Tag Archives: East Central Community College

24 Jul

catching up

Delta State, the 2,700-student school up in Cleveland with its proud baseball tradition, has produced, remarkably enough, three major league catchers. Carlos Leal has designs on being the fourth. Leal, in just his second pro season, is playing in the Class A Midwest League and batting .314 with two homers and 26 RBIs for Wisconsin in the Milwaukee system. Leal, from Puerto Rico, was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference catcher at DSU and an All-Stater at East Central Community College before that. But he was drafted as a pitcher (34th round) last year by the Brewers, who were impressed by his strong arm in a workout. He did not make a smooth transition last summer, putting up an 8.53 ERA in six rookie-league appearances. Milwaukee brass decided in the off-season to give Leal a shot at making one of the minor league clubs this spring as a catcher. He not only made the Wisconsin roster, he became the Timber Rattlers’ No. 1 catcher and made the MWL All-Star Game last month. “You could tell he has a passion for catching,” Charlie Greene, a Brewers minor league instructor, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At 24, the left-handed hitting Leal could and probably needs to move up quickly. It’s a long way from A-ball to the big leagues, but Leal certainly appears to have a shot at joining Barry Lyons, Scooter Tucker and Eli Whiteside as Statesmen who’ve caught in The Show.

23 Jul

upwardly mobile

Gloom has gathered over the Chicago White Sox’s season. Fans of the last-place club needing something to brighten their day can look to Double-A Birmingham, where shortstop Tim Anderson is having a star-quality season. Rated by some as the organization’s top prospect entering 2015, the East Central Community College product appears close to being big league-ready. Anderson, 22, the Southern League All-Star Game MVP, is batting .311 with seven triples, 35 RBIs, 53 runs and 35 steals for the Barons. An athletic 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, he is hitting .298 with 69 steals over his three pro seasons. If there is a negative in his offensive numbers, it’s that he doesn’t walk much (15 times this season while serving primarily as a leadoff batter). Reports indicate that Anderson’s defense is steadily improving; in fact, some of the reports are glowing. Anderson made his Double-A debut, with a bang, at Pearl’s Trustmark Park last August. The Barons come to the TeePee again this August (18-22). Of course, by then Anderson might be in Triple-A. P.S. Thirty games into his pro career, LaDarious (aka LeDarious) Clark, the East Mississippi CC alum from Meridian, paces the short-season Class A Northwest League in homers (8, including two on Wednesday), average (.377), hits (49), slugging percentage (.685), runs (32), triples (5) and total bases (89). He also has 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Texas’ Spokane club. Promote him, already. … After roughly a month in the high Class A Florida State League, former Petal High star Anthony Alford is batting .333 with a homer, nine RBIs and 18 runs at Dunedin. Toronto promoted the 21-year-old outfielder, playing his first full pro season, after he hit .293 with 49 runs and 12 steals in 50 games at low-A Lansing.

24 Jun

it’s a first

Drew Pomeranz, the former Ole Miss standout, achieved a career first on Tuesday night. The left-hander earned career save No. 1 by getting the last five outs in Oakland’s 8-6 win at Texas. He induced ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland to hit into a double play in the ninth and then ended the game with a strikeout. Pomeranz might be best suited for a bullpen role. He began this season in the A’s rotation and was 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA when he went on the disabled list in mid-May. In only two of his eight starts did he go more than 5 1/3 innings. He has worked exclusively in relief since returning and has yielded just two runs in 10 appearances, picking up four holds. Used mostly as a starter in pro ball since Cleveland drafted him fifth overall in 2010, Pomeranz is 11-21 with a 4.20 ERA for his MLB career. P.S. East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson was named MVP of Tuesday’s Southern League All-Star Game. On his 22nd birthday, the Chicago White Sox prospect went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run to pace the North stars to a 9-0 victory at Montgomery, Ala.

23 Jun

star power

Mississippi’s minor league clubs will be on prominent display in tonight’s Southern League All-Star Game at Montgomery, Ala. The Mississippi Braves’ Mallex Smith and the Biloxi Shuckers’ Orlando Arcia, Nick Ramirez and Michael Reed are in the projected starting lineup for the South stars, and there are several pitchers from the two teams on the roster, including highly rated prospects Tyrell Jenkins of the M-Braves and Tyler Wagner of the Shuckers. In addition, Ramirez will participate in the pre-game Home Run Derby. Smith, a center fielder and leadoff batter, has emerged as one of the most exciting players in the Double-A loop. He is second in the league in hitting at .340 and in steals with 23. Penciled in at Nos. 3-5 in the lineup, Arcia is hitting .307, Ramirez .289 (with nine homers) and Reed .300 for first-half champion Biloxi. Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson is slated to play shortstop and bat second for the North. He is hitting .313 with 23 steals for Birmingham. Game time is 7:20 (MiLB.TV). The 2016 SL All-Star Game will be at Trustmark Park in Pearl; the M-Braves previously hosted the game in 2007. P.S. Scott Copeland, the ex-Southern Miss ace, made his first MLB start for Toronto on June 10, allowing one run in seven innings. His next start came June 16, when he yielded three runs in four innings. Then came Sunday: seven runs in 1 1/3 innings. Currently back at Triple-A Buffalo, Copeland has been up and down so many times he could be excused for suffering dizzy spells.

