Braves Archives - Page 38 of 78 - All Mississippi Baseball

17 Jun

stop thief!

You wouldn’t necessarily go to a Mississippi Braves game to watch Shea Langeliers play catcher, but you’d probably come away impressed. Take Wednesday night’s game, for instance. Langeliers, Atlanta’s No. 3-rated prospect, threw out two would-be base stealers in the Double-A team’s 2-1 win against Birmingham at Trustmark Park. (For the record, before throwing out Laz Rivera for the second time, Langeliers appeared to pick him off first base; the umpire called Rivera safe.) Langeliers has thrown out 17 of 29 attempted base thieves. That’s 59 percent. A 30-percent rate is considered good. The 2019 first-round pick has just two passed balls and two errors over 29 games. From MLB Pipeline’s scouting report: “His athleticism and agility allow him to be a plus blocker and receiver and he perhaps has the best arm of any catcher in the Minor Leagues, one that allowed him to throw out 41 percent of potential basestealers in 2019.” Oh, and he is also the M-Braves’ best hitter. … No. 4 prospect Braden Shewmake, hitting just .127, did drive in one of the M-Braves’ runs, his 11th RBI. No. 25 prospect Justin Dean (.242) picked up the other, his 14th RBI. Elsewhere in the Atlanta system: No. 5 prospect Kyle Muller became the latest M-Braves alum to advance to the big leagues, working an inning for the Braves in their 10-8 loss to Boston. Muller allowed four hits and two runs in relief of former M-Braves star Ian Anderson, who gave up four runs in four innings. All of that was before M-Braves alum A.J. Minter yielded a game-turning grand slam to Christian Arroyo. Such is the state of the big Braves’ pitching staff. … At Triple-A Gwinnett, No. 1 prospect – and erstwhile Atlanta center fielder – Cristian Pache is hitting .300 since being sent down on May 29. No. 2 prospect Drew Waters, the 2019 Southern League MVP who has yet to get a big league look, is batting .279 with three homers and eight steals. … At High-A Rome, No. 6 prospect Jared Shuster threw four shutout innings Wednesday in a 5-0 win. The left-hander out of Wake Forest is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five games. … At Low-A Augusta, two Mississippi products, both 2019 draft picks, are feeling their way in pro ball. Brandon Parker, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout from Saucier, is batting .160 with five bombs and 19 RBIs in 30 games. Right-hander Jared Johnson, the No. 29 prospect out of Smithville High, allowed three runs with four strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings in his only appearance to date.

15 Jun

finding their way

Things are clicking – sort of – for the Mississippi Braves. Though manager Wyatt Toregas resigned suddenly during the Double-A club’s series at Biloxi, the team won five of six there and has taken 12 of its last 16. At 20-16, the M-Braves are second in the Double-A South South Division. A new manager has not been named; the coaching staff ran the team for the last three games at Biloxi. The M-Braves’ pitching staff leads the league in ERA, and highly rated prospect Shea Langeliers is playing like one: .265 with nine homers, 19 RBIs and 20 runs, all team-leading stats. Braden Shewmake, Atlanta’s No. 4 prospect (Langeliers is No. 3), has finally begun to swing the bat after an ice-cold start. He has hit safely in five of his last six to reach .135 with three homers and 10 RBIs. Justin Dean has 10 steals and 17 runs. Birmingham, the top scoring team in the league, comes to Trustmark Park today with a 22-13 mark, first in the North Division. The Chicago White Sox’s affiliate features the organization’s No. 6 prospect, Micker Adolfo, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound outfielder batting .244 with eight homers. Ti’Quan Forbes, the former Mississippi Mr. Baseball from Columbia High, is batting .281 with three homers for the Barons, and Mississippi State product Konnor Pilkington, from Pascagoula, is 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA in six starts.

