Tag Archives: M-Braves

08 Jan

being there

Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Ellis is among the contingent (27, all told) of non-roster players invited to big league camp by the Atlanta Braves. Right-hander Ellis, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the Andrelton Simmons trade, went 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 15 Double-A starts in 2015. He was a third-round pick in 2014, one of the nine Rebels drafted that summer. Ellis likely will open 2016 at Triple-A Gwinnett, but when you check out the rotation candidates from the Braves’ 40-man roster – Julio Tehran, Bud Norris, Matt Wisler, Williams Perez, Ryan Weber – you have to think there are opportunities there. Also getting camp invites are 2015 Mississippi Braves Rio Ruiz, Lucas Sims and Ryan Kelly (who was in the big leagues for a period last year) and potential 2016 M-Braves Joseph Odom, Braxton Davidson, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson. P.S. The lack of support Billy Wagner, the former Jackson Generals star, received in the Hall of Fame voting is hard to fathom. He was named on just 46 ballots, 10.5 percent, barely enough to stay on the ballot. Said Hall of Famer John Smoltz to mlb.com: “I was a little surprised by that. Billy was an incredible left-handed closer.” Wagner posted 422 saves, a 2.31 ERA, averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and made seven All-Star Games. Fellow closer Trevor Hoffman, also a first-timer on the ballot, was named on 67.3 percent; 75 percent is needed for induction. The third closer on the ballot, Lee Smith, was named on 34.1 percent. Little-known fact: Smith pitched in two games for the 1998 Generals during a comeback attempt at age 40. That was his final pro season.

16 Dec

who’s the boss?

The Mississippi Braves will be under the charge of a new manager in 2016, with former major leaguer Luis Salazar succeeding Aaron Holbert in that role. Salazar, a native of Venezuela, managed Atlanta’s high Class A club the last five years. Salazar, some may recall, lost his left eye when struck by a foul ball during a spring training game in 2011, his first year with the Atlanta organization. He becomes the sixth manager of the Double-A M-Braves since the franchise moved to Pearl in 2005, following Brian Snitker, Jeff Blauser, Phillip Wellman, Rocket Wheeler and Holbert. Holbert, the club’s winningest manager, did a four-year stint, same as Wellman. The team won its only Southern League title under Wellman in 2008. Salazar hit .261 over 13 seasons in the majors and has worked for many years in the minors as a manager and hitting coach. Dennis Lewallyn returns as M-Braves pitching coach and Garey Ingram as hitting coach. The team opens the 2016 season at Trustmark Park on April 7.

13 Dec

name dropping

Over the last few days, the MLB transactions page has been littered with the names of former Mississippi Braves on the move: Christian Bethancourt, Yunel Escobar, Charlie Morton, Brett Oberholtzer, Ryne Harper and, of course, the big newsmaker, Jason Heyward. To recap: Atlanta, after signing free agent catcher Tyler Flowers, decided to punt (to San Diego) the enigmatic Bethancourt, a once-highly touted prospect who hit .219 in 80 MLB games and had defensive issues, as well. Bethancourt hit .277 with 12 homers in Pearl in 2013 – his second Double-A campaign — but always seemed to be hurt. … Escobar, an M-Braves standout in 2006, was traded by Washington to the Los Angeles Angels, despite hitting .314 as the Nationals third baseman in 2015. Escobar, a .281 career hitter known at one time for annoying on-field antics, has now been traded six times, starting with the deal that sent him from Atlanta to Toronto in 2010. … Morton, a standout pitcher on the M-Braves’ 2007 playoff team, was dealt by Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, going from contender to bottom-feeder. Ugh. Morton went 9-9 with a 4.81 ERA for the Pirates last season. … Oberholtzer, a lefty who won nine games for the 2011 M-Braves, was part of the package Houston sent to Philadelphia in the Ken Giles trade. Oberholtzer is a quality arm; he has a 3.94 ERA in 45 MLB games over three seasons. … Harper, a reliever – and a good one — in Pearl the past three seasons, has been shipped to Seattle by Atlanta to complete a deal for another reliever, Jose Ramirez. … And then there was Heyward, who made a splash with the M-Braves in 2009. The 26-year-old outfielder signed an 8-year, $184M deal with the Chicago Cubs, leaving St. Louis after one year. Heyward is a true 5-tool talent who may just now be peaking. He could be the piece that propels the Cubs to that much-coveted World Series crown. … So much for looking back. Here’s a look ahead: Dansby Swanson, pilfered by Atlanta from Arizona in the Shelby Miller trade, will probably wind up in Pearl sometime in 2017. The first overall pick out of Vanderbilt back in June played in short-season A-ball this season, so it figures he’s a year away from Double-A. But the Braves, who need help at the big league level, might move him up quickly. Great things are forecast for Swanson, a shortstop with power.

