Tag Archives: Jake Mangum

26 Aug

full speed ahead

Speed is the highlight tool in Jake Mangum’s bag. It was on full display Wednesday. The former Mississippi State star, playing center field for Double-A Binghamton, made three diving catches, one charging in, one going to his left and one to his right. (Check out the video on milb.com.) He also stole a base, his 12th of the season in 70 games for the New York Mets’ Double-A club, and just to show some versatility, belted his seventh home run in a 7-5 win at New Hampshire. Mangum is hitting .296 (.341 on-base percentage) with 21 doubles, four triples, 39 RBIs and 55 runs. The Flowood native was rated one of the fastest players in 2019 draft when the Mets took him – as an MSU senior – in the fourth round. Oddly enough, he has slipped off their Top 30 prospect chart. But if he keeps producing, that hardly matters. P.S. Loyd Star High alum James Beard was generally considered the fastest player in the 2019 draft, and he was picked in the fourth round, a few spots ahead of Mangum, by the Chicago White Sox. Now playing at Low-A Kannapolis, the 20-year-old Beard has nine steals and a .193 average in 63 games. … For the record, the top base-stealer among Mississippians in the minors in 2021 is Delvin Zinn, the ex-Itawamba Community College star now in the Cubs’ system. The fifth-year pro has 43 bags – 42 at High-A South Bend, one (in four attempts) in 17 games at Double-A Tennessee.

03 Jun

rising to occasion

If there was doubt that Jake Mangum could handle the jump to Double-A, the ex-Mississippi State star has dismissed it. Mangum was hitting .206 at High-A Brooklyn when the New York Mets, forced by injuries to make some moves with their outfielders, promoted Mangum to Binghamton. In nine games, the 25-year-old switch-hitter is batting .368. He enjoyed his best night with the Rumble Ponies on Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, three runs and two RBIs. He led off the 10th inning with a run-scoring three-bagger and scored what proved to be the deciding run in an 8-7 game on a sac fly. A fourth-round pick as a senior at State in 2019, Mangum didn’t hit much for power before arriving in Binghamton, where he has six extra-base knocks and is slugging .605. He has struck out just six times in 38 at-bats. True, nine games is a small sample size. And he’ll run into some outstanding pitchers in the Double-A East. But Mangum knows a little about hitting; he is the SEC’s all-time hits leader, after all. … Down in the Double-A South on Wednesday, Mississippi Braves catcher – and No. 3 Atlanta prospect – Shea Langeliers belted three homers at Pensacola and now leads the league with seven. After a sluggish start in his first Double-A campaign, the 23-year-old former Baylor star is hitting .284 with 13 RBIs. That’s nice, he says, but … . “The biggest role I have on this team is as a catcher,” he told milb.com. “Catching comes first, hitting comes second.” His arm – rated a 70 on the scouts’ 20-80 scale — is already big league-caliber. The bat is coming along.

03 Feb

maroon 9

As a flight of fancy, ncaa.com recently picked an all-time starting lineup of Mississippi State alumni, a Maroon 9, so to speak. It’s a very impressive bunch: CF Dan Van Cleve, SS Adam Frazier, 1B Will Clark, RF Rafael Palmeiro, LF Brent Rooker, 3B Travis Chapman, C Ed Easley, 2B Jeffrey Rea and P Jeff Brantley. Of course, a lot of great players were left off. One of the more glaring omissions would seem to be Jake Mangum, currently the Bulldogs’ center fielder. The former Jackson Prep star has a .356 average, 49 doubles, 87 RBIs, 154 runs and 34 stolen bases over 195 games entering 2019. He has been the SEC’s freshman of the year, an All-SEC pick, a Ferriss Trophy winner and an All-America selection. He has been drafted twice by MLB clubs. He led State to the College World Series last summer and returned for his senior season to try again for that elusive national title. It’s hard to imagine a player having had a greater impact on the program. He certainly rates a spot in the Maroon 9.

05 Aug

summer fun

Jake Mangum’s excellent adventure will continue in the Cape Cod League playoffs, which start today. Mangum, former Jackson Prep star, led the SEC in hitting with a .427 mark and won the Ferriss Trophy as a freshman at Mississippi State this year. The switch-hitting outfielder has backed that up with a strong showing in the Cape, the premier college summer league. He hit .300 with nine RBIs, 19 runs and 11 stolen bases for the Bourne Braves. He also went 1-for-3 in the CCBL All-Star Game. Mangum was 4-for-5 with a couple of RBIs in Bourne’s last regular season game on Wednesday. Mangum’s State teammate Brent Rooker had an even better year in the Cape, batting .305 with three homers and 22 RBIs, but his team, Brewster, didn’t make the eight-team playoff field. State’s Ryan Gridley (.225) was also on that team. Ole Miss’ Will Golsan and Will Stokes are with Orleans, a playoff team. Stokes posted a 3.37 ERA in 15 games, while Golsan hit .235 with a homer and eight RBIs, finishing the regular season with a 3-for-4, 4-RBI game. Southern Miss’ Kirk McCarty went 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA for Orleans but isn’t on the playoff roster. State’s Trystan Barlow, who had an 8.21 ERA in 12 games for Harwich, is the only other Mississippi collegian in the Cape playoffs.