Tag Archives: Braves

24 Jun

noteworthy

Justin Foscue made his 2025 debut with Texas on Monday night, becoming the 26th Mississippian (native or school alum) to play in the big leagues this season. Seventeen are currently on active rosters. Three have been released and are free agents, the others are either on the injured list or back in the minors. Ex-Mississippi State star Foscue, called up from Triple-A on Saturday, played first base and went 0-for-3 in the Rangers’ loss to Baltimore. … Brent Rooker moved up to third and Colt Keith to fourth in the latest All-Star Game balloting for American League DH, and Austin Riley rose to sixth in the National League third base race. Rooker, an MSU alum, is hitting .275 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs for the A’s. Keith, a Biloxi High product, is at .243 with six bombs and 24 RBIs for Detroit, which has the best record in MLB. Former DeSoto Central star Riley is hitting .275 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs for Atlanta; he was 2-for-4 with a triple in the 3-2 win vs. the New York Mets on Monday night. The All-Star Game is July 15 in Atlanta. … Connor Hujsak, former MSU standout, was named the Carolina League player of the week on Monday; he was 10-for-29 with two homers and nine RBIs last week for Low-Class A Charleston in the Tampa Bay chain. Hujsak is the 11th Mississippi product to win a minor league player or pitcher of the week award this season, joining Konnor Griffin, Kemp Alderman, Blaze Jordan, Tyson Hardin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Niko Mazza, Braden Montgomery, Rowdey Jordan, Blaine Crim and J.T. Ginn.

21 Jun

big league chew

Matt Wallner’s sixth home run of the season, a rather modest 370-footer, came in the seventh inning Friday night with his team down 8-0. But it was a significant hit for the Minnesota slugger out of Southern Miss. Milwaukee rookie and former Biloxi Shuckers ace Jacob Misiorowski had a no-hitter going at the time. In fact, the 6-foot-7 right-hander had entered the seventh with a perfect game, following up the five no-hit innings he threw in his big league debut last week. A walk to Byron Buxton ended the perfecto and Wallner then took a hanging slider out of the park to end Misiorowski’s night. The Brewers won the game 17-6. … Former state prep stars Austin Riley and Colt Keith also went deep Friday in losing causes, Riley hitting his 12th for Atlanta, Keith his sixth for Detroit. … Spencer Turnbull, the ex-Madison Central standout, made his first start for Toronto — and first since last season with Philadelphia — and it did not go well: The Chicago White Sox touched him up for five runs (four earned) in two innings. Turnbull now has a 7.11 ERA in three games for the Blue Jays, who lost 7-1 Friday. Ex-USM star Nick Sandlin came off the injured list and tossed a scoreless inning in relief for the Jays in his first MLB game in two months. … Former Jackson Generals standout Ray Montgomery is serving as the Los Angeles Angels’ acting manager with Ron Washington sidelined by health concerns. It’s the second time in the four years Montgomery, the team’s bench coach, has stepped in as acting skipper. The Angels lost to Houston 3-2 on Friday. … Will Clark, the former Mississippi State star now a special assistant with San Francisco, is helping Rafael Devers learn the ropes at first base, per reports. Devers, recently acquired from Boston, has never played the position. Clark was a five-time All-Star at first base with the Giants. “He’s very eager to help,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told The Mercury News of San Jose.

19 Jun

glove stories

Forget exit velo and spin rate for a moment and give some love to the glove. Hunter Elliott of Ole Miss and Jacob Keys of Pearl River Community College have been honored as ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners for 2025. Elliott, a left-handed pitcher from Tupelo, was named in the NCAA Division I category, and Keys, a catcher from Brandon, was selected in NJCAA Division II. Elliott, a third-team All-America pick by the NCBWA, picked off 13 base runners, a modern-era record at UM, according to a school release, and allowed just seven stolen bases among 14 attempts. He had 20 assists, six putouts and three errors over 17 games and 85 2/3 innings, winning 10 games and fanning 102 batters for a Rebels team that earned a No. 10 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Keys, a second-team NJCAA D-II All-America pick, did not make an error in 63 games behind the plate for PRCC. He registered 29 assists all told, threw out 15 of 25 would-be base stealers and yielded just six passed balls. The Wildcats, MACCC and Region 23 champions, made it all the way to the juco World Series championship game. A reverse transfer from Southern Miss, Keys is bound for Southeastern Louisiana. P.S. Former Mississippi State standout Jake Mangum had a two-run single in the third inning Wednesday as part of Tampa Bay’s amazing comeback win against Baltimore. The Rays won 12-8 after trailing 8-0 in the second inning. … Per an mlb.com poll, former Mississippi Braves catcher Drake Baldwin of Atlanta is the frontrunner to win National League rookie of the year honors. Three other M-Braves alums have won the award: Michael Harris II (2022), Ronald Acuna (2018) and Craig Kimbrel (2011). … On June 19 in baseball history, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks hit three homers in a game for Cleveland in 2001, Louisville native Marcus Thames hit two bombs for Detroit in 2009 and Greenville native George Scott homered for Boston in 1977. Burks, with 352 career homers, is the all-time leader among Mississippi natives, while Scott, with 271, ranks third. Thames, currently the Chicago White Sox’s hitting coach, clubbed 115 in just 640 career games, averaging a homer every 15.9 at-bats, comparable to David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and Willie McCovey.

