Tag Archives: Ole Miss

14 Jul

pick five

As the eighth overall pick in the MLB draft, Purvis High product JoJo Parker is in elite company. Only three other high school players from Mississippi have been drafted at No. 8 or higher in the 60-year history of the draft. Ted Nicholson was taken third overall in 1969 out of Oak Park in Laurel by the Chicago White Sox, Donny Castle went eighth in 1968 out of Coldwater High to the Washington Senators and Kirk Presley was selected No. 8 in 1993 out of Tupelo High by the New York Mets. Only Castle made it to the big leagues. Parker, a lefty-hitting shortstop, was the state Gatorade player of the year and is regarded as one of the best pure hitters in the 2025 draft class. He was picked by Toronto; the slot value of the eighth pick is $6.81 million, according to mlb.com. (Konnor Griffin, the ninth overall pick last year out of Jackson Prep, signed with Pittsburgh for approximately $6.5M; he already has reached the High-Class A level.) Interestingly, 11 of the top 24 picks, including No. 1 Eli Willits, are high school shortstops. … Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton was the 45th overall pick — the second pick of the second round — by Colorado. The right-hander was a 2025 All-America selection and the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner. On MLB Network’s draft coverage, he was described by Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as “the ultimate competitor” and “a truly tough kid,” qualities a player would need to pitch at Colorado’s Coors Field. Vitello said he recruited Middleton out of Benton Academy. … In the third round, East Union High pitcher Landon Harmon, who can throw 99, went to Washington at No. 80 overall; Jake Cook, an unsung speed demon at Southern Miss, was picked at No. 81 by Toronto; and Ole Miss righty Mason Morris went at No. 83 to Cincinnati. … All told, five players from Mississippi schools, all natives of the state, were drafted on Day 1, which covered the first three rounds and 105 picks. … Of note: Milwaukee took with the 20th overall pick Tennessee third baseman Andrew Fischer, who played at Ole Miss in 2024 and hit 20 home runs, then popped 25 for the Vols this season. He could be at Double-A Biloxi in short order.

13 Jul

draft watch

Four players from Mississippi schools were picked on Day 1 in the 2024 MLB draft, two among the first 15 picks. Impressive, but … if MLB Pipeline’s current rankings mean anything, there are five from state schools who could go today when the 2025 draft begins (5 p.m., MLB Network). Rounds 1-3 cover 105 picks, including supplementals. MLB Pipeline has five state products ranked in the top 98. Purvis High’s JoJo Parker is the No. 9 prospect, Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton No. 41, East Union High’s Landon Harmon No. 48, Lewisburg High’s Talon Haley No. 91 and Ole Miss’ Luke Hill No. 98. … The most intrigue surrounds Parker and how high he might go. A lefty-hitting shortstop and the state’s Gatorade player of the year, he is a consensus first-round talent, buoyed mainly by his hit tool. Baseball America has him at No. 10. Middleton rode a sinker/slider combo to a 10-1 record, first-team All-America recognition and the state’s Ferriss Trophy. MLB Pipeline notes that Middleton could become the highest-drafted pitcher from USM; Brandon Parker went 55th overall in 1997. Harmon, dominant in high school, goes 6 feet 5 and throws 99. Haley, a lefty and a Vanderbilt commit, has overcome cancer and arm surgeries; he had an 0.55 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 38 innings this season, per MaxPreps. Hill, an infielder and second-team All-SEC pick this season, hit .336 with eight homers and 18 steals. … Four other state players are ranked in the top 122 by MLB Pipeline: USM’s Jake Cook, whose speed turned heads in the MLB Combine; JoJo Parker’s twin Jacob, whose raw power stands out; Ole Miss’ 6-4, 225-pound right-hander Mason Morris; and Mississippi State’s crafty lefty Pico Kohn. (Of note: Former Ole Miss players Liam Doyle, a lefty, and Andrew Fischer, a third baseman, both of whom played at Tennessee this past year, are also regarded as first-round prospects. Doyle is one of the hardest throwers in the draft.) … Last year, Konnor Griffin was the ninth overall pick out of Jackson Prep and Mississippi State’s Jurrangelo Cijntje went 15th. MSU’s Khal Stephen was picked in the second round and Nate Dohm in the third, No. 84 overall. In addition, Braden Montgomery, a Madison Central grad, was picked 12th overall out of Texas A&M. Five players from state schools went in Rounds 4-9 and 21 were drafted overall in 2024. … The Athletic/New York Times singles out Cook and Ole Miss lefty Hunter Elliott as players outside its top 100 who might go higher than expected. P.S. Tens were wild for Mississippians in MLB on Saturday: 10 wins for Garrett Crochet, 10 homers for Matt Wallner and 10 strikeouts for Brandon Woodruff. Crochet, from Ocean Springs, threw a three-hit, nine-strikeout shutout — his first complete game — for his 10th win for surging Boston, which beat Tampa Bay for its ninth straight win. (Props to Mississippi State alum Jake Mangum, who went 0-for-4 but did not punch out for the Rays.) Ex-Southern Miss star Wallner hit his 10th homer — fourth in 14 games — as resurgent Minnesota drilled Pittsburgh 12-4 for its seventh win in nine games. Woodruff, former MSU standout from Wheeler, struck out 10 batters in 4 1/3 innings in just his second start of the year for Milwaukee, which beat Washington 6-5 for its sixth straight victory. … In case you missed it in Saturday’s All-Star Futures game, Griffin went 1-for-2 with an HBP (his right hand reportedly is OK); Montgomery was 0-for-3 with an RBI; and Cijntje, pitching both righty and lefty, struck out two and yielded an infield hit in his one inning.

