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The Cougars that Never Were
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This is the 300th Chicago Cougar post! For a special little celebration, I present the Cougars that Never Were:
I love trading in Out of the Park. I always like finding players on other teams that either are in a tough situation or underutilized and using them how I think they should. A lot of time it works. Ignoring this season (since I guess there still is a lot of time to go), most of the trade acquisitions have flourished. Dick Leudtke and Max Wilder have had their best seasons in Chicago while guys like Cy Bryant, John Kincaid and Bobby Sprague, and Tom Taylor worth 4, 5, and 6 WAR per season since making the move to Chicago. Tommy Wilcox absolutely sucked for three months, but less then two years after being traded he's already taken home an Al Allen award named after the former Cougar himself. But even with all the good trades, there really have been a lot of talented Cougar prospects to flourish somewhere else. Whether that's John Lawson, Dean Astle, or one of the three studs with Brooklyn, I've let a lot of good players go. So I decided it would be worth seeing how the 1934 Chicago Cougars could have looked had I never made a trade: To start, here are all the current Chicago Cougars I have traded for (including independent or minor league Rule-5): Arnold Bower Cy Bryant Jim Crawford Don Grossman Lou Kelly John Kincaid Doc Love Dick Leudtke Claude Ramsey Bobby Sprague Mike Taylor Tom Taylor Tommy Wilcox Max Wilder That leaves us with: Bill Ashbaugh Slim Bloom Bert Harrison Clyde Hinzman (technically) Bill Kline Herb Lowman Ace McSherry Chick Meehan And other 40-Man players: Art Black Norm Stewart Gordie Thompson Johnny Walker Pete Sposito Phil Vaughan Harry Simmons Lee Sparks Forrest Sylvester Ken Allen Obviously, I have a ton of traded players I will get to add, but here is our current starting lineup and partial pitching staff. I had to consult AAA for a little help with certain positions: C: Ken Wyatt 1B: Phil Vaughan 2B: Bill Ashbaugh 3B: Slim Bloom SS: Clyde Hinzman LF: Ken Allen CF: Erv Firth RF: Bert Harrison SP: Dick Lyons SP: Herb Lowman SP: Norm Stewart SP: Johnny Walker SP: Art Black RP: Chick Meehan RP: Ace McSherry My bet is this team would win 50 games max. So with all the trades, who do we get back? Ed Rhoden Buck Putnam Jim Hatfield John Barnard Joe Rainbow Ben Curtin Dean Astle Jose Serna (I lose him because I got him in the independent draft) Lou Gaffin Earl Johnson Woodie Dudley Joe Johnson Mel Leonard (technically I lose him because I traded for the pick that became him) Fred Barrell Tom Barrell Mike Murphy George DeForest Jim Stevens (I lose him because I traded for him) Mack Deal George Jordan (I lose him because I traded for him) Of course, there are also some other prospects/players I traded away in past deals: Mike Knight Billy Marshall 1933 5th Round Pick: Dan Everett Charlie Reed Buck Waldrop Jim Kyle Vince York Woodie Dudley Phil Whitehead Cotton Taylor Ben Turner Heinie Bretz Tex Young Gene Ross Ben Richardson Pat Schuring (I lose him because I traded for him) Harry Parker Rabbit Forrest Barney Green Buzz Ham Bob Worley Bert Houston Phil English Bill Ross Rocky Edwards Joe Snider John Lawson Joe Ward Here's the best roster I can come up with: Catchers Fred Barrell Jim Kyle Infielders Jim Hatfield Bill Ashbaugh Rabbit Forrest Slim Bloom Mack Deal Clyde Hinzman Joe Lawson Outfielders Vince York Joe Johnson Billy Marshall Joe Snider Bret Harrison Bob Worley Pitchers Dick Lyons Dean Astle Tom Barrell Mike Murphy Bill Ross Ben Turner Chick Meehan Bill Kline This team actually looks pretty good. And that rotation! You got the veterans Lyons and Ross with a trio of exciting young arms in Dean Astle, Tom Barrell, and Mike Murphy. There's a ton of young arms I didn't use for the rotation including Turner, Heine Bretz, and George DeForest. The offense boasts a World Series MVP, the Cougars all time home run leader, and a 2-time MVP winner. Those would be Fred Barrell, Bill Ashbaugh, and John Lawson. Billy Marshall and Jim Hatfield are both Baltimore rookies who have started all season and are really close to average offensively. Vince York has been a reliable hitter and Bob Worley broke out at 24 last year. Rabbit Forrest has been a mainstay in the Keystones lineup lately and between Slim Bloom, Mack Deal, and Clyde Hinzman I can rotate them between second and short (as well as third if needed). There is a lot of youth an d a lot of talent, but I am a little relieved that this team is not better then what we have now. Sure, we suck right now and this team probably could finish over .500, but this team is not better then the actual team. But man... If I could have found a way to not trade John Lawson and Dean Astle... I know trading Barrell was the only way to ever get Wilcox, so