Tag Archives: Blue Jays

30 Jul

off the table

Anthony Alford has played so well this season in the low minors, his name surfaced with some big ones today in trade talks. Early reports of the David Price deal had former Petal High star Alford included in the package Toronto was sending Detroit for the ace left-hander. But the Blue Jays held onto Alford, who is now rated their No. 4 prospect by mlb.com. The 21-year-old outfielder, 6 feet 1, 205 pounds, is batting .300 with a pair of homers, 25 RBIs and 19 steals at two levels of A-ball. He has hit .311 in 30 games at high Class A Dunedin. Drafted in the third round by Toronto in 2012, when he was Mr. Baseball, Alford had played only 25 minor league games before 2015 as he focused on football, first at Southern Miss, then at Ole Miss. He quit football last fall and played in the Australian Baseball League before getting an invite to the Blue Jays’ major league spring camp. His stock seems to be rising.

23 Jul

upwardly mobile

Gloom has gathered over the Chicago White Sox’s season. Fans of the last-place club needing something to brighten their day can look to Double-A Birmingham, where shortstop Tim Anderson is having a star-quality season. Rated by some as the organization’s top prospect entering 2015, the East Central Community College product appears close to being big league-ready. Anderson, 22, the Southern League All-Star Game MVP, is batting .311 with seven triples, 35 RBIs, 53 runs and 35 steals for the Barons. An athletic 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, he is hitting .298 with 69 steals over his three pro seasons. If there is a negative in his offensive numbers, it’s that he doesn’t walk much (15 times this season while serving primarily as a leadoff batter). Reports indicate that Anderson’s defense is steadily improving; in fact, some of the reports are glowing. Anderson made his Double-A debut, with a bang, at Pearl’s Trustmark Park last August. The Barons come to the TeePee again this August (18-22). Of course, by then Anderson might be in Triple-A. P.S. Thirty games into his pro career, LaDarious (aka LeDarious) Clark, the East Mississippi CC alum from Meridian, paces the short-season Class A Northwest League in homers (8, including two on Wednesday), average (.377), hits (49), slugging percentage (.685), runs (32), triples (5) and total bases (89). He also has 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Texas’ Spokane club. Promote him, already. … After roughly a month in the high Class A Florida State League, former Petal High star Anthony Alford is batting .333 with a homer, nine RBIs and 18 runs at Dunedin. Toronto promoted the 21-year-old outfielder, playing his first full pro season, after he hit .293 with 49 runs and 12 steals in 50 games at low-A Lansing.

30 Jun

that’ll work

The Toronto Blue Jays surely like what they’re seeing from Anthony Alford, who is 6-for-22 in his first five games in the high Class A Florida State League. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal began his first full pro season in the Midwest League, hitting .293 with 14 doubles, 16 RBIs, 12 steals and 49 runs in 50 games at Lansing. The righty-hitting outfielder, a third-round pick in 2012, already has two doubles, a triple, a homer, three RBIs and four runs for Dunedin. … The Los Angeles Angels surely like most of what they’ve seen from Alex Yarbrough in his last five games. The switch-hitting second baseman out of Ole Miss is 9-for-19 (.473), lifting his average at Triple-A Salt Lake to .247. He has 19 doubles, 29 RBIs and 36 runs in 73 games. However, Yarbrough has struck out six times in his last five games, giving him 81 in 299 at-bats. That’s an area where the 2014 Texas League player of the year needs to improve. P.S. Jacob Taylor, the Pearl River Community College alum from Picayune, pitched two scoreless innings (no hits, three walks, two strikeouts) in his pro debut today. Taylor, a fourth-round pick by Pittsburgh and the second Mississippian drafted this year, is with the Gulf Coast League Pirates.

23 Jun

life of riley

Austin Riley, the first Mississippian picked in this year’s MLB draft, made his pro debut today for the Gulf Coast League Braves. The former DeSoto Central High star, a supplemental first-round pick by Atlanta, was the DH and batted fourth for the rookie-level club, which rallied to beat the GCL Yankees 8-7 in 10 innings in Florida. Riley struck out in his first two at-bats, was hit by a pitch (and later scored) in his third and grounded out in his fourth. The play-by-play on milb.com indicates that Riley pinch hit for himself (?) in the eighth inning and walked, then struck out again in the 10th. So, he was either 0-for-3 or 0-for-4. … Also debuting today in the GCL: Mississippi Valley State alum Kalik May, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, a run and a steal for the GCL Blue Jays, whose game was suspended by rain in the seventh inning.