24 Nov

from the stove

Pascagoula native Tony Sipp, a free agent coming off a strong 2015 season, “could wind up being a real shrewd pickup this winter,” a CBS Sports article notes. Sipp, a 32-year-old left-hander, posted a 1.99 ERA for playoff-participant Houston last season and has a 3.50 over seven MLB campaigns. But he isn’t being mentioned with the top relievers on the market; the CBS Sports piece makes the case that he should be. The New York Mets are among the teams projected to be a good fit. … Washington reportedly wants to deal troublesome closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had a 2.13 ERA and 24 saves between the Nationals and Philadelphia in 2015. But Mississippi State product Papelbon is 35, will make $11 million next season and has a broad no-trade clause. So, good luck with that. … There are also rumors that Texas might be open to dealing Mitch Moreland, the former State star from Amory. The Rangers are seeking a right-handed hitter. Lefty Moreland hit .278 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs in 2015 and earned AMB’s Cool Papa Bell Award (see previous post). … Right-hander Lucas Sims, a standout for the Mississippi Braves last summer, was rated the No. 19 prospect in the Arizona Fall League by mlb.com, which raved about his curveball. Sims, Atlanta’s top pick in 2012, was 0-0 with a 2.12 ERA in six games (five starts) in the AFL, fanning 17 in 17 innings for Peoria. He made nine starts for the M-Braves after a mid-season promotion and looked sharp (4-2, 3.21). He could start 2016 in Pearl, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to seem him open at Triple-A Gwinnett. … MSU product Adam Frazier was selected as the second baseman on the All-Premier 12 team. Frazier, who plays in the Pittsburgh system, batted over .300 for Team USA, which finished runner-up to South Korea in the international tournament played in Taiwan and Japan. … Bobby Bradley, a lefty-hitting first baseman, smacked 27 homers in 110 games in A-ball in 2015, but Cleveland officials believe he can get stronger. Still only 19, the ex-Harrison Central High star is listed at 6 feet 1, 225 pounds. “One thing he’s been really focused on, especially last season, was his body from a strength and conditioning standpoint,” Cleveland director of player development Carter Hawkins told mlb.com. Bradley is a consensus top 10 prospect in the Indians’ system.

10 Nov

in memoriam

Seven years have passed since Tommy Hanson pitched at Trustmark Park in Pearl. He is one of literally a hundred Mississippi Braves who have advanced to the big leagues – and one that ardent M-Braves fans surely remember. He arrived early in the 2008 season with a lot of hoopla, a big (6 feet 6, 220 pounds), hard-throwing right-hander on a fast track to the big leagues. And Hanson delivered on his promise. He went 8-4 with a 3.58 ERA, throwing a 14-strikeout no-hitter on June 25 at the TeePee against Birmingham and helping the M-Braves win their only Southern League pennant later that summer. He was an approachable, soft-spoken guy with bright red hair, originally from Oklahoma, drafted by Atlanta out of a California junior college. He went on to win 49 games in the big leagues, most of those in four seasons with the Braves. Injury issues curtailed his MLB career, but he was still pitching this past season in the San Francisco system. Hanson, just 29, died in Atlanta on Monday of what is described as “catastrophic organ failure.” It was shocking news. He is remembered here fondly.

