Tag Archives: Ole Miss

15 Sep

one more time

In his short time on the Mississippi Braves’ roster, Patrick Weigel has had a big impact. The 6-foot-6 right-hander pitched into the ninth inning and notched his first Double-A win against Biloxi on Sept. 1, when the M-Braves were still fighting for a playoff berth. In Game 2 of the Southern League South Division series last week, Weigel threw seven shutout innings as the M-Braves beat host Pensacola and evened the series at 1-all. Tonight at Trustmark Park, Weigel takes the hill in a do-or-die Game 3 of the SL Championship Series against the Jackson (Tenn.) Generals. Weigel, a seventh-round pick out of Houston in 2015, won 10 games at low Class A Rome this year before getting the promotion to Mississippi, where he had a 2.18 ERA in his three regular season starts. The M-Braves need a pick-me-up. They were done in by a three-run eighth inning in Monday’s opener at Jackson, losing 6-4. They managed just five hits in Game 2 on Tuesday and lost 2-0. The team’s hottest hitter in the series is another recent arrival, infielder Dylan Moore, acquired from Texas last month. He is 4-for-7 with an RBI and a run. The M-Braves must win three straight – at home — to claim the club’s second pennant. Based on recent results, they should feel confident with Weigel taking the ball. P.S. Former M-Braves and Ole Miss star Chris Ellis was named Baseball America’s pitcher of the day after throwing six hitless innings for Gwinnett on Wednesday night in the International League finals. (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, managed by former Jackson Mets shortstop Al Pedrique, rallied to win the game and even the Triple-A series 1-1.) Ellis, who had a rough go with the G-Braves, has tossed 13 shutout innings in the postseason. … Mississippi State alum Brandon Woodruff from Wheeler made BA’s Minor League All-Star team. The right-hander was 14-9 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.02 WHIP at two levels in the Milwaukee system. He was 10-8, 3.01 at Biloxi.

15 Sep

better late …

The Corey Dickerson the Tampa Bay Rays thought they were getting in an off-season trade has emerged the last few weeks. The former Meridian Community College star from McComb has 15 hits in his last 27 at-bats and is batting .315 with five home runs and 19 RBIs over his last 30 games. Dickerson went 3-for-4 with his 20th homer of the year on Wednesday as the Rays – long ago reduced to the role of spoiler in the American League East – beat Toronto 8-1. Dickerson, a lefty-hitting outfielder acquired from Colorado in the Jake McGee trade, batted .299 in three seasons with the Rockies, playing half his games at hitter-friendly Coors Field. His recent hot streak has lifted his 2016 average to .247. On June 20, he was at .198. Tampa Bay, which has had myriad problems, was expected to be much better than its 62-83 record — and maybe there is hope for 2017. Dickerson’s homer on Wednesday was the 200th for the team, a single-season club record. “It’s something we can build off of,” Dickerson told mlb.com. P.S. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier hit his 41st homer on Wednesday (for a Minnesota team that has 54 wins), moving a bit closer to the long-standing MLB record for homers by a player who was primarily a second baseman. Davey Johnson – the old Jackson Mets manager – hit 43 bombs in 1973 for Atlanta. With 81 extra-base hits, Dozier needs three more to match Tony Oliva’s Twins record, set in 1964. … A rough season in Cincinnati has been made even more frustrating of late for Mississippians Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Cody Reed, all forced to sit because of injuries. Taylorsville’s Hamilton has an oblique, Ole Miss product Cozart a knee and ex-Northwest Mississippi CC star Reed a back problem.

