M-Braves Archives - Page 37 of 42 - All Mississippi Baseball

27 May

change in the wind

Maybe Jason Hursh has started to turn it around. Maybe the Mississippi Braves right-hander will take another step in the right direction tonight at Trustmark Park when he faces Pensacola in the opener of an 11-game homestand. Hursh, Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2013 and a highly rated prospect, has had a rough go in his second tour of Double-A ball. Through nine starts, Hursh is 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA. He has worked only 39 2/3 innings, with 25 strikeouts and 21 walks. The Oklahoma State alum went 11-7, 3.58 for the M-Braves in 2014. “(A) little adversity sometimes helps,” Hursh told milb.com recently. Maybe. For sure, Hursh’s last two outings have been solid. He beat Pensacola on May 16, throwing six shutout innings. He went 6 1/3 against Jacksonville last Thursday, allowing 10 hits but just two runs in a no-decision. Hursh, 23, is in a big group of young arms the Braves are counting on to emerge in their rotation over the next couple of years. But he needs to step it up. Refining his off-speed pitches (curveball and changeup) are the keys to his advancement, according to mlb.com’s preseason scouting report. Hursh will take the hill tonight for an M-Braves team that went 6-4 on its road trip and is 24-20 on the season, trailing first-place Biloxi (27-18) by 2½ games in the Southern League South. Mallex Smith continues to ignite the M-Braves’ attack with a .345 average and 15 steals. Eric Garcia is batting .340, Matt Lipka .286. The club, as well as the organization, are still waiting for a breakout from prospect Rio Ruiz (.169). P.S. M-Braves fans know the TeePee doesn’t give up a lot of home runs. For the record, the Pearl ballpark yielded 0.57 homers per game in 2014, the lowest average (by a good margin) among all Double-A and Triple-A stadiums, according to a recent Baseball America feature.

13 May

building blocks

The Atlanta Braves’ flurry of off-season player moves was made with the idea of creating a foundation for 2017, when the team will move into a new stadium in the suburbs. Two of the building blocks in this process produced some solid results for the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. Outfielder Mallex Smith (acquired from San Diego) went 3-for-7 with a two-run home run and two runs scored and pitcher Tyrell Jenkins (acquired from St. Louis) threw a seven-inning complete game as the M-Braves swept Mobile, winning both games 2-1. The 5-foot-9 Smith, who stole 88 bases in A-ball in 2014, currently has a nine-game hitting streak (14-for-36) and has boosted his average to .333. He has two homers, 12 RBIs, 18 runs and eight steals. Smith, who turned 22 on May 6, could well be Atlanta’s center fielder in 2017. Jenkins could be in the ATL by then, as well. The 6-4 right-hander checked the BayBears on seven hits and no walks in Tuesday’s opener, his best overall outing of 2015. Jenkins, who tossed six shutout innings in his previous start, is 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA in seven games. He fanned four on Tuesday, giving him 23 K’s (with 14 walks) in 38 innings. The former four-sport Texas prep star is in his sixth pro season but is only 22. P.S. Might be a neat footnote in history someday: Chris Coghlan, the former Ole Miss star, hit the first MLB homer off Noah Syndergaard on Tuesday. Coghlan’s Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets and their latest star call-up 6-1. … Ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College standout Jarrod Dyson hasn’t capitalized on the playing time he has gotten with Kansas City of late. He is hitting .222 with three runs and two steals in his last 10 games and is at .204 with eight and five for the year. … UM products Lance Lynn (St. Louis) and Drew Pomeranz (Oakland) picked up long-awaited second wins on Tuesday.

10 May

wow!

What a Saturday in Mississippi. In Oxford, there was the jaw-dropping comeback by Ole Miss to sweep the series against Mississippi State. In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss made a comeback of its own to beat Charlotte and extend its win streak to eight games. And in Raymond, Hinds Community College blasted Northwest Mississippi 14-3 to claim its eighth state championship. Hinds, 41-5 and ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II, went 3-0 in the MACJC tourney, getting outstanding pitching efforts from Randy Bell, Derek Martin and Casey Sutton. Quade Smith was the hitting hero in the finale, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. USM, now 30-16-1 and 15-10 C-USA, got brilliant mound work from Cody Carroll, Luke Lowery and Ryan Milton in Friday’s 1-0 win over Charlotte. Down 5-0 early on Saturday, the Eagles rallied to win 11-10 in 10 innings, Michael Sterling scoring the game-winner on a throwing error that followed an infield hit by Connor Barron. Game 3 of that series is today. But, of course, the events at Oxford-University Stadium, witnessed by crowds totaling 27,871, trumped all. On Thursday, the Rebels (28-24, 14-13 SEC) got two big hits and three RBIs from Errol Robinson in a 4-3 win. On Friday, Sikes Orvis belted a home run and drove in four runs all told in a 13-10 victory. And on Saturday, down 7-2 in the ninth, the Rebels battled back against a crumbling State bullpen to win 8-7 in 10 innings. Colby Bortles had a game-tying, two-out, two-run hit in the ninth, and Nic Perkins knocked in the game-winner in the 10th. Orvis had two more homers on Saturday, boosting his total to 14. Wyatt Short, the sophomore left-hander from Southaven, worked a perfect 10th to earn the win on Saturday after notching saves on both Thursday and Friday. Short is 4-1 with nine saves. The devastated Bulldogs fell to 24-27, 8-19 and are in real danger of missing the SEC Tournament. P.S. Worth noting: In Pearl on Saturday, the Mississippi Braves beat the Biloxi Shuckers 5-2 in 10 innings to clinch the series with Game 5 still to play today. The M-Braves lost the inaugural game between the two Southern League clubs on Wednesday but have now won three straight.

