Tag Archives: Ole Miss

17 Oct

top of class

In its annual MLB draft assessment issue, Baseball America picked a pair of precocious pitchers from Mississippi colleges to highlight for having had the best debut in their respective organizations. Wyatt Short, the ex-Ole Miss star from Southaven, and Zac Houston, a Mississippi State product, were among a number of Mississippians hailed in BA’s Oct. 21-Nov. 4 issue. Short, drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round in June, did not allow an earned run in 15 innings and notched seven saves in short-season A-ball. Houston, an 11th-rounder by Detroit, had an 0.30 ERA and four saves over 20 games at two levels, finishing in the Class A Midwest League. Also earning props from BA was ex-State standout Jacob Robson, an eighth-round pick by the Tigers who batted .267 in rookie ball and .316 in low Class A. Robson was labeled the Best Pure Hitter in Detroit’s class and was ranked among the five fastest runners drafted this year. Ole Miss alum J.B. Woodman, a second-rounder by Toronto, shared Best Defensive Player honors in the Blue Jays’ class. BA praised outfielder Woodman’s arm in particular. Woodman hit .272 with three homers, 24 RBIs and 10 steals in short-season A-ball and earned a promotion to low-A, where he batted .441 in 34 at-bats. The first Mississippian picked in June, State’s Dakota Hudson, who went to St. Louis in the first round, was recognized for his fastball: He tallied 19 strikeouts in 13 innings between the rookie level and high-A. Others to be singled out: State’s Nathaniel Lowe (Best Power, Tampa Bay), Bulldogs product Jack Kruger (Best Late-Round Pick, Los Angeles Angels), Itawamba Community College alum Delvin Zinn (Best Athlete, Cubs) and Starkville’s A.J. Brown (Best Athlete, San Diego). Brown, now playing football at Ole Miss, won’t make his pro debut before next summer. MSU fans lamenting what they lost in the draft can take some solace in the arrival of Graham Ashcraft, an Alabama prep star labeled The One Who Got Away in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ draft class, and Ole Miss fans can do the same concerning Grae Kessinger, the Oxford High product who passed on an offer from the Padres. Kessinger is part of a recruiting class ranked No. 1 by BA, which had seven of the new Rebels in its top 500 in the pre-draft rankings. … Atlanta and Milwaukee were ranked 2-3 in the Best Draft category, which bodes well for what we might see in Pearl and Biloxi a few years down the road.

14 Oct

tall order

It’s a tough assignment Mickey Callaway has drawn in the American League Championship Series. The former Ole Miss pitcher, now the Cleveland pitching coach, must plot a course through a Toronto lineup loaded with mashers. The Blue Jays’ 2-3-4 hitters, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, batted .367 with five homers and 15 RBIs in taking out favored Texas in the ALDS. The Indians’ rotation has been thinned by injuries. The bullpen features the remarkably versatile Andrew Miller and stout closer Cody Allen but its depth will be tested in this best-of-7 series. “We’ve got our hands full,” Callaway told mlb.com. “… We’re going to have to have some guys step up and step up in a big way.” In his four years in Cleveland, Callaway has done a nice job of prompting guys to do just that. His staffs have consistently ranked among the league’s ERA leaders; they were second with a 3.84 in 2016 and posted a 2.33 against Boston, another powerful offensive club, in their ALDS sweep. Callaway’s success as a pitching coach stands in contrast to his experience as an MLB pitcher. He posted a 6.27 ERA and a 4-11 record in 40 games with three different clubs. A seventh-round pick by Tampa Bay out of Ole Miss in 1996, the right-hander did manage to win 71 games in the minors and 32 more in Korea and China. He began his pro coaching career in the Indians’ system in 2010 at Class A Lake County, where his charges had a 3.72 ERA. He moved up the ladder the next couple of years and was hired as the Tribe’s big league coach when Terry Francona became manager prior to the 2013 season. Francona called Callaway a potential “star” when he gave him the job. Cleveland has had winning seasons every year since 2013 and is now taking aim on its first World Series appearance since 1997 and first championship since 1948. P.S. Petal’s Anthony Alford belted a reported 434-foot home run in an Arizona Fall League game on Thursday. Toronto prospect Alford, off to a 2-for-8 start for Mesa, hit .236 with nine homers and 18 steals in an injury-tinged season in high Class A this season.

