Frontier League Archives - Page 3 of 6 - All Mississippi Baseball

05 May

roster construction

Sunday was cut day in the Frontier League, with teams in the independent league — including the new Mississippi franchise — having to trim their training camp roster to 28. Only 24 can be active on opening day, which is Thursday. The Mud Monsters will play host to Florence (Ky.) at Trustmark Park in Pearl. One of the seven players released by Mississippi was C.J. (Cordell) Dunn, a catcher who played high school ball at Center Hill in Olive Branch several years back. Among the familiar names still on the roster are Brayland Skinner, a Lake Cormorant native and ex-Mississippi State standout who was the first player signed by the Mud Monsters; minor league veteran and ex-Columbia High star Ti’Quan Forbes; McLaurin High and Meridian Community College product Davis Bradshaw, another minor league vet; Kyle Booker out of DeSoto Central High (and Tennessee); Aubrey Gillentine, an Amory native who pitched at Southern Miss; and Jackson Smith, a Raymond native who pitched at Mississippi College and Northwest Mississippi CC. Skinner, 25, an outfielder, played at State in 2021-22 and then at Memphis. He played in the FL last season, batting .298 with eight homers and 49 RBIs in 90 games. When the signing was announced, Mud Monsters manager Jay Pecci called Skinner “the sort of player that the Mississippi Mud Monsters can build around. Fast and versatile, he brings a ton of excitement to the diamond.” Recent addition Forbes, 28, an infielder, was a second-round draft pick by Texas 11 years ago, made the Triple-A level in affiliated ball and also has played in indy and foreign leagues. “Signing Ti’Quan is big for us,” Pecci said in a team release. “He’s had great success in affiliated baseball, so to get a veteran that can help the younger guys along and add that level of professionalism to our brand new club is great.” One player sure to get a lot of attention is James Boeree, a 7-foot-2 Australia native who pitched in juco ball in the States from 2021-23 and in the Australian Baseball League before that. There is a skill to building a Frontier League team. There are parameters regarding how many players of certain ages and professional experience can fill the ranks, i.e., a team cannot simply stock up on 30-year-old Triple-A veterans. Pecci, a Stanford alum, is well aware of the dynamics of player development, having enjoyed a long career playing and coaching in both MLB-affiliated and indy ball. Winning is a priority in the independent ranks, but there is also a developmental aspect for young players seeking opportunities in affiliated ball and a possible path to the major leagues.

29 Apr

still grinding

Scroll through the list of the Mexican League’s current pitching leaders and you’ll run across the name Chris Ellis. Yes, it’s that Chris Ellis. The former Ole Miss star, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels 11 years ago, pitched for the Double-A Mississippi Braves nine years ago and appeared in 10 major league games between 2019 and ’22, is still wearing a uniform, still trying to get batters out for the Sultanes de Monterrey. The Mexican League is one of the many pro leagues not directly affiliated with Major League Baseball. Foreign leagues and independent leagues afford players who’ve been cast off by MLB clubs the opportunity to keep playing the game they love. Those leagues may also afford them the opportunity, potentially, to get back on the MLB track. Ellis, 32, has pitched in winter ball and indy ball since he last worked for a big league organization. He has pitched well this season for Monterrey; he is tied for the league lead with four saves in five appearances. Maybe an MLB scout will notice. Billy Hamilton, the former Taylorsville High star, is also playing in Mexico. At 34, he is tied for the league lead with seven steals and is hitting .281 in nine games for Jalisco. Hamilton played parts of 11 years in the majors, the last in 2023. He has spent the last two years in Mexico, playing winter ball there, as well. Clearly, he’s not ready to hang ’em up. Also still out there grinding is Cody Reed, the former Northwest Mississippi Community College standout from Horn Lake. The 32-year-old lefty, who pitched in 65 MLB games from 2016-21, is on the roster of Gary SouthShore RailCats of the independent American Association. Their season starts next week. Reed was in the Tampa Bay system in 2022, missed all of 2023 with injury and played in Mexico last summer, putting up a 4.12 ERA in 26 games for Tabasco. He may still have something left in the tank at 32. Demarcus Evans, a Petal High product, has been in pro ball since 2015 but is only 28 and has barely pitched the last two years since leaving the Texas Rangers’ system as a minor league free agent. A flame-throwing righty, Evans had a 4.75 ERA in 29 games with the Rangers in 2020-21 and a career ERA of 2.76 in the minors. He is on the roster of the American Association’s Cleburne club. … A large number of Mississippi-connected players are playing indy ball, including the likes of Davis Bradshaw, Brayland Skinner and Kyle Booker with the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new Frontier League team that opens next week. Tyreque Reed, Regi Grace, Brett Sanchez and Banks Tolley are also on FL rosters. There’s Bobby Bradley, Errol Robinson and LeDarious Clark in the Atlantic League. Joe Gray Jr., J.C. Keys and Hayden Dunhurst are in the American Association. No doubt many of them are still yearning for The Show. P.S. Ex-Big leaguer Kirk McCarty, Southern Miss alum from Hattiesburg, had re-signed to play for CTBC Brothers in the Chinese Professional Baseball League but was released earlier this month. He previously played in Korea.