23 Jun

star power

Mississippi’s minor league clubs will be on prominent display in tonight’s Southern League All-Star Game at Montgomery, Ala. The Mississippi Braves’ Mallex Smith and the Biloxi Shuckers’ Orlando Arcia, Nick Ramirez and Michael Reed are in the projected starting lineup for the South stars, and there are several pitchers from the two teams on the roster, including highly rated prospects Tyrell Jenkins of the M-Braves and Tyler Wagner of the Shuckers. In addition, Ramirez will participate in the pre-game Home Run Derby. Smith, a center fielder and leadoff batter, has emerged as one of the most exciting players in the Double-A loop. He is second in the league in hitting at .340 and in steals with 23. Penciled in at Nos. 3-5 in the lineup, Arcia is hitting .307, Ramirez .289 (with nine homers) and Reed .300 for first-half champion Biloxi. Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson is slated to play shortstop and bat second for the North. He is hitting .313 with 23 steals for Birmingham. Game time is 7:20 (MiLB.TV). The 2016 SL All-Star Game will be at Trustmark Park in Pearl; the M-Braves previously hosted the game in 2007. P.S. Scott Copeland, the ex-Southern Miss ace, made his first MLB start for Toronto on June 10, allowing one run in seven innings. His next start came June 16, when he yielded three runs in four innings. Then came Sunday: seven runs in 1 1/3 innings. Currently back at Triple-A Buffalo, Copeland has been up and down so many times he could be excused for suffering dizzy spells.

19 Jun

a fast start

Earl Burl III, the 902nd player picked in the recent MLB draft out of Alcorn State, made quite a splash in his pro debut on Thursday night: 2 hits (both doubles), 3 runs, 3 RBIs, 2 steals and a walk. Batting leadoff and playing center field, he sparked Vancouver to an 11-2 win over Salem-Keizer on opening day in the short-season Class A Northwest League. Toronto picked Burl in the 30th round. He was an All-SWAC performer this season, batting .298 with five homers and 20 steals for the Braves.

10 Jun

buffalo shuffle

The elevator ride continues for Scott Copeland, the former Southern Miss pitcher, but he can’t really complain about these ups and downs. The Blue Jays recalled Copeland from Triple-A Buffalo to start today’s game against Miami at Rogers Centre. This is Copeland’s fourth call-up since May 2, when he made his big league debut. He went back to Buffalo on May 4, back to Toronto on May 18, back to Buffalo on May 28, back to Toronto on June 2, then back to Buffalo on June 3. Before today, Copeland had only pitched in two games for the Jays, both in relief, and hadn’t allowed a run over three innings. He is 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA for Buffalo. Originally drafted by Baltimore, Copeland signed with Toronto as a minor league free agent in the summer of 2012. P.S. Tampa Bay has announced that Desmond Jennings will undergo arthroscopic surgery today on his troublesome left knee. It’s unclear when the Itawamba Community College product might play again. He has been out since April 26. He missed the last month of 2014 because of issues with the same knee.

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.

08 Jun

not in the cards

Opened a random pack of baseball cards on Sunday and got a Kendall Graveman, who just happened to be pitching for Oakland. Good omen? Yes … and no. Graveman, the former Mississippi State standout, pitched great, taking a five-hit shutout into the eighth inning against Boston at Fenway Park. He yielded a leadoff home run to Rusney Castillo, left the game and then watched the A’s bullpen give up six more runs that led to a 7-4 loss. That’s some hard luck. Graveman, who was sent to the minors in late April with an 8.27 ERA, has pitched much better since his return. Over his last four starts, the right-hander has allowed six earned runs in 24 2/3 innings (a 2.55 ERA), cutting his season ERA to 4.83. His record is 3-2, though he could easily have a couple more wins. Graveman, drafted by Toronto in 2013, blew through four levels of the minors in 2014 and got a September call-up from the Blue Jays (and his picture on a trading card). He was traded to Oakland in the off-season as part of the Brett Lawrie-Josh Donaldson deal and made the A’s rotation in spring training. Whatever led to his early season struggles, he seems to have ironed it out. P.S. Joey Butler just keeps hitting for Tampa Bay. The former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star from Pascagoula got a couple more hits on Sunday and is now batting .330 with four homers, 11 RBIs and 13 runs in 30 games. He is batting .357 over his last 15 games. Getting his first extended MLB playing time in his eighth pro season, the 29-year-old outfielder appears to have locked down a job with the Rays. Butler’s minor league numbers were always good (.294, 78 homers), but “to see it all come together here in the big leagues is pretty amazing,” he told mlb.com.

19 May

tag team

If it was a contest, D.J. Davis won. But just barely. The former Stone County High star had four hits for the Lansing Lugnuts on Monday. Fellow Mississippian Anthony Alford, Davis’ teammate, had to settle for three hits. Both picked up a run, an RBI and a stolen base as the Lugnuts beat South Bend 7-5 in a Midwest League game. Both Magnolia State products are picking up momentum in their pro career. Davis, Toronto’s first-round pick in 2012, is batting .265 in the low Class A MWL. Hailed for his sprinter’s speed, the lefty-hitting outfielder, 20, has seven stolen bases (in 12 tries), a homer, 12 RBIs and 18 runs. Alford, the former Mr. Baseball (and Mr. Football) from Petal, has been on a tear in his first full season since leaving the Ole Miss football program last fall. Alford, also 20, a right-handed hitting outfielder, is batting .322 with seven RBIs, 19 runs and six steals. Davis is currently rated the No. 18 prospect in the Blue Jays’ system by mlb.com, a notch ahead of Alford, though Alford may have the greater potential. “It’s limitless what Anthony can do,” Kenny Graham, the hitting coach at Lansing, told milb.com. Both Davis and Alford are projected to make The Show in 2018, though that might be a conservative forecast.