04 Jun

messrs. 500

It seems somehow appropriate that Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies got their 500th career major league hits Thursday in the same game. The pair first played together as a keystone combo with the Mississippi Braves in 2016 and have followed a similar career arc. Swanson made his MLB debut in 2016, Albies the next year. They’ve now played 386 games together as the Atlanta shortstop and second baseman, respectively. They’ve been cogs – along with a bevy of other former M-Braves — in Atlanta’s run of three straight division titles. Swanson’s 500th hit was a big homer, figuratively and literally (440 feet), in the sixth inning of the 5-1 win over Washington at Truist Park. Albies’ 500th was his third hit of the game, an RBI double in the seventh. Sometimes you forget that Swanson was the No. 1 overall pick out of Vanderbilt in 2015 by Arizona, which sent him to Atlanta in the infamous Shelby Miller trade later that year. Swanson hasn’t always played up to that label. A recent hot streak has boosted his average to .239 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs. He’s a career .248 hitter prone to strikeout-filled slumps, but he flashes enough star power to keep Braves Nation excited. Albies was signed as a kid out of Curacao and has been a rock-solid contributor since arriving in the ATL. A switch-hitter, he’s currently batting .251 with nine homers and 32 RBIs. He is a .276 career hitter who has won a Silver Slugger and made the All-Star Game. Both young infielders are pretty slick with the glove. It’s too soon to start throwing out comparisons to Trammell and Whitaker, Russell and Lopes, Concepcion and Morgan, etc., but there does seem to be that potential. (At least Braves fans hope so.) P.S. An interesting footnote: The last teammates to get their 500th hit in the same game were former Ole Miss star David Dellucci and Gary Matthews Jr. with Texas in 2005. Dellucci, now starring on the SEC Network, finished with 736 hits.

03 Jun

rising to occasion

If there was doubt that Jake Mangum could handle the jump to Double-A, the ex-Mississippi State star has dismissed it. Mangum was hitting .206 at High-A Brooklyn when the New York Mets, forced by injuries to make some moves with their outfielders, promoted Mangum to Binghamton. In nine games, the 25-year-old switch-hitter is batting .368. He enjoyed his best night with the Rumble Ponies on Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, three runs and two RBIs. He led off the 10th inning with a run-scoring three-bagger and scored what proved to be the deciding run in an 8-7 game on a sac fly. A fourth-round pick as a senior at State in 2019, Mangum didn’t hit much for power before arriving in Binghamton, where he has six extra-base knocks and is slugging .605. He has struck out just six times in 38 at-bats. True, nine games is a small sample size. And he’ll run into some outstanding pitchers in the Double-A East. But Mangum knows a little about hitting; he is the SEC’s all-time hits leader, after all. … Down in the Double-A South on Wednesday, Mississippi Braves catcher – and No. 3 Atlanta prospect – Shea Langeliers belted three homers at Pensacola and now leads the league with seven. After a sluggish start in his first Double-A campaign, the 23-year-old former Baylor star is hitting .284 with 13 RBIs. That’s nice, he says, but … . “The biggest role I have on this team is as a catcher,” he told milb.com. “Catching comes first, hitting comes second.” His arm – rated a 70 on the scouts’ 20-80 scale — is already big league-caliber. The bat is coming along.

02 Jun

starlight

More than a few atta boys are in order, starting with the stars from the MHSAA championships at Pearl’s Trustmark Park (props to SBLive for those details):
Tupelo Christian’s Daniel Reddout pitched six innings, allowing one earned run, in a 5-2 win against Resurrection Christian in Class 1A.
Magee’s Adam May went seven innings to beat Booneville 6-3 in 3A.
Pascagoula’s Brayden Scott allowed one run in six innings in a 12-1 blowout of Saltillo in 5A.
In the minors, Houlka native Tyreque Reed belted his eighth home run for High-A Greenville in the Boston system.
Harrison Central High alum Bobby Bradley hit his eighth dinger for Triple-A Columbus (Cleveland).
Ex-Mississippi State star Ethan Small struck out 11 over five shutout innings for Double-A Biloxi (Milwaukee).
Ole Miss product Will Ethridge allowed one hit over six shutout innings with eight K’s for Low-A Fresno (Colorado).
MSU product Jordan Westburg had a hit and three RBIs in his High-A debut for Aberdeen (Baltimore).
In independent ball, ex-UM standout Braxton Lee went 2-for-5 and is batting .438 in four games for Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League.
In the big leagues, DeSoto Central alum Austin Riley was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and is hitting .310 with 24 RBIs for Atlanta.
Former State star Adam Frazier put up a 2-for-4 for Pittsburgh, raising his average to .335, third-best in the National League.
Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton went 1-for-3 (a face-planting “hustle homer”) with an RBI for the Chicago White Sox, boosting his average to .316 with five runs and five RBIs in his last seven games.
Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet threw two scoreless innings for the White Sox, cutting his ERA to 0.57 in 15 games.
Ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe extended his hitting streak to five games, during which he has 10 hits, eight runs and three RBIs for Boston.

