Tag Archives: M-Braves

22 May

see the future

It’s certainly good to see Dansby Swanson heating up in Atlanta. The rookie shortstop is batting .353 with a pair of homers and nine RBIs over his last 10 games. He’s up to .207, four, 17 for the season. There really aren’t a lot of reasons to watch the scuffling Braves. Swanson — among the scant few Mississippi Braves alums now playing for Atlanta — is one. While so many current Braves are just aging placeholders, Swanson is part of a future that holds great promise. Baseball America’s projected 2020 lineup for Atlanta includes Swanson and fellow former M-Braves Freddie Freeman (of course), Julio Teheran, Ozzie Albies, Dustin Peterson, Sean Newcomb and Patrick Weigel, plus current M-Braves Ronald Acuna, Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka. Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High product now playing in high Class A, is also in that group. Others who could contend for roles by 2020 are current M-Braves Travis Demeritte, Max Fried and Luiz Gohara and Ian Anderson, Kevin Maitan and Cristian Pache, highly touted prospects in the low minors. Atlanta’s farm system is truly stacked. Some of this new wave of Braves will arrive later this year or next. If all goes according to the apparent master plan, the Braves will be something to see again soon. P.S. Peterson, a Southern League MVP candidate last year after batting .282 with 12 homers and 88 RBIs in Pearl, is playing again at Triple-A Gwinnett. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound outfielder suffered a hand injury while in spring training with the big club.

18 May

houston, we have a connection

The Houston Astros have the best record (29-12) in baseball, and many experts say they are the best team in the game right now. Several key pieces of this club have Mississippi connections, including reliever Tony Sipp, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum, and four former Mississippi Braves standouts. (An aside: Atlanta, five games under .500, has only five ex-M-Braves on its current roster.) Sipp, after a rocky start, has trimmed his ERA to 3.38 over 12 appearances. In a win against Miami on Tuesday, the left-hander threw 2 2/3 shutout innings to finish the game. Former M-Braves closer James Hoyt also works out of the Astros’ pen and has posted a 1.13 ERA in six games with 18 strikeouts in eight innings. (As M-Braves fans may recall, Hoyt throws serious gas.) Charlie Morton, whose star turn with the M-Braves came 10 years ago, is 5-2 with a 3.97 ERA as a Houston starter. That brings us to the catchers, the bearded boys Brian McCann and Evan Gattis. McCann, in the home stretch of a brilliant career, is still productive at 33: .276, six homers and 25 RBIs. Gattis is also batting .276 with three bombs and 18 RBIs. (Many Atlanta fans are wondering why the Braves ever parted with the brawny slugger.) And though it has been 18 years since the Astros’ Double-A club played in Jackson, there is a Generals connection in Houston. Dave Hudgens, in his third year as the club’s hitting coach, was the Gens’ hitting coach in 1993, when the team won a Texas League championship.

13 May

together again

There ought to be some energy at Biloxi’s MGM Park the next few days. The Mississippi Braves and Biloxi Shuckers renew their burgeoning rivalry tonight in the opener of a rather meaningful five-game series. The Shuckers, who have won five in a row and 12 of 15, are 19-16 and tied for first in the Southern League South at the halfway point of the first half. The M-Braves are a game back at 18-17, having won the rubber match of their home series with Mobile on Friday night. Ronald Acuna, one of Atlanta’s top prospects, put on a show in that series. The 19-year-old outfielder went 8-for-16 with two homers, five RBIs and six runs in his first four Double-A games. But he is hardly the only hot hitter in the Mississippi lineup. Travis Demeritte, another young prospect, was 9-for-20 in the series with three homers. He is at .274 with four bombs, 17 RBIs and 24 runs for the year. Carlos Franco picked up three RBIs on Friday to run his league-leading total to 31. He has seven homers and a .273 average. And Luis Valenzuela, batting .289, has been a productive leadoff batter. The M-Braves’ rotation, featuring 19-year-olds Kolby Allard (3-1, 1.38 ERA) and Mike Soroka (3-3, 2.84), might be as good as any in the league. The Shuckers, a Milwaukee affiliate, have been sparked by Mauricio Dubon, batting .294 with an SL-best 18 stolen bases. Johnny Davis has 10 bags despite hitting just .189. Biloxi’s main power source is Michael Reed, who has six homers. The team has a weapon in the bullpen in Matt Ramsey, who has 10 saves and a 1.76 ERA. Here’s an oddity: The Shuckers are just 5-10 at home, while the M-Braves are 9-6 on the road. Just makes this series all the more interesting.

