while we wait …

Mississippi State ace Chris Stratton is expected to hear his name called tonight in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. Otherwise, it’ll be all quiet on the Magnolia State front until the later rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stratton, a right-hander from Tupelo, had a breakthrough junior season for the Bulldogs, helping them to an SEC championship and a regional appearance that ended Sunday in Tallahassee, Fla. Stratton went 11-2 with a 2.38 ERA and won the Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s top college player. Petal High’s Anthony Alford might have gotten some first-round consideration but has told MLB scouts he is firmly committed to playing football (and baseball) at Southern Miss. He’ll likely be picked but way down the line. It might be more interesting on this first day of the draft to look back at last year’s draft. The top pick from the state was infielder Connor Barron of Sumrall High. He went in the third round (No. 102 overall) to St. Louis but opted to play for USM, where he fared well until suffering a midseason shoulder injury. USM’s B.A. Vollmuth was called three selections after Barron and signed with Oakland. The third baseman is batting .252 with five homers and 38 RBIs in low Class A ball. Wheeler’s Brandon Woodruff, a fifth-round pick by Texas, enrolled at MSU and had some success as a freshman hurler. Senquez Golson from Pascagoula was drafted in the eighth round by Boston and received a large signing bonus offer. But he went to Ole Miss to play football and baseball. He contributed as a DB on the football field but did very little with the baseball team. UM’s Austin Wright (eighth round, Philadelphia) is 5-0 with a 3.61 ERA in low-A ball, possibly due for a promotion. MSU pitcher Devin Jones (ninth round, Baltimore) has a 2.51 ERA and two saves (plus an 0-3 record) in low-A ball. Curious is the case of last year’s Ferriss Trophy winner, Tyler Koelling of USM. The outfielder, a 19th-round selection by Minnesota, hit .228 with five homers in rookie ball last summer, then was released during the off-season by the Twins and is no longer playing.