rise and fall

The Mississippi Braves, who faltered late in their chase for a first-half championship in the Southern League, may get a lift in the second half from the addition of Robby Hefflinger, an outfielder who was putting up big numbers at Class A Lynchburg. Hefflinger, who went 0-for-4 (with a couple of hard-hit balls) in his Double-A debut at Trustmark Park on Saturday, was leading the Carolina League in home runs with 21 and slugging percentage with a .579 mark. He was batting .286 with 52 RBIs. He’s a right-handed hitter with an Evan Gattis-like build (6 feet 4, 220 pounds) and reportedly is a pretty good outfielder. Hefflinger, 23, Atlanta’s No. 29-rated prospect entering 2013, was a seventh-round pick in 2009 out of Georgia Perimeter Junior College. Atlanta released outfielder Kyle Russell, a spring free agent signee who never really provided the left-handed power the M-Braves were hoping to get from him. … Meanwhile, ex-M-Braves standout Jeff Francoeur was designated for assignment by Kansas City, which essentially means he’s done there. The one-time Sports Illustrated cover boy, who seemed to have stardom written all over him back in 2005, was batting just .208 with three homers in 59 games for the Royals. He struck out in his last at-bat for them on Saturday. There is speculation that San Francisco and the New York Yankees might have an interest in Francoeur, who is still a very good right fielder. But he might have to go back to the minor leagues.

cheers

There was a whole lot of cheering going on at Atlanta’s Turner Field on Friday night, and not just because the Braves won another game. Surely you watched. Most of the noise was for the great Chipper Jones, whose No. 10 was formally retired. There was also applause, a lot of it at times, for Martin Prado, the ex-Mississippi Braves star who was making his return to the ATL for the first time since the trade to Arizona. Then there was that moment in the seventh inning when Tony Sipp took the mound for the Diamondbacks. The Pascagoula native, who played at Moss Point High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, had some family and friends in town. He reportedly left 58 tickets at will call, and it appeared they all showed up. The TV cameras found the group as Sipp was working his third of an inning. He gave up a hit but no runs. The left-hander, acquired by Arizona from Cleveland in the off-season, has a 3-1 record (with two blown saves) and a 3.63 ERA in 33 appearances for the first-place D'backs. The more significant pitching work of the night was done by Braves starter Julio Teheran, the former M-Braves ace. He threw six shutout innings, allowing four hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts, out-pitching his former Mississippi teammate Randall Delgado, who allowed eight hits, three walks and two runs in his six innings for Arizona. Teheran is now 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 2013. Atlanta’s top-rated prospect for two years running, he’s living up to his billing. When Friday’s 3-0 victory was finished, Teheran should have gotten a curtain call.

paging pomeranz

Drew Pomeranz reportedly will return to the big leagues and start for Colorado on Sunday against visiting San Francisco. The left-hander out of Ole Miss, a former first-round pick by Cleveland, is 8-1 with a 4.20 ERA at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He leads the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts with 96. He spent part of 2012 with the Rockies and was 2-9 with a 4.93 ERA working under a stringent pitch limit. ... Pomeranz joins Holmes Community College product Roy Oswalt in the Rockies rotation. Oswalt is 0-2, 7.36 in his two starts, both on the road.

