Tag Archives: Rays

26 Jul

change of sox?

Give a tip of the cap today to Marcus Thames, the Louisville native who serves as hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox. The ChiSox went into the All-Star break with the worst record in the American League and woeful offensive numbers. They’ve come out of the break looking like the ’27 Yankees: an MLB-best 61 runs in a 6-1 surge. On Friday, sparked by a bunch of rookies, the White Sox blasted the crosstown-rival Cubs 12-5, racking up a season-high 18 hits at Rate Field. Their reported plan was to sit on and attack Shota Imanaga’s fastball; they knocked him out in the fourth inning while building a 9-0 lead. Thames, in his second year with the team, deserves a little credit here. He endured the 2024 disaster that cost manager Pedro Grifol his job and was retained by new manager Will Venable for the 2025 rebuild. Thames, a former MLB slugger and a veteran hitting coach, said in a TV interview before the All-Star break that the key to being a good coach is “all about building relationships.” He told The Chicago Sports Network he just wanted to “make sure our guys understand their strengths.” That seems to be happening. “We were on a mission when we came back (from the break),” rookie Chase Meidroth told mlb.com. Every starter had a hit on Friday. Rookie Edgar Quero had four knocks and Meidroth had three, including a first-inning homer off Imanaga. Colson Montgomery, yet another first-year player, also took Imanaga deep. The White Sox are too far back to make a playoff run, but they might be a fun team to watch as a spoiler down the stretch. P.S. Austin Riley returned to Atlanta’s lineup Friday but couldn’t help the Braves pull out of their tailspin. The former DeSoto Central High star went 0-for-4 in an 8-3 loss at Texas that dropped Atlanta 14 games under .500. … Jacob Waguespack, an Ole Miss alum, was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay; the onetime big leaguer was on the injured list at Triple-A Durham, where he had pitched well (0.46 ERA in 15 games). He has not made an MLB appearance this season.

03 Jul

a quick trip

It takes a dash of speed and a pinch of luck to hit an inside-the-park home run. Jake Mangum had both going for him on Wednesday. The former Mississippi State star from Flowood banged a high fly ball off the wall in center field at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Denzel Clarke, the A’s remarkably athletic center fielder, just missed making the catch, crashed into the wall and fell to the ground in a heap as Mangum flew around the bases and scored standing up. It was just the third IPHR of the MLB season — the 24th in Rays history — and it contributed to a 6-5 win that moved the team within a half-game of first place in the American League East. Mangum was timed at 14.98 seconds making the circuit. The record in the Statcast era (since 2015) is Byron Buxton’s 13.85 in 2017, per mlb.com. Known more for his speed than power, Mangum has two homers and 11 steals in 51 games in his rookie season. In 437 minor league games, Mangum hit 24 homers and stole 81 bags. He said after Wednesday’s game that he doesn’t recall ever hitting an inside-the-park homer, even in his amateur days. They are rare. Consider that former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, regarded as one of the fastest ever to play the game, never hit one in his 11-year big league career. (He reportedly circled the bases in a hand-timed 13.8 seconds on an IPHR in Double-A.) McComb native Jarrod Dyson, another well-known speedster, hit one IPHR in his 12-year MLB career. Gulfport’s Matt Lawton, another fast man who played from 1995-2006, never got an IPHR. A little research in Baseball Almanac records indicates that Greenville native Frank White recorded three inside-the-parkers back in the 1970s, and Vicksburg’s Ellis Burks tallied two in the mid-’90s. P.S. Kudos to Slater Lott, new coach at Itawamba Community College. The former Pearl River CC hitting coach — he was NJCAA Division II assistant of the year in 2022 — replaces Rick Collier, who retired after 23 highly successful years at ICC. Lott, a former Clarkdale High player, also coached at Meridian CC and Delta State. He joins Brian O’Connor (Mississippi State) and Patrick Robey (Belhaven) as new coaches for 2026.

