Tag Archives: Reds

16 Sep

something different

Braxton Lee, the ex-Ole Miss standout from Picayune, has done quite a few noteworthy things in his eight-year pro career. Won a Southern League batting title. Played in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game. Played in the big leagues. On Wednesday night, the 28-year-old Lee did something entirely different: He pitched. Lee, an outfielder by trade, threw a scoreless eighth inning for Triple-A Louisville in a 12-3 loss at Memphis. A lefty hitter who throws righty, Lee didn’t allow a hit and walked just one in his mound debut. He went 1-for-3 as a hitter, lifting his average to .242 in 41 games with Cincinnati’s top minor league club. Lee played in eight games for the Miami Marlins in 2018 but has spent the past couple years bouncing around the minors. He was playing in the independent Atlantic League when the Reds signed him in June. He started the season with Chattanooga in the Double-A South. The Pearl River Community College product has a .262 career average in the minors over 676 games. P.S. Mississippi College alum Blaine Crim and Mississippi State product Justin Foscue went a combined 5-for-5 with four runs and six RBIs for Double-A Frisco on Wednesday. Both homered. Alas, the Texas Rangers affiliate lost 10-9 at Amarillo. Crim is batting .290 with eight bombs, and Foscue — a highly rated prospect — is at .247 with two homers, one in each of the last two games. Crim has 28 homers on the year at two levels, and Foscue, the 14th overall pick in 2020, has 17 at three levels.

25 Aug

hangry for a w?

Brandon Woodruff, 2021 All-Star, ranks fifth in the majors in ERA, third in WHIP, 13th in punchouts. The 6-foot-4, 243-pound, red-bearded right-hander from Wheeler can be an intimidating presence on the mound for Milwaukee. But lately, he hasn’t been himself. Woodruff is 0-3 in his last seven starts. On June 29, he was 7-4 with a 1.87 ERA. Today, as the Mississippi State product prepares to face division rival Cincinnati, he is 7-7, 2.48. In his most recent outing, he gave up six runs in five innings against St. Louis. He lasted just three innings in a laborious start before that. Both of those games were on the road. Woodruff draws Cincinnati at American Family Field in Milwaukee, where he is 3-1, 2.26. After a loss on Tuesday, the Reds are 8.5 games back of the first-place Brewers in the National League Central but are very much in the wild card hunt. It’ll be interesting to see how Woodruff performs. It’ll be interesting also to see if he gets support from the Brewers’ hitters. That’s been an issue in many of his 10 no-decisions. Key matchup for Woodruff: Joey Votto, who is batting .318 with two home runs against him.

05 Aug

on this date

On this date in 1988, Jeff Brantley made his debut for San Francisco, throwing two scoreless innings in an 8-5 loss at Atlanta. It was the start of something good for Brantley, one of the “core four” stars of the 1985 Mississippi State team that finished third in the College World Series. Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen might have had more celebrated pro careers, but Brantley’s resume is pretty dang good. The Alabama native pitched for 14 years in the big leagues and appeared in 615 games, most as a reliever. He won 43, saved 172 (44 in 1996 with Cincinnati) and posted a 3.39 ERA. He made an All-Star Game and helped the Giants reach the 1989 World Series. Nicknamed “The Cowboy,” he is currently a broadcaster for the Reds.

04 Jul

old home night

The game was played in Birmingham and the visiting team came from Chattanooga, but there was a lot of Mississippi sprinkled all over Saturday night’s Double-A South game at Regions Park. Chattanooga’s lineup included three Magnolia State college products — Ole Miss’ Errol Robinson and Braxton Lee and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson — while the host Barons’ featured former Columbia High standout Ti’Quan Forbes at third base plus Mississippi State’s Konnor Pilkington on the mound. Chuckie Robinson had the game’s big hit, a three-run homer off Pilkington in a four-run fourth inning that propelled the Lookouts, a Cincinnati affiliate, to a 10-4 victory. Errol Robinson (no relation) contributed two walks and a run, and Lee went 1-for-4 with a couple of RBIs. Pilkington, a third-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2018, took the loss and slipped to 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA. Forbes, a second-round pick way back in 2014, went 1-for-2 with two walks. Still only 24, he is batting .299 this season. The Chattanooga contingent are new this season to the Cincinnati system. The Robinsons were Rule 5 draft picks last December, while Lee – who has been on quite an odyssey (see previous post) – was signed out of an independent league last month. Errol Robinson, a shortstop, was a Los Angeles Dodgers draftee in 2016. He had a 10-homer, 18-steal season in Double-A in 2018 and reached Triple-A in the L.A. system. The Reds started him in Triple-A this year, but he hit just .176 at Louisville before being bumped down. Chuckie Robinson, a catcher, was drafted in 2016 by Houston and reached Double-A in 2019. A career .250 hitter with 34 homers, he is batting .258 with four homers in 2021. Lee, 27, a 2014 draftee by Tampa Bay, was a Southern League batting champion in 2017 who made the big leagues with Miami in 2018. A lefty-hitting outfielder with speed, he is batting .227 in 19 games for the Lookouts. P.S. Curious to see what the story is behind the sudden removal of Mitch Moreland from Oakland’s lineup on Saturday. The former State star from Amory was pulled for a “non-baseball related issue” and will not play today, the team announced.

