MLB Archives - Page 52 of 88 - All Mississippi Baseball

05 Sep

making it work

Just as he was getting hot, the curtain fell on Braxton Lee’s season. The Picayune native, who has endured a rollercoaster campaign, hit .324 over his final 10 games at Triple-A New Orleans and had a four-hit game in Monday’s season finale. Though he is on Miami’s 40-man roster – and on the club’s Top 30 prospect chart – Lee didn’t get a September call-up, at least he hasn’t yet. He batted .235 in 47 games at New Orleans. Lee’s career took off last year, when he won the Southern League batting title and made the All-Prospect team in the Arizona Fall League. He made the Marlins’ roster for opening day and debuted on March 30, the first Mississippian to break in in 2018. He played in only eight big league games. He was sent down, struggled, got hurt, rehabbed in A-ball, spent time in Double-A – it was just that kind of season. For the year, he batted .233 over three minor league levels. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound outfielder has always been a grinder, relying on speed and defense to succeed, from Picayune High to Pearl River Community College to Ole Miss and into pro ball. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2014 and traded to Miami last summer. “I’ve never thought, “What if it didn’t work?’” Lee told the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel back in the spring. “I’m going to make it work regardless of what happens.” You have to admire that mindset. This season might be over, but Lee will fight again another day.

03 Sep

into the wild

The headlines went to Christian Yelich, who provided the offense for Milwaukee on Sunday. A less-heralded but no less important role was played by Mississippi State alum Brandon Woodruff, whose relief work helped the Brewers beat Washington 9-4. “This is Brandon Woodruff’s game,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “(T)o deliver four innings of scoreless relief in that situation is absolutely huge.” Woodruff, making his first big league appearance since July 23, came on in the fourth inning with the Brewers trailing and held the Nationals to three hits with five strikeouts through the seventh. A seven-run fifth inning, highlighted by a Yelich grand slam, put Milwaukee in charge. Combined with St. Louis’ loss to Cincinnati, the win puts the Brewers back on top in the National League wild card standings. Woodruff is 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 13 games with Milwaukee this season. He was 3-2, 4.04 working primarily as a starter at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He could be a valuable piece for the Brewers in the heat of this playoff chase. … The New York Yankees, leading the American League wild card race, were hoping for better stuff from ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn than they’ve gotten of late. Lynn was KO’d in the fourth inning — by a two-run double by Richton High alum JaCoby Jones — and wound up taking the loss in an 11-7 defeat against Detroit at Yankee Stadium. Lynn was charged with six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Acquired from Minnesota in a July trade, the big right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in his seven games with the Yankees. The Yanks head to Oakland, No. 2 in the wild card standings, for a three-game series beginning today. P.S. Former State star Chris Stratton, whose San Francisco club has waved a white flag on the postseason, pitched well on Sunday: three hits, two runs in six innings. But he was up against the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard, who tossed a complete game and beat the Giants 4-1. Stratton is 9-8, 4.90.

02 Sep

we’re no. 4

It’s no shocker, really, that Florida high schools produce more pro baseball players per capita than any other state. Lot of athletes, lot of warm weather. From 2011-17, 1,311 Sunshine State products appeared on MLB-affiliated rosters, which comes to 4.16 players per 100,000 people, according to a study by Baseball America published in its Sept. 7-21 issue. Fourth on this list is — drumroll, please — Mississippi, with 3.31 players per 100,000 people. That’s more per capita than California, Texas, Arizona or Louisiana, to name a few. That’s kind of amazing. Magnolia State high schools produced 149 pros in the seven-year span that BA surveyed. Hattiesburg — presumably, the baseball-rich Pine Belt area — produced 11, earning the designation of “hotbed” in Mississippi. Another Hattiesburg kid was drafted in the second round this year — Joe Gray, now in the Milwaukee system. … Among those 149 prep products is Hunter Renfroe, the pride of Copiah Academy. Renfroe, now with the San Diego Padres, is about as hot as anybody from anywhere of late. He hit two home runs on Saturday, giving him 12 in his last 30 games and 19 for the year. He is batting .259 — .302 over his last 30 games — and has 56 RBIs, including a major league-best 27 in August. Also deserving of a nod is Tony Sipp, the ex-Moss Point High star who threw another clean inning in middle relief for Houston in a win on Saturday. The situational lefty has a 2.20 ERA in 44 games and is at 1.61 over his last 30 appearances for the first-place Astros. Renfroe and Sipp are among the 15 Mississippi prep products who have appeared in the big leagues in 2018. Don’t know the per capita rating on that but it’s gotta be up there.