24 Jun

noteworthy

Justin Foscue made his 2025 debut with Texas on Monday night, becoming the 26th Mississippian (native or school alum) to play in the big leagues this season. Seventeen are currently on active rosters. Three have been released and are free agents, the others are either on the injured list or back in the minors. Ex-Mississippi State star Foscue, called up from Triple-A on Saturday, played first base and went 0-for-3 in the Rangers’ loss to Baltimore. … Brent Rooker moved up to third and Colt Keith to fourth in the latest All-Star Game balloting for American League DH, and Austin Riley rose to sixth in the National League third base race. Rooker, an MSU alum, is hitting .275 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs for the A’s. Keith, a Biloxi High product, is at .243 with six bombs and 24 RBIs for Detroit, which has the best record in MLB. Former DeSoto Central star Riley is hitting .275 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs for Atlanta; he was 2-for-4 with a triple in the 3-2 win vs. the New York Mets on Monday night. The All-Star Game is July 15 in Atlanta. … Connor Hujsak, former MSU standout, was named the Carolina League player of the week on Monday; he was 10-for-29 with two homers and nine RBIs last week for Low-Class A Charleston in the Tampa Bay chain. Hujsak is the 11th Mississippi product to win a minor league player or pitcher of the week award this season, joining Konnor Griffin, Kemp Alderman, Blaze Jordan, Tyson Hardin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Niko Mazza, Braden Montgomery, Rowdey Jordan, Blaine Crim and J.T. Ginn.

19 Jun

glove stories

Forget exit velo and spin rate for a moment and give some love to the glove. Hunter Elliott of Ole Miss and Jacob Keys of Pearl River Community College have been honored as ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners for 2025. Elliott, a left-handed pitcher from Tupelo, was named in the NCAA Division I category, and Keys, a catcher from Brandon, was selected in NJCAA Division II. Elliott, a third-team All-America pick by the NCBWA, picked off 13 base runners, a modern-era record at UM, according to a school release, and allowed just seven stolen bases among 14 attempts. He had 20 assists, six putouts and three errors over 17 games and 85 2/3 innings, winning 10 games and fanning 102 batters for a Rebels team that earned a No. 10 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Keys, a second-team NJCAA D-II All-America pick, did not make an error in 63 games behind the plate for PRCC. He registered 29 assists all told, threw out 15 of 25 would-be base stealers and yielded just six passed balls. The Wildcats, MACCC and Region 23 champions, made it all the way to the juco World Series championship game. A reverse transfer from Southern Miss, Keys is bound for Southeastern Louisiana. P.S. Former Mississippi State standout Jake Mangum had a two-run single in the third inning Wednesday as part of Tampa Bay’s amazing comeback win against Baltimore. The Rays won 12-8 after trailing 8-0 in the second inning. … Per an mlb.com poll, former Mississippi Braves catcher Drake Baldwin of Atlanta is the frontrunner to win National League rookie of the year honors. Three other M-Braves alums have won the award: Michael Harris II (2022), Ronald Acuna (2018) and Craig Kimbrel (2011). … On June 19 in baseball history, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks hit three homers in a game for Cleveland in 2001, Louisville native Marcus Thames hit two bombs for Detroit in 2009 and Greenville native George Scott homered for Boston in 1977. Burks, with 352 career homers, is the all-time leader among Mississippi natives, while Scott, with 271, ranks third. Thames, currently the Chicago White Sox’s hitting coach, clubbed 115 in just 640 career games, averaging a homer every 15.9 at-bats, comparable to David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and Willie McCovey.

17 Jun

temperature reading

Maybe there should be a CAUTION sign hanging above Jake Mangum’s locker. The Mississippi State product from Flowood is that hot, and so is his Tampa Bay team. With Mangum banging out three hits and driving in three runs, the Rays beat visiting Baltimore 7-1 on Monday. That’s four straight wins, 10 out of 13 and 19 out of 25 for the Rays, now 40-32 and just 2.5 games back of slumping New York atop the American League East. “We have a lot of faith in each other,” Mangum told mlb.com. “If I don’t get the job done, the guy behind me is gonna get it done, the guy in front of me is gonna get it done.” Lately, Mangum has been getting it done. The rookie switch-hitter is 12-for-27 (.444) over his last seven games with eight RBIs, five runs and five stolen bases. He is hitting .315 on the season with 21 RBIs, 13 runs and 10 bags in 37 games; he missed almost a month after a groin injury in late April. … And then there is the coldest team in the big leagues: Washington, which blew a ninth-inning lead Monday and lost to lowly Colorado 6-4 at Nationals Park. That’s nine straight losses for the Nats, now 30-42 and sinking in the National League East. Former Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe, the regular first baseman, is also in a cold snap, with just four hits and eight strikeouts in his last 22 at-bats. Brought in this season to provide some power for a young team, he has just one home run since May 16. On the year, Lowe — a Silver Slugger winner in 2022 and a World Series champ in ’23 with Texas — is batting .227 with nine homers and 44 RBIs. He has been the subject of trade rumors, but you wonder if interest might be waning. P.S. Ex-State star J.T. Ginn came off the injured list for the A’s Monday and threw three scoreless innings in relief in a 3-1 win vs. Houston. He has a 4.79 ERA in five appearances this season.

