Tag Archives: MLB Pipeline

17 Apr

stat sheet watching

As the Chicago White Sox continue to struggle at the plate, their Triple-A first baseman — Tim Elko — is flourishing with a .373 average, three homers and 11 RBIs in 14 games for Charlotte. Former Ole Miss star Elko went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs in the Knights’ loss to Nashville on Wednesday night. He ranks sixth in the International League in hitting. Elko, 26, has hit at every level since the White Sox drafted him in the 10th round in 2022: .291 career with 54 homers. The folks at MLB Pipeline suggest that Elko, who isn’t on the 40-man roster, could be an impactful call-up for the ChiSox (4-13), who are 29th in MLB in both runs and batting average. … In the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim — another off-the-radar slugger — stands sixth in the league in batting at .364 and has three homers and 11 RBIs for Round Rock, a Texas affiliate. Crim, 27, a sixth-year pro, is a .297 career hitter with 104 homers. … Mississippi State product Justin Foscue, also at Round Rock, is hitting .333 with two bombs and eight RBIs. He might rate another shot with the Rangers; he hit .048 in limited at-bats in his MLB debut in 2024. … Kemp Alderman, Ferriss Trophy winner at Ole Miss two years ago, is third in the Double-A Southern League with a .359 average and tied for first with three homers at Pensacola in Miami’s system. … Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt has hit two homers for Biloxi in the SL and is batting .266 in his debut for Milwaukee’s Double-A team. … In the Double-A Texas League, Ole Miss alum Cooper Johnson has three homers — tied for the TL lead — in seven games for Frisco, a Texas affiliate, and is batting .304. … Braden Montgomery, an ex-Madison Central High standout and a first-round pick last summer, is tied for first with 13 RBIs in the Low-Class A Carolina League and is batting .353 with two homers for the White Sox’s Kannapolis club. He was traded to Chicago by Boston in the Garrett Crochet deal. … Konnor Griffin, the Jackson Prep product drafted ninth overall by Pittsburgh in 2024, is tied for second in the Low-A Florida State League with six stolen bases. He is batting .231 with two homers, seven RBIs and nine runs through 10 games in his pro debut with Bradenton. … Oddest stat for a Mississippian in the minors: ex-South Panola standout Emaarion Boyd is tied for fourth in the High-A Midwest League with seven steals. He got six of them in one game. The fourth-year pro, who has 98 career bags, is batting just .120 (three hits) for Beloit in the Miami system. P.S. Former Southern Miss star Dustin Dickerson was promoted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City and debuted as a defensive replacement on Wednesday. The shortstop was batting .286 in Double-A. … Ex-USM slugger Matt Wallner, now with the Minnesota Twins, went on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He was batting .263 (.373 OBP) with a homer, three RBIs and seven runs, leading off for the Twins much of the time.

