Tag Archives: Nationals

14 Aug

it’s hard out there

In a surprise move, the Washington Nationals have designated Nathaniel Lowe for assignment, which will likely lead to his release. The Mississippi State product would be the eighth Mississippian to be released off a big league roster this season. Seems like a lot. Lowe, 30, a seven-year vet, homered on Wednesday, his first bomb since July 19, but was batting .091 in August and .216 overall, well below what was expected when the Nats got him in an off-season trade with Texas. The lefty-swinging first baseman hit .274 with 78 homers and won a Silver Slugger and a World Series during his four years with the Rangers. Under contract this season for $10.3 million, he might catch on somewhere as a free agent. Also found wanting in MLB this year: Kendall Graveman, Spencer Turnbull, Jacob Waguespack, Hunter Renfroe, Chris Stratton (twice), Tim Anderson and Grae Kessinger. Turnbull and Waguespack were signed by other clubs; the others remain free agents. Blaine Crim was DFA’d and claimed on waivers by another organization; Chuckie Robinson was DFA’d and outrighted to the minors. … On the minor league level, MSU alum R.J. Yeager was released by St. Louis off the Double-A Springfield roster; he was batting .210.

07 Aug

caught up in middle

Games aren’t always saved in the ninth inning. Middle relievers frequently work on the razor’s edge. Drew Pomeranz, the 36-year-old left-hander out of Ole Miss, faced such a situation on Wednesday with the Chicago Cubs. He came on in the sixth with the Cubs holding a one-run lead, a runner on base, two outs and the dangerous Elly De La Cruz up for Cincinnati. Pomeranz struck him out on four pitches. And his job was done. Rookie starter Cade Horton would get the win. Pomeranz was credited with a hold, his ninth in 38 appearances, and reduced his ERA to 1.97. He also has a save and two wins on his 2025 ledger. The Cubs used three more relievers, added on some runs and won 6-1 at Wrigley Field. Take 2: In Washington, Konnor Pilkington, the ex-Mississippi State standout, got the call in the fifth inning, two on, one out and the Nationals locked in a scoreless battle with the A’s. Pilkington struck out Nick Kurtz, pitched around Brent Rooker and got J.J. Bleday on a ground ball to end the inning. The lefty went back out for the sixth and gave up a tie-breaking solo homer to Tyler Soderstrom — the first he has allowed in eight appearances — before getting two outs and departing for another reliever. The Nationals tied the score in the bottom of the sixth and went on to win 2-1 via a walk-off hit. Pilkington, called up just last month, has been an effective pitcher in clutch situations though he has no wins, saves or holds. He has inherited seven baserunners and not allowed one to score in his 7 2/3 innings of work; he has put up a 2.35 ERA for a last-place team. P.S. Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes got his first hit — a home run — in his sixth game for Tampa Bay since joining the club in a trade on July 29. The Rays, with Fortes behind the plate, beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4. … Philadelphia has claimed UM product Jacob Waguespack off waivers from Tampa Bay and assigned the right-hander to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He has been on the injured list since late May. Waguespack, who has a 5.11 ERA in 31 career MLB games, had pitched well (0.46) in the minors this year.

31 Jul

just stuff

The St. Louis Cardinals, in the process of trading away big league pitchers, have added a couple of Mississippi products to their farm system. Former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan was acquired from Boston as part of a deal for Steven Matz and ex-Mississippi State standout Nate Dohm was picked up from the New York Mets in the Ryan Helsley trade. Corner infielder Jordan, Boston’s No. 17 prospect (MLB Pipeline), is batting .308 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A. Dohm, a hard-throwing right-hander drafted in the third round in 2024, is 3-5 with a 2.87 ERA as a starter in A-ball. He was the Mets’ No. 14 prospect. … Also on the move on Wednesday was veteran third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, traded from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. Hayes is the son of Hattiesburg native and ex-big leaguer Charlie Hayes. The trade deadline is today at 5 p.m. CDT. … Mississippi college products Brent Rooker (23), Matt Wallner (13) and Jordan Westburg (12) all went deep in MLB games on Wednesday, and in his first game on a rehab assignment in Triple-A, Tim Elko hit his 17th minor league bomb. He has four big league homers. … Cool Moment, Take 2: Former Jackson Prep teammates Jake Mangum and Will Warren faced off for the second time this season in the Tampa Bay-New York Yankees game. Warren struck out Mangum in Wednesday’s first confrontation, then Mangum got an infield hit in the second. Mangum also got an infield hit off Warren back in April. Warren (4.64 ERA) allowed one run is six innings but got a no-decision in a game the Yankees won in extra innings. Mangum (.288) was 1-for-5 with a highlight-reel catch. … MSU product Konnor Pilkington from Pascagoula has thrown six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts since Washington called him up on July 22. … At Trustmark Park in Pearl, former St. Andrew’s standout Banks Tolley homered for visiting Schaumburg, but Brayland Skinner and Kasten Furr combined for nine RBIs as the Mississippi Mud Monsters took a 14-9 victory in the Frontier League contest.

