Tag Archives: Indians

29 Jun

numbers to crunch

2 – National championships by four-year schools in Mississippi: William Carey in NAIA in 1969 and Delta State in NCAA Division II in 2004. (Jones College won a junior college title in 2013.)
7 – Wins this season by Houston Harding, Mississippi State’s projected starter in tonight’s Game 2 of the College World Series finals. The left-hander also got a W in 2020 and won 19 in two years at Itawamba Community College. He beat Campbell in the regional and got no-decisions vs. Notre Dame in the super regional and Texas in the CWS.
3 – Wins this season by Christian Little, Vanderbilt’s projected starter in Game 2 of the CWS finals. The 17-year-old, 6-foot-4 freshman right-hander – a January enrollee — went 5 1/3 innings (one run) in a Vandy victory vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament but was not the pitcher of record. He also worked against Tennessee, Louisville and Stanford.
873 – Feet covered by Hunter Renfroe’s two home runs in Boston’s win over Kansas City on Monday. Mississippi State alum Renfroe now has 11 homers on the year and is batting .340 with six bombs in his last 30 games.
1 – Earned run allowed by rookie Nick Sandlin for Cleveland in 10 June appearances. The Southern Miss product worked a clean inning in a win against Detroit on Monday and now has a 2.08 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings over 19 games.
0.47 – Brandon Woodruff’s ERA in three games vs. the Chicago Cubs this season. The ex-MSU star, 6-3 with a 1.89 on the season, will start for host Milwaukee tonight against National League Central rival Chicago.
1 – Hit, a single, in two at-bats for Blaze Jordan in his pro debut on Monday. Jordan, a third-round pick out of DeSoto Central High by Boston in 2020, is playing for the Red Sox’s Florida Complex League team.

23 Jun

that’s a blast!

Luke Easter, slugging long homers well before the Statcast era, hit a bunch of bombs that are the stuff of legend. One of those came on June 23, 1950. The Jonestown native, who was the first black Mississippian to play in the major leagues, hit a ball over the auxiliary scoreboard in Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium and into the second deck of seats. It was estimated at 477 feet and is regarded as the longest homer ever hit at the ballpark the Indians called home until 1994. The only other player reported to have hit one over that scoreboard was Mickey Mantle, who did it 10 years later. Easter, already 34 years old in 1950, hit 28 homers for the Indians that season and finished his brief MLB career with 93. He also hit 10 official Negro League homers. … For the record, the longest Statcast-measured bomb by a Mississippi product in 2021 is Mississippi State alum Nate Lowe’s 465-footer. Hunter Renfroe hit one 453, Mitch Moreland 444 and Austin Riley and Corey Dickerson both 432.

16 Jun

highs and lows

Tuesday was a good day for Bobby Bradley. The ex-Harrison Central High star went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in Cleveland’s 7-2 win over Baltimore, boosting his average to .440 (11-for-25) since his call-up on June 5. “In my head, this is 12-year-old All-Stars, as fun as we can get, just playing some summer ball,” Bradley said in an mlb.com article. These are meaningful games for the second-place Indians, who are trying to keep pace with division-leader Chicago in the American League Central. Bradley has contributed three homers and 10 RBIs – and has struck out just four times. These results are much-improved over his 2019 MLB trial, when he batted .178 with one homer and fanned 20 times in 45 at-bats. Bradley, 25, won home run crowns in four different leagues en route to the majors. The Indians would love to see him tap into that power this summer – and keep having fun, of course. … Tuesday was a bad day for Demarcus Evans. The former Petal High star yielded a walk-off grand slam to Jose Altuve in Texas’ 6-3 loss in 10 innings to Houston. After Mississippi State product Nate Lowe had given the Rangers a 3-2 lead with an RBI knock in the top of the 10th, Evans failed to retire a batter in the bottom half. He walked two prior to Altuve’s bomb. Evans, 24, making his seventh big league appearance this season – and 11th overall – suffered his second blown save and saw his 2021 ERA jump from 2.16 to 5.40. P.S. Down on the farm, Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes hit a walk-off two-run homer for Pensacola in a 5-4 win against Montgomery in the Double-A South. Fortes, a catcher/DH, is batting .284 with two homers and 12 RBIs for the Miami affiliate. … Tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi State product Konnor Pilkington will go to the bump for Birmingham against the Mississippi Braves. Pilkington, a former East Central High star, is 1-1, 2.60 ERA in six starts for the White Sox’s Double-A club.