15 Apr

just stuff

As Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, here’s a tip of the cap to Luke Easter, the first black Mississippi native to play in an MLB game. The Jonestown native broke in with Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1949, at the age of 34. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound left-handed hitter belted 93 homers for the Indians over parts of six seasons. He also played in the Negro Leagues and in the minors for many years, hitting 351 homers all told, per baseball-reference.com. … The Columbus Clingstones, Atlanta’s Double-A team that previously played in Pearl, will make their home debut tonight at Synovus Park in Columbus, Ga. Quite a few familiar names populate the roster, including former Southern Miss and Mississippi Braves standout Landon Harper and M-Braves alum Craig Kimbrel, the erstwhile big league star who is launching his 2025 season in Double-A. … After a weak start this season, former DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley is coming on strong for Atlanta. The M-Braves alum hit two homers in Monday’s win at Toronto and is batting .452 with eight RBIs and seven runs over his last seven games. … Jake Mangum, the rookie out of Jackson Prep and Mississippi State, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs Monday for Tampa Bay, which saw every starter get at least one RBI and score at least one run in a 16-1 win against Boston. Mangum has cooled after his sizzling start but is still batting .311 over 13 games and making great plays in the outfield. … Hunter Renfroe, MSU alum from Crystal Springs, needs to step it up for Kansas City. He is batting .128 with no homers in 39 at-bats and is no longer playing regularly. A .236 career hitter with 192 bombs, the 33-year-old outfielder is coming off a poor year. … Ole Miss product Kemp Alderman, who had a two-homer game last week for Double-A Pensacola (Miami system), and ex-MSU star Khal Stephen, who had a nine-strikeout game for Low-Class A Dunedin (Toronto), were named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week. … Konnor Griffin got his first pro homer and triple in a game last week and continues to fill out the stat sheet for Low-A Bradenton (Pittsburgh). The ninth overall pick last summer from Jackson Prep, Griffin is batting .258 with six RBIs, seven runs and five steals. … Sad to see Justin Steele, the lefty from Lucedale, lost for the season to elbow surgery; he was 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts. That’s a blow for the first-place Chicago Cubs. Also going on the IL last week was Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes (oblique), who was batting .300 in 20 at-bats as Miami’s starting catcher. … Kudos to Will Warren, the Jackson Prep grad who notched his first MLB win in his eighth career start for the New York Yankees last week. The 25-year-old right-hander went five innings Saturday to beat red-hot San Francisco. … Ex-MSU star J.T. Ginn got his second MLB win Saturday in his 2025 debut as the A’s beat the Mets; Ginn was recalled from Triple-A that same day. … Former MSU standout Brandon Woodruff threw 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday in his first rehab start as he aims to return to Milwaukee’s rotation. The righty from Wheeler is 46-26 in his MLB career; the Brewers sorely need him. … Ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull, still unsigned for 2025, has been throwing for various teams, per reports. The veteran right-hander put up a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings for Philadelphia in 2024.

01 Apr

quite a career

Lance Lynn has called it a career — and quite a career it was for the former Ole Miss star, now 37. An imposing figure — 6 feet 5, 280 pounds in his heyday — with a gruff demeanor on the mound, he went 143-99 with a 3.74 ERA and 2,015 strikeouts, pitching for six different teams in a 13-year big league career. Lynn was 7-4 with a 3.84 for St. Louis in 2024. He played in the Little League World Series, won a prep state title with an undefeated team in Indiana, helped Ole Miss win an SEC crown and reach three NCAA regionals during his time in Oxford, won a World Series as a rookie with St. Louis in 2011, made two All-Star Games and won a World Baseball Classic game. Drafted in the first round out of Ole Miss by St. Louis in 2008, Lynn’s 143 wins are tied for fourth-most (with Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee) among Mississippi natives or school alums who have pitched in the majors. P.S. Cooper Pratt, the former Magnolia Heights standout, has been assigned to Double-A Biloxi by the Milwaukee Brewers. Pratt, the Brewers’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has a .286 career average in two minor league seasons with eight homers and 31 bags in 105 games. A 6-foot-2, 206-pound shortstop, he hit .381 in spring training with the Brewers this year. The Shuckers open at Pensacola on Friday.