here and there

Congratulations to Bill Walberg, the radio voice of the Jackson Mets and Generals for 23 seasons, on being elected to the Texas League Hall of Fame. Walberg, who was really good at calling a game, also was a font of information on players and stats, as any sportswriter who ever covered a game at Smith-Wills Stadium could tell you. … Silento Sayles, the stolen base champ from Port Gibson High, was named a second-team prep All-American by Baseball America. Sayles batted .541 (no typo) and stole a record 103 bases in 2013. Sayles, drafted by Cleveland and now playing in the Arizona League, has one hit and no steals in two pro games. … Next month’s All-Star Futures Game will feature Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton and former Mississippi Braves first baseman Joey Terdoslavich on the U.S. team (managed by former Jackson Mets star Mookie Wilson) and current M-Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt with the World team. … Stone County product D.J. Davis, the first Mississippian picked in the 2012 draft (by Toronto), is batting .259 in six games at Bluefield in the short-season Appalachian League. … Former Petal High star Anthony Alford, drafted in the third round by the Blue Jays last year, is playing in the rookie Gulf Coast League (.222 in five games). The ex-Southern Miss quarterback spent the spring playing safety for Ole Miss and is expected to return in the fall. … Picayune’s T.J. House was sent down today by Cleveland after making two scoreless appearances in his first major league duty. … Former Ole Miss standout Matt Tolbert, injured most of the season, played for the Gulf Coast League Phillies today and hit a triple. Tolbert, 31, a onetime major leaguer, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in the off-season.

a heavily armed champ

In its college preview issue back in February, Baseball America put UCLA at No. 12, a ranking based in part on the fact that the Bruins lost most of their best hitters from a 48-win team that reached the College World Series. The magazine’s editors summed up UCLA’s prospects: “The Bruins morphed into an offense-driven club in 2012. This year they should be balanced again, but their strength is pitching. It should be a winning formula.” It was – sort of. In the 2013 CWS, the Bruins didn’t hit much, but their pitching was nothing short of amazing, as Mississippi State (BA’s preseason No. 5) can attest. The Bulldogs, who trotted out a fairly potent attack that featured two MLB draftees, were held to 11 hits and one run in 18 innings as UCLA swept the championship series 2 games to none. Over five CWS games, all wins, UCLA’s staff ERA was 0.80. The Bruins threw MLB draftees Adam Plutko (the CWS’s Most Outstanding Player) and Nick Vander Tuig at the Bulldogs and both right-handers were as good as advertised. Sidearming closer David Berg was pretty tough, too. In today’s college game, with the toned-down bats, pitching has never been more important. UCLA had it, and now the storied program owns its first baseball national title, something State is still chasing. P.S. With Colorado playing Boston for the first time since the 2007 World Series, memories have been evoked of State alum Jonathan Papelbon fanning Ole Miss product Seth Smith for the final out of the Red Sox’s four-game sweep. Those two have moved on, but there are Mississippi connections in the current series. Ex-Holmes Community College star Roy Oswalt started today for the Rockies, and Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson went 1-for-3 as the Colorado DH on Tuesday. … Former State standout Tyler Moore is back in the big leagues with Washington, though he did not play on Tuesday.

whatever happened to ...

Antoan Richardson possesses speed, which, as they say, never goes into a slump. When the former Mississippi Braves outfielder is getting on base, he can be a force, which he has been at Triple-A Rochester in the Minnesota system. The 5-foot-8 Richardson, a Bahamas native who played at Vanderbilt, is batting .301 and has 15 stolen bases in 31 games at Rochester. He was promoted from Double-A New Britain after batting .336 with 14 steals in 33 games. Given a shot, Richardson might be able to help the Twins, who just can’t seem to get going. Richardson spent parts of two years with the M-Braves, batting .279 with 24 steals in 2010 and .283 with 17 bags in 2011, the year he got a brief stint in Atlanta. He was in the Baltimore system last season. … Matt Wright, who was in the rotation of the first M-Braves club in 2005, is 8-0 with a 2.74 ERA for the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters in the Atlantic League. Also with the Skeeters is former Jackson Generals ace and onetime big leaguer Scott Elarton (4-5, 4.75).

