Tag Archives: Ole Miss

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.

23 Aug

catch as catch can

Who’s next? It might be Stuart Turner, the former Ole Miss star who is playing his second season at the Double-A level (Chattanooga) in the Minnesota system. Southwest Mississippi Community College product Kade Scivicque, now in high-A ball (Carolina) in the Atlanta organization, appears to be rising fast. Or it could be one of the five Mississippi-connected catchers who entered pro ball this summer. This much we know: There are no Mississippians (native or college alum) playing catcher in the big leagues in 2016. Ex-Mississippi State standout Ed Easley, who caught three games for St. Louis, was the only one to appear last season. He was released out of Triple-A in June. Mississippi has produced a few big league catchers of note – Jake Gibbs, Barry Lyons, Jerry Moses – but it is not a position of tradition for the state. Turner, who won the Johnny Bench Award at UM, was a third-round pick by the Twins in 2013 but isn’t currently listed among their Top 30 prospects by mlb.com. He is batting .237 with five homers at Chattanooga. It was interesting, to say the least, when MLB teams picked five catchers out of Mississippi in this year’s draft and inked another as a free agent. (Dustin Skelton of Magnolia Heights, a 36th round pick by Toronto, didn’t sign and is now at State.) Of those in the pro ranks, State alum Gavin Collins (13th round, Cleveland) and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson (21st round, Houston) have had the most success, both in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. For the record, Collins has played mostly third base. UM’s Henri Lartigue, picked in the seventh round by Philadelphia, also is in the NYPL, and State’s Jack Kruger (20th round, L.A. Angels) is in the rookie Pioneer League. Jackson State’s Carlos Diaz, recently signed by the Chicago Cubs, is toiling in the Arizona League, the beginner’s level. One of the big surprises in recent drafts came in 2014, when West Lauderdale High catcher Blake Anderson was selected 36th overall by Miami. But Anderson has been injured most of this year and hasn’t played above short-season A-ball. There are a handful of other catchers in the pipeline. Ole Miss alum Will Allen also was drafted in 2014 – 13th round by Detroit – and is having a solid season (.263, four homers, 68 RBIs) at low Class A West Michigan. Delta State’s Carlos Leal was picked in 2014 as a pitcher and converted to catcher by Milwaukee. But after hitting .309 in low-A ball in 2015, he has missed all of this season with an injury. Meridian CC product Wade Wass is in Double-A, though he is batting just .191 in 36 games for the Los Angeles Angels’ Arkansas club. Keep an eye on Scivicque, a 2015 draftee (from LSU) recently acquired by Atlanta from Detroit. He was hitting .282 with six homers at the high-A level for the Tigers. Atlanta’s system is thin on catchers, so he might move quickly. Here in Mississippi, the watch is on.

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.

16 Aug

minor matters

Don’t look now, but former Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn pitched in a game Monday night. Lynn, nine months out from Tommy John surgery, threw 27 pitches for St. Louis’ Class A Palm Beach club. He allowed a hit and fanned two in 1 2/3 innings. Lynn, who won 60 games for the Cardinals the previous four seasons, just might be able to return to the big leagues in September. St. Louis is battling for a wild card in the National League. … As expected, Cincinnati sent Northwest Mississippi Community College product Cody Reed, the struggling left-hander, down to Triple-A Louisville. … Nate Lowe and Chuckie Robinson, 2016 draftees out of Mississippi State and Southern Miss, respectively, are slated to play in tonight’s New York-Penn League All-Star Game. Lowe is batting .277 with two homers and 29 RBIs for Hudson Valley (Tampa Bay system), and Robinson is at .291 with a homer and 13 RBIs for Tri City (Houston). MSU product Gavin Collins, also picked in the June draft, is batting .295 at Mahoning Valley (Cleveland) in the NYPL but didn’t make the All-Star rosters. … Ex-Southern Miss star Mason Robbins produced his third three-hit game in his last four on Monday and raised his average to .326 at Class A Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox). He has five homers and 55 RBIs. … Madison Central High product Spencer Turnbull, beset by injuries this year, threw five strong innings for Class A Lakeland (Detroit) on Saturday and has a 3.22 ERA in eight games this summer. A second-round pick out of Alabama in 2014, Turnbull went 11-3, 3.01 at low-A West Michigan last year and stamped himself as a prospect. … Also at Lakeland is Southwest Mississippi Community College (and LSU) alum Kade Scivicque, a rising prospect at catcher who is batting .282 with six homers and 41 RBIs. … Ex-Petal High star Anthony Alford, finally looking fully healthy at Class A Dunedin (Toronto), has four two-hit games among his last five and is up to .244 with eight homers, 38 RBIs and 14 steals. … USM product Bradley Roney has a 3.62 ERA and four saves at Triple-A Gwinnett. Considering the jaw-dropping number of pitchers Atlanta has run out there this year, you have to wonder when Roney might get a big league shot. … Former Ole Miss standout Alex Yarbrough, trying to get his career back on track, is batting .268 with four homers, 47 RBIs and 10 steals at Double-A Arkansas (Los Angeles Angels). Yarbrough, 25, is in his fifth pro season. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who was designated for assignment by Cleveland on July 31, returned to Triple-A Columbus’ roster and is batting .236 with eight bombs.

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.

12 Aug

crazy good

Chris Coghlan, the former Ole Miss standout, has a grand total of 10 hits for the Chicago Cubs this season. The one he got on Thursday night at Wrigley Field may stick in the memory for a while. Batting in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and the Cubs down 2-0 to St. Louis, Coghlan looked back at the umpire and tried to call time before a pitch by Carlos Martinez. Time wasn’t granted. Coghlan swiveled back toward Martinez, re-gripped the bat as the pitch — a changeup – was en route and smacked a two-run single into right field. “Crazy,” he called it after the Cubs had secured a 4-3 win in extra innings. The first-place Cubs have been on a crazy roll with 10 straight wins, though Coghlan’s contributions have been limited. The 31-year-old veteran has just seven at-bats in August. In 24 games since he was reacquired from Oakland, he is batting .208 with four RBIs. But … it takes a bench to win a championship, and the Cubs have a deep one. For his part, Coghlan can play almost anywhere — a quality Cubs manager Joe Maddon seems to really like — and he is a .259 career hitter with some pop from the left side. (He hit five homers for the A’s but none since rejoining the Cubs.) He’ll have more moments, though it’s unlikely any will be quite as crazy as Thursday’s. P.S. Picayune High product T.J. House was sent back to Triple-A by Cleveland, a first-place club in the American League. House made three appearances during his call-up, allowing one run in one inning of work.

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.

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.