31 May

good news and …

Good day for Mississippi State and Pearl River Community College. While rumors percolate about who’ll be coaching them in 2026, the ’25 MSU team upended Northeastern 11-2 Friday in the opener of the Tallahassee Regional. Joe Powell and Noah Sullivan hit home runs and Ben Davis and Ryan McPherson combined on a five-hitter as the Bulldogs set up a winners bracket meeting today with Florida State, the top seed in the regional. Pearl River got a brilliant two-hitter from K.K. Clark — an MSU transfer — and beat East Central CC 10-0 in five innings to advance to the championship game of the NJCAA Division II World Series. Second-seeded PRCC, which won the title in 2022, faces No. 1 Pasco-Hernando State (Fla.) today in Enid, Okla., for the crown. ECCC ends its season at 46-16. … Bad day for Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Pitching let both of the regional hosts down. The Rebels were shocked by Murray State 9-6 in Oxford, while the Golden Eagles got pummeled 11-4 by Columbia in Hattiesburg. Ole Miss gets 3-seed Western Kentucky today. Former Hinds CC star Thomas Marsala is on the Hilltoppers’ roster. USM plays an elimination game against 2-seed Alabama, upset by Miami on Friday. There are several familiar names on the Crimson Tide roster: Bryce Fowler, who played at USM two years ago before transferring to Pearl River CC; Will Hodo, a former Wayne Academy star; Beau Bryans, a Madison Central and Jones College alum; and Jack Ketchum, a freshman out of Heritage Academy. P.S. Jake Mangum, out since April 24, returned to Tampa Bay’s roster on Friday. The rookie out of MSU, batting .338 when he was hurt, went 0-for-3 in a 2-1 loss to Houston. (Fun fact: Yainer Diaz, who hit the walk-off homer for the Astros, is the older brother of the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ Victor Diaz. Both are catchers.) … Rick Collier, who won more than 700 games in 23 years at Itawamba Community College, has retired. A three-time coach of the year in the state, his teams were a regular in the NJCAA national rankings and made the postseason 18 times. Under Delta State alum Collier, the program had more than 20 players drafted by MLB clubs, among them Tim Dillard and Desmond Jennings. … Happy trails, also, to Bill Blackwell, who has retired as executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, where he had served since 2016. Blackwell, who played baseball at Southern Illinois, was a longtime general manager of the Double-A Jackson Mets and Generals at Smith-Wills Stadium. … Today is opening day for the Cotton States League, the New Albany-based college summer loop that’s been around since 2009. The league will field four teams, stocked mostly with small college and juco players.

29 May

just stuff

Brandon Woodruff, the ex-Mississippi State star, reportedly is on schedule to rejoin the Milwaukee pitching staff on the Brewers’ next homestand, which starts June 6. Making his eighth rehab appearance as he comes back from shoulder surgery, Woodruff went seven innings for High-Class A Wisconsin on Wednesday and yielded a lone unearned run. “It went pretty good,” Woodruff told reporters. He has a 1.94 ERA over 36 2/3 innings split between High-A and Triple-A. A two-time All-Star, Woodruff missed all of the 2024 season after the surgery. … Jake Mangum is batting .389 in 18 at-bats on his rehab assignment for Tampa Bay; the former MSU standout, on the injured list since April 24, is 6-for-15 at Triple-A Durham. … Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson and Southern Miss alum Chuckie Robinson have been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels. Former All-Star Anderson, a curious off-season addition, was batting .205 with no homers and one steal in 83 at-bats. Robinson, on the 40-man roster but playing at Triple-A Salt Lake all season, was batting .272 with a homer and 18 RBIs in 28 games. … Biloxi Shuckers alum Orlando Arcia, released by the Atlanta Braves, signed with Colorado and went 2-for-3 as the DH in Wednesday’s game, a loss to the Chicago Cubs. … Let’s do it again: Pablo Roque went 3-for-4 with six RBIs to lead East Central CC to a 13-4 win Wednesday against Southeastern Iowa, setting up another game against Pearl River CC. The MACCC rivals will meet tonight at Enid, Okla., for the seventh time this season and second time in the NJCAA Division II World Series. ECCC will have to beat second-seeded PRCC, unbeaten in Enid, twice to reach the World Series finals. … A couple of Mississippians have helped fuel NAIA No. 1 LSU-Shreveport’s run to a record 57-0. That’s 57-0. Hinds CC alum Vantrel Reed is hitting .397 with five homers and 61 RBIs and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product D.J. Walker is batting .387 for the Pilots, who beat Southeastern (Fla.) 10-0 Wednesday in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. LSU-S plays Hope International (Calif.) today for a berth in the finals. A third Mississippian, Pearl River CC product Byrion Robinson, is also on the LSU-S roster but has not pitched this season. … There will be three Golden Spikes Award semifinalists on display in the Hattiesburg Regional: Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton, Alabama’s Justin Lebron and Miami’s Daniel Cuvet. There will be two in the Oxford Regional, both playing for Georgia Tech: Drew Burress and Kyle Lodise. The NCAA Division I Tournament starts Friday at all 16 regionals.