18 Jun

around the horn

Flushing a night of frustration, Austin Riley hit a walk-off 10th-inning sacrifice fly Tuesday that gave Atlanta a 5-4 win over the visiting New York Mets. “Hopefully it’s some momentum to carry the rest of the series,” the DeSoto Central High product said in a postgame interview. The Braves are a wobbly 32-39 with two games left in the series against the Mets, who lead the National League East at 45-28. Riley, an All-Star candidate who has had his struggles both at the plate and in the field, was 0-for-4 with a strikeout when he came up in the 10th with the bases loaded and one out. He had popped up in a similar situation in the eighth when the Braves trailed 4-1. This time — with the score knotted thanks to Marcell Ozuna’s three-run double in the eighth — he drove a fastball to the warning track in center field, scoring the game-winner. It was the fourth walk-off RBI in Riley’s career, including one in the 2021 National League Championship Series. He is batting .277 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs this season. … Jordan Westburg, the ex-Mississippi State star, went 3-for-5 with two runs in Baltimore’s 5-1 win against Tampa Bay. Westburg is batting .385 with three homers and eight RBIs in seven games since coming off the injured list. The Orioles (31-41) are 5-2 in those games. … Will Warren, the former Jackson Prep standout, struck out a career-high 11 batters in six innings but took a loss as the New York Yankees were shut out — again! — by the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 at Yankee Stadium. Warren, who gave up three early runs, is 4-4 with a 4.83 ERA. … MSU alum Nathaniel Lowe hit his 10th homer for Washington, but Colorado blasted seven bombs — seven! — all told in a 10-6 win that sent the Nationals to their 10th straight loss. … Zack Morris, who demonstrated punch-out stuff with the Mississippi Mud Monsters, has signed with the Colorado Rockies and been assigned to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League team. Left-hander Morris, 24, a former Arkansas and TCU star, posted a 3.86 ERA over 16 1/3 innings for the independent Mud Monsters with 29 strikeouts and just three walks. “This is exactly the kind of moment we coach for,” Mud-sters manager Jay Pecci said in a team release. “Zack came in, did the work, and got better every time out.” Morris had a 5.48 ERA over five college seasons and pitched in the indy Frontier League last year with New Jersey. … Jackson State will be well-represented in the HBCU Swingman Classic, with six Tigers bound for Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 11. Robert Tate Jr., Jordan McCladdie, Joseph Eichelberger, Eric Elliott, Nkosi Didder and Erick Gonzalez are among the 50 HBCU players chosen for the third annual all-star game. Jaylon Burrell of Alcorn State and Kade Wood of Mississippi Valley State also have been invited, along with Chenar Brown, who played two years at JSU before transferring. Former Alcorn star Corey Wimberly is one of the coaches for the game. … Jackson State’s Omar Johnson is on the coaching staff for the Collegiate National Team’s training camp at Cary, N.C., USA Baseball has announced. The staff will be split into two units for the Stars vs. Stripes series, set for June 29-July 3 at sites in North Carolina. The roster of players has yet to be announced.

