Tag Archives: Ole Miss

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.

01 Jul

clearing the bases

Ex-Mississippi State standout Colton Ledbetter was named the Southern League’s player of the week on Monday and was also honored as a member of MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week. He went 12-for-23 last week with a homer, four RBIs and eight runs for Montgomery, Tampa Bay’s Double-A club. He is batting .280 on the year. … Mississippi Mud Monsters right-hander Brian Williams was named the Frontier League pitcher of the week. He threw seven shutout innings (two hits, no walks, seven strikeouts) vs. Down East last week at Trustmark Park. A former Texas Southern star, Williams is 3-2 with a 2.49 ERA this season for the independent club. … MSU’s Ace Reese went 2-for-6 with two walks, an RBI and three runs in the Collegiate National Team’s Stars v. Stripes doubleheader on Monday at Cary, N.C. Reese played for the Stars, who won Game 1 18-4. MSU’s Ryan McPherson threw a scoreless inning for the Stripes in that game. … Ole Miss’ Patrick Galle and Taylorsville native Aiden Moffett participated in Monday’s Cape Cod League vs. MLB Draft League All-Star Game at CitiField in New York. Galle, with Wareham in the Cape, allowed a run in 2/3 innings of work, while Moffett, who pitched at Texas this past season, struck out the only batter he faced. Galle is 1-1, two saves, 1.93 ERA, in the Cape. Moffett is 1-1, one save, 4.26, in the Draft League, a prospect showcase. … Houston Green, an Itawamba Community College alum, is batting .423 with nine RBIs and 10 runs for the Tallahatchie Rascals, who lead the Cotton States League with a 9-1-1 record. The top pitcher in the New Albany-based summer circuit is Delta State’s Eli Akins, 3-0 with a 1.66 for North Delta, which is 5-5. … Andrew Gipson, the former Belhaven University coach recently hired at New Orleans, was named a regional coach of the year in NCAA Division III by ABCA/ATEC. Gipson took the Blazers to the Super Regional round in the NCAAs. East Central Community College’s Neal Holliman and Pearl River CC’s Michael Avalon shared the NJCAA D-II regional award, and Mississippi native Butch Thompson of Auburn won an NCAA D-I regional award. … Incidentally, Gipson will be UNO’s third coach in three seasons. His replacement at BU, ex-Madison Central coach Patrick Robey, will be the Blazers’ third coach in four years. … Bidding for another MLB All-Star Game invite, Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet struck out nine batters in six innings for Boston on Monday night, running his MLB-leading K total to 144. After beating Cincinnati, Crochet is 8-4 with a 2.26 ERA. … Former MSU star J.T. Ginn, coming off a couple of wobbly outings, retired all 11 batters he faced for the A’s against Tampa Bay. Ginn entered in the fourth inning and shut down a Rays rally, struck out the side in the fifth and retired former Bulldogs teammate Jake Mangum on a grounder in the sixth. The A’s won the game late, 6-4. … The Los Angeles Angels are 5-4 under interim manager Ray Montgomery, the former Jackson Generals star who will be filling in for Ron Washington, sidelined with a medical issue, the rest of the season. The Angels are in Atlanta today to start a three-game set.

30 Jun

future (and current) stars

When the stars come out on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Konnor Griffin, Braden Montgomery and Jurrangelo Cijntje will be among them. The three Mississippi products were named to the rosters for the All-Star Futures Game, a showcase event for some of the game’s top prospects. Griffin, the ex-Jackson Prep star, is Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect and the No. 31 overall, per MLB Pipeline. The 19-year-old shortstop, a first-year pro, is batting .343 (.412 OBP) with 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 37 steals over two levels of Class A ball. Montgomery, a Madison Central High alum who played three years of college ball, is also in his first pro season, batting .274 (.352 OBP) with 10 homers and 49 RBIs over two levels of A-ball. The switch-hitting outfielder is the No. 4 prospect (32 overall) in the Chicago White Sox’s chain. Cijntje, the switch-pitcher out of Mississippi State, is 4-4 with a 4.88 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings in his pro debut at High-A in Seattle’s system. He is the Mariners’ No. 8 (84 overall). Former Atlanta Braves players will make up the on-field staff for the two teams. Chipper Jones will manage the National League squad, Marquis Grissom the AL team. Former Jackson State star Marvin Freeman is a coach on the AL staff. The game will be televised by MLB Network at 3 p.m. CDT. P.S. Dakota Jordan, another 2024 draftee from MSU (where he was the Ferriss Trophy winner last year), had a six-RBI game on Sunday for Low-A San Jose in the San Francisco system. Jordan, former Jackson Academy star, is batting .309 with six homers and 50 RBIs, tops in the California League. … Looking ahead to the 2025 MLB draft, set to start July 13, MLB Pipeline recently rated Southern Miss’ Jake Cook as the fastest runner in the 2025 class with an 80 scouting grade. A first-year starter as a redshirt sophomore for USM, the Madison Central alum played a mean center field and batted .350 (with just three steals). He goes 6 feet 3, 185 pounds. Lefty Liam Doyle, who pitched at Ole Miss in 2024 (5.73 ERA, 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings) before transferring to Tennessee, was rated as having the best fastball, a 75 on the 20-80 scale.

