Tag Archives: MLB

24 Aug

stuff

Even on an 0-for-3 night, Billy Hamilton hijacked the highlight show in the big leagues Tuesday with a catch that must be seen. The Taylorsville Tornado covered 123 feet and reached 22 mph, according to Statcast figures, and laid out to snag a ball in left-center field during Cincinnati’s 3-0 win against Texas. He leads National League center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved with 12. The best part of the whole thing might have been Hamilton’s post-catch reaction: a wide smile and a shrug. … Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier set a career-high with his 29th homer for Minnesota in a loss to Detroit. He has 75 RBIs, two shy of his career-best set in 2015, and is hitting .268, which would also be a career-best. … Tim Anderson, the Chicago White Sox rookie out of East Central Community College, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in a win over Philadelphia. He is at .280 with 20 RBIs. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product Tony Sipp allowed another home run – that’s 11 in 34 2/3 innings – in Houston’s loss to Pittsburgh. Sipp’s ERA swelled to 5.45. … Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart, out since Aug. 17 with knee and heel soreness, isn’t expected to play again for Cincinnati until Friday. Coming back from 2015 knee surgery, Cozart is batting .263 with 15 homers. … When San Francisco put former Mississippi Braves center fielder Gregor Blanco on the disabled list, it opened the door for another ex-M-Braves center fielder, Gorkys Hernandez, to return to The Show. … Orlando Arcia, the former Biloxi Shuckers star and top Milwaukee prospect, is batting .155 in 20 games since his call-up. … Down on the farm, ex-Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley blasted two homers for Class A Lynchburg (Cleveland) and now has 29 bombs and 100 RBIs for the season. … Former UM standout Lance Lynn, on the mend from Tommy John surgery, is slated to make a rehab start tonight for St. Louis’ Class AA Springfield club. He has made two starts in A-ball. … The run-starved M-Braves, who’ve lost five of six as they battle for a Southern League South title, face Biloxi ace and former Mississippi State star Brandon Woodruff tonight at MGM Park. Woodruff, despite back-to-back rough outings, is 7-8 with a 3.63 ERA.

18 Aug

lists

Dansby Swanson, Luis Hernandez, Yunel Escobar, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Pastornicky, Andrelton Simmons, Ed Lucas, Daniel Castro – Former Mississippi Braves shortstops who advanced to the big leagues.

Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee, Detroit – MLB uniforms worn by former Ole Miss star Alex Presley, called up today by the Tigers.

Chris Coghlan, Desmond Jennings, Louis Coleman, Aaron Barrett, Lance Lynn – Mississippians currently on the disabled list in MLB.

21, 20, 28 – Former Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe’s home run totals in his three full minor league seasons, the latter leading all of Triple-A in 2016.

Tim Anderson (East Central), Corey Dickerson (Meridian), Jarrod Dyson (Southwest), Desmond Jennings (Itawamba), Cody Reed (Northwest), Tony Sipp (Gulf Coast) – Mississippi junior college products who have played in the majors this season.

Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville), Rickey Henderson, Vince Coleman, Ty Cobb, Ron LeFlore, Tim Raines, Maury Wills – MLB players since 1913 who have stolen at least three bases in a game six times in one season.

15 Aug

dispatches

First, the good stuff. Brian Dozier hit career homer No. 100 on Saturday, then started on his second hundred Sunday. The former Southern Miss star hit his 26th of the year for Minnesota in a loss against Kansas City. Mississippi State product Adam Frazier went 4-for-5 with a couple of runs for Pittsburgh in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers; the rookie is batting .348. Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High standout, went 3-for-4 in Cincinnati’s loss to Milwaukee, lifting his average to .264 and his on-base percentage to .318. Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson snapped an 0-for-17 funk with his 16th homer of the year for Tampa Bay in a win against the New York Yankees; it was his first bomb since July 29. And ex-East Central CC star Tim Anderson went deep for the sixth time in the Chicago White Sox’s loss to Miami. Now, the bad stuff. Cody Reed, the Northwest Mississippi CC alum from Horn Lake, was KO’d in the second inning of the Reds’ loss. He allowed five hits — including a 12th homer in his 10 starts — walked three, hit a batter and left trailing 6-0. He is 0-7 with a 7.36 ERA. He may well be headed back to the minors to regain some confidence in his stuff.

