Tag Archives: Cubs

24 Apr

speed bump?

Jake Mangum’s impressive run in his long-awaited big league opportunity may have hit a speed bump. The ex-Mississippi State star, now a rookie with Tampa Bay, had to leave Wednesday night’s game at Arizona with what was described as left groin tightness. He pulled up with a limp after crossing first base on a ground out in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old Flowood native was listed as day-to-day this morning. Through 21 games, Mangum is hitting .338 and tied for the American League lead with eight stolen bases. He recently was timed at 4.09 seconds going home to first, tied for the fastest in MLB this season. The switch-hitter has been a valuable contributor since his March 29 call-up, going 23-for-68 with four doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs for the Rays, 10-14 after a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. He has played all three outfield positions and handled 47 chances with just one error. P.S. Red-hot Nick Monistere belted a walk-off homer in the ninth inning Wednesday to give Southern Miss a 5-4 win against Southeastern Louisiana at Hattiesburg. Monistere, the former Northwest Rankin High standout, has 15 home runs on the year, seven bombs and 19 RBIs in his last six games for 28-13 USM. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz was added to the Chicago Cubs’ roster on Wednesday but did not pitch. The 36-year-old left-hander, acquired from Seattle, has a 3.91 career ERA in 389 MLB games, the last of those appearances coming in 2021. … Former big leaguer Billy Hamilton, the speedster from Taylorsville, got his first steal of 2025 in the Mexican League on Wednesday. That’s No. 844 in his long pro career. Hamilton, 34, is 5-for-18 in five games for Jalisco. … Mississippi State product Rowdey Jordan has been traded to Houston by the New York Mets. The fifth-year minor leaguer was playing at Triple-A Syracuse. … Longtime local broadcaster Jay White has been named the play-by-play voice of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the independent pro team that will begin play on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. … In the juco showdown at Poplarville on Wednesday, Pearl River Community College swept Jones College 7-1 and 3-2 behind the pitching of Camden Clark and K.K. Clark. PRCC, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, is 42-6, 22-2 in MACCC. No. 7 Jones slipped to 33-12, 19-7.

22 Apr

the left stuff

Shopping for help for their bullpen, the Chicago Cubs have swung a trade for a 36-year-old, oft-injured ex-Ole Miss star who hasn’t pitched in a big league game in four years. Such is the allure of an experienced left-hander. Drew Pomeranz has been pitching at Triple-A in Seattle’s system; the Cubs got him for cash considerations and will send him to Triple-A Iowa. If or when he makes an appearance for the big Cubs, it’ll be his first in MLB since Aug. 10, 2021, when he was with San Diego. Pomeranz put up a 1.75 ERA as a reliever that season but has been hurt virtually ever since. If you’re scoring at home, make it 11 organizations in 16 years for Pomeranz, who was the fifth overall pick out of Ole Miss in 2010 by Cleveland. He has pitched in 389 MLB games, most of them as a reliever, which has been his sole role the past seven years. The 6-foot-5 Pomeranz has a 3.91 career ERA in the majors, made an All-Star Game in 2016 and won a ring with Boston in 2018. He had a 4.66 in nine appearances for Tacoma this year. The Cubs are 14-10, but their bullpen has been shaky. P.S. Hustle was a topic in Atlanta — yes, again — on Monday night. Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High standout, busted it down the first-base line in the eighth inning and beat out a routine grounder to shortstop. He later hustled home to score the game-tying run. The Braves scored four more times in the inning and held on to beat St. Louis 7-6. “You see Riley getting down the line and that got us going,” Mississippi Braves alum Michael Harris II said in an mlb.com story. M-Braves alum Riley also homered — his sixth — as the Braves (9-13) won their fourth straight.

