Tag Archives: White Sox

18 Nov

catching up

With five hits in his last three outings, Anthony Alford appears to be finding his stroke in the Australian Baseball League. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal High is 5-for-12 with a home run, six runs and two RBIs in his last three games for Canberra. For the young ABL season, Alford is at .219. Drafted by Toronto in the third round in 2012, Alford has just 94 minor-league at-bats to date as he had been focused on football, which he has now given up. … Mississippians Hunter Renfroe and Tim Anderson got kudos from mlb.com’s Jim Callis for their work in the Arizona Fall League, which wrapped up last week. Mississippi State product Renfroe, a San Diego prospect, batted .284 with a league-best six homers and 20 RBIs. He also led the AFL in extra base hits, total bases and slugging. Anderson, a Chicago White Sox prospect from East Central Community College, hit .301 with six steals. “(F)ew shortstops can match his tools,” Callis wrote. … Tyrell Jenkins, the 6-foot-4 right-hander acquired by Atlanta from St. Louis in the Jason Heyward deal, posted a 2.22 ERA in the AFL. Jenkins, 22, is a candidate for the Mississippi Braves’ roster in 2015, which will be his sixth pro season. He pitched in high-A ball this past season. … Former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur will get another shot (how many is that?) at making a big league club next spring, this time with Philadelphia. Francouer had a big year (.289, 15 homers, 69 RBIs) in Triple-A with San Diego in 2014, though he didn’t hit at all in his MLB trial. … Ex-MSU standout Tyler Moore is batting .299 with six homers, 17 RBIs and 19 runs in 22 games in the Dominican Winter League as he attempts to improve his stock in the Washington organization. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alumnus Roy Corcoran, 34, is pitching in the Mexican Pacific League. The onetime major leaguer is 2-3 with a 3.66 ERA for Hermosillo. Corcoran, who originally signed with the Montreal Expos in 2001, pitched in independent ball the last two years. His last MLB season was 2009; he has a career 4.17 ERA in 82 games. … Belhaven University is ranked No. 14 in the NAIA preseason poll. The Blazers open the 2015 campaign on Jan. 30 at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. William Carey also opens that day in Hattiesburg.

11 Nov

transaction watch

Atlanta has been active on the minor league free agent market, snapping up, among others, Jackson native Donnie Veal, ex-Delta State star Eli Whiteside and three players who spent time with the Mississippi Braves this past season: Seth Loman, Emerson Landoni and Cedric Hunter. Veal, a left-hander, and Whiteside, a catcher, have done big-league time, including brief stints in 2014 with the Chicago White Sox and Cubs, respectively. Hunter, who was with the San Diego Padres to open the 2011 season, had a huge year for the Double-A M-Braves. The outfielder batted .295 with 14 home runs, 72 RBIs and 12 steals in 120 games. He might be a darkhorse candidate for the MLB roster in the spring, especially if the Braves trade Justin Upton or Jason Heyward. … Also re-signing with his 2014 organization is Itawamba Community College product Tim Dillard, a veteran big leaguer who pitched in the Milwaukee system last season. … Former M-Braves standout Antoan Richardson was removed from the New York Yankees’ 40-man roster and became a free agent.

09 Nov

here and there

Hunter Renfroe mashed a grand slam in a televised Arizona Fall League game on Saturday. The former Mississippi State standout and San Diego prospect is batting .271 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in the AFL. … East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, also playing in the AFL, had another three-hit game on Saturday and is batting .313 with two homers and five stolen bases. The Chicago White Sox prospect missed a big chunk of the 2014 season because of a broken wrist. “I definitely saw some things that helped me become a better ballplayer,” he told mlb.com about his downtime. … Former Petal High star Anthony Alford, understandably rusty, is 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts in the Australian Baseball League, where Toronto sent him to get some work in preparation for his return to the minors in 2015. … Belhaven University senior second baseman Paul Pickerrell has been named to the NAIA preseason All-America team. The Pearl River CC transfer batted .345 with 38 runs and 38 steals for the Blazers in 2014. … Preston Brown threw five scoreless innings and Reid Humphreys, the former Northwest Rankin High star, went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as the Maroon beat the Gray 8-0 in a Mississippi State fall scrimmage on Saturday. … Hinds CC, the NJCAA Division II runner-up in 2014, will open its 2015 season on Feb. 7 in Raymond against Mineral Area (Mo.) College. The Eagles will play 28 MACJC games next season. With Meridian re-joining the state association, every team in the league will play two games against every other team. There are still North and South divisions, but the playoff qualifying system has been altered slightly.