16 May

making a list

Marcus Thames, the slugger from Louisville, is on a list that is both short and long at the same time. In its current issue (May 18), Sports Illustrated highlights the players who homered on the first pitch they saw in the big leagues. Minnesota’s Eddie Rosario became the 29th to achieve that feat on May 6. Just the 29th. And yet, it seems crazy that it has happened 29 times! First pitch. Home run. Thames did it on June 10, 2002. The former East Central Community College star, debuting for the New York Yankees, took Randy Johnson deep at Yankee Stadium. Thames, now a coach in the Yankees’ minor league system, is one of the few players on the list the casual fan might actually have heard of. There’s Bert Campaneris, Junior Felix, Adam Wainwright (yes, the pitcher), Starling Marte, Daniel Nava and Jay Bell. Bell went on to hit 194 more homers and has the most of any player on the first-pitch-homer list. Thames is second with 115. He hit just .246 over his career, but he did have some thump, averaging a home run every 15.4 at-bats, a remarkable ratio. P.S. Kudos to Oxford High’s Jason Barber, who is featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd, which makes note of his 0.00 ERA and two no-hitters this season. … Kudos also to former Mississippi Braves star Todd Cunningham, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs in his first big league start, sparking Atlanta’s 5-3 win at Miami on Friday night. … Former Ole Miss star Zack Cozart and Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton homered for Cincinnati, the only runs yielded by Madison Bumgarner in San Francisco’s 10-2 rout of the Reds. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier went yard (on his 28th birthday) for Minnesota, and ex-UM standout Seth Smith homered for Seattle. Cozart leads all Mississippians in the majors with six homers.

29 Apr

pair of sox

Tim Anderson hit .364 in a brief Double-A trial last summer. The ex-East Central Community College standout is showing this season that it was no fluke. Anderson, a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2013, is hitting .329 with 12 RBIs, eight runs and 11 steals through 18 games for Birmingham of the Southern League. “Every week that goes by he gets better,” Julio Vinas, the Barons’ manager, told milb.com. Anderson, a shortstop, also has played well in the field, where he had some hiccups during a big league spring training look. He is rated the No. 2 prospect in Chicago’s system by both Baseball America and mlb.com. Birmingham doesn’t come to Trustmark Park in Pearl until late August. Alas, Anderson may have moved up by then. … Staying in the ChiSox system: Mason Robbins lasted until the 25th round of the MLB draft last summer. From the early returns, it looks like the White Sox may have gotten a steal. Robbins, a lefty-hitting outfielder from Southern Miss, is batting .300 through 17 games at low Class A Kannapolis this season. This comes on the heels of a strong debut season in which he hit .304 with seven homers and 32 RBIs in rookie ball at Great Falls, Mont. He also had a 17-game hit streak. “He put himself on the map in the White Sox organization, which is very good to see,” Charlie Poe, Robbins’ manager in 2014, told the Great Falls Tribune. Robbins was the state’s Mr. Baseball at George County High in 2011 and was a freshman All-America pick and career .300 hitter at USM.

29 Jan

a spring in their step

Former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson has been rated the No. 10 shortstop prospect in the minors by mlb.com. Anderson also has received an invitation to the Chicago White Sox’s major league spring training camp next month. A first-round pick in 2013, Anderson batted .301 with nine homers and 40 RBIs in an injury-interrupted 2014, finishing the season in Double-A. He also played well in the Arizona Fall League. … Other Mississippians who have received non-roster invites to big league camps include Petal High alumnus and former Mr. Baseball Anthony Alford (Toronto), Mississippi State product Hunter Renfroe (San Diego), ex-Hattiesburg High star Robert Carson (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum Joey Butler (Tampa Bay). … Also of note: Former Mississippi Braves catcher J.C. Boscan has signed a minor league deal with Kansas City and will report to the Royals’ big league camp. P.S. Hinds Community College is ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA’s preseason poll, and Jones County Junior College is slotted at No. 11. Hinds, 40-21 and a Division II World Series finalist last year, opens on Feb. 7 against Mineral Area (Mo.) in Raymond. Jones, 46-11 and MACJC state champion in 2014, starts Feb. 7 against Jeff Davis (Ala.) in Ellisville.

