Tag Archives: Astros

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.

12 Jul

whatever happened to …

Travious Relaford, a former juco All-America shortstop at Hinds Community College, is back on the field at Class A Augusta, where he is batting .272 with 24 RBIs and 24 runs in 48 games. Relaford went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a steal in a doubleheader on July 7, his first game action after a month on the disabled list. It’s hard to get a read on how Relaford stands in the San Francisco Giants’ grand scheme. Drafted in the 44th round in 2011, he didn’t start his pro career until 2012. He got a look in Double-A in 2013 but hit only .188 and found himself on a short-season Class A team in 2014. He batted .283 with three homers and 28 RBIs for Salem-Keizer and made the Northwest League All-Star Game. He appeared in a couple of major league spring games this year, then was assigned to the low Class A South Atlantic League. He isn’t on any of the lists of the Giants’ top prospects, but he is only 23 and he appears to be progressing. P.S. Sixteen years after the Jackson Generals last played at Smith-Wills Stadium, there are two alums of the old Houston Double-A affiliate still playing. Daryle Ward, at age 40, is in the independent Atlantic League, batting .253 with one homer for Southern Maryland (Jackson native Stan Cliburn’s club). Ward hit 90 MLB homers and has 189 others as a pro. Freddy Garcia, 38, is pitching in the Mexican League. The big right-hander, in his 21st pro season, has a 6.00 ERA in five games for Tabasco.

03 Jul

welcome back

Ole Miss product Alex Presley, back on Houston’s roster, is in the lineup for tonight’s game at Boston. Presley, who took the spot of injured George Springer, is batting ninth and playing center field for the Astros, who are in first place in the American League West. Presley, a 10-year pro with 321 big league games on his ledger, was batting .308 with two homers, 35 RBIs and 10 steals at Triple-A Fresno. The left-handed hitter batted .244 with six homers and 19 RBIs for the Astros last season; he was designated for assignment in the spring. … Also back in The Show is another ex-Rebels star, David Goforth, recalled today by Milwaukee from Triple-A Colorado Springs for a second stint. The right-handed reliever did not allow a run in four appearances during his previous call-up, his first in the big leagues.

28 May

some rain must fall

Tony Sipp had gone all season — 16 appearances out of the Houston bullpen — without allowing a home run before last Thursday. That’s when Detroit’s James McCann took Sipp deep for a game-winner in the bottom of the 11th inning. Sipp, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Moss Point High product, made his next appearance Wednesday in Baltimore. The left-hander was brought in to face lefty Chris Davis in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied. Davis hit the first pitch out, and the Orioles went on to win 5-4. “I just missed with it, just left it up, middle,” Sipp told mlb.com. Sipp hasn’t missed much this season. The 29-year-old has a 1.53 ERA with 20 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings for the surprising Astros, who continue to lead the American League West. For his MLB career, spanning seven seasons, Sipp has a 3.64 ERA, 20 wins and six saves working mostly as a situational lefty. Not bad for a 45th-round pick (by Cleveland out of Clemson in 2004). P.S. With the Wednesday recall of Donnie Veal by Atlanta and the recent promotions of Jacob Lindgren (New York Yankees) and David Goforth (Milwaukee), there are now nine Mississippi-connected pitchers in the big leagues and two more on the disabled list. Picayune High product T.J. House, assigned to Triple-A after a recent rehab stint, could be close to returning to Cleveland. … Former Mississippi State star – and Ferriss Trophy winner — Ed Easley was recalled by St. Louis from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday but didn’t play against Arizona. He is still seeking his first appearance in an MLB game. Catcher Easley, 29, also was on the Cardinals’ roster for three games in April.

21 Apr

big league chew

Houston sits atop the tightly packed American League West, and Pascagoula’s Tony Sipp has played a key role in the Astros’ 7-6 start. Sipp, a left-handed reliever, got the win in Monday night’s victory over Seattle. His ERA over six games (7 2/3 innings) is now 1.17, and he has three holds. This is Sipp’s second season in Houston. … Ole Miss product Zack Cozart homered in Cincinnati’s win over Milwaukee and now has 14 hits in his last 34 at-bats. Cozart is batting .326 with two homers and five RBIs. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Kendall Graveman, making his third start for Oakland, was staked to an early lead but was pulled in the fourth inning of the victory over the Los Angeles Angels. He had allowed four hits, three walks and two earned runs. Graveman, rocked for seven earned runs in his first start (the first of his short MLB career), is now 1-1 and has trimmed his ERA to 6.94.

