Tag Archives: Southern League

05 Sep

pulling a fast one

A wild card has been thrown into the mix in the battle between Mississippi and Pensacola for the Southern League South second-half championship. Guy named Billy Hamilton. The Taylorsville High product and current MLB stolen base leader will be in the Blue Wahoos’ lineup tonight against Mobile for the first of what is expected to be a three-game rehab assignment. Pensacola, which won a 15-inning game on Friday night, leads the M-Braves by a half-game with three to play. The M-Braves are finishing up at Jacksonville. Hamilton played for Pensacola, Cincinnati’s Double-A club, in 2012, when he set the all-time professional stolen base record. His injury last month was a shoulder; there’s nothing wrong with his legs.

04 Sep

that’s gotta hurt

It’ll be interesting to see how the Mississippi Braves bounce back from Thursday’s jolting defeat. First place in the Southern League South was in their grasp, but the M-Braves could not hold it, fumbling away a four-run lead in the 10th inning at Jacksonville. With four games left in the regular season, the M-Braves (35-30) remain a half-game back of first-place Pensacola, which also lost on Thursday. The second-half champ will play first-half winner Biloxi in the division series. The M-Braves showed some grit against the Suns. Lucas Sims threw seven strong innings. Rio Ruiz hit a home run. Kevin Ahrens’ two-out hit in the ninth tied the score 2-2. Big hits by Matt Lipka and Emerson Landoni helped the M-Braves bolt ahead 6-2 in the top of the 10th. Tyler Jones, who has a team-best 16 saves and entered with a sub-3.00 ERA, was summoned to close it out. Two walks, two hits and two runs later, he was out of the game. Jorge Reyes came on, fell behind 2-0 to SL All-Star David Adams and then surrendered a game-ending three-run homer. Ouch. Game 2 of the five-game series is tonight. P.S. Former Mississippi State star Tyler Moore returned from the disabled list and went 1-for-2 as Washington, chasing an MLB postseason berth, demolished Atlanta 15-1. Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson is 3-for-9 in two Triple-A rehab games and could return to Colorado’s active roster soon. Ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, on the DL with a shoulder injury, is throwing and may start a rehab assignment this weekend for Cincinnati.

03 Sep

opportune moments

One-run lead in the ninth on the road against the best team in the National League. It was the kind of situation Washington had in mind for Jonathan Papelbon when it traded for the high-priced closer in late July. The former Mississippi State standout came through, despite allowing two hits, and the Nationals notched a 4-3 win Wednesday night against St. Louis. Problem is for the Nats, that kind of situation hasn’t come along often enough. It was just the sixth save opportunity for Papelbon since he joined the club on July 28. Washington went 12-17 in August while the New York Mets went 20-8 and blew past them in the NL East. The Nationals have perked up a bit of late but even after Wednesday’s win are 6.5 games behind the Mets in the division. Papelbon, 23-for-23 in saves for the year, allowed a leadoff single to ex-Mississippi Braves star Jason Heyward, and a one-out hit put runners at the corners. Papelbon got a strikeout and a ground out to end it and was effusive afterward. “(The Cardinals) are the best team in baseball right now. It pretty much shows that we could play with anybody out there,” he told mlb.com. Perhaps, but they’ve got a lot of work to do. Baseball Prospectus puts the Nationals’ current chances of making the postseason at 8.2 percent. … Another ex-Bulldogs star, Mitch Moreland, also came through in a big game. He drove in the go-ahead run with a 10th-inning single as surging Texas won at San Diego 5-4. The Rangers, winners of nine of their last 12, are just 2 games behind Houston in the American League West and lead Minnesota by a game in the battle for the second wild card. Moreland is batting .286 with 18 homers and 68 RBIs. P.S. Tim Anderson, the Chicago White Sox prospect from East Central Community College, was named to the Southern League’s postseason All-Star team as the utility player. Anderson, who hit .312 with 49 steals for Birmingham, also won the hustle award. He was beaten out at shortstop by Biloxi’s Orlando Arcia (.308). Shuckers right-hander Jorge Lopez (12-5, 2.29 ERA) also made the team. No M-Braves were selected.