04 Nov

movin’ on up

Ed Easley’s strong season in Triple-A has been rewarded. The St. Louis Cardinals have added the former Mississippi State standout to their 40-man roster. He is currently one of four catchers, joining Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz and A.J. Pierzynski. Easley, who’ll be 29 in December, has played eight pro seasons but has yet to make the big leagues. He batted .296 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 80 games at Memphis in 2014, his first season in the St. Louis system. There was speculation he might get his first call-up when Molina was hurt late in the season, but it didn’t happen. It appears now that Easley at least will get a fair chance to make the club in spring training. … Meanwhile, another former State star had a monster day in the Arizona Fall League on Monday. Hunter Renfroe, who homered in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, belted two more (one an inside-the-parker) in Surprise’s 19-6 win against Glendale. Renfroe, San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013, went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, boosting his season stats to .279 with four homers and 13 RBIs. For the record, East Central Community College alumnus Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox) went 1-for-5 for Glendale and is batting .304.

29 Oct

star power

Former Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe shook out of a slump on Tuesday with a couple of hits, including a home run, in the Arizona Fall League. Renfroe, who had gotten off to a hot start in the AFL, is now batting .232 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games for Surprise. Renfroe, a fast-rising San Diego Padres outfield prospect, is slated to play in the AFL’s Fall Stars Game on Saturday. “It’s going to be cool,” Renfroe told mlb.com. Also booked for the all-star contest is Daniel Castro, who finished the 2014 season as the Mississippi Braves’ starting shortstop. Castro, from Mexico, is batting .231 for Peoria; he batted .277 in 51 games for the M-Braves. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star now in the Chicago White Sox system, also had a good day in the AFL on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 for Glendale. Anderson, a shortstop, is hitting .309 with a homer and six RBIs. … Itawamba CC product Tim Dillard, in the Milwaukee system in 2014, still has not allowed a run over 9 1/3 innings for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. P.S. Ole Miss has set its rosters for the Pizza Bowl fall ball championship. The series, which is essentially a 16-inning game spread over two days, will be held on Friday and Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium. … In Starkville, junior college transfer Logan Elliott and returning star Ross Mitchell combined on a two-hit, five-inning shutout as State continued its fall ball schedule. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play again on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

16 Oct

warming to the task

Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, is heating up in Arizona after a chilly start. The Chicago White Sox’s 2013 first-round pick has five hits, including his first home run on Wednesday, over his last two games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League. In six games, Anderson, 21, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound shortstop, is batting .400 with four runs, two RBIs and three steals. He spent most of the 2014 season, his first full pro year, at Class A Winston-Salem, hitting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals. After he recovered from a late-season broken wrist, Anderson was sent to Double-A Birmingham and hit .364 in 10 games. … Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro, who played for the 2014 Mississippi Braves, are hitting .300 and .263, respectively, for Peoria in the AFL. … Former Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College standout Tim Dillard is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. Dillard, 31, a onetime big leaguer, posted a 3.13 ERA at Double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee system this past season. P.S. Wednesday was a big day for Butch Thompson. The Mississippi State associate head coach was named the national assistant coach of the year for 2014 and also was announced as an inductee into the Itawamba Community College Athletic Hall of Fame. Thompson, an Amory native, was a closer at ICC in 1989 and ’90. He is currently in his seventh year of working with MSU’s pitchers. … State’s second fall scrimmage is slated for Friday at Dudy Noble Field.