13 Mar

breaking out

The Spring Breakout games, featuring most of the best minor league talent, begin today with Boston’s squad taking on Tampa Bay (MLB Network, 6:05 p.m.). On the Red Sox’s roster is former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan, while the Rays’ roster includes Mississippi State product Colton Ledbetter. The games, 16 all told, will run through Sunday. Among the Mississippians who could be featured are Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh), Braden Montgomery (Chicago White Sox), Tim Elko (White Sox), Cooper Pratt (Milwaukee), Dakota Jordan (San Francisco), Jurrangelo Cijntje (Seattle) and Tanner Hall (Minnesota). MLB Pipeline has pegged David Mershon, former All-SEC shortstop out of MSU, as a sleeper prospect on the Los Angeles Angels team. Though not ranked among the Angels’ Top 30, the 5-foot-7, 175-pound Mershon’s star appears to be ascending. From mlb.com: “He’s a switch-hitter with on-base skills and speed who can play excellent infield defense.” Drafted in the 18th round last summer after two years at State (.347, 27 steals last year), the South Carolina native went straight to Double-A and hit .254. The Angels then sent him to the Arizona Fall League, another high-talent loop, and Mershon batted .263 there. Invited to big league camp, he is 3-for-14 in A-games. The Angels’ Spring Breakout game is slated for Saturday (MLBN, 8:05 p.m.) against the Cubs. P.S. Justin Foscue, another former MSU infielder, was optioned to Triple-A by Texas on Wednesday. Foscue, batting .235 in big league games this spring, made his MLB debut in 2024 but hit just .048 (2-for-42). The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, he has a .278 career average in the minors with 60 homers. … MSU alum Kendall Graveman, recently signed by Arizona as a free agent, has not pitched this spring because of a reported back issue. He missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery.

07 Mar

spring flings

Jake Mangum, vying for a spot on Tampa Bay’s opening day roster, had a double and two RBIs in Grapefruit League action today. The Mississippi State alum, who was subbed in in left field, is batting .417 with three RBIs in 12 at-bats. … Ex-State slugger Hunter Renfroe checked in with his first homer of the spring, a 422-foot blast for Kansas City in the Cactus League. Renfroe is sitting on 192 career homers, tied for fifth (with Brian Dozier) on the all-time list of Mississippi natives in MLB. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star, went 2-for-3 while playing shortstop today for the Los Angeles Angels. The former All-Star, in camp as a non-roster invitee, is batting .217 in 23 ABs with one homer and two steals. He has worked at short, second base and center field this spring. … Former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan, in Boston’s A-game today as a minor leaguer, went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs and an RBI as the Red Sox put up 20 runs against Miami. … The Milwaukee Brewers rank No. 7 in MLB Pipeline’s new list of the top farm systems in the majors. Biloxi, which started play in 2015 after moving from Huntsville, Ala., hosts Milwaukee’s Double-A team and should have a stacked roster this summer, including former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt. P.S. Fun Fact: Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of former Forrest County AHS and MLB star Charlie Hayes, mentioned on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today that his mom, Gelinda, was pregnant with him when dad made the catch that ended the 1996 World Series. “They call me the World Series baby,” Ke’Bryan said. That Series, won by the New York Yankees, ended in October. Ke’Bryan was born Jan. 28, 1997, in Tomball, Texas. Speaking about his dad, who played 14 years in The Show, the younger Hayes said, “He’s my biggest fan. … He eats and breathes baseball 24/7. … Our whole family (he has two brothers), we eat and breathe baseball. It’s what we love to do.” Hayes is entering his sixth MLB campaign; he hit .233 with four homers in an injury-curtailed 2024 season.