24 Jul

hot topics

Landon Harmon, the touted right-hander from East Union High, has signed with the Washington Nationals for $2.5 million, according to several reports. He was taken in the third round, 80th overall; the slot value for that pick was $1.01M, per mlb.com. His pitch repertoire will need some polish, according to Baseball America’s pre-draft scouting report: “While Harmon’s fastball is one the better pitches in this class, his secondaries need more refinement.” Harmon was a Mississippi State signee and is the second high-profile MSU recruit to sign with an MLB club, joining eighth overall pick JoJo Parker from Purvis. Parker’s twin brother Jacob also was drafted (19th round) but has chosen to attend MSU. All told, five prep players from the state were drafted this year. Talon Haley (12th round), a pitcher from Lewisburg, signed with the Los Angeles Angels, and Jay McQueen (20th round), an outfielder from Brandon, reportedly has inked with Texas, though that has not been confirmed on mlb.com. … Konnor Griffin, the No. 9 overall pick in 2024 out of Jackson Prep, is rated the No. 1 overall prospect in the minors in MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 100 rankings. He entered his first pro season ranked No. 43; he is batting .324 with 13 homers and 42 steals at two levels of A-ball in Pittsburgh’s organization. Braden Montgomery (Madison Central alum) is No. 27, Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights) No. 38 and Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) No. 71. … MSU is ranked No. 4 in Baseball America’s first 2026 college poll. The magazine’s story hails the arrival of new coach Brian O’Connor and several portal additions plus the return of Ace Reese, SEC newcomer of the year in 2025. Ole Miss is No. 24, thanks in part to the return of Judd Utermark, Austin Fawley and Hunter Elliott.

23 Jul

where ya been?

Back in the big leagues for the first time in two years, Konnor Pilkington threw two perfect innings in relief for Washington and got a win, his first since 2022. The Pascagoula native and ex-Mississippi State standout, called up from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, worked the fifth and sixth innings of the Nationals’ 6-1 win against Cincinnati. “It’s special,” Pilkington told mlb.com. “I was very excited, to say the least.” Mixing a mid-90s fastball with a slider and changeup, the East Central High grad struck out the side in the sixth. “That’s Konnor with a K, boys and girls,” said a Nats broadcaster. “What a Nationals debut for this lefty.” He became the 28th Mississippian (native or school alum) to play in a big league game in 2025. Pilkington was a third-round draft pick back in 2018 by the Chicago White Sox, who traded him to Cleveland at the deadline in 2021. He went 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 15 games for the Guardians in 2022, made just one MLB appearance in ’23 and spent all of last season in the minors. He became a minor league free agent last fall and signed with Washington. He had a 2.59 ERA, four wins, two saves and eight holds in 36 games for Triple-A Rochester. Pilkington was an ace starter at State, going 14-12, 3.47, with 260 strikeouts over three seasons. P.S. Brandon native J.T. Ginn, another MSU product, made his first start since late May for the A’s and, opposing Texas and Jacob deGrom, threw five innings of one-run ball. He has a 4.50 ERA over 12 games. … Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, apparently won’t be activated by Atlanta until later in the week. The veteran third baseman was eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday. … The Chicago Cubs assigned Spencer Turnbull, ex-Madison Central standout, to Triple-A Iowa. A recent free agent signee, he pitched in rookie ball on Saturday. … Righty Mason Morris, third-round pick out of Ole Miss, has signed with Cincinnati for $897,500, per mlb.com.