18 Nov

catching up

With five hits in his last three outings, Anthony Alford appears to be finding his stroke in the Australian Baseball League. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal High is 5-for-12 with a home run, six runs and two RBIs in his last three games for Canberra. For the young ABL season, Alford is at .219. Drafted by Toronto in the third round in 2012, Alford has just 94 minor-league at-bats to date as he had been focused on football, which he has now given up. … Mississippians Hunter Renfroe and Tim Anderson got kudos from mlb.com’s Jim Callis for their work in the Arizona Fall League, which wrapped up last week. Mississippi State product Renfroe, a San Diego prospect, batted .284 with a league-best six homers and 20 RBIs. He also led the AFL in extra base hits, total bases and slugging. Anderson, a Chicago White Sox prospect from East Central Community College, hit .301 with six steals. “(F)ew shortstops can match his tools,” Callis wrote. … Tyrell Jenkins, the 6-foot-4 right-hander acquired by Atlanta from St. Louis in the Jason Heyward deal, posted a 2.22 ERA in the AFL. Jenkins, 22, is a candidate for the Mississippi Braves’ roster in 2015, which will be his sixth pro season. He pitched in high-A ball this past season. … Former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur will get another shot (how many is that?) at making a big league club next spring, this time with Philadelphia. Francouer had a big year (.289, 15 homers, 69 RBIs) in Triple-A with San Diego in 2014, though he didn’t hit at all in his MLB trial. … Ex-MSU standout Tyler Moore is batting .299 with six homers, 17 RBIs and 19 runs in 22 games in the Dominican Winter League as he attempts to improve his stock in the Washington organization. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alumnus Roy Corcoran, 34, is pitching in the Mexican Pacific League. The onetime major leaguer is 2-3 with a 3.66 ERA for Hermosillo. Corcoran, who originally signed with the Montreal Expos in 2001, pitched in independent ball the last two years. His last MLB season was 2009; he has a career 4.17 ERA in 82 games. … Belhaven University is ranked No. 14 in the NAIA preseason poll. The Blazers open the 2015 campaign on Jan. 30 at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. William Carey also opens that day in Hattiesburg.

09 Nov

here and there

Hunter Renfroe mashed a grand slam in a televised Arizona Fall League game on Saturday. The former Mississippi State standout and San Diego prospect is batting .271 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in the AFL. … East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, also playing in the AFL, had another three-hit game on Saturday and is batting .313 with two homers and five stolen bases. The Chicago White Sox prospect missed a big chunk of the 2014 season because of a broken wrist. “I definitely saw some things that helped me become a better ballplayer,” he told mlb.com about his downtime. … Former Petal High star Anthony Alford, understandably rusty, is 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts in the Australian Baseball League, where Toronto sent him to get some work in preparation for his return to the minors in 2015. … Belhaven University senior second baseman Paul Pickerrell has been named to the NAIA preseason All-America team. The Pearl River CC transfer batted .345 with 38 runs and 38 steals for the Blazers in 2014. … Preston Brown threw five scoreless innings and Reid Humphreys, the former Northwest Rankin High star, went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as the Maroon beat the Gray 8-0 in a Mississippi State fall scrimmage on Saturday. … Hinds CC, the NJCAA Division II runner-up in 2014, will open its 2015 season on Feb. 7 in Raymond against Mineral Area (Mo.) College. The Eagles will play 28 MACJC games next season. With Meridian re-joining the state association, every team in the league will play two games against every other team. There are still North and South divisions, but the playoff qualifying system has been altered slightly.

04 Nov

movin’ on up

Ed Easley’s strong season in Triple-A has been rewarded. The St. Louis Cardinals have added the former Mississippi State standout to their 40-man roster. He is currently one of four catchers, joining Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz and A.J. Pierzynski. Easley, who’ll be 29 in December, has played eight pro seasons but has yet to make the big leagues. He batted .296 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 80 games at Memphis in 2014, his first season in the St. Louis system. There was speculation he might get his first call-up when Molina was hurt late in the season, but it didn’t happen. It appears now that Easley at least will get a fair chance to make the club in spring training. … Meanwhile, another former State star had a monster day in the Arizona Fall League on Monday. Hunter Renfroe, who homered in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, belted two more (one an inside-the-parker) in Surprise’s 19-6 win against Glendale. Renfroe, San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013, went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, boosting his season stats to .279 with four homers and 13 RBIs. For the record, East Central Community College alumnus Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox) went 1-for-5 for Glendale and is batting .304.