Tag Archives: White Sox

22 Aug

collision course

The Mississippi Braves are running some playoff fever as they return to Trustmark Park for their final homestand of the season. Question is, Are M-Braves fans feeling it, too? Baseball and high school football go head-to-head tonight. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowd turns out to see the first-place M-Braves, who are averaging around 3,000 (announced) per game. The M-Braves are 36-24 after beating Mobile three straight on the road and hold a one-game lead over Jacksonville in the Southern League South. Mobile, the first-half champ, is 2 games behind. The M-Braves face Birmingham tonight in the opener of the five-game set. The M-Braves lead the league in batting (.264), though they are just sixth in runs, and are No. 2 in ERA (3.43). P.S. Down on the farm, former Southern Miss star Bradley Roney, an eighth-round pick by Atlanta this year, has a 4.12 ERA, a 2-2 record and one save in 16 games for short-season Danville. … Up on the farm, ex-M-Braves standout Joey Terdoslavich has homered in five straight games for Triple-A Gwinnett. He is batting .256 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs – and itching for a September call-up. … East Central Community College product Tim Anderson is playing again. The Chicago White Sox shortstop prospect is 4-for-17 with two homers in six games in the rookie Arizona League. Anderson, a first-round pick in 2013, was batting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals at high Class A Winston-Salem before suffering a wrist injury. … Former Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley is killing it in the AZL, batting .374 with eight homers, 47 RBIs and 36 runs in 35 games. The lefty-hitting first baseman was a third-round pick by Cleveland in June.

10 Jul

sounds like a yes

Under the category of “Duh,” we have this: When asked about whether he would welcome a trade from Philadelphia, the unabashed Jonathan Papelbon reportedly replied: “Some guys want to stay on a losing team?” Former Mississippi State star Papelbon racked up his 22nd save on Wednesday night as the Phillies (40-51, last in the National League East) beat Milwaukee 4-1. He reduced his ERA to 1.24 and has just two blown saves. Papelbon, who recently topped the 300 career save mark, is in the third year of a 4-year, $50M contract (with an option in 2016), which might make him hard to deal. Still, a quality closer is a valuable commodity in September and beyond. P.S. On the topic of trades, former MSU standout Tyler Moore might be a chip that NL East leader Washington can throw in. Moore is batting .305 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 34 games at Triple-A Syracuse; there appears to be no room for him (other than as a pinch hitter) with the Nationals. … Ole Miss product Seth Smith, who recently got a new contract from San Diego, hit his 10th home run on Wednesday; the Jackson native has reached double digits in five of his six full MLB seasons. … Ex-UM star Lance Lynn notched his 10th win as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 5-2 in an NL Central showdown. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan saw his nine-game hit streak end in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-1 loss to Cincinnati. But over his last 10 games, Coghlan is batting .400 with two homers, six RBIs and 10 runs. … Taylorsville product Billy Hamilton has seven hits, three walks, seven RBIs, three runs and two steals in the four games (all wins) of the Reds’ current five-game series with the Cubs. However, Hamilton left Wednesday’s game with a tight hamstring and could sit today’s series finale. … Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson (hitting .327) sat out Colorado’s game on Wednesday with a sore left wrist. … If the Cardinals have to put catcher Yadier Molina (thumb) on the disabled list, former MSU star Ed Easley, now at Triple-A Memphis, might get that long-awaited first call-up. Easley, on a recent tear, is batting .259 with five homers and 20 RBIs. … The MLB DL includes Mississippians Cliff Lee, Mitch Moreland (out for the season), Drew Pomeranz and Alex Presley, and down in the minors, ex-East Central CC standout Tim Anderson is out (possibly until mid-August) with a broken right wrist. The Chicago White shortstop prospect is batting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals at high Class A Winston-Salem.

11 Jun

gathering momentum

He still has a couple of big steps to take on the path to the major leagues, but Tim Anderson seems to be itching to make a move in that direction. The former East Central Community College standout, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2013, is currently playing at low Class A Winston-Salem — and mastering the South Atlantic League. Anderson, 20, a shortstop, is batting .309 with 14 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 36 runs and 10 stolen bases in 54 games. He is batting .415 in June. And he’s got more than numbers. His “instincts for the game are off the charts,” his manager, Tommy Thompson, said in a story recently posted on milb.com. Anderson, who batted .495 as a sophomore at ECCC, was picked 17th overall last summer and is already rated the White Sox’s No. 2 prospect on one such chart. It’s going to be fun to watch to his progress the next couple of years.

18 Apr

going places

The Milwaukee Brewers’ decision to move David Goforth from starter to closer is working out well. Goforth, the former Neshoba Central High and Ole Miss standout, notched his fifth save (in six appearances) on Thursday night as Double-A Huntsville beat the Mississippi Braves 1-0 at Trustmark Park. The game ended on a fly out (by Seth Loman) to the warning track with the tying run at third base, but, hey, what closer doesn’t like to make things interesting once in a while. It was Goforth’s second save in the Southern League series, which is tied 2-2 going into tonight’s finale. He lowered his ERA to 1.23. The right-hander, a fourth-year pro who made the switch to the bullpen in the middle of last season, is rated among the Brewers’ top 10 prospects and was invited to their big league camp this spring. Yes, Goforth is going places. P.S. It will be interesting to see if Jackson native Donnie Veal, designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, gets another big league opportunity. The left-hander has a 7.50 ERA in seven games this season and a 4.87 in 100 career appearances. But he is a lefty.