papelbon in a funk

Maybe he has lost his edge because of the trade rumors. Maybe it’s his college team, Mississippi State, making a deep run at the College World Series that has distracted Philadelphia closer Jonathan Papelbon. Probably not -- but something’s going on. Papelbon has suffered four blown saves in his last five opportunities, including Monday night’s game, when the Phillies blew a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning and fell to San Diego 4-3 in 10. Papelbon gave up a hit that scored two inherited runners, and the tying run scored on a passed ball. “(Stuff) happens,” Papelbon told mlb.com. “He’s in a little funk,” Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. Meridian Community College alum Cliff Lee, who worked into the ninth, got the hard-luck no-decision on Monday. Papelbon, who has picked up two wins during his “funk,” has seen his ERA rise to 2.12. Over the last five appearances, he has yielded seven hits, two walks and three earned runs. He blew only four saves in all of 2012. P.S. Cleveland has called up former Picayune High standout T.J. House. The left-hander, who has been scuffling (1-7, 5.37 ERA) as a starter at Triple-A Columbus, is expected to work in relief for the Indians, who are in second place in the American League Central. House, a 16th-round pick in 2009, has a 4.05 career ERA in the minors and pitched very well in the 2012 Arizona Fall League.

in praise of b-mac

Brian McCann is special. He was the first of the now 70-something Mississippi Braves to advance to the big leagues, jumping to Atlanta eight years ago this month. A Georgia boy, he got a couple of hits in his debut at Turner Field, then homered in his second game. We’ve watched him become a six-time All-Star, producing countless big hits along the way. The clutch grand slam he belted in Sunday’s win at Milwaukee was the 10th of his career; only Hank Aaron (with 16) has more as a Brave. McCann is no longer the face of the Braves, but really he should be. In his ninth season, he is easily the team’s longest tenured position player. He is a gamer. He has battled injuries in recent years, the toll for catching all those games. A .278 career hitter, he had a tough 2012 (.230, 20 homers) and is batting just .246 in 2013, with eight homers and 21 RBIs. With rookie sensation Evan Gattis seemingly poised to take over at catcher, this may well be McCann’s last year in Atlanta. It was sad when Jeff Francoeur left the Braves. When McCann goes, it’ll be sadder still. P.S. Some happier notes: Edward Salcedo, whose bases-loaded triple keyed the M-Braves’ win over Birmingham on Sunday night, is batting .271 with nine bombs and 37 RBIs in his first Double-A campaign. He averaged .240 over his first three pro seasons. What’s more, the third-base prospect has played better defense, with 15 errors in 64 games (compared to 42 in 120 in 2012). Atlanta has to be pleased with his progress. … Mississippi State alum Paul Maholm won his eighth game for Atlanta on Sunday, then headed to Omaha to catch the Bulldogs in the College World Series. … Former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons, who was on a hot seat as Toronto’s manager, has seen his club win 11 straight now to join the frantic race in the American League East. … Southwest Mississippi Community College product Jarrod Dyson went 2-for-3 and homered as Kansas City beat the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Dyson, one of the fastest players in the big leagues, is batting .295. … Ole Miss alum Seth Smith had three hits for Oakland, boosting his average to .284. … Ex-M-Braves star Gregor Blanco went 2-for-4 for San Francisco and is hitting .304 as the Giants center fielder. … Ed Lucas, who played shortstop for the M-Braves in 2011 and is now getting regular time with Miami, hit his first MLB homer on Saturday and is batting .301. … And in case you missed it, Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson had two doubles in his big league debut for Colorado on Saturday.

