Tag Archives: Mississippi State

10 Feb

spring is in the air

Spring training has officially sprung. Pitchers and catchers are reporting this week and starting workouts in Arizona and Florida. Position players soon will follow. The first Cactus League game is Feb. 20; Grapefruit League play starts the next day. Here’s a list of players with Mississippi ties currently slated to be in big league camps:

40-man roster
Hitters
Nick Fortes (Ole Miss), Miami;
Justin Foscue (Mississippi State), Texas;
Adam Frazier (MSU), Pittsburgh;
Colt Keith (Biloxi HS), Detroit;
Grae Kessinger (UM), Arizona;
Nathaniel Lowe (MSU), Washington;
Jake Mangum (MSU), Tampa Bay;
Hunter Renfroe (MSU), Kansas City;
Austin Riley (DeSoto Central HS), Atlanta;
Chuckie Robinson (Southern Miss), Los Angeles Angels;
Brent Rooker (MSU), A’s;
Matt Wallner (USM), Minnesota;
Jordan Westburg (MSU), Baltimore

Pitchers
Eric Cerantola (MSU), Kansas City;
Garrett Crochet (Ocean Springs), Boston;
J.P. France (MSU), Houston;
J.T. Ginn (MSU), A’s;
Gunnar Hoglund (UM), A’s;
James McArthur (UM), Kansas City;
Doug Nikhazy (UM), Cleveland;
Nick Sandlin (USM), Toronto;
Justin Steele (Lucedale/George County HS), Chicago Cubs;
Chris Stratton (MSU), Kansas City;
Jacob Waguespack (UM), Tampa Bay;
Hurston Waldrep (USM), Atlanta;
Will Warren (Jackson Prep), NY Yankees;
Brandon Woodruff (MSU), Milwaukee

Free agents of note
Kendall Graveman (MSU);
Lance Lynn (UM);
Spencer Turnbull (Madison Central)

Non-roster invitees
Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Los Angeles Angels;
Gavin Collins (MSU), St. Louis;
Blaine Crim (Miss. College), Texas;
Tim Elko (UM), Chicago White Sox;
Matthew Etzel (USM), Tampa Bay;
Jacob Gonzalez (UM), White Sox;
Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep), Pittsburgh;
Dakota Hudson (MSU), Angels;
Cooper Johnson (UM), Texas;
David Mershon (MSU), Angels;
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central), White Sox;
Ryan Och (USM), San Diego;
Konnor Pilkington (MSU), Washington;
Drew Pomeranz (UM), Seattle;
Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights), Milwaukee;
Ethan Small (MSU), San Francisco;
Tyler Stuart (USM), Washington;
R.J. Yeager (MSU), St. Louis

07 Feb

preseason poll-pourri

A dose of perspective is necessary when digesting the SEC coaches preseason poll released on Wednesday. Mississippi State is ranked ninth, in the bottom half of the 16-team league. Seems a bit disrespectful for a Bulldogs team that won 40 games and made the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and is a consensus top 20 in the national polls, of which there are many. Such is life in the dog-eat-dog SEC, which has the top four teams and seven of the first 10 in Baseball America’s national Top 25. MSU is No. 18 in the BA poll as well as the d1baseball.com rankings plus No. 19 in the NCBWA and USA Today polls. Ole Miss, which has one of the best newcomer classes in the nation (per BA), is pegged to finish 15th in the SEC but still got votes in the NCBWA and USA Today national polls. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Rebels in a regional this spring. Southern Miss was picked as the preseason No. 1 in the Sun Belt coaches poll. The Golden Eagles, an NCAA Tournament team as the SBC champion in 2024, show up in only one national poll, ranked 27th (in a Top 30) by the NCBWA. USM got votes in the USA Today poll. Jackson State also got some votes in the NCBWA poll and is ranked third among large school HBCUs by Black College Nines. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams are also SWAC schools: Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman. All of this will start shaking out a week from today when the NCAA Division I season launches. … Of note: MaxPreps named Sumrall High, the defending MHSAA Class 4A champion, as the “best team” in Mississippi heading into the 2025 campaign. East Union’s Landon Harmon and Purvis’ Jacob Parker are on MaxPreps’ preseason All-America squad. P.S. Itawamba Community College’s Madden Butler (Corinth) was named the NJCAA Division II player of the week after batting .545 with two homers, six RBIs and seven runs in the Indians’ 3-1 start last week. … East Central CC, ranked No. 2 in the juco D-II preseason poll, opened its season on Thursday with a 14-4 win over South Arkansas.