07 Apr

with a bang

Seth Smith did something Monday that no Seattle player had ever done on opening day. And he did it in his Mariners debut. Before a packed house at Safeco Field, the former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star delivered three extra-base hits (two doubles and a triple) to help the Mariners whip the Los Angeles Angels 4-1. “Opening day is special,” Smith, acquired by Seattle from San Diego in the off-season, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer. He has been in a different uniform for each of the last three. … Not to be overlooked, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson homered in his first at-bat, added a double and finished with four RBIs as Colorado routed Milwaukee 10-0. “He just swings hard in case he hits it – that’s pretty much his approach,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss told mlb.com about Dickerson, who blasted 24 homers last year. … Also of note from an action-packed opening day in MLB: Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum Tony Sipp threw a clean eighth inning in Houston’s 2-0 shutout of Cleveland, and ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton had a hit, scored twice and stole a base in a win by Cincinnati.

04 Apr

ups and downs

Louis Coleman, the former Pillow Academy star, cleared waivers on Friday and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City. The Royals reportedly wanted to keep the right-handed reliever in their system; he posted a 3.55 ERA this spring and has a 3.25 career MLB mark, though he struggled in 2014. … Expectations certainly have changed for Lance Lynn. Entering the 2014 season, the Ole Miss product was considered St. Louis’ No. 4 or 5 starter. He went to the post 33 times, worked over 200 innings, won 15 of his 25 decisions and put up a 2.74 ERA. For 2015, he gets the nod in Game 2 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Lynn capped his spring with six shutout innings against the New York Mets on Thursday. “He was great – everything we needed to see,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told FoxSports.com. … Former UM standout Alex Presley, designated for assignment by the Houston Astros earlier this week, is likely to be traded, according to reports. Presley, an outfielder with five years of big league experience, hit .244 with the Astros in 2014 and has a career .259 average. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson, who had been out of the Colorado lineup with a back problem, returned on Friday. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton got a pair of hits Friday for Cincinnati to boost his spring average to .240. The speedster is 2-for-4 on stolen base tries.

17 Jan

out in left field

To borrow a line from the movie “Moneyball,” when someone hits a ball to left field against Atlanta this season, will there be anyone there to pick it up? The trade of Justin Upton opened the door in left for Evan Gattis, the former Mississippi Braves slugger. But now Gattis, too, has been dealt away. Who plays left? Zoilo Almonte? Say it ain’t so. Perhaps, ex-M-Braves standout Joey Terdoslavich will get a long look in spring training. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound switch-hitter doesn’t show up on the prospect charts, but he has power, which Atlanta needs, desperately. Terdoslavich, who hit .315 with five homers for the Double-A M-Braves in 2012, is rated the best power hitter in Atlanta’s minor league system by Baseball America. He hit 33 homers the last two seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett. Todd Cunningham, who also played in Pearl in 2012, could vie for Atlanta’s left-field job, but he’s not a power guy and looks better suited to center field. Also out there are Cedric Hunter, who had a good year for the M-Braves in 2014, and Cuban signee Dian Tascano, though neither is on the 40-man roster. … The Gattis trade did bring into the Atlanta system a candidate for the M-Braves’ third-base job: Rio Ruiz. Ruiz hit .293 with 11 homers at high Class A Lancaster in Houston’s system in 2014. Now entering his fourth pro season, he could be ready for Double-A. A 6-2, 215-pound lefty hitter, Ruiz also becomes the “third baseman of the future,” with Kyle Kubitza also having been traded.

19 Nov

fully loaded

With nine NCAA Division I early signees on the roster, you’ve got to like Hinds Community College’s chances of earning some championship hardware in 2015. The Eagles went 40-21 in 2014, won the NJCAA Region 23 title and reached the NJCAA Division II title game. The group of D-I signees includes five players bound for Louisiana Tech in 2016, among them Cleveland’s Marshall Boggs (.366 in 2014) and Clinton native Chase Lunceford (.328, 10 home runs). Madison’s Austin Sanders, who posted a 2.95 ERA, 10 saves and eight wins as a freshman, is headed to Ole Miss. Brookhaven’s Houston Case, another standout pitcher, will move on to Southern Miss. And Sam Temple’s Eagles likely will have more players sign D-I offers in April. It’ll be interesting to see where HCC ranks in the NJCAA preseason poll. No. 1, perhaps? P.S. Former Ole Miss star Alex Presley reportedly has agreed to a $1 million deal for 2015 with Houston, his 2014 club. Presley batted .244 with six homers and 19 RBIs in an injury-interrupted season. The Astros picked up the veteran outfielder last spring as a waiver claim from Minnesota.

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.