08 Apr

one month out

One month from today, Mississippi’s new pro team — the Mississippi Mud Monsters — is scheduled to launch its 2025 season. The independent club, owned by Joseph Eng, will play Florence (Ky.) on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park, former home of the Mississippi Braves. The Mud Monsters will play a 96-game schedule — 48 home dates spread over nine homestands — in the 18-team Frontier League, an MLB Partner League. The team’s manager is Jay Pecci, the hitting coach Jamie McOwen and the pitching coach Robert Carson, a former Hattiesburg High star who pitched in the big leagues.
Here’s a look at the Mud Monsters’ unofficial, very preliminary roster, based on the Frontier League’s transactions page:

Pitchers
Chris Barraza, RH
Gage Bihm, LH (Hinds CC)
James Boeree, RH
Tahj Cunningham, RH/OF
Luis Devers, RH
Jalen Evans, RH
Aubrey Gillentine, RH (USM)
Josh Lanham, RH
Brandon Mitchell, LH
Zack Morris, LH
Josh Paulina, RH
Jeremy Peguero, LH
Michael Reed, RH
Sergio Sanchez, RH
Jackson Smith, RH (Northwest CC, MS Coll)
Rodney Theopile, RH
Tyree Thompson, RH
Brian Williams, RH

Catchers
Victor Diaz
C.J. Dunn (Olive Branch HS)
Nick Hassan
Andriel Lantigua

Infielders
Ryan Cash, 3B
Samil De La Rosa, 2B
Kasten Furr, SS
Travis Holt, SS
Dane Simon, UT

Outfielders
Kyle Booker (DeSoto Cent)
Davis Bradshaw (McLaurin, Meridian CC)
Basiel Roberts
Brayland Skinner (MSU)

01 Mar

roster growth

The Mississippi Mud Monsters added five players to the roster in the last week of February, including a Hinds Community College alum and a former Olive Branch High standout. New members of the independent team, set to begin play in the Frontier League in May, are utility man Dane Simon, who played five years at Nicholls State; shortstop Kasten Furr, a former UNO and Louisiana Tech star; left-hander Gage Bihm, who pitched at Hinds and NAIA LSU-Shreveport; right-hander Brian Williams, a Texas Southern product; and catcher C.J. Dunn, an Olive Branch alum. Dunn, Williams and Bihm have indy ball experience, and Bihm also pitched briefly in the New York Mets’ system last summer. … The Mud Monsters’ opener is May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

19 Feb

juco snapshot

And then there were none. East Central Community College, the last unbeaten team in the state juco ranks, lost to Northeast CC 10-8 in a round-robin event Tuesday at Decatur. ECCC, No. 2 in the NJCAA Division II poll, is now 8-1, including a 13-5 win over No. 12 Jones College earlier Tuesday. Jayden Adcox hit a big home run for ECCC against Jones, and Langston Cotten went yard against Northeast. But the visiting Tigers prevailed as Drake Douglas and Carter Wells combined for five RBIs and Wells notched the save. Fifth-ranked Pearl River (10-2) beat Holmes and East Miss in a three-way at Poplarville. Jackson Hood homered in both games for PRCC, and Carson Fair closed out the win against Holmes for his fifth save, which leads the nation. Meridian, ranked 20th, moved to 10-3 with a sweep of Gulf Coast and Southwest on Monday at Summit. Chris Fox got a walk-off hit in a 1-0 win against Gulf Coast and Hampton Ross drove in four runs vs. Southwest. At Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium on Tuesday, Northwest (9-3) beat Hinds and Coahoma. … Gulf Coast’s Samuel Marsh was named the MACCC pitcher of the week after throwing a 13-strikeout complete game last week vs. Northwest Florida State. East Miss’ Hugh LeMasters (Bay Springs) took hitter of the week honors; he batted .429 (6-for-14) with eight RBIs and four runs in a 4-0 week for the Lions. P.S. Have a day, Judd Utermark. The Ole Miss junior stole home and hit a walk-off bomb in the 10th inning Tuesday as the Rebels (3-1) beat Arkansas State at Swayze Field. … Mississippi State (3-1) had as many errors as hits (four) in a 3-0 loss at Southern Miss (5-0). Joey Urban homered for the Golden Eagles, and five pitchers combined on the shutout. … Left-hander Brandon Mitchell, who won 22 games over five seasons at New Orleans, is the latest addition to the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ inaugural roster. He was 5-2 with a 7.28 ERA in the indy Pioneer League in 2024. The Mud-sters, of the indy Frontier League, have announced 17 player signings to date. The season starts in May.