12 Jul

clearing the bases

Atlanta won a one-run game Friday night — shocking! — but lost in midgame third baseman Austin Riley to “lower abdominal tightness.” The DeSoto Central High alum was listed as day-to-day, per the latest report on mlb.com/braves. He has played in all of the Braves’ 93 games, and they need him in the lineup. Riley was 1-for-2 with an RBI knock in the 6-5 win at St. Louis, continuing his recent surge: .321 with two homers, six RBIs and five runs in his last seven games. He is at .274 with 14 homers and 48 RBIs on the season. … Former Mississippi Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., who went 3-for-5 on Friday, will not take part in Monday’s Home Run Derby over concerns about his back; Matt Olson takes his spot. … Ex-Ocean Springs High star Garrett Crochet of Boston pulled out of Tuesday’s All-Star Game, replaced on the American roster by Casey Mize. Meanwhile, Biloxi Shuckers alum Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee’s 6-foot-7 rookie sensation (4-1, 2.81 ERA) has been named to the National League squad. … Mississippi products Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep), Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Jurrangelo Cijntje (Mississippi State) will get some national exposure today (3 p.m., MLB Network) in the All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park in Atlanta. Griffin is the No. 13 prospect in the minors, per MLB Pipeline rankings, with Montgomery at No. 32 and Cijntje No. 79. Each is currently playing in High-Class A. The Futures Game has become a big deal. Former Magnolia Heights standout Cooper Pratt, now in Double-A, played in the 2024 game. In previous years current big leaguers Colt Keith, Matt Wallner and Nathaniel Lowe particpated, along with the likes of Hunter Renfroe, Billy Hamilton, Dakota Hudson, Desmond Jennings and Ethan Small. … Dakota Jordan, the former MSU and Jackson Academy star, isn’t going to the ATL, but certainly has the credentials. He hit his 10th homer on Friday and is batting .304 with 70 RBIs and 63 runs in 79 games at Low-A San Jose (San Francisco). … Jackson State alum Robert Tate Jr. started at shortstop and went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Tigers teammate Nkosi Didder struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning to get the win as the NL squad beat the AL 7-4 in Friday’s HBCU Swingman Classic. … Arizona activated ex-MSU star Kendall Graveman from the IL; he gave up a run in an inning of work vs. the Los Angeles Angels and now has an 8.68 ERA. … Former Ole Miss slugger Tim Elko was placed on the IL (knee) by the Chicago White Sox; he is batting .145 in 62 MLB at-bats.