09 May

quick study

Time for a new challenge — already — for Ronald Acuna, one of the top prospects in Atlanta’s loaded minor league system. The 19-year-old Venezuelan is expected to debut for the Double-A Mississippi Braves tonight at Trustmark Park. A 6-foot, 180-pound center fielder, Acuna was batting .287 with three homers, 19 RBIs, five triples and 14 steals through 28 games at high Class A Florida. He played at low A Rome in 2016, batting .311 with four homers and 14 steals in 40 games. He is a consensus top 10 prospect in Atlanta’s system and is rated No. 92 overall by MLB Pipeline. Acuna’s “ceiling is as high as anyone’s in the (Braves) system,” MLB Pipeline writes.

27 Apr

power hungry

Some power hitters — former Mississippi Braves stars Ernesto Mejia, Evan Gattis and Matt Esquivel come to mind — have fared just fine at Trustmark Park. Many more have not. (See Josh Burrus, Cody Johnson, Eric Campbell … .) The spacious TeePee gives up bombs very grudgingly. That in mind, it’ll be interesting to see how Travis Demeritte and Adam Brett Walker, sluggers of some renown, handle it over the course of this season. Walker, 25, recently sent down from Triple-A Gwinnett, has played five games for the M-Braves and hit two homers, both at Montgomery. The M-Braves start a five-game homestand tonight against Tennessee. Walker, 6 feet 5, 225 pounds, entered this season with 124 homers in five pro years, including 31 for Chattanooga in the Southern League in 2015. Atlanta acquired Walker, originally a Minnesota draftee, on a waiver claim from Baltimore in January. Demeritte, only 22, is a top 10 prospect making his Double-A debut this season. Listed at 6 feet, 180, Demeritte’s got impressive thump. Acquired from Texas in a trade last summer, he belted a total of 28 home runs, along with 29 doubles and nine triples, in A-ball in 2016. He had a 25-homer campaign in 2014. Demeritte has hit only one home run through 18 games for the M-Braves, though he did get that one at the TeePee, back on April 10. At the moment, the long ball isn’t the biggest concern for Demeritte or Walker. Both are just looking for hits of any kind. Demeritte is batting .212. Walker’s only two hits in his 20 at-bats are the two bombs; he was batting .128 at Gwinnett. P.S. Former Southern Miss star Bradley Roney is back with the M-Braves, moving up from a brief assignment at Class A Florida. Roney began 2016 in Pearl, posting a 2.82 ERA and two saves in 17 games before earning a promotion to Gwinnett. He was on the disabled list there to start 2017.

