ready or not

The Chicago White Sox tossed Tim Anderson, their first-round pick in June out of East Central Community College, into a full-season Class A league for his pro debut. He fit right in. Shortstop Anderson, the 17th overall pick, batted .277 with 45 runs, 24 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 68 games for Kannapolis in the low-A South Atlantic League. Only 20 years old, he could be on a fast track. Hunter Renfroe, the ex-Mississippi State slugger who was picked 13th overall by San Diego, batted .271 with six homers and 25 RBIs at two levels; he hit just .212 after his promotion to the low-A Midwest League. Renfroe’s former State teammate Adam Frazier had a better debut, batting .332 with 34 runs and 27 RBIs in 56 games in short-season Class A for Pittsburgh. JaCoby Jones, the former Mississippi Mr. Baseball from Richton, hit .311 with the same Pirates club but saw his season end after 15 games because of a knee injury. Other noteworthy 2013 debuts: Ole Miss product Stuart Turner (Minnesota) batted .264 with three homers and 19 RBIs in rookie ball and ended the year on the Double-A roster; ex-Rebels ace Bobby Wahl (Oakland) posted a 3.92 ERA in short-season A-ball; and former Vancleave High star Colin Bray (Arizona) hit .280 with three homers and 27 RBIs at the rookie level. P.S. MSU alum Chris Stratton, a 2012 draftee by San Francisco, had a strong season in the low-A Sally League: 9-3, 3.27. The top pick from the state last year, outfielder D.J. Davis (Toronto) from Stone County High, batted .240 with six homers, seven triples, 25 RBIs and 13 steals in rookie ball.