14 Sep

stretch run

At the moment, Mitch Moreland is probably the only Mississippian who knows he’ll be playing in the MLB postseason. The Mississippi State product from Amory, who has 22 home runs, has helped Texas take a commanding lead in the American League West. Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan and Greenwood native Louis Coleman are also on first-place clubs with secure leads, but neither can be certain he’ll be on the postseason roster. Coghlan is a versatile reserve for the Chicago Cubs, Coleman a middle reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the three battles still being furiously waged – AL East, AL wild card and NL wild card – there are a bunch of Magnolia State products clinging to hope. The hottest team in the big leagues is Seattle, which has won seven straight to stay in the AL wild card hunt. Former Ole Miss standout Seth Smith is swinging it well – a .381 average with three homers, including a grand slam on Tuesday, over his last seven games. Boston currently leads, by a slim margin, the AL East, and UM alum Drew Pomeranz has been a good addition to the Red Sox’s rotation even though his numbers (2-5, 4.60 ERA) aren’t great. MSU product Jonathan Holder is now in the bullpen of the resurgent New York Yankees – the Baby Bombers – who are very much alive in the AL East and wild card races. Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College standout, has helped keep Kansas City in the playoff chase, batting .290 with 12 runs, nine steals and solid defense in the outfield in his last 15 games. Rookie JaCoby Jones, the former Richton High star, doesn’t play a lot for Detroit – he is 4-for-18 – but has value as a late-inning sub at several positions. Houston, also still lurking in AL playoff race, would love to see Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum Tony Sipp (5.45 ERA) regain his career form (3.68) down the stretch. In the National League, former State standout Adam Frazier has been a bright spot (.333, two homers, nine RBIs, 14 runs in 99 at-bats) on a Pittsburgh team that seems to be fading away. UM alum Mike Mayers is on St. Louis’ expanded roster but, having allowed 15 runs in three appearances, doesn’t figure to get a lot of significant work. P.S. Mississippi is well-represented on Baseball America’s Classification All-Star teams. Hunter Renfroe (Mississippi State) made the Triple-A team, Bobby Bradley (Harrison Central High) the high Class A team and Austin Riley (DeSoto Central) the low-A team. Ozzie Albies of the Mississippi Braves is on the Double-A team. … Ex-MSU star Dakota Hudson, the first Mississippian chosen in this year’s draft (in the first round by St. Louis), only pitched 14 2/3 innings as a pro but fared rather well. The right-hander allowed only one earned run and struck out 19 over three different levels. He started with four games in the rookie Gulf Coast League, moved to Palm Beach in the Class A Florida State League (0.96 ERA in eight games) and finished with two scoreless appearances and a save for Springfield in the Texas League playoffs.

08 Sep

that’ll work

Slumping Seattle tried something different on Wednesday. Slumping Seth Smith, the former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout, batted leadoff for just the second time this season. He responded with three hits, including his 13th homer, and three runs to help the Mariners beat Texas 8-3. The Mariners moved to 71-68 and are 5 games out of an American League wild card spot. Mariners manager Scott Servais told mlb.com that he was just trying to get Smith going by putting him in the top spot in the order: “He hasn’t really been the true Seth Smith in the second half.” The left-handed hitting Smith, who bats almost exclusively against right-handers, was at .280 with 10 homers on July 3. After going 3-for-3 on Wednesday, he is now batting .263. The homer was his second in as many nights, and he has 51 RBIs. Seattle, facing a steep climb in the postseason chase, needs his bat. … In another MLB game of note, former Pillow Academy star Louis Coleman was one of seven – count ’em, seven — relievers used by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 3-1 win against Arizona. Coleman struck out the only batter he faced, was credited with his 10th hold and trimmed his ERA to 3.59. P.S. Minor highlights: Stone County High product D.J. Davis scored the go-ahead run in the 15th inning as Dunedin beat Tampa 8-4 in the Florida State League playoffs. Davis reached on a passed ball strikeout, went to second on a walk, took third on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Former Petal High star Anthony Alford had two hits and scored three times for Dunedin, a Toronto affiliate. … Southern Miss alum Bradley Roney struck out eight of the 10 batters he faced in a scoreless relief appearance, helping the Gwinnett Braves beat Columbus 5-4 in an International League playoff opener.

07 Sep

homer happy

Chris Maloney has shook a lot of hands this season. The Jackson native and former Mississippi State player is the third-base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, so virtually every time one of them hits a home run, Maloney greets them as they make the turn for the plate. And, boy, has that happened a lot this season. The Cardinals have hit 201 bombs, most in the National League. They hit five on Tuesday night, three in the ninth inning en route to a stunning, 9-7 victory at Pittsburgh. St. Louis is in the thick of the NL wild card scrap. The Pirates are fading from view. A beneficiary of the Cardinals’ rally was Mike Mayers, the former Ole Miss standout who had such a rough big league debut (nine runs in less than two innings) back in July. Mayers worked a 1-2-3 eighth on Tuesday and got the win, lowering his ERA to 34.71. … In another meaningful game, ex-UM star Seth Smith hit a pinch homer – his 12th of the year and first in two months – for Seattle, but the wild card-hopeful Mariners fell short, 10-7, against American League West leader Texas. … The amazing Brian Dozier (see previous post), the former Southern Miss standout, tied the AL record for homers by a second baseman with his 39th in Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City. … And Mississippi Braves alum Dansby Swanson hustled his way to his first MLB homer, circling the bases on a ball off the center-field wall at Washington. The last Atlanta player to hit an inside-the-parker for his first homer was Paul Runge in 1985. Swanson also hit an inside-the-park home run for the M-Braves.