11 Jul

whatever happened to …

Dylan DeLucia, the Most Outstanding Player in the 2022 CWS with Ole Miss, is 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA at Double-A Akron in the Cleveland chain. He took a loss against Richmond on Thursday night, allowing four runs in three innings. The right-hander, drafted in 2022, didn’t make his pro debut until last summer. He began 2025 in A-ball.
Tanner Hall, the 2022 Ferriss Trophy winner at Southern Miss, is 3-3 with a 5.26 in 15 starts for High-Class A Cedar Rapids (Minnesota). A fourth-round pick by the Twins in 2023, Hall has been limited by injuries to 34 games in pro ball.
Dakota Hudson, the erstwhile big leaguer and ex-Mississippi State star, is 4-6 with a 7.87 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake (Los Angeles Angels). ERAs tend to be a little inflated in the Pacific Coast League, but Hudson was banged around for nine runs in five innings on Wednesday. He went 2-12, 6.17, for Colorado in 2024 but has a career ERA of 4.21 (with 40 wins) in the big leagues.
Taylor Broadway, the closer for the 2021 Ole Miss team, has 4.30 ERA and a 3-1 mark over 20 games for Cleburne in the independent American Association. He pitched three seasons in affiliated ball (Chicago White Sox and Boston systems) but sat out 2024.
Ethan Small, the former first-rounder out of MSU, has been on the injured list (oblique) all season at Triple-A Sacramento (San Francisco). The left-hander, who has four MLB appearances on his ledger, made just 14 minor league appearances in 2024. He has a career 3.22 ERA in the minors.
James McArthur, the former Ole Miss standout, has been on the IL all season (elbow) with Kansas City. The seven-year pro, 28, was the Royals’ closer late in 2023 and early last season before losing that role. He has a 4.84 ERA and 22 saves in 75 career MLB games.
P.S. MSU alum Jordan Westburg reached double-digits in home runs on Thursday with his 10th for Baltimore. He has three homers in his last five games. … Ex-Bulldogs star Brent Rooker, announced Thursday as a participant in next week’s Home Run Derby, banged out two doubles (Nos. 20 and 21) and scored twice, including the game-winner as the A’s beat Atlanta 5-4 in 11 innings.

10 Jul

land of giants

Fueled by a pair of former Mississippi prep stars, the San Jose Giants are the behemoth of the California League. Niko Mazza, former Madison-Ridgeland Academy star, allowed one run over six innings and Dakota Jordan, ex-Jackson Academy standout, hit his ninth home run to power San Jose to a 3-1 win over Fresno on Wednesday night. The Low-Class A Giants are 13-4 in the second half, the best record in the loop, and won the first-half title in the CL North with a 42-24 mark, also a league-best. Mazza, an eighth-round draft pick in 2024 out of Southern Miss, is 3-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 14 starts this season. The right-hander, the MAIS 5A player of the year in 2021 at MRA, won nine games, including a regional complete game, for the Sun Belt champion Golden Eagles in 2024. Jordan is on a real tear. He is riding a nine-game hit streak during which he has blasted four homers and on the year is batting .302 with a league-leading 67 RBIs plus 60 runs and 27 steals. He was the state’s Gatorade player of the year at JA in 2022 and was the Ferriss Trophy winner at Mississippi State in 2024. San Francisco got him in the fourth round of last summer’s draft, potentially a major steal. P.S. Tim Elko was recalled by the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday and went 0-for-3 (three strikeouts) in a 2-1 win against Toronto. The Ole Miss alum is just 9-for-61 with four homers in his big league time but is batting .315 with 16 homers in Triple-A. … Austin Riley, Nathaniel Lowe and Matt Wallner all homered in MLB games on Wednesday, closing in a bit on all-Mississippi home run derby leader Brent Rooker, who hit his 19th for the A’s on Tuesday. Riley has 14 clouts for Atlanta, Lowe 14 for Washington and Wallner nine (in just 51 games) for Minnesota. … On this date in 1979, ex-MSU star Del Unser tied a major league record with a home run in a third straight pinch-hit appearance. Unser, playing for Philadelphia, connected for a three-run walk-off bomb against San Diego’s Rollie Fingers to tie the record set by Lee Lacy in 1978. A noted pinch hitter, Unser posted a .356 career OBP in that role over 15 major league seasons.