18 Feb

lesson plans

We’ll learn a little more about Southern Miss and Mississippi State today. Both unbeaten but only lightly tested, they’ll renew their old rivalry in a 6 p.m. contest in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles outscored Lafayette 39-13 in a four-game sweep to start the season and the Bulldogs — freshly ranked No. 16 by Baseball America — whipped Manhattan 35-5 over three games. Ozzie Pratt leads USM hitters with a .500 average, a homer and seven RBIs. Drey Barrett is batting .385. USM used 15 pitchers against Lafayette, and they posted a collective 3.16 ERA. The Bulldogs’ pitching was even better: 1.96 from 12 hurlers. Aaron Downs is hitting an absurd .571 with a homer and seven RBIs, and Bryce Chance is at .556. Hunter Hines (.455) homered in the Dogs’ opener and now has 55 for his career, fifth-most in school history. MSU leads the all-time series with USM 86-44 and won last year’s game 5-4 at Pearl. Charlie Foster (0.00 ERA in one inning of work) is slated to start for State, which last played at Taylor Park in 2018, against Colby Allen (0-0, 6.00, over three innings), a Starkville Academy product. … We might learn a little more about Carlton Hardy’s first Alcorn State team today, as well. The Braves, coming off a season-opening 12-10 loss at Mississippi Valley State on Monday, host 0-3 Manhattan at 3 p.m. at Rat McGowan Stadium in Lorman. Alcorn, 6-43 in 2024, was picked to finish 11th (Valley was 12th) in the 12-team SWAC in a preseason poll of coaches and SIDs. Hardy, a former Grambling State player, came to the Braves from NCAA Division II Savannah State, where he had a fairly successful 18-year run. He led the Tigers to a 31-17 record in 2024. Alcorn hasn’t had a winning season since 2009. P.S. Left-hander Zack Morris, a former Arkansas and TCU pitcher, and righty Chris Barraza, a New Mexico State and Arizona alum, have signed with the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new independent team set to play at Trustmark Park in May. The 6-foot-3 Morris put up a 3.63 ERA in the Frontier League in seven appearances last summer. Barraza was a 10th-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 and pitched two seasons in Low-Class A (3.96 ERA).

14 Feb

here and there

Four out of a hundred ain’t bad, all things considered. Little ol’ Mississippi has produced four members of MLB Network’s Top 100 Right Now in the big leagues. Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High star, is ranked No. 33, Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) No. 46, Garrett Crochet (Ocean Springs) No. 56 and Justin Steele (George County) No. 88. Riley leads a pack of seven former Mississippi Braves in the Top 100, with Freddie Freeman heading that list at No. 8. Ronald Acuna, coming back from injury, is No. 16. Spencer Strider, who missed most of 2024 and will start this season on the injured list, isn’t ranked at all after being No. 17 prior to last season. Three Biloxi Shuckers alumni made the new rankings, topped by Corbin Burnes at No. 35. … Former Ole Miss standout James McArthur had off-season elbow surgery and apparently will not be ready for the start of the season with Kansas City. McArthur, 28, had 22 saves for the Royals in 2023-24, his first two MLB campaigns. … The independent Mississippi Mud Monsters have added four players to their 2025 roster: pitcher/outfielder Tahj Cunningham, right-hander Luis Devers, catcher Nick Hassan and shortstop Travis Holt. The Feb. 12 signings were released on the Frontier League transactions page. Cunningham, 25, has played for the U.S. Virgin Islands national team and in a couple of foreign leagues in addition to a stint at Lake-Sumter State College, a Florida juco. Devers, 24, from the Dominican Republic, spent six seasons in the Chicago Cubs’ system, posting a 3.28 ERA. He was 4-3, 5.33, at High-Class A South Bend last season. Hassan, 25, is a former all-conference player at Kennesaw (Ga.) State (.323 last season) who played briefly in the Frontier League last summer. Holt, 25, played four years at High Point (N.C.) and another at Butler, batting .295 career; he has played a couple of seasons in indy ball.

