Baseball America Archives - Page 8 of 10 - All Mississippi Baseball

08 Jun

caught in a draft

On the eve of the MLB draft, a flashback to the 2006 draft gives a little perspective on how hard it is to get to the big leagues. Three Mississippi-connected players who were selected that year and signed made The Show, and all three are there now: Chris Coghlan, Alex Presley and Jarrod Dyson. Coghlan was a supplemental first-round pick by Florida, fellow Ole Miss product Presley went in the eighth round to Pittsburgh and Dyson, from Southwest Mississippi Community College, was taken in the 50th round, 1,475th overall, by Kansas City. (Tyler Moore was drafted by Washington in 2006 out of Meridian CC but didn’t sign; he was drafted again by the Nationals in 2008 out of Mississippi State and signed.) According to Baseball America’s draft database, 30 Mississippians were picked in 2006, including Hillcrest product Justin Reed (fourth round), UM’s Garrett White (sixth) and Southern Miss’ Marc Maddox (ninth). Maddox made it to Triple-A, the other two never got past A-ball. Other notable names in that draft: Mississippi Valley State’s Zach Penprase, Millsaps’ Garner Wetzel and State’s Jeffrey Rea (who didn’t sign). P.S. So sad to hear about the passing of Bill Marchant, who succeeded the legendary Boo Ferriss as Delta State coach in 1989 and proceeded to leave his own stamp on the program. Marchant, who coached the last three years of his eight-year tenure in a wheelchair after a 1993 car accident, posted a 283-127-1 record with the Statesmen. His final team, in 1996, went 53-8, the winningest season in DSU history, and made the NCAA Division II World Series. Marchant also played at Delta State (for Ferriss) and taught there after he retired from coaching. “Being here was a dream come true for me, and the coaching part was something that I always wanted to do, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” he told gostatesmen.com in a 2015 interview.

28 May

lonely at the top

Seven Mississippi-connected players show up in Baseball America’s latest list of the top 200 draft prospects – but only one of them rates among the top 100. Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson checks in at No. 14, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the right-hander will be a first-round pick next month. The rankings are an assessment of talent, not a draft projection. You have to scroll all the way down to No. 113 to find George County High star Walker Robbins, a lefty-hitting first baseman. Oxford High products Thomas Dillard (catcher) and Grae Kessinger (shortstop) are listed at 141 and 144. Outfielder J.B. Woodman, who has had a huge year for Ole Miss, is No. 171, while teammate and shortstop Errol Robinson, having an off year, is rated 182. No. 199 is State outfielder/pitcher Reid Humphreys. Hudson will likely be the first Mississippian picked; an mlb.com mock draft has him going 13th to Tampa Bay. But you never know. Some team might take a shine to Kessinger’s defense — he is the grandson of ex-big leaguer Don Kessinger — or Humphreys’ power — he is the brother of erstwhile big leaguer Tyler Moore — or the athletic ability of some junior college player no one’s talking about. The surprises — that’s the coolest aspect of the MLB draft. P.S. BA’s draft prospects list runs 500 deep on its web site. Pearl River Community College’s Zach Clark (shortstop/pitcher), Itawamba CC’s Delvin Zinn (shortstop), Ole Miss’ Henri Lartigue (catcher) and State’s Daniel Brown (lefty pitcher) rank in the 200s. … The top pick from Mississippi last year was Austin Riley, taken 41st overall by Atlanta out of DeSoto Central. Riley, recently featured in BA (June 3-17 issue), is batting .229 with three homers and 19 RBIs at Class A Rome.

09 May

here and there

Dansby Swanson, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect, is expected to make his home debut tonight when the Mississippi Braves host Mobile. Interested to see what kind of crowd they get at Trustmark Park. Swanson, hitless in his last three games, is batting .310 over his nine Double-A games. The shortstop out of Vanderbilt homered in his M-Braves debut on April 30 and had a four-hit game May 4. … Brett Phillips, Milwaukee’s No. 2 prospect, had a three-homer game for Biloxi on Saturday and is batting .260 with five bombs for the season. The Shuckers also open a homestand tonight. … Mississippi State is No. 3, Ole Miss No. 6 and Southern Miss No. 19 in the new Baseball America poll. State’s Dakota Hudson is listed as the No. 19 draft prospect in BA’s latest rankings. … After rallying to beat West Georgia 8-7 on Sunday, Delta State is 2-0 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Ace Tre Hobbs had an off day, but DSU got three RBIs from Trent Giambroni, a three-run homer from Ethan Gill and a clutch sac fly by Will Robertson to secure the W, its 36th of the year. … Jackson State, looking to gather some momentum for the SWAC Tournament, swept Mississippi Valley State in a three-game set at Braddy Field over the weekend. The Tigers are 14-10 in the league and 6-0 against MVSU. The tournament is slated to start May 18. … The MACJC final four is set. Jones County Junior College, the regular season champ, will host the double-elimination tournament starting Thursday. Also in are 3-seed East Central, which beat Gulf Coast 27-21 on Saturday to advance from the best-of-3 round; Meridian, the second seed; and 4-seed Northwest. … The Houston Astros optioned former M-Braves star Evan Gattis to Double-A? Reportedly, he was sent down just to brush up on his catching skills; he hasn’t caught in an MLB game since 2014.

