Tag Archives: Ole Miss

19 Feb

the cincy six

There are six Mississippians bopping around Cincinnati’s camp in Goodyear, Ariz. Billy Hamilton might be the only one who breaks camp with the big league team. Though he still hasn’t hit as much as the Reds would like (.260 in 2016, .249 career), former Taylorsville High star Hamilton is their center fielder, bringing plus speed and defense to the job. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart is the Cincy shortstop – but for how long? Trade rumors have circled Cozart for a while and now that he is in his last season before free agency, they’ve only intensified. Cozart, 31, bounced back from a bad knee injury in 2015 to bat .252 with 16 home runs last year, though knee pain curtailed his season. He says he feels 100 percent now and is happy to be with the Reds. But, it’s not an ideal situation. He could be dealt at any time. “You’re in limbo,” he told cincinnati.com. “That’s the tough part about it.” Stuart Turner, another ex-UM star, is also in a sort of limbo. He is in camp as a Rule 5 pick and is battling for a job as the backup catcher. If he doesn’t get that spot, he’ll likely be returned to Minnesota. Left-hander Cody Reed, a highly rated prospect out of Northwest Mississippi Community College who had rough MLB debut in 2016, will contend for a job on the pitching staff but may well wind up back in the minors. Greenwood native Louis Coleman is in the Reds’ camp as a non-roster pitcher, former Itawamba CC star Desmond Jennings as a non-roster outfielder. Both veterans face seemingly long odds to make the 25-man roster out of spring training.

18 Feb

what’s that sound?

Baseball came roaring back at the state’s NCAA Division I schools on Friday. You might have heard the noise raised by the more than 25,000 fans who turned out at the old ballparks in Oxford, Starkville and Hattiesburg. At Oxford-University Stadium, a.k.a. Swayze Field, Ole Miss drew a record 12,117 for its 5-4 victory over East Carolina. At Dudy Noble Field, an opening day record 10,217 attended Mississippi State’s game against Texas Tech, a 5-2 loss. And at Taylor Park, 3,234 (in a 6,600-seat stadium) witnessed Southern Miss’ 9-4 blowout of Northeastern. Yes, Mississippi is a so-called football state, but let’s give baseball its due. Each of the Big 3 went to an NCAA regional in 2016. Each has some rebuilding to do in 2017. Judging from the attendance on opening day, fans of all three are eager to see the new product and, we can assume, are carrying some high expectations.

16 Feb

short story

We live in a golden age for shortstops. Look around the big leagues and you see Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor and Xander Bogaerts at the forefront of a young class that also includes the likes of Trevor Story, Dansby Swanson, Orlando Arcia and East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson. Third base is called the hot corner, but shortstop is a hot spot these days, a position where you’re expected to hit, field and oftentimes lead, as well. Here in the Magnolia State, the players on that spot at the Big 4 Division I schools bring different levels of experience to the job along with intriguing potential. … Jackson State’s shortstop is Cornelius Copeland, a senior and an All-SWAC pick in 2016, his first year in the program after transferring from a Florida junior college. Copeland, who was drafted out of high school, hit .422 with five homers last season. His defense could stand to improve; he made 23 errors (an .895 fielding percentage) in 54 games. … At Mississippi State, junior Ryan Gridley is a returning starter at short and could be poised for a breakout year. He had a solid if unspectacular 2016 campaign, batting .284. New Bulldogs coach Andy Cannizaro, a shortstop in his playing days, has raved about Gridley’s defense and leadership skills. … At Southern Miss, they’re replacing Nick Dawson, who was a mainstay – and a .328 hitter — on the C-USA championship club. Tracy Hadley, a senior from Pascagoula by way of Pearl River CC, and Northwest Mississippi CC transfer LeeMarcus Boyd were vying for the job in preseason camp. Hadley hit .256 in 39 games for the Golden Eagles last year. Boyd was a dynamic player at NWCC — .339, three homers, 21 steals – but might need time to adjust to the pitching at the D-I level. … At Ole Miss, they’re handing the reins to a true freshman. But Grae Kessinger isn’t just any freshman. He was a prep All-America at Oxford High, a four-time All-State player, a two-time state champion and an MLB draftee in 2016. And, yes, he’s the grandson of the great Don Kessinger and the son of Kevin Kessinger, also a Rebels star. Grae carries a lot of expectations into the season, which starts Friday in Oxford against East Carolina. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” Kessinger told the Oxford Eagle. His career should be fun to watch. … State opens Friday at Dudy Noble Field against Texas Tech, USM welcomes Northeastern to Taylor Park that same day and J-State takes on Morehead State and Jacksonville on Saturday at Braddy Field. P.S. As a fund-raising event for storm-damaged William Carey University, the Biloxi Shuckers will play the Crusaders in an exhibition game on April 4 at MGM Park. For the record: The Crusaders will have to use wood bats.