10 Jun

divergent

Braxton Lee, signed out of independent ball last week, went 2-for-5 Wednesday in his debut with Cincinnati’s Double-A Chattanooga club, the latest stop in what has been a whirlwind career for the 27-year-old one-time major league outfielder. Lee played at Picayune High, Pearl River Community College and Ole Miss, where he had a nice season (.281, 30 steals) for the 2014 team that reached the College World Series semifinals. Lee was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2014 and began his pro career at Hudson Valley. From there he made stops in Port Charlotte and Montgomery before being traded in mid-2017 to Miami. The Marlins sent him to Jacksonville (where he won the Southern League batting title). He stood out for Salt River in the 2017 Arizona Fall League, then made the big leagues with the Marlins to start 2018. He spent time at four different levels that year, including Triple-A New Orleans, Class A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville. He went 3-for-17 in two stints in the majors. The New York Mets claimed Lee on waivers in the fall of 2018, and he spent 2019 bouncing between Binghamton and Syracuse in that system. With no minor league season in 2020, he had no team to play for. He declared free agency last fall and signed with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, playing four games (batting .438 under manager Stan Cliburn) before his contract was purchased by the Reds. Through it all, Lee has batted .266 in 606 minor league games. … Jacob Lindgren’s second – or third — chance at returning to The Show ended on June 4, when the Mississippi State product from Biloxi was released out of Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. The 28-year-old left-hander had a 10.13 ERA in eight games for Charlotte. A second-round pick out of Starkville in 2014, he made the majors with the New York Yankees the very next year, appearing in seven games. Unfortunately, injuries – two Tommy John surgeries — derailed him thereafter. He spent time in Atlanta’s system and was signed by the White Sox in 2019. Lindgren had some positive results that season and was invited to their alternate site in 2020 and to big league camp this spring. The onetime strikeout machine had eight K’s and 15 walks in eight innings for Charlotte. P.S. Former State standout Jacob Robson, promoted to Triple-A upon his return from playing for Team Canada in an Olympics qualifier, went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs Wednesday for Toledo in Detroit’s chain. Robson, a sixth-year pro with previous Triple-A experience, was hitting .424 in Double-A this season. The Tigers might have plans for him.

08 Jun

piling up points

If DraftKings daily fantasy points had been a thing in 1940, Harry Craft would have piled up a whopping 53 on June 8 of that year. The folks on MLB Network’s Quick Pitch show would have been fawning all over Craft’s performance. The Ellisville native, who played six big league seasons, hit for the cycle on June 8, 1940, starring for Cincinnati against visiting Brooklyn at Crosley Field. In the Reds’ 23-2 win, Craft – the team’s 7-hole hitter – went 5-for-5 with a walk, an HBP, six RBIs and four runs. The only fantasy column he didn’t tally in was stolen bases. Best known as a standout defensive center fielder, Craft hit .253 that season and won a World Series ring though he only had one at-bat in the series. A Mississippi College alum who garnered two nicknames during his career – “Wildfire” and “Popeye” – Craft played only two more years after 1940, joining the Navy in 1942. He later managed the Kansas City A’s and Houston Colt .45s.

11 Dec

change of scene

Change was in the wind for several Mississippi-connected players on Thursday. On the big league front, ex-Mississippi State star Nate Lowe was traded from Tampa Bay to Texas, which has an apparent affinity for first basemen from MSU. In the Rule 5 draft’s minor league phase, three Mississippi college products changed organizations, with Ole Miss’ Errol Robinson and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson going to Cincinnati and Itawamba Community College’s Tyreque Reed to Boston. Lowe, a lefty slugger who hit 11 homers in 71 games for the Rays over the last two seasons, projects as Texas’ first baseman in 2021. “I told him to expect competition, but we made this deal anticipating he would win the job and be our first baseman,” Rangers GM Jon Daniels told mlb.com. Former State star Rafael Palmeiro spent 10 of his 20 MLB seasons with the Rangers, and Will Clark manned first base for Texas for five years (between Palmeiro’s two stints there). Mitch Moreland, currently a free agent, spent the first seven of his 11 MLB seasons with the Rangers. … Errol Robinson, a shortstop, went from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Reds in the first round of the Rule 5 Triple-A phase, and Chuckie Robinson (no relation), a catcher, moved from Houston to the Reds in the third round. Errol is a .262 career hitter in four pro seasons and has reached the Triple-A level. “He’s a really good athlete. He’s extremely versatile,” Rob Coughlin, Cincinnati’s director of pro scouting, told mlb.com. Chuckie is a .249 hitter over four pro seasons and played at the Class AA level in 2019. He has a 15-homer season on his ledger. Reed, a storied slugger at Houlka High and ICC, was plucked out of the Texas system by the Red Sox in the first round of the Triple-A phase. “(W)e really believe in the power potential, so we’re excited to bring him into the organization,” Boston’s VP of professional scouting Gus Quattlebaum told mlb.com. Reed, a first baseman, is a .281 hitter with 41 homers in three pro seasons. He played high-A ball in 2019.

