Tag Archives: Mississippi State

16 Jun

showtime in phoenix

JoJo Parker, the Purvis High star and projected first-round draft pick, is on the list of players from Mississippi schools who have accepted invitations to attend the MLB Draft Combine, which runs Tuesday through Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Tuesday workout will be televised from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. CDT by MLB Network, with former Mississippi State standout and big league manager Buck Showalter among the crew that will provide analysis. Parker, rated the No. 10 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline, is among the players slated to participate in on-field events that will include batting practice and bullpen sessions. A game for the prep players is on tap for Tuesday night. Also scheduled to attend the showcase are Southern Miss’ Jake Cook and J.B. Middleton; Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn and Ben Davis; Ole Miss’ Mason Morris and Luke Hill; and high school grads Jacob Parker (JoJo’s twin from Purvis), Landon Harmon (East Union), Talon Haley (Lewisburg) and Griffin Enis (Corinth). Middleton, a first-team All-America pick and the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner, and Harmon, the ace of East Union’s MHSAA Class 2A state title club, are top 50 draft prospects. In 2024, per an mlb.com story, 224 of the 305 players who participated in the Combine were drafted, including 75 of the first 100 picks. P.S. Austin Riley, Colt Keith and Brent Rooker are among the top 10 vote-getters at their positions in the MLB All-Star Game ballot standings released today. Ex-DeSoto Central High star Riley is seventh in the National League third base voting, while Biloxi High product Keith is sixth and ex-MSU standout Rooker seventh in the voting for American League DH. The All-Star Game is July 15 in Atlanta.

16 Jun

all in a day

On a day when the Rafael Devers trade shook the baseball world, other things did happen throughout the game. Here’s a snapshot of Sunday movers and shakers with Mississippi ties:
In the big leagues, former Mississippi State star Jordan Westburg went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs out of the leadoff spot, driving Baltimore to its third straight win, 11-2 over the Los Angeles Angels. Westburg, who has three homers since coming off the injured list on Tuesday, has seven bombs on the year and has lifted his average to .234.
At Triple-A, Southern Miss alum Hurston Waldrep, who has had a very uneven season for Gwinnett in Atlanta’s system, allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts as the Stripers beat Memphis. Waldrep, a 2023 first-round draftee (out of Florida) and Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect, is 5-5 with a 5.84 ERA.
At Double-A, ex-Ole Miss star Kemp Alderman went 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs for Miami affiliate Pensacola in a win against Rocket City. Alderman, a second-round pick in 2023 after winning the Ferriss Trophy, is batting .290 with seven homers and 30 RBIs for the Blue Wahoos.
At High-Class A, MSU product Khal Stephen improved to 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA for Vancouver, throwing five innings (one run) to beat Spokane. A second-round pick by Toronto in 2024, Stephen is 6-0, 2.10, in 13 games over two levels of A-ball in his pro debut.
At the Low-A level, former MSU standout Connor Hujsak, batting third and playing right field for Charleston, went 1-for-5 with two walks, two RBIs, two runs and two steals in a doubleheader split against Augusta. A 13th-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2024, Hujsak is batting .230 with three homers, 32 RBIs and 14 bags in 58 games this season.
In the unaffiliated Mexican League, Ole Miss product and ex-big leaguer Chris Ellis notched his 12th save with a scoreless ninth for Monterrey in a 3-1 win vs. Queretaro. Ellis, 32 and in his 11th pro season, has a 2.61 ERA over 21 appearances for the Sultans.
And in the independent Frontier League, Brayland Skinner, MSU alum from Lake Cormorant, went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a steal in the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ 11-3 loss at Schaumburg. Skinner, in his second indy ball season, is hitting .310 with a league-best 25 stolen bases.