30 Aug

three things

Count Hunter Renfroe among those who’ll hate to see August end. The ex-Mississippi State star has had that kind of a month for the San Diego Padres. He hit his ninth homer of August — 17th of the season — in the Padres’ 8-3 win against Seattle on Wednesday. The big outfielder is batting .299 this month with 26 RBIs. He is at .253 with 53 RBIs for the season, which included a sluggish start, an injury and a stay in the minors. One writer called Renfroe’s resurgence “astounding.” The Padres, in the throes of a rebuild, surely must like what they’ve seen of late. … Fours were wild for Billy Hamilton on Wednesday in Cincinnati’s crazy 13-12 loss to Milwaukee at Great American Ballpark. The ex-Taylorsville High standout — the recent subject of trade speculation — hit his fourth career leadoff homer, which was his fourth bomb of the season, and matched a career-high with four hits. He also scored three times, though he departed the game after a headfirst slide into home. Hamilton is batting .243 with 28 RBIs, 66 runs and 29 steals, way down from his average (58) the previous four seasons. He was caught stealing for the eighth time on Wednesday. … Drew Pomeranz, whose turn in Boston’s rotation in 2018 had been largely terrible, has fared better in the bullpen. The big lefty from Ole Miss threw a scoreless ninth in the Red Sox’s wild 14-6 win over Miami. In seven relief appearances, he has a win and a 3.97 ERA. He won just once in his 11 starts. His season ERA is still an ugly 5.89. P.S. And one more thing: Cody Reed gets his second start of 2018 today as the Reds play Milwaukee again. The Northwest Mississippi Community College product has pitched well in relief since returning from the minors (see previous post) and has a 3.68 ERA in 11 MLB games all told this season.

28 Aug

learning curve

Tim Anderson went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs on Monday night, but ESPN analysts Tim Kurkjian and Eduardo Perez were singing the praises of the shortstop’s defense during the network’s game coverage. The former East Central Community College standout made two highlight-worthy plays in the Chicago White Sox’s 6-2 win over the New York Yankees. On the first, he went deep into the hole and made a jump-and-throw play to nail the batter at first base. On the second, playing in with a runner at third, he short-hopped a hard-hit grounder and cut down the runner at the plate. Defense has been an issue for Anderson, a relative latecomer to baseball, during his three years in the big leagues. He made 28 errors in in 145 games in 2017. But, by all accounts, he is improving. He has just 15 errors in 125 games this year and reportedly is making more plays like the ones he pulled off Monday. “He’s growing and maturing,” Perez said. “He’s a great athlete learning to play baseball,” Kurkjian said. A basketball star in high school in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Anderson didn’t play baseball until his junior year. East Central was his only baseball scholarship offer. In his second year with the Warriors, he batted .495 with 10 homers and 41 steals for a state championship team and was named an NJCAA All-American. Intrigued by his raw skills, the White Sox drafted him 17th overall in 2013. There was speculation then that Anderson might have to move to center field in pro ball, but he has stuck at short. He is also making strides as an offensive threat; he’s at .249 with 17 homers, 58 RBIs and 25 steals in 2018. The White Sox have seen enough that they signed him last year through the 2022 season. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State star Chris Stratton threw a career-high eight innings on Monday as San Francisco shut out Arizona 2-0. Stratton (9-7, 4.99 ERA) allowed five hits, no walks and fanned six in his second straight quality start since returning from a second pit stop in the minors. … In recent MLB moves: Richton High alum JaCoby Jones has been activated from the disabled list by Detroit; Southern Miss product Cody Carroll was sent to the minors by Baltimore; former Ole Miss star Mike Mayers has landed on the DL for St. Louis; and UM alum Bobby Wahl is eligible to come off the DL for the New York Mets but there’s been no word on when that might happen.

