Tag Archives: Jackson Mets

20 Sep

watch for it

A sliver of the baseball spotlight will be trained tonight on Memphis’ AutoZone Park, where Hunter Renfroe will lead El Paso against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a one-game showdown for the Triple-A championship. Renfroe, the ex-Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs, hit .306 with 30 home runs and 105 RBIs and won Pacific Coast League MVP honors with the Chihuahuas, a San Diego affiliate. International League champ SWB, a New York Yankees affiliate, is managed by former Jackson Mets star Al Pedrique. Both clubs feature several top prospects. Jonathan Holder, another MSU product, spent part of this season with SWB but is now in the big leagues. Renfroe, rated the Padres’ No. 3 prospect by mlb.com, may be in line for a call-up to The Show, but he says all he is focused on at the moment is his current team and tonight’s game. “San Diego will always be there, and when the time comes for them to make a decision, I’ll be here,” he told The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal. The NBC Sports Network will televise the 7:05 game. P.S. For the first time in his seven seasons in the majors, Mitch Moreland was ejected from a game. Former State standout Moreland got tossed in the fourth inning Monday by home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley after “disputing,” while walking away, a called third strike during Texas’ game against the Los Angeles Angels. “It was obviously a pitch I didn’t agree with,” Moreland said in an mlb.com article. The Rangers won 3-2 in walk-off fashion, reducing their magic number for clinching the American League West to 3.

18 Sep

worth noting

Props to Ned Yost, the onetime Jackson Mets star, for notching his 1,000th win as a big league manager. Kansas City snapped a five-game losing skid on Saturday with a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. The defending world champs remain in the picture in the American League wild card race. Former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout Jarrod Dyson went 2-for-4 with a run for the Royals. … Ex-JaxMets manager Clint Hurdle saw his Pittsburgh Pirates get back to .500 (74-74) with a doubleheader sweep of Cincinnati. The Pirates can’t be counted out in the National League wild card race just yet. … Can’t help but notice what former Mississippi Braves star Jose Peraza has done with the Reds: .326 with two homers, 19 RBIs, 17 runs and 16 steals in 59 games. Injuries to Mississippians Billy Hamilton and Zack Cozart have opened the door for more playing time for Peraza. … Craig Kimbrel, another former M-Braves star playing somewhere other than Atlanta, struck out all four batters he faced on Saturday as Boston beat the New York Yankees for the third straight day at Fenway Park. Kimbrel has 27 saves for the AL East leaders. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz gets the start tonight for Boston against the Yankees’ CC Sabathia in the ESPN game. Pomeranz is 2-5 with a 4.60 ERA for the Sox; he was 8-7, 2.47 with San Diego. … Atlanta has called up 2015 M-Braves third baseman Rio Ruiz, who becomes the 16th M-Braves alum to make an MLB roster this season. … Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan, trying to secure a spot on the Chicago Cubs’ postseason roster, hit his first homer for the NL Central champs on Saturday – he had five in Oakland – after going 3-for-4 with an RBI on Friday. The lefty-hitting Coghlan played first base on Friday and left field on Saturday; he can also play second and third base. … Former UM standout Seth Smith picked up his 56th RBI – three short of his career-high – in Seattle’s 2-1 loss to Houston in an AL wild card battle. … Hunter Renfroe, the ex-Mississippi State star, drove in two runs to help El Paso beat Oklahoma City 4-3 in 11 innings and claim the Pacific Coast League championship. UM product Auston Bousfield also played for the Chihuahuas. El Paso moves on to the Triple-A championship game.

