transition game

The adjustment to pro ball can’t be a snap for any player, but some make it look that way. Among the position players drafted out of the Magnolia State this year, none has come out swinging – and connecting – quite like Chuckie Robinson. The Southern Miss product, a catcher picked in the 21st round by Houston, is batting .355 through 17 games at short-season Class A Tri-City. He is in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak that includes six multi-hit games. Also on a tear is Ole Miss alum Errol Robinson (sixth round, Los Angeles Dodgers), who is batting .378 over his last 10 games and is at .261 with a homer and 13 RBIs at rookie-level Ogden. Ex-UM standout J.B. Woodman, the first position player picked out of the state (second round, Toronto), is hitting .289 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs in 32 games at short-season Vancouver. Former Mississippi State slugger Nathaniel Lowe (13th round, Tampa Bay) went 23 games without a home run at short-season Hudson Valley but has two in his last nine games and is batting .274 with 21 RBIs. And another ex-Bulldogs star, Gavin Collins (13th round, Cleveland), has gotten hot and boosted his average to .276 at short-season Mahoning Valley. Pearl River Community College alum Zach Clark (19th round, Milwaukee), who signed at the deadline, is batting .281 with two homers in eight games in the rookie Arizona League. Former Northwest Rankin High standout Daniel Sweet, picked out of Dallas Baptist in the 29th round by Cincinnati, is hitting a delicious .333 in 24 games at rookie-level Billings. There are those who have struggled. USM product Tim Lynch (ninth round, New York Yankees) is hitting .212 without a homer in 24 games at rookie-level Pulaski. Ex-UM star Henri Lartigue (seventh round, Philadelphia) is at .230 for short-season Williamsport. And Walker Robbins, the former George County High All-America who was drafted in the fifth round by St. Louis, is off to a .135 start in 14 games in the rookie Gulf Coast League.