07 Jul

arrivals and departures

July 7 is a red-letter date for a large number of players with Mississippi ties. On this date in 2011, former Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart made his MLB debut with Cincinnati. He went 1-for-3 against Milwaukee, launching a nine-year big league career that saw him bat .247 with 85 homers and make the 2017 All-Star Game. Three former Jackson Generals debuted on July 7 (per Baseball Almanac): Todd Jones in 1993, Trent (Trenidad) Hubbard in ’94 and Wade Miller in ’99. Jones and Miller debuted with the Double-A Gens’ parent Houston Astros, Hubbard with Colorado. On July 7, 2005, former Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur crashed The Show with Atlanta, homering in his first game. Two years later, M-Braves alum Jo-Jo Reyes got the call from the big Braves. Also on July 7, in 1990, former Jackson Mets ace Jay Tibbs threw the final pitch of his seven-year MLB career, and in 1996, Jeff Ware — a player/coach for the 2002 Jackson Senators — threw his last MLB pitch, capping an 18-game career. Most notably, July 7, 2012, marked the final game of Tim Dillard’s major league career — but not his pro career. The former Itawamba Community College standout posted a 4.70 ERA over four seasons with Milwaukee. The colorful right-hander, now a Brewers TV analyst, would continue pitching in various leagues until 2020, working 18 pro seasons overall. P.S. Konnor Griffin, the former Jackson Prep star, swiped three bases for High-Class A Greensboro on Sunday, running his season total to 40 over two levels in the Pittsburgh system. He is batting .333 overall with a .532 slugging percentage and 13 homers, but speed might be his best tool. He swiped a jaw-dropping 85 bases at Prep last year, when he won Gatorade national player of the year honors. … Former Southern Miss and Meridian CC star Dalton McIntyre was recently promoted by Atlanta from rookie ball to High-A Rome, where he joins forces with ex-ICC standout Will Verdung. McIntyre hit .388 at USM in 2024 and is batting .259 with 18 steals in his first pro season. Verdung, a 2023 Braves draftee after earning MACCC player of the year honors, is hitting .285 for the Emperors.

06 Jul

watch for it

Brandon Woodruff’s long and winding road back to the big leagues ends today when the former Wheeler High and Mississippi State standout goes to the mound for Milwaukee at Miami’s loanDepot Park. It has been 683 days — since September of 2023 — since the two-time All-Star pitched for the Brewers. He has endured a shoulder injury, then surgery and various other setbacks along the way. “I know if I can (stay heathy), I will figure out how to get guys out at a high level again,” he said in a recent mlb.com story. “It’s just a matter of consistency, and that’s it. But getting here and knowing that I’m going to pitch again in the major leagues is exciting.” Woodruff, 32, is 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA in his MLB career, dating to 2017, all that time with the Brewers. The team is chasing the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, currently sitting 4 games back in second place. Woodruff’s return could be a big lift. He made 10 rehab appearances in the minors, posting 2.79 ERA in 42 innings. He’ll face a Miami team that is 40-47 but has won eight of 10. It’ll be a big test. P.S. In other pitching news: Former Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz, now with the Cubs, was charged with two earned runs against St. Louis on Saturday, ending a streak of 26 appearances without yielding one. His ERA is now 0.76. … UM product Doug Nikhazy was sent back to Triple-A by Cleveland without making an appearance. He has been up three times, pitching in one game. … At Triple-A Rochester (Washington system), Mississippi State alum Konnor Pilkington registered his second save, getting the last five outs in an 8-5 win Saturday against Buffalo. Pilkington has a 2.84 ERA and a 3-3 record in 32 appearances for the Red Wings. … Houston Roth, ex-Ole Miss standout, tossed a scoreless inning for Triple-A Norfolk (Baltimore) and trimmed his ERA to 1.93 over 11 games. … Hurston Waldrep, a Southern Miss alum, allowed three unearned runs — two on a home run — in five innings of work for Triple-A Gwinnett (Atlanta) and took a loss to fall to 6-7, 5.25. Waldrep has yet to have a scoreless outing in 16 appearances for the Stripers. … At Double-A Biloxi (Milwaukee), ex-MSU star Tyson Hardin threw 5 2/3 innings (no decision) against Pensacola, allowing two runs and fanning six. He has a 1.99 ERA in four starts for the Shuckers. … MSU product Khal Stephen — the Northwest League’s pitcher of the month for June — worked six shutout innings for Vancouver (Toronto), notching his fifth win and lowering his ERA to 1.49 for the High-Class A club. Stephen beat former Bulldogs teammate Jurrangelo Cijntje, who fell to 4-5, 4.95, for Everett (Seattle). … Brooks Auger, another ex-MSU standout, got a four-inning save for High-A Great Lakes (Los Angeles Dodgers); he has a 5.87 ERA over 12 games.