14 Feb

on the radar

There likely will be a lot of eyes on Tony Sipp as he goes to work in West Palm Beach, Fla., over the next few weeks. The Pascagoula native and former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout is coming off a rough year and is the only seasoned left-hander in Houston’s bullpen. Sipp’s ERA jumped to 4.95 over 60 appearances in 2016. He had a 1.99 in 2015, and his career ERA over eight MLB seasons is 3.65. Batters hit .297 against Sipp in 2016, and he yielded 12 homers in 43 2/3 innings. The beefed-up Astros, picked by some as the favorite in the American League West, surely want a reliable lefty in their pen. If Sipp, 33, doesn’t look sharp, they may have to go shopping. Astros pitchers and catchers formally reported to camp today and will work out at their new spring facility on Wednesday. P.S. Joey Butler, another Pascagoula native and MGCCC alumnus, signed a minor league contract last week with Washington. Butler, a right-handed hitting outfielder, spent all of 2016 in the minors with Cleveland’s Triple-A Columbus club. He batted .276 with eight homers in 88 games for Tampa Bay in 2015 and is a career .282 hitter with 104 homers over nine pro seasons, including a stint in Japan. … Ole Miss product Aaron Barrett may be close to re-signing with Washington as a minor league free agent. He missed the 2016 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. While rehabbing last season, Barrett suffered a fractured right elbow and had another surgery. He ultimately was waived by the Nationals and elected free agency in the off-season. As a rookie in 2014, Barrett had a 2.66 ERA in 50 games for the Nats. In 2015, his ERA jumped to 4.60 in 40 games before he was injured late in the season.

13 Feb

boys of spring

Here’s the list of Mississippians who’ll be in big league camps in Florida and Arizona this spring:

40-man roster members:
Position players
Anthony Alford (Petal), Toronto; Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Chicago White Sox; Zack Cozart (Ole Miss), Cincinnati; Brian Dozier (Southern Miss), Minnesota; Corey Dickerson (Meridian CC), Tampa Bay; Jarrod Dyson (Southwest CC), Seattle; Adam Frazier (Mississippi State), Pittsburgh; Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville), Cincinnati; JaCoby Jones (Richton), Detroit; Mitch Moreland (MSU), Boston; Hunter Renfroe (MSU), San Diego; Seth Smith (Ole Miss), Baltimore; Stuart Turner (Ole Miss), Cincinnati

Pitchers
Chad Girodo (MSU), Toronto; Kendall Graveman (MSU), Oakland; Jonathan Holder (MSU), New York Yankees; Jacob Lindgren (MSU), Atlanta/injured; Lance Lynn (Ole Miss), St. Louis; Mike Mayers (Ole Miss), St. Louis; Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss), Boston; Cody Reed (Northwest CC), Cincinnati; Tony Sipp (Gulf Coast CC), Houston; Chris Stratton (MSU), San Francisco; Bobby Wahl (Ole Miss), Oakland

Non-roster invitees:
Position players
Chris Coghlan (Ole Miss), Philadelphia; Desmond Jennings (Itawamba CC), Cincinnati; Jack Kruger (MSU), Los Angeles Angels; Tyler Moore (MSU), Miami; Alex Presley (Ole Miss), Detroit; Kade Scivicque (Southwest CC), Atlanta

Pitchers
Louis Coleman (Greenwood/Pillow Academy), Cincinnati; Scott Copeland (USM), Miami; David Goforth (Ole Miss), Milwaukee

03 Feb

something different

This season probably won’t be as much fun as 2016 was for Chris Coghlan. The former Ole Miss standout, who won a World Series ring with the Chicago Cubs, has signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia, which went 71-91 in 2016 and doesn’t figure to be any better this year. Coghlan, 31, who hit .252 for the Cubs (after a .146 start to the season in Oakland), reportedly has a chance to make the Phillies’ roster this spring as a utility player. A left-handed hitter, he started at five different positions last year, though he is primarily an outfielder. … The crowd of Mississippians in the Cincinnati fold got a little bigger with the addition of Desmond Jennings, the Itawamba Community College product. The 30-year-old outfielder, released last summer by Tampa Bay, has signed a minor league contract with a spring invite. He joins Zack Cozart, Billy Hamilton, Cody Reed, Stuart Turner and Louis Coleman on the Reds’ spring roster. Jennings, a .245 hitter in a career spent entirely with the Rays, has battled injuries the last couple of seasons and might have a hard time earning a spot in Cincy’s outfield.

