Tag Archives: Mississippi Braves

24 Apr

around the horn

It’s a day for letting baseball just flow over you. … Rubber game today in Hattiesburg with the Conference USA lead at stake. Kirk McCarty (3-0, 3.51 ERA) for Southern Miss vs. Ricardo Salinas (6-1, 3.60) for Rice in what has been a pitching-dominated series at Taylor Park. … Mississippi State goes for a sweep at LSU. Reid Humphreys, the ex-Northwest Rankin High star, got an RBI and the save in Saturday’s 2-1 win. For the year, he’s hitting .328 with 15 doubles, four homers and 31 RBIs and he has five saves. … Ole Miss, going for a sweep against Auburn in Oxford, now has won 30 games for 19 straight seasons. Impressive. … Delta State left-hander Tre Hobbs beat Valdosta State in Cleveland on Saturday to improve to 11-1 with a 2.46 ERA and eight complete games. Nationally ranked in NCAA Division II, DSU is 32-13, 21-8 Gulf South. … There was a celebration in Itta Bena on Saturday. By Alabama State, which clinched the SWAC East with a 10-0 win over hapless Mississippi Valley State. ASU (17-0 in the league) won Friday’s opener 12-0. … William Carey University improved to 34-15 and 16-7 in the Southern States Athletic Conference by sweeping Brewton-Parker in Hattiesburg. The NAIA nationally ranked Crusaders are hitting .327 with 390 runs. … Millsaps’ season ended with a 13-11 loss to Birmingham-Southern in the Southern Athletic Association tournament. The Majors finished 20-21. … Belhaven lost its home finale to McMurry at Smith-Wills Stadium on Saturday, saying goodbye to 11 seniors and paying special tribute to Devin McCann, who died in a car accident just before the season began. … Mississippi College stopped an 11-game GSC losing streak with a 3-2 win against Lee in Clinton on Saturday. The Choctaws go for the series win today at Frierson Field. … Former Ole Miss star Chris Ellis, bucking for a call-up to the big leagues, threw six brilliant innings for the Mississippi Braves against Biloxi at Trustmark Park on Saturday. He got a no-decision in a game the M-Braves would ultimately lose but is 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA in four Double-A starts. He got a long look with Atlanta in spring training. … Ex-State standout Chad Girodo’s stay in MLB was short but sweet. He threw two scoreless innings in his debut for Toronto against Oakland on Friday but was shipped back to the minors on Saturday. … UM product Zack Cozart went 3-for-5 in Cincinnati’s 13-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday and is now batting .400 (20-for-50) on the year with a homer, five RBIs and 10 runs. … Anthony Alford, the former Mr. Baseball from Petal and a top-rated Toronto prospect, has not played since suffering a leg injury in his first game of the season at Class A Dunedin. The Blue Jays have been silent on his status.

22 Apr

together again

Mississippi Braves vs. Biloxi Shuckers. We want this to be a rivalry. Rivalries are good. They demand attention. Remember Jackson-Shreveport from the old Texas League days? The M-Braves and Shuckers meet for the first time in 2016 tonight at Trustmark Park. They split their 24 meetings in 2015, but, M-Braves fans should recall, the Shuckers clinched — and celebrated — the Southern League South first-half championship at the TeePee last June. So, there’s that. Biloxi comes in tonight leading the SL South at 11-3. The M-Braves are last at 5-10. The Shuckers again feature a bevy of top Milwaukee prospects, including No. 2 Brett Phillips, who is batting .311 with a homer and eight RBIs, and right-hander Adrian Houser, tonight’s starter, who is 0-1, 5.73 ERA. Biloxi has three of the SL’s top 10 hitters: Phillips, Victor Roache (.333) and Javier Betancourt (.314). The M-Braves have one: Ozzie Albies, who’s third at .350. Both teams pitch pretty well, ranking second (Biloxi) and fourth in the league in ERA. Lucas Sims, one of several pitching prospects on the M-Braves’ roster, gets the start in Game 1; he is 0-2, 1.84. P.S. Big league chew: Ex-Ole Miss star and veteran big leaguer Alex Presley got a hit in his Milwaukee debut on Thursday. … Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson is 3-for-9 with two steals since Kansas City activated him from the disabled list. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton has a thumb injury (from last week’s home run-robbing catch) that is keeping him out of the Cincinnati lineup. … Former Pillow Academy standout Louis Coleman has been placed on the bereavement list by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