24 Apr

speed bump?

Jake Mangum’s impressive run in his long-awaited big league opportunity may have hit a speed bump. The ex-Mississippi State star, now a rookie with Tampa Bay, had to leave Wednesday night’s game at Arizona with what was described as left groin tightness. He pulled up with a limp after crossing first base on a ground out in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old Flowood native was listed as day-to-day this morning. Through 21 games, Mangum is hitting .338 and tied for the American League lead with eight stolen bases. He recently was timed at 4.09 seconds going home to first, tied for the fastest in MLB this season. The switch-hitter has been a valuable contributor since his March 29 call-up, going 23-for-68 with four doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs for the Rays, 10-14 after a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. He has played all three outfield positions and handled 47 chances with just one error. P.S. Red-hot Nick Monistere belted a walk-off homer in the ninth inning Wednesday to give Southern Miss a 5-4 win against Southeastern Louisiana at Hattiesburg. Monistere, the former Northwest Rankin High standout, has 15 home runs on the year, seven bombs and 19 RBIs in his last six games for 28-13 USM. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz was added to the Chicago Cubs’ roster on Wednesday but did not pitch. The 36-year-old left-hander, acquired from Seattle, has a 3.91 career ERA in 389 MLB games, the last of those appearances coming in 2021. … Former big leaguer Billy Hamilton, the speedster from Taylorsville, got his first steal of 2025 in the Mexican League on Wednesday. That’s No. 844 in his long pro career. Hamilton, 34, is 5-for-18 in five games for Jalisco. … Mississippi State product Rowdey Jordan has been traded to Houston by the New York Mets. The fifth-year minor leaguer was playing at Triple-A Syracuse. … Longtime local broadcaster Jay White has been named the play-by-play voice of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the independent pro team that will begin play on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. … In the juco showdown at Poplarville on Wednesday, Pearl River Community College swept Jones College 7-1 and 3-2 behind the pitching of Camden Clark and K.K. Clark. PRCC, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, is 42-6, 22-2 in MACCC. No. 7 Jones slipped to 33-12, 19-7.