18 Sep

fade pattern

Billy Hamilton’s potential as an offensive force was on full display for the first time on this date in 2013. The Taylorsville High product made his first major league start for Cincinnati and filled the box score with three hits, two walks, two runs, an RBI and, most notably, four stolen bases in a 6-5 victory. Seven years later, Hamilton has 302 career steals, most ever by a Mississippi native. But an inability to hit or reach base consistently (.241 career hitter, .289 OBP) has relegated the 30-year-old to role player status in 2020. Hamilton is with the Chicago Cubs, the third club he’s been with this year, and has just 23 at-bats in 23 games total. Used primarily as a defensive replacement or pinch runner, he has two hits and three steals. A second-round draft pick in 2009, Hamilton won’t go down as a total flop – he was second in National League rookie of the year voting in 2014, when he batted .250 and stole 56 bases – but the exciting potential he flashed on Sept. 18, 2013, was never fully realized.

25 Aug

just another dfa

Cincinnati had high hopes for Cody Reed when the club acquired him from Kansas City in a July 2015 trade that involved Johnny Cueto. It now appears that if Reed blossoms as a big league pitcher, the former Northwest Mississippi Community College standout will do it with another club. Reed was designated for assignment on Monday. “We know how talented Cody is. It’s not an easy decision,” Reds manager David Bell told mlb.com. The 27-year-old left-hander from Horn Lake had a 5.79 ERA in nine appearances out of the bullpen in 2020. His career ERA over parts of five seasons: 5.44. A second-round pick by the Royals out of Northwest in 2013, Reed had outstanding minor league numbers as a starter but went 0-7, 7.36 in his 2016 MLB debut. He bounced from the Reds to the minors — and from starter to reliever — thereafter. As a lefty with versatility, he’ll likely get another shot somewhere. P.S. When a player is DFA’d, he is immediately removed from the 40-man roster and within seven days of the transaction can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers. If he clears waivers (unclaimed by another team), he could be released or assigned to a minor league roster. … Brian Dozier, the ex-Southern Miss star who was DFA’d by the New York Mets on Aug. 16, was formally released on Sunday. … Anthony Alford, the Petal High product who was DFA’d by Toronto last Thursday, remains in seven-day limbo.

09 Aug

one fine day

As we watch for the next Mississippian to break through in the big leagues, it’s worth noting that a great debut really isn’t much of a predictor about a player’s career. Some superstars had forgettable first games, and plenty of short-term journeymen started off with a bang. Take the case of Meredith “Mo” Sanford, the former Starkville High star who had an MLB debut that made jaws drop back in 1991. Sanford was a 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-hander whose potential in high school was intriguing enough that a Rolling Stone writer, looking for the “next big thing,” visited Starkville and did a feature for the magazine in the spring of 1984. “I’m not telling you this kid can throw a baseball through a car wash without getting it wet,” a scout told the Rolling Stone writer. “He’s still kind of raw. He’s big and he throws hard and he just turned seventeen and he’s going to get better and who the hell really knows?” Sanford threw hard enough to get drafted in the third round in ’84 by the New York Yankees. He opted instead for a scholarship to Alabama, where he labored rather unspectacularly for four years. He was drafted as a senior in 1988 by Cincinnati in Round 32. Under the tutelage of pro instructors, Sanford pitched well in the minors, advanced quickly and on Aug. 9, 1991, got the call to the majors. He started against San Diego, and in the bottom of the first inning he struck out, in succession, Bip Roberts, Tony Fernandez and Tony Gwynn. He wound up going seven innings, allowing two hits and a lone, unearned run in the Reds’ 5-1 victory. He punched out eight, walked one. Unfortunately, Sanford never quite bottled that lightning again, finishing 2-4 with a 4.81 ERA in 27 games spread over three seasons with three different clubs. His last MLB appearance came with Minnesota in 1995, a forgettable outing (three runs in 2/3 of an inning) against Milwaukee. He pitched in various pro leagues for five more years, chasing the magic of Aug. 9, 1991.