Tag Archives: White Sox

23 Nov

return engagement

It was a no-brainer that the Chicago Cubs would make a 2026 contract offer to Justin Steele. The more relevant news is that ex-George County High star Steele, coming off arm surgery, has begun throwing again and could be back in the team’s rotation next May, mlb.com reported. Steele, 30, went 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four games before going on the injured list last season. He won 16 games in 2023 and is 32-22, 3.30, for his five-year MLB career, which includes an All-Star Game nod. So of course the Cubs wanted the left-hander back in the fold. “He’s such a good competitor and everybody loves being around him,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told mlb.com. Steele made $6.6 million last year and will get a nice bump in negotiations. P.S. Ole Miss product James McArthur signed a new $810,000 contract with Kansas City. The reliever missed all of the ’25 season after elbow surgery. He posted a 4.92 ERA with five wins and 18 saves for the Royals in 2024 and a had 4.63 as a rookie in ’23. … The news was not so good for ex-Ole Miss slugger Tim Elko, who has become a free agent after being non-tendered by the White Sox. Elko, 26, who made his MLB debut in 2025, recently had surgery to repair a torn ACL and could be sidelined several months. He hit .134 with four home runs in 23 MLB games this season and .292 with 26 homers in Triple-A. … Other 2025 MLB players with state ties who are current free agents: Tim Anderson (East Central CC); Adam Frazier (Mississippi State); Kendall Graveman (MSU); Nathaniel Lowe (MSU); Drew Pomeranz (UM); Hunter Renfroe (MSU); Chuckie Robinson (Southern Miss); Houston Roth (UM); Nick Sandlin (USM); Chris Stratton (MSU); Spencer Turnbull (Madison Central HS); and Jacob Waguespack (UM). … Ashton Lansdell, who played softball at Ole Miss last season, was the seventh overall pick (by Los Angeles) in the Women’s Professional Baseball League draft. Lansdell, a Georgia native, has played baseball in junior college and for the USA Baseball Women’s National team.

22 Oct

back with a bang

Idled by an injury since early September, Braden Montgomery returned with a literal bang on Tuesday, smacking an RBI double off the center-field wall in his first at-bat in an Arizona Fall League contest. The former state Gatorade player of the year at Madison Central High walked in his other three ABs for Glendale. “I just wanted to add a little bit of normalcy, see a bunch of pitches,” he said in a story on the AFL website. Montgomery, a first-round pick in 2024 out of Texas A&M, is rated the No. 1 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s system and No. 35 overall in the minors. In his first action as a pro this season, the switch-hitting outfielder batted .270 (.360 OBP) with 12 home runs, 68 RBIs and 14 stolen bases, moving seamlessly from Low-Class A to High-A to Double-A. His regular season ended Sept. 6 when he was hit by a pitch that broke a bone in his foot. He is playing catch-up in the AFL. On Tuesday, he also played right field, where his arm and athleticism are a good fit. Montgomery admits to being something of a copycat in his hitting approach. “I like watching Mookie (Betts) and how his hands work. I like watching Aaron Judge and his effortless pop. I like Shohei (Ohtani) and his torque. I like picking up and looking at tiny pieces of all the guys because I understand that everyone’s big picture is going to be different,” he said in a recent mlb.com story. At 22, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Montgomery is likely a year away from making the big leagues, though the White Sox (three straight 100-loss seasons) need immediate help. P.S. Southern Miss (and Mississippi Mud Monsters) alum Michael Fowler, pitching for Surprise, faced Montgomery once on Tuesday and walked him. Fowler, now in the Milwaukee system, has made three scoreless appearances in the AFL. … In another AFL game on Tuesday, ex-Mississippi State star Cade Smith worked 3 2/3 sharp innings for Mesa, retiring the first 11 batters he faced and yielding just a lone run. The New York Yankees prospect, a third-year pro, has a 1.35 ERA in two outings; he went 2-1, 2.50, in 11 starts in the low minors this season. … MSU product David Mershon, playing for Salt River, faced Smith twice Tuesday and grounded out both times. Mershon, a 2024 draftee by the Los Angeles Angels, is coming off a tough, injury-dampened season; he hit .182 in 91 games, 14 at the Triple-A level.