17 Apr

m-pressive start

Ten games in, the Mississippi Braves’ young rotation looks like a team strength. And that’s a good strength to have. Each of the five starters has an ERA of 3.52 or better – four are under 2.50 – for a team that is off to a 6-4 start. The M-Braves begin a five-game homestand against Mobile tonight at Trustmark Park. Mike Soroka, 19 years old and Atlanta’s No. 4 prospect (by MLB Pipeline), is 2-0 with an 0.77 in his Double-A debut. Kolby Allard, also 19 and the No. 3 prospect, has a 1.80 in two starts. No. 15 prospect Patrick Weigel, 22 and the only starter with any Double-A experience before this year, has a 2.00; No. 8 prospect Max Fried is at 3.52; and Matt Withrow, 23 and in his first full pro season, has a 2.45. Weigel is slated to start tonight, followed by Allard, Withrow, Fried and Soroka. Akeel Morris, a grizzled vet at 24, has been perfect as a closer: no runs allowed, three saves in three appearances. The bullpen has let a couple of games get away – including blowing a 7-0, ninth-inning lead last Thursday at Tennessee – but the staff ERA of 3.07 is still pretty darn good. Kade Scivicque, Joey Meneses, Luis Valenzuela and Carlos Franco are batting .300-plus, and the team is second in the Southern League in runs (44) and homers (eight). Ten games in, it looks like a competitive club. … Biloxi, meanwhile, is 4-6 after a 1-4 homestand at MGM Park, hampered by an anemic offense that is last in the league in batting (.191) and ninth in runs (28). A 2.40 staff ERA has kept the Shuckers afloat.

04 Apr

(very) young guns

The Atlanta Braves have chosen the fast track for three of their prized young pitchers. Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka and Max Fried are jumping the high Class A level to start 2017 with the Double-A Mississippi Braves, who released their official roster today. They are rated the Nos. 3, 4 and 8 prospects in the system by MLB Pipeline. Fried, whose career was slowed by injury, is 23 and has been in pro ball for six years. Allard and Soroka are just 19, very young for Double-A. “The good ones get there early and these are two really good ones,” Braves GM John Coppolella told Baseball America. Both were first-round picks in 2015 and are among the six first-rounders on the M-Braves’ roster. Soroka is a big right-hander, Allard a slender lefty. Soroka, featuring a hard sinker, went 9-9 with a 3.02 ERA for low-A Rome’s 2016 championship club. “He goes right after hitters, throws a ton of strikes and makes outstanding adjustments on the mound,” according to the MLB Pipeline scouting report. Allard, blessed with a superb breaking ball, was 8-3, 2.98 for Rome and threw 12 scoreless innings in the South Atlantic League playoffs. “His stuff plays up even more because of deception in his delivery and his outstanding command,” MLB Pipeline notes. Are the young guns ready for Double-A? M-Braves fans will have a front row seat as this question is answered. The opener is Thursday at Trustmark Park. P.S. Among several returnees from last year’s M-Braves team, which reached the Southern League finals, is Kade Scivicque, the former Southwest Mississippi Community College (and LSU) star. The 24-year-old catcher is a .273 hitter over two minor league seasons and had eight hits in four games in the SL postseason last year after coming to the Braves in a trade with Detroit.

23 Mar

prospecting

The sorting process likely isn’t completed in Atlanta’s minor league camp, home to a batch of prospects generally regarded as the best in baseball. When the rosters are set and the players break camp, don’t expect many of the Braves’ Top 10 to head to Mississippi. Most of the highest rated players are either past Double-A or a year or two away. Dansby Swanson, still classified as a rookie and rated Atlanta’s No. 1 by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, is already established in Atlanta. No. 2 prospect Ozzie Albies, who did two stints in Pearl in 2016, figures to start in Triple-A. Six of the seven pitchers in the top 12 (as rated by MLB Pipeline) pitched in low-A ball or rookie ball last season. No. 6 Sean Newcomb was an M-Braves mainstay (8-7, 3.86 ERA) in 2016 who probably will pitch at Gwinnett this season. Kolby Allard (No. 4), Mike Soroka (5), Max Fried (9) and Touki Toussaint (12) were on the Rome staff that won the South Atlantic League pennant. The standard progression puts them at high-A Florida. No. 3 Kevin Maitan is a 17-year-old shortstop just getting started, and No. 8 Ronald Acuna, a 19-year-old outfielder, played at Rome in an injury-interrupted season. Unlikely to open in Mississippi, he could make Double-A at some point this year. Infielder Travis Demeritte, acquired from Texas in midseason, is No. 10 on the Braves’ list and looks like the one sure thing in that bunch to be in Trustmark Park on April 6. He hit 28 homers at the high-A level in 2016. Former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley, the No. 13 prospect, projects as the third baseman on the high-A club, at least to start the season. The M-Braves’ opening day roster won’t be thin on talent, however. Jacob Schrader, Carlos Franco, Joey Meneses, Connor Lien and Joe Odom were among the position players who helped last year’s club reach the Southern League Championship Series, and all could be back. Plus, top 30 prospects Braxton Davidson and Alex Jackson may land in Pearl next month. P.S. The M-Braves open on April 6, two weeks from today, at the TeePee against Jacksonville, a Miami affiliate that is now, unfortunately, nicknamed the Jumbo Shrimp.