13 Aug

numbers to crunch

0 – Runs allowed in six pro appearances (6 1/3 innings) by Dakota Hudson, the ex-Mississippi State star who was drafted 34th overall by St. Louis in June. Hudson is now pitching for high Class A Palm Beach in the Florida State League.
99 – Career MLB home runs for Southern Miss alumnus Brian Dozier, who belted his 24th of 2016 on Friday night in Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City.
51 – Stolen bases this season, tops in the majors, by Billy Hamilton, the former Taylorsville High star with Cincinnati. Hamilton got three bags in a win over Milwaukee on Friday and has 16 in 10 games in August.
23 – Homers this season for Bobby Bradley, the Harrison Central High product who went deep on Friday for Class A Lynchburg in the Cleveland system.
53 – Runs scored by the Mississippi Braves’ Dansby Swanson, who tallied the game-winner on Friday at Jacksonville as the first-place M-Braves tied a club record with their eighth straight win. Swanson, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect, is batting .262 with eight homers, 45 RBIs and six steals in 82 games for the Double-A M-Braves.
5 – Number of Mississippi-connected outfielders in the Toronto organization: Anthony Alford (Petal), D.J. Davis (Stone County), Kalik May (Mississippi Valley State), Earl Burl III (Alcorn State) and J.B. Woodman (Ole Miss).
20 – Homers this season for ex-State star Mitch Moreland, who reached the plateau for the third time in his last four MLB seasons with a bomb on Friday in Texas’ win against Detroit.

11 Aug

sittin’ on 98

Brian Dozier moved one step closer to career home run No. 100 on Wednesday, then took one step back a few hours later. Southern Miss product Dozier’s 99th homer – a leadoff shot for Minnesota against Houston – was washed away when the game was postponed by rain with the Twins up 5-0 in the third inning. They’ll play two today. Don’t bet against Dozier hitting a couple. He has 23 for the year, seven in his last 15 games. The Tupelo native and former Itawamba AHS star is poised to become the third Mississippian to reach the 100 career homer milestone this season. Seth Smith, from Jackson and Ole Miss, hit No. 100 for Seattle on April 29. Mitch Moreland, from Amory and Mississippi State, hit his 100th for Texas on July 18. Dozier has gotten there a little faster than the other two. He debuted in 2012, Moreland in 2010 and Smith in 2007. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz is now winless in five starts (0-2, 5.26 ERA) for Boston since the Red Sox acquired him from San Diego. He yielded just one run in 5 1/3 against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, a game the Red Sox’s bullpen let get away. Pomeranz is at 127 2/3 innings for the year. His previous high was 96 2/3 in 2012.

08 Aug

big league chew

Three hits, a walk, three runs, four steals and a great catch in center field. That’s the kind of production the Cincinnati Reds would like to see from Billy Hamilton on a more regular basis. “It’s a completely different dynamic,” Reds manager Bryan Price told mlb.com after Sunday’s 7-3 win against Pittsburgh. “He just has a special talent … .” The Taylorsville High alum is batting .255 (.305 on-base percentage) with 52 runs and an MLB-leading 43 stolen bases in 95 games. He is a .245 career hitter (.292 OBP) since his 2013 debut with the Reds. … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier rapped out two hits Sunday to extend his streak to 16 games. He is batting .366 during that stretch and is up to .264 for the season for Minnesota. … Cameras caught Mississippi State alum Jonathan Papelbon kicked back and catching some rays (possibly napping) in the Washington Nationals’ bullpen on Sunday – during the eighth inning of a 1-0 game against San Francisco. The displaced closer watched in the ninth as Mark Melancon nailed down his first save for the Nats. Papelbon has made just two appearances since July 28, allowing a run (on a home run) in 2 1/3 innings. … Ole Miss product David Goforth allowed five runs in three innings in three appearances during his week back up with Milwaukee. His ERA ballooned to 10.97, and he was optioned out to Triple-A Colorado Springs today. … Madison Younginer, who had 14 saves with the Mississippi Braves this season, made his MLB debut with Atlanta on Sunday, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning against St. Louis.

08 Aug

fun fact

The 3,000-hit club expanded to 30 members with the addition of Ichiro Suzuki on Sunday. Rafael Palmeiro, the former Mississippi State standout, is in the club (with 3,020 hits), but no native Mississippians have reached that hallowed plateau. The closest anyone has come to date is Dave Parker, who retired in 1991 with 2,712 knocks. However, a Mississippi native was directly involved in a 3,000th hit. Vicksburg’s John Thomson yielded Rickey Henderson’s milestone hit — a double — on Oct. 7, 2001. Thomson was pitching for Colorado, Henderson batting for San Diego. Thomson won 63 games over a 10-year big league career and made a couple of rehab appearances with the Mississippi Braves (in 2005 and ’06).