31 Jan

a growing list

Coming off an outstanding first full season in pro ball, Matthew Etzel is the latest Mississippian in the minors to get an invitation to major league spring training. The former Southern Miss star will go camping next month with Tampa Bay, which acquired the 22-year-old outfielder in a trade with Baltimore last summer. Etzel, drafted out of USM in 2023 by the Orioles, batted .272 with 11 homers, 66 RBIs, eight triples and 45 stolen bases in 2024, playing for three different teams. He finished the season at Double-A Montgomery. He joins a growing list of non-roster invitees with state ties:
Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Los Angeles Angels;
Gavin Collins (Mississippi State), St. Louis;
Blaine Crim (Mississippi College), Texas;
Tim Elko (Ole Miss), Chicago White Sox;
Matthew Etzel (USM), Tampa Bay;
Jacob Gonzalez (UM), Chicago White Sox;
Dakota Hudson (MSU), Los Angeles Angels;
Cooper Johnson (UM), Texas;
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central), Chicago White Sox;
Konnor Pilkington (MSU), Washington;
Drew Pomeranz (UM), Seattle;
Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights), Milwaukee;
Ethan Small (MSU), San Francisco;
Tyler Stuart (USM), Washington;
R.J. Yeager (MSU), St. Louis.
P.S. The Mississippi Mud Monsters have hired Robert Carson III, former Hattiesburg High standout and ex-big leaguer, as their pitching coach. Carson pitched in 31 games for the New York Mets in 2012-13 and spent seven seasons in independent leagues, most recently in 2021. He been an indy league pitching coach the last three years. The independent Mud Monsters will start their inaugural season in the Frontier League in May at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The “Mud-sters” have announced three signees to date, none of them pitchers.

28 Jan

circling back

Adam Frazier, the ex-Mississippi State standout, is off the free agent market, having reportedly agreed to sign with his original MLB team, Pittsburgh. A nine-year veteran, Frazier spent the first 5 1/2 years of his career with the Pirates, making the All-Star Game in 2021. The 32-year-old utility man has bounced around ever since, playing for four other teams, three of which made the postseason. The left-handed hitter batted just .202 for Kansas City in 2024 but has a .264 career mark with 60 homers and 55 steals. … With the gates of spring training camps soon to swing open, three other notable Mississippi products, each a big league veteran, remain unsigned. Pitchers Spencer Turnbull, Lance Lynn and Kendall Graveman would seem to be attractive, reasonably priced options for teams that still have holes to fill. Former Madison Central High star Turnbull, 32, has a 4.26 ERA in six big league seasons, working primarily as a starter, and made just $2 million last year with Philadelphia. He posted a 2.65 ERA in an injury-shortened 2024 season but is reportedly healthy now. Ole Miss alum Lynn, 37, had a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts last season with St. Louis, where he was on a one-year, $11M deal. Lynn has 143 career wins dating to 2011, when he helped the Cardinals win the World Series as a rookie. Ex-State star Graveman, 34, missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery last off-season. A nine-year vet, he has a career ERA of 3.95, working strictly as a reliever since 2020. He was effective in middle relief for Houston in 2023. P.S. Former Mississippi College standout Blaine Crim, who batted .277 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs for Texas’ Triple-A team in 2024, has received a non-roster invite to the Rangers’ camp. The Gulf South Conference’s player of the year in 2019, the righty-hitting first baseman has batted .295 in his minor league career with 103 homers in 562 games. … MLB Pipeline gave 70-grade arm tools (on the 20-80 scouting scale) to 2024 draftees and Magnolia State prep products Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh system) and Braden Montgomery (Chicago White Sox).