27 May

just stuff

Oak Grove visits Northwest Rankin tonight to decide the MHSAA Class 6A South State title and berth in next week’s finals against Madison Central. All of the other state championship pairings are set for the big event that starts Tuesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. In 5A, it’s Saltillo-Pascagoula, 4A West Lauderdale-Sumrall, 3A Booneville-Magee, 2A East Union-Taylorsville and 1A Tupelo Christian-Resurrection Catholic (Pascagoula). Madison Central is top-ranked in the state by MaxPreps and is No. 6 in the country. NWR is fifth in the state, Oak Grove 12th. Sumrall is No. 4, and Booneville is eight. … Southern Miss beat Western Kentucky in its C-USA Tournament opener, finishing off the 11-1 win at 2:59 a.m. today in Ruston, La. The Golden Eagles play again tonight, throwing C-USA pitcher of the year Walker Powell at Lousiana Tech. Ole Miss and Mississippi State both lost in SEC tourney play on Wednesday and face elimination games today in Hoover, Ala. Delta State starts play in the NCAA Division II South Region today vs. Tampa at Pensacola, Fla. … Braden Shewmake, the Mississippi Braves shortstop and Atlanta’s No. 4 prospect, is in the throes of a woeful slump. After an 0-for-4 on Wednesday against Montgomery at the TeePee, Shewmake is batting .086. He has five hits, one homer. He hit .300 over two levels in 2019. … Jacob Robson, the former Mississippi State standout, is hitting the pause button on his torrid start in the minors this season. But for good reason. Robson, a native of London, Ont., is off to play for Team Canada in the Olympics qualifying event in Florida next week. Robson, 26, a lefty-hitting outfielder, is batting .424 with two homers and 10 RBIs for Double-A Erie in Detroit’s system. He played in Triple-A in 2019, hitting .267, and has a .295 career average. He was an eighth-round pick out of Starkville in 2016. He’s not on the Tigers’ top 30 prospect list but has been in their big league spring camp the last couple of years. … Magnolia State products Hunter Renfroe and Austin Riley played a little tit-for-tat in Wednesday’s MLB game between Boston and Atlanta. Renfroe, from Crystal Springs, hit a 377-foot homer for the Red Sox in the second inning. Riley, from Southaven, retaliated with a 390-foot shot, also over Fenway Park’s Green Monster, three innings later. Boston ultimately won the game. … MLB placed Los Angeles Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway, a former Ole Miss pitcher, on the ineligible list through 2022, the culmination of investigation into numerous sexual harassment allegations. The Angels promptly fired Callaway, who hadn’t been with the team at all this season. … Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz, now with San Diego, reportedly has suffered a setback in his recovery from a left shoulder impingement and could be out an extended time. He has been on the IL since May 13.

25 May

twin peaks

Two former Mississippi college stars, each of whom pitched a gem on Monday night, have risen to the top in ERA in their respective leagues. Mississippi State alumnus Brandon Woodruff, now with Milwaukee, leads the National League with a 1.41, and Ole Miss product Lance Lynn, with the Chicago White Sox, heads the American League with a 1.51. Woodruff stopped San Diego’s nine-game win streak Monday, throwing seven shutout innings (three hits, no walks, eight strikeouts) in a 5-3 win. It was the big right-hander’s ninth straight quality start. “This is brilliance,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. Woodruff’s record is just 3-2; the Brewers haven’t given him much offensive support in his 10 starts. Lynn has had no such problem. He improved to 5-1 over eight starts, tossing seven innings (three hits, one run) in a 5-1 victory against his original team, St. Louis. The burly right-hander called it “probably the most satisfying (win) I’ve ever had.” Note: He has 109 career wins and won a World Series with the Cards. … A pair of former Mississippi high school stars claimed player of the week awards in their respective leagues. Madison Central alum Spencer Turnbull, who threw a no-hitter for Detroit last week, shared the AL award with Corey Kluber, who also tossed a no-no, and DeSoto Central product Austin Riley won the NL award after hitting .462 with six homers and 11 RBIs last week for Atlanta. P.S. No relief pitcher in the big leagues has a better ERA than State product Kendall Graveman, who has not allowed a run in 16 2/3 innings while racking up five saves for Seattle. Unfortunately, Graveman is currently on the COVID-19 injured list with an uncertain return date. … Ex-Richton High star JaCoby Jones was demoted to Triple-A by Detroit, presumably to find his swing. The sixth-year big leaguer is batting .170 with 42 strikeouts in 100 at-bats.

