seven. He is at .257 with 12 homers and 39 RBIs for the year. … In last year’s Midsummer Classic, Riley made two great defensive plays at third base and went 1-for-2 at the plate in the National League’s 3-2 win. One of his highlight plays came on a screaming line drive by Rooker, which Riley converted into a double play. Rooker had a double in two ABs.

07 Jul

that’s one to flush

Lance Lynn’s first pitch — a fastball, of course — was crushed out of Nationals Park, a home run by C.J. Abrams that portended the worst start of the veteran right-hander’s long MLB career. Former Ole Miss star Lynn allowed nine hits (three homers), four walks and 11 runs (10 earned) in 2 2/3 innings Saturday in St. Louis’ 14-6 loss at Washington. His record dropped to 4-4 and his ERA ballooned to 4.48 over 18 starts. Lynn had been brilliant in winning his previous two starts, allowing just one run in 12 2/3. But on Saturday, on a 97-degree day, the Nationals jumped all over his normally reliable four-seamer. The Cardinals surely knew there would be days like this when they signed the 37-year-old Lynn, who is approaching 2,000 career MLB innings, as a free agent in the off-season. A fiery innings-eater most of his career, Lynn is averaging just 5.0 innings per start in 2024. His fastball velocity is not what it once was. He gave up an MLB-worst 44 homers in 2023 but had yielded just 10 before Saturday’s disaster, which may raise concerns. For his part, Lynn didn’t seem too worried postgame. “I wouldn’t be playing this long if I didn’t flush (bad outings),” he told mlb.com. … Minnesota reportedly is recalling ex-Southern Miss slugger Matt Wallner from Triple-A St. Paul, where he is batting .259 with 19 homers and 53 RBIs since an April demotion. P.S. The final Biloxi-Mississippi Southern League game at Trustmark Park produced a memorable pitchers duel, won by the visiting Shuckers 2-1. Ex-USM star Landon Harper ran his scoreless streak to 20 innings for the M-Braves, going four innings as the starter Saturday. For the Shuckers, Milwaukee prospect Jacob Misiorowski yielded one run in 6 1/3 innings and struck out 10. Remember that name. … Mississippi State alum J.T. Ginn notched his first Triple-A victory Saturday, allowing two runs over six innings for Las Vegas (Oakland system). Ginn is 1-3, 7.03, in nine games for the Aviators. He was 4-1, 4.15, in Double-A this season.

05 Jul

star-spangled performance

There is something special about having a big day on July 4, when baseball tends to command center stage in the sports world. Brent Rooker, the Mississippi State product now with the Oakland A’s, rose to the occasion on Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI (plus a stolen base!) in Oakland’s 5-0 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels. Rooker is making a strong case for a second straight trip to the All-Star Game. He is batting .273 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs. He went 6-for-10 with two homers in the A’s three-game sweep of the Angels and is batting .352 over his last 15 games. The full All-Star rosters will be announced Sunday. “Just being candid and being honest, I think the numbers I’ve put up this year are right in line with the rest of the guys that will be there,” Rooker told mlb.com. “If I’m there, awesome.” Rooker is also a trade candidate for a last-place A’s team that is 33-56 and going nowhere in 2024. … Other star-spangled performances from July 4: Ex-State standout Jordan Westburg, another All-Star candidate, hit his 14th home run for Baltimore. Former Southern Miss star Nick Sandlin came off the injured list and got the last three outs in a win by surging Cleveland. Biloxi High product Colt Keith hit his fifth home run in a 2-for-4 day for Detroit. MSU alum Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Kansas City. Former DeSoto Central standout Austin Riley went 1-for-3 with an RBI for Atlanta. P.S. Down in the minors, ex-USM star Justin Storm notched his fourth win with two solid innings of work for Low-Class A Jupiter in the Miami system. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound left-hander, a 2023 draftee, has a 1.40 ERA, an 0.97 WHIP, two saves and 35 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings over 16 games this season. The Madison Central alum isn’t currently listed among the Marlins’ Top 30 prospects (by MLB Pipeline), but he must be knocking on that door. … Bryson Ware, former Germantown High and Pearl River Community College standout, blasted two homers for Low-A Clearwater (Philadelphia system) and now has nine bombs and 40 RBIs on the year.