23 Jan

a door opens

After many months on the shelf, Tim Anderson has landed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The former East Central Community College standout, released by Miami in July, reportedly will get an invite to the Angels’ big league spring camp as a non-roster player. The 31-year-old Anderson, a former American League batting champ and two-time All-Star shortstop, fell on tough times the last couple years. After the Chicago White Sox cut him loose following the 2023 season, he batted just .214 with no homers in 65 games for the Marlins last year. Anderson has a .278 career average. Former Mississippi State star Dakota Hudson is also going to Angels camp on a minor league deal. … Other Mississippi products to receive non-roster invites in recent days include State alums Gavin Collins and R.J. Yeager with St. Louis and former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt with Milwaukee. Pratt, ticketed for Double-A Biloxi this season, is the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect. P.S. Kyle Crigger, a Corinth native and Itawamba Community College product, signed with Fargo-Moorhead of the independent American Association. Right-hander Crigger posted a 4.35 ERA over three seasons in the Miami organization, reaching the Double-A level in 2024. … Ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton has helped Jalisco reach the championship round of the Mexican Pacific League playoffs. Hamilton led the league with 38 stolen bases while batting .246 during the regular season. He is 2-for 11 with two RBIs through two games of the best-of-7 title series, tied 1-1 vs. Tomateros de Culiacan. A free agent, Hamilton last played in the majors in 2023. … Former Magee High standout Brennon McNair, a Kansas City minor leaguer, finished his tour of the Australian Baseball League with a .248 average, 11 homers (tied for the league lead), 26 RBIs and 11 steals.

18 Jan

familiar names

During his introductory teleconference on Tuesday, new Mississippi Mud Monsters manager Jay Pecci said he would “lean heavily” on players with local ties in constructing his roster for 2025. True to his word, two of the first three players the club has signed are Mississippi prep products: former DeSoto Central High star Kyle Booker and Lake Cormorant High alum Brayland Skinner, who played on Mississippi State’s College World Series winner in 2021. The signings were announced on the Frontier League website. The Mud Monsters, who will begin their inaugural season in the independent FL on May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, also have signed Ryan Cash, a four-year indy league veteran. Outfielder Booker, 22, who played at Tennessee and Oral Roberts (.294 career average), spent the 2024 campaign in the Frontier League, batting .203 in 27 games. Skinner, 25, also an outfielder, played at State in 2021-22 and then at Memphis. He participated in the MLB Draft League in 2023 and played in indy ball last season, batting .298 with eight homers and 49 RBIs in 90 games. Infielder Cash, 27, played college ball at Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts. He hit .250 in 81 games in the FL last season, having previously played in two other indy leagues. P.S. The Mud Monsters and Belhaven University announced Friday that the Blazers will play their home games at Trustmark Park through the 2030 season. BU, an NCAA Division III school, has played some home games at the Pearl ballpark the past few seasons after their long tenure at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium ended.

16 Jan

taking a dip

Austin Riley tumbled in MLB Network’s ranking of the Top 10 Third Basemen Right Now, from No. 1 last year to No. 5. But that ranking ought to come with an asterisk. The former DeSoto Central High standout’s ’24 season was limited by injuries to 110 games — he went down for the year on Aug. 18 with a broken hand — but he still managed to hit 19 home runs while playing top-notch defense. He batted .256 and drove in 56 runs, scored 63 and posted a .783 OPS. He finished behind Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman and Manny Machado in the MLB Network ranking. In 2023, when he was tops on that chart, Riley was an All-Star and batted .281 with 37 homers and 97 RBIs. Atlanta will be counting on a bounce-back year from the 27-year-old Riley, one of several Braves stars who were injured in 2024. … Another former Mississippi Braves star, William Contreras, now with Milwaukee, was ranked as the No. 1 catcher by MLB Network, and Biloxi Shuckers alum Devin Williams, now with the New York Yankees, was ranked No. 1 among relief pitchers. Ex-M-Braves star Michael Harris II checked in at No. 4 on the center field chart. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State standout J.P. France, now with Houston, told mlb.com that he hopes to be back in action in July after having shoulder surgery last summer. Right-hander France went 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA in five starts for the Astros in 2024 after winning 11 games as a rookie in 2023.