02 Sep

a look ahead

With the Mississippi Braves’ final homestand of 2015 concluded, and no surety that a postseason berth is forthcoming, it’s a good time to ponder what the M-Braves’ 2016 roster might look like. (Keep in mind that Atlanta GM John Hart is a constant threat to make more trades that will impact the Double-A club.) Current position players likely to return to Pearl include third baseman Rio Ruiz, outfielder Sean Godfrey and infielders Levi Hyams and Eric Garcia. Late-season roster additions Zack Bird, Mauricio Cabrera, John Gant and Lucas Sims could well be back on the pitching staff. On the high Class A Carolina roster, Connor Lien’s stats stand out. An outfielder, he was batting .286 with seven homers, 43 RBIs and 32 stolen bases through August. Other Mudcats bucking for promotion include shortstop Johan Camargo (Atlanta’s No. 22 prospect in the most recent rankings by mlb.com), third baseman Carlos Franco (nine homers), outfielder Dustin Peterson (.258, eight homers), catcher Joseph Odom (seven homers) and first baseman Jacob Schrader (268, 15 homers, 59 RBIs). Starting pitchers Brandon Barker (8-5, 3.00 ERA), Blair Walters (2.93) and Seth Webster (8-7, 2.75) have good numbers, as does reliever Justin Jackson (three wins, four saves, 2.28). The 2016 campaign, the M-Braves’ 12th in Pearl, begins on April 7, with Pensacola visiting Trustmark Park. Mississippi will host the Southern League All-Star Game for the second time on June 21. P.S. It’s not likely that outfielder Mycal Jones will be back, but who expected he’d return for a sixth tour in 2015? Jones, a fourth-round pick by Atlanta out of Miami-Dade College in 2009, has worn an M-Braves uniform for at least part of every season since 2010. He has played in 362 games for the Double-A club, with 306 hits, a .247 average, 16 homers, 121 RBIs and 144 steals. … The M-Braves averaged an announced 3,190 per game in attendance for 68 dates this season. That ranks seventh in the Southern League and is up marginally from 2014 (3,152). … Sims, Cabrera, Lien, Camargo, Odom and current M-Braves pitcher Andrew Thurman have been assigned by Atlanta to the Arizona Fall League. … Seven Biloxi Shuckers/Milwaukee prospects are headed to the AFL: pitchers Jacob Barnes, Josh Hader, Adrian Houser and Damien Magnifico, infielder Yadiel Rivera and outfielders Brett Phillips and Michael Reed.

27 Aug

time to shine

Some games in the minors simply matter more than others. Performance in those games is magnified. With first place in the Southern League South on the line Wednesday night, Cody Reed pitched like an ace for Pensacola. The Northwest Mississippi Community College product from Horn Lake threw six innings, allowing one run and punching out eight, as the Blue Wahoos topped the visiting Mississippi Braves 3-1. The Wahoos (33-26) climbed a half-game ahead of the M-Braves (32-26) in the battle for the second-half title in the SL South. “I love having that pressure of being the guy they give the ball to,” Reed said in a story on the team’s web site. Reed’s star is surely rising in the Cincinnati organization. The bespectacled, 6-foot-5 left-hander, acquired from Kansas City in the Johnny Cueto deal, is 4-2 with a 3.03 ERA in six starts for the Wahoos. He was 2-2, 3.45 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and 5-5, 2.14 in A-ball in the Royals’ system. The lone run the M-Braves scored was knocked in by Rio Ruiz, who is finally beginning to play like the prospect Atlanta thought it was getting from Houston in the Evan Gattis trade. Ruiz has an 11-game hit streak and is batting .368 with a homer, five RBIs and six runs in his last 10 games. For the year, his first in Double-A, the lefty-hitting third baseman is at .232 with three homers and 38 RBIs. In the finale of the Pensacola series tonight, the M-Braves send Greg Ross (7-9, 3.59) to the bump. More games that matter are ahead: Mississippi comes home on Friday for a series against Biloxi, the first-half champ in the SL South.