around the horn

If Mississippi State wins the College World Series, it will be a first for the Magnolia State, which has never won a Division I baseball national championship. But don’t forget, the state does claim two national crowns: Delta State won a Division II title in 2004 and William Carey an NAIA title in 1969. State, 51-18 and unbeaten in Omaha, plays UCLA in the best-of-3 championship series starting Monday night. ... State slugger Hunter Renfroe, who hit a big home run in Friday's win over Oregon State, was a first-team All-America pick by Baseball America, as was Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner. Bulldogs closer Jonathan Holder was a second-team selection. ... Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson is 2-for-9 with three runs and two RBIs in two games for Class A Kannapolis. And, yes, he is playing shortstop. Anderson was the Chicago White Sox’s first-round pick earlier this month. … Southern Miss product Brian Dozier belted his seventh home run for Minnesota on Friday, his fourth round-tripper in five games. … MSU alum Mitch Moreland returned to the Texas lineup on Friday after a stint on the disabled list and went 1-for-4. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson has been activated from the DL by Kansas City. ... Former Mississippi Braves ace Zeke Spruill pitched a scoreless inning for Arizona on Friday in his big league debut. Spruill is the 76th M-Braves alum to advance to The Show. … Ex-M-Braves shortstop Brent Lillibridge is on the move yet again, having been traded from the Chicago Cubs to the New York Yankees. He was playing in Triple-A for the Cubs. … Former Ole Miss standout Alex Presley was recently sent back to Triple-A by Pittsburgh, the third time he has been optioned out this year. In 17 games over two stints with the Pirates, the outfielder is batting .293.

dickerson gets the call

Corey Dickerson, the former Meridian Community College star from McComb, has been called up by the Colorado Rockies. Dickerson, an eighth-round pick in 2010, was batting .386 with nine homers, 19 doubles, 13 triples and 38 RBIs at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The left-handed hitting outfielder is not in the starting lineup for tonight’s game at Washington. P.S. Roy Oswalt’s first pitch was clocked at 92 mph. Strike one to Denard Span. Oswalt, in his 2013 debut for Colorado, would strike out Washington’s leadoff batter and 10 more Nationals on Thursday night. Oswalt had life on his fastball, and the Rockies, from all indications, were encouraged by the performance. But, of course, the right-hander from Weir and Holmes Community College did give up nine hits, including a homer, a triple and two doubles, and four earned runs in five innings. And he took the loss as the Rockies fell 5-1 at Nationals Park. The jury’s still out on what kind of impact Oswalt will have for the Rockies. It’ll be most interesting to see how he fares in his first start at hitter-friendly Coors Field, which likely will come during a June 28-July 4 homestand. Some MLB Network analysts suggested Oswalt’s stuff might not be well-suited to Coors.

going deep

The Minnesota Twins don’t look to Brian Dozier to supply power, but all of a sudden he is doing just that. The former Southern Miss standout from Tupelo homered today in the Twins’ 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. That’s three in the last four games and six for the season from the 5-foot-11, 190-pound second baseman. (He’s got twice as many bombs as Justin Morneau.) Dozier’s average is still a disappointing .234 — which is what he hit last year during an aborted trial at shortstop — but perhaps the show of pop is a good sign. Dozier has hit leadoff the last two games for the slumbering Twins, who have won three straight and six of 10 to get to 33-36. That might be a good sign for former Jackson Mets infielder Ron Gardenhire, who is in the last year of his contract as Minnesota’s manager. Former Mississippi Braves ace Scott Diamond got the win today for the Twins and is now 5-6. P.S. Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton isn’t hitting much (.234) or getting on base a whole lot (.302 OBP) at Triple-A Louisville, but the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospect has 45 steals in 52 attempts and 45 runs in 68 games. He also has a surprising four homers. … Quietly having a productive year is Ed Easley, the ex-Mississippi State star who is playing at Triple-A Reno in the Arizona system. The 27-year-old catcher is batting .331 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 41 games. He hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam on Tuesday night. Easley, the Ferriss Trophy winner in 2007, has trudged through the minors since the Diamondbacks picked him 61st overall in 2007.

