first things first

Hunter Renfroe, the first pick from Mississippi in this year’s MLB draft, is batting .286 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 22 games for San Diego’s short-season Class A Eugene club. Renfroe, from Crystal Springs and Mississippi State, is slugging .516. … Last year’s top pick from the state, D.J. Davis out of Stone County High, is hitting .255 with four homers, 19 RBIs, seven triples and nine steals for rookie-level Bluefield in the Toronto organization. … Connor Barron of Sumrall, the first Mississippian picked in 2011, is at Southern Miss. He is currently playing summer ball in the Texas Collegiate League and batting .253 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 43 games. … The first pick out of the Magnolia State in 2010 was Drew Pomeranz, the ex-Ole Miss standout who is currently on the disabled list with an 0-4, 8.10 ledger for Colorado this season. … First-place Atlanta has won nine straight games, best current streak in MLB, and will seek to extend the run today against Cliff Lee, the Philadelphia ace out of Meridian Community College who is 10-4, 3.05. … Props to Tommy La Stella of the Mississippi Braves, who is now first in the club record book with a 21-game hit streak. With La Stella's help on Saturday, the M-Braves won at Huntsville 6-5 and are now 22-18 (2½ games out of first place) in the second half of the Southern League season.