18 Apr

blue monday

That noise you just heard was the whistling sound of Mississippi’s Big 3 schools falling in the new Baseball America poll. Mississippi State, swept at home – during Super Bulldog Weekend — by Texas A&M, dropped from No. 2 to seventh. Ole Miss, which lost two of three at Alabama (plus a midweek game to Southern Miss), went from eighth to 15th. And USM, which lost two of three at Alabama-Birmingham, tumbled out of the poll from No. 25. There is a lot of baseball left, as they say, but this might be a tough weekend to recover from on all fronts. State (24-12-1, 8-7 SEC) gave up 30 runs to the Aggies, who might have one of the best teams in the country. Ole Miss (26-10, 7-8 SEC) scored just six runs against the Crimson Tide. USM (27-10, 12-3 C-USA) squandered leads in losing the first two games against a sub-.500 Blazers team. Of course, there were bright spots. For State, freshman Jake Mangum, helping fill in for injured Jacob Robson, went 7-for-15. Ole Miss got excellent starts from Brady Bramlett and David Parkinson, plus a 5-for-12 effort from freshman Ryan Olenek. For USM, Kirk McCarty threw a three-hit shutout in Game 3 on Sunday, and the Golden Eagles hit four homers to lift their season total to 44. … Keep an ear out.

02 Apr

read all about it

The new Baseball America is here! The new Baseball America is here! Well, it’s not quite that exciting, but the arrival of the bi-weekly magazine in the mailbox – the one sitting on a pole down by the street — does provide a little kick. There on the cover of the latest edition (April 8-22) is a picture of a gaggle of Atlanta Braves prospects, including Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star whose pro debut in 2015 was such a smash. As the Braves build toward the future, Riley already rates among the top position player prospects in a stacked farm system. A third baseman drafted 41st overall, Riley hit .304 with 12 home runs over two levels last summer. He might someday fill out an Atlanta infield that will include Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, who also appear on the BA cover and will appear with the Mississippi Braves sometime soon. There is more treasure inside. John Manuel, BA’s editor in chief, throws out some preseason candidates for minor league player of the year, and two Mississippians are on the short list: Petal’s Anthony Alford and Gulfport’s Bobby Bradley. Alford, an outfielder in Toronto’s system, is expected to play at the Double-A level this year; reports are he is close to big league-ready. Bradley, a first baseman with Cleveland, might make Double-A this summer; he is only 19 but already drawing raves about his power potential. Found on an inside page is a chart of the top catchers in the minors who will vie for the Captain’s Catcher’s Award, which recognizes defensive skills. Ex-Ole Miss star Stuart Turner made the list; he played at Double-A Chattanooga in the Minnesota organization in 2015. This issue of BA also has the chart of minor league managers and coaches. Among the familiar names: Al Pedrique, Stu Cliburn, Jody Davis, Rick Sweet, Gary Allenson, Joe Mikulik, Phillip Wellman, Paul Phillips, Jeff Ware, Scott Thorman … . Ah, ’tis the season.

29 Mar

prep work

Oak Grove High slipped out of this week’s MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national poll, leaving the Magnolia State without a team in that poll. Oxford, the preseason No. 1, tumbled out two weeks ago. The web site’s state poll has Kossuth ranked No. 1, followed by Oxford, Brandon, Oak Grove and Hattiesburg. … Showdown alert: Oak Grove (11-2) and Brandon (13-3) are scheduled to meet today at Brandon’s field. … Baseball America’s most recent prep poll (published March 23) has Oxford at No. 13 with a 9-4 record. The Chargers are now 12-5. … Kossuth is 14-2, led by Jacob Wilcher (.529, three homers, 20 RBIs) and Hunter Swindle (4-0, 0.30 ERA). … C. J. Hughes of Terry earned USA Baseball/MaxPreps Southeast Player of the Week honors on Monday. Hughes, a senior shortstop, went 12-for-14 with 12 RBIs, nine runs and four walks last week. … Oxford’s Thomas Dillard is the only Mississippi high school player in Baseball America’s most recent ranking of the top 100 draft prospects. The catcher is No. 82. A transfer to OHS this year, Dillard is batting .389 with seven homers and 19 RBIs. … George County’s Walker Robbins is another pro prospect of note. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-hander is batting .387 with two homers and owns a 2-1, 0.89 pitching ledger that includes a perfect game. His brother Mason is playing in the St. Louis system.

