Tag Archives: Ole Miss

05 Aug

summer fun

Jake Mangum’s excellent adventure will continue in the Cape Cod League playoffs, which start today. Mangum, former Jackson Prep star, led the SEC in hitting with a .427 mark and won the Ferriss Trophy as a freshman at Mississippi State this year. The switch-hitting outfielder has backed that up with a strong showing in the Cape, the premier college summer league. He hit .300 with nine RBIs, 19 runs and 11 stolen bases for the Bourne Braves. He also went 1-for-3 in the CCBL All-Star Game. Mangum was 4-for-5 with a couple of RBIs in Bourne’s last regular season game on Wednesday. Mangum’s State teammate Brent Rooker had an even better year in the Cape, batting .305 with three homers and 22 RBIs, but his team, Brewster, didn’t make the eight-team playoff field. State’s Ryan Gridley (.225) was also on that team. Ole Miss’ Will Golsan and Will Stokes are with Orleans, a playoff team. Stokes posted a 3.37 ERA in 15 games, while Golsan hit .235 with a homer and eight RBIs, finishing the regular season with a 3-for-4, 4-RBI game. Southern Miss’ Kirk McCarty went 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA for Orleans but isn’t on the playoff roster. State’s Trystan Barlow, who had an 8.21 ERA in 12 games for Harwich, is the only other Mississippi collegian in the Cape playoffs.

03 Aug

alumni news

Though is his team is stuck in last place, Southern Miss product Brian Dozier is on a roll. Dozier hit his 20th home run of the year on Tuesday and extended his hitting to streak to 11 games as Minnesota beat American League Central leader Cleveland 10-6. The second baseman also had eight assists and two putouts. Dozier is batting .259, having lifted his average 26 points during the streak, and has 57 RBIs. He has reached the 20-homer plateau for the third straight year. … He is called “that little scamp” in one Pittsburgh Pirates-devoted blog. It’s a compliment, actually, and it rather fits Adam Frazier. The former Mississippi State standout, who goes 5 feet 10, 175 pounds, pestered the Atlanta Braves all night on Tuesday, helping the Pirates to a 5-3 victory at Turner Field. The Athens, Ga., native went 2-for-4, drove in two runs and stole a base. He got the Pirates’ first hit in a 13-pitch at-bat in the fifth inning against Mike Foltynewicz and added a two-run single in a pivotal four-run sixth inning. For the season, the versatile rookie is batting .367 with a homer, six RBIs, seven runs and four steals in 24 games. … Not only did Zack Cozart not get traded, he received one of the prime lockers in the Cincinnati clubhouse. The ex-Ole Miss star, rumored to be headed to Seattle on Monday, is staying put – for now – and was moved into the double-wide locker formerly occupied by the traded Jay Bruce. “I’ve got some big shoes to fill. That’s for sure,” Cozart told the Dayton Daily News. The highly respected Cozart, who missed Tuesday’s game with a minor injury, is batting .266 with 15 homers as one of the Reds’ steadiest performers in a rough season. P.S. Prepare to add Rob Whalen to the list – now well over 100 — of Mississippi Braves alums to make the majors. The right-hander, who went 7-5 with a 2.49 ERA for the M-Braves before moving to Triple-A Gwinnett, is slated to start for Atlanta tonight against Pittsburgh.

01 Aug

meanwhile, down on farm

Cleveland’s trade for New York Yankees relief ace Andrew Miller had a trickle-down effect in the Indians’ organization. Joey Butler, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star from Pascagoula, was removed from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for Miller and designated for assignment on Sunday. Butler, 30, an outfielder, has been playing at Triple-A Columbus all season, hitting .238 with eight homers and 40 RBIs. The Indians claimed Butler on waivers in the off-season from Tampa Bay, where he played well in 2015 (.276, eight bombs in 88 games) in his first real opportunity in the big leagues. The Indians reportedly liked what they saw from Butler in spring training, so he might stay in the organization. He is a .288 hitter with 90 homers over his minor league career, which dates to 2008, when he was drafted by Texas out of UNO. P.S. The all-Mississippi home run race heated up on Sunday. Surging Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State standout, clubbed his 18th for Texas, but Southern Miss product Brian Dozier belted a pair for Minnesota to end the day with 19. (Dozier, not a noted slugger at USM, has 94 homers in four-plus MLB seasons.) Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart (Cincinnati) has 15 homers this year, as does Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson (Tampa Bay). … Continuing on a home run theme, former Mississippi Braves star Jose Peraza hit his first big league homer for the Reds and Jeff Francoeur crushed his 160th for Atlanta. It was Francoeur’s first homer at Turner Field as a Brave since 2009.