10 Jan

money matters

Coming off an injury-shortened campaign that saw him go 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA, left-hander Justin Steele has agreed to a $6.55 million contract for 2025 with the Chicago Cubs. The four-year veteran from Lucedale, a key starter for the Cubs, is 29-21, 3.24, for his career. Steele is among four Mississippians who agreed Thursday to pre-arbitration deals, per a report by MLB Trade Rumors. Garrett Crochet, the ex-Ocean Springs High star, signed for $3.88M with Boston, which recently traded for the All-Star lefty. Southern Miss product Nick Sandlin agreed with his new club, Toronto, on a $1.6M contract, and Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes signed for $1.86M with Miami. Ex-MSU star Brent Rooker got a 5-year, $60M extension from the A’s earlier in the week, saying “This is where I want to be, and I’m hoping that’s what this communicates” at a Thursday press conference. Headed to salary arbitration is former Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe, recently dealt to Washington by Texas. Lowe, who made $7.5M in 2024, has asked for $11.1M, while the Nationals countered with $10.3M — a nice raise either way it goes. … Kirk McCarty, a USM product from Hattiesburg, has re-signed with CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, per reports. Erstwhile big leaguer McCarty went 5-3 with a 2.76 ERA last year for CTBC, which won the league title.

08 Jan

planning ahead

There is no certainty that Brandon Woodruff will be in Milwaukee’s starting rotation by Opening Day, but the ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler is planning on it. “(M)y mindset is to get ready for that,” Woodruff said in a recent Brewers Beat article. The big right-hander, 31, who missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery, reportedly is throwing two short bullpen sessions a week at home in Mississippi and will be evaluated by Brewers staff next week in Arizona. He admitted he still has a ways to go in the rehab process before adding, “But gosh, I feel good.” That’s great news for Brewers fans. Woodruff, a former Biloxi Shuckers ace, is 46-26 with a 3.01 ERA and two All-Star Game nods in his Milwaukee career. He appeared in just 11 games in 2023 when the shoulder issue cropped up. He had surgery in October 2023, essentially knocking him out for 2024. He was non-tendered by Milwaukee after the ’23 season, then re-signed on a two-year deal ($17.5 million) last February. Milwaukee won the National League Central last season and, especially with a Woodruff bump, should be in the hunt again in 2025. P.S. Squeezed off Houston’s 40-man roster, Grae Kessinger has been moved to Arizona, which traded Tuesday for the former Ole Miss star. Kessinger, 27, played in 49 games as a reserve infielder with the Astros the past two seasons. He had a good year in Triple-A in 2024.

07 Jan

he’s in the money

Brent Rooker has performed like a superstar the past two seasons and now he’s getting paid like one. Rooker, national player of the year at Mississippi State in 2017, reportedly has been given a 5-year, $60 million contract extension by the (no longer Oakland) A’s. It’s the third largest contract in A’s history, per MLB Network, and includes an option that could push the value to $90 million. Rooker, 30, made $750,000 in 2024, when he batted .293 with 39 homers and 112 RBIs and won a Silver Slugger at DH in the American League. He has belted 69 homers in two seasons with the A’s, who gave him his first regular work after he had bounced around other organizations for three seasons. Armed with his new contract, Rooker will also have a new home in 2025; the A’s, ultimately bound for Las Vegas, will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif., for the foreseeable future. The team went 69-93 last season but has a good, young core that includes ex-State star J.T. Ginn and Ole Miss product Gunnar Hoglund on its pitching staff and ex-Mississippi Braves standout Shea Langeliers behind the plate.