the philadelphia story

Don’t look now, but Philadelphia, with a 4-2 win on Tuesday, has caught Washington (again) in the National League East; they’re tied for second behind Atlanta. Former Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee notched his ninth win for the 35-37 Phillies — he won only six times in 2012 — by working eight innings and allowing just five hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. Wonder now if the trade rumors swirling about Lee will subside -- or intensify? The left-hander, in the midst of a 5-year, $120 million contract, said Tuesday he wants to stay with Philly, which missed the postseason last year and struggled out of the gates in 2013. There has also been chatter about Jonathan Papelbon, the ex-Mississippi State standout who also has a fat contract, getting shipped out. Papelbon got his 14th save (in 15 opportunities) on Tuesday and has a 1.69 ERA. The Phillies are certainly better with those two, but management appears to have rebuilding in mind. P.S. Weir’s Roy Oswalt, who went 3-2 with a 2.16 ERA in a Double-A tuneup, is slated to start for Colorado on Thursday at Washington. The Rockies have to wonder if they’re getting the Oswalt with the career 3.28 ERA or the one who put up a 5.80 for Texas last summer. He’ll be 36 in August. Colorado, a contender in the wild, wild NL West, also has Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz at Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he is 7-1, 4.35. … Former Mississippi Braves standout Charlie Morton, with Pittsburgh, got his first win since coming back from Tommy John surgery, and fellow M-Braves alum Randall Delgado pitched seven strong innings in his first start this year for Arizona.

whole new ballgame

Overheard at a recent ballgame: “If State was ever going to win the College World Series, they’d have won it in 1985.” That’s a legitimate point. The ’85 Mississippi State club, the standard by which all Mississippi college baseball teams are judged, featured seven MLB draft picks, including the great Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Bobby Thigpen and Jeff Brantley. Yes, it is hard to believe that team didn’t win the national title. But that’s baseball, as Ron Polk likes to say. The ’85 Bulldogs won the SEC championship, won 50 games all told, including their first two in the CWS. But they ran into two other giants of that time, Texas and Miami (Fla.), and were bounced, settling for a third-place finish, their best showing in the eight trips to Omaha that preceded the current one. It’s easy to understand why State fans might feel a little frustrated (though not nearly as frustrated as Ole Miss fans, who haven’t had a team in the CWS since 1972, when wood bats were still the rule). But there is a lot to like about the 2013 Bulldogs, from the lightning of Adam Frazier and Alex Detz to the thunder of Hunter Renfroe and Wes Rea. And no team in Omaha has a better cast of relievers than Ross Mitchell, Chad Girodo and Jonathan Holder. This team isn’t as talented as the ’85 Bulldogs, but it doesn’t have to be. History doesn’t matter. There are only eight teams left. One will go home happy, and it doesn’t have to be the most talented team. Just the hottest. That’s baseball. P.S. The Mississippi Braves need a win tonight at Tennessee and some help from Pensacola, which is playing first-place Mobile, to claim the Southern League South first-half championship. Aaron Northcraft (2-4, 4.30 ERA) gets the start for the M-Braves, seeking their first playoff berth since 2008.

it's come to this

The 2013 Mississippi Braves are nothing if not resilient. They’ve won 12 times in their final at-bat, including twice on Monday night at Trustmark Park. Their vaunted starting rotation has been gutted, yet they still lead the league in ERA. They’ve endured two six-game losing skids to stand just a half-game out of first place in the Southern League South with five games to play in the first half. This sets up as a crazy sprint to the finish. Mobile is in first place. Third-place Montgomery is 1.5 games out, fourth-place Jacksonville just 2 back. The M-Braves are at Tennessee starting tonight, while Mobile, which has won eight of its last 10, is at last-place Pensacola. Montgomery and Jacksonville are playing each other. The M-Braves have a winning record on the road and are 4-1 against the Smokies. True, they didn’t exactly leave home on Tuesday night with the best feeling in their collective gut. They blew a late lead and lost to Pensacola before a rather small (announced 2,400) and subdued crowd at the TeePee. But remember, these M-Braves are resilient. And maybe, just maybe, hungry for a championship that has eluded the club since 2008.