14 Jun

hard luck

Garrett Crochet, the former Ocean Springs High star, was two outs away from a shutout against the New York Yankees. Boston’s big left-hander was one strike away from punching out Aaron Judge for the fourth time on Friday night at Fenway Park. Then the Yankees slugger did his thing, pulverizing a 3-2 fastball 443 feet over the left-field wall, out of the park, tying the score. Exit Crochet. The Red Sox won the game 2-1 in 10 innings, but Crochet was denied his first career shutout. “Crochet deserved this win, but the team needed it more,” said Boston broadcaster Lou Merloni. The Red Sox are 35-36, in fourth place and 8.5 games back of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. Crochet, in his first year with Boston, has six wins, a 2.24 ERA and a league-leading 117 K’s, seven on Friday. … It was a hard luck day also for former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz. Pitching the 10th inning for the Chicago Cubs, he was on the bump when Pittsburgh’s “ghost runner” — Mississippi State alum Adam Frazier — scored the go-ahead run on a double-play ball. The Pirates held on for a 2-1 win at Wrigley Field. Pomeranz, who had not allowed a run in 18 appearances overall before Friday, gets charged with an unearned run, per the extra-inning rules, as well as the loss. … More hard luck: Gunnar Hoglund, another Ole Miss alum, is done for the season after hip surgery; the right-hander, who made his MLB debut in May after four years in the minors, had a 6.40 ERA in six starts for the A’s. … Luck didn’t smile on ex-Ole Miss ace Ryan Rolison either. Colorado’s rookie lefty gave up four hits, a walk and five runs in the eighth inning at Atlanta during the Braves’ 12-4 win. It didn’t help that the woeful Rockies committed four errors in that frame. P.S. There’s a bundle of state products on the preliminary rosters in the Cape Cod League, which launches its season today. (Note: The rosters can and will change during the summer.) Mississippi State’s Ace Reese, Charlie Foster, Dane Burns and Duke Stone are on the Chatham roster, along with ex-Jackson Prep (and current South Alabama) star Duncan Mathews. Bourne lists Ole Miss’ Campbell Smithwick and Owen Paino and Southern Miss’ Grayden Harris. USM’s Josh Och is on Hyannis’ roster and UM’s Patrick Galle on Wareham’s. Former Mississippi Braves and MLB catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia will manage Falmouth, which lists Grayson Saunier, an ex-Ole Miss pitcher, on its roster.

10 Jun

alumni meeting

Though the Mississippi-Biloxi rivalry no longer exists in the Southern League, alumni of the Double-A clubs can still clash in the National League. The first meeting of 2025 between Atlanta and Milwaukee happened on Monday night at American Family Field — and the former M-Braves won the day and the game, 7-1, snapping a dreadful seven-game losing streak. Five M-Braves alums combined for seven hits, four walks and five runs. Notably, Ronald Acuna homered for the fifth time in his 16 games; Austin Riley went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .285; and Ozzie Albies registered career hit No. 1,000. He is the all-time hits leader among Atlanta second basemen. Three ex-Shuckers were a combined 1-for-9 with a pair of walks. (Former M-Braves catcher William Contreras, now Milwaukee’s backstop, was 1-for-4 with an RBI knock.) It was a huge win — psychologically, at least — for the Braves, now 28-37 but still mired in fourth place in the NL East. The Brewers are 35-32, third in the NL Central. Game 2 of the three-game set is tonight. … The M-Braves, who played at Trustmark Park in Pearl from 2005-24, have produced more than 180 big league players. The Shuckers, based in Biloxi since 2015, have sent more than 80 players into MLB. P.S. Mississippi State alum Jake Mangum had a four-hit, two-RBI game Monday as Tampa Bay spoiled the debut of No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony by beating Boston 10-8 in 11 innings at Fenway Park. … Arizona has placed ex-MSU star Kendall Graveman back on the injured list with a hip problem. He had made nine appearances, all but his last effective ones. … Chris Stratton, another ex-Bulldogs standout, declared free agency Monday. Since being designated for assignment and then released by Kansas City on May 25, the 10-year MLB vet has: signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, been DFA’d, been outrighted to Triple-A, declared free agency, re-signed with the Dodgers, been DFA’d again, been outrighted again and declared free agency again. He made three appearances with the Dodgers during that time. … On June 10, 2019, Arizona and Philadelphia set a major league by combining for 13 homers in a game at Citizens Bank Park. The fun started when McComb native Jarrod Dyson led off with a bomb, the first of three straight by the Diamondbacks to start the game. Dyson hit only 21 homers in his 12-year career, but he’s in the home run record book.