06 May

something new — sorta

The first of presumably many Mississippi Braves-Biloxi Shuckers games will go down tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Perhaps a rivalry will develop, who knows? The teams are in the same division – the South – in the Southern League, and the Shuckers (a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate) are tied for first with a 16-9 record despite playing only road games. (This five-game series was supposed to be played on the Coast, but MGM Park isn’t finished yet.) The M-Braves are 11-12 and in the midst of a 15-game homestand. Intra-state battles among professional clubs were once a common thing in Mississippi. The last time Biloxi had a minor league team was in 1908, when the Gulfport-Biloxi Sand Crabs played in the Cotton States League, which included the Jackson Senators, as well as teams in Vicksburg, Columbus and Meridian. The Cotton States League, a low-level minor league which operated off and on from 1902-55, also had teams at various times in Cleveland, Clarksdale, Greenville, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Natchez, Yazoo City, Laurel and Brookhaven. In 1921, the Mississippi State League consisted of four Magnolia State cities: Jackson, Clarksdale, Greenwood and Meridian. Jackson, Meridian and Vicksburg also had teams at times in the Southeastern League, which operated in the early to mid-1900s. As recently as 2000, the independent Texas-Louisiana League included the Jackson DiamondKats and the Greenville Bluesmen. In 1997, the indy Big South League featured teams in Meridian, Greenville and Tupelo. Still, Game 1 of the Mississippi-Biloxi series is something special. The pitching matchup tonight could be a good one: Jason Hursh (0-1, 8.50 ERA), an Atlanta prospect, against Brooks Hall (3-0, 0.96). The Shuckers’ Orlando Arcia, rated the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect by mlb.com, is second in the SL in hitting at .381, and Nick Ramirez is tied for the league lead with six home runs. P.S. Former M-Braves star Jose Peraza, Atlanta’s top prospect, is on a roll at Triple-A Gwinnett. The second baseman is batting .394 over his last 10 games and is at .320 for the year, with two triples, nine steals and 12 runs in 25 games.

30 Apr

taking off

Matt Lipka has been bouncing around the Atlanta Braves’ minor league system since 2010 with mixed results. He is a career .257 hitter but has hit as high as .288 in a season. He has stolen as many as 37 bags in one year. He has always been regarded as one of the organization’s best athletes, but his progress has been stalled by injuries. Yet Lipka is only 23, and in his second crack at Double-A, he is off to a flying start in what could be a crucial year. The Mississippi Braves outfielder, who goes 6 feet 1, 200 pounds, is hitting .368 with four RBIs and six runs. He takes a 12-game hit streak into tonight’s game at Trustmark Park. Lipka was a prep baseball and football star in Texas who was bound for Alabama before the Braves made him the 35th overall pick in the 2010 draft. He reached Double-A in 2014, but a hand injury ended his time with the M-Braves after 28 games. This year, he has teamed with David Rohm (.296) and Mallex Smith (.322) to give the M-Braves a highly productive outfield. The M-Braves, who have lost five in a row to fall to 9-9, are digging in for a 15-game homestand that starts with a five-game series against old rival Montgomery. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland of the Texas Rangers had minor elbow surgery on Wednesday and will be out up to three weeks, according to reports.