25 Aug

what’s in a name

Give it up for “Bull” and “TA7” for their contributions in winning efforts on the official opening night of Players Weekend in MLB. “Fraz” had three hits Friday in a losing cause. “CC” got rocked and took a loss. “Bone” had a quiet night, and “C-Dizzle” struck out in a pinch-hit appearance. “2-Bags” sat, resting a sore knee, and “Juicy J” and “Zoombiya” are, unfortunately, on the DL. Easy to overlook was the performance by “Goggles,” who escaped a major jam to keep his club in a game it would go on to lose. “Goggles” is the nickname worn by Cody Reed, the former Northwest Mississippi Community College star from Horn Lake. Working in relief for Cincinnati, the bespectacled Reed — can’t miss those thick, black rims — came on in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out in a 1-1 game vs. Chicago at Wrigley Field. The left-hander got Anthony Rizzo to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play on a 3-2 pitch. Reed then pitched a scoreless seventh, but the Cubs would ultimately win the game 3-2 on a David Bote walk-off homer. Reed, recently recalled from the minors, has now made three straight scoreless appearances for the Reds, cutting his season ERA to 3.95. He was a starter in Triple-A; maybe the Reds will finally give him another shot in their rotation. Nickname key: Bull is Brian Dozier, TA7 Tim Anderson, Fraz Adam Frazier, CC Cody Carroll, Bone Billy Hamilton, C-Dizzle Corey Dickerson, 2-Bags Mitch Moreland, Juicy J JaCoby Jones and Zoombiya Jarrod Dyson. (Tony Sipp, who notched a hold for Houston, is “Sipp,” in case anyone was confused.)

23 Aug

random numbers

90 – Losses by Mississippi State alum Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles, who fell to Toronto 6-0 on Wednesday. The O’s went 0-10 at Toronto this year and have 50 road losses all told.
4 – Wins, against no losses, for ex-State standout Dakota Hudson, who worked a scoreless inning in St. Louis’ win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rookie Hudson has a 1.29 ERA in 12 relief appearances for the surging Cardinals.
5 – Earned runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings by ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who took his first loss with the New York Yankees against Miami. Lynn has allowed 10 runs in his last two starts for the Yanks after yielding one in his first three appearances.
15 – Home runs by Mitch Moreland, the former State standout whose latest bomb helped Boston beat Cleveland and snap a rare three-game losing streak.
17 – Homers by East Central Community College product Tim Anderson, who went deep for the Chicago White Sox and matched his season total from 2017.
20 – Homers for Ronald Acuna, the former Mississippi Braves star whose sixth leadoff blast of the season helped Atlanta beat Pittsburgh. Rookie Acuna has reached the 20-homer mark in just 290 at-bats.
3 – Wins by former M-Braves starters: Atlanta’s Julio Teheran beat Pittsburgh for his ninth W of the year, Texas’ Mike Minor snuffed Oakland for his 10th and Houston’s Charlie Morton notched his 13th as the Astros held off Seattle.
1 – Run scored by State product Adam Frazier, the only run Pittsburgh tallied against Atlanta, which held the Pirates to two runs total in sweeping a three-game series at PNC Park.
38 – Hits in his last 30 games by ex-M-Braves star Mallex Smith, who got two more knocks for Tampa Bay to raise his average to .304, seventh in the American League.