the order of things

Desmond Jennings, who went 3-for-5 with two home runs in his return to the leadoff spot for Tampa Bay, is back in the 6-hole today. The former Itawamba Community College two-sport star had been displaced from the top spot for 13 games before Tuesday, when the Rays faced Boston left-hander Jon Lester. The right-handed hitting Jennings helped the Rays to an 8-3 win, which improved their record to 35-29 and pulled them within 4 games of the first-place Red Sox in American League East. Boston is throwing right-hander Alfredo Aceves today, so Rays skipper Joe Maddon has lefty Matt Joyce leading off again. But one assumes, after Tuesday’s showing, that Jennings will get some more opps at the top, where his combination of speed and power can be a major weapon. Jennings hasn’t had a huge year to date — .254, eight homers, 26 RBIs, 40 runs, eight steals — but he’s on track to better his 2012 numbers in most categories. Keep an eye on him. P.S. See where four draftees from Mississippi already have signed: first-rounder Tim Anderson of East Central CC with the Chicago White Sox; Northwest CC lefty Cody Reed with Kansas City; Pearl River CC left-hander Brandon Fry with San Diego; and Belhaven University (and Southwest CC) product Kyle Wheeler, a catcher, with Oakland.

here and there

Tyler Moore has been sent down to Triple-A Syracuse by the Washington Nationals, who want the former Mississippi State standout to get more at-bats. Moore, in his second big league season, had only 95 ABs this year and was hitting .158 with two home runs. “He’ll be back soon,” Nats manager Davey Johnson, the former Jackson Mets skipper, told mlb.com. “He’s an outstanding player.” Moore said he understood the move. … The New York Mets, making several roster changes on Sunday, sent former Hattiesburg High star Robert Carson to Triple-A Las Vegas. Left-hander Carson had an 8.47 ERA. … Miami placed Ole Miss alumnus Chris Coghlan on the disabled list on Saturday with a calf injury. The resurgent Coghlan was batting .277. … Ex-Holmes Community College star Roy Oswalt is 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA in four tuneup starts for Double-A Tulsa. No word as to when Colorado might summon the veteran right-hander to The Show. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson, on the DL for Kansas City since mid-May with an ankle injury, is rehabbing at Triple-A Omaha. … Former Itawamba CC star Tim Dillard, re-signed by Milwaukee from an independent club last month, has a 2.31 ERA in 12 games at Triple-A Nashville.

mining the jucos

Major league scouts don’t sleep on the Mississippi junior colleges. Among the eight state juco products picked in the MLB draft were the 17th overall selection (shortstop Tim Anderson of East Central Community College by the Chicago White Sox) and three players from Northwest Mississippi CC (including second-rounder Cody Reed, a left-hander pegged by Kansas City). Farther down the list was Hinds CC’s Beau Wallace, a corner infielder from Vicksburg. The third Mississippi-connected player picked by Pittsburgh in the first 12 rounds, Wallace could be one to watch if he elects to go pro this summer. He was an NJCAA All-American in 2012, when he batted .387 with three homers and 37 RBIs for a state championship club. His numbers fell a bit in 2013 — as did the Eagles, who failed to make the postseason after being ranked in the top 10 to start the year — and he wound up at .321 with four homers, 33 RBIs and a .533 slugging percentage. ... Also commanding attention is Silento Sayles, the national high school stolen base king from Port Gibson who was drafted 411th overall by Cleveland. Will he sign or go to Chipola (Fla.) Junior College? Signing deadline is July 12. Sayles figures to be a project in pro ball, but you can’t teach his kind of speed. Alcorn State doesn’t have many players drafted, so it was good to see shortstop Angel Rosa go to the Los Angeles Angels in the 13th round. He is reportedly a slick fielder with speed, and he hit .294 this season. P.S. The Mississippi Braves fell out of first place on Saturday when they lost to Pensacola and Mobile beat Tennessee. The M-Braves are a half-game back in the Southern League South with eight to play as they chase their first postseason berth in five years. Also still in the hunt are Jacksonville and Montgomery. It could be a crazy finish. … Former Alcorn star Cory Wimberly, who began this season in the Atlanta Braves’ system, now plays for Pensacola, a Cincinnati affiliate.

how was your day?