04 Jul

taste of home

The Mud Monsters aren’t the only ones coming home to Mississippi today. Tyreque Reed, a Magnolia State native, is on the roster of the Washington Wild Things, who are visiting Trustmark Park this weekend for a Frontier League series. Reed, 28, who starred at Houlka High and Itawamba Community College before launching his pro career, is the Wild Things’ cleanup batter and certainly a hitter to keep an eye on this weekend. He won the FL batting title last year with a .341 average for a Washington club that posted the indy league’s best record. Currently, Reed is hitting .240 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs. In 2017 at ICC, the right-handed hitting Reed batted a ridiculous .504 with 15 homers and 15 doubles. He played in both the Texas and Boston systems in affiliated ball, batting .268 with 64 homers in 374 games and reaching the Double-A level with the Red Sox in 2021. He missed much of the ’22 and ’23 seasons with injuries. (Of note: Madison Central High alum Regi Grace began this season with Washington but is now pitching in Mexico.) Washington is 26-22, first in the FL’s Midwest Conference Central Division. The Mud Monsters, fourth in the Midwest West, are 23-25 but coming in hot, having won three straight at Evansville. Kyle Booker, a DeSoto Central product, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in Thursday’s win and is batting .303. Travis Holt leads the club in homers and RBIs with seven and 29. P.S. Former Meridian CC standout Cliff Lee was in the news on Thursday. Zack Wheeler, named the National League’s pitcher of the month for June, became the first Philadelphia Phillies pitcher since Lee to win two monthly awards. Wheeler also won in May of 2022. Lee, one of the most underrated pitchers of recent times, won twice in 2011, going 5-0 with a sub-0.50 ERA in both June and August. The left-hander, a four-time All-Star, also won two POMs with Cleveland in 2008, when he won the Cy Young Award, and another with Seattle in 2010. He went 143-91 with a 3.52 ERA for his career. … Ex-Ole Miss star Doug Nikhazy was recalled (again) from Triple-A by Cleveland on Thursday but did not pitch. His only MLB appearance to date was his rocky debut on April 26. … Mel Rojas Jr., who played for the Mississippi Braves in 2016, has set the Korean Baseball Organization career record for homers by a foreign player. He hit No. 175 on Thursday for the KT Wiz.

02 Jul

who’s no. 1?