21 Aug

there’s another one

They just keep coming. On Monday, it was Bryse Wilson, the latest fresh, young arm summoned from the minors by Atlanta. Like so many of the others, the 20-year-old Wilson impressed, throwing five shutout innings at Pittsburgh to win his debut, 1-0. All the recent hype about the pitching talent in the Braves’ farm system appears to be very real. Truth is truth, so to speak. Followers of the Double-A Mississippi Braves have been witness to their rise. Of the 33 pitchers Atlanta has employed this season, 18 passed through Pearl. Five M-Braves pitching alums have made their big league debut since July 31. Over the last two years the likes of Sean Newcomb, Max Fried, A.J. Minter, Luiz Gohara, Jesse Biddle, Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint and now Wilson have made The Show and made a positive impression. Wilson, 3-5 with a 3.97 ERA for the M-Braves this season, certainly looked like he belonged from the get-go on Monday. He struck out the first two batters he faced, Mississippians Corey Dickerson and Adam Frazier. And there are more arms on the minor league runway: Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, et al. It’s hard to keep track. Where will they all fit in? For the Braves, it’s a nice problem to have.

20 Aug

have a day

Adam Frazier earned a prominent place in the spotlight on Sunday, hitting an 11th-inning walk-off home run for Pittsburgh. But there’s a crowd of Mississippians deserving at least a slice of the attention. Mississippi State alum Frazier’s fifth homer of the year and second career game-winner gave the Pirates a 2-1 win against the Chicago Cubs. He said in an mlb.com story that it was “probably the most excited I’ve ever gotten going around the bases.” Frazier has been swinging a hot bat since returning from a trip to the minors; he is batting .386 in his last 15 games. Former Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson, also with the Bucs, went 2-for-5 to boost his average to .308, best among Mississippi-connected players in the big leagues. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier had a three-hit game and scored twice for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 12-1 rout of Seattle. Dozier is batting .250 with three homers, 12 RBIs and eight runs in 17 games for the Dodgers. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton had a stat sheet-stuffing day for Cincinnati, banging out two triples, drawing a walk, driving in three runs and scoring one in an 11-4 victory vs. San Francisco. Ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-3 with his 14th home run and three RBIs for San Diego in a 4-3 loss to Arizona. East Central CC product Tim Anderson had only one hit but it left the park for his 16th homer, helping the Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City 7-6. And down on the farm, Meridian CC and McLaurin High product Davis Bradshaw produced a 5-for-5 game for short-season Class A Batavia in the Miami system. The speedy Bradshaw, an 11th-round pick in June, bunted for his fifth hit and stole two bases. He is 7-for-16 in four games at Batavia after batting .376 with 15 steals in the Gulf Coast League.

18 Aug

the full spectrum

Ah, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Mississippians experienced both on Friday — and something in between, as well — in the wide world of big league baseball. Start with the agony. In the big Houston-Oakland showdown, former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout Tony Sipp, an Astros reliever, surrendered a walk-off home run to Matt Olson that gave the A’s a 4-3 win in 10 innings and cut Houston’s lead to 1 game in the American League West. Sipp has been very good this season. His ERA entering Friday’s game was 1.50. He hadn’t allowed a run since June 24. He hadn’t allowed a home run all season. So, yeah, that one hurt. On to the thrill: Mitch Moreland, the Mississippi State product, is also having a helluva year — and so is his team, the Boston Red Sox, who have the best record in the game. They trailed early on Friday against Tampa Bay in Fenway Park but rallied, going ahead to stay in the fifth inning on an RBI hit by Moreland, his 62nd RBI of the year. He scored a run in the seventh inning as the Red Sox, 87-36 and 43-15 at home, stormed to a 7-3 win. Meanwhile, at Yankee Stadium, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who had been lights out in his first three appearances for New York, gave up four runs in the first inning against Toronto but his personal agony was erased by a thrilling Yankees rally. They won a rain-shortened affair 7-5, staying within shouting distance — if only barely — of the Red Sox in the AL East. Lynn now has a 2.61 ERA in four games, three starts, with the Yanks since arriving in a trade with Minnesota.