16 Jul

just stuff

Adam Frazier left Kansas City as a free agent last fall. Today, the Royals decided they wanted him back. They sent a Triple-A prospect to Pittsburgh to reacquire the Mississippi State product, a utility player who was batting .255 with three homers and 21 RBIs for the last-place Pirates. The Royals are 47-50 and playing better of late. Frazier, a lefty hitter, had a down year with KC in 2024 but is a .263 career hitter in 10 MLB seasons with five different clubs. He has 63 homers and 62 steals. Earlier this season the Royals released two ex-MSU players: Hunter Renfroe and Chris Stratton. Ex-Ole Miss star James McArthur is on their injured list. … MLB Pipeline hailed Washington as having one of the better drafts this year. The Nationals, who took Oklahoma high schooler Eli Willits first overall, drafted East Union High right-hander Landon Harmon in the third round and in later rounds got Ole Miss righty Riley Maddox and MSU first baseman Hunter Hines. Maddox (11-14, 6.09 ERA in four years in Oxford) and Hines (career-record 70 homers in four years in Starkville) already have signed. … Pearl River Community College had four alums drafted, all pitchers: Jacob Johnson and K.K. Clark off the 2025 team and former Wildcats Conner Ware of LSU and Landen Payne of Southern Miss. All four are Magnolia State natives. The River has had 34 alums drafted since 1983, per the school’s website. … The Frontier League All-Star Game is tonight at Troy, N.Y. Brian Williams, Victor Diaz and Travis Holt of the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters have been invited. … On this date in 1988, the longest game in Texas League history concluded with the San Antonio Missions beating the Jackson Mets 1-0 in the 26th inning. It took 7 hours, 23 minutes over three days to complete. It began on July 14 and was suspended at 2:28 a.m. on July 15, scoreless in the 25th inning. It was resumed on July 16 and finally ended in the 26th inning. Blaine Beatty, a future big leaguer with the New York Mets, gave up the winning run. Current Nationals pitching coach Jim Hickey pitched six scoreless innings for the Missions, a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate. He would later serve as pitching coach for the Double-A Jackson Generals.

08 Jul

seizing the spotlight

On a Detroit team with four 2025 All-Stars, Colt Keith typically plays a supporting role. On Monday, the former Biloxi High star took center stage, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a long home run in the Tigers’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay at Comerica Park. Actually, no player for the runaway Tigers is on a hotter streak than Keith, batting .435 (10-for-23) over his last seven games. He is batting .321 over his last 15 games with three homers, seven RBIs and 11 runs, mostly out of the leadoff spot. Keith credits a change in his approach for this surge. “Lately, I’ve been swinging, like, 75 percent and just trying to be short to the ball,” he told the Detroit Free Press. The second-year big leaguer, 23, who got a big contract before his rookie season, started slowly this year, batting .181 with a lone homer and five RBIs through April. He is currently at .264 with seven homers, 27 RBIs and 40 runs in 80 games. After playing second base in 2024 — a new position for the lefty hitter — he has bounced between second, first, third and DH this season. Mississippi’s Gatorade player of the year in 2019, Keith was drafted in the fifth — and final — round in 2020 and proved a quick study in the minors, batting .300 over his three seasons. P.S. Washington named bench coach Miguel Cairo as its interim manager after firing Dave Martinez on Sunday. Nationals pitching coach Jim Hickey, who filled that role for the Double-A Jackson Generals some 30 years ago, will stay on, for now. … Mississippi Mud Monsters Brian Williams, Victor Diaz and Travis Holt have been chosen for the Frontier League All-Star Game, set for next Wednesday at Troy, N.Y. The independent Mud-sters resume their homestand tonight against Windy City at Trustmark Park.

17 Jun

temperature reading

Maybe there should be a CAUTION sign hanging above Jake Mangum’s locker. The Mississippi State product from Flowood is that hot, and so is his Tampa Bay team. With Mangum banging out three hits and driving in three runs, the Rays beat visiting Baltimore 7-1 on Monday. That’s four straight wins, 10 out of 13 and 19 out of 25 for the Rays, now 40-32 and just 2.5 games back of slumping New York atop the American League East. “We have a lot of faith in each other,” Mangum told mlb.com. “If I don’t get the job done, the guy behind me is gonna get it done, the guy in front of me is gonna get it done.” Lately, Mangum has been getting it done. The rookie switch-hitter is 12-for-27 (.444) over his last seven games with eight RBIs, five runs and five stolen bases. He is hitting .315 on the season with 21 RBIs, 13 runs and 10 bags in 37 games; he missed almost a month after a groin injury in late April. … And then there is the coldest team in the big leagues: Washington, which blew a ninth-inning lead Monday and lost to lowly Colorado 6-4 at Nationals Park. That’s nine straight losses for the Nats, now 30-42 and sinking in the National League East. Former Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe, the regular first baseman, is also in a cold snap, with just four hits and eight strikeouts in his last 22 at-bats. Brought in this season to provide some power for a young team, he has just one home run since May 16. On the year, Lowe — a Silver Slugger winner in 2022 and a World Series champ in ’23 with Texas — is batting .227 with nine homers and 44 RBIs. He has been the subject of trade rumors, but you wonder if interest might be waning. P.S. Ex-State star J.T. Ginn came off the injured list for the A’s Monday and threw three scoreless innings in relief in a 3-1 win vs. Houston. He has a 4.79 ERA in five appearances this season.

