Tag Archives: Jackson Prep

04 Jun

fast company

This is a pretty cool list. It includes a couple of current big leaguers, one former big leaguer, two current Double-A stars and two players projected as potential first-round draft picks next month. Make that three potential first-round picks, now that Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin has been named Mississippi’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2024. It wasn’t a big surprise that Griffin won the award, given annually to the best high school player in the state. He batted .559 this season with nine homers, 39 RBs, 76 runs and 85 stolen bases and went 10-0 with a 0.72 ERA on the bump. MLB Pipeline ranks Griffin as the No. 9 prospect in the upcoming draft. In addition, Prep won the MAIS 6A championship and finished 39-4. Prep Baseball Report ranked the Patriots No. 1 in its final Mississippi poll, ahead of Sumrall, Magnolia Heights, George County and Brandon, all state champs, rounding out the top five. MaxPreps, which named Griffin its Mississippi player of the year, ranked Sumrall at No. 1, with Prep No. 2 followed by Magnolia Heights, East Webster and George County. Sumrall won the MHSAA Class 4A title and finished 35-6, led by championship series MVP Cade Clinton, Landon Hawkins and Drew Davis. … Previous Gatorade POY winners include Austin Riley (now with the Atlanta Braves), Colt Keith (Detroit Tigers), Anthony Alford (ex-big leaguer now playing in Mexico), Blaze Jordan (Double-A with Boston), J.T. Ginn (Double-A with Oakland), Dakota Jordan (Mississippi State) and Braden Montgomery (Texas A&M). Last year’s winner, Cooper Pratt of Magnolia Heights, is in A-ball in the Milwaukee system and a highly rated prospect.

31 May

draft watch

Eight players with Mississippi connections — five of them at Mississippi State — are ranked among the Top 200 MLB draft prospects in MLB Pipeline’s latest chart. The top in-state prospect is still Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin, who — at No. 9 — is also the highest-rated high school player in the country. According to one clever scouting report, if Home Depot were a ballplayer, it would be Griffin. In other words, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound outfielder/shortstop/pitcher has all the tools. An LSU signee, he reportedly led the nation with 85 stolen bases this season while leading the Patriots to another state title. Braden Montgomery, the ex-Madison Central High star now playing outfield at Texas A&M, is ranked No. 8 on the MLB Pipeline list. MSU outfielder Dakota Jordan — the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner — is No. 29, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje No. 31, right-hander Khal Stephen No. 87, righty Nate Dohm No. 164 and first baseman Hunter Hines No. 174. Montgomery and the Bulldogs will be on display this weekend in NCAA regionals, A&M facing Grambling State today, MSU going against St. John’s. Former Lewisburg High star Brady Tygart, a weekend starter for Arkansas this season, is rated the No. 180 draft prospect; he reportedly won’t pitch in the Razorbacks’ regional because of an injury concern. … The draft is in July. P.S. At the NJCAA Division II World Series, East Central Community College knocked off Brunswick (N.C.) 5-3 on Thursday and plays the Dolphins again today for a berth in the final. Barret Rodgers went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs for ECCC and Parker Martin threw five shutout innings in relief in Thursday’s win. LSU-Eunice plays St. Johns River State (Fla.) in the other semifinal. Today’s winners will play for the championship on Saturday.

17 May

championship mettle

Among the most impressive aspects of James “Cool Papa” Bell’s career is the number of championship teams he played for during his Hall of Fame career. Bell, born on this date in Starkville in 1903, was a member of 11 teams that won — or claimed — league championships during his 25-year pro career. Known as one of the fastest players ever to suit up, Bell batted .325 for his career and is credited by baseball-reference.com with 285 steals in official Negro League games. Including exhibition games, winter league games and foreign leagues, his career steals total is likely double that and more. An eight-time All-Star, he was a leadoff batter and center fielder for three of the greatest franchises in the old Negro Leagues, winning nine pennants with the St. Louis Stars, Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays between 1922 and ’46. The Grays won two World Series titles with Bell. Bell also was on a championship team in the Dominican Republic in 1937 and the pennant-winning team in Mexican League in 1940. Bell, at age 37, won the league’s Triple Crown that year, batting .437 with 12 homers and 79 RBIs; he also stole 28 bases. He was elected to Cooperstown in 1974 and passed away in 1991. … On the subject of championship teams, Jackson Prep — led by the dynamic pro prospect Konnor Griffin — won its seventh straight title in MAIS, beating Presbyterian Christian for the 6A crown on Thursday night. P.S. On this date in 2010, at Yankee Stadium, former East Central Community College star Marcus Thames hit a walk-off two-run homer against ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon, giving New York an 11-9 win over Boston. It was the only walk-off bomb Thames hit among his 115 career homers, according to Baseball Almanac.