01 Sep

fall preview

The team to watch in the Arizona Fall League is, without a doubt, the Salt River Rafters. Initial rosters for the prospect-packed circuit have been released, and the Rafters’ includes: JaCoby Jones, the Richton High product who is off to a sizzling start in his big league career with Detroit; Ole Miss alum Chris Ellis and ex-Southern Miss standout Bradley Roney, both in Triple-A in Atlanta’s system; former Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull (Detroit); Southwest Mississippi Community College product Kade Scivicque, who recently joined the Mississippi Braves; current M-Braves Ozzie Albies (Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect), Dustin Peterson (Southern League All-Star), Akeel Morris and Evan Phillips; and current Biloxi Shuckers (and Milwaukee prospects) Brett Phillips and Jacob Nottingham. Anthony Alford, the former Petal High standout now playing in Toronto’s system, is on the Mesa roster. The AFL season starts Oct. 11. (Not on an AFL roster, surprisingly perhaps, is ex-Harrison Central star Bobby Bradley, the Class A Carolina League MVP and a top Cleveland prospect.) P.S. Fred Lewis, the ex-big leaguer from Stone County and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, recently was released by Southern Maryland in the independent Atlantic League. He was batting .256 with four homers and 12 RBIs and had spent a chunk of time either inactive or injured. At 35, after 15 years of pro ball, the former second-round pick (by San Francisco out of Southern University in 2002) might be done.

31 Aug

quick hits

On a terrific Tuesday in major league baseball: Former Richton High star JaCoby Jones made his MLB debut, with his parents in the Comerica Park stands, and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help Detroit beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4. … East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson had a hit for the ChiSox but also made two errors at shortstop and now has 11 on the year. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson went 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI, a triple and a steal, but Kansas City fell to the New York Yankees 5-4. Former Mississippi Braves standout Chasen Shreve got the last two outs with the bases loaded to secure the save for the Yanks … Mississippi State alum Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles beat ex-Jackson Mets star John Gibbons’ Toronto Blue Jays 5-3, snapping the first-place Jays’ four-game win streak. The third-place O’s are 3 games back in the American League East. … Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz yielded three runs and fanned eight over 6 2/3 innings but got a no-decision for Boston, which lost to Tampa Bay 4-3 and sits second in the AL East. … Former Southern Miss standout Brian Dozier hit his 31st homer of 2016, but Minnesota lost to Cleveland 5-4. … Ex-State star Kendall Graveman (10-9) took the loss for Oakland, allowing three runs over seven innings in a 3-1 defeat against Houston. Former M-Braves star Evan Gattis hit his 22nd homer for the Astros. … UM alum Seth Smith singled as a pinch hitter and scored the go-ahead run for Seattle in the eighth inning, but the Mariners fell to Texas 8-7 on Rougned Odor’s walk-off homer. … M-Braves alum Dansby Swanson had two hits and three RBIs to propel Atlanta (and Julio Teheran) past San Diego 7-3. … Jose Peraza, another former M-Braves star, went 4-for-4 but couldn’t help Cincinnati get past the Los Angeles Angels, who won 4-2. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton and Ole Miss’ Zack Cozart were a combined 0-for-9 for the Reds. … Down on the farm, Ozzie Albies and Joey Meneses sparked the M-Braves to a come-from-behind 6-3 win over Chattanooga that kept the scuffling Double-A club in first place (by a half-game) in the Southern League South. P.S. Tyler Moore, the ex-State star, is back on the field at Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves’ system. He is 5-for-20 with a homer and four RBIs in five games since his return. The onetime big leaguer is at .244 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 21 games with Gwinnett this season.

30 Aug

two for the show

One went to Ole Miss, the other to Mississippi State. One is a lefty, the other a right-hander. One has more than 130 games of big league experience, the other has 51. But Drew Pomeranz and Kendall Graveman do have a couple of things in common. Both have 10 wins this season, and both go to the mound tonight in meaningful games. Pomeranz, the big lefty out of UM, starts for Boston against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are 2 games out in the American League East and first in the wild card standings. Former State star Graveman, pitching for Oakland, will face Houston at Minute Maid Park. The A’s are an also-ran, but the Astros are a wild card contender still hanging on, if barely, in the AL West race. Pomeranz is 2-3 with a 4.06 ERA in his eight starts for the Red Sox, who gave up a highly touted pitching prospect to get him from San Diego, where he won eight games and made the All-Star team. He is still looking for his first win for the BoSox at Fenway, where he is 0-1 with a 5.02 in three starts. He’ll face a Tampa team – and possibly red-hot Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson – that beat him on Aug. 25, though Pomeranz allowed just two runs and fanned 11 in six innings. Graveman is 10-8, 3.97 with three wins in his last four starts, including a brilliant two-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 19. He is 2-1 against the Astros, including a victory at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park on July 9. P.S. There are a handful of Mississippians currently in Triple-A who are hoping to pitch in some meaningful MLB games down the stretch. Former Southern Miss standout Scott Copeland is 3-2, 3.47 for Buffalo in Toronto’s system, and ex-State star Chad Girodo has a 3.69 ERA for the same club. MSU alum Chris Stratton is 6-2, 2.37 in his last 10 appearances for San Francisco’s Sacramento team. UM product Mike Mayers is just 1-4 at Memphis since his one appearance for St. Louis in late July but has a 3.55 ERA in 15 Triple-A games overall. Picayune High product T.J. House has posted a 1.29 ERA in his last 10 appearances for Cleveland’s Columbus club. Former Pillow Academy star Louis Coleman, coming back from injury, has delivered three scoreless appearances at Oklahoma City and reportedly will be recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers when rosters expand on Sept. 1.

