Tag Archives: Diamondbacks

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.

13 May

smooth move

The Chicago Cubs’ trade for Drew Pomeranz late last month is beginning to look like a very shrewd deal. The veteran left-hander out of Ole Miss has yet to allow a run in eight appearances out of the bullpen for the first-place Cubs, and on Monday night, the 6-foot-5 “Big Smooth” recorded his first MLB save in five years. The 36-year-old Pomeranz worked the ninth in a 5-2 win against Miami at Wrigley Field, allowing one hit and fanning two. “(S)ince we got Drew, he’s just been pounding the zone,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “That’s probably what you like best is, it’s just a lot of strikes.” Pomeranz has struck out eight and walked just two in 7 2/3 innings. More closing opportunities may be in his future. The Cubs traded with San Diego to acquire Pomeranz, who was pitching in the minors, and he debuted on April 25, his first MLB game since 2021. A former first-round pick (in 2010) who has been a World Series champ and an All-Star, he had been battling injury issues since that time. “I’m just happy to be here. Literally, it feels like the first time all over again,” Pomeranz said when he joined the Cubs. A starter early in his pro career, he has now appeared in 297 games with a 48-58 record, 10 saves and a 3.88 ERA. P.S. Mississippi State alum Kendall Graveman has been activated from the IL by Arizona; the veteran pitcher missed all of 2024 after arm surgery. … Ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim was returned to Triple-A Round Rock by Texas; he went 0-for-11 during his brief call-up. … Brandon Woodruff, former MSU standout from Wheeler, has been shut down on his rehab assignment because of an ankle injury. The erstwhile Milwaukee ace has been out since mid-2023 following an arm injury and surgery. … Four Mississippi products appear in MLB Pipeline’s refreshed Top 100 minor league prospects list: Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh system) at No. 37, Braden Montgomery (White Sox) No. 38, Cooper Pratt (Milwaukee) No. 50 and Jurrangelo Cijntje (Seattle) No. 92.

04 May

looking up

In his third tour of the Low-Class A level, 22-year-old Brennon McNair is starting to put up numbers that might warrant a promotion. The former Magee High star, drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2021, is batting .276 (.364 OBP, .553 slug) with four homers, 14 RBIs, 17 runs and six steals in 22 games for the Columbia Fireflies. A righty-hitting outfielder, he homered Saturday for the second straight game. He is 9-for-26 (.346) in his last eight games. An 11th-round pick after batting .527 with 11 homers as a senior at Magee, McNair experienced growing pains in pro ball. He batted under .200 at Columbia the last two years, though he stole 19 bases in 2023 and hit eight homers in 2024. A trip Down Under this past winter may have helped McNair turn things around. In the Australian Baseball League, playing in 40 games for Brisbane, McNair hit .248 (.350 OBP) with 11 homers (tied for the league lead), 26 RBIs and 11 steals. He tied an ABL record with three homers in a single game. McNair’s recent hot streak at Columbia has to have garnered some attention in a minor league system that is regarded as thin on top-tier talent. High-A Quad Cities is the next rung on the Royals’ minor league ladder. Getting past A-ball is always a big step, especially for prep draftees. It’s been a stumbling block for many Mississippi players. P.S. Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in a rehab assignment in rookie ball for Arizona. Graveman, an MLB veteran, missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery and signed with the Diamondbacks a free agent in the off-season.

25 Apr

noteworthy

Pitching on four years rest — no, not really — Drew Pomeranz worked a scoreless eighth inning today for the Chicago Cubs in their 4-0 win over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field. Ole Miss product Pomeranz, 36, last pitched in a big league game on Aug. 10, 2021, with San Diego. He has battled injuries and bounced through a number of organizations since then. This is his 15th pro season. Acquired from Seattle earlier this week, the big left-hander struck out Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber to start, yielded an HBP and a walk, then got the final out of the inning. … Former Mississippi State standout Kendall Graveman, on the injured list all season with Arizona, has begun live pitching at the Diamondbacks’ spring facility, per reports. The nine-year big league veteran missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery. … Colby White, an MSU product from Hattiesburg, has been released by the New York Yankees off the Double-A Somerset roster. Roughly two years ago, the right-hander appeared on the brink of making his MLB debut with Tampa Bay. A 2019 draftee by the Rays, he blew through four levels of the minors in 2021 and got a spring training invite in 2022 before having Tommy John surgery and missing that season. He has scuffled ever since. The Yankees claimed him of waivers from the Rays in May of last year but dropped him from their 40-man shortly thereafter. He had a 12.79 ERA in four games at Somerset this season. … Ex-Ole Miss star Doug Nikhazy is slated to make his big league debut for Cleveland on Saturday in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Lefty Nikhazy, in his fifth pro season, had a 3.44 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Columbus. A popular player in Oxford, he posted a 24-6, 2.81, record there from 2019-21. … Second baseman Angus Stayte, who hit .417 in the indy Pecos League in 2024, has signed with the Mississippi Mud Monsters. The team drafted two players, shortstop Roberto Gonzalez and catcher Elias Stevens, out of the Frontier League tryout camp on Wednesday. The new independent team now has 36 players on its preliminary roster. The FL season begins May 8.