14 Mar

centerpieces

Mississippi State’s sweep of Oregon got top billing in the college weekend wrap-up on Baseball America’s web site. The host Bulldogs (12-3-1) put up 24 runs on 33 hits against the Ducks’ vaunted pitching staff. State had a bunch of heroes, but Brent Rooker stood out with a 6-for-11 effort, two homers and five RBIs. He is batting .377 – third among State regulars — and leads the club with 20 RBIs. State jumped from 24th to 15th in the new BA poll, while Oregon dropped from No. 11 to 19. … Ole Miss, BA’s No. 12 team, swept three from Grambling State in Oxford to improve to 15-1. The Big Man on Campus for the Rebels was Brady Bramlett, who beat the Tigers (five shutout innings, 11 strikeouts) to move to 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA, 30 K’s in 21 innings. … Jake Sandlin went off for Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles (13-4) took two of three from visiting Samford. The Georgia College transfer, an NCAA Division II All-America last year, went 6-for-12 with five RBIs and three runs. He is batting .350 for the year. … Delta State (13-9, 7-5) salvaged the final game of its Gulf South Conference series against West Georgia. Will Robertson was 2-for-5 in the 6-3 win, recording his 14th multi-hit game and boosting his average to .429 (with 23 RBIs and 20 runs). … Millsaps used a seven-run ninth inning rally to beat Center 9-7 on Saturday and claim the Southern Athletic Association series. Freshman Brennan Ducote had the go-ahead hit, a two-run single, for the Majors (8-8, 4-2). … Delta State transfer Tanner Cable got the win, his fourth, as Belhaven crushed Eureka College 15-1 on Saturday. Cable is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA for the Division III Blazers (8-4). … Blue Mountain, forced to play NAIA No. 3 Faulkner on the road instead of in New Albany, was outscored 43-5 in losing three straight. … In the only MACJC doubleheader completed over the weekend, Hinds Community College beat Itawamba CC 17-6 and 4-3, getting 24 hits and four home runs in the process at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium. The Eagles are 9-7, the Indians 12-6.

16 Feb

breaking good

Good story on the Baseball America web site about Mississippians Anthony Alford and Cody Reed, who have emerged on the magazine’s list of the Top 100 prospects in 2016. Alford, an outfielder with Toronto, is No. 25; Reed, a left-hander in the Cincinnati system, is No. 34. Neither was in the Top 100 last year. Alford came out of Petal High with dreams of being, as he tells BA, “the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders.” He was the state’s Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball as a senior, but the two-sport thing didn’t quite work out on the next level. Alford devoted himself to baseball full-time in 2015 and mastered two levels of A-ball. He acknowledges that baseball probably always was his better sport. Reed, a non-prospect in high school at Horn Lake, signed with Northwest Mississippi Community College. Rangers assistant and ex-big leaguer Bill Selby apparently saw potential in Reed, who proceeded to gain 50 pounds and add 15 mph to his fastball. Reed tells BA he was genuinely thrilled to be drafted in the second round by Kansas City in 2013. After struggling for a couple of years, he found his form in 2015 and was a standout at Double-A Pensacola after the Reds got him in a trade. Both Alford and Reed will be in big league camp. … Also appearing in BA’s Top 100 are East Central CC alum Tim Anderson (No. 45, Chicago White Sox); Mississippi State product Hunter Renfroe (No. 86, San Diego) and ex-Harrison Central star Bobby Bradley (No. 93). Former Biloxi Shuckers shortstop Orlando Arcia is No. 8, and Dansby Swanson, who could be the Mississippi Braves’ shortstop in 2016, is No. 17.

29 Jan

a rebel shout-out

Ole Miss hasn’t gotten a lotta love in the preseason polls, but Baseball America saw fit to rank the Rebels No. 24. In the preview capsule on its web site, BA notes UM’s “strong core” of returnees from 2015 and a recruiting class, rated 19th in the nation, loaded with pitchers. Ole Miss returns six regulars from a 30-28 team that made the NCAAs. One of those regulars is shortstop Errol Robinson, an All-America candidate and potential high MLB draft pick. Also back are likely Friday night starter Brady Bramlett and closer Wyatt Short. A key could be how and where the new arms factor in. “That’s very important as you enter into conference play that guys have those roles,” coach Mike Bianco told BA. P.S. Hinds Community College is ranked ninth in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll. The Eagles went 43-7, were ranked first for several weeks and won the MACJC championship in 2015.

28 Jan

beware of dogs

Baseball America, which ranked Mississippi State No. 20 in its preseason poll, published its preview capsule of the Bulldogs on the magazine’s web site today. BA predicts a rebound for State from last year’s 24-30 campaign based on the success its players had in summer ball and a recruiting class that ranked fifth in the nation. BA notes that State won the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball Most Valuable Program award, which sounds impressive. State’s pitching woes in 2015 could be blamed in part on adjustments to the new baseball, coach John Cohen said. This year, Bulldogs pitchers will be adjusting to the loss of pitching coach Butch Thompson, now the head coach at Auburn. Adversity doesn’t have to be a bad thing. As Cohen told BA, “(T)hat’s where character is born.” P.S. Memorial services will be held Sunday and Monday in Pennsylvania for Devin McCann, the Belhaven University senior catcher who died in a car accident near Brookhaven last weekend. Visitation will be on Sunday at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, from 6-9 p.m. EST. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Gabriel R.C. Church, in Norwood, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for memorial gifts to be made in Devin’s honor to 220 Second To None Baseball Academy, 217 W. Peach Street, Vineland, NJ 08360.