29 Aug

campus notes

With college classes having begun, it’s time for those “what I did on my summer vacation” stories. Mississippi State’s Konnor Pilkington and Jake Mangum showed out in the Cape Cod League, earning recognition from Baseball America as top 30 prospects from the prestigious summer circuit. Pilkington, a left-hander from Hurley and East Central High, was 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA in seven games for Brewster. He also made the All-CCBL team, as chosen by the league. At State this past season, he was 3-1, 2.08 in 14 appearances. Mangum, a Jackson Prep product, hit .300 with nine RBIs and 11 steals in 35 games for Bourne. The Ferriss Trophy winner batted .408 for the Bulldogs as a freshman last spring. … Of the Ole Miss players who took part in summer league ball, none has more to boast about than Parker Ciracci, another Jackson Prep product who redshirted at UM last spring. Right-hander Ciracci posted an 0.78 ERA, five wins and seven saves in 21 games in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Fellow Rebel D.J. Miller had a fun time, too, batting .286 with 32 runs and 10 steals in the Cal Ripken League. UM’s Kyle Watson, a DeSoto Central alum, swiped 21 bags in the Alaska League. … Southern Miss’ Mason Irby, a transfer from juco national champ Jones County Junior College, played on the NJCAA National Team that went 3-1 in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan. Golden Eagles J.C. Keys and Matthew Guidry were Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game picks. Guidry finished at .331 with 14 RBIs and 24 runs in 40 games for Acadiana, and Keys put up a 4.13 ERA in 13 games for the same club. … Mississippi College’s Hunter Lacefield, a lefty transfer from Northwest CC, went 4-1 with a 0.76 ERA for the North Delta Dealers, the best team in the New Albany-based Cotton States League this summer. … Alcorn State has a new pitching coach, David Duncan, a former Florida A&M pitcher who has some pro experience. The Braves had a staff ERA of 8.03 in 2016, so Duncan has some work to do. … New head coaches are settling in at jucos Pearl River and Mississippi Delta. Michael Avalon left Delta to replace Josh Hoffpauir at PRCC, and longtime Hinds assistant Dan Rives filled the vacancy at Delta, where he played.

28 Aug

stepping up

In a really big game on Saturday at Globe Life Park, Mitch Moreland came up with a really big hit for the Texas Rangers. The ex-Mississippi State standout capped the Rangers’ five-run first inning with a grand slam that propelled them to a 7-0 victory over visiting Cleveland. The win clinched the season series for the Rangers (76-54), who are battling the Indians (73-55) for best record in the American League. Stay tuned there. Moreland’s slam was the second of his career and gives him 22 homers on the season, one short of his career-high. It came on a hanging slider, the first pitch the lefty slugger saw from Carlos Carrasco. “I actually told myself, ‘Treat it like any other at-bat,’” Moreland told mlb.com. It was just his second homer since Aug. 12. Indians manager Terry Francona called it a “crushing” blow. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Zack Cozart returned to Cincinnati’s lineup Saturday for the first time since Aug. 17 and hit his 16th home run. … UM alum Alex Presley was designated for assignment by Detroit; he was 1-for-5 since his call-up on Aug. 18. … With Adam Jones ailing, Baltimore has recalled Starkville native Julio Borbon for a second time this season. … Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings is expected to be released by Tampa Bay, but the transaction has yet to be officially announced. Jennings, suffering through a second straight injury-wrecked season, is a career .245 hitter with 55 homers and 95 steals in 567 games. At 29, he’ll get another shot somewhere. … Former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn threw three scoreless innings in his rehab appearance at Double-A Springfield last week. He’ll be in St. Louis soon enough. … Ex-Rebels standout Chris Coghlan is now on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa in the Chicago Cubs’ system. … Though there has been reported interest from “several” teams, ex-State star Jonathan Papelbon remains unsigned since being released by Washington on Aug. 13. He apparently is not going back to Boston. …. And down on the farm, Ole Miss product J.B. Woodman, drafted in the second round by Toronto in June, went 3-for-3 with a homer in his debut in the Class A Midwest League. He had been playing at short-season A Vancouver.