20 Apr

ballpark fare

Yes, tonight is Free Hot Dog Night at Trustmark Park. On Tuesday, there is a cap giveaway, and then there’s Thirsty Thursday and Friday Night Fireworks. Just in case you needed some other reason to head out to the ballpark in Pearl this week, the Mississippi Braves are hosting what Baseball America touts as one of the most talented teams in the minors. The Chattanooga Lookouts, now a Minnesota Twins affiliate, feature No. 2 overall prospect Byron Buxton, No. 13 Miguel Sano and No. 36 Jose Berrios, plus quite a few more of the Twins’ top prospects. Buxton, an outfielder with all the tools, is batting just .225. Third baseman Sano is at .200 with two homers, and Berrios is 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, No. 8 on Minnesota’s list, is hitting .324, and Ole Miss product Stuart Turner (No. 13) is batting .250. The Lookouts’ top hitter is Dalton Hicks at .385. Of course, the home team also trots out a few prospects, including right-hander Jason Hursh (Atlanta’s No. 6), third baseman Rio Ruiz (No. 10) and center fielder Mallex Smith. Hot hitters for the M-Braves, off to a 5-4 start, include Chris O’Dowd, who is 6-for-13 with a homer and seven RBIs; Matt Lipka (.393); Daniel Castro (.361); and Smith (.361, six steals, nine runs). In tonight’s series opener at 7 p.m., Hursh (0-1, 9.00) faces Chattanooga’s Tyler Duffey (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 13 2/3 innings).

15 Apr

at a glance

Too early to draw any conclusions about the 2015 Mississippi Braves, but it is clear that their starting pitching needs to improve. Four of the five, including Jason Hursh and Tyrell Jenkins, had rough first outings as the M-Braves dropped three of five to Tennessee to open the season at Trustmark Park. The M-Braves, typically near the top of the Southern League in staff ERA, are last with a 5.20. They’ve walked 27 batters in 45 innings. The offense is batting just .214 but has managed to score 23 runs, fourth in the league, and swipe seven bases, tops in the SL. Returnees David Rohm and Daniel Castro are hitting .417 and .389, and newcomer Kyeong “K.D.” Kang is at .250 with the team’s lone homer and four RBIs. Touted prospects Rio Ruiz (.222) and Mallex Smith (.188) have started slowly. The M-Braves begin a five-game series today at Jackson (Tenn.). P.S. The list of M-Braves alumni to reach the majors has topped 90 with the appearances this season of Brandon Cunniff and Cody Martin with Atlanta, Sean Gilmartin with the New York Mets and J.R. Graham with Minnesota.

08 Apr

so much to remember

The year 2015 brings a bonanza of significant anniversaries for Mississippi pro baseball teams.
On April 19, 1975, 40 years ago, the Jackson Mets played their first game at Smith-Wills Stadium, beating the Arkansas Travelers 6-4 before a crowd of 2,862. Managed by John Antonelli, the original JaxMets went 65-65 and did not make the Texas League postseason. It was not a club of future big league stars. It was a club of Mike Agosto, Craig Casek and Angel Cantres, the team leaders in homers, average and RBIs. There was also Craig Clark, Rich Miller, Randy Trapp and Carlos Sagredo. Jeff Grose went 13-8 with a 3.54 ERA, and Mississippian Bobby Myrick won seven games.
In 1985, 30 years ago, the Jackson Mets won a Texas League championship, the franchise’s third pennant and second in a row under manager Sam Perlozzo. The tone was set in the home opener at Smith-Wills, when Biloxi native and Delta State product Barry Lyons hit a walk-off home run. Lyons, who batted .307 with 11 bombs and 108 RBIs, was one of a bunch of future big leaguers on that club. Some others: Mark Carreon, Keith Miller, Greg Olson, Randy Milligan, Stanley Jefferson and DeWayne Vaughn.
Fifteen years later — in the year 2000 — after Jackson’s Texas League team had moved away to Round Rock, Texas, the DiamondKats took up residence at Smith-Wills for one largely forgettable campaign. The independent club, managed by ex-Ole Miss and MLB star Steve Dillard, posted a 38-74 record and was outscored by almost 200 runs. Crowds were sparse. Some players did manage to shine, however. Mark Carreon, at age 36, joined the team late in the season and hit .340 in 42 games. Casey Myrick batted .329 with nine homers and 56 RBIs, and Jeremy McClain, another Delta State product, went 7-9 with a 3.27 ERA. The roster also included Popeye Cole, Willie Gardner, Jimbo Pinnix, Perry Miley and Rusty Camp, all Mississippi natives.
And 10 years ago, a new era dawned when Double-A baseball returned to central Mississippi. The Mississippi Braves trotted out a team on opening day at brand new Trustmark Park in Pearl that would produce 10 major league players, including Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Gregor Blanco, Blaine Boyer, Luis Hernandez, Scott Thorman, Macay McBride and Zack Miner. But that original group wasn’t together for very long. McCann went to Atlanta in June, and many others would also move up over the next few weeks. The ’05 M-Braves, managed by Brian Snitker, finished 64-68 overall, failing to make the Southern League postseason. Still, it was a great debut act, one that started a steady stream of talent flowing through Pearl to the big leagues.