06 Jun

there and here

Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High slugger, was back in the big leagues on Saturday and doubled in his only at-bat as a pinch hitter for Cleveland. The lefty-hitting first baseman/DH made his MLB debut in 2019 but didn’t get the call last season. Sent to Triple-A Columbus despite a strong spring, he was hitting .196 with nine homers (and a 36 percent strikeout rate) when the Indians decided to give him another look after axing Jake Bauers. Bradley told cleveland.com that he feels no pressure: “I get to settle in and get comfortable and play my game.” Known affectionately as “The Assassin” at Columbus, where he hit 33 homers in 2019, Bradley could give the Indians some needed thump if he can cut down on the strikeouts. He’ll probably be in the lineup today at Baltimore. … Madison Central product Spencer Turnbull has landed on the 10-day injured list with a forearm strain. He is 4-2, 2.88 ERA for Detroit; one of the wins was a no-hitter. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Brent Rooker hit his seventh homer of the season and is batting .238 for Triple-A St. Paul in Minnesota’s system. Rooker was in the big leagues briefly in April. … LeDarious Clark, the East Mississippi Community College alum and former Texas Rangers minor leaguer, has four homers and a .320 average in nine games in the independent Atlantic League, now one of MLB’s new partner leagues. … Joe Gray Jr., the former Hattiesburg High star who was once a prized prospect in Milwaukee’s system, appears to be figuring some things out at Low-A Carolina. He blasted his ninth homer on Saturday and is at .291 with 34 RBIs. He is only 21. … After suffering three straight soul-crushing postseason losses, Southern Miss bounced back with a vengeance in a 21-0 win over Southeast Missouri State in the Oxford Regional. That gives the Golden Eagles another shot at Florida State in an elimination game today. FSU beat USM 5-2 on Friday, then lost to Ole Miss Saturday. … Hail to the MHSAA champs: Madison Central polished off Northwest Rankin for the Class 6A title, joining Saltillo (5A), West Lauderdale (4A), Booneville (3A), Taylorsville (2A) and Tupelo Christian (1A) in the winners’ circle.

23 May

on the flip side …

Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High slugger, hit two home runs for Triple-A Columbus on Saturday, giving him six for the season. That’s tied for second-most in the Triple-A East. He drove in three runs and now has 15 RBIs, fourth-most in the league. That’s the good part. On the flip side: The 24-year-old first baseman, now in his eighth year of pro ball, has only 12 hits all told in 60 at-bats. He has struck out 22 times and drawn just six walks. While the Cleveland Indians are looking for production at first base, they may still not feel Bradley is ready to provide it. Bradley has been dialing up homers at a great rate over his seven minor league seasons. He has 153. He also hit one for the Indians during a brief call-up in 2019. It’ll be interesting to see when his next MLB opportunity comes. Clearly, just hitting bombs isn’t enough. … Bradley’s homers helped ex-Southern Miss star Kirk McCarty improve to 3-0, with a 2.66 ERA. He worked seven strong innings in the Clippers’ 5-3 win over Toledo. The 25-year-old left-hander might be closer to a call-up than Bradley.

07 May

another debut

The Los Angeles Angels made a flurry of roster moves on Thursday – you might’ve heard they cut Albert Pujols – and one of the new additions is former Mississippi State standout Jack Kruger. The 26-year-old catcher made his MLB debut in a loss against Tampa Bay, entering in the top of the ninth as a defensive replacement. He didn’t get to hit. Kruger was a 20th-round pick out of State in 2016 after an outstanding season with the Bulldogs: .344, eight homers, 40 RBIs. Over four minor league campaigns, Kruger is hitting .265 with 15 homers. He was with Mobile in the old Southern League in 2018-19. Kruger joins Justin Steele (George County/Chicago Cubs) and Nick Sandlin (Southern Miss/Cleveland) as Magnolia State products to debut in 2021. … Sandlin notched his first career hold on Thursday night, pitching two clean innings in the Indians’ 4-0 with over Kansas City, a victory that gave Cleveland sole possession of first place in the American League Central. Sandlin has yet to allow a hit or walk in 4 1/3 innings over three appearances.

01 May

debut alert

Former Southern Miss star Nick Sandlin worked a 1-2-3 inning, capped by a strikeout, in his major league debut today for Cleveland. The sidearming right-hander, who had former big league catcher A.J. Pierzynski raving about his stuff on the FS1 broadcast, retired the Chicago White Sox’s Leury Garcia on a fly ball, Tim Anderson on a bouncer to third base and Adam Eaton via punchout in the sixth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. Sandlin was a second-round pick by the Indians out of USM in 2018 and posted a 2.68 ERA over 49 minor league games. He was a true ace at USM, going 13-5 with 20 saves as the closer in 2016-17 and 10-0 with a 1.06 ERA as a starter in 2018. He was the Ferriss Trophy winner that final season.