12 Oct

boys of fall

In an Arizona Fall League opener on Tuesday that did not involve Tim Tebow, former Richton High star JaCoby Jones went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Salt River in a 7-7, 11-inning tie against Peoria. Jones got big league time with Detroit this season. Jacob Nottingham, who played for Double-A Biloxi this year, was 1-for-5 with an RBI for Salt River; fellow Shuckers alum Brett Phillips scored twice; and Mississippi Braves pitcher Akeel Morris made a scoreless relief appearance. Salt River’s roster is packed with Mississippi-connected players: Spencer Turnbull (Madison Central), Chris Ellis (Ole Miss), Bradley Roney (Southern Miss), Kade Scivicque (Southwest Mississippi Community College), Dustin Peterson (M-Braves) and Evan Phillips (M-Braves). M-Braves alum Ozzie Albies was originally placed on the Rafters club but was injured in the Southern League playoffs; Travis Demeritte (1-for-6 with a run on Tuesday), who figures to be on the M-Braves’ roster in 2017, took his spot. … Anthony Alford, the former two-sport star from Petal and a top-rated Toronto prospect, went 1-for-3 with an RBI for Mesa. … Mississippi State product Chris Stratton, who made his big league debut with San Francisco this year, is on the Scottsdale roster with Tebow, the former football star who put up an 0-for-3 in his AFL debut. Salt River and Scottsdale meet tonight.

12 Oct

shades of ’86

Anything that happens in the MLB playoffs that rekindles memories of the 1986 postseason has got to be pretty special. And it happened on Tuesday night. The Chicago Cubs’ comeback victory at San Francisco was the biggest in postseason-series clinching history, according to mlb.com. Down 5-2 in the ninth, the Cubs scored four times against the Giants’ tattered bullpen, surpassing what the New York Mets – a team loaded with former Jackson Mets – accomplished against Houston in the National League Championship Series 30 years ago. Davey Johnson’s Mets scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the Astros, then won the game and the series 7-6 in 16 innings. Ten former JaxMets played in that epic Game 6. Lenny Dykstra ignited the ninth inning rally with a leadoff triple, and Mookie Wilson knocked him in and later scored himself. Rick Aguilera and Roger McDowell combined for eight innings of scoreless relief, and Jesse Orosco, despite blowing a save in the 14th and yielding two runs in the 16th, nailed down the win by fanning Kevin Bass with two runners on. Ole Miss alum Jeff Calhoun came on in relief for the Astros in the 16th and yielded a hit, a walk and a run and threw two wild pitches during the three-run inning. That NLCS was a thrill ride from start to finish, and the World Series that followed was pretty interesting, too. P.S. Spotted in the Giants’ dugout on Tuesday: former Delta State standout Eli Whiteside, now a bullpen catcher for the club. Whiteside played for the Giants during their 2010 and 2012 championship runs and last played in the majors with the Cubs in 2014.

11 Oct

gotta love october

Time to take stock on the MLB postseason. We’ve seen Baltimore go down in flames as Orioles manager Buck Showalter, the ex-Mississippi State standout, kept the best closer in the league in the bullpen with the American League Wild Card Game on the line. MSU product Mitch Moreland was in the middle of the play that ended the season for Texas, the team that had the best record in the AL. First baseman Moreland knocked down the errant throw by Rougned Odor, then threw home too late to stop the winning run from scoring as Toronto completed a stunning sweep. Moreland went 2-for-8 with two RBIs in what may have been his Texas swansong. Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz surrendered the pivotal home run (to Coco Crisp) on Monday in the other ALDS as Cleveland ended Boston’s season and David Ortiz’s career with a sweep. UM alum Mickey Callaway, the Indians’ pitching coach, saw his bullpen limit the Red Sox to two runs while fanning 14 in 10 1/3 innings over the three games. Former Rebels standout Chris Coghlan (0-for-2) has had a quiet National League Division Series for the Chicago Cubs, who saw their ace closer, Aroldis Chapman, cough up a lead Monday against San Francisco, which dodged a sweep by winning in 13 innings. Conor Gillaspie – the son of former MSU star Mark Gillaspie and the Giants’ Wild Card Game hero – delivered the big blow against Chapman, a two-run triple in the eighth inning. “He’s been fun to watch,” Giants ace Madison Bumgarner told the Chicago Tribune. It ain’t been fun for everyone, but that’s what makes October baseball so compelling.