28 Jun

double-a stuff

Reed Trimble, who is having a tough season, and Colton Ledbetter, having a really nice one, got walk-off knocks on Friday, two of a bundle of Mississippi products who had an impact in Double-A games. Trimble, from Tupelo by way of Southern Miss, went 2-for-5 with a 10th-inning game-winner as Chesapeake (Baltimore system) beat Altoona 4-3. Trimble, who has four homers, is batting just .175 with seven RBIs in 24 games. Ex-Mississippi State star Ledbetter banged out four hits, scored twice and drove in the clincher in the ninth as Montgomery (Tampa Bay) topped Rocket City (Los Angeles Angels) 5-4. MSU alum Hunter Stovall hit his fifth homer for the winning Biscuits, and former Bulldogs star David Mershon went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Trash Pandas. Ex-Ole Miss All-America Jacob Gonzalez had three hits, three RBIs and a steal for Birmingham (Chicago White Sox) in a 6-2 win vs. Knoxville. Gonzalez is batting .258 with five homers, 32 RBIs and 10 bags. Also in the Southern League, Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt went 1-for-5 in helping Biloxi (Milwaukee) beat Columbus (Atlanta) and USM alum Landon Harper 3-0. Harper, making his sixth start since moving from the bullpen, allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts and no walks. He is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA. Former USM standout Dustin Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a run as Northwest Arkansas (Kansas City) beat Corpus Christi in the Texas League. Dickerson is batting .213. P.S. Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Ryan McPherson have been chosen by USA Baseball to participate in the Collegiate National Team Training Camp in North Carolina. Reese, who has been playing in the Cape Cod League, hit .352 with 21 homers for the Bulldogs this season. McPherson was 4-1 with three saves and a 4.12 ERA as a freshman. Two squads will play a five-game Stars vs. Stripes series with the first game set for Sunday. The players making the cut for Team USA will be named on July 4.

24 Jun

ratings game

With the college season finally done and a national champion crowned in NCAA Division I, it’s time to close the book on the Magnolia State season, another very good one. Ranking the teams on the 80-20 scouting scale — with 50 being average, 80 exceptional and 20 the pits — there are three teams that probably deserve a 65 rating.
Start with Belhaven University, which reached a Super Regional in NCAA D-III, the only state school to get that far. The Blazers went 34-15, 13-5 (second in the CCS), won the Maloney Trophy (over Millsaps), reached the finals of their conference tournament and won a regional on the road in their first postseason appearance in 14 years.
Give a 65 also to Southern Miss and Ole Miss, ranked No. 21 and No. 19, respectively, in Baseball America’s final poll. The Golden Eagles won 47 games, finished second in the Sun Belt, reached the finals of the SBC Tournament (losing to Coastal Carolina) and reached the finals of the regional they hosted. They also produced the SBC player of the year (Nick Monistere) and two first-team All-America selections (Monistere and J.B. Middleton, the Ferriss Trophy winner). Ole Miss won 43 games (16-14 SEC), won the Governor’s Cup, reached the final of the SEC Tournament (beating national champ LSU along the way), earned a No. 10 national seed and made the finals of their regional. And they were unranked at the start of the season.
At the 55 level, there are four. William Carey University won 38 games (17 on the road), won the SSAC title (24-6) and reached the finals of the league tournament. However, the Crusaders went 2-and-out in the NAIA Opening Round tourney they hosted. Delta State went 33-20, won the Gulf South regular season championship and went to an NCAA D-II regional, where the Statesmen went 1-2. Mississippi College finished 35-23, swept Delta State in the regular season finale, went 2-2 in the GSC Tournament and upset the No. 1 team in the nation (Tampa) in their D-II regional before bowing out. Millsaps went 29-15, won the SAA regular season title and went to a D-III regional. The Majors also produced a D-III All-America pick: Bradley Pelle.
Coming in with a 50 is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs wound up 36-23, 15-15 SEC, and lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament. They got a regional bid but lost twice to host Florida State. They also endured a midseason coaching change and coaching search. Give interim coach Justin Parker some props for navigating that with a 10-4 record. Jackson State also rates a 50 after going 30-21, 16-12 SWAC, and putting together a clutch 10-game win streak late in the year. They bowed out in three games in the SWAC Tournament. Blue Mountain Christian also scores a 50; the Toppers finished 28-24, 16-14 SSAC (beating Carey two of three), and won a game in the league tourney. Give a 50 also to D-III MUW, which posted a 21-17 mark (with a win over Millsaps), went 14-4 in the SLIAC and made the league tournament finals.
Rust, of the NAIA-level HBCUAC, comes in at 40. Rust went 22-28 (13-17) and was 0-2 in the league tourney. A shade below at 35 are Tougaloo, Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Baptist. Tougaloo was 14-32 and 9-20 HBCUAC. Valley finished 12-29, 7-23 SWAC. Southeastern Baptist, an NCCAA program in Laurel, went 20-19, beat Alcorn State and went 2-2 in a Christian college regional.
Alcorn State gets stuck with a 25. Under new coach Carlton Hardy, who got a late start with the program, the Braves finished 6-43, winning only one of 30 SWAC games (against Southern University). Hardy, who has a good track record, has a lot of work to do in Lorman.