19 Apr

prep work

Using the latest Power 25 rankings by Prep Baseball Report as a guide, favorites can be identified in the MHSAA playoffs that have begun for Classes 1A through 4A. Two Class 4A teams are ranked in the top six, with West Lauderdale at No. 5 and Sumrall at No. 6. The longtime powerhouse programs are on opposite sides of the bracket, possibly headed for a showdown for the state title at Trustmark Park in Pearl next month, though there is a long, long road to navigate. Jacob Wooten and Leeds Jenkins lead the way for the Knights (22-5), who have won 15 state titles. They open the playoffs with Senatobia. Sumrall’s Bearcats (24-5), winners of six state crowns, feature Landon Hawkins and Cade Clinton. They start out against Forest. Kossuth (21-1), which opens vs. Ruleville, is the highest-rated 3A team at No. 23, and East Union (21-5), which has a first-round bye, tops 2A schools at No. 17. No 1A schools are in the Power 25, though Biggersville and Hollandale Simmons got first-round byes on opposite sides of the class bracket. The 5A though 7A playoffs start next weekend. Class 7A is a minefield with five teams ranked in the top nine: No. 2 Lewisburg, No. 3 Germantown, No. 7 Hernando, No. 8 Northwest Rankin and No. 9 Oak Grove. West Jones, ranked 10th, tops the 6A schools, and South Jones, at No. 15, is the highest-rated 5A school. … In the MAIS, all eyes will be on top-ranked Jackson Prep, the king of Class 6A, and two-way star Konnor Griffin. The Patriots’ Lakeland Drive rival, 6A Hartfield Academy, is ranked No. 11 in the Power 25 but is 0-4 against Prep this season. Fourth-ranked Magnolia Heights is in Class 5A.

23 Mar

watch for it

As spring training winds down, Will Warren is ramping up his bid to make the New York Yankees’ starting rotation. The Jackson Prep product pitched five strong innings on Friday, allowing three hits, two walks and a lone run in a Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. Right-hander Warren, the Yanks’ No. 8-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, is competing with several others for the fifth starter job. He is 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA in five games this spring. “He’s got the starter repertoire, a lot of confidence and a great demeanor on the mound,” New York manager Aaron Boone said in an mlb.com article. “He’s done a nice job and earned (a chance) to be in this position.” The 26-man roster should be announced soon. The team opens March 28 at Houston. Featuring a wipeout slider, Warren went 10-4 with a 3.35 between Double-A and Triple-A last season. After going 7-0, 1.39, as a senior at Jackson Prep in 2017, Warren signed with NCAA Division I Southeastern Louisiana, where he posted a 3.90 ERA in 53 games over four seasons. The Yankees drafted him in the eighth round in 2021, and he has made steady progress in their system. P.S. Pitching against Warren and the Yankees on Friday was ex-Southern Miss star Tyler Stuart, drafted by the Mets in the sixth round in 2022. The 6-foot-9 Stuart allowed two runs in three innings against the likes of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Rated the Mets’ No. 18 prospect, Stuart was 7-2, 2.44, between High-Class A and Double-A in 2023.

19 Mar

on the mound

Midweek starters in college baseball generally don’t rate the spotlight. But the two matching up tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl should be the centers of attention before what figures to be a huge crowd. It feels highly appropriate for this rivalry game that both Ole Miss’ Riley Maddox and Southern Miss’ Cole Boswell are Mississippi boys, products of tradition-rich high schools. Maddox, from Pearl, was an All-State performer at Jackson Prep before heading to Oxford. Boswell, from Collinsville, pitched at West Lauderdale and then at Meridian Community College before moving on to Hattiesburg. Maddox is 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in five games (four starts) for the 15-6 Rebels, who, like the 14-6 Golden Eagles, have surged into the national polls this week. Boswell is 0-0, 5.87, in four games and three starts, including one earlier this month at Trustmark against Mississippi State. Maddox was hurt most of last season at UM after posting a 5.24 as a freshman in 2022. Boswell went 11-1, 2.49, at Meridian CC last season and was the juco league’s pitcher of the year. Pitchers’ duels are not uncommon at the TeePee, the home of the Double-A Mississippi Braves that typically plays as a pitcher’s park. Maybe we get one tonight. It would be highly appropriate. … For the record, a pair of Mississippi products will hook up in Starkville tonight, as well, when MSU sends lefty Bradley Loftin (ex-DeSoto Central star) to the mound against Memphis’ 6-foot-6 right-hander Cade Davis (from Ripley via East Mississippi CC). … A few miles down the road from Pearl, at Joe G. Moss Field in Raymond, Hinds CC is hosting a twinbill against East Central, undefeated (28-0) and ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division II poll. Hinds is 15-14, including a loss to Warriors back on March 2. The spotlight in Raymond likely will be on ECCC sluggers Mo Little, Brady McGee and Trey Bridges, who have seven home runs each.