10 Oct

oh so close

A champion has been crowned in college baseball. And Ole Miss just missed being the subject of this coronation. Collegiate Baseball, in its Oct. 1 issue, anointed Arizona State as the recruiting champion of 2016. Ole Miss was rated No. 2. Mississippi State was 20th, and six other SEC schools finished among the top 25. They’ll still have to play the games and stuff next spring, but it’s a good start for the Rebels and Bulldogs, a little something to fuel their fall ball workouts. Collegiate Baseball uses a rating system to produce its list, taking into account the number of players who were drafted, high school All-Americans, junior college All-Americans, etc. Arizona State brought in eight MLB draftees among its 20 signees, a group that includes an NCAA Division I transfer and four jucos. Ole Miss, which may have to rely on some newcomers in 2017, signed 18 players, five of whom were drafted. Included in the Rebels’ class are 15 freshmen, led by the bunch from Oxford High and Madison Central’s Trace Tyre, and three jucos. One to watch: Timothy Rowe, a lefty-hitting outfielder from Itawamba CC who batted .418 with eight homers, 48 RBIs and 46 runs this past season.

07 Oct

it’s been too long

The last time San Francisco and the Chicago Cubs played in the postseason, a former Mississippi State star stole the show. The year was 1989 and the player was Will Clark, who went 13-for-20 with two homers, eight RBIs and eight runs as the Giants won the National League Championship Series in five games. Clark, on the recently announced “Today’s Game Era” Hall of Fame ballot for 2017, hit .333 with 23 homers for San Francisco in 1989, his fourth year in the big leagues, and .303 with 284 for his career. The Giants and Cubs meet again today in the NLDS, and there’s a Mississippi college alum in uniform. Former Ole Miss standout Chris Coghlan isn’t a steal-the-show kind of player – though he was the NL rookie of the year in 2009 — but he could still have an impact for the Cubs. Coghlan, a veteran of eight MLB campaigns, was a hot hitter down the stretch, batting .280 over his last 14 games. He finished the year at .252 in 48 games for the Cubs. He’s got some pop from the left side – six homers in 2016, five while with Oakland – and he has played six different positions in his career. Cubs manager Joe Maddon will find a use for him. The Giants don’t have an MSU alum to turn to, but they do have Wild Card Game hero Conor Gillaspie, the son of former Bulldogs star Mark Gillaspie. Conor was born in Nebraska and went to Wichita State. P.S. Louis Coleman, the ex-Pillow Academy star from Greenwood, did not make the Los Angeles Dodgers’ NLDS roster. Coleman, a right-handed reliever, posted a 4.69 ERA in 61 games this year and had some rough outings down the stretch. He has a career 3.51 ERA over six seasons.