JaCoby Jones had a pretty fair day on Friday. The former Mississippi Mr. Baseball from Richton, now at LSU, was drafted in the third round (87th overall) by Pittsburgh, which means he’ll get some nice bonus money to sign. With thoughts of his pro career no doubt dancing somewhere in his head, Jones came up in the eighth inning of a scoreless Super Regional game in Baton Rouge and ripped a triple off Oklahoma’s Jonathan Gray, who was drafted third overall on Thursday. Jones scored the first run in LSU’s 2-0 win in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series that sends the winner to the College World Series. … Interesting that the Pirates picked Jones, a shortstop at Richton and second baseman this year at LSU, as a center fielder. The Bucs already have a pretty good one, guy named Andrew McCutchen. … Jones was one of two players with Mississippi ties picked by Pittsburgh on Day 2 of the MLB draft. Mississippi State shortstop Adam Frazier went in the sixth round. … Toronto, which drafted D.J. Davis of Stone County High in the first round in 2012, took two Mississippians early this year: State pitchers Kendall Graveman (eighth round) and Chad Girodo (ninth). ... St. Louis, which also seems to like Mississippi kids, took two on Friday, as well: Ole Miss’ Mike Mayers and Southern Miss’ Andrew Pierce, both pitchers. Both should be charged up; the Cardinals do a great job of developing arms. … Four Mississippi State players went in the first two days, led by Hunter Renfroe, 13th overall by San Diego. ... Two Mississippi juco products were among the first 46 picks: Tim Anderson of East Central Community College to the Chicago White Sox as No. 17 overall and lefty Cody Reed of Northwest CC, 46th to Kansas City. ... Biggest surprise of the draft so far might have been seeing Ole Miss’ Bobby Wahl slide to the fifth round, where he was picked by Oakland. Not so long ago, he was considered a first-round candidate.

commencing countdown

It might be Hunter Renfroe. Maybe Tim Anderson. Perhaps Bobby Wahl or even Stuart Turner. The top MLB draft pick from Mississippi will be revealed tonight. MLB Network has live coverage. Meanwhile, here’s a quick glance at the top picks from the Magnolia State in recent years: In 2008, Ole Miss’ Lance Lynn was a supplemental first round selection (39th overall) by St. Louis. He is currently a mainstay in the Cardinals' rotation (8-1, 2.76 ERA), a potential All-Star next month. In 2009, Taylorsville High’s Billy Hamilton went to Cincinnati in the second round. After setting a pro record with 155 stolen bases last season, Hamilton is currently batting .250 with 32 steals at Triple-A Louisville. The top pick in 2010 was Drew Pomeranz of Ole Miss; he went fifth overall to Cleveland. The left-hander is currently pitching for Colorado’s Triple-A Colorado Springs club and is 6-1 with a 4.26 ERA. In 2011, the Florida (now Miami) Marlins took Connor Barron of Sumrall in the third round, but he didn’t sign. He just finished his sophomore campaign at Southern Miss. Last year’s top pick from the state was Stone County’s D.J. Davis, 17th overall by Toronto. He spent most of 2012 in the rookie Gulf Coast League (.233, four homers, 12 RBIs) but finished the campaign with Vancouver in the short season Northwest League. P.S. Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State star now with Texas, could be headed to the disabled list after leaving Wednesday’s game with a hamstring injury. He was to have an MRI today. Moreland is having a big year: .288, 12 home runs and 29 RBIs for the first-place Rangers.

