Mud Monsters Lineup Rejuvenated with Signing of Shelly, Returns of Diaz, Holman
PEARL, Miss. (July 4, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters have announced a trio of roster moves, including the activation of 2025 Frontier League All-Star Victor Diaz off the Visa Inactive List, the return of first baseman Jack Holman from the 14-Day Injured List and the signing and activation of Joshua Shelly.
Transaction Notes
Mississippi adds major lineup depth as the season nears the midway point.
- Victor Diaz returns after hitting .273 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs in 2025.
- Jack Holman returns from the 14-Day Injured List after leading the club in slugging percentage.
- Joshua Shelly joins the Mud Monsters after a national championship season at Tennessee Wesleyan College.
- Shelly posted back-to-back 16-home run seasons in college.
- The moves give Jay Pecci's lineup a boost as the 2026 season approaches the midway point.
Holman Returns
The left-handed power bat is back from the injured list.
Holman, a Fontana, California native, had been sidelined by an oblique injury since May 31.
After getting off to an outstanding start to the year at the plate, Holman mashed four homers to take the team lead in home runs in only 21 games. His lead stood until AJ Fritz crushed his fifth bomb of the year to take over the top spot.
In addition to his four home runs, Holman drove in 15 runs with a .296 batting average and is still first on the team in slugging percentage with a .549 mark.
At 6'4", Holman is the tallest position player on the Mud Monsters and brought his lefty power bat to Mississippi late in the 2025 season, hitting .303 in 10 games with five of his 10 hits being doubles.
2025 was his first sample of professional ball after playing collegiately with the University of California Los Angeles and the University of California Santa Barbara.
Diaz Back in the Swamp
The 2025 Frontier League All-Star returns to Mississippi.
Diaz returns to the Mud Monsters after making a big impact on the inaugural squad, hitting .273 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs.
Prior to Brayland Skinner accomplishing the feat on June 27 against the Lake Erie Crushers, Diaz was the first and only Mississippi batter to record a five-hit game. The Azua, Dominican Republic native went 5-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored against the Florence Y'alls on August 18, 2025.
Prior to his arrival in Mississippi in 2025, Diaz spent three seasons with the Houston Astros organization, reaching as high as Class A Fayetteville.
Before joining the Astros, the backstop spent two years each with the Dodgers and Phillies organizations, signing with Philadelphia out of the Dominican Republic in 2019.
The catching lineage runs in his family as he is the younger brother of current Houston Astros catcher Yanier Diaz.
Diaz joins a catching tandem of Andrew Semo and Tevis Payne II who have each had electric starts to the year and only makes the position stronger for the Mud Monsters.
Shelly Joins Mississippi
The national champion power bat arrives from Tennessee Wesleyan College.
Shelly is a newcomer to the teal and black, arriving by way of Tennessee Wesleyan College where he spent the last two seasons. He captured an NAIA national championship during the 2026 season and will make his professional debut upon entering a game.
His power bat produced back-to-back 16-home run campaigns in which he drove in 70 runs while batting .406 in 2025 and 80 runs while batting .410 during the Bulldogs' title run this past season.
Prior to beginning his collegiate career, Shelly played at Vanderbilt Catholic High School in his hometown of Houma, Louisiana.
The right-handed stick started off his college career in the NJCAA ranks in 2023 with Coastal Alabama Community College in Monroeville, Alabama, playing a season for the Eagles before moving to the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Saints in Andalusia, Alabama.
Lineup Boost
With Holman and Diaz returning, plus the addition of Shelly, Jay Pecci's squad gets a boost in the lineup as the 2026 Frontier League season nears the midway point on the calendar.
About the Mississippi Mud Monsters
Baseball Lives Here. It Just Got a Little Weirder.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, competing in the Frontier League. Built in the mud and rooted in Mississippi, the Mud Monsters believe baseball should be unapologetically fun, a little weird, wildly welcoming, and deeply tied to the place it calls home. Real baseball. Real people. This is swamp-built, Mississippi-made baseball, where the vibes matter just as much as the final score.
Fourth of July Doubleheader
America 250. Two 7-inning games. One ticket. The largest fireworks show of the year after the baseball.
The Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza is presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, Mississippi Farm Bureau and the City of Pearl.
Get July 4 TicketsHot Dogs, Fireworks and Swamp Fun
The baseball is only part of the Fourth of July night at Trustmark Park.
- Grand Finale Hot Dog Eating Contest between games, presented by Sam's Club and Classy Thibodeaux Travel.
- Grand prize: an all-expenses-paid 7-day cruise, compliments of Classy Thibodeaux Travel.
- Stilt walker and America 250 ballpark atmosphere.
- Patriotic photo backdrop from Spring Lake Garden Club.
- Dad Bod Dance Off courtesy of Brown Bottling Group.
- Kids Run the Bases after the game.