30 Sep

just rewards

Konnor Griffin reeled in another player of the year honor on Monday, earning the Minor League Baseball Hitting Prospect of the Year Award from mlb.com. Former Jackson Prep star Griffin, the overall No. 1-ranked prospect, also won Baseball America’s POY award. (And, of course, he was the Gatorade state and national player of the year in high school in 2024.) In his first season in the Pittsburgh system, Griffin batted .333 with 21 homers, 65 steals and a .941 OPS across three levels, reaching Double-A. MLB Pipeline called his performance “the most impressive professional debut in recent memory.” He also was named the shortstop on the Prospect Team of the Year. Former Mississippi Braves reliever Hayden Harris, who reached the majors with Atlanta, was a pegged as a first-team pitcher on that squad, and Jesus Made, who played for Biloxi this season, was the second-team shortstop. … Griffin is an obvious choice for the all-Mississippi minor league All-Star team for 2025. Here’s the rest (with their organization):
Catcher: Chuckie Robinson* (Southern Miss), Los Angeles Angels/Dodgers/Atlanta
First base: Tim Elko* (Ole Miss), Chicago White Sox
Second base: Justin Foscue* (Mississippi State), Texas
Shortstop: Griffin
Third base: Blaze Jordan (DeSoto Central HS), Boston/St. Louis
Outfield:
Kemp Alderman (UM), Miami
Matthew Etzel (USM) Tampa Bay/Miami
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central HS), White Sox
DH: Blaine Crim* (Mississippi College), Texas/Colorado
Starting pitchers:
Khal Stephen (MSU), Toronto/Cleveland
Hurston Waldrep* (USM), Atlanta
Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU), Seattle
K.C. Hunt (MSU), Milwaukee
Relievers:
Landon Sims (MSU), Arizona
Landon Tompkins (Hinds Community College), Pittsburgh
Justin Storm (USM), Miami
*Played in the big leagues
P.S. Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and ex-big leaguer, won’t be retained as hitting coach by the Chicago White Sox. The veteran coach had been in that post for two years, both of which saw the ChiSox lose 100 games. … Eric Booth Jr. of Oak Grove High and Kevin Roberts Jr. of Jackson Prep are ranked No. 7 and No. 12 on MLB Pipeline’s new list of the top 20 prep players in the 2026 MLB draft. Outfielder Booth, son of the former Southern Miss football star, is a Vanderbilt commit. Roberts, a 6-foot-5, 217-pound right-hander/outfielder, is committed to Florida.

09 Sep

cheers for snit

Brian Snitker, manager of the first Mississippi Braves team 20 years ago, picked up his 800th victory Monday night as manager of the Atlanta Braves, a celebratory moment in what has been a tough season. “I never thought I’d get one (win),” the ever-humble Snitker said in a TV interview following the 4-1 win against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park. Expected to retire after this season, “Snit” has spent virtually all of his baseball life — back to his pro playing debut in 1977 — in the Braves’ system. “I find him to be the torchbearer of the tradition of the Atlanta Braves,” team GM Alex Anthopoulos told USA Today back in the spring. Snitker’s MLB resume includes a World Series title, three manager of the year honors, six division championships and seven playoff appearances in 10 seasons. He is second only to Hall of Famer Bobby Cox on the list of career victories by Braves managers in the modern era. Snitker’s ’05 M-Braves team was loaded with prospects — McCann, Francoeur, Boyer, Blanco, et al. — at the start, but most of them were promoted during the season and the Double-A team finished 64-68 overall, missing out on the Southern League postseason. P.S. Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet had that Cy Young Award look on Monday night, blanking the A’s over seven innings (three hits, no walks) with 10 strikeouts. The Boston ace is 15-5, 2.57 ERA, and leads the majors in K’s with 228. Former Mississippi State star Brent Rooker went 0-for-3 with a punchout vs. Crochet. … Former Southern Miss standout Chuckie Robinson was optioned back to Triple-A by the Los Angeles Dodgers without getting into a game. He has made 51 MLB appearances (in 2022 and ’24) in his long pro career. … Braden Montgomery, the ex-Madison Central star and current Chicago White Sox prospect, was placed on the seven-day injured list at Double-A Montgomery. … On this date in 2000, the Houston Astros set a franchise record with seven homers in a 14-4 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Here’s the part that old Smith-Wills Stadium cranks will find more interesting: Houston’s entire starting lineup consisted of players who wore a Jackson uniform during the city’s Texas League era. Seven were former Generals, one was a former Met and the other was Jeff Bagwell, who did a rehab assignment in Jackson in 1995. Ex-Gens Lance Berkman and Richard Hidalgo and former JaxMet Tim Bogar belted two home runs each in that Sept. 9 game and Daryle Ward hit one out. Julio Lugo had three hits that day, and Chris Holt got the win.