21 Apr

check and check

It had been a while since Kendall Graveman last posted a win. It had been a whole lot longer since he took a bat to home plate. The former Mississippi State standout now with the Oakland A’s did both at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. Graveman beat New York for his first win since last July 4 – a span of 10 starts – and, because the A’s had to put their DH on the field, he batted for the first time since he was in high school in Alabama, eight years ago. He struck out against Nathan Eovaldi. What Graveman did on the bump made that AB totally irrelevant. The right-hander went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and a run with a career-best eight strikeouts in the 5-2 victory. Graveman is 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts for the A’s. Former Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan drove in the game-tying run, scored the go-ahead run and made a big defensive play at third base in the seventh inning. P.S. Also notching a big win on Wednesday was Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz, who struck out a career-high 10 in San Diego’s 8-2 decision against Pittsburgh. Lefty Pomeranz, 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in his first season with the Padres, yielded four hits and an unearned run in 6 2/3 innings. … So far, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ idea of trying Jordan Schafer as a pitcher is working just fine. The former Mississippi Braves and big league outfielder, a left-hander, has a 0.00 ERA and six strikeouts over seven innings for Double-A Tulsa. He is a .228 career big league hitter.

17 Apr

searching …

Trustmark Park is not a great place to find your offense, but the Mississippi Braves open a 10-game homestand tonight desperately searching. The M-Braves, off to a 2-8 start, are batting .218 and have scored just 27 runs, ninth in the 10-team Southern League. Nine of those runs came in one game, a win at Montgomery on Friday. Maybe that was a sign that a breakout is imminent. There are only 10 position players among the top 30 prospects (as rated by mlb.com) in Atlanta’s refurbished minor league system, and three of them are playing for the M-Braves. No. 3 Ozzie Albies is off to a fine start, batting .310. No. 21 Dustin Peterson also has played well, hitting .308 with a homer (in Friday’s game) and seven RBIs. No. 24 Johan Camargo, like Albies and Peterson, playing his first Double-A season, has scuffled (.179). The pitching depth in the Braves’ system is impressive, but they’re going to have to produce some hitters, too. There are less-heralded players on the M-Braves’ roster who could be part of the rebuild in Atlanta but who need to get it going. First baseman Jacob Schrader, who hit .268 and belted 15 homers at Class A Carolina in 2015, has hit one bomb this year (Friday in Montgomery) and is batting just .214. Third baseman Carlos Franco, who had 11 homers at Carolina last year, is still looking for his first in Mississippi and is hitting .125. Infielder Emerson Landoni, a .297 hitter for the M-Braves a year ago, is at .118. Outfielder Dian Toscano, the 27-year-old Cuban signee, is 1-for-8 in his two games since being activated, though the one hit was a two-run triple in that Friday game at Montgomery. He’s one to watch. Outfielder Connor Lien had good numbers at Carolina in 2015 (.285, nine homers, 32 steals) but is currently on the disabled list. He could boost the attack, too, whenever he returns. The M-Braves’ pitching staff, armed with prospects, has a 3.19 ERA. If they could only get them some runs. P.S. On Chattanooga’s roster is former Ole Miss star Stuart Turner, a catcher who is batting .364, ranking among the SL leaders. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore is hitting .282 with a home run and seven RBIs in eight games at Triple-A Gwinnett. Former M-Braves third baseman Rio Ruiz is hitting .314 for the G-Braves; he hit .229 in Pearl last season. … Dansby Swanson, the Braves’ No. 1 prospect, is killing it at Carolina, hitting .350 in 10 games for the high-A club.

12 Apr

tilting at curveballs

The biggest disappointment in the big leagues so far would have to be Minnesota, which is 0-7. Ex-Southern Miss star and Twins second baseman Brian Dozier was quoted during spring training as saying, “The last couple years, we thought we would be good, but this year we expect it.” Like his team, 2015 All-Star Dozier isn’t meeting expectations: .192 with a solo homer. … Among the surprises in MLB is Cincinnati, off to a 5-2 start. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart is batting .412, and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton, while hitting just .176, has contributed a homer, a steal, three walks and four runs. … The only thing Jonathan Papelbon has throttled this season for Washington has been opposing batters. The former Mississippi State star has saved all four of the Nationals’ wins, allowing just one run. … Tampa Bay wanted power from ex-Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson, and the ex-Colorado slugger has delivered with three homers through six games. He has only two other hits, however. … McComb native Jarrod Dyson is 1-for-4 with two walks in two rehab games at Triple-A Omaha; no definite return date has been set for the Kansas City Royals speedster. … Former Mississippi Braves star Mallex Smith’s line from his MLB debut for Atlanta on Monday: 1 hit, 1 run, 1 caught stealing, 5 stitches in his forehead. But, he may start again tonight. … Though the M-Braves are 1-4, don’t blame Ozzie Albies or Chris Ellis for the poor record. Albies, the flashy shortstop prospect, is batting .364. Ellis, the highly touted Ole Miss alum, won his only start, throwing six shutout innings. … Petal High product and Toronto prospect Anthony Alford, injured (leg) in Class A Dunedin’s opener last week, is on the club’s 7-day disabled list. Alford’s Dunedin teammate D.J. Davis, a Stone County alum, is off to a 3-for-21 start. … Not only does the Magnolia State have three nationally ranked NCAA Division I teams, but D-II Delta State is 26-11, NAIA William Carey is 29-13 and jucos Jones County and Meridian are 31-3 and 26-6, respectively. … On the schedule today are two interesting intrastate matchups: Mississippi Valley State visits Delta State at Ferriss Field in Cleveland and Mississippi College and Millsaps hook up at Twenty Field in Jackson in a Maloney Trophy Series game.