15 Jun

fathers and sons

There have been a fairly amazing number of father-son duos in major league history — more than 250, according to Baseball Almanac. The Griffeys and the Boones. The Bells and the Alous. More recently, the Guerreros, Witts and Hollidays. As you might figure, several of these father-son duos have had a Mississippi connection. Current Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of ex-big leaguer Charlie Hayes, a Mississippi native who starred at Forrest County AHS in the early 1980s. Harry Walker, Pascagoula native who played 11 years in the big leagues between 1940 and ’55, was the son of Ewart “Dixie” Walker, a Pennsylvania native who pitched in the majors from 1909-12. Crawford native Sam Hairston, one of the first black Mississippians to play in MLB, was the father of two big leaguers and the grandfather of two more. Former Ole Miss star and coach Don Kessinger, an All-Star shortstop in his day, is the father of ex-big leaguer Keith Kessinger, who also played at UM, and the grandfather of Grae Kessinger, an Oxford native and UM alum who was in The Show in 2023-24. Ex-big leaguer Steve Dillard, another former Ole Miss standout, is the father of Tim Dillard, who played at Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College before enjoying a four-year MLB career. Del Unser, who played at Mississippi State en route to a 15-year major league career, is the son of Al Unser, who played four seasons in The Show in the 1940s. (Worth noting is the Magnolia State connection of Boston pitcher Hunter Dobbins, who has been in the news a lot of late after “dissing” the New York Yankees and then beating them twice, including on Saturday. Dobbins’ father, Lance, never made The Show but did pitch for the independent Meridian Brakemen some 30 years ago.) P.S. Konnor Griffin, the ex-Jackson Prep star, hit his first homer in High-Class A on Saturday and is batting .435 in five games since his promotion. Overall, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect is batting .348 with 10 bombs, 41 RBIs and 31 steals in his first pro season. … Tim Elko, the former Ole Miss slugger, was sent back to Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. Elko was hitting just .155 in 58 at-bats, though four of his nine hits were homers.

14 Jun

hard luck

Garrett Crochet, the former Ocean Springs High star, was two outs away from a shutout against the New York Yankees. Boston’s big left-hander was one strike away from punching out Aaron Judge for the fourth time on Friday night at Fenway Park. Then the Yankees slugger did his thing, pulverizing a 3-2 fastball 443 feet over the left-field wall, out of the park, tying the score. Exit Crochet. The Red Sox won the game 2-1 in 10 innings, but Crochet was denied his first career shutout. “Crochet deserved this win, but the team needed it more,” said Boston broadcaster Lou Merloni. The Red Sox are 35-36, in fourth place and 8.5 games back of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. Crochet, in his first year with Boston, has six wins, a 2.24 ERA and a league-leading 117 K’s, seven on Friday. … It was a hard luck day also for former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz. Pitching the 10th inning for the Chicago Cubs, he was on the bump when Pittsburgh’s “ghost runner” — Mississippi State alum Adam Frazier — scored the go-ahead run on a double-play ball. The Pirates held on for a 2-1 win at Wrigley Field. Pomeranz, who had not allowed a run in 18 appearances overall before Friday, gets charged with an unearned run, per the extra-inning rules, as well as the loss. … More hard luck: Gunnar Hoglund, another Ole Miss alum, is done for the season after hip surgery; the right-hander, who made his MLB debut in May after four years in the minors, had a 6.40 ERA in six starts for the A’s. … Luck didn’t smile on ex-Ole Miss ace Ryan Rolison either. Colorado’s rookie lefty gave up four hits, a walk and five runs in the eighth inning at Atlanta during the Braves’ 12-4 win. It didn’t help that the woeful Rockies committed four errors in that frame. P.S. There’s a bundle of state products on the preliminary rosters in the Cape Cod League, which launches its season today. (Note: The rosters can and will change during the summer.) Mississippi State’s Ace Reese, Charlie Foster, Dane Burns and Duke Stone are on the Chatham roster, along with ex-Jackson Prep (and current South Alabama) star Duncan Mathews. Bourne lists Ole Miss’ Campbell Smithwick and Owen Paino and Southern Miss’ Grayden Harris. USM’s Josh Och is on Hyannis’ roster and UM’s Patrick Galle on Wareham’s. Former Mississippi Braves and MLB catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia will manage Falmouth, which lists Grayson Saunier, an ex-Ole Miss pitcher, on its roster.