30 Aug

plan is working

To the long list of Konnor Griffin’s best games as a first-year pro, add this one: On Friday night, the former Jackson Prep star belted two home runs — his first in Double-A — and drove in seven runs while leading Altoona to a 14-3 win against Harrisburg. “Sticking to the plan I’ve had all year,” the minors’ No. 1 prospect told milb.com. His aggressive approach has produced a .353 average and 13 RBIs in nine games for Pittsburgh’s Double-A team. On the year, the 19-year-old Griffin is batting .333 with 18 homers, 85 RBIs and 64 stolen bases across three levels. He has had three four-hit games, a four-RBI game, a three-double game and two three-steal games. Friday was the first two-homer game for the 6-foot-4, 225-pound shortstop. He has yet to go more than two straight games without a hit. … Braden Montgomery, the other Mississippi prep product drafted in the first round in 2024, is also enjoying a big season. The Madison Central alum went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Double-A Birmingham on Friday and is batting .307 with a homer and 10 RBIs in 27 games at that level. The Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect is at .278 with 12 homers, 67 RBIs and 14 bags on the season. Montgomery, a 22-year-old switch-hitting outfielder, was drafted 12th overall out of Texas A&M. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, the switch-pitcher drafted in Round 1 in 2024 out of Mississippi State, is also in Double-A and has a 4.58 ERA for Seattle’s Arkansas club. The Mariners’ No. 8 prospect at 22, he is 4-7 with a 4.58 on the year in 19 appearances over two levels. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss slugger Tim Elko, recalled from Triple-A for the fourth time by the White Sox, went 0-for-4 on Friday. A .292 hitter (with 24 homers) in the minors this year, he is batting .136 in The Show. … Riley Maddox, former Ole Miss and Jackson Prep standout, threw two scoreless innings in his pro debut for Washington’s Low-Class A Fredericksburg team. … Props to the Mississippi Mud Monsters, who played Thursday night in Pearl, made a 10 1/2-hour trip to Chicago and beat Windy City 4-1. The independent Mud Monsters, now 47-47, got seven strong innings from Luis Devers (8-6) and two RBIs each from Travis Holt and Karell Paz. … Mud-sters outfielder Davis Bradshaw announced his retirement on Friday after seven pro seasons, six in affiliated ball with Miami. The former McLaurin High and Meridian Community College star hit .310 for his pro career, .402 this year with Mississippi. “I’ve cherished every step of this journey,” he said in a Facebook post.

14 Aug

positive signs

Blaze Jordan, the former DeSoto Central High star, hit his first home run for Memphis — 13th overall in 2025 — as part of a 2-for-5, four-RBI performance in the Triple-A Redbirds’ 14-5 win Wednesday night against Charlotte. Jordan, recently traded to St. Louis by Boston, has four hits in his last two games after a sluggish start for Memphis. His homer came against erstwhile big leaguer Bryse Wilson. Jordan, the Cardinals’ No. 18 prospect, is batting .292 with 71 RBIs on the year. … Madison Central alum Braden Montgomery, the No. 1 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s system, went 2-for-4 with a double for Birmingham and boosted his average for the Double-A club to .278 in 14 games. He is hitting .271 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs over three levels in his first pro season. … Mason Nichols, a 2025 draftee out of Ole Miss and a Jackson Prep grad, threw a clean inning in his pro debut for Low-Class A Charleston in the Tampa Bay chain. He worked the sixth and got a hold in the RiverDogs’ 3-2 win against Hickory. … Ex-Mississippi State star Brandon Woodruff tossed four scoreless innings in a scheduled short start as Milwaukee won its 12th straight, 12-5 over Pittsburgh. The Brewers are 7-0 in Woodruff’s starts; his ERA is 2.06. … Nathaniel Lowe, an MSU product, belted his first career grand slam, a first-inning bomb that helped propel Washington to an 8-7 win at Kansas City. The scuffling Lowe, who has 16 homers on the season, had not hit one since July 19 and is batting just .091 in August. … Former State standout Jake Mangum, also battling a slump, had an RBI knock, stole a base — his 17th — and scored during Tampa Bay’s four-run first inning against the A’s (and fellow Bulldogs alum J.T. Ginn). The Rays rolled on to an 8-2 victory at West Sacramento. Rookie Mangum is batting just .163 in his last 15 games but is at .275 overall. … And in the wild, wild Pioneer League, Kellum Clark, an MSU product from Brandon, went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs to pace Rocky Mountain to a 16-1 win vs. Oakland. Clark is batting .386 with nine homers, 50 RBIs and 50 runs in 40 games in the independent league. He was released by the New York Mets last year after two seasons in their system.

