#STATEtoTheShow Update - August 28
August 28, 2018 | Baseball
by Austin Coats, Student Assistant
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STARKVILLE – This past weekend (August 24-26), six former Mississippi State baseball players participated in MLB's Player's Weekend, and wore specialized jerseys with nicknames on the back and customized cleats.
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On Friday, Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder, who had the nickname "Holdy" on his back, wore a pair of maroon and gray Adidas cleats with the M-over-S logo on the tongue as a throwback to his days as a Diamond Dawg.
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Holder is also on an impressive scoreless innings pitched streak, as he's not allowed a run in his last 9.1 innings on the mound. The streak spans his last eight appearances and began on August 7.
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Chris "Strat" Stratton tossed 8.0 scoreless innings of his own in his start against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing no walks, five hits and striking out six batters. Stratton earned his ninth win of the season as his San Francisco Giants defeated Arizona, 2-0.
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Adam "Fraz" Frazier excelled during Player's Weekend, going 6-for-15 (.462) with two home runs, one double, seven RBIs and four runs scored for Pittsburgh. Since his July 25 recall to MLB, Frazier is boasting a .354 batting average and 1.034 OPS.
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Hunter "Froe" Renfroe matched Frazier's Player's Weekend hit total of six, ending with a .429 clip. Of his six hits he had one double, one home run and two RBIs for the Padres.
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Currently on the St. Louis Cardinals active roster, Dakota Hutson was named to the All-Pacific Coast League team for his efforts this season as a member of the organization's Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. Hutson compiled a 13-3 mark and 2.50 ERA in 111.2 innings of work. His last 13 appearances have come with the big league club, equating into a 4-1 record and 3.14 ERA coming out of the bullpen.
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In Triple-A, Zac Houston continues to dominate on the mound in a relief role for the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers affiliate). In 17 games since July 6, Houston has allowed just one earned run over 20.0 innings pitched, posting a 0.45 ERA and 28 strikeouts over that span.
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Ryan Gridley is on fire for the Beloit Snappers in Single-A (Oakland Athletics affiliate), batting 15-for-32 (.469) in his last 10 games.
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Zach Neff, one of seven Diamond Dawgs selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, joined Gridley in the Midwest League on Saturday after the Minnesota Twins organization promoted him from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids.
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Forty games through Rookie ball with the Grand Junction Rockies (Colorado Rockies affiliate), Hunter Stovall has hit in nine of his last 10 games, and is batting .302 with eight homers and 31 RBIs for the season.
Player's Weekend Nicknames
Adam Frazier: Fraz
Dakota Hudson: Dak
Jonathan Holder: Holdy
Mitch Moreland: 2-Bags
Hunter Renfroe: Froe
Chris Stratton: Strat
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MLB Pipeline Prospect Rankings
Brent Rooker – No. 5 1B; No. 7 Minnesota Twins organization
Nate Lowe – No. 9 1B; No. 13 Tampa Bay Rays organization
Dakota Hudson – No. 3 St. Louis Cardinals organization; No. 100, Top 100 overall prospects
Reid Humphreys – No. 14 Colorado Rockies organization
Jacob Robson – No. 16 Detroit Tigers organization
Konnor Pilkington - No. 18 Chicago White Sox organization
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Diamond Dawg Pitchers in MLB
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Diamond Dawg Hitters in MLB
Diamond Dawg Coaches in Pro Baseball
The Road to the Show (Hitters)
The Road to the Show (Pitchers)
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*- on 60-day DL, MLB 40-man rosterÂ
Other Diamond Dawgs in Pro Baseball
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STARKVILLE – This past weekend (August 24-26), six former Mississippi State baseball players participated in MLB's Player's Weekend, and wore specialized jerseys with nicknames on the back and customized cleats.
Â
On Friday, Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder, who had the nickname "Holdy" on his back, wore a pair of maroon and gray Adidas cleats with the M-over-S logo on the tongue as a throwback to his days as a Diamond Dawg.
Â
Holder is also on an impressive scoreless innings pitched streak, as he's not allowed a run in his last 9.1 innings on the mound. The streak spans his last eight appearances and began on August 7.
Â
Chris "Strat" Stratton tossed 8.0 scoreless innings of his own in his start against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing no walks, five hits and striking out six batters. Stratton earned his ninth win of the season as his San Francisco Giants defeated Arizona, 2-0.
Â
Adam "Fraz" Frazier excelled during Player's Weekend, going 6-for-15 (.462) with two home runs, one double, seven RBIs and four runs scored for Pittsburgh. Since his July 25 recall to MLB, Frazier is boasting a .354 batting average and 1.034 OPS.