03 Feb

campus notes

Impressive start for William Carey University on Thursday night. Displaced from their storm-damaged home field, the Crusaders took on Cumberland at Southern Miss’ Taylor Park and rolled to a 16-6 win. The Crusaders, ranked 23rd in the NAIA preseason poll, scored in each of the six innings they batted. Larson Barkurn went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, and James Land homered. Carey plays again today at Jones County Junior College’s field in Ellisville. … Mississippi College, starting year two under coach Jeremy Haworth, faces a challenging opening day today in Clinton. The Choctaws, 17-30 in 2016, play a doubleheader against Florida Tech, 32-14 last year. MC returns leading hitter Hunter Bolin (.380) and top pitcher Jake Fraze. … Millsaps, coming off a rare losing season (20-21) under Jim Page, goes on the road to start 2017, playing Huntingdon today in Montgomery, Ala. Having lost all-conference slugger Isaac Glenn to graduation, the Majors now look to Lee Ogletree (.310, three homers, 34 RBIs) to carry their offense. … Blue Mountain, which got the 2017 season started with an 8-3 win at Christian Brothers on Wednesday, is back in action today with a doubleheader against William Woods in New Albany. Peyton Callahan swung the big bat in the Toppers’ opener with three hits and two RBIs. … Name of note on Delta State’s roster: Clay Casey. The former DeSoto Central High and Northwest Mississippi Community College star transferred to DSU from Houston and could be a key figure on a rebuilding team. Casey hit five homers for the Cougars in 2016 and 12 for Northwest the year before. DSU opens Saturday at Harding in Searcy, Ark. … Mississippi State (10th), Ole Miss (18th) and Southern Miss (24th) finished in Baseball America’s final Top 25 in 2016, with all three making the NCAA Tournament. None of the Big 3 made BA’s 2017 preseason Top 25 (though Ole Miss does appear in a couple of other polls). There’s some motivation in there somewhere. D-I opening day is Feb. 17.

31 Jan

it’s that time

As a welcome respite, the first pitch of the Mississippi college season will be thrown on Wednesday when Blue Mountain College takes on Christian Brothers at the one and only Nadicksbernd Field in Memphis. (The Toppers’ schedule originally listed this as a home game.) In anticipation of that first pitch – and in recognition of the can’t-be-overstated importance of pitching – here are some bosses of the bump to watch on Magnolia State rosters this season. For BMC, there’s Christian Dale, a senior right-hander from Columbus who went 5-7 (6.19 ERA) for a 23-32 team in 2016. … At William Carey University, keep an eye out for sophomore right-hander Devin Smith, who went 6-1, 3.35 for a club that made the NAIA postseason. With storm-damaged Wheeler Field unavailable, Carey will open on Thursday against Cumberland at Southern Miss’ Taylor Park. Round 2 of the WCU Invitational will be played Friday at Jones County Junior College and Round 3 on Saturday at Pearl River CC. … For Millsaps, which starts on Friday against Huntingdon at Montgomery, Ala., an arm of note is Daniel Adams, a junior lefty who was 3-2, 2.93 in 12 games last season. … At Mississippi College, which also starts Friday against Florida Tech at Frierson Field, there is much buzz about Tommy Taborda, a sophomore right-hander who went 2-4, 3.44 in 16 games in 2016. … For Delta State, Tre Hobbs, the senior left-hander from Greenville, will be a spotlighted player this season – he went 13-2, 3.18 in 2016 – but not to be overlooked is 6-foot-6, 265-pound right-hander Zach Osbon (3-0, 1.61 in nine games). DSU, 42-17 in 2016, starts Saturday with a doubleheader at Harding in Searcy, Ark. … For Belhaven University, which opens at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson on Feb. 10 against Berry College, the staff ace figures to be Tanner Cable, who went 5-0, 2.70 last year after transferring from Delta State. … For Jackson State, which opens Feb. 18 with home games against Morehead State and Jacksonville, the name to know is Michael Yrigoyen, a senior from Venezuela who posted a 9-3 record, 4.61 ERA and 98 strikeouts last year. … At Southern Miss, which hosts Northeastern on Feb. 17, they’ll welcome back All-C-USA left-hander Kirk McCarty, who went 8-1 with a 3.15 for the conference champs. … For Ole Miss, 6-7 righty James McArthur (6-1, 4.26), a freshman All-American last year, is among the arms being counted on to fill the void left by Brady Bramlett’s departure. The Rebels open at home on Feb. 17 with East Carolina. … For Mississippi State, which must replace ace Dakota Hudson, sophomore left-hander Konnor Pilkington carries weighty expectations after going 3-1, 2.08 last season and then shining in the Cape Cod League, as well. The Bulldogs host Texas Tech on Feb. 17.