29 Jul

on the move

Former Madison Central High standout Braden Montgomery has been promoted to Double-A Birmingham in the Chicago White Sox’s system. The 12th overall pick last year (out of Texas A&M by Boston), the 22-year-old Montgomery, a switch-hitting outfielder, hit .269 with 11 homers, 57 RBIs, 50 runs and 11 stolen bases over two levels of A-ball. He is the ChiSox’s No. 2 prospect and No. 26 overall in the minors, per MLB Pipeline. … Michael Fowler, a Southern Miss product, has signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters announced. Fowler, who only recently joined the Mud-sters’ roster, went 2-1 with a 1.92 ERA in seven games, striking out 15 in 9 1/3 innings. This is his first pro season. … Will Verdung, the MACCC’s player of the year for 2023 at Itawamba Community College, has been placed on the injured list at High-Class A Rome by the Atlanta Braves. The third baseman is batting .279 with no homers and 22 RBIs. Verdung mashed 25 homers in two years at ICC and went deep in his first pro at-bat in 2023 but has hit just two homers since. … Oak Grove outfielder Eric Booth Jr., Magnolia Heights infielder Cole Prosek and Jackson Prep outfielder Kevin Roberts Jr. have advanced to Phase 2 of USA Baseball’s U18 National Team Training Camp in Cary, N.C. There will be a second cut to 20 players, who will compete in the U-18 Baseball World Cup in Okinawa, Japan. … Nick Fortes, just acquired by Tampa Bay from Miami, is in the Rays’ lineup at catcher for tonight’s game at Yankee Stadium, facing New York ace Max Fried.

27 Jul

for the win

Despite surrendering two home runs in the first inning, Garrett Crochet notched his 12th win for Boston on Saturday, going six innings in a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The big lefty from Ocean Springs is having a superb season, but he is likely to come up short of being the first Mississippi native to win 20 games since Roy Oswalt in 2005. Crochet is 12-4 over 22 starts. With just 46 games left in the ’25 campaign, he may not get enough opportunities even for eight more wins. Oswalt won his 20 in 2005 over 35 starts; the Kosciusko native also won 20 in 2004 in 36 appearances, 35 of them starts. In the era of the five-man (or more) rotation, 20 wins just isn’t the hallmark it used to be. For the record, the record for wins in a single season by a Mississippi native is 25, by Boo Ferriss for the Boston Red Sox in 1946. He made 40 appearances, 35 starts. Reb Russell won 22 with the Chicago White Sox in 1913. He made 52 appearances, 36 starts. Guy Bush won 20 (in 41 games) for the Chicago Cubs in 1933, and Claude Passeau got 20 (in 46 games) with the Cubs in 1940. Among pitchers from Magnolia State schools, Cliff Lee (Meridian Community College) won 22 — along with a Cy Young Award — for Cleveland in 2008, and Hall of Famer William Foster (Alcorn State) got 21 wins for the Negro League Chicago American Giants in 1927. P.S. Colorado optioned ex-Ole Miss standout Ryan Rolison (7.43 ERA as a 27-year-old rookie) back to Triple-A. … The White Sox have promoted Jacob Gonzalez, former first-round draft pick out of Ole Miss, to Triple-A Charlotte from Double-A Birmingham. He hit .244 with six homers and 47 RBIs for the Barons. He played second base Saturday for Charlotte and went 0-for-4. … Luke Hill, a fourth-round pick out of Ole Miss earlier this month, has signed with Cleveland; the bonus figure has not been reported. Hill was UM’s leading hitter in 2025 and a second-team All-SEC shortstop.

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.

26 Jun

carolina clash

They aren’t going head-to-head exactly, but they are on the same field in Greensboro, N.C., playing for opposing teams in a South Atlantic League series. Konnor Griffin and Braden Montgomery — former Mississippi prep stars, first-round draft picks last summer and among the top prospects in the minor leagues – are clashing this week as Winston-Salem visits Greensboro at First National Bank Field. Griffin, former Jackson Prep star and Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect, went 1-for-3 on Wednesday in the host Grasshoppers’ victory in Game 2 of the series. He was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run in a win in Game 1 on Tuesday. Montgomery, out of Madison Central and the No. 4 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s chain, is 4-for-8 in the two games with a homer and three RBIs. Both started this season, their pro debut, in Low-Class A but quickly moved up. Griffin, 19, is batting .337 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 34 steals over the two levels of A-ball. Montgomery, 22, who played three years of college ball at Stanford and Texas A&M, is at .280 with 10, 49 and nine overall. One or both might be invited to the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta next month. Both have certainly lived up to expectations as first-round picks. P.S. Blaine Crim’s brief MLB tour with Texas did not go very well – 0-for-11 in early May – but the ex-Mississippi College star hasn’t gone into a funk since returning to Triple-A Round Rock. He went 3-for-4 with his 13th homer and four RBIs on Wednesday and is batting .299 with 60 RBIs on the season. He is hitting .315 in June. … Madison Central product Spencer Turnbull was designated for assignment by Toronto on Wednesday when Max Scherzer came off the injured list. Veteran righty Turnbull had a 7.11 ERA in three games with the Blue Jays and might be headed back to free agency.