Tag Archives: Red Sox

02 Aug

three shining moments

Around the minors on Thursday, Tanner Hall pitched an immaculate inning, Blaze Jordan got a walk-off hit and Gunnar Hoglund made an impressive debut. Hall, the former Southern Miss All-America, pitching for Low-Class A Fort Myers in the Minnesota chain, struck out the side on nine pitches in the fifth inning against St. Lucie. What’s more, Hall threw six innings — his longest outing of the year — struck out nine all told and got the win in a 7-2 game. The 2022 Ferriss Trophy winner, a fourth-round pick in 2023, is 3-0 with a 5.22 ERA in 14 games in his debut season. Jordan, the ex-DeSoto Central High star, was 0-for-5 when he stepped into the box in the 10th inning for Double-A Portland (Boston), then delivered an RBI hit to give the Sea Dogs a 6-5 win over Erie. Boston’s No. 19 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Jordan is hitting .252 with 41 RBIs in what has been an uneven season. He was riding a 17-game hit streak when he broke a finger in mid-May and missed a month. The right-handed hitting first baseman/third baseman hit 18 homers in 2023 but has just six this season, only one since June 21. Ole Miss product Hoglund, Oakland’s No. 17 prospect, made his first appearance for Triple-A Las Vegas, pitched a 1-2-3 first inning with two K’s and worked five more innings against Albuquerque. He yielded five hits and three runs, fanned seven and got a no-decision. The 6-foot-4 right-hander, the 19th overall pick in 2021, was 9-4 with a 2.84 ERA in Double-A this season. P.S. Hoglund was one of three Mississippians pegged by MLB Pipeline as pitching prospects to watch down the stretch. The others were ex-Mississippi State star Cade Smith (6-6, 3.48, at Low-A Tampa in the New York Yankees’ system) and former Bulldogs closer Landon Sims (1.21 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings at High-A Hillsboro in the Arizona system).

15 Jul

the road ahead

There have been a handful of highly touted Mississippi high school players picked in the first round of the MLB draft over the years. Jackson Prep alum Konnor Griffin — named the national player of the year by both Baseball America and Gatorade — is the latest, the ninth overall pick by Pittsburgh, the first high school player off the board in 2024. MLB Pipeline hails Griffin’s five-tool potential and notes that “his makeup is as impressive as his physical ability.” Baseball America rates Griffin as the best athlete among the prep draft class. Still, projecting pro success for high school kids is difficult. There are no sure things. Of all the high school players ever picked out of Mississippi in the first round, only three reached the big leagues, and only one of those enjoyed any real success. Yes, pro baseball is hard.

Way back in 1969, Ted Nicholson (pictured) of Oak Park in Laurel was drafted third overall — behind Jeff Burroughs and J.R. Richard — by the Chicago White Sox. He didn’t get out of A-ball in a brief pro career interrupted by military duty. In 1993, Kirk Presley, a dominant pitcher at Tupelo High, went eighth overall to the New York Mets. Injuries ended his career in A-ball. It happens. Quite often. Three high schoolers who did make the majors are Donny Castle, the eighth pick out of Coldwater in 1968 by Washington; Steve Pegues, drafted 21st out of Pontotoc in 1987 by Detroit; and Austin Riley, technically a supplemental first-rounder at No. 41 in 2015 out of DeSoto Central by Atlanta. Riley is a success story, an example that it can be done. He has been an All-Star and an All-MLB pick, claimed two Silver Sluggers and won a World Series. Castle reached the majors in 1973, getting 13 at-bats for Texas. It took Pegues seven years to reach the big leagues, and he lasted just 100 games, batting .266 over two MLB seasons. Again, pro baseball is hard. Blake Anderson, Ryan Bolden, Donnie Bridges, D.J. Davis, Wendell Fairley and Sam Hence — all terrific high school players — were first-round (or supplemental first-round) picks from the ‘Sip in recent years. None completed the journey to the majors. J.T. Ginn was the 30th overall pick from Brandon High in 2018 but didn’t sign. He went to Mississippi State for two years, got hurt, got drafted again (second round) and is now in Triple-A with Oakland, no longer a top prospect. Griffin, assuming he takes the pro money over his commitment to LSU, will likely start his journey in rookie ball, the first of the five minor league levels. It’s a long, hard road to The Show, even for special talents like Griffin. P.S. Braden Montgomery, a Madison Central High alum who played at Texas A&M this season, was chosen 12th overall by Boston, and Mississippi State product Jurrangelo Cijntje went 15th to Seattle. MSU’s Dakota Jordan, a Jackson Academy alum, was projected as a first-rounder but was not among the 39 Round 1 draftees.