numbers to crunch

2 — Games ahead in the Southern League South for the first-place Mississippi Braves, who won their third straight game Monday night behind rehabbing big leaguer Brandon Beachy. 7 — Number of players at Mississippi schools who are listed on Baseball America’s Top 200 draft prospects chart (June 11 issue). They are Mississippi State’s Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier, Ole Miss’ Bobby Wahl, Stuart Turner and Mike Mayers, East Central Community College’s Tim Anderson and Northwest CC’s Cody Reed. Also on the list are Richton’s JaCoby Jones (LSU) and Pascagoula’s Colin Bray (Faulkner, Ala., State JC). 8 — Wins by former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn of St. Louis, after beating Arizona on Monday. 10 — Complete games this season by Belhaven’s Chris Good, who earned second-team NAIA All-America laurels after a 14-3, 2.18 season. 12 — Times reached base by State’s Alex Detz in the Starkville Regional; he was the MVP as the Bulldogs advanced to play Virginia in a Super Regional. 1,000 — Hits in the big leagues by Brian McCann, the former M-Braves star who reached the milestone in Monday’s win against Pittsburgh. 61,433 — Total attendance at the Starkville Regional, including 8,662 on Monday, when the Bulldogs beat Central Arkansas for the championship.

something in maroon

Mississippi State — present, future and past — is making headlines today. The current Bulldogs are 2-0 in the Starkville Regional and could wrap up the championship tonight. The hero of Saturday night’s 6-2 win over South Alabama was sophomore Ross Mitchell, who tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The left-handed reliever has had a profound if somewhat unheralded impact on State’s season. Mitchell is now 12-0, with every win coming in relief. (He is the first Bulldogs pitcher to reach 12 wins since Bobby Reed won 15, as a starter, in 1990.) Mitchell has worked 83 innings in 30 appearances and has a 1.41 ERA. … Also on Saturday, State signee Reid Humphreys of Northwest Rankin took Most Valuable Offensive Player honors in one of the D.M. Howie high school all-star games at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. Humphreys, the brother of former State star and current big leaguer Tyler Moore, is also the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. … In Atlanta today, ex-Bulldogs ace Paul Maholm (a 27-game winner in maroon from 2001-03) starts for the Braves against Washington (Tyler Moore’s club). Maholm is 6-4 with a 3.74 ERA for first-place Atlanta, which is 5.5 games up on the Nationals in the National League East.

cut to the chase

The Mississippi Braves managed to hang around the top of the Southern League’s South Division despite a six-game losing streak that was snapped in strong fashion on Saturday night. That trouble behind them, they hope, the M-Braves (30-25, tied for first with Jacksonville) can focus on what’s left: 15 games in the first half, a division crown hanging in the balance. Are they up to it? Aaron Holbert’s club has weathered — so far — the loss of three members of its vaunted starting rotation; Gary Moran and J.R. Graham have been injured and Alex Wood was promoted to Atlanta on Thursday. But holdovers Dan Schlosser (5-2, 2.97) and Aaron Northcraft (who pitched brilliantly in Saturday’s 6-1 win over Montgomery) have been solid, along with Cody Martin. The bullpen has blown seven saves, though Mark Lamm (1.41 ERA) has converted five of six. He could be a key factor down the stretch. Jose Martinez (.310, three homers, 26 RBIs) and Edward Salcedo (.286, seven, 25) have been sparks for the offense, which has gotten a lift also from Tommy La Stella (.302 in 22 games since coming up from A-ball). The catching tandem of oft-injured Christian Bethancourt (.274) and Braeden Schlehuber (four homers in 23 games) has been productive, too. Starting today, the M-Braves play five games at Chattanooga, five at home against Pensacola (June 7-11) and five at Tennessee. Note that they don’t play Jacksonville or the two teams tied for second in the South, Mobile and Montgomery, both 2 games behind. Without that head-to-head drama, the M-Braves may need some help in securing their first postseason berth since 2008. P.S. The resurgent Chris Coghlan (see previous posts) had three hits on Saturday for the Miami Marlins, extending the former Ole Miss star’s hitting streak to eight games and lifting his average to .274. … Ex-Rebels standout Alex Presley was recalled to the big leagues by Pittsburgh and is 3-for-6 since his return.