04 Nov

odds and ends

JaCoby Jones, the former Mr. Baseball from Richton, heads a group of Mississippi-connected players named to the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game. Jones, a shortstop in Detroit’s system currently batting .304 with two homers for Scottsdale, is on the East roster. The West includes 2015 Mississippi Braves starter Lucas Sims and two Biloxi Shuckers alums, outfielder Michael Reed and closer Damien Magnifico. Magnifico had a magnificent run with Milwaukee’s Double-A team last summer, moving into the bullpen and going 4-1 with 20 saves and a 1.17 ERA in 42 appearances. The Fall Stars Game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. CST and will be televised by MLB Network. … Connor Lien, expected to contend for an outfield spot with the M-Braves next spring, is scuffling in the AFL. He is hitting .171 with a homer, 18 strikeouts and two walks in 41 at-bats for Peoria. Still, Baseball America’s Bill Ballew calls Lien “one of my top sleepers in the organization.” … Jackson native and Ole Miss alumnus Cody Satterwhite, a veteran minor league pitcher, is on the U.S. roster for the first Premier 12 international tournament set for Nov. 8-21. Pool play is in Taiwan and Japan with the semifinals and finals in Tokyo. According to Baseball America, Premier 12 is the top senior event for the International Baseball Federation, now re-branded as the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Satterwhite, currently a New York Mets farmhand, is joined on the American squad by former M-Braves star Tyler Pastornicky and Biloxi Shuckers alum Brett Phillips. … Tampa Bay released former Jackson State catcher Jovany Felipe, who batted .182 in rookie ball this summer after signing as an undrafted free agent. … The Belhaven-William Carey rivalry apparently is no more. With the Blazers moving to NCAA Division III, their 2016 schedule does not include the NAIA Crusaders, their longtime rivals in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference. BU will play Maloney Trophy rivals Millsaps and Mississippi College next season. Carey is playing NCAA D-II’s Delta State and MC in 2016, as well as NAIA Tougaloo.

28 Oct

there and here

Though you won’t find his name on the top prospect charts, former Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier would seem to be a player on the rise. Currently playing in the talent-laded Arizona Fall League, the left-handed hitting shortstop is hitting .333 (8-for-24) for Glendale. Batting leading on Tuesday, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs and a steal. Frazier, 23, hit .324 at Double-A Altoona in Pittsburgh’s system this season, his third pro campaign, and made the Eastern League’s midseason All-Star Game. He is at .291 for his career with a .353 on-base percentage. … Richton High product JaCoby Jones, a shortstop prospect in Detroit’s system, has been playing some third base in the AFL. “I love short,” Jones told the Detroit Free Press. “I played there all my life … . But if third base is where my future’s at, I’ll start getting better at it.” The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Jones is batting .364 to date for Scottsdale. … Of Atlanta’s top 10 prospects on Baseball America’s recently revealed chart, it’s possible none will be in Pearl to start the 2016 season. No. 1 Hector Olivera already has made the big league club, three of the others were in low Class A in 2015 and three more were just drafted in June. (One of those, Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, checks in at No. 5 after a strong debut season at the lowest levels of the system.) Max Fried pitched in low A in 2014 and missed all of last season with an injury; it seems unlikely the Braves would start him in Double-A. Mallex Smith opened 2015 in Mississippi but finished at Triple-A Gwinnett, and Lucas Sims went 4-2, 3.21 for the M-Braves and is a candidate to be promoted next spring. However, there could be an influx of talent to Mississippi from just outside the BA top 10: Johan Camargo, Connor Lien, Dustin Peterson and Rob Whalen, to name a few. All played at high A Carolina last season. … Former Jackson Generals pitching coach Jim Hickey has signed an extension with Tampa Bay to remain the Rays’ pitching coach through 2018. He has been with the club since 2007. … Ex-Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan, who “parted ways” with Texas after three years as hitting coach, is expected to land another job in the big leagues sometime soon. In a published report, Magadan said he would like to get closer to his Florida home. … East Central Community College product Marcus Thames has been mentioned as a candidate for hitting coach with the New York Yankees. He was the Triple-A hitting coach in their system in 2015. The Yanks are one of four teams Thames played for in his 10-year MLB career.