05 Jul

fenway flashback

Oil Can Boyd rocked and fired and threw a strike to Rich Gedman. Kinda like old times at Fenway Park. But on Thursday, the pair of former Boston teammates were on the field at Polar Park in Worcester, Mass., taking part in a first-pitch ceremony honoring Boyd, the Meridian native and ex-Jackson State star. For their Throwback Thursday promotion, the Worcester Red Sox — Boston’s Triple-A affiliate — invited Boyd, 64, as the special guest. A July 4 crowd of 9,400-plus, including a large contingent of Boyd’s family and friends, cheered on The Can, who gave a brief speech in which he toasted Gedman, the WooSox’s hitting coach and Boyd’s batterymate in Boston in the 1980s. “A southern kid from Mississippi and a northern kid from Worcester, Massachusetts, made a connection that lasts for life,” Boyd said, per an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. Drafted in 1980, Boyd came up in the Red Sox’s system but never pitched in Worcester; the team moved there from Pawtucket in 2021. He debuted in MLB in 1982 and enjoyed a colorful and complicated career, winning 78 games and losing 77. He and Gedman were on the Red Sox’s ill-fated World Series team in 1986. Boyd pitched in independent ball into his 40s and is credited with 152 wins all told in pro ball.

13 Jun

cruise control

Before he went on the injured list on May 12 with a broken finger, Blaze Jordan was cruising along on a 17-game hitting streak. He returned to the Double-A Portland lineup on Wednesday and got right back in gear. The DeSoto Central High product — Boston’s No. 19 prospect — banged out a two-run double in his first at-bat and finished 2-for-5 in the Sea Dogs’ 5-4 win at Reading. After a sputtering start to his first full year in Double-A, the 21-year-old Jordan is hitting .288 with two homers, eight doubles and 18 RBIs in 27 games. A renowned power hitter in his amateur days, Jordan was a third-round draft pick as a 17-year-old by the Red Sox in 2020. His power potential began to show last season, when he hit 18 homers between High-Class A Greenville and Portland. He batted .324 in 73 games at Greenville and was named a South Atlantic League postseason All-Star; he was also a Red Sox Organization All-Star for the second straight year. Jordan, who goes 6 feet 1, 220 pounds, is a corner infielder whose future may be at first base. His right-handed stroke seemingly is well-suited for Fenway Park. P.S. A couple of former Ole Miss stars are playing major roles for Birmingham, which has the best record (38-21) in the Double-A Southern League. Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, promoted from A-ball last month, is hitting .321 after a 2-for-4, two-RBI effort in a 4-3 win Wednesday against Pensacola. He has a homer, 15 RBIs and 14 runs in 21 games for the Barons, a Chicago White Sox affiliate. Tim Elko, the Barons’ first baseman/DH, is hitting .298 — fourth in the SL — and ranks in the top 10 with six homers and 28 RBIs. Gonzalez — a first-round pick in 2023 — and Elko — 10th round, 2022 — were teammates on Ole Miss’ ’22 national championship club. … Hunter Renfroe has a bone bruise in his left foot, not a broken toe, the Kansas City Royals have announced. The former Mississippi State standout went on the IL on Tuesday. His recovery time likely will be shorter than originally expected.

17 May

championship mettle

Among the most impressive aspects of James “Cool Papa” Bell’s career is the number of championship teams he played for during his Hall of Fame career. Bell, born on this date in Starkville in 1903, was a member of 11 teams that won — or claimed — league championships during his 25-year pro career. Known as one of the fastest players ever to suit up, Bell batted .325 for his career and is credited by baseball-reference.com with 285 steals in official Negro League games. Including exhibition games, winter league games and foreign leagues, his career steals total is likely double that and more. An eight-time All-Star, he was a leadoff batter and center fielder for three of the greatest franchises in the old Negro Leagues, winning nine pennants with the St. Louis Stars, Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays between 1922 and ’46. The Grays won two World Series titles with Bell. Bell also was on a championship team in the Dominican Republic in 1937 and the pennant-winning team in Mexican League in 1940. Bell, at age 37, won the league’s Triple Crown that year, batting .437 with 12 homers and 79 RBIs; he also stole 28 bases. He was elected to Cooperstown in 1974 and passed away in 1991. … On the subject of championship teams, Jackson Prep — led by the dynamic pro prospect Konnor Griffin — won its seventh straight title in MAIS, beating Presbyterian Christian for the 6A crown on Thursday night. P.S. On this date in 2010, at Yankee Stadium, former East Central Community College star Marcus Thames hit a walk-off two-run homer against ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon, giving New York an 11-9 win over Boston. It was the only walk-off bomb Thames hit among his 115 career homers, according to Baseball Almanac.