15 Sep

one more time

In his short time on the Mississippi Braves’ roster, Patrick Weigel has had a big impact. The 6-foot-6 right-hander pitched into the ninth inning and notched his first Double-A win against Biloxi on Sept. 1, when the M-Braves were still fighting for a playoff berth. In Game 2 of the Southern League South Division series last week, Weigel threw seven shutout innings as the M-Braves beat host Pensacola and evened the series at 1-all. Tonight at Trustmark Park, Weigel takes the hill in a do-or-die Game 3 of the SL Championship Series against the Jackson (Tenn.) Generals. Weigel, a seventh-round pick out of Houston in 2015, won 10 games at low Class A Rome this year before getting the promotion to Mississippi, where he had a 2.18 ERA in his three regular season starts. The M-Braves need a pick-me-up. They were done in by a three-run eighth inning in Monday’s opener at Jackson, losing 6-4. They managed just five hits in Game 2 on Tuesday and lost 2-0. The team’s hottest hitter in the series is another recent arrival, infielder Dylan Moore, acquired from Texas last month. He is 4-for-7 with an RBI and a run. The M-Braves must win three straight – at home — to claim the club’s second pennant. Based on recent results, they should feel confident with Weigel taking the ball. P.S. Former M-Braves and Ole Miss star Chris Ellis was named Baseball America’s pitcher of the day after throwing six hitless innings for Gwinnett on Wednesday night in the International League finals. (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, managed by former Jackson Mets shortstop Al Pedrique, rallied to win the game and even the Triple-A series 1-1.) Ellis, who had a rough go with the G-Braves, has tossed 13 shutout innings in the postseason. … Mississippi State alum Brandon Woodruff from Wheeler made BA’s Minor League All-Star team. The right-hander was 14-9 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.02 WHIP at two levels in the Milwaukee system. He was 10-8, 3.01 at Biloxi.

15 Sep

better late …

The Corey Dickerson the Tampa Bay Rays thought they were getting in an off-season trade has emerged the last few weeks. The former Meridian Community College star from McComb has 15 hits in his last 27 at-bats and is batting .315 with five home runs and 19 RBIs over his last 30 games. Dickerson went 3-for-4 with his 20th homer of the year on Wednesday as the Rays – long ago reduced to the role of spoiler in the American League East – beat Toronto 8-1. Dickerson, a lefty-hitting outfielder acquired from Colorado in the Jake McGee trade, batted .299 in three seasons with the Rockies, playing half his games at hitter-friendly Coors Field. His recent hot streak has lifted his 2016 average to .247. On June 20, he was at .198. Tampa Bay, which has had myriad problems, was expected to be much better than its 62-83 record — and maybe there is hope for 2017. Dickerson’s homer on Wednesday was the 200th for the team, a single-season club record. “It’s something we can build off of,” Dickerson told mlb.com. P.S. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier hit his 41st homer on Wednesday (for a Minnesota team that has 54 wins), moving a bit closer to the long-standing MLB record for homers by a player who was primarily a second baseman. Davey Johnson – the old Jackson Mets manager – hit 43 bombs in 1973 for Atlanta. With 81 extra-base hits, Dozier needs three more to match Tony Oliva’s Twins record, set in 1964. … A rough season in Cincinnati has been made even more frustrating of late for Mississippians Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Cody Reed, all forced to sit because of injuries. Taylorsville’s Hamilton has an oblique, Ole Miss product Cozart a knee and ex-Northwest Mississippi CC star Reed a back problem.

12 Sep

numbers to ponder

As the Mississippi Braves and Jackson (Tenn.) Generals square off in the 2016 Southern League Championship Series, here’s a Mississippi minor league postseason primer:
1 – Number of Southern League pennants won by the Mississippi Braves, who arrived in Pearl in 2005 and won the title three years later at Trustmark Park.
1 – Number of SL pennants won by the Jackson Generals, the Tennessee version, who took the title 16 years ago when they were known, regrettably, as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.
2 – Number of Texas League pennants won by the Jackson Generals, the Mississippi version, who claimed those crowns in 1993 and 1996.
1 – Number of pennants won by the Jackson Senators, who captured the independent Central League title at Smith-Wills Stadium in 2003.
3 – Number of pennants won by the Jackson Mets, who took Texas League championships in 1981, 1984 and 1985.
8 – Streak of Texas League playoff appearances reeled off by the Jackson Mets from 1980-87.
4 – Southern League postseason appearances by the M-Braves.
3 – Number of Southern League awards won by the 2016 Jackson Generals: Tyler O’Neill was MVP, Ryan Yarbrough was pitcher of the year and Daren Brown was manager of the year.
1 – Number of M-Braves who made the SL postseason All-Star team: outfielder Dustin Peterson.
9 – Wins, in 15 games, by the M-Braves against the Generals this season.
5 – Number of Southern League starts in 2016 by M-Braves lefty Michael Mader (0-3, 2.40 ERA), slated to go in Game 1 of the SL Championship Series tonight at Jackson, Tenn.
9 – Number of wins, in 12 decisions, this season by Andrew Moore, the Generals’ scheduled starter in Game 1. He has a 3.16 ERA over 19 starts.
6 – RBIs by Carlos Franco, on 7-for-15 hitting, in the M-Braves’ South Division series win against Pensacola.
7 – Hits, in two postseason games, by M-Braves newcomer Kade Scivicque, the former Southwest Mississippi Community College (and LSU) star.
152 – Strikeouts this season, most in Double-A, by M-Braves lefty Sean Newcomb (8-7, 3.86 ERA), who is slated to start Game 2 against Jackson.
8 – Number of players from the 2016 M-Braves’ original 25-man roster who are still on the club.
1 – Number of former M-Braves on the Generals’ current roster: pitcher Ryne Harper.
Photo: Carlos Franco of the M-Braves heads for home. Joe Culpepper/Shuttergig.com