12 Jun

hey now …

Brent Rooker was an All-Star for the Oakland A’s in 2023 and might be on that path again this season. The former Mississippi State standout had a star-spangled day at the plate on Wednesday, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs and three runs. In his final at-bat, he hit a drive that was caught at the warning track. (Not surprisingly, the lowly A’s lost the game to the Los Angeles Angels 6-5.) Rooker is hitting .276 with 15 bombs and 41 RBIs on the year; he ranks in the top 10 in the American League in homers, RBIs and slugging percentage. Over his last 20 games, he is at .380 with five homers and 17 runs knocked in. But it hasn’t been a streaky kind of season. “I’ve been able to maintain a level of consistency that maybe I haven’t in the past,” Rooker said in an mlb.com article. He batted .293 with 39 homers and 112 RBIs in 2024, winning a Silver Slugger but not making the All-Star Game. He hit .246 with 30 homers in 2023, his first season with the A’s. All-Star Game voting is under way on mlb.com; the game is July 15 in Atlanta. … Elsewhere in The Show, in his season debut with Toronto, Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull pitched two scoreless innings in middle relief and picked up the win as the surging Blue Jays beat St. Louis 5-2. It was his first MLB game since June of last year (see previous posts). P.S. Kudos to six players from Mississippi schools who made the NCBWA Division I All-America teams. Southern Miss’ Nick Monistere and J.B. Middleton (the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner) and MSU’s Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan were named to the first team, USM’s Colby Allen and Ole Miss’ Hunter Elliott to the third team.

11 Jun

whatever happened to …

Cody Reed, 32-year-old left-hander from Horn Lake, is pitching in the independent American Association, four years after he last worked in the big leagues. He has been an effective reliever for the Gary SouthShore RailCats, putting up a 2.38 ERA in 11 2/3 innings over 12 games. Is this a path back to MLB? Teams are always looking for lefty relievers, it seems. Reed was drafted out of Northwest Mississippi Community College in the second round in 2013 by Kansas City. A highly rated prospect, he was traded to Cincinnati in 2015, reached the big leagues in 2016 and made 65 appearances (5.22 ERA) over the next six seasons. Reed was a solid reliever for Tampa Bay in 2021 before an injury (and surgery) halted his season in May. He re-signed with the Rays in 2022, then got hurt again in the spring. He pitched briefly in the minors that season, not at all in 2023 and in Mexico last year. … Scanning the pitching leaders in the AA, there is also Kyle Crigger, an Itawamba CC alum from Corinth who is 4-1 with a 2.16 for Fargo-Moorhead; J.C. Keys, a Hattiesburg native and ex-Southern Miss star who has a 3.86 and one save for Chicago; and Taylor Broadway, a former Ole Miss standout who has a 3.45 for Cleburne. All three pitched in the affiliated minors with some success. P.S. On the subject of pitching, Mississippi State product Khal Stephen made MLB Pipeline’s list of top performers from Tuesday’s games. Currently at High-Class A Vancouver in Toronto’s organization, he threw six shutout innings with nine strikeouts on Tuesday. In his first pro season, the second-round pick from 2024 is 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA, an 0.98 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings over 12 games in A-ball.