04 Apr

numbers to crunch

0 – Hits allowed by Hinds Community College’s Quinton Logan and Carlisle Koestler in a 4-1 win vs. Coahoma on Saturday.
1 – Losses in MACJC play by first-place Jones County JC, which has won 11 league games and is 28-2 overall.
4 – Wins for Kenny Wright and saves for Chris Guerin after the Millsaps duo combined to beat Sewanee 2-1 on Sunday and complete a Southern Athletic Association sweep at Twenty Field.
5 – Mississippi State’s rank (same as last week) in Baseball America’s poll after the Bulldogs whipped nationally ranked Ole Miss two of three in Starkville over the weekend.
6 – Number of former Mississippi Braves, including recent addition John Gant, on Atlanta’s opening day roster.
8 – Years since the Mississippi Braves won their only Southern League pennant. With an initial roster that includes two top 10 Atlanta prospects (Sean Newcomb and Ozzie Albies) and several other top 30-types from a replenished farm system, this year’s club could be a contender.
10 – Consecutive wins in Gulf South Conference play for nationally ranked Delta State, which swept Christian Brothers in Cleveland over the weekend to improve to 16-5 in the league and 23-10 overall.
17 – Hits by Southern Miss, including four by Tim Lynch, in a 16-6, sweep-completing win at Charlotte on Sunday. USM (22-7) has won six of seven games heading into Tuesday’s College Series clash with Ole Miss (21-7 with five losses in six games) at Pearl’s Trustmark Park.
25 – Wins for William Carey, which got a big hit from RBI leader Tyler Richardson in a 7-6, Southern States Athletic Conference series-clinching win against NAIA No. 3 Faulkner in Hattiesburg on Sunday. The Crusaders are 25-12.

02 Apr

read all about it

The new Baseball America is here! The new Baseball America is here! Well, it’s not quite that exciting, but the arrival of the bi-weekly magazine in the mailbox – the one sitting on a pole down by the street — does provide a little kick. There on the cover of the latest edition (April 8-22) is a picture of a gaggle of Atlanta Braves prospects, including Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star whose pro debut in 2015 was such a smash. As the Braves build toward the future, Riley already rates among the top position player prospects in a stacked farm system. A third baseman drafted 41st overall, Riley hit .304 with 12 home runs over two levels last summer. He might someday fill out an Atlanta infield that will include Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, who also appear on the BA cover and will appear with the Mississippi Braves sometime soon. There is more treasure inside. John Manuel, BA’s editor in chief, throws out some preseason candidates for minor league player of the year, and two Mississippians are on the short list: Petal’s Anthony Alford and Gulfport’s Bobby Bradley. Alford, an outfielder in Toronto’s system, is expected to play at the Double-A level this year; reports are he is close to big league-ready. Bradley, a first baseman with Cleveland, might make Double-A this summer; he is only 19 but already drawing raves about his power potential. Found on an inside page is a chart of the top catchers in the minors who will vie for the Captain’s Catcher’s Award, which recognizes defensive skills. Ex-Ole Miss star Stuart Turner made the list; he played at Double-A Chattanooga in the Minnesota organization in 2015. This issue of BA also has the chart of minor league managers and coaches. Among the familiar names: Al Pedrique, Stu Cliburn, Jody Davis, Rick Sweet, Gary Allenson, Joe Mikulik, Phillip Wellman, Paul Phillips, Jeff Ware, Scott Thorman … . Ah, ’tis the season.