07 Oct

wild things

The Chicago Cubs’ lineup isn’t official yet, but speculation is that Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan won’t be in it and ex-Mississippi Braves standout Tommy La Stella will be. The Cubs take on Pittsburgh tonight in the National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park. Coghlan hit .250 with 16 homers and 41 RBIs while playing a variety of positions, but his playing time decreased down the stretch. And he is 2-for-13 against Pirates starter Gerrit Cole. Coghlan told ESPN he wants to be in there: “I feel like I’m one of the best eight guys out there.” La Stella, who batted .269 in just 33 games, could get the nod at third base, with Kris Bryant going to left and Kyle Schwarber to right, reports said. Both Coghlan and La Stella are left-handed hitters. … Wonder if the Pirates have forgotten that it was Coghlan’s take out slide that ended shortstop Jung Ho Kang’s season on Sept. 17? No one called it a dirty play, but still, it might be a motivating factor. Clint Hurdle’s Pirates may need all the cosmic help they can summon against Jake Arrieta. … Tony Sipp appeared to be amped up – perhaps too much — for his appearance in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game. The animated lefty out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College registered a scoreless seventh inning in Houston’s 3-0 win over New York at Yankee Stadium, but it took him 23 pitches to get four batters. He threw only 11 strikes. Facing the Nos. 5-8 hitters, starting with ex-M-Braves star Brian McCann, Sipp fanned one and walked one. But he got the hold. In 10 appearances in September and October, Sipp yield just one run. … Blast from the past: The Astros’ coaching staff includes former Jackson Generals hitting coach Dave Hudgens and ex-Jackson Mets catcher Alan Zinter. … Houston will face Kansas City – managed by another old JaxMets catcher, Ned Yost – in the AL Division Series. The Royals’ roster is expected to include former Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson but apparently not former Pillow Academy standout Louis Coleman. Coleman appeared in just four games at season’s end, posting a 0.00 ERA. M-Braves product Kris Medlen likely will be on the roster; he went 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 15 games coming off Tommy John surgery. He is 40-22, 3.06 career. Still wondering why Atlanta let him go.

03 Oct

ups and downs

McComb’s Jarrod Dyson got two hits and scored a run and Schlater’s Louis Coleman got two outs and picked up a win as Kansas City beat Minnesota 3-1 on Friday night. While it was a good day for those two Mississippi natives, it was not so good for another involved in that game. Tupelo’s Brian Dozier went 0-for-4 for the Twins in a loss that seriously damaged their wild card chances in the American League. Ned Yost’s Royals kept pace with Toronto in the battle for the best record in the AL. Both are 93-67. John Gibbons’ Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay 8-4; Pascagoula native Joey Butler went 1-for-4 in a rare start for the Rays. Elsewhere in the mad playoff scramble, Amory’s Mitch Moreland took an 0-for-4 as his Texas Rangers fell 2-1 to the Los Angeles Angels, who kept the Rangers from clinching the AL West and stayed on the heels of Houston in the wild card race. The Astros went off for 21 runs at Arizona; so much for missing the DH. In a National League game that had nothing to do with anything, McComb’s Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a homer (No. 9), a double (No. 17), two RBIs and two runs as Colorado beat San Francisco. Dickerson is batting .306 now as he tries to finish strong in an injury-marred campaign. P.S. Not to be overlooked in Atlanta’s lost season is the recent play of former Mississippi Braves standout Daniel Castro, who went 3-for-5 with his second homer of the year as the Braves whipped St. Louis 4-0. Castro, a middle infielder, is now hitting .261 in 31 games. The Mexico native batted .277 in 51 games with the M-Braves in 2014 and .389 in 23 games this year before he was moved to Triple-A Gwinnett. Maybe the Braves will keep him around. Maybe.

01 Oct

blast from past

It was an attention-grabber as the words crawled along the bottom of the TV screen on Wednesday night. “The Los Angeles Angels have selected the contract of Jo-Jo Reyes from Triple-A Salt Lake … .” Jo-Jo Reyes? Where’s he been? Left-hander Reyes, Mississippi Braves fans may recall, was an ace for the M-Braves in 2007, going 8-1 with a 3.56 ERA as the team won the first-half championship in the Southern League South. He made his MLB debut with Atlanta that same year and rattled around the big leagues for much of the next four years without great success (12-26, 6.05 ERA in 70 games). He spent all of 2012 in the minors, went to Korea for a time in 2013 and ’14 and began this year in Mexico. The Angels signed him in June and, still only 30 years old, he went 4-5, 4.76 at Salt Lake. Then came Wednesday’s call from the big league club, which is embroiled in a battle to make the postseason. “We need arms,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times. P.S. Reyes did not pitch on Wednesday, but seven other former M-Braves did, with Williams Perez getting a win and Arodys Vizcaino a save for Atlanta and Randall Delgado a win (his eighth) for Arizona. Charlie Morton, who was on that ’07 M-Braves club with Reyes, started for Pittsburgh in Game 2 of a twinbill and got knocked around by St. Louis in its National League Central Division-clinching victory.