18 May

there and here

MLB’s “rivalry weekend” featured a St. Louis-Kansas City series at Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals honored their 1985 and 2015 World Series championship clubs. There were Mississippi natives on both of those teams: Greenville’s Frank White was a slick-fielding, power-hitting second baseman for the ’85 Royals, who beat St. Louis in seven games in the memorable I-40 Series, and McComb’s Jarrod Dyson was a dash-fast outfielder for the ’15 team, which was managed by former Jackson Mets catcher Ned Yost. There are two state natives on the current Royals: Crystal Springs’ Hunter Renfroe and Tupelo’s Chris Stratton, both Mississippi State alums. … Former Ole Miss star Tim Elko had a nice debut in Chicago’s Crosstown Classic, hitting his second homer for the White Sox in their loss Saturday to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. UM product Drew Pomeranz, a Cubs reliever, did not work in the first two games of that series. … Ex-MSU star Nathaniel Lowe homered for Washington in its win over beltway rival Baltimore on Friday, then drove in two more runs in a win on Saturday in the slumping Orioles’ first game after manager Brandon Hyde’s dismissal. … Seedings and brackets are set for this week’s NCAA Division I tournaments. Mississippi State is seeded 11th in the SEC field and opens with Texas A&M in an elimination game on Tuesday at Hoover, Ala., while Ole Miss, seeded seventh, plays Wednesday against the Florida-South Carolina winner. Southern Miss is the 2-seed in the Sun Belt and will play on Wednesday at Montgomery, Ala. Jackson State is seeded sixth in the SWAC Tournament and draws Alabama State on Wednesday at Birmingham’s historic Rickwood Field. … The season is over for Delta State and Millsaps College, both of which lost elimination games in NCAA regional play on Saturday. Both were regular season champions in their respective conferences. … Pearl River Community College won the NJCAA Region 23 championship on Saturday with a 10-0 win over East Central CC in the deciding Game 3. Jacob Johnson (12-1) threw a brilliant seven innings. The No. 2-ranked Wildcats (50-8) are off to the Junior College World Series in Enid, Okla. … The MHSAA championship matchups are (almost) set: In Class 7A, it’s Madison Central-Brandon; in 6A, Saltillo-George County; in 5A Lafayette-South Jones; in 4A, it’s Purvis vs. the West Lauderdale-Newton winner from today; in 3A, Mooreville-Seminary; in 2A, East Union-Clarkdale; and in 1A West Union-Taylorsville. The seven best-of-3 series begin this week at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

11 May

a special day

Not much beats belting a home run for your first major league hit. Unless it’s doing it on Mother’s Day, with your mom in the stadium. Against a former Cy Young Award winner. To win the game. The legend of Tim Elko grew a little larger Sunday when the ex-Ole Miss star, in his second game with the Chicago White Sox, hit a three-run homer off Miami’s Sandy Alcantara. The sixth-inning shot, a 381-footer with the traditional pink bat, put the White Sox ahead and they held on for a 4-2 win at Rate Field. Homers are kind of a thing for Elko, who hit 46 at Ole Miss –including some huge ones during the Rebels’ 2022 run to the national title — and another 61 in the minors before his Saturday call-up. Power is something the lowly ChiSox have been sorely lacking. … Former Mississippi State star Nathaniel Lowe also homered with the pink bat Sunday, his seventh of the season accounting for Washington’s only run in a 6-1 loss to St. Louis. … Mississippi natives Fred Lewis and Bill Hall hit two of MLB’s most famous Mother’s Day homers. Lewis, a Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum, hit for the cycle on Mother’s Day 2007. He was making just his fourth career start when he went 5-for-6 for San Francisco that day; the homer was the first of his career. Nettleton’s Hall became a Brewers legend on May 14, 2006, when he hit a walk-off homer in the 10th inning to beat the New York Mets at Milwaukee’s Miller Park. With his mother in the stands, Hall swung the special pink bat in the first year that those were used in MLB. Hall’s blast came against Chad Bradford, the former Hinds Community College and Southern Miss standout who allowed only that one homer all season.