19 Mar

the early show

Gotta get up early — 5 a.m. local time Wednesday — to watch Justin Steele try to shut down the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Former George County High standout Steele is starting for the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the Tokyo Series. A 2023 All-Star, Steele is 29-21 with a 3.24 ERA in his career with the Cubs. He is 2-1 all-time against the Dodgers, beating them in ’23 as a starter and in ’21 as a reliever. Max Muncy and Chris Taylor have homers off Steele, who doesn’t surrender many. Tommy Edman is 4-for-10 career against Steele, and Will Smith is 1-for-3. Left-hander Steele has never faced Shohei Ohtani, the reigning National League MVP who went 2-for-5 with two runs in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win in the season opener at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday. The Dodgers’ starter will be Roki Sasaki, the Japanese import who will be making his MLB debut. P.S. On a breezy Tuesday night in Pearl, Southern Miss did a lot of good things in a 6-2 win over Ole Miss at Trustmark Park. You want defense? In the first inning, left fielder Davis Gillespie went to the fence — and maybe over it — to make a catch on a high drive by Ole Miss slugger Ryan Moerman. USM second baseman Nick Monistere made a slick snatch while lying on his back to record an out at the bag and save shortstop Ozzie Pratt from a costly error. Golden Eagles third baseman Drey Barrett made two sweet plays, including starting a 5-3 double play that ended the game with the bases full of Rebels. You want pitching? Matt Adams worked a strong 4 2/3 to get it started for USM. Josh Och got eight outs in the middle innings, allowing just two walks and punching out three. Closer Colby Allen escaped a tight spot with a punchout to end the eighth and then worked in and out of a jam to end the game for his fifth save. The bats made some noise, too. After Jake Cook drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, Pratt ripped a double for a 1-0 lead. With two outs in the first, a Monistere single made it 2-0. In the fifth, Gillespie blasted a go-ahead three-run homer to left in a park that doesn’t yield a lot of bombs. Carson Paetow capped the four-run fifth with a two-out RBI double. That was all the Eagles needed to take it home. With a crowd of 3,498 looking on, USM improved to 15-6, avenging a loss last month at Oxford. Ole Miss slipped to 15-5.

15 Mar

special delivery

There was nothing particularly eye-catching about the pitching line in the box score: 2 innings, 2 hits, 1 unearned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. But on the field in Goodyear, Ariz., on Friday night, it was a captivating outing by Jurrangelo Cijntje, the former Mississippi State standout whose switch-pitching abilities have garnered a lot of attention. Appearing in his first actual pro game — a Spring Breakout contest for Seattle prospects against Cleveland’s — Cijntje pitched lefty against lefty-hitting Travis Bazzana — first overall draft pick last summer — and retired him on a grounder on his first pitch. “There was a lot of adrenaline,” Cijntje said in an mlb.com article. “I couldn’t even control my body, but I fought through it.” He pitched righty the rest of the way, striking out Bazzana on a 97-mph heater to conclude his 40-pitch appearance. “That’s something special,” Bazzana said in the mlb.com story. “I think he’s got a bright future, and it was cool to battle.” Cijntje, a native of The Netherlands who pitched in Florida as a high-schooler, was the 15th overall pick by Seattle last year after going 8-2 with a 3.67 ERA at MSU. According to reports, Seattle plans to develop him as a right-handed starter who’ll go lefty in certain situations. He figures to start the upcoming season in Low-Class A at Modesto (Calif.). P.S. The Chicago Cubs reportedly are considering signing Lance Lynn, the grizzled veteran out of Ole Miss. Lynn, 37, is 143-99 in an MLB career that began in 2011; he went 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA for St. Louis in 2024. … Ex-Ole Miss star Grae Kessinger, batting .294 this spring, has been optioned to Triple-A by Arizona. Kessinger, who has some big league time, was acquired by the Diamondbacks in a trade after Houston designated the infielder for assignment in December. … MLB The Show 25, the popular video game, has added Starkville native Cool Papa Bell and Mississippi prep products Konnor Griffin and Braden Montgomery to the list of available player cards. Hall of Famer Bell is one of the new Legends — along with former Jackson Generals stars Lance Berkman and Bobby Abreu — and rookie pros Griffin (Jackson Prep) and Montgomery (Madison Central) are part of the Spring Breakout Series.