01 Jun

on the bump

A host of starting pitchers with Mississippi ties took the bump on Saturday in games of significance all over the map. As might be expected, there was some good, some bad and even some ugly. To wit:
Start in the Oxford Regional, where Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott, from Tupelo, was a little wobbly early but settled in to go six innings and get his 10th win in an elimination game against Western Kentucky. The Rebels hit six homers in the 8-6 victory.
In the Hattiesburg Regional, Southern Miss ace J.B. Middleton, from Yazoo City, gave up three bombs over seven innings against Alabama and stood to get the loss before the Golden Eagles rallied for a 6-5 win in an elimination game.
In the Tallahassee Regional, in an MLB scouts’ delight, Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn went against Florida State’s Jamie Arnold in a matchup of highly rated draft prospects. Kohn got roughed up: seven earned runs, including a see-ya-later grand slam, in 3 2/3 innings. Arnold battled through seven, struck out 13 and notched the W in the Seminoles’ 10-3 winners bracket victory.
In the NJCAA Division II World Series title game, Jacob Johnson, a 12-game winner from Carriere, went to the bump for the 18th time for Pearl River Community College but lasted just 2 2/3, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks. PRCC, which finishes 53-10, actually led late before a bullpen implosion gave Pasco-Hernando State an 11-7 victory and the national crown at Enid, Okla.
At Wrigley Field in Chicago, ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz opened for the Cubs — his first start since 2019 — and threw a perfect frame, his 15th scoreless appearance. The first-place Cubs rolled on to a 2-0 win against Cincinnati.
At Dodger Stadium, former Jackson Prep star Will Warren, a rookie with the New York Yankees, struggled from the jump against Los Angeles’ array of mashers. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs in the 18-2 slaughter and saw his record dip to 3-3, his ERA rise to 5.19.
At Toronto, Ole Miss product Gunnar Hoglund, an A’s rookie, got roughed up by the Blue Jays, allowing four homers and eight runs in six innings in an 8-7 loss. He is 1-3 with a 6.40 ERA.
In Atlanta, Spencer Schwellenbach, who toiled for the Mississippi Braves just last year, pitched a gem for the big Braves: 6 1/3, five hits, no walks, 11 punchouts in a 5-0 win against Boston. Schwellenbach is 4-4, 3.13, in 12 starts. (Today in Atlanta, we get Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox’s flame-throwing ace, vs. M-Braves alum Bryce Elder.)
P.S. MSU and Jackson Prep alum Jake Mangum hit his first big league homer Saturday for Tampa Bay in the 23rd game of his rookie season. He hit just 24 bombs in five minor league seasons. … Ex-USM standout Matt Wallner, just off the injured list, homered for Minnesota in his first at-bat since April 15. He has 31 career homers. … Former MSU star Chris Stratton made his Dodgers debut as a reliever and gave up one run — an Aaron Judge homer — in one inning of work. … The Dodgers claimed USM alum Chuckie Robinson off waivers from the Angels and assigned the veteran catcher to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

30 May

names to know

John Lewis and Andrew Nielsen: Lewis, from Columbus, drove in the tie-breaking run in the 11th inning and Nielsen, from Lucedale, got the last 11 outs without yielding a run as East Central Community College rallied past Pearl River CC 6-5 Thursday in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Division II World Series. The teams play again tonight — their eighth clash of 2025 — for a berth in the finals in Enid, Okla. Lewis’ knock in the top of the 11th scored Pablo Roque, who had led off with a double. Nielsen, 4-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 18 appearances this season, posted saves in the Warriors’ first two games in Enid.
Riley Maddox, Matthew Adams and Ben Davis: In today’s NCAA Tournament openers, Maddox gets the start for Ole Miss, Adams for Southern Miss and Davis for Mississippi State. Maddox, out of Jackson Prep, is 6-5 with a 5.26 ERA for UM, which plays Murray State in the Oxford Regional. Adams is 6-2 with a 3.93 headed into the Hattiesburg Regional game vs. Columbia. Davis, a Booneville product by way of Itawamba Community College, is 3-2 with a 3.96 in 22 games, just three starts, the last in March. He faces Northeastern in the Tallahassee Regional. Each of the state’s Big 3 is holding its ace for the second round.
Austin Riley: The ex-DeSoto Central star delivered in a time of major need for Atlanta, going 2-for-3 with a homer, two walks, three runs and four RBIs in a 9-3 win in Game 2 of a twinbill Thursday at Philadelphia. The Braves had lost the first game — Riley was 2-for-5 — and three in a row overall to fall to 25-29. Riley’s homer — his ninth — was his first in 22 games and his 20th career bomb vs. the rival Phillies. The third baseman is batting .280 with 32 RBIs.