11 Jun

out of kilter

In his first game off the injured list, Mississippi State product Jordan Westburg hit a home run for Baltimore. Unfortunately for the Orioles, the homer came in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss to Detroit. The Orioles, perhaps the most disappointing team in the big leagues, had entered the opener of this series having won seven of nine. Westburg and center fielder Cedric Mullins were activated from the IL. “I think everybody in Baltimore is excited,” O’s interim manager Tony Mansolino said pregame. Detroit, with the best record (44-24) in baseball, didn’t seem to notice, building a 5-1 lead by the fifth inning. Baltimore managed just six hits. And so it goes for the O’s. They are now 26-39, dead last in the American League East. Westburg was an All-Star at third base in 2024, when he hit .264 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs. A big season was expected of him and this team, which went 91-71 in 2024 and made the playoffs. But like many of his teammates, Westburg scuffled out of the gate. When he went down with a hamstring injury on April 28, he was hitting .217. He now has five homers but just seven RBIs. His numbers are bound to improve, but the team is in such a deep hole, and its pitching in such a fix, improvement in the standings could be a tall order. … Home runs were kind of a thing for Mississippians on Tuesday. In MLB, Nathaniel Lowe hit his ninth for Washington, Matt Wallner his fifth for Minnesota and Nick Fortes his second for Miami. In the minors, Reed Trimble (Baltimore system), Braden Montgomery (Chicago White Sox) and Brennon McNair (Kansas City) went yard. And in the independent Frontier League, Travis Holt and Karell Paz homered for the Mississippi Mud Monsters in a road win at Joliet. P.S. He didn’t hit one out, but Konnor Griffin went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run in his High-Class A debut for Greensboro in the Pittsburgh system. Griffin, first-round pick out of Jackson Prep last summer, hit .338 with nine homers in Low-A ball and led the Florida State League in several categories before his promotion.

10 Jun

alumni meeting

Though the Mississippi-Biloxi rivalry no longer exists in the Southern League, alumni of the Double-A clubs can still clash in the National League. The first meeting of 2025 between Atlanta and Milwaukee happened on Monday night at American Family Field — and the former M-Braves won the day and the game, 7-1, snapping a dreadful seven-game losing streak. Five M-Braves alums combined for seven hits, four walks and five runs. Notably, Ronald Acuna homered for the fifth time in his 16 games; Austin Riley went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .285; and Ozzie Albies registered career hit No. 1,000. He is the all-time hits leader among Atlanta second basemen. Three ex-Shuckers were a combined 1-for-9 with a pair of walks. (Former M-Braves catcher William Contreras, now Milwaukee’s backstop, was 1-for-4 with an RBI knock.) It was a huge win — psychologically, at least — for the Braves, now 28-37 but still mired in fourth place in the NL East. The Brewers are 35-32, third in the NL Central. Game 2 of the three-game set is tonight. … The M-Braves, who played at Trustmark Park in Pearl from 2005-24, have produced more than 180 big league players. The Shuckers, based in Biloxi since 2015, have sent more than 80 players into MLB. P.S. Mississippi State alum Jake Mangum had a four-hit, two-RBI game Monday as Tampa Bay spoiled the debut of No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony by beating Boston 10-8 in 11 innings at Fenway Park. … Arizona has placed ex-MSU star Kendall Graveman back on the injured list with a hip problem. He had made nine appearances, all but his last effective ones. … Chris Stratton, another ex-Bulldogs standout, declared free agency Monday. Since being designated for assignment and then released by Kansas City on May 25, the 10-year MLB vet has: signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, been DFA’d, been outrighted to Triple-A, declared free agency, re-signed with the Dodgers, been DFA’d again, been outrighted again and declared free agency again. He made three appearances with the Dodgers during that time. … On June 10, 2019, Arizona and Philadelphia set a major league by combining for 13 homers in a game at Citizens Bank Park. The fun started when McComb native Jarrod Dyson led off with a bomb, the first of three straight by the Diamondbacks to start the game. Dyson hit only 21 homers in his 12-year career, but he’s in the home run record book.