23 Apr

three things

1 — Nothing like a comeback-capping walk-off win over your archrival to recharge the battery. Ole Miss, having lost five of seven and tumbled in the national polls, beat Mississippi State 8-7 in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. The Rebels (29-12) hope to ride the momentum of that Governor’s Cup victory into a home series against nationally ranked Vanderbilt this weekend. Ole Miss is 10-8 in the SEC, Vandy 11-7 and 30-11 overall. Several Rebels took star turns in Pearl. Austin Fawley’s 12th homer of the year, a two-run shot, tied the score in the ninth at 7-7. Will Furniss’ run-scoring single — his third RBI of the night — won it in the 10th. Hudson Calhoun threw hitless ball over the last three frames, fanning seven, to get the W. While noting it wasn’t pretty, UM coach Mike Bianco said, “Our guys hung in there, and I’m proud of them for that.” For State, it was a deflating defeat. The Bulldogs (24-17) were coming off an SEC series loss to Florida in which their pitchers yielded 32 runs. They are 6-12 in the league with a trip to nationally ranked Auburn (28-13, 9-9) looming this weekend.
2 — Pearl River Community College, on a seemingly inexorable march toward the state juco championship, might get a test today from Jones College. PRCC, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, is 40-6 and 20-2 MACCC and leads the conference in hitting (.331), slugging (.539) and ERA (2.69). The Wildcats also have the reigning conference player (Topher Jones) and pitcher (K.K. Clark) of the week. But Jones College is no slouch. The Bobcats beat the Wildcats back in February and are ranked seventh nationally at 33-10, 19-5 MACCC. The teams, both of which own national titles, meet for a twinbill at Dub Herring Park in Poplarville.
3 — Props to the MHSAA classification players of the year: Talon Haley, Class 7A Lewisburg; Baylor Roberts, 6A Saltillo; Griffin Ennis, 5A Corinth; Jacob and JoJo Parker, 4A Purvis; Brody Thompson, 3A Mooreville; Landon Harmon, 2A East Union; Jon Grey Morrison, 1A West Union.
Plus 1: Grae Kessinger, former Ole Miss standout, has been released by Arizona. The erstwhile big leaguer, 27, who started this season in the minors, was designated for assignment on April 19. He was batting .235 in 11 games at Triple-A Reno and had been sidelined since April 9.

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.

13 Mar

breaking out

The Spring Breakout games, featuring most of the best minor league talent, begin today with Boston’s squad taking on Tampa Bay (MLB Network, 6:05 p.m.). On the Red Sox’s roster is former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan, while the Rays’ roster includes Mississippi State product Colton Ledbetter. The games, 16 all told, will run through Sunday. Among the Mississippians who could be featured are Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh), Braden Montgomery (Chicago White Sox), Tim Elko (White Sox), Cooper Pratt (Milwaukee), Dakota Jordan (San Francisco), Jurrangelo Cijntje (Seattle) and Tanner Hall (Minnesota). MLB Pipeline has pegged David Mershon, former All-SEC shortstop out of MSU, as a sleeper prospect on the Los Angeles Angels team. Though not ranked among the Angels’ Top 30, the 5-foot-7, 175-pound Mershon’s star appears to be ascending. From mlb.com: “He’s a switch-hitter with on-base skills and speed who can play excellent infield defense.” Drafted in the 18th round last summer after two years at State (.347, 27 steals last year), the South Carolina native went straight to Double-A and hit .254. The Angels then sent him to the Arizona Fall League, another high-talent loop, and Mershon batted .263 there. Invited to big league camp, he is 3-for-14 in A-games. The Angels’ Spring Breakout game is slated for Saturday (MLBN, 8:05 p.m.) against the Cubs. P.S. Justin Foscue, another former MSU infielder, was optioned to Triple-A by Texas on Wednesday. Foscue, batting .235 in big league games this spring, made his MLB debut in 2024 but hit just .048 (2-for-42). The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, he has a .278 career average in the minors with 60 homers. … MSU alum Kendall Graveman, recently signed by Arizona as a free agent, has not pitched this spring because of a reported back issue. He missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery.