Fun facts: Raise a foam finger for the Detroit Tigers, ranked No. 1 again this week, a spot they’ve occupied for several weeks in the USA Today/Sports Weekly poll. Granted, an MLB poll doesn’t seem as significant as college football and basketball polls, but it does say something about the national perception of the 30 teams. And the Tigers, at 54-32 after an 11-2 win over Washington in Game 1 of a Wednesday doubleheader, do have the best record in the majors and a huge division lead. They also have a prominent Mississippian on their roster: Colt Keith, the former Biloxi High star now in his second big league campaign. After a 3-for-5 effort Wednesday from the leadoff spot, Keith is batting .254 with six homers, 13 doubles, 25 RBIs and 36 runs. It’s interesting to note that four of the top seven in the latest Sports Weekly poll have a Mississippi product on their active roster. (It’s also interesting, if that’s the right word, that seven of the bottom nine in the latest poll also deploy a Mississippian.) The No. 4 team is the Chicago Cubs (50-35 entering play Wednesday), who feature former Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz in their bullpen. The veteran lefty has not allowed an earned run in 25 appearances since he was acquired from Seattle. At No. 6 is the New York Yankees (48-37), who will trot out Jackson Prep product Will Warren (5-4, 4.37 ERA) in a big game Wednesday night against Toronto, 12th in the poll but just a game back of New York in the American League East. No. 7 is Tampa Bay, which improved to 48-39 with a 6-5 win against Oakland on Wednesday; former Mississippi State star Jake Mangum hit his second homer in that game and is batting .313 as a rookie. … Ranked ninth is Milwaukee, 48-37 after beating the New York Mets 7-2 in the first of two games Wednesday. The Brewers have penciled in ex-MSU standout Brandon Woodruff for his 2025 debut on Sunday; he is 46-26, 3.10, for his career but has been shelved (arm surgery) since September of 2023. For the record, third-ranked Houston (51-34 entering play Wednesday) has MSU alum J.P. France on the injured list but working his way back to active duty, which should come sometime after the All-Star break. … At the bottom of the poll is Colorado, 19-66 and threatening to post the worst record in modern MLB history, breaking the lowly mark set just last year by the Chicago White Sox. Former Ole Miss standout Ryan Rolison is a 27-year-old rookie pitcher for the Rockies, and he has a 7.78 ERA in 16 games, fitting right in on a struggling staff. Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet had the misfortune to pitch for the moribund ChiSox last year but has since escaped (via off-season trade) to Boston.

02 Jul

a few shining moments

One small hit for Texas, one giant knock for Justin Foscue. The Mississippi State product snapped an 0-for-44 drought with a two-run double Tuesday night in the Rangers’ 10-2 win against visiting Baltimore. Foscue, a former first-round pick by the Rangers in 2020, has been up-and-down from Triple-A — where his numbers were good — the past two seasons. He had two hits early in 2024 but nothing since until Tuesday. After delivering the pinch-hit two-bagger in the eighth inning — and appearing to breathe a big sigh of relief upon reaching second base — he is now 1-for-6 in 2025. The 0-for-44 was a Rangers record. … Meanwhile, in Miami, ex-Ole Miss star Nick Fortes responded to a bit of disrespect from Minnesota’s staff by delivering a run-scoring hit in the eighth inning of the Marlins’ 2-0 victory, their eighth straight. The Twins intentionally walked Otto Lopez with two outs and a runner at third to pitch to Fortes, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher. He smacked a single to right field to cap the Miami scoring. Fortes is batting .243 with 10 RBIs. The Marlins moved to 38-45, a half-game ahead of Atlanta in third place in the National League East. … On Canada Day in Toronto, former Southern Miss standout Nick Sandlin registered his fourth hold of 2025 with a scoreless inning in the Blue Jays’ big 12-5 win over the New York Yankees. It was a 4-2 game when Sandlin entered in the sixth; he got a strikeout and, after a hit, a double-play ball, trimming his ERA to 1.98 in 16 appearances. Toronto (47-38) moved to within a game of the first-place Yankees (48-37) in the wild American League East. Tampa Bay, which lost to the A’s on Tuesday, is 1.5 games back at 47-39. … At Pittsburgh, ex-MSU star Adam Frazier delivered a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning that moved the eventual winning run to third base in the Pirates’ 1-0 win over St. Louis. Frazier’s clutch hit came off Cardinals closer Phil Maton and raised his average to .256. P.S. In MLB Pipeline’s new Top 100 minor league prospect rankings, Konnor Griffin jumped to No. 13, Braden Montgomery is 32, Cooper Pratt 44 and Jurrangelo Cijntje 79. Griffin, Montgomery and Cijntje are headed to the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta next week. Pratt played in the game in 2024.