24 Apr

there it is

Blaze Jordan is on the board. The former DeSoto Central High star’s first home run of the season might be a sign that his bat is coming to life. Playing for Boston’s Double-A Portland club, Jordan went 2-for-5 on Tuesday night, driving in four runs in a 9-6 loss at Hartford. After starting the season 1-for-18, Jordan has a modest four-game hit streak that has bumped his average to .174 through 12 games. Jordan’s tremendous power earned him a national rep as an amateur player, and the Red Sox picked him as a 17-year-old in the third round of the 2020 draft. Four years later, power is still his dominant tool, though the 6-foot-1, 220-pound corner infielder has hit only 37 homers in 282 career minor league games. He carries a .291 average. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report says Jordan needs to be “more selective in hunting for pitches to launch and turning his right-handed swing loose when he gets them.” That happened Tuesday night, when he pulled a first-pitch fastball up in the zone over the left-field wall. Jordan has been an organization All-Star for the Red Sox the last two years, though he has slipped to No. 19 on their prospect chart. This will be his first full season at the Double-A level, a big test for the 21-year-old.

14 Apr

anniversary time

There are some relatively well-known players among the Mississippi natives who have significant debut anniversaries to celebrate in 2024. Starkville native Hughie Critz, a Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer, broke in 100 years ago. McComb’s Dalton Jones came along in 1964, Belzoni’s Herb Washington — the designated runner — in 1974, Jackson natives Chris Brown and Stewart Cliburn in 1984 and Natchez’s Nook Logan in 2004. Ninety years ago, a relatively unheralded player from Perth in Jefferson County made his debut and enjoyed one of the best first games ever by a Magnolia Stater. George Hockette, a left-hander, debuted on Sept. 17, 1934, for the Boston Red Sox. All he did was throw a two-hit shutout against the St. Louis Browns at old Sportsman’s Park. He no-hit the Browns for the first 7 2/3 innings. Hockette also went 1-for-4 at the plate in the 3-0 victory. He pitched just two seasons in the majors, going 4-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 26 appearances, all with the Red Sox. He won 88 games all told in the minor leagues, pitching his last game in 1941. … Worth noting: Critz, a 5-foot-8, 147-pound second baseman, went 2-for-4 in his debut with Cincinnati and hit .322 that season. The Mississippi State alum batted .268 with 95 triples and 97 stolen bases over a 12-year career, twice finishing in the top four in MVP voting in the National League. … Washington, a track star at Michigan State, got in as a pinch runner for Oakland on opening day in 1974 but didn’t steal a bag. He went on to steal 31 bases without ever making a plate appearance before his career ended abruptly early in 1975. … In 1994, Pontotoc’s Steve Pegues, a high school star and first-round draft pick seven years earlier, broke in with Detroit. He batted .266 in 207 at-bats over two MLB campaigns. He stole just two bases in The Show but pilfered 103 in the minors.

06 Feb

better than most

In recognition of Black History Month, take a moment to appreciate the career of Vicksburg native Ellis Burks, arguably the best all-around player the Magnolia State has ever produced. His 1996 season with the Colorado Rockies might be the best single season any Mississippi native has put up in the big leagues. Born in Vicksburg in 1964, Burks also lived in Jackson for a time before his family moved to Texas. He was drafted out of Ranger College, a Texas juco, in the first round of the 1983 January draft by Boston. He debuted in MLB in 1987 at age 22 — amid Willie Mays comparisons — and batted .272 with 20 home runs as a Red Sox rookie. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound outfielder’s career ended in 2004, when injuries limited him to a handful of games, none in the postseason, for the Red Sox in their historic World Series-winning campaign. In between, he made two All-Star games, won two Silver Slugger awards and received a Gold Glove. He is now a scout for San Francisco. In 1996, as one of Colorado’s Blake Street Bombers, Burks batted .344 with 40 homers, 128 RBIs, a league-leading 142 runs, 45 doubles, 211 hits, 32 stolen bases and a 7.9 WAR, earning third place in the National League MVP voting. Among Mississippi natives, Burks is first in career homers (352), second in runs, RBIs and hits and fourth in stolen bases and batting average. And note that injuries curtailed several of his 18 seasons. On the career WAR chart, Burks is second among Mississippi-born position players with a 49.8; Jackson native Chet Lemon had a 55.6, aided considerably by his defense. Surprisingly, Burks lasted just one year on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, getting just two votes in 2010. But make no mistake: He had an impact, on and off the field. In 2004, when the Red Sox arrived back in Boston after winning the World Series in St. Louis, it was Burks — at the suggestion of Pedro Martinez — who got the honor of carrying the championship trophy off the plane. P.S. Mississippi State alum Ethan Small has landed with San Francisco, traded for cash by Milwaukee which had DFA’d the left-hander last week. … Mississippi College product Blaine Crim has received a non-roster invite to Texas’ spring camp.