06 Oct

fresh start

As a rookie in 2010, Mitch Moreland was dynamite in the postseason. He batted .348 (16-for-46) with a home run and seven RBIs as Texas made it all the way to the World Series before losing to San Francisco. Since then, the Mississippi State alum’s postseason production has been minimal: 3-for-43. In 30 career games, he is batting .213 with three homers. In last year’s American League Division Series against Toronto, the lefty-hitting first baseman was 0-for-13. “That’s in the past,” Moreland told sportsday.dallasnews.com. “All I’m thinking about is Thursday. Right now, I’m 0-for-0.” The Rangers hook up with the (hated?) Blue Jays again in the ALDS – Game 1 is today in Arlington — and Moreland is not exactly swinging a hot bat. He hit .167 with one homer in September and October, finishing the year at .233 with 22 bombs and 60 RBIs. He is 0-for-3 with two walks this season against Marco Estrada, Toronto’s Game 1 starter, 0-for-3 against J.A. Happ and 2-for-6 against Aaron Sanchez. A strong postseason, like the one Moreland enjoyed as a rookie, would certainly be welcomed by the Rangers — and would also look nice on the resume for Moreland, who is a pending free agent. P.S. Former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz apparently will be on Boston’s roster for its ALDS against Cleveland. The left-hander, who made 13 starts for the Red Sox after being acquired from San Diego, was moved to the bullpen and threw a sharp 1 1/3 innings in the final game of the year. Pomeranz, who had a 3.32 ERA this season (4.59 with Boston), has pitched in relief often in his pro career. … The Indians’ pitching coach is UM product Mickey Callaway, now in his fourth year in that position.

03 Oct

a kind of hush

While there were several celebrations around the big leagues on Sunday, most Mississippians watched their 2016 season end rather quietly. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier didn’t play, ending his monster year with 42 homers. Ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith sat, too; he finished at .249 with 16 homers. Richton’s JaCoby Jones (6-for-28 in his brief trial) didn’t play in Detroit’s disheartening loss at Atlanta, the final game at Turner Field. Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson took an 0-for-5, winding up at .245 with 24 homers. Tony Sipp, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast CC standout, threw a clean inning, trimming his ERA to 4.95. Hunter Renfroe got another hit, concluding his 11-game stint at .371 with four homers and 14 RBIs, and fellow Mississippi State alum Adam Frazier also got a knock, finishing at .301. Ex-Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson went 1-for-3 to lift his average to .278; he finished with 30 steals. And Tim Anderson, the rookie out of East Central CC, put up a 1-for-5 to wind up at .283 with nine homers and 10 bags. A handful of Mississippians are making – or are hoping to make – postseason plans: Mitch Moreland in Texas, Chris Coghlan with the Chicago Cubs, Drew Pomeranz in Boston and Louis Coleman with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

02 Oct

crash landings

For the second straight year, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart saw a strong season curtailed by physical woes. Cozart, Cincinnati’s shortstop, missed the last 3 1/2 months of 2015 after a knee injury that required surgery, then went down again this year in early September because of recurring pain in that knee. Cozart, who last played on Sept. 10, hit .252 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs in 120 games. He played only 53 games last year, batting .258 with nine homers. He looked better than ever this April, hitting .361 at month’s end, and was at .303 on June 8 before starting to fade. He had 15 homers on July 18, one thereafter. Cozart, eligible for arbitration again this year, was the subject of trade rumors before and during the season. He might have played his final game for the Reds. … Aaron Barrett, another Ole Miss product, also had a rough year. Barrett, a Washington Nationals reliever, had Tommy John surgery last September and was making progress toward a possible return in late July when he suffered a fractured elbow. “It was traumatizing. It was like someone hit me in the gut, like, a million times,” Barrett told mlb.com in August. “But … I have a bionic arm now, and I’m literally going to come back stronger than ever.” … Former Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings battled injuries – again – in 2016 with Tampa Bay and wound up being released on Aug. 26. The toolsy Jennings was batting .200 with seven homers. A Tampa Tribune writer called Jennings’ potential “fool’s gold.” He remains unsigned, as does Jonathan Papelbon, who was released, per mutual agreement, by Washington on Aug. 13. Mississippi State product Papelbon had a 4.37 ERA at the time and had lost his closer’s job after a series of shaky outings. P.S. Jackson’s Seth Smith went 0-for-2 with a run in a wild and crazy game in Seattle on Saturday that the Mariners lost to Oakland 9-8 in 10 innings. The defeat eliminated Seattle from postseason contention, extending their drought to 15 years.