05 Mar

prospecting

Twenty-one Mississippians (natives or school alums) appear in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 30 prospect rankings for each big league organization. The highest rated among this group is former Jackson Prep uber-star Konnor Griffin, No. 2 in Pittsburgh’s system before ever playing a regular season pro game. (The ninth overall pick last July, he has been in big league camp this spring.) … Elsewhere in the National Central: Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt is No. 3 in Milwaukee’s system and targeted for Double-A Biloxi this season, and K.C. Hunt (Mississippi State), who pitched in Double-A in 2024, is rated No. 25 in the Brewers’ chain. … In the American League Central, former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery — a 2024 first-rounder — is No. 5 in the Chicago White Sox’s organization, and Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) checks in at No. 14. Doug Nikhazy (Ole Miss) is No. 22 on Cleveland’s list, and Eric Cerantola (MSU) is ranked 28th on Kansas City’s. … In the NL East: ex-Southern Miss standout Hurston Waldrep ranks No. 4 in Atlanta’s system. Waldrep made his MLB debut in 2024. Kemp Alderman (Ole Miss) is Miami’s No. 11; Nate Dohm (MSU) is the New York Mets’ No. 19; and Tyler Stuart (USM) ranks 15th in Washington’s system. … In the AL East: Jackson Prep product Will Warren is No. 5 on the Yankees’ list; he also debuted in The Show last season. Cade Smith (Mississippi State) is No. 16 in the Yankees’ chain. Elsewhere in the AL East, Colton Ledbetter (MSU) and Matthew Etzel (Southern Miss) rank Nos. 26 and 27 for Tampa Bay, and Khal Stephen (MSU) is ranked 11th in Toronto’s system. … In the NL West, Dakota Jordan (MSU), a 2024 draftee, is ranked sixth on San Francisco’s list. In the AL West, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) — 15th overall pick last July — is ranked No. 9 in Seattle’s system. The A’s have J.T. Ginn (MSU), who debuted in MLB last summer, at No. 14 and Gunnar Hoglund (Ole Miss) at 16. Justin Foscue (MSU), who got some limited time with Texas in 2024, is rated No. 15 in the Rangers’ chain. … Griffin (43), Montgomery (54) and Pratt (56) are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s overall Top 100. P.S. Props to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s James Vines and Dom Jackson for earning the MACCC pitcher and hitter of the week honors. Vines posted a 1.12 ERA and 15 strikeouts in eight innings last week; he is 1-0 with a 2.00 in five games on the season. Jackson hit three homers and drove in 10 runs as the Bulldogs won four of six games. He has seven homers on the season. … Copiah-Lincoln CC’s Tucker Jones, a Northwest Rankin High alum, ranks second in NJCAA Division II with 19 stolen bases in just 12 games for the 15-8 Wolves, and teammate Jennings Kimbrell, a St. Joe product, is 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA, tied for the national lead in wins.

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).

25 Jan

going camping

Mississippi will be well-represented in the Chicago White Sox’s spring training camp in Arizona next month. Three minor leaguers — Tim Elko, Jacob Gonzalez and Braden Montgomery — with state ties and strong credentials have been invited as non-roster players to Glendale, where they’ll hook up with Louisville native and ex-big leaguer Marcus Thames, the White Sox’s hitting coach. Elko, 26, a 10th-round pick off Ole Miss’ 2022 national title team, has batted .288 with 51 homers as a pro, reaching the Triple-A level last summer. The big first baseman also played well in the Arizona Fall League — four bombs in 11 games — and was selected by USA Baseball for the Premier 12 team that played in an international tournament last fall. Gonzalez, national freshman of the year at Ole Miss in 2021, was a first-round pick by the ChiSox in 2023 and is currently rated their No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline. A middle infielder, Gonzalez reached Double-A in 2024 and hit .225 with five homers, 42 RBIs and 10 steals for Birmingham in the Southern League. Montgomery was Mississippi’s Gatorade player of the year at Madison Central High in 2021 and starred at Stanford and Texas A&M before Boston picked him 12th overall in the 2024 draft. The switch-hitting outfielder, who has yet to make his pro debut, was one of the prospects Chicago acquired from Boston in the recent Garrett Crochet trade. Montgomery, 21, is the ChiSox’s No. 5 prospect. The ChiSox need all the help they can get. The team went 41-121 last season, worst record in modern MLB history. Thames, who starred at East Central Community College before launching a 10-year major league career, is entering his second season as Chicago’s hitting coach, having been retained by new manager Will Venable. P.S. Montgomery checked in at No. 55 on MLB Pipeline’s new list of the Top 100 minor league prospects entering the 2025 season. Konnor Griffin, the mega-star out of Jackson Prep, is No. 43; the shortstop/outfielder was the ninth overall pick last July by Pittsburgh and has yet to make his pro debut. Cooper Pratt, the ex-Magnolia Heights standout, is No. 57 on the list; the 2023 draftee is in Milwaukee’s system.