07 Aug

out wichita way

The Kansas Stars and the NJCAA National Team, both with Mississippi natives on the roster, were impressive in their National Baseball Congress World Series openers on Saturday. Former Brandon High standout Barry Wesson, on a Stars team filled with ex-major leaguers, contributed a hit in an 8-0 victory at Wichita, Kan. Wesson, 39, played in 25 MLB games and spent 14 years all told in the minors and independent ball, last playing in 2011. Roy Oswalt, the former Weir High and Holmes Community College star, is also on the Stars roster, which includes the likes of Roger Clemens, Tim Hudson, Adam LaRoche, Dan Uggla, J.D. Drew and Josh Beckett. The NJCAA team, a collection of 2016 juco stars that includes Mason Irby, opened with a 12-4 win. Irby, an All-America honoree at Jones County JC and a Southern Miss signee, went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. The Stars and the NJCAA team are slated to meet on Wednesday in the pool portion of the tournament; Clemens has been announced as the Stars starter. … The semi-pro Laurel Black Cats were eliminated from the NBC event with an 0-3 record in pool play last week.

07 Aug

ups and downs

The Cleveland Indians, who have been making a flurry of moves with pitchers, recalled former Picayune High standout T.J. House from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. Left-hander House previously had some success as a starter for the Indians but is now working out of the bullpen. In 14 appearances as a reliever in Columbus, House had a 1.98 ERA. … Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings has gone back on the disabled list for Tampa Bay with a left knee contusion. Jennings fouled a ball off of the knee early last week; he had surgery on that knee last year. The outfielder is batting just .200 in 65 games for the Rays. … Ex-East Central CC star Tim Anderson was back in the Chicago White Sox’s lineup on Saturday after missing a game with a hand injury. Anderson, hitting leadoff, went 1-for-3 with a run in the win against Baltimore and is batting .265 for the season. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product Tony Sipp gave up an eighth-inning home run to Jonathan Lucroy on Saturday in Houston’s 3-2 loss to Texas. The Astros trailed just 2-1 at the time in the American League West showdown. Sipp’s ERA jumped to 4.85. … Former Ole Miss star Cody Satterwhite is off to an inauspicious start in Japan. The minor league veteran has a 4.50 ERA in four appearances for Hanshin. He had a 1.50 with the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake club before signing with Hanshin.

06 Aug

tool time

So, Pacific Coast League managers and coaches really like ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe. He was rated the Most Exciting Player, the Best Hitter and the Best Outfield Arm in the Triple-A league in Baseball America’s recently released poll on the top tools in the minors and majors. Renfroe is hitting .321 with 27 home runs, 93 RBIs and 16 outfield assists for El Paso; he is expected to be a September call-up by San Diego. Ole Miss alum Stuart Turner, now in the Minnesota system, was rated the Best Defensive Catcher in the Double-A Southern League, and Harrison Central High product Bobby Bradley (Cleveland) got the nod as the Best Power Prospect in the Class A Carolina League. The Mississippi Braves’ infield got a lot of love from Southern League managers and coaches. Dansby Swanson was rated the Best Defensive Shortstop, Ozzie Albies the Best Defensive Second Baseman and Johan Camargo — who has played second, short and third — the Best Infield Arm. In addition, Albies was tagged the Most Exciting Player. Not surprisingly, McComb’s Jarrod Dyson (Kansas City) and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (Cincinnati) were ranked Fastest Baserunner in the AL and NL. … On the subject of standout tools, former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur doesn’t show up in the NL poll for Best Outfield Arm, perhaps because he doesn’t play everyday. But he gunned down a runner for Atlanta on Friday night and now has seven assists for the season and a remarkable 133 in his 12 big league campaigns. P.S. Wondering how former Ole Miss star Mike Mayers has fared since returning to Triple-A after his rocky MLB debut? Not that great. Mayers has yielded 10 runs in 14 2/3 innings over three starts (two losses) for Memphis; he is now 3-4 with a 3.36 ERA. Mayers made an emergency start for St. Louis on July 24 and gave up nine runs in 1 1/3 innings. Think the Cardinals miss Lance Lynn, the UM product out for the season after Tommy John surgery? Lynn won 60 games over the previous four seasons, making 126 starts overall and registering more than 175 innings in each year.