Tag Archives: injured list

21 Apr

who’s in first?

As the college season roars down the home stretch, three Mississippi schools are cruising in first place in their respective conferences. Delta State leads the Gulf South Conference standings, William Carey the Southern States Athletic Conference and Millsaps the Southern Athletic Association. All three are nationally ranked in their divisions, as well. Powering this run by the Statesmen — 31-13 overall, 23-7 GSC — is senior right-hander Drake Fotentot, who is 9-0 with a 1.37 ERA and seemingly bound for NCAA Division II All-America honors. Brett Burrell tops DSU hitters with a .401 average. Carey is back in the chase for another NAIA World Series berth, with a 32-11 record, 21-6 SSAC, despite losing a series at Blue Mountain Christian over the weekend. (BMC is 23-23, 12-15). The Crusaders’ 2025 charge has been led by DeeJay Booth (.429) and Josh Alexander (14 homers). On the bump, Matthew Davis is 5-1, 2.72 ERA. Millsaps, on a roll in D-III, is 27-11, 13-5 SAA, fueled by Nick Tarantino (9-1, 2.78) and Gray Berry (.424, 61 runs). Worth noting: Belhaven sits second in the D-III Collegiate Conference of the South standings with a 13-5 mark (27-11 overall), and Southern Miss is tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference race at 12-6 (27-13 overall). Also worth noting: USM’s Ben Higdon hit a school record-tying three homers in Saturday’s win over Georgia State. … In the state juco ranks, Pearl River Community College has a solid lead in the MACCC at 20-2; the NJCAA Division II No. 2 Wildcats are 40-6 overall. Jacob Johnson, who is 9-1, 1.95, and K.K. Clark, 7-2, 1.64, have been driving forces for The River. … In the high school ranks, Magnolia Heights, at 26-4, tops the latest (April 17) MaxPreps Mississippi Top 25 poll, with Hartfield (22-3) at No. 2 and Purvis (19-6) No. 3. P.S. In MLB, Toronto has put ex-USM star Nick Sandlin on the injured list, where he joins fellow Mississippians Justin Steele, Matt Wallner, Nick Fortes, Brandon Woodruff, Kendall Graveman, J.P. France and James McArthur. Ouch.

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.

20 Aug

tagging up

Atlanta’s season of woe continued on Monday when Austin Riley was placed on the injured list with a fractured hand. The former DeSoto Central High star was batting .256 with 19 home runs and playing Gold Glove-level defense — did you see the play he made on Friday? — for a wounded Braves team (66-58) that is still very much in the playoff hunt in the National League. It has been a painful year generally for Mississippians in the majors. Riley joins Jordan Westburg, Dakota Hudson, Kendall Graveman, J.P. France, Brandon Woodruff, Spencer Turnbull, Lance Lynn and Jacob Waguespack on the injured list. In addition, Nathaniel Lowe, Justin Steele, Justin Foscue, Hurston Waldrep, Ethan Small, Hunter Renfroe and Nick Fortes have done time on the IL. … Fortes, an Ole Miss product, came off the IL on Sunday for Miami and recorded the final out in a 8-9-4-2 double play, the first in the big leagues in the modern era. He also homered on Monday — his third — and is batting .388 over his last 15 games. … Foscue, back in the minors, had a four-hit, four-RBI game for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday. Rated Texas’ No. 7 prospect, the ex-Mississippi State star is batting .277 with five homers for the Express; he is 2-for-19 in his limited MLB time this year. … Biloxi High alum Colt Keith, 23, not that far removed from his youth league days, went 3-for-4 with a game-tying run in Detroit’s 3-2 win over the New York Yankees in Sunday’s Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pa. … Ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe went 0-for-24 over a six-game stretch before going 3-for-9 on Saturday and Sunday for Kansas City in back-to-back wins against Cincinnati. … Belated kudos to former Biloxi Shuckers standout Weston Wilson, who became the first Philadelphia Phillies rookie to hit for the cycle when he did so last Thursday. Wilson, who played in Biloxi in 2018-19, homered in his first big league at-bat for the Phillies last August. … The Mississippi Braves pounded Biloxi 11-1 on Sunday at Keesler Federal Park (formerly MGM Park) as Keshawn Ogans hit his first homer of the season for the M-Braves. The M-Braves won five of six in the series. Atlanta’s Double-A team, which is moving to Columbus, Ga., in 2025, starts its next-to-last homestand Tuesday at Trustmark Park vs. Chattanooga.

09 Jun

noteworthy

Just throwing this out there: It’s entirely possible that five Mississippi products could make the MLB All-Star Game rosters. East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, ex-Mississippi State star Adam Frazier, ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn, DeSoto Central High product Austin Riley and former MSU standout Brandon Woodruff all have credentials worthy of a trip to Colorado next month. Heck, even State alum Hunter Renfroe, if he continues on his recent tear, could garner support in Phase 1 of the fan voting for position players currently under way. Phase 2, the final round of fan voting, begins on June 28. (Pitchers are chosen by player ballot and the Commissioner’s Office.) … There is some good news on the injury front regarding Mississippians in the majors. Former State standout Kendall Graveman began a rehab assignment Tuesday night, throwing an inning for Triple-A Tacoma in Seattle’s system. Graveman went on the IL on May 23, reportedly for COVID-19 related issues. He was in the midst of an excellent season with the Mariners, having not allowed a run in 14 relief appearances. The list of injured Mississippi products remains lengthy: Billy Hamilton went on the IL (oblique) on Sunday, joining Spencer Turnbull (forearm), Cody Reed (thumb), Justin Steele (hamstring), Drew Pomeranz (shoulder) and Jonathan Holder (shoulder) as current ILers. Holder has been on the Chicago Cubs’ IL all season, as has Dakota Hudson (2020 Tommy John surgery) with St. Louis. Mitch Moreland, Lance Lynn, Mike Mayers, Tim Anderson and Garrett Crochet all have spent time on the list. It has been that kind of year. … Ex-Richton High star JaCoby Jones lost his spot on Detroit’s 40-man roster when he was designated for assignment on Sunday. He was hitting .205 at Triple-A Toledo, which is where he’ll likely return if he clears waivers. … The search is ongoing for new coaches at Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State, both of which recently fired their coaches. Bretton Richardson went 67-166 in six years at Alcorn, including a 7-20 run this season. Aaron Stevens coached at Valley for seven years; the Delta Devils finished 0-20 in 2021. Obviously, winning consistently is a challenge at both schools, but it has been done. … Team Jennings, coached by former Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings, won the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game, played Tuesday night at the Hoover Met in Alabama. Former major leaguer Jennings had four state-connected players on his roster: Chenar Brown from Jackson State, Jose Fernandez and Tristan Garcia from Alcorn and Sieas Elliot from Rust College. Team Weeks, coached by former Southern University and MLB star Rickie Weeks, included JSU’s Nik Galatas, Chandler Dillard and Jeremiah Hill along with Tougaloo’s D’Anthony Morrow. The game was organized and hosted by Minority Baseball Prospects.