29 Aug

channeling dozier?

Interesting story on mlb.com comparing Tim Tebow’s planned foray into pro baseball with what D.J. Dozier did 26 years ago. Old Jackson Mets fans might recall that Dozier, an NFL running back at the time, played for the Double-A OJMs in 1990 – and more than held his own. Dozier, who played in the NFL from 1987-91, hadn’t played baseball since high school, some six years, when the New York Mets signed him off of a tryout in 1990. He started the ’90 season in A-ball and finished it in the Texas League, batting .324 with seven triples, 23 RBIs and 20 runs in 29 games. Two years later, he made it to the big leagues for 25 games (.191) as an outfielder with the Mets. After brief flings in the St. Louis and San Diego systems, he was done with baseball after the ’93 season. As for Tebow, the erstwhile NFL quarterback who’ll hold a tryout for major league scouts on Tuesday, it’s hard to get past what Baltimore Orioles manager and Mississippi State alum Buck Showalter recently said: “I bet he was a good player in high school. I was, too.” Showalter was also a good player – All-America good – at State and in the minors but never played in the big leagues. So, yeah, Tebow’s got a chance, but not much.

31 Jul

buzz, buzz, buzz

Halfway through the second half of the Southern League season, the Mississippi Braves sit in first place in the South Division. A walk-off win on a Levi Hyams base hit in the 12th inning on Saturday pushed the M-Braves’ record to 21-14, a game clear of the pack in the race for the second-half title. The M-Braves have won eight of their last 10. … Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland hit his second career game-ending home run on Saturday to give Texas a 2-1 win over Kansas City. It was his 17th homer of the year. … Former State star Jonathan Papelbon reportedly has said he is “on board’ with Washington’s acquisition of Mark Melancon, who’ll displace Papelbon (and his 4.41 ERA) as the Nationals’ closer. Papelbon’s role going forward is unclear. … Don’t look now, but former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons has his Toronto Blue Jays in first place in the American League East. The Jays beat Baltimore 9-1 on Saturday, the fifth straight loss for the Orioles, managed by ex-State standout Buck Showalter. The teams, separated by a half-game, play again today at Rogers Centre. … Boston’s trade for Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz hasn’t helped its cause in the AL East thus far. Pomeranz took another loss on Saturday (against the Los Angeles Angels) and is 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA in three starts for the BoSox. He was 8-7, 2.47 for San Diego, a non-contender. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, seems to do something good every day for the Chicago White Sox. The rookie went 3-for-5 on Saturday and scored twice, including the game-tying run in the ninth inning of a 6-5, 10-inning victory against Minnesota. Anderson is batting .275 with five homers, 12 RBIs, four steals and 25 runs in 43 games. Would love to see him in a 30-yard (90 feet) race against Billy Hamilton and Jarrod Dyson. … San Diego has cleared outfield space with the trades of Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp, but reports are that the Padres will wait until September to call up ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe, who is hitting .322 with 25 homers in Triple-A. … Seattle apparently is interested in acquiring Ole Miss product Zack Cozart from Cincinnati. The veteran shortstop is batting .267 with 15 homers. … For those wondering about impact bats in Atlanta’s minor league system, note that former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley is batting .263 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 93 games at low Class A Rome.