31 Mar

just get on base

Billy Hamilton certainly has had an impact in the big leagues. In 279 games over parts of three seasons in Cincinnati, the ex-Taylorsville High star has 126 stolen bases and 137 runs. He also makes a lot of catches in center field. But he could do so much more. As a rival scout notes in the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview issue (March 28), Hamilton needs to draw more walks and learn how to bunt. Hamilton, a .242 career hitter, has walked just 64 times in over 1,000 plate appearances. On the occasion when he puts down just a decent bunt, he is impossible to throw out. (Two years ago in spring training, batting lefty, he was timed at 3.3 seconds to first base. That is “ludicrous speed,” to borrow from Space Balls.) Coming back from shoulder surgery, Hamilton has eased into this spring. For what it’s worth, his numbers aren’t great. After a 2-for-5 effort on Wednesday, he is batting .195. He has one walk in 42 plate appearances. He has only tried one steal – yes, he made it – but he has flashed his speed with two triples and four doubles among his eight hits. There’s something about Hamilton – all 160 pounds of him – that makes you want to pull for him. If Hamilton can just get on base a little more, he could be an All-Star. As that scout writes in SI: “I’ll take the bet on him.” P.S. Jose Peraza, the former Mississippi Braves standout, is having a great camp with the Reds as he tries to make the roster as a super utility player. Peraza, batting .305, has played shortstop, second base, center field and left field. He’s not as fast as Hamilton, obviously, but he can also fly.

30 Mar

just a wild guess

Purely speculating on the Mississippi Braves’ 2016 Opening Day lineup:

Ozzie Albies, ss
Connor Lien, cf
Dustin Peterson, rf
Jacob Schrader, 1b
Dian Toscano, lf
Rio Ruiz, 3b
Joseph Odom, c
Levi Hyams, 2b
Zack Bird, p

That would be a nice mix of old and new, with hot prospect Albies and Cuban curiosity Toscano rating particular attention. Bird, a former Jackson Murrah High star, would be a cool choice to start Game 1. New M-Braves manager Luis Salazar will pencil in the actual lineup on April 7, when the M-Braves host Pensacola to begin their 12th season at Trustmark Park in Pearl. … Former Mississippi State standout Brandon Woodruff looks like a candidate for the Biloxi Shuckers’ rotation this year. The right-hander from Wheeler pitched at Class A Brevard County in the Milwaukee system last season and went 4-7, 3.45 ERA in 21 games, 19 starts. Biloxi opens at MGM Park on April 7 against Chattanooga. P.S. Good to see that Atlanta added Jeff Francoeur of the original M-Braves (2005) to the big league roster. “For me, it’s going to be really cool on Monday running out there back at Turner Field,” he told mlb.com. Now if the Braves could find a way to bring back Brian McCann, Gregor Blanco, Martin Prado, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward, Yunel Escobar, Kris Medlen, Tommy LaStella, Phil Gosselin, Jose Peraza … . Longtime M-Braves outfielder Mycal Jones has signed with Somerset of the independent Atlantic League, and Luis Hernandez, another original M-Brave, signed with Bridgeport of that same league.

17 Mar

now playing shortstop …

When the Mississippi Braves open the 2016 season on April 7 at Trustmark Park, keep an eye on the shortstop. He’s a heckuva player. As of today, we have no clear indication who the shortstop for the Double-A club will be, but we do know that he’s a heckuva player. It might be Dansby Swanson, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect. First pick in the 2015 MLB draft by Arizona. Former All-SEC star and College World Series MVP at Vanderbilt. But Swanson, 22, played in short-season Class A last year, and even though he has played a lot – and well — for the big league club in spring training, Braves brass might opt to start him in A-ball. So … the M-Braves’ shortstop might be Ozzie Albies, rated Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect on the mlb.com chart. The Curacao native, who also has been impressive in big league camp, played at low-A Rome in 2015. A switch-hitter, he batted .310 with eight triples and 29 steals. And yes, he can pick it. But Albies is only 19, and the Braves might be considering shifting him to second base. It’s possible he’ll start the year at high-A Carolina. So … the M-Braves’ shortstop might be Johan Camargo. The Panama native doesn’t get the kind of attention lavished on Swanson and Albies, but he’s certainly no slouch. Rated the No. 25 Atlanta prospect, the switch-hitting Camargo, 22, batted .258 with six triples, 32 RBIs and 50 runs for the Carolina Mudcats in 2015. He was a Carolina League midseason and end-of-year All-Star and was selected for the Arizona Fall League. So … it might be Swanson … could be Albies … maybe Camargo. However it shakes out, the guy at shortstop on April 7 will be worth watching. P.S. The M-Braves have had a succession of quality shortstops, including Luis Hernandez, Yunel Escobar, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Pastornicky, Andrelton Simmons, Ed Lucas and Daniel Castro, all of whom have played in the big leagues.