24 Aug

summer fun

Biloxi Shuckers fans were given quite a treat this summer. The first team Milwaukee sent to its new Double-A home won a first-half championship and was packed with prospects, including Orlando Arcia, who is still there and still raking. The Venezuelan shortstop, rated the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect and No. 13 overall by mlb.com, had his first career two-homer game on Sunday at MGM Park. He is batting .342 over his last 10 games and .302 for the year, with eight homers, 62 RBIs, 34 doubles and 23 steals. Arcia turned 21 earlier this month. Biloxi hitting coach Sandy Guerrero told milb.com that Arcia is not quite big league-ready, but “he’s not that far.” … Meanwhile, the Mississippi Braves have moved into first place in the second-half race in the Southern League South. Lucas Sims, one of Atlanta’s top pitching prospects, threw six strong innings, fanning 10, and Rio Ruiz, another prospect, homered as the M-Braves beat host Pensacola 3-1. If the M-Braves win the title — there are 14 games left — they would meet the Shuckers in the first round of the SL playoffs. That would be quite a treat for both fan bases. P.S. Former Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe hit his third homer in five Triple-A games for El Paso (San Diego Padres) on Sunday. … Ex-State standout Kendall Graveman threw six shutout innings for Oakland on Sunday but got a no-decision and remains winless in his last eight starts. What’s worse, he suffered an oblique injury and may have to go on the disabled list.

18 Aug

crunch time at teepee

Birmingham is one of the Southern League’s best hitting teams. The Mississippi Braves are running out a rotation filled with prospects, young guns that could be in Atlanta in the near future. The compelling clash of Barons bats and M-Braves arms begins tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Right-hander John Gant is slated to start Game 1 for Mississippi. He is followed in the rotation by Lucas Sims, Greg Ross, Zack Bird and Andrew Thurman. Birmingham, hitting .261 (second in SL) as a team with 482 runs (fifth), features a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of its order. Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson, one of the Chicago White Sox’s highest rated prospects, is batting .316 and tops the league in runs (69) and steals (45). Two-hole hitter Jacob May is batting .296 with 31 bags, second in the league. For power, the Barons have Christian Marrero (12 homers), Danny Hayes (seven) and Brian Fletcher (six). They’ll test the young guns. Gant, recently acquired from the New York Mets, has been slotted in as the Braves’ No. 23 prospect by mlb.com. Since joining the M-Braves, he is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in three outings. Sims, Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2012 and the seventh-best prospect, is 1-2, 5.87 in five Double-A starts. Jackson native Bird, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers and ranked No. 12 on the prospect chart, is 1-1, 4.26 over three starts. No. 18 prospect Thurman, picked up from Houston late in the spring, took a loss in his M-Braves debut on Aug. 14, allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. Ross doesn’t have a top 30 rating, but the Double-A veteran is 7-9, 3.98 in 23 games. P.S. Former M-Braves star Brian McCann did something Monday night that no catcher in the New York Yankees’ long history has done, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: He drove in five runs and threw out three runners attempting to steal. McCann’s efforts, which included his 21st homer, led the Yankees to an 8-7, 10-inning win over Minnesota. One of the runners he cut down was Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier, who had three hits for the Twins.