31 Jul

buzz, buzz, buzz

Halfway through the second half of the Southern League season, the Mississippi Braves sit in first place in the South Division. A walk-off win on a Levi Hyams base hit in the 12th inning on Saturday pushed the M-Braves’ record to 21-14, a game clear of the pack in the race for the second-half title. The M-Braves have won eight of their last 10. … Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland hit his second career game-ending home run on Saturday to give Texas a 2-1 win over Kansas City. It was his 17th homer of the year. … Former State star Jonathan Papelbon reportedly has said he is “on board’ with Washington’s acquisition of Mark Melancon, who’ll displace Papelbon (and his 4.41 ERA) as the Nationals’ closer. Papelbon’s role going forward is unclear. … Don’t look now, but former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons has his Toronto Blue Jays in first place in the American League East. The Jays beat Baltimore 9-1 on Saturday, the fifth straight loss for the Orioles, managed by ex-State standout Buck Showalter. The teams, separated by a half-game, play again today at Rogers Centre. … Boston’s trade for Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz hasn’t helped its cause in the AL East thus far. Pomeranz took another loss on Saturday (against the Los Angeles Angels) and is 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA in three starts for the BoSox. He was 8-7, 2.47 for San Diego, a non-contender. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, seems to do something good every day for the Chicago White Sox. The rookie went 3-for-5 on Saturday and scored twice, including the game-tying run in the ninth inning of a 6-5, 10-inning victory against Minnesota. Anderson is batting .275 with five homers, 12 RBIs, four steals and 25 runs in 43 games. Would love to see him in a 30-yard (90 feet) race against Billy Hamilton and Jarrod Dyson. … San Diego has cleared outfield space with the trades of Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp, but reports are that the Padres will wait until September to call up ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe, who is hitting .322 with 25 homers in Triple-A. … Seattle apparently is interested in acquiring Ole Miss product Zack Cozart from Cincinnati. The veteran shortstop is batting .267 with 15 homers. … For those wondering about impact bats in Atlanta’s minor league system, note that former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley is batting .263 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 93 games at low Class A Rome.

27 Jul

transition game

The adjustment to pro ball can’t be a snap for any player, but some make it look that way. Among the position players drafted out of the Magnolia State this year, none has come out swinging – and connecting – quite like Chuckie Robinson. The Southern Miss product, a catcher picked in the 21st round by Houston, is batting .355 through 17 games at short-season Class A Tri-City. He is in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak that includes six multi-hit games. Also on a tear is Ole Miss alum Errol Robinson (sixth round, Los Angeles Dodgers), who is batting .378 over his last 10 games and is at .261 with a homer and 13 RBIs at rookie-level Ogden. Ex-UM standout J.B. Woodman, the first position player picked out of the state (second round, Toronto), is hitting .289 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs in 32 games at short-season Vancouver. Former Mississippi State slugger Nathaniel Lowe (13th round, Tampa Bay) went 23 games without a home run at short-season Hudson Valley but has two in his last nine games and is batting .274 with 21 RBIs. And another ex-Bulldogs star, Gavin Collins (13th round, Cleveland), has gotten hot and boosted his average to .276 at short-season Mahoning Valley. Pearl River Community College alum Zach Clark (19th round, Milwaukee), who signed at the deadline, is batting .281 with two homers in eight games in the rookie Arizona League. Former Northwest Rankin High standout Daniel Sweet, picked out of Dallas Baptist in the 29th round by Cincinnati, is hitting a delicious .333 in 24 games at rookie-level Billings. There are those who have struggled. USM product Tim Lynch (ninth round, New York Yankees) is hitting .212 without a homer in 24 games at rookie-level Pulaski. Ex-UM star Henri Lartigue (seventh round, Philadelphia) is at .230 for short-season Williamsport. And Walker Robbins, the former George County High All-America who was drafted in the fifth round by St. Louis, is off to a .135 start in 14 games in the rookie Gulf Coast League.

27 Jul

woe in washington

Two straight rough outings have recharged the concerns about Jonathan Papelbon in Washington. The Nationals were reported to be looking for a closer even before the two meltdowns, a four-run outing against San Diego on Sunday followed by Tuesday night’s blown save against Cleveland. Former Mississippi State star Papelbon allowed two hits, two walks and two runs without recording an out – there was an error involved – as the Indians rallied from two runs down to walk off with a 7-6 victory. Papelbon, 35, who had seven straight scoreless outings in July before these last two, is 19 of 22 in save chances for the first-place Nats, but his ERA is now 4.18 and his WHIP 1.30. He went on the disabled list in June for the first time in his career. His fastball velocity is way down, though Papelbon himself is not. “My confidence in this game has never fluctuated, and it never will,” he told mlb.com after Tuesday’s outing. Washington manager Dusty Baker was non-committal on whether he was going to make a change from within at closer. Meanwhile, the Nats, who lost out on Aroldis Chapman, are rumored to be interested in Andrew Miller, Wade Davis and David Robertson. … Any hope that Aaron Barrett might rejoin the Nationals’ bullpen down the stretch has evaporated. The ex-Ole Miss star suffered a fractured elbow while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and has undergone more surgery. Barrett posted a 2.66 ERA in 50 games in 2014 and a 4.60 in 40 games last season before he was shut down. He had the Tommy John procedure last September and ankle surgery in December.