26 Mar

big league chew

Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High standout, will not be on Cleveland’s opening day roster, the team announced. Bradley was competing at first base this spring with the more experienced Jake Bauers. Bradley is hitting .303 in the Cactus League to Bauer’s .200, but Bauers is out of minor league options. Bradley, who played briefly in the majors in 2019, is not. Bradley has big-time power and no doubt will get to Cleveland sometime this season. … Though Minnesota has not named a starting left fielder, signs point to Brent Rooker, the Mississippi State product whose 2020 debut was curtailed by an injury. Rooker, batting .286 with a home run this spring, was in the lineup, in left and batting fifth, for today’s Grapefruit League game against Atlanta. Rooker’s competition is 29-year-old journeyman Kyle Garlick, another right-handed hitter who has four homers this spring. Rooker’s defense still needs polish, but the Twins, who made him the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft, seem to love the thunder in his bat. “You’re looking for ways to get a guy like that in the lineup because you know he can do damage, you know he can be a very productive major league offensive player,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said in an mlb.com piece. “That’s something that we can say with some certainty and feel good about it.” … Outfielder Eloy Jimenez’s injury surely increases the chances that Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton will make the Chicago White Sox’s 26-man roster. The speedy outfielder is in camp on a minor league deal. … Ex-State standout Jonathan Holder, battling for a bullpen role with the Chicago Cubs, is on the shelf with a “pec injury” and may be on the injured list when the season starts. He put up an 8.10 ERA in four games this spring. The veteran right-hander was signed in December after five seasons with the New York Yankees, for whom he posted a 4.38 ERA in 157 games. He reportedly still has minor league options remaining. … The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation is accepting applications through April 23 for the 10-week Charley Pride Fellowship Program, an internship designed to promote diversity. The Grammy-winning Pride, a Sledge native who played minor league ball, was a part-owner of the Rangers for a time and was often around the team. A field at the team’s spring training complex bears his name. Pride died in 2020. … Zack Shannon, the former Delta State slugger, recently was released by Arizona. He hit .289 with 26 home runs in two seasons in the low minors. He blasted 50 homers — a school and state record 31 as a senior — in two years at DSU.

02 Mar

back with a bang

Anthony Alford, Brent Rooker and Bobby Bradley, each making a comeback of sorts, belted home runs in their spring training debuts on Monday. Alford, the former Petal High star, and Mississippi State product Rooker went yard in their first at-bat, while ex-Harrison Central standout Bradley waited until his second. Alford, whose 2020 season was ended by a broken elbow, was in Pittsburgh’s lineup as the DH and took Toronto’s Robbie Ray deep. Alford, expected to be the Pirates’ center fielder, reportedly is still building strength in his throwing arm. He played in just five games for the Bucs last summer after they claimed him on waivers from the Blue Jays. Rooker debuted in 2020 with Minnesota but played in only seven games (.316, one homer) before suffering a broken forearm when hit by a pitch. The big outfielder homered Monday off Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow (on a 98-mph pitch) and later added a sac fly. Rooker is trying to make the Twins’ roster as a reserve. Bradley, who made his MLB debut in 2019, did not play in 2020 and wasn’t at Cleveland’s alternate site for the summer. Contending for the Indians’ first base job, the lefty-swinging slugger mashed a homer off Kansas City’s Jake Kalish.

12 Feb

have speed, will travel

Possibly addressing a need for speed, the Cleveland Indians have reportedly agreed to terms with Billy Hamilton on a minor league contract. The former Taylorsville High star, who has 305 career stolen bases and still plays a mean center field at age 30, spent the 2020 season bouncing from San Francisco to the New York Mets to the Chicago Cubs, getting just 32 at-bats and batting .125. He is a career .241 hitter over eight MLB campaigns and is primarily a role player now. Originally drafted by Cincinnati, Hamilton has been with six different clubs the past three seasons. He’ll likely need a strong spring to make the Indians’ roster. The expected starter in center is Oscar Mercado, who struggled in 2020 after a good rookie season in 2019. The team also has Bradley Zimmer and six other outfielders on its 40-man roster, plus Ben Gamel, also signed to a minor league deal. P.S. Former Mississippi State standout Jacob Lindgren is among the Chicago White Sox’s non-roster invitees to spring camp. The injury-plagued left-hander last pitched in the majors in 2015. … State product Ben Bracewell, who has pitched in Triple-A for several years, is on Oakland’s NRI list; former Bulldogs catcher Jack Kruger is going to camp (again) with the Los Angeles Angels; and lefty Ethan Small, Milwaukee’s first-round pick out of State in 2019, will be in Brewers camp.