17 Aug

numbers to crunch

1 – RBI by Walker Robbins, the George County High star who went 2-for-3 with a triple in Sunday’s Perfect Game All-American Classic in San Diego. He drove in the only run the West team scored.
2 – Saves, in two opportunities, for Mississippi State alumnus Jonathan Papelbon over the 19 days he has been with slumping Washington, which has lost six straight and eight of 10.
3 – Place in the Southern League South standings held by the Mississippi Braves. The M-Braves are 27-22 with three straight losses headed into a five-game homestand that starts Tuesday against Birmingham.
4 – Triples this season by ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith, who got his latest on Sunday for Seattle. He has zero stolen bases.
5 – Home runs over five consecutive games by Harrison Central product Bobby Bradley, who has 25 bombs for the season at Class A Lake County in Cleveland’s system.
6 – Runs allowed, in 3 1/3 innings, by ex-State star Kendall Graveman on Sunday in Oakland’s 18-2 loss to Baltimore. Graveman, 6-9, saw his ERA rise to 4.27.
7 – On-base streak for former Ole Miss standout Alex Yarbrough, who is batting just .241 with a .277 OBP for Salt Lake in his first Triple-A campaign in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization. “I think it’s big to finish strong in the last month,” Yarbrough, a .282 career hitter in the minors, told the Orange County Register.

23 Jul

upwardly mobile

Gloom has gathered over the Chicago White Sox’s season. Fans of the last-place club needing something to brighten their day can look to Double-A Birmingham, where shortstop Tim Anderson is having a star-quality season. Rated by some as the organization’s top prospect entering 2015, the East Central Community College product appears close to being big league-ready. Anderson, 22, the Southern League All-Star Game MVP, is batting .311 with seven triples, 35 RBIs, 53 runs and 35 steals for the Barons. An athletic 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, he is hitting .298 with 69 steals over his three pro seasons. If there is a negative in his offensive numbers, it’s that he doesn’t walk much (15 times this season while serving primarily as a leadoff batter). Reports indicate that Anderson’s defense is steadily improving; in fact, some of the reports are glowing. Anderson made his Double-A debut, with a bang, at Pearl’s Trustmark Park last August. The Barons come to the TeePee again this August (18-22). Of course, by then Anderson might be in Triple-A. P.S. Thirty games into his pro career, LaDarious (aka LeDarious) Clark, the East Mississippi CC alum from Meridian, paces the short-season Class A Northwest League in homers (8, including two on Wednesday), average (.377), hits (49), slugging percentage (.685), runs (32), triples (5) and total bases (89). He also has 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Texas’ Spokane club. Promote him, already. … After roughly a month in the high Class A Florida State League, former Petal High star Anthony Alford is batting .333 with a homer, nine RBIs and 18 runs at Dunedin. Toronto promoted the 21-year-old outfielder, playing his first full pro season, after he hit .293 with 49 runs and 12 steals in 50 games at low-A Lansing.

21 Jul

rolling with changes

Change has become a constant for the Mississippi Braves’ pitching staff, which will roll out Lucas Sims tonight for his Double-A debut at Jackson, Tenn. Sims, Atlanta’s top draft pick in 2012 and current No. 3 prospect (by mlb.com), was 3-4 with a 5.18 ERA in nine starts at Class A Carolina. Perhaps the Braves just thought he needed a change of scene. The M-Braves recently added No. 17 prospect Mauricio Cabrera, who also had so-so stats at Carolina (5.52 ERA). He debuted on Sunday, throwing two scoreless innings in a win against Jacksonville. In that same game, ex-starter Jason Hursh, the No. 12 prospect, notched his first save. Hursh was 2-6, 5.63 as a starter. He has allowed two runs in six innings out of the pen. The M-Braves already have a standout closer: LSU product Tyler Jones, who has taken the reins from promoted Ryan Kelly, has 11 saves and a 1.55 ERA. The M-Braves’ rotation, which lost No. 10 prospect Tyrell Jenkins to Triple-A Gwinnett earlier this month, includes two other July additions: No. 26 prospect Steve Janas, 1-2, 3.86 in four starts, and indy league-signee Andrew Barbosa, 2-1, 6.23. … Kudos to manager Aaron Holbert for becoming the team’s all-time wins leader on Monday with 269. He passed Phillip Wellman, who has one thing Holbert would love to add: a Southern League championship ring. The M-Braves, 15-9 and first in the SL South entering tonight’s game, return to Trustmark Park in Pearl on Wednesday to face division rival Mobile.