22 May

life of riley

Ya know, Austin Riley just might have a future in this game. (Sarcasm intended.) The former DeSoto Central High standout, whose poor start this season had some questioning Atlanta’s faith in the young third baseman, put up his first career two-homer game and also smacked a double on Friday night during the Braves’ record-setting 20-1 win against Pittsburgh. Riley is batting .417 with four homers over his last seven games. Over his last 30 games, he is hitting .366. “(W)hen he’s going, that’s a guy that can carry us,” pitcher Ian Anderson said in an mlb.com piece. With that hope in mind, Braves manager Brian Snitker has moved Riley up to the fifth spot in the lineup for a Braves team searching for consistent punch. Riley is batting .316 with seven homers and 15 RBIs this season. His recent tear is reminiscent of the one he enjoyed as a rookie in 2019, when he clubbed seven homers and hit .375 in his first 14 games. Since that time, he has endured some slumps and even a trip back to the minors. But he appears to have locked in on something of late. He has been much more selective, drawing more walks and not chasing sliders. His OBP of .410 is 100 points higher than where he finished 2020. Chipper Jones has raved about Riley’s new approach at the plate. Plus, he’s an outstanding defensive third baseman. So, yeah, this Riley guy might be around a while.

21 May

setting the table

The Mississippi Braves have scratched out a 6-9 record despite being last in the Double-A South in runs, batting and on-base percentage. As fans of “Bull Durham” might ask, How’d they ever win six? One reason would be the play of Justin Dean, the diminutive leadoff batter. Dean has reached base in each of the 14 games he has played; his OBP of .426 ranks fifth in the league. He is batting .262 and has scored nine runs, driven in four and stolen five bases. Speed is the prime tool for the 24-year-old center fielder, who goes 5 feet 6, 185 pounds. He swiped 47 bases (with nine triples) at Class A Rome in 2019 and earned league All-Star honors and a trip to the Arizona Fall League. A 17th-round pick out of NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in 2018, he is batting .283 over his three pro seasons. MLB Pipeline ranks Dean 26th among Atlanta’s prospects, noting that “he has the chance to be a table-setter type, perhaps with a career as a fourth outfielder the most likely.” Dean will look to set the table tonight when the M-Braves play Chattanooga in the fourth game of a six-game set at Trustmark Park. P.S. On Chattanooga’s roster is a pair of former Southern Miss stars: Pitcher J.C. Keys, drafted by Cincinnati in 2019, and Chuckie Robinson, a catcher who was plucked by the Reds from Houston in the Rule 5 draft in December. Keys took the loss in relief on Wednesday but has a 1.69 ERA in four games. Robinson is 4-for-16 in five games this season and is a .249 career hitter over five pro seasons. Notably, he has caught two of Nick Lodolo’s starts and Hunter Greene’s last one, a 10-strikeout gem. Those are two top prospects in Cincy’s system. … There are several other Mississippi products scattered around the Double-A South. Ex-Columbia High standout Ti’Quan Forbes and Mississippi State alum Konnor Pilkington are with Birmingham, former State star Ethan Small is at Biloxi, ex-Ole Miss standout Wyatt Short is with Tennessee, UM product Nick Fortes plays for Pensacola and former Delta State star Dalton Moats is at Montgomery.

20 May

down on the farm

As the Atlanta Braves struggle to hit with any consistency, Drew Waters, playing center field for Triple-A Gwinnett, is on a tear. Waters, Southern League MVP and batting champ for the Mississippi Braves in 2019, had a four-hit game Wednesday night that included his third home run in the last two nights. With nine hits in his last four games, Waters has raised his average to .326 with three homers, seven RBIs, nine runs and five steals. He hit .319 with five homers and 13 steals for the M-Braves two years ago. A five-tool player and switch-hitter, Waters, 22, is rated Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect (behind Cristian Pache) by MLB Pipeline. Waters is not on the 40-man roster, but maybe it’s time to make room. … Also swinging a hot bat at Gwinnett is Orlando Arcia, the former Biloxi Shuckers star and Milwaukee shortstop acquired by the Braves in an April trade. Arcia, who is on the 40-man, is batting .361 with seven homers, 12 RBIs and 17 runs for the Stripers. P.S. Tyreque Reed, the Itawamba Community College product from Houlka, belted his fifth homer Wednesday for High-A Greenville in Boston’s system. Reed, 23, a first baseman/DH, is batting .250 with 11 RBIs in 10 games. He was acquired by the Red Sox from the Texas system in the Rule 5 draft.