11 Mar

quick pitches

On a windy day in Arizona, Justin Steele got blown away by Milwaukee hitters. The former George County High star, expected to start the second game of the Chicago Cubs’ season next week in Japan, gave up 10 hits — three home runs — and seven runs all told in 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander now has a 9.72 ERA in 8 1/3 innings this spring. The 2023 All-Star went 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 24 starts in an injury-curtailed 2024 season. He won 16 games in 2023. … Also in Cactus League action today, ex-Ole Miss standout Doug Nikhazy, making a start for Cleveland, got knocked around by the Los Angeles Dodgers, yielding four hits, four walks and seven runs in 1 2/3 innings (55 pitches). The left-hander gave up a two-run homer to Tommy Edman, the second batter he faced. In camp as a new member of the Guardians’ 40-man roster, Nikhazy has a 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings and is likely ticketed to return to Triple-A to start 2025. … Brandon Woodruff, the Mississippi State alum from Wheeler, pitched in a minor league game for Milwaukee in Arizona, his first live appearance since shoulder surgery 17 months ago. He reportedly threw 94 mph and unveiled a new cutter. Woodruff, a two-time All-Star, is 46-26, 3.10, for his career. His projected return to the Brewers’ active roster is mid-May. … On Monday in Florida, Jackson Prep product Will Warren threw 3 2/3 innings (two hits, one walk, one earned run) for the New York Yankees in a win against Detroit. Warren, 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings this spring, appears to be a viable candidate for the Yanks’ tattered rotation with Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil both out. GM Brian Cashman, asked about looking for arms outside the organization, told mlb.com: “We’ll just evaluate what’s available, and this time of year, very little is available.” For the record, former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn and Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull, both MLB vets, are free agents. … Nick Sandlin, ex-Southern Miss standout, got a win for Toronto on Monday with a scoreless inning in relief. A newcomer to the Blue Jays (trade from Cleveland), he has made just two appearances this spring. … Ole Miss alum Ryan Rolison, a first-round pick back in 2018, has thrown three scoreless innings with three K’s this spring for Colorado; the 27-year-old lefty (4.55 ERA in 83 minor league games) is in camp as a minor leaguer. … Kansas City optioned Eric Cerantola, Mississippi State product, to Triple-A, and the A’s did the same with ex-UM star Gunnar Hoglund.

20 Feb

just wondering …

Here are nine questions regarding Mississippians in MLB spring training camps:
Will Jake Mangum — a .296 career hitter in the minors — earn a spot on Tampa Bay’s roster and make his long-awaited big league debut?
Can Brandon Woodruff — 46-26, 3.10 career — reclaim his pre-injury form for Milwaukee after missing the ’24 season?
How will Colt Keith handle the sophomore jinx and the move from second base to first in Detroit?
Can Hunter Renfroe — .229 and 15 homers in 2024 — be a productive power bat for Kansas City?
What will 2024 All-Star Garrett Crochet — 3.58 ERA, 209 strikeouts — do for an encore after moving from lowly Chicago to Boston?
Can Hurston Waldrep, after a disappointing 2024 trial in Atlanta, be an impact arm for the Braves this season?
Does Brent Rooker, now armed with a fat contract, have another 30-homer season in him for the (Sacramento) A’s?
Is Doug Nikhazy — 7-4, 2.98 in the high minors in 2024 — ready to break through in Cleveland?
Can Tim Anderson, the fallen All-Star, carve out a role at shortstop or the outfield for the Los Angeles Angels?
P.S. Justin Steele, the ex-George County High standout from Lucedale, reportedly will be the Chicago Cubs’ starter in the second game of next month’s Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Steele, a 2023 All-Star, went 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 24 starts last season. The season-opening Japan series is set for March 18-19. … Samil De La Rosa, a 5-foot-8 Dominican infielder, has signed with the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new independent club. De La Rosa, 21, played four years in the rookie-level minors in the St. Louis and Atlanta systems from 2021-24. … Delta State, 8-3 with seven straight wins, is ranked No. 20 in the new NCBWA Division II poll, the first time the Statesmen have cracked the Top 25 in that poll in almost three years, per a school release. DSU swept three from then-nationally ranked Lee last weekend and beat Arkansas-Monticello on Tuesday.