25 Jul

strong stuff

Under the category of Gutsiest Performance of the Year, enter the name of Brandon Woodruff. Having buried his older brother just six days before, Woodruff, a former Mississippi State standout, threw six near-perfect innings and hit a home run for Biloxi in a 1-0 win over Pensacola on Sunday in the Southern League. Blake Woodruff died July 15 from injuries sustained in a four-wheeler accident near Wheeler, where both he and Brandon played high school ball. Brandon Woodruff was on leave from the Shuckers for eight days before taking the mound at Pensacola. Hard to imagine how difficult that must have been. A Pensacola player on Twitter called it “the most gutsy thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field.” The 23-year-old right-hander is 5-6 with a 3.65 ERA for the Shuckers, Milwaukee’s Double-A club. P.S. Here’s hoping Ole Miss alum Mike Mayers, who has a 60.75 ERA attached to his name, gets another opportunity in the big leagues. In his debut with St. Louis on Sunday, Mayers was rocked for nine runs in 1 1/3 innings by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has been sent back to Triple-A Memphis, where he had pitched well. … Former Southern Miss star Scott Copeland has re-signed with Toronto and is now at Triple-A Buffalo. He had been pitching in Korea, where he was 2-3 with a 5.54 ERA.

24 Jul

debut alert

Ole Miss alum Mike Mayers is slated to make his major league debut for St. Louis tonight at Busch Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yes, it’s the ESPN game. Mayers, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, was 3-3 with a 2.94 ERA at Triple-A Memphis. A third-round pick in 2013, he started this season at Double-A Springfield, going 5-2, 2.30. Mayers, who is not ranked among the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects by mlb.com, had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2015.

24 Jul

numbers to crunch

4 – Wins in four consecutive starts for Kendall Graveman, the former Mississippi State star now pitching for Oakland. Graveman went nine innings on Saturday to beat Tampa Bay – thanks to a pair of ninth-inning homers – and is now 7-6 with a 4.15 ERA. At one point, he was 1-6, 5.48.
12 – Hits in his last 10 games for Anthony Alford, the former Petal High star now in A-ball with Toronto. Alford, in an injury-plagued campaign, is now batting .210 with four homers and 23 RBIs for Dunedin.
7 – Wins in their last nine games for the Double-A Mississippi Braves, who beat Tennessee 3-0 on Saturday behind the pitching of Lucas Sims and Jason Hursh. The M-Braves are 16-13 and in first place in the Southern League South.
31 – Steals for Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star playing for Cincinnati. Hamilton, batting leadoff on Saturday, went 1-for-4 with a bag and a run in the Reds’ 6-1 win against Arizona. Hamilton has a six-game hit streak that has boosted his average to .251 with 46 runs in 82 games.
3 – Runs scored by Ole Miss product Seth Smith in Seattle’s 14-5 win against Toronto on Saturday. Smith, batting .273, has 43 runs in 83 games for the Mariners. He also has 11 home runs.
7 – Consecutive scoreless appearances for Jonathan Papelbon, the former Mississippi State standout who pitches for Washington. Papelbon yielded a hit and a walk in the ninth against San Diego on Saturday but got the win thanks to a walk-off triple by Stephen Drew. Papelbon is 2-2 with 19 saves and a 2.56 ERA for the first-place Nationals.
3 – Number of former Mississippi Braves who started for the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday (Yunel Escobar, Andrelton Simmons and Todd Cunningham). Two ex-M-Braves started for Atlanta (Freddie Freeman and Jeff Francoeur).

20 Jul

odds and ends

Interesting matchup in Cincinnati on Tuesday night: Cody Reed, the former Northwest Mississippi Community College star, vs. Tyrell Jenkins, the Mississippi Braves ace of 2015, both rookies seeking their first major league win. Both pitched relatively well, though neither was involved in the decision as Atlanta won in 11 innings. Jenkins went six innings and allowed two runs for the Braves. Reed also went six and allowed two unearned runs. The lanky left-hander with the trademark specs reduced his ERA to 6.75. … Former Ole Miss star and 2016 All-Star Drew Pomeranz is slated to make his Boston debut tonight against San Francisco at Fenway Park. Pomeranz won eight games for lowly San Diego before he was traded. … Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson went 3-for-5 on Tuesday in his return to Coors Field, where he was a career .354 hitter while with Colorado. He is batting .230 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs for Tampa Bay. … Ex-Southern Miss standout Brian Dozier hit his 16th home run for Minnesota; he leads Mississippians in the majors in homers. … Baltimore has brought up Starkville native Julio Borbon, a career .272 hitter who last appeared in the big leagues in 2013. The former Tennessee star was playing at Double-A Bowie. … Former State star Kendall Graveman has won five straight decisions for Oakland to even his record at 6-6. … MSU product Hunter Renfroe homered on Sunday and Monday for Triple-A El Paso (San Diego) and now has 23 bombs on the season. … USM alum Mason Robbins is bobbin’ along at .305 for Class A Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox), while brother Walker Robbins, also a Leakesville native, has lifted his average to .125 with a three-game hit streak in the rookie Gulf Coast League (St. Louis). … Former State All-America Dakota Hudson, the 34th overall draft pick by St. Louis last month, made his long-awaited debut on Monday and struck out three in one inning of work for the GCL Cardinals. … USM product Chuckie Robinson, a 21st-round pick by Houston, is hitting .388 with a homer and six RBIs at short-season Class A Tri-City.