11 Jul

all-star flashbacks

Seventy years ago, in Boston’s Fenway Park, Waynesboro native Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs received the considerable honor of starting for the National League in the All-Star Game. Five years earlier, at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium, in his first All-Star outing, Passeau had yielded six hits and five runs over 2 2/3 innings, including the famous walk-off home run by Ted Williams. In the 1946 game, the last of Passeau’s four All-Star appearances, he pitched better, allowing just two hits over three innings. But one of those hits was a two-run homer by Charlie Keller, which propelled the Americans to a 12-0 victory. Passeau again took the loss. Thirty years ago, in the 1986 Midsummer Classic at the Astrodome in Houston, Greenville’s Frank White hit a home run for the AL squad (off former Jackson Mets star Mike Scott of the Astros) in a 3-2 win over the Nationals. Grenada’s Dave Parker and Jackson native Chris Brown each went 1-for-2 for the NL. In the 1996 game, Vicksburg’s Ellis Burks had a hit in two trips as the NL took a 6-0 win at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. And 10 years ago, Weir’s Roy Oswalt made the second of his three All-Star Game appearances, working a 1-2-3 third inning in a game the NL would lose, 3-2, at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. … The last time the All-Star Game was played in San Diego, in 1992 at Jack Murphy Stadium, former Mississippi State star Will Clark hit a three-run homer off former Jackson Mets ace Rick Aguilera. But it wasn’t enough for the Nationals, who lost 13-6 to the Ken Griffey Jr.-led AL team. P.S. In Fayetteville, N.C., tonight, Ole Miss’ Brady Feigl will start in the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game. Feigl, who got some freshman All-America notice as a reliever this past season, is 2-1 with a 1.90 ERA as a starter for Asheboro in the college summer league. … Ex-UM star Alex Presley went 1-for-3 on Sunday in a Class A-level game in the Detroit system. Presley elected free agency after being designated for assignment last month by Milwaukee. On a minor league contract with Detroit, he’ll likely be in Triple-A Toledo soon.

25 Jun

random numbers

1 – Big league hits for Adam Frazier, the former Mississippi State standout who got his first knock in his first at-bat for Pittsburgh on Friday night.
1 – Professional hits for Walker Robbins, the ex-George County High star who singled in his first game with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals.
4 – Hits in eight at-bats for Joey Meneses in his first two games with the Mississippi Braves. The native of Mexico was hitting .342 at Class A Carolina.
1,000 – Career wins in MLB for Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, the former Jackson Mets manager who won 73 games with the Double-A club back in 1990.
3,315 – Attendance on Friday at Biloxi’s MGM Park, where former Jackson Mets star Darryl Strawberry threw out the first pitch. He was in town for a speaking engagement.
12 – Combined runs scored by Montgomery and Biloxi in the first inning of the Southern League game, won by the Biscuits 10-9.
13 – Home runs by Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College product who went deep for Tampa Bay on Friday. He leads all Mississippians in the majors in homers; Zack Cozart and Mitch Moreland have 11 each.
3 – Home runs allowed in two MLB starts by Cody Reed, the Northwest Mississippi CC alum now with Cincinnati.
15 – Strikeouts by Cody Reed in his 12 innings in the big leagues.
3.56 – ERA of Cleveland’s pitching staff, which leads the American League. Former Ole Miss standout Mickey Callaway is the pitching coach for the Indians, who have won seven straight and lead the AL Central.

24 Jun

a helping hand?

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are in a free fall, have called up ex-Mississippi State star Adam Frazier. The versatile Frazier, batting .333 at Triple-A Indianapolis, isn’t likely to be a difference-maker but could provide a lift to a club that has lost eight of nine and 20 of its last 26. Frazier has played mostly left field this season but also has seen time in center and at second base and shortstop, where he played at State. Pittsburgh drafted him in the sixth round in 2013. Frazier is a .299 career hitter in the minors. At 5 feet, 11 inches and 175 pounds, he doesn’t hit for power but has some speed (17 steals, four triples this year). The Pirates, managed by former Jackson Mets skipper Clint Hurdle, are 34-39, 14 games back of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central. They host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at PNC Park. P.S. Eight Mississippi players were selected to the 2016 Louisville Slugger High School All-America teams, four of them from Class 5A power Oxford. Jason Barber – the two-time Gatorade player of the year – Houston Roth and Thomas Dillard were first-team picks from the Chargers, and Grae Kessinger was a second-teamer. Also on the (rather large) first team, as picked by Collegiate Baseball magazine, were Magnolia Heights products Riley Self and Dustin Skelton. Oak Grove’s Drew Boyd and Houston’s sophomore sensation Luke Hancock made the second team. … Dillard, who hit a remarkable 16 home runs this season, was pegged by Baseball America as a second-team All-America.