10 Oct

scatter shots

Hunter Renfroe hit his first Arizona Fall League home run on Thursday night and is now batting .385 with four RBIs in three games. The former Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs, a San Diego outfield prospect, helped Surprise beat Glendale 7-4 in a game in which former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson made his AFL debut. Anderson, a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox system, went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts for Glendale. Anderson made his Double-A debut with Birmingham at Trustmark Park this summer, going 10-for-22 in five games vs. the Mississippi Braves. … Ole Miss product Lance Lynn will start Sunday’s Game 2 for St. Louis in the National League Championship Series against San Francisco. Lynn got a no-decision in his division series start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing two runs in six innings. A 15-game winner this year, the big right-hander lost his only start against the Giants on June 1, yielding four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. Giants star Buster Posey went 3-for-3 against Lynn in that game. … Freshman Kyle Watson has made a splash during fall scrimmages at Ole Miss. The former DeSoto Central High standout, an infielder, has three home runs during the first three sets of intrasquad scrimmages. Watson hit .345 in his prep career but belted just one homer, according to his UM bio. The Rebels scrimmage again today and Saturday.

27 Aug

boys of fall

Four current Mississippi Braves are scheduled for duty in the Arizona Fall League, according to an mlb.com report. Outfielder Kyle Wren, shortstop Daniel Castro and pitchers Ryne Harper and Brandon Cunniff are on the early roster for Peoria. The prospect-packed AFL begins on Oct. 7. Also slated for the league are ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe, now in Double-A for San Diego, and East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, in Double-A for the Chicago White Sox. Anderson hit his first Double-A home run on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. Wren, son of Atlanta GM Frank Wren, is batting .262 with 11 steals in 52 games for the M-Braves. Castro is at .277 in 47 games. Harper is 8-5 with a 2.65 ERA in 46 relief appearances, and Cunniff has a 2.13 in 32 games. Two former M-Braves, right-hander Aaron Northcraft — having a good year at Triple-A Gwinnett — and third baseman/outfielder Edward Salcedo — having a rough year at Gwinnett — also are on the Peoria roster. M-Braves second baseman Jose Peraza, hitting .341 but currently on the disabled list, is reportedly going to play in his native Venezuela this winter instead of in the AFL.

26 Aug

cut to the chase

As the finish line draws near, the front-running Mississippi Braves just can’t seem to put any distance between themselves and Jacksonville. The M-Braves, who conclude their home schedule tonight, have won seven straight games and eight of 10. But the Suns have won four in a row (and eight of 10) and remain only a game back in the Southern League South with six to play. The M-Braves (40-24 in the second half) finish the regular season with five games at Huntsville. Jacksonville (39-25), which plays at Tennessee tonight, ends with a five-game set at home against third-place Mobile (37-27), the first-half champ. The M-Braves are seeking a second straight playoff appearance and fourth in 10 years in Pearl. Steady right-hander Mitch Atkins (5-1, 3.73 ERA) gets the call tonight at 7 against Birmingham. The M-Braves banged out 13 hits in Monday’s 8-3 win. Rich Poythress, recently off the disabled list, had two hits and two RBIs, and Cedric Hunter also drove in two. Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro scored two runs apiece, and hot-hitting Gustavo Nunez picked up two more hits to boost his average to .305. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College standout now with Birmingham, is 8-for-17 in his first four Double-A games with five RBIs and four runs. He was a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2013. P.S. The Oakland A’s will recall ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz for a spot start on Wednesday against Houston. Pomeranz was 4-3, 3.21 for the A’s before suffering a broken hand in mid-June. He has been in the minors ever since, putting up a 3-1 mark with a 3.69 at Triple-A Sacramento.

23 Aug

action-packed night

Eventful game at Trustmark Park. Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, made his Double-A debut for visiting Birmingham, went 3-for-3 with a sac bunt and handled everything hit to him at shortstop. (Note: The 2013 first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox is really good.) Meanwhile, Gustavo Nunez of the Mississippi Braves hit an inside-the-park home run (poorly played by the Barons left fielder) and later scored the game-winning run (with a nice slide) in the eighth inning on a sac fly by Seth Loman. With the 3-2 win, the M-Braves maintained a one-game lead in the Southern League South with nine to play. P.S. In Cincinnati, Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, broke up former M-Braves lefty Mike Minor’s no-hitter (and shutout) with two outs in the eighth inning — but Atlanta beat Cincinnati 3-1 in 12. Hamilton had the Reds’ only two hits in the game, the lone RBI and stole three bases to run his season total to 49. (Note: Hamilton is going to win National League rookie of the year honors.)