18 Mar

heat check

Among the five players with Mississippi ties who made the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, all but one have gotten off to great starts. Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State’s right fielder, is on a tear of late and is batting .408 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs, leading the Bulldogs into the national rankings this week. The Canton native already has matched his home run total from his freshman season. Former Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery, now playing outfield at Texas A&M, is hitting .368 with nine homers and 35 RBIs for the nationally ranked Aggies. Montgomery was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection at Stanford before transferring to the SEC. Jordan and Montgomery will meet when A&M hosts State this week in College Station. Brett Sanchez, the NCAA Division III pitcher of the year at Belhaven University in 2023, is 1-1 with a save and a 2.38 ERA for the Blazers this season. The right-hander has struck out 44 batters in 34 innings and has twice been named the CCS pitcher of the week. Jackson Prep senior Konnor Griffin, regarded by many as the best prep player in the nation, is outclassing his competition, batting .696 with eight doubles, five homers and 49 stolen bases, per MaxPreps. The LSU signee has been walked 26 times in 20 games. He is also 4-0, 0.00 ERA, as a pitcher. Shane Lewis, a former Warren Central High standout now playing at Troy, has scuffled, hitting .188 with four homers to date. The Sun Belt player of the year in 2023, he hit a school-record 27 bombs and drove in 77 runs for the Trojans last year. … Ex-MSU standout Will Clark won the 1985 Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur player in the country each year.

28 Feb

18 and 500

Something special seems to be brewing at East Central Community College. Again. Down five runs in the eighth inning on Tuesday against visiting East Mississippi, the Warriors rallied to win, 10-8, in extra innings, moving their record to 18-0 and notching coach Neal Holliman’s 500th win at the Decatur school. ECCC, the defending MACCC and Region 23 champion, is ranked 10th in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll and will surely jump when the first in-season poll is released. The Warriors won twice on Tuesday, beating 13th-ranked Meridian 14-2 in the first game of the three-team round-robin event. They hit three homers in that one, including a Kelby Jordan grand slam. They belted four more bombs in the win against East, two by Mo Little and a walk-off shot in the 10th by Brady McGee. ECCC is averaging almost 11 runs a game and has a 3.74 staff ERA. The Warriors play again on Saturday in a round-robin at Hinds, meeting Southeastern (Iowa) and the host Eagles. P.S. Lewisburg High, off to a 5-0 start, is ranked fifth in the latest MaxPreps Top 25. The Patriots, led by preseason All-America pick Samuel Richardson, are playing this weekend in the Perfect Game Showdown, a 60-team event at the Hoover Met in Alabama. Brandon, DeSoto Central and Hernando are also in the field. … Jackson Prep (9-1) is No. 22 in the MaxPreps poll as the only other state school in the rankings.

24 Dec

on your marks

While it’s anyone’s guess at this point who might become the next Mississippian to debut in the majors, mlb.com has offered up three players as top prospects to watch in 2024. Former Jackson Prep star Will Warren (New York Yankees), Biloxi High product Colt Keith (Detroit) and Southern Miss alumnus Hurston Waldrep (Atlanta) appear close to breaking through. Warren, a 2021 draftee out of Southeastern Louisiana, is the Yankees’ No. 8 prospect (by MLB Pipeline) after posting a 10-4 record with a 3.35 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. The right-hander throws hard and features a wipeout sweeper/slider, per reports. Keith, a 2020 draftee, is Detroit’s No. 2 prospect and could crack the Tigers’ lineup at second base this spring. He hit .306 with 27 home runs last season between Double-A and Triple-A and had a memorable 6-for-6 game with a cycle. Right-hander Waldrep was the Braves’ first-round pick (24th overall) out of Florida back in July and put up a 1.53 ERA while pitching at four minor league levels, including a brief stop with the Mississippi Braves. The Braves are not shy about promoting young arms. … Also worthy of keeping an eye on is Justin Foscue, the ex-Mississippi State standout who ranks as the No. 6 prospect in Texas’ system and made the organization’s minor league All-Star team at second base. He hit .266 with 18 homers in Triple-A and posted a .394 on-base average, walking more times than he struck out. P.S. Boston recently announced that former MSU star Jonathan Papelbon will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame next spring. He is Boston’s all-time saves leader (219) and won a World Series with the team in 2007. … Tampa Bay has signed Zac Houston, another State product, to a minor league deal. In the minors since 2016, the right-hander has a 3.18 career ERA in 230 games.

18 Sep

coming attraction

Former Jackson Prep standout Will Warren, now in the New York Yankees’ system, got some well-deserved recognition today from Baseball America in its daily Prospect Report. Warren threw five shutout innings Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, yielding just two hits and striking out a career-high 10 batters. An eighth-round draft pick out of Southeastern Louisiana in 2021, Warren, 24, has allowed just one earned run over 23 2/3 innings in September. He has struck out 29, walked nine and limited opposing hitters to a .127 average. He is rated the Yankees’ No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, which gives his estimated time of arrival in The Show as 2023. That may not happen, but he is close. The 6-foot-2 right-hander started this season in Double-A and went 3-0 with a 2.45 before moving up to S/W-B. He is 6-4 with a 3.71 in 20 games for the RailRiders. Warren features a mid-90s fastball and a wipeout slider, which MLB Pipeline calls his “best weapon.”