27 May

short hops

Worth noting from pro ball: Desperate for healthy arms, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed ex-Mississippi State standout — and Kansas City Royals cast-off — Chris Stratton and had him in their bullpen for Monday’s game against Cleveland; he didn’t pitch in a 7-2 L.A. win. MLB vet Stratton had a 7.94 ERA for the Royals before his release. (One wonders if ex-Bulldogs star Hunter Renfroe, also cut loose by K.C., might also land a new team. The veteran outfielder was hitting .182 with no homers.) … Drew Pomeranz, former Ole Miss star, made his 13th straight scoreless appearance Monday for the Chicago Cubs in their win against Colorado. Back in The Show for the first time since 2021, the big lefty is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 12 2/3 innings for the first-place club. … MSU product Adam Frazier has started to click at the plate for Pittsburgh, batting .348 over his last 15 games. He is at .260 with 14 RBIs and 13 runs for a disappointing team. … Blaine Crim, the former Mississippi College slugger, is getting another shot with Texas. He was 0-for-11 during his first call-up. … The normally slick-fielding Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High alum, has been charged with five errors in his last 15 games for Atlanta. Braves manager Brian Snitker said third baseman Riley had gotten bad hops on some of those “errors.” … Down in Mexico, ex-Ole Miss ace and erstwhile big leaguer Chris Ellis, 32, has nine saves and a 3.07 ERA in 15 games for Monterrey. … Former Rebels star Houston Roth, a 2019 draftee by Baltimore, has reached Triple-A and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his Norfolk debut. The right-hander from Oxford has a 1.32 ERA in nine games overall this season. … MSU product Colton Ledbetter, now in the Tampa Bay chain, ranks fifth in the Double-A Southern League in hitting (.284) and third in stolen bases (17). He also has three homers and 19 RBIs for Montgomery. … Ex-DeSoto Central standout Blaze Jordan is having a red-hot May at Double-A Portland in the Boston system. Jordan, only 22 in his fifth pro season, is batting .379 (.481 OBP) with five homers and 17 RBIs this month. He’s up to .306 for the year with 30 RBIs. … Ole Miss product Brandon Johnson leads the Texas League with seven saves and as a 0.79 ERA at Northwest Arkansas, the Royals’ Double-A affiliate. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, first-rounder out of MSU last summer, has won four straight starts with a 2.05 ERA at High-A Everett in the Seattle system. The switch-pitcher, who is throwing mostly righty, has a 4.12 ERA in 11 appearances overall. … Khal Stephen, drafted in Round 2 out of MSU last year by Toronto, went 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA at Low-A Dunedin and yielded one run in three innings in his High-A debut for Vancouver in Toronto’s organization. … And still out there raking in A-ball are former state prep stars and 2024 first-round picks Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep). Montgomery, now in High-A in the White Sox’s system, is batting .299 with seven homers and 37 RBIs. Griffin, in Low-A with Pittsburgh, is at .307 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and 18 steals.

14 May

three things

1 — William Carey University, 10th-ranked in NAIA, saw its season end on Tuesday with a 16-11 loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan in an elimination game in the Hattiesburg regional. A nine-run seventh inning doomed the Crusaders, who committed four errors and walked 11 batters in the game. Carey (38-14) was outscored 26-17 in its two losses. Oklahoma Wesleyan plays Indiana Southeast today with the winner then meeting British Columbia in the championship round.
2 — The Mississippi Mud Monsters finally got back on the field for the second game of their inaugural season, but the independent club fell to Gateway 8-5 at Trustmark Park. Newly activated Rodney Theopile, a 6-foot-6 Nicaragua native, pitched four strong innings before the bullpen faltered in a seven-run fifth. Kyle Booker, former DeSoto Central High star, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Mud Monsters (1-1). Game 2 of the Gateway series is tonight in Pearl.
3 — Ryan Rolison, a 2018 first-round draftee, made his big league debut and Kendall Graveman, a veteran big leaguer who missed 2024 after arm surgery, made his season debut. Ole Miss alum Rolison, who has made 95 minor league appearances, got the last out for Colorado in a 4-1 loss at Texas. Graveman, ex-Mississippi State standout, pitched a scoreless inning for Arizona in a 10-6 loss at San Francisco.
P.S. In case you somehow missed it: Former Mississippi Braves star Ronald Acuna homered in his first rehab game for Atlanta’s Florida Complex League team. Former National League MVP Acuna has been out since last May because of a knee injury. On the undercard in that FCL game, Southern Miss product Dalton McIntyre went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the FCL Braves; he was a 19th-round pick last summer.