08 Jun

game of adjustments

Konnor Griffin, a year removed from Jackson Prep, has made a remarkably smooth transition to pro ball. Playing at the Low-Class A level, the ninth overall MLB draft pick from 2024 is batting .338 with nine home runs, 36 RBIs, 49 runs and 26 steals through 50 games for the Pittsburgh affiliate. He was 3-for-5 with an inside-the-park homer on Saturday, ripping around the bases when two outfielders had a tough time picking up his shot to the wall in right-center. He’s making this look easy, which it is not. As he moves up the minor league ladder, Griffin will encounter speed bumps. It’s inevitable. He’ll have to make adjustments. Baseball is a game of adjustments. It’s a trite phrase — but very true. Many a highly regarded Mississippi prospect has scuffled at various levels of the game. Some adjust, some can’t. Injuries can be a factor. Gunnar Hoglund, a first-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2021, made the big leagues with the A’s last month. He is 1-3 with a 6.40 ERA and on the injured list, where he has spent time before. When he returns, some adjustments will be necessary. Former Mississippi State standout Jake Mangum finally made the majors this year in his sixth pro season. He hit .311 for Tampa Bay in April, went on the IL and is just 5-for-29 since he returned. “There are good days and bad days,” he told forbes.com in a recent interview. “When you fail, don’t be too hard on yourself.” In other words, reevaluate and forge ahead. Will Bednar, a first-rounder out of State in 2021, is in Double-A with San Francisco. He has a 9.56 ERA. Landon Sims, the 34th overall pick from MSU in 2022, is making the big adjustment to Double-A in the Texas system. He has a 4.91 ERA in 20 games. Ex-Ole Miss star Jacob Gonzalez was the 15th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2023. He reached Double-A in 2024 but struggled there. Back at that level this year, he appears to have figured some things out. He is batting .257 with four homers and 21 RBIs. Tough times have shadowed former Southern Miss star Reed Trimble, who has battled injuries since being drafted 65th overall in 2021. He is at Double-A in Baltimore’s system, hitting .069 in 10 games. He is at .237 in 153 minor league games. Also on the Orioles’ Chesapeake roster is Ole Miss product Anthony Servideo, a third-rounder back in 2020. He is batting .171 for his career, having reached Triple-A for a time in 2024. The game ain’t easy. But if they keep giving you a uniform, you keep grinding, looking for the right adjustments.

07 Jun

always compelling

Whenever the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees get together — as they did on Friday night — something buzzworthy is bound to happen. Flash back to June 7, 2011. At Yankee Stadium, former Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon, pitching for the Red Sox, nailed down his 200th career save, doing so in his 259th appearance, faster than any reliever ever. The previous record was held by none other than Yankees legend Mariano Rivera. Papelbon gave up a walk and a hit but struck out two, including Alex Rodriguez for the final out, in Boston’s 6-4 victory. Papelbon had a tremendous career. He had 13 saves in three years at MSU before Boston took him in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. He still ranks 11th on the all-time MLB saves list with 368 and holds the career record for both the Red Sox (219) and Philadelphia (123). During his occasionally tempestuous 12-year big league career, he made six All-Star Games and won a World Series with the ’07 Red Sox, closing out the clincher against Colorado. Alas, he lasted just one year (in 2022) on the Hall of Fame ballot. … Flash forward to June 6, 2025. At Yankee Stadium, former Jackson Prep star Will Warren, pitching for New York, got his first taste of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry and came away a winner. Given an early lead, rookie Warren blanked Boston for four innings before yielding a homer in the fifth and three runs in a clunky sixth. Warren went 5 1/3 innings in the 9-6 victory, running his record to 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA in 13 starts. Before a crowd of 46,783, he struck out the first batter of the game and six all told and now has 75 K’s in 57 1/3 innings for the first-place Yanks. Friday’s game was the first meeting of the season between the old rivals. Stay tuned. P.S. Spencer Turnbull, Madison Central High alum, had a rough outing in his latest minor-league tune-up. The veteran right-hander, who recently signed with Toronto as a free agent, gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings Friday for Triple-A Buffalo. He is 0-3 with a 7.13 in five minor league appearances between A-ball and Triple-A.