07 Apr

ten years after

Drumroll, please. As the Mississippi Braves approach the 10th anniversary of the first game at Trustmark Park (April 18), here’s an updated all-time M-Braves team (based on their performance with the Double-A club): At catcher, the great Brian McCann (.265, 6 homers, 26 RBIs in roughly two months in 2005) has to take a backseat to Christian Bethancourt, who went .277, 12, 45 in 2013 and was very good behind the plate. At first base, Ernesto Mejia’s monster season in 2011 will be tough to top; he batted .297 with team records for homers (26) and RBIs (99). Second base belonged to J.C. Holt, who hit .285 with 45 RBIs and 22 steals for the 2008 Southern League championship club, until Tommy La Stella came along in 2013. La Stella batted .343 with four homers, 41 RBIs and 32 runs in 81 games. Tyler Pastornicky still rates the nod at shortstop after batting .299 with six homers, 36 RBIs, 50 runs and 20 steals in 90 games in 2011. Third base goes to Kyle Kubitza, whose 2014 numbers (.295, eight homers, 55 RBIs, 31 doubles, 11 triples, 21 bags) eclipse Wes Timmons’ production in 2005 (.272, seven homers, 34 RBIs and 31 doubles). In the outfield, there’s Matt Young (.289, 10 triples, 81 runs, 42 steals in 2009), Brandon Jones (.293, 15 homers, 74 RBIs, 12 steals in 2007) and Todd Cunningham (.306, 23 doubles, 51 RBIs, 77 runs, 24 steals in 2012). The M-Braves have had so many good arms, it’s hard to whittle the number down to five starters. But here goes: Tommy Hanson, Todd Redmond, Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes and Jason Hursh. Luis Valdez (now known as Jairo Asencio), with his 28 saves in 2008, is the closer. P.S. Amid the new hot prospects and familiar veterans that fill the Mississippi Braves’ 2015 roster, there is one name that sorta jumps out. Who is Kyeong Kang? Well, he is a 27-year-old South Korea native who went to high school in Georgia and junior college in Alabama and has spent eight years in pro ball. He was drafted in the 15th round by Tampa Bay in 2006, played in the MLB Futures Game in 2009 and toiled for the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League from 2011-13. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound left-handed hitting outfielder, Kang has a career .269 average and 68 home runs, with four double-figure dinger seasons. He batted .282 with 12 homers in Double-A with Baltimore in 2014. Atlanta signed him in the off-season. … Former M-Braves Brandon Cunniff and Cody Martin, both looking for their MLB debut, made Atlanta’s opening day roster, and Jeff Francoeur, an original M-Brave from 2005, made Philadelphia’s club.

14 Mar

connected

Hundreds of players have passed through Trustmark Park in the 10 years that the Mississippi Braves have called the Pearl ballpark home. The number of those who have advanced to the big leagues is approaching 90, and they are now scattered all over the landscape. Just check the spring training box scores: Brian McCann — the first to break through the pipeline to The Show back in 2005 — and Chasen Shreve are with the New York Yankees, and Todd Redmond pitches for Toronto, Zeke Spruill for Boston. Minnesota is trotting out Jordan Schafer and Blaine Boyer. J.C. Boscan is in camp with Kansas City, which signed rehabbing Kris Medlen and just lost Tim Collins to Tommy John surgery. Brett Oberholtzer is a starter for Houston, which has also added Evan Gattis and James Hoyt. Antoan Richardson recently earned a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster, and the Rangers also have Ed Lucas and the oft-injured Matt Harrison in camp. Cory Rasmus is with the Los Angeles Angels, and Kyle Kubitza has gotten a long look in their camp. Jesus Sucre is with Seattle. Jeff Francoeur is fighting for a job with Philadelphia, as is Paul Clemens. Martin Prado and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are regulars for Miami, and Yunel Escobar is slated to play second base in Washington. Sean Gilmartin is trying to make the New York Mets as a Rule 5 pick. Jason Heyward is wearing St. Louis red, Tommy La Stella Chicago Cubs blue. Charlie Morton is in Pittsburgh’s rotation, and J.J. Hoover works out of Cincinnati’s bullpen. Gus Schlosser is now slinging it for Colorado, and so is David Hale. Gregor Blanco has won two rings with San Francisco, and the Giants also have Erik Cordier and Brandon Hicks in camp. Arizona has Randall Delgado. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed rehabbing Brandon Beachy and also have Ryan Buchter on their roster. After all the Atlanta Braves’ off-season wheeling and dealing, there are 18 M-Braves alums still on their 40-man plus several more who have been in big league camp much of the spring. You can hardly watch a game without seeing a player you saw at the TeePee. We had the same cool connection with the Jackson Mets and Generals, all of whom are gone from the big leagues now. We’ll be watching ex-M-Braves for a long time to come. And more future big leaguers will hit the field on April 9, when the M-Braves start the 2015 season. P.S. Yes, if anyone’s wondering, the Johnny Monell now playing for the New York Mets is the son of the Johnny Monell who played for the JaxMets in the late 1980s.