second chances
To win a second-half title in the Southern League South, the Mississippi Braves need to:
a. Score more runs;
b. Hit more home runs;
c. Win more home games.
Any of the three would help, but obviously it’s not that simple. The M-Braves went 34-35 in the first half, ending up third, 6 1⁄2 games behind champion Pensacola. Pitching never seems to be a problem at Trustmark Park, a notorious pitcher’s yard. The M-Braves’ staff ERA of 3.13 is second in the league. They’ve allowed the fewest homers and are tied for the most strikeouts. Having lost ace Chris Ellis, the former Ole Miss star, to promotion, keeping up those numbers might be tougher in the second half. But there are still plenty of prospect-type arms around. Scoring, not preventing it, has been the issue for Luis Salazar’s team. They’re 25-6 when they score four runs or more. But they average just 3.6 runs per game, tied for last with Biloxi. They’re last in on-base percentage, last in steals and seventh (of 10) in homers. They’re 21-6 when they hit a homer — they just don’t hit many, especially at the TeePee. Dustin Peterson and Jacob Schrader have 14 of the club’s 37 bombs. Where would the boost in offense come from? It would help if top prospect Dansby Swanson would get hot again; he’s down to .242. A little more all-around production from Johan Camargo, Carlos Franco, Levi Hyams or Dian Toscano might go a long way, too. And then there’s the new guys, just added to the roster today: catcher Joe Odom and first baseman Joey Meneses up from Class A Carolina, outfielder Connor Lien off the disabled list where he spent most of the first half. Lien was a Carolina League All-Star in 2015. Odom was batting .292 with eight homers and 29 RBIs for the Mudcats this year, and Meneses was at .342 with five homers and 31 RBIs. Here’s a big thing: The team was 16-19 at home in the first half; that’s gotta change if they hope to contend. By contrast, Pensacola went 25-11 at home.