11 Feb

taking up arms

The Mississippi Mud Monsters have signed a quintet of right-handed pitchers, including a 7-foot-2 Australian and two Mississippi natives who pitched at state colleges. The signings were announced on the Frontier League transactions page. James Boeree, the tall Aussie, pitched at Salt Lake (Utah) Community College from 2021-23 and in the Australian Baseball League before that. He reportedly throws 93 mph. Aubrey Gillentine, a mere 6-3, 220, is an Amory native who pitched at Southern Miss for three seasons before finishing at North Carolina-Charlotte in 2023. Jackson Smith is a Raymond native who pitched at Mississippi College in 2023 and at Northwest Mississippi CC before that. He pitched briefly in independent ball in 2023. Also added to the Mud Monsters’ inaugural roster are Josh Lanham, an alum of NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), and Josh Paulina, who pitched at D-II West Chester (Pa.) and at the rookie level in San Diego’s minor league system. … The Mud-sters’ roster now totals 10 players, per reports. The independent team will begin its inaugural season on May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

03 Feb

buying local

The Mississippi Mud Monsters’ latest signing has a true homecoming feel. Davis Bradshaw, a Florence native who played at McLaurin High just down the road from Trustmark Park, has been added to the new independent team’s roster, per the Frontier League transactions page. Bradshaw, 26, can flat-out hit. He batted .303 over six seasons in the Miami system, reaching the Double-A level in 2022, when he visited Trustmark as a member of the Southern League’s Pensacola club. The left-handed hitting outfielder batted a crazy .756 as a senior at McLaurin High in 2017 and followed that with a .442 season at Meridian Community College. He is primarily a singles hitter — five homers in 1,308 at-bats in pro ball — who swiped 55 bases in the minors. He played just 21 games in the Marlins’ system during an injury-tinged 2024 and was released last summer. … The Mud Monsters added to their on-field staff last Friday when they announced Jamie McOwen as hitting coach. McOwen, a Florida native, is a longtime minor league and indy league player who once had a 45-game hitting streak in A-ball. He joins pitching coach Robert Carson III, a Hattiesburg native, on manager Jay Pecci’s staff. … The team also has signed catcher Victor Diaz. Diaz, 23, from the Dominican Republic, played in the Houston system in 2024, batting .197 with five homers in 41 games at the rookie and Low-Class A levels. The 5-foot-10, 235-pound Diaz has been in pro ball since 2019. Bradshaw and Diaz join ex-DeSoto Central star Kyle Booker, former Mississippi State standout Brayland Skinner and Ryan Cash on the “Mud-sters” roster. The team will begin its inaugural season on May 8 at the Pearl ballpark. P.S. Kudos to Mississippi College. The Choctaws were three outs from going 0-3 in their weekend trip to Houston before rallying for seven runs in the ninth inning on Sunday to pull out a 13-10 win against Arkansas Tech. MC pounded out 15 hits and drew eight walks in the game at Daikin Park. Bryce Capobianco (2-for-5 on the day) led off the ninth with a triple, Bryce LaRocca (3-for-6) hit a two-run single, J.T. Vance (2-for-5) had a go-ahead double and Korey Cooper (3-for-5) capped the rally with a two-run home run. NCAA Division II MC has had four straight losing seasons under coach Jeremy Haworth, now in his 10th campaign. He won a Gulf South Conference title in 2018, his third season.

31 Jan

a growing list

Coming off an outstanding first full season in pro ball, Matthew Etzel is the latest Mississippian in the minors to get an invitation to major league spring training. The former Southern Miss star will go camping next month with Tampa Bay, which acquired the 22-year-old outfielder in a trade with Baltimore last summer. Etzel, drafted out of USM in 2023 by the Orioles, batted .272 with 11 homers, 66 RBIs, eight triples and 45 stolen bases in 2024, playing for three different teams. He finished the season at Double-A Montgomery. He joins a growing list of non-roster invitees with state ties:
Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Los Angeles Angels;
Gavin Collins (Mississippi State), St. Louis;
Blaine Crim (Mississippi College), Texas;
Tim Elko (Ole Miss), Chicago White Sox;
Matthew Etzel (USM), Tampa Bay;
Jacob Gonzalez (UM), Chicago White Sox;
Dakota Hudson (MSU), Los Angeles Angels;
Cooper Johnson (UM), Texas;
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central), Chicago White Sox;
Konnor Pilkington (MSU), Washington;
Drew Pomeranz (UM), Seattle;
Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights), Milwaukee;
Ethan Small (MSU), San Francisco;
Tyler Stuart (USM), Washington;
R.J. Yeager (MSU), St. Louis.
P.S. The Mississippi Mud Monsters have hired Robert Carson III, former Hattiesburg High standout and ex-big leaguer, as their pitching coach. Carson pitched in 31 games for the New York Mets in 2012-13 and spent seven seasons in independent leagues, most recently in 2021. He been an indy league pitching coach the last three years. The independent Mud Monsters will start their inaugural season in the Frontier League in May at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The “Mud-sters” have announced three signees to date, none of them pitchers.