24 Jan

ramblings

It now appears that Brian Dozier will be staying in Minnesota. For sure he won’t be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have acquired Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay to play second base in 2017. Dozier, the former Southern Miss standout, has said all along that he wants to stay with the Twins, though the team, which won only 59 games in 2016, isn’t likely to be a contender anytime soon. Dozier hit 42 homers – an American League record for second basemen — in 2016, to go with a .268 average, 99 RBIs and 104 runs. He is under contract for two more years. … Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz has pronounced himself fit for 2017 and eager to win a job in Boston’s rotation. The left-hander’s ERA was 4.59 last year for the Red Sox after they acquired him from San Diego, where he had a 2.47 and was an All-Star. Pomeranz recently told reporters that he had elbow pain late last year, an ailment that has been treated with a stem cell shot. The Red Sox’s rotation is stacked at the top with Rick Porcello, David Price and Chris Sale. Competition for the other two jobs will be stiff. “In my head, I always feel like I’m competing for something,” Pomeranz said in an mlb.com article. The well-traveled Pomeranz also has experience as a reliever. … Expectations are that Jarrod Dyson will play regularly in left field and bat leadoff for Seattle, which traded for the Southwest Mississippi Community College product earlier this month. Regular time was hard to come by for Dyson in Kansas City, where, over seven seasons, he batted .260 with 176 steals and played excellent defense, something Seattle was seeking. … DeSoto Central High alum Austin Riley was rated the No. 8 third base prospect in the minors by MLB Pipeline. Riley played at the low Class A level in 2016, batting .271 with 20 homers in his first full year in Atlanta’s system. Ex-Mississippi Braves star Ozzie Albies was rated the No. 2 second base prospect and Travis Demeritte, expected to play in Pearl this year, was pegged at No. 5. Demeritte may be shifted to third base.

10 Jan

what’s happening

Louis Coleman is off the market, having signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati. The Greenwood native and ex-Pillow Academy star will contend for a bullpen job with the Reds in spring training. Coleman posted a 4.69 ERA in 61 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 but was non-tendered last fall. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 3.51 career ERA in 213 MLB games, having begun his career with Kansas City. … Incidentally, the Reds are slated to have five Mississippians in spring camp: Zack Cozart (Ole Miss), Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville), Cody Reed (Northwest Mississippi Community College), Stuart Turner (Ole Miss) and Coleman. Turner was a Rule 5 pick from Minnesota. … Former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout Cody Satterwhite, who finished his 2016 campaign in Japan, signed as a minor leaguer with Baltimore. Satterwhite, 29, had a 1.80 ERA in 18 games in Triple-A for the Los Angeles Angels before going to Japan. A second-round pick by Detroit in 2008, he has also pitched in the New York Mets’ system but hasn’t made The Show in an injury-dampened career. … From the rumor mill: Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier might be staying in Minnesota; reports are the trade talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers have cooled. UM product Chris Coghlan, fresh off winning the World Series, may be on Philadelphia’s radar; the Phillies are seeking a left-handed bat. … Toronto prospect Anthony Alford, Mr. Baseball and Mr. Football his senior year at Petal High, lost many of his trophies and other memorabilia in a Dec. 28 fire that destroyed his childhood home in Columbia. No one was injured in the blaze, though Alford’s father, mother and sister, who lived in the home, reportedly lost most of their belongings. Alford now lives in Sumrall with his wife, Bailey. … Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum, the 2016 SEC freshman of the year, is ranked 29th in Baseball America’s list of the Top 100 college draft prospects for 2017. The Jackson Prep product, a switch-hitting outfielder who turns 21 in March, batted .408 last year.