19 Apr

weird, wild stuff

Have a double-duty day, Hunter Stovall. The 28-year-old former Mississippi State standout banged out three hits, scored a run, drove in a run and pitched a clean inning for the win as Montgomery beat visiting Rocket City 13-12 in 11 innings Friday night in the Double-A Southern League. It was the first pitching appearance in seven minor league seasons — 549 games — for Stovall, a .278 career hitter recently sent down from Triple-A by the parent Tampa Bay Rays. Four Magnolia State college alums took part in the Biscuits’ walk-off win at Riverwalk Stadium. Stovall started at shortstop before moving to the mound in the 11th. Matthew Etzel, ex-Southern Miss star, started at DH before moving to first base and went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run. MSU product Colton Ledbetter started in right field and went 0-for-5 with a game-tying sac fly in the 10th. Fellow Bulldogs alum Kamren James, an infielder by trade, pitched the ninth — his first mound appearance in four pro seasons — and blew a save, then walked (batting in Etzel’s spot) in the 10th and finished the game at third base. (Former Mississippi Braves broadcasters Chris Harris, now doing Rocket City games, and Jack Sadighian, the Biscuits’ play-by-play man, must have enjoyed calling that one.) … In the Low-Class A Carolina League, Columbia beat Kannapolis 8-7 in a game that featured six errors, four wild pitches, four hit batsmen and a whopping 13 stolen bases, one each by Mississippi prep products Braden Montgomery and Brennon McNair. Columbia, a Kansas City farm club, stole eight bases against the host Cannon Ballers, who had former Ole Miss standout Calvin Harris behind the plate. Harris did manage to throw out two would-be thieves and also went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for the Chicago White Sox affiliate. Montgomery, ex-Madison Central High star and a pro rookie, went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and his fifth steal for Kannapolis. For Columbia, McNair, out of Magee High, had a big two-run double in the seventh inning in addition to swiping his fourth bag. … Less wild but no less weird was a Carolina League game between Hickory and Charleston. The host RiverDogs won 1-0 despite getting no-hit by three Crawdads pitchers. Yes, there was a state connection in this one, too: Connor Hujsak, a 2024 draftee out of MSU by Tampa Bay, went 0-for-3 for the RiverDogs, whose run was unearned in the eighth inning. P.S. Kudos to M-Braves alum Drake Baldwin for his first game-winning hit, a two-run pinch knock in the eighth inning that propelled Atlanta to a 6-4 win over visiting Minnesota. Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, also former M-Braves stars, also had key hits as the Braves rallied from the dead for five runs in the eighth. … The Mississippi Mud Monsters have added two players to their preliminary roster: second baseman Lizandro Rodriguez and outfielder/first baseman Karell Paz. Rodriguez, from the Dominican Republic, played four years in the Kansas City system, and Paz, from Cuba, spent three seasons in the New York Mets’ system. The independent Mud Monsters will begin their inaugural season on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park.

18 Apr

answering the bell

Southern Miss, Ole Miss and Jackson State each dealt with a sense of urgency on Thursday. Two of them — USM and JSU — got the result they needed. In Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles faced Georgia State on Hill Denson Bobblehead Night with an announced 5,408, including the former coach, on hand at Taylor Park. If ever there was a must-win game … . USM made the Hall of Fame coach proud with an 8-1 win, belting five homers to back the brilliant pitching of J.B. Middleton. Nick Monistere hit his 13th homer — fifth in three games — and Middleton (7-1) tossed eight innings (three hits, one run, 12 strikeouts) as USM moved to 26-12, 11-5 Sun Belt. At Braddy Field in Jackson, JSU, which had lost seven of eight, rode a dominant outing from Erick Gonzalez to a 2-0 victory against Alabama A&M. Gonzalez (4-3) worked 8 2/3, allowing six hits and punching out 10. The Tigers (18-17, 6-10 SWAC) cobbled together two runs in the second inning on a sac bunt, an error and a sac fly. Alas, Ole Miss, coming off a clunky home loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, went to Columbia, S.C., and dropped a 3-2 decision to South Carolina, one of the worst teams in the SEC at 3-13. Hunter Elliott (5-2) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to take a hard-luck loss for the nationally ranked Rebels (27-11, 9-7 SEC). UM has lost three in a row and four of five. … Incidentally, d1baseball.com projects Ole Miss to host a regional that will include USM. The website also put Mississippi State in the 64-team field. The Bulldogs (23-14, 5-10) open a big SEC series today against Florida (25-14, 4-11) at Starkville. … Also on tap this weekend: William Carey University visits Blue Mountain Christian in an SCAC series. Ranked No. 9 in NAIA, Carey (31-9, 20-4) leads 34-8 in the all-time series with BMC. But the Toppers (21-22, 10-14) won the regular season series in 2024 before losing a league tournament game to the Crusaders. P.S. In MLB: Cool moment at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Thursday when Tampa Bay’s Jake Mangum faced former Jackson Prep teammate Will Warren, the New York Yankees’ starting pitcher, in the second inning. Mangum hit a high hopper that Warren fielded, but with no one covering first base for some reason, Mangum got an infield hit. That was the rookies’ only clash. Mangum had two hits to raise his average to .345; Warren (5.17 ERA) lasted just 1 2/3 innings, yielding one run. The Yanks won 6-3. … Former Jackson Mets and big league manager Clint Hurdle is the new hitting coach for Colorado, which dismissed Hensley Meulens on Thursday.