19 Sep

fitting finale

Lance Lynn’s season ended Wednesday when St. Louis put the veteran right-hander on the injured list with right knee inflammation. We’re now left to wonder if Ole Miss alum Lynn’s career might have ended, too. If so, he went out in fitting fashion, like the horse he has always been, throwing six innings and allowing a lone run in a 3-1 victory Tuesday against Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium. The burly, gray-bearded Lynn, 7-4, 3.84 ERA in 23 starts on the year, went 6-0 at Busch Stadium, where a large group of family members watched him work on Tuesday. Tuesday’s game was his 100th career appearance at Busch, per an mlb.com story, and he is 46-20 there all-time. The 37-year-old Lynn’s 13-year MLB career began with St. Louis in 2011, when he helped the Cardinals win the World Series. All told, he went 143-99 with a 3.74 ERA and 2,015 strikeouts, pitching for six different clubs. Drafted in the first round out of Ole Miss by St. Louis in 2008, Lynn’s 143 wins are tied for fourth-most (with Cliff Lee) among Mississippi natives or school alums who have pitched in the big leagues. Lynn signed a one-year, $11 million free agent contract with the Cardinals this past off-season, and the club holds an option to bring him back in 2025. Cards manager Oliver Marmol told mlb.com he couldn’t have asked for more than Lynn provided in 2024: “I think we picked the right guy to come in and help mold the culture in ways that matter.” So, will we see Lynn on the bump in the majors again? “If you ask me if I want to pitch, I never want to stop pitching,” he said after Tuesday’s game. “But I know there’s going to be a time when that’s going to happen.” P.S. Lucedale’s Justin Steele came off the injured list Wednesday and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Chicago Cubs, who lost to Oakland 5-3 at Wrigley Field. Steele is 5-5, 3.03, in an injury-dampened season. … Props to Milwaukee and all the former Biloxi Shuckers who contributed as the Brewers clinched the National League Central crown on Wednesday. … Love these comments from Grae Kessinger, the former Ole Miss star now playing a reserve role with the playoff-bound Houston Astros: “It’s always good to contribute and help the team win. Every day, just come to win. What a fun group this is. Winning is all that matters.” On Tuesday, Kessinger, subbing for the ejected “Shoeless Jose” Altuve, scored the go-ahead run as the ghost runner in the top of the 10th inning and then made a sweet play behind second base to end the game, a 4-3 victory over San Diego. Kessinger has played in just 17 games and gotten just 15 at-bats.

05 Sep

pain management

Their no-hitter against Pittsburgh notwithstanding, the Chicago Cubs’ postseason hopes may have taken a serious hit Wednesday when Justin Steele, the lefty from Lucedale, went on the injured list with a sore elbow. Staff ace Steele, 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA, was 3-1 in his last seven starts, and the team was 9-4 in his last 13 outings. He’ll be out for a couple of weeks — maybe longer. The Cubs have climbed into the battle for a wild card in the National League, currently sitting fifth in those standings, 4 games behind the fourth-place New York Mets. Steele told reporters Wednesday he aims to return this season. “Justin’s going to pitch if he’s healthy. That’s kind of how we’re progressing right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said in an mlb.com story. … The Kansas City Royals, who snapped a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday, may get ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe back this weekend, per reports. Renfroe, on the IL since Aug. 21 with a hamstring injury, played a rehab game at Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a sac fly for the Naturals. After a slow start to 2024, Renfroe is batting .237 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs for the Royals, who are clinging to the third wild card in the American League. … Former MSU standout Jordan Westburg, out since Aug. 1 with a broken right hand, has begun playing catch and could be close to returning to Baltimore’s lineup, reports say. Westburg, a 2024 All-Star, is batting .269 with 18 homers and 58 RBIs. The Orioles lead the New York Yankees by a half-game in the AL East. … Spencer Turnbull, the Madison Central High alum who was a valuable pitcher for Philadelphia early this season, remains on the 60-day IL (lat strain) but was expected to throw a bullpen session this week. He has been out since June 27, and a time for his return to active duty remains unclear. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 games for the Phillies, who hold a seemingly comfortable 7-game lead in the NL East.