Â
Hunter "Froe" Renfroe matched Frazier's Player's Weekend hit total of six, ending with a .429 clip. Of his six hits he had one double, one home run and two RBIs for the Padres.
Â
Currently on the St. Louis Cardinals active roster, Dakota Hutson was named to the All-Pacific Coast League team for his efforts this season as a member of the organization's Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. Hutson compiled a 13-3 mark and 2.50 ERA in 111.2 innings of work. His last 13 appearances have come with the big league club, equating into a 4-1 record and 3.14 ERA coming out of the bullpen.
Â
In Triple-A, Zac Houston continues to dominate on the mound in a relief role for the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers affiliate). In 17 games since July 6, Houston has allowed just one earned run over 20.0 innings pitched, posting a 0.45 ERA and 28 strikeouts over that span.
Â
Ryan Gridley is on fire for the Beloit Snappers in Single-A (Oakland Athletics affiliate), batting 15-for-32 (.469) in his last 10 games.
Â
Zach Neff, one of seven Diamond Dawgs selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, joined Gridley in the Midwest League on Saturday after the Minnesota Twins organization promoted him from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids.
Â
Forty games through Rookie ball with the Grand Junction Rockies (Colorado Rockies affiliate), Hunter Stovall has hit in nine of his last 10 games, and is batting .302 with eight homers and 31 RBIs for the season.
Player's Weekend Nicknames
Adam Frazier: Fraz
Dakota Hudson: Dak
Jonathan Holder: Holdy
Mitch Moreland: 2-Bags
Hunter Renfroe: Froe
Chris Stratton: Strat
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MLB Pipeline Prospect Rankings
Brent Rooker – No. 5 1B; No. 7 Minnesota Twins organization
Nate Lowe – No. 9 1B; No. 13 Tampa Bay Rays organization
Dakota Hudson – No. 3 St. Louis Cardinals organization; No. 100, Top 100 overall prospects
Reid Humphreys – No. 14 Colorado Rockies organization
Jacob Robson – No. 16 Detroit Tigers organization
Konnor Pilkington - No. 18 Chicago White Sox organization
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Diamond Dawg Pitchers in MLB
| NAME | ORGANIZATION | TEAM |
| Jonathan Holder (2010-13) | New York (AL) | Yankees |
| Dakota Hudson (2014-16) | St. Louis | Cardinals |
| Jacob Lindgren (2012-14)* | Atlanta | Braves |
| Chris Stratton (2010-12) | San Francisco | Giants |
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Diamond Dawg Hitters in MLB
| NAME | ORGANIZATION | TEAM |
| Adam Frazier   (2011-13) | Pittsburgh | Pirates |
| Mitch Moreland (2005-07) | Boston | Red Sox |
| Hunter Renfroe (2011-13) | San Diego | Padres |
Diamond Dawg Coaches in Pro Baseball
| NAME | ORGANIZATION | TEAM | LEVEL |
| Travis Chapman (1997-00) | New York (AL) | Scranton | AAA |
| Buck Showalter (1977) | Baltimore | Orioles | MLB |
| Chris Maloney (1982-83) | Atlanta | Mississippi Braves | AA |
| Chris Young (2000-02) | Philadelphia | Phillies | MLB |
The Road to the Show (Hitters)
The Road to the Show (Pitchers)
| NAME | ORGANIZATION | TEAM | LEVEL |
| Jacob Billingsley (2014-18) | Houston | Tri-City | A |
| Ben Bracewell (2010-14) | Oakland | Midland | AA |
| Daniel Brown (2015-16) |
Milwaukee | Carolina | Class A |
| JP France (2018) | Houston | Quad-Cities | A |
| Kendall Graveman (2010-13) | Oakland | Nashville | AAA |
| Zac Houston (2014-16) | Detroit | Toledo | AAA |
| Reid Humphreys (2014-16) | Colorado | Lancaster | Class A |
| Zach Neff (2018) | Minnesota | Cedar Rapids | A |
| Konnor Pilkington (2016-18) | Chicago (AL) | Great Falls | Rookie |
| Austin Sexton (2014-16) | St. Louis | Palm Beach | A |
| Brandon Woodruff (2012-14) | Milwaukee | Colorado Springs | AAA |
*- on 60-day DL, MLB 40-man rosterÂ
Other Diamond Dawgs in Pro Baseball
- Jeff Brantley – Cincinnati Reds Broadcaster
- Will Clark – San Francisco Giants Special Assistant
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Players Mentioned
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