26 Feb

one fine day

On the first full day of spring training games, the names of Mississippians were all over Saturday’s box scores. Ex-Mississippi State star Tyler Moore, trying to make the Miami club as a non-roster invitee, hit what proved to be the game-winning home run for the Marlins against St. Louis. The blast came in the seventh inning against former Mississippi Braves pitcher John Gant and it made a winner of Southern Miss alum Scott Copeland, who had yielded the tying run in the top of the inning. Appearing in center field in that game for the Cardinals was ex-M-Braves standout Jordan Schafer, who is getting a look as both an outfielder and pitcher. … Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson, in his first game with Seattle, played left field, batted leadoff and went 1-for-2 with a run and a stolen base. Former State star Hunter Renfroe, batting cleanup and playing right field, had an RBI double in that game for San Diego. … Ex-Richton High standout JaCoby Jones went 2-for-2 with a run and Ole Miss product Alex Presley 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run for Detroit. Both are in the mix for the Tigers’ center field job, though Presley is in camp on a minor league contract. … MSU alum Adam Frazier hit leadoff and played shortstop for Pittsburgh, going 2-for-3 with a run. Frazier is likely to be the Pirates’ super-utility player this season. … Jonathan Holder, the ex-State standout, pitched a perfect inning for the New York Yankees, fanning two. … Ole Miss product Bobby Wahl, now on Oakland’s 40-man roster, struck out two in a scoreless inning of work for the A’s. … East Central CC alum Tim Anderson went 1-for-3 for the Chicago White Sox, batting leadoff and playing shortstop. … Ex-Itawamba CC star Desmond Jennings, trying to stick as a non-roster invitee with Cincinnati, started in right field and went 1-for-2. … Former State standout Mitch Moreland picked up his first official RBI for Boston; he hit a three-run homer on Thursday in an exhibition against a college team. … Petal High product Anthony Alford, batting fifth and playing right field for Toronto, was 1-for-3 with an RBI double against Atlanta. Seven former M-Braves played for the Braves; Dustin Peterson went 2-for-3 with a run and Johan Camargo 1-for-2 with two runs.

16 Feb

spring flings

Mississippi State product Chad Girodo was outrighted off Toronto’s 40-man roster on Wednesday but reportedly will remain in spring camp as a non-roster invitee. The Blue Jays were clearing roster space for veteran relievers J.P. Howell and Joe Smith. Lefty Girodo made his big league debut in 2016 and worked in 14 games with a 4.35 ERA. He put up a 3.79 at Triple-A Buffalo, where he’ll likely begin this season. … Former Holmes Community College star Roy Oswalt, who led Houston to the 2005 World Series, will serve as a guest instructor in the Astros’ camp. “The ability to match quantity and quality during his time as an Astro was incredible,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch told mlb.com. Oswalt won 163 games in the big leagues. … Former Mississippi Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt is going to get work as a pitcher while continuing to catch in San Diego’s camp. Bethancourt, known for his strong arm, made a couple of mop-up appearances for the Padres last season and then pitched seven relief innings in the Panamanian Winter League. … Atlanta has endured three straight losing seasons, but ex-M-Braves star Freddie Freeman offered some encouraging words for fans as camp began for the Braves, telling mlb.com, “A lot of people aren’t picking us, but I think we’ll be right there in September, playing meaningful baseball.” Braves manager Brian Snitker, the former M-Braves skipper, called the optimism “legit.”