24 Dec

on your marks

While it’s anyone’s guess at this point who might become the next Mississippian to debut in the majors, mlb.com has offered up three players as top prospects to watch in 2024. Former Jackson Prep star Will Warren (New York Yankees), Biloxi High product Colt Keith (Detroit) and Southern Miss alumnus Hurston Waldrep (Atlanta) appear close to breaking through. Warren, a 2021 draftee out of Southeastern Louisiana, is the Yankees’ No. 8 prospect (by MLB Pipeline) after posting a 10-4 record with a 3.35 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. The right-hander throws hard and features a wipeout sweeper/slider, per reports. Keith, a 2020 draftee, is Detroit’s No. 2 prospect and could crack the Tigers’ lineup at second base this spring. He hit .306 with 27 home runs last season between Double-A and Triple-A and had a memorable 6-for-6 game with a cycle. Right-hander Waldrep was the Braves’ first-round pick (24th overall) out of Florida back in July and put up a 1.53 ERA while pitching at four minor league levels, including a brief stop with the Mississippi Braves. The Braves are not shy about promoting young arms. … Also worthy of keeping an eye on is Justin Foscue, the ex-Mississippi State standout who ranks as the No. 6 prospect in Texas’ system and made the organization’s minor league All-Star team at second base. He hit .266 with 18 homers in Triple-A and posted a .394 on-base average, walking more times than he struck out. P.S. Boston recently announced that former MSU star Jonathan Papelbon will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame next spring. He is Boston’s all-time saves leader (219) and won a World Series with the team in 2007. … Tampa Bay has signed Zac Houston, another State product, to a minor league deal. In the minors since 2016, the right-hander has a 3.18 career ERA in 230 games.

21 Sep

reaping rewards

Blaze Jordan finished the 2023 season in the Double-A Eastern League, but the former DeSoto Central High masher left his mark in the High-Class A South Atlantic League. Jordan was named the third baseman on milb.com’s SAL All-Star team. Rated the No. 12 prospect in Boston’s organization, Jordan hit .324 (.533 slug) with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 73 games for High-A Greenville, helping the Drive win a first-half division title before his promotion to Double-A Portland on July 14. The Drive won the league championship on Tuesday. Jordan, at age 20 the youngest player on Portland’s roster, batted .254 with six homers and 31 RBIs for the Sea Dogs. A Portland teammate recently said this about Jordan in an milb.com piece: “He’s one of those guys that will roll out of bed and just hit .300, just rake, his first swing of the day is just a backside missile at 107 mph. It’s unbelievable.” A 6 feet 2, 220 pounds, power is Jordan’s best tool; he has 36 homers in 270 pro games. P.S. A couple more Mississippians got to celebrate minor league championships on Wednesday. Decatur native and ex-Ole Miss standout Kemp Alderman helped Jupiter, a Miami affiliate, win the Low-A Florida State League pennant, beating Clearwater 7-4 in the deciding game. Alderman, a second-round draftee this year and the Marlins’ No. 9 prospect, batted .313 in the playoffs and .205 with a homer and 15 RBIs for the season. He went 0-for-2 with three walks, a run and an RBI in Wednesday’s game. Mississippi State alum Christian MacLeod, a third-year pro, partied with the Cedar Rapids Kernels after the Minnesota affiliate won the High-A Midwest League title. MacLeod, a lefty, went 5-2 with a 4.13 ERA this season. … MSU product Jacob Robson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs as Kansas City beat Chicago 7-6 on Wednesday to claim the independent American Association’s Wolff Cup. Robson hit .250 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs for the Monarchs this season and hit three bombs in the postseason. Ex-MSU standout Gavin Collins, who didn’t play in the clincher, batted .314 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs for KC. The Monarchs’ first-base coach is Greenville native and former MLB All-Star Frank White.