Tag Archives: A’s

26 Aug

all in a day

On this date in 1934, at old Comiskey Park in Chicago, Starkville native and Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell scored the only run in the East-West Game, the Negro Leagues’ All-Star classic. Bell drew a walk to lead off the eighth inning against Alcorn State alum and Hall of Famer Bill Foster, stole second and ultimately scored on a two-out hit by Jud Wilson. Bell, one of the fastest players in the history of the game, was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords at the time, Foster with the Chicago American Giants. … On this date in 1939, at Ebbets Field in Brookyln, Columbus native and broadcasting Hall of Famer Red Barber was at the mic for the first televised major league game. Playing outfield for Cincinnati that day, in both games of a twinbill, was Ellisville native Harry Craft, who was hitless on the day. The Reds won the opener, the Dodgers took Game 2. … On this date in 1946, at Boston’s Fenway Park, Shaw native Boo Ferriss, a rookie with the Red Sox, won his 20th game, beating the Philadelphia A’s 4-3 in 10 innings. Ferriss also doubled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th, boosting his average to .260. … On this date in 1984, at Anaheim Stadium in California, Jackson native Chet Lemon hit the only grand slam of his career, helping Detroit beat California 12-6. Lemon, who won a World Series ring with the ’84 Tigers, belted 215 homers over a 16-year MLB career. … On this date in 2021, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Amory native Mitch Moreland played the final game of his MLB career, going 0-for-3 for Oakland. Moreland went on the injured list with a wrist injury a couple days later. He finished his 12-year career with 186 homers, a World Series ring, an All-Star Game appearance and a Gold Glove.

25 Aug

putting down roots

Between April and November of 2022, Brent Rooker was a baseball vagabond. The Mississippi State alum — a first-round draft pick in 2017 — bounced from Minnesota to San Diego to Kansas City, getting into only 16 big league games during the ’22 season. He was designated for assignment by the Royals after the season and claimed on waivers by Oakland, where he has not just found a home but thrived. Rooker hit his 30th home run of 2024 on Saturday, giving home 30 bombs in back-to-back years. The right-handed slugger became the 10th Oakland batter to accomplish that feat, a list that includes Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Reggie Jackson and Jason Giambi. “It’s pretty special. He’s going to continue to impress. What’s so great about Rook is he’s so humble, too, for the success he’s having,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said in an mlb.com story. Rooker was an All-Star in 2023 and has been ever better this season, despite not making the Midsummer Classic roster. After Saturday’s 3-for-4 effort, he is batting .289 with 22 doubles, 87 RBIs and 62 runs. He ranks fifth in the American League in slugging, sixth in homers and seventh in OPS. The 402-foot homer Rooker hit at Oakland Coliseum on Saturday was the 70th of his career; the first came on Sept. 8, 2020, with Minnesota. P.S. Two other Mississippi products homered in MLB on Saturday: Biloxi High alum Colt Keith hit his 12th for Detroit and ex-Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner his ninth for the Twins. Austin Riley (DeSoto Central) is second to Rooker on the all-Mississippi homer list with 19, and Jordan Westburg (MSU) has 18. Both are out with injuries that may be season-ending. Hunter Renfroe (MSU) has 12 and Nathaniel Lowe (MSU) 10. … Cal Conley, once a rated prospect in Atlanta’s system, hasn’t hit much for the Mississippi Braves (.227 in two Double-A seasons), but he can pick it at shortstop. In Saturday night’s game at Trustmark Park (a 3-0 loss to Chattanooga), the ex-Texas Tech star made four dazzling defensive plays. He had a hand in three double plays, one unassisted.

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.