14 Feb

spring flings

Kendall Graveman’s next comeback will begin with Arizona, which reportedly has agreed to a one-year deal ($1.35 million plus incentives) with the ex-Mississippi State standout. The veteran right-hander, 34, missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery last off-season. He has a career ERA of 3.95 in 280 games and was an effective middle reliever during Houston’s playoff run in 2023. He was on the Astros’ roster in 2024 before becoming a free agent. He missed the 2019 season following Tommy John surgery and moved from starter to reliever in 2020 after a experiencing a neck problem related to a benign tumor. An eighth-round pick by Toronto in 2013, Graveman has pitched for the Blue Jays, Oakland, Seattle, the Astros and the Chicago White Sox. P.S. Still unsigned are pitchers Lance Lynn, former Ole Miss star, and Spencer Turnbull, a Madison Central High product. Lynn, 37, a starter most of his career, is being courted by some clubs as a closer, per reports. “I definitely have the fire for it,” he said in a recent interview. Turnbull put up a 2.65 ERA in an injury-shortened 2024 season with Philadelphia. … Former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton is looking for a return to affiliated ball after playing in Mexico last summer and this winter (see previous posts). Hamilton, 34, can still run: He stole a total of 73 bases in the two Mexican loops and has 838 bags all told in pro ball. … Coming off two rather awful seasons, East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson is “grateful” to be in the Los Angeles Angels’ spring training camp as a minor leaguer. “I’m still only 31,” he said in an mlb.com story. “There’s still room to grow, still room to get better, still a window.”

08 Jan

planning ahead

There is no certainty that Brandon Woodruff will be in Milwaukee’s starting rotation by Opening Day, but the ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler is planning on it. “(M)y mindset is to get ready for that,” Woodruff said in a recent Brewers Beat article. The big right-hander, 31, who missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery, reportedly is throwing two short bullpen sessions a week at home in Mississippi and will be evaluated by Brewers staff next week in Arizona. He admitted he still has a ways to go in the rehab process before adding, “But gosh, I feel good.” That’s great news for Brewers fans. Woodruff, a former Biloxi Shuckers ace, is 46-26 with a 3.01 ERA and two All-Star Game nods in his Milwaukee career. He appeared in just 11 games in 2023 when the shoulder issue cropped up. He had surgery in October 2023, essentially knocking him out for 2024. He was non-tendered by Milwaukee after the ’23 season, then re-signed on a two-year deal ($17.5 million) last February. Milwaukee won the National League Central last season and, especially with a Woodruff bump, should be in the hunt again in 2025. P.S. Squeezed off Houston’s 40-man roster, Grae Kessinger has been moved to Arizona, which traded Tuesday for the former Ole Miss star. Kessinger, 27, played in 49 games as a reserve infielder with the Astros the past two seasons. He had a good year in Triple-A in 2024.

25 Oct

amazing arizona

Twenty-two years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks did something amazing. They scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning against Mariano Rivera and beat the mighty New York Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series. On Tuesday night, the D’backs did something amazing again. They beat mighty Philadelphia — at Citizens Bank Park, for the second straight night — to win Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and reach the second Fall Classic in their 26-year history. The franchise was just four years old when the ’01 team, which included former Ole Miss star David Dellucci, won the championship. That club had been largely constructed by Mississippi State alum Buck Showalter, who was fired as manager after the 2000 season reportedly because of a dispute with ownership. Originally drafted by Baltimore, Dellucci was plucked by Arizona (and Showalter) in the expansion draft in the fall of 1997. He hit .260 with a league-best 12 triples in 1998 and was still a reserve outfielder on the 2001 club. He played in two World Series games, including a pinch-running appearance in the fateful ninth inning of Game 7; he was erased on a fielder’s choice for the first out. Interestingly enough, Dellucci also played for Texas, which will face the D’backs in the Fall Classic that begins Friday in Arlington. Showalter was manager of the Rangers when Dellucci was with the team (2004-05).