07 Dec

names and numbers

There hasn’t been much activity on the major league free agent market, but that will change soon. Juan Soto, the biggest fish in the pond, likely will sign — for $600 million-plus — next week during the Winter Meetings. That figures to trigger a lot of movement in the market. Quite a few Mississippians with MLB experience are out there looking for a 2025 team. Some could get big bucks. The list includes: Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull; ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn; former Mississippi State standout Kendall Graveman; MSU alum Adam Frazier; former Bulldogs star Ethan Small; ex-East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson; MSU product and Pascagoula native Konnor Pilkington; and Michael Rucker, a Columbus native. Of note: Lynn, 37, a 13-year MLB vet, recently told the New York Times that he has dropped 20 pounds this off-season and has received numerous calls from MLB clubs about pitching next season. He had a 3.84 ERA with St. Louis in 2024, when balky knees limited him to 23 starts. … Two state prep players made MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 100 draft prospects chart for 2025: Pitcher Landon Harmon of East Union High at No. 49 and shortstop JoJo Parker of Purvis at 86. The 6-foot-5 Harmon, the Class 2A player of the year, is a Mississippi State commit who pitched in the MLB-sponsored High School All-America Game at Petco Park last summer. Parker, a lefty hitter, is also an MSU commit. His twin brother, outfielder Jacob, won a share of the high school home run derby competition during the MLB All-Star festivities last summer and will get some scouts’ attention, as well. Only one high school player was drafted from the state in 2024: No. 9 overall pick Konnor Griffin of Jackson Prep. Also making MLB Pipeline’s new draft list at No. 66 is LSU’s Conner Ware, an injury-prone lefty from Germantown via Pearl River Community College. No players from Mississippi’s four-year schools cracked the Top 100. … Three state juco products made the top nine in d1baseball.com’s list of the Top 50 impact juco hitters now at NCAA Division I schools: Pearl River CC’s Bryce Fowler (now at Alabama) is No. 6, Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Brandon Cain (Oklahoma) No. 7 and PRCC’s Hollis Porter (Maryland) No. 9. Porter was the MACCC player of the year and a first-team NJCAA Division II All-America pick. Hinds product Thomas Marsala (Western Kentucky) was ranked 48th. … William Carey University, which went 37-16 in 2024 and made yet another trip to the NAIA World Series, is ranked ninth in the NAIA coaches preseason poll. Carey was the preseason No. 4 in 2024.

21 Oct

top performers

Kemp Alderman had a big moment last week in the Arizona Fall League. Fellow former Ole Miss standout Tim Elko had several moments — and was rewarded with a spot on the Week 2 list of top performers compiled by MLB Pipeline. Elko, a 10th-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2022, went 5-for-14 (.357) for the week with a double, two home runs and four runs for Glendale. The big first baseman/DH batted .289 with 18 homers between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024. Alderman, a second-rounder by Miami last year, hit a 119.5 mph homer that carried 443 feet for Peoria on Oct. 18. Only two major leaguers have ever hit a ball harder, per MLB Pipeline’s story. Alderman leads the AFL in homers with six and slugging at a ridiculous .906. … Ex-UM closer Brandon Johnson, a Kansas City prospect pitching for Surprise in the AFL, is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances. He had a 4.23 ERA, three wins, eight holds and three saves at two levels of the minors this season. P.S. Postseason flashback (of a different sort): On this date in 2009, ex-Columbus High star and erstwhile big leaguer Luther Hackman tossed a 153-pitch complete game in an 11-5 win for the Uni-President Lions over the Brother Elephants in Game 4 of the Taiwan Series, the championship of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Hackman, who pitched in 149 MLB games from 1999-2003, took MVP honors in back-to-back Taiwan Series in 2008 and ’09, according to baseballreference.com.