29 Aug

‘the bethancourt game’

The Chicago Cubs scored 11 runs over the final three innings to overcome a seven-run deficit and beat Pittsburgh 14-10 Wednesday at PNC Park. Amazing. More amazing might be the fact that Christian Bethancourt — remember him, Mississippi Braves fans? — drove in six runs in those last three frames and seven all told. “This will be remembered as ‘The Bethancourt Game,'” Cubs broadcaster Jim Deshaies said. Bethancourt, batting ninth on Wednesday, went 3-for-5 with a 431-foot two-run homer in the seventh, a two-run double in the eighth and a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth. The 32-year-old catcher, signed by the Cubs after being released by Miami, is hitting .407 with three homers in 11 games. “I don’t know how you can play better than he’s played,” manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “(E)very time he’s in there, there are extra-base hits, there are RBIs, throwing out runners.” The well-liked Panama native, whose pro career began in 2008 in Atlanta’s system, has had quite the odyssey. His transactions page on mlb.com could be published as a novella. He’s been everywhere, man. He has played for six different MLB teams, wearing seven different numbers, and passed through several other organizations. He has played in the Dominican Summer League and the Dominican Winter League. He has played in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game and the All-Star Futures Game. He has played in Korea and in the Caribbean Series (earlier this year, in fact). He even tried pitching, including 11 MLB appearances (9.31 ERA). He arrived in Mississippi in 2012 as a top Braves prospect and had a tough year. He returned to Double-A in 2013 and was a Southern League All-Star. He made his big league debut that fall. Bethancourt has played in almost 1,500 pro games and in 415 big league games. He’s had some moments but never a day like Wednesday, a day Cubs fans will always remember: “The Bethancourt Game.”

27 Aug

just stuff

Nick Sandlin, former All-America pitcher out of Southern Miss, made his first pro start on Monday for Cleveland and fared well: two strikeouts, two walks and a foul out in his one inning. However, the Guardians lost the game to visiting Kansas City and then lost again in the nightcap as their lead in the American League Central slipped to 1 game over the Royals. Sandlin was a lockdown reliever for two years at USM, moved to the rotation for his junior year (2018) and went 10-1 with a 1.06 ERA. He won the Ferriss Trophy, C-USA’s pitcher of the year award and a national player of the year honor. The Guardians drafted him and moved him back to the bullpen, and the right-hander has a 3.26 ERA in 198 MLB games. … Kansas City played without Mississippi State products Hunter Renfroe (on the injured list), Adam Frazier (sitting with a .211 average) and Chris Stratton (5.23 ERA), and ex-Ole Miss standout James McArthur (no longer closing) worked one scoreless inning in Game 1. Frazier is in the lineup tonight for Game 3 of the big series. … Colt Keith has eight RBIs in his last four games, all wins by Detroit. The rookie out of Biloxi High is batting .266 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs. … Ex-USM star Matt Wallner homered in the ninth inning of Minnesota’s loss to Atlanta. His 10th blast of the season was his first off a left-hander (Dylan Lee). … Justin Steele, former George County High standout, is back on the bump today for the Chicago Cubs against Pittsburgh. Steele (4-5, 3.07, overall and 2-0, 1.66, in August) has had problems with Pittsburgh’s Connor Joe, batting .538 with a homer in 15 plate appearances vs. the left-hander, per Baseball Reference’s Matchups to Watch. … Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn, on the IL (knee injury) since July 31 for St. Louis, is expected to make a rehab start this week with Triple-A Memphis. Lynn (6-4, 4.06) threw about 75 pitches in a live practice session Monday, reports said. … Ex-DeSoto Central star Blaze Jordan, out since Aug. 10 after getting hit in the face by a pitch, was activated today by Double-A Portland. The Boston Red Sox’s No. 26 prospect is hitting .253 with seven homers and 51 RBIs. … Mississippi Braves right-hander Lucas Braun was named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week after allowing just one run with 20 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings in two starts last week. Atlanta’s No. 21 prospect is 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 10 Double-A starts.