at least I can live with that one. But man... I spent about 30 minutes today trying to fiure out who to bat 3rd and 4th and if I had John Lawson it would just be so easy! He bats 3rd! He's amazing! He's not hitting .258/.324/.380 (78 OPS+) like Mike Taylor! He's hit his way to two MVP's! And his .327/.391/.512 (136 OPS+) batting line this year is the worst of his career! That's a best for literally everyone who didn't win MVP on my team. Oh well... I traded my way to a championship, traded myself back to second place, traded back to a pennant, and then traded out of the race. At least it's always exciting to be a Cougar fan! One last little note. I'm not sure how, but I actually have a winning record as the Cougars GM (641-635) despite finishing in 7th or 8th in half of my eight seasons (this is year nine). Most of us Figment GM's are legendary (mostly because most of us have 800+ total games. 9 of the 16 current GM's have 1,200ish games which is how consistent figment has been. We rank 5th in terms of winning percentage in that group. The next five all have 600 or more games (4-5 seasons) which is double every retired GM except the former Stars owner who just stepped down last year after being with us since the beginning. A little "WAR" comparison: Actual 1934 Cougars: 12.5 Fake 1934 Cougars: 18.2 To be fair, their WAR should be higher since they have much more at bats/innings (6 SPs, 13 guys with 20+ games vs 5 SPs, 10 guys with 20+ games) |
Week 8: June 4th-June 10th
Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 25-27 (6th, 9.5 GB) Stars of the Week The email showed two weeks instead of one, so the stars assigned were for a two week period. But, let's just call the Stars of the Week the Cougar offense Weekly Schedule 6-4: Win vs Toronto (3-20) 6-5: Loss vs Toronto (7-1) 6-6: Loss vs Cleveland (4-1) 6-7: Win vs Cleveland (6-17) 6-8: Win vs Cleveland (7-14) 6-9: Win at Toronto (6-1) 6-9: Win at Toronto (2-0) 6-10: Loss at Toronto (2-3) AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS THE OFFENSE IS ALLLLLIIIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!! After a week that saw us score 20, 17, and 14 runs, we added 66 runs in eight games this week good for over 8 per game. We did sprinkle in a pair of one run losses, but let's not focus on that. In just one week we went from 6th to 3rd in runs scored and I have exponentially gained way too much confidence. Especially considering we were 0-6 against the Foresters and probably scored less then 17 runs total. Unfortunately for the Cleveland faithful, the Foresters (33-17) fell out of first for the first time all season. Brooklyn (34-17) has a half game lead while us and the Sailors, Saints, and Stars all sit between 8 and 9.5 games behind. After finishing our series with the Wolves, we get a much needed off day before a long New York trip. We get four with the Stars (27-26) and four with the first place Kings. We are the only team who Brooklyn does not have a winning record against, but that doesn't give me much hope for the road series. Enough about that, we want to see the offense! Sure, the 20 and 17 point game both saw our opponents make six errors, but what a week for these guys: Mike Taylor: .370/.414/.779 (194 OPS+), 3 HR, 6 RBI, 10 R Tom Taylor: .333/.405/.600 (151 OPS+), 1 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R Doc Love: .303/.343/.636 (142 OPS+), 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 R Clyde Hinzman: .333/.355/.567 (129 OPS+), 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R Mike Taylor is having such an awful season that his season line is still just .274/.336/.437 (94 OPS+) and he had 4 homers and 16 RBI's before the week started. And Clyde Hinzman had 5 career homers before this week! Now he has 7! Tom got right back on track with a really strong week and him and Moxie Pidgeon share the CA home run lead. Doc Love's two homers brought his season total to 6, with four of them at home. I'm actually going to take a closer look at Love: He hasn't had a great season, hitting just .304/.351/.485 (109 OPS+) with those 6 homers and 24 RBI's. What's really impressive his is ability to put the ball in play. In 211 trips to the plate, only 19 of those did not end with the ball being put in play. He doesn't walk all that much, but just 4 of those 19 were strikeouts. His 1.9 strikeout percentage is fourth in all of baseball, right behind Pittsburgh's Frank Lightbody (1.8). Neither of these guys are on the level of Harry Barrell (0.4) and Freddy Jones (0.5), the first two picks of the 1931 draft. Regardless, Love does an excellent job of hitting. And for a lefty, his spray chart is beautiful. His hits and outs are all over the diamond. Being color blind makes it impossible to distinguish between homers and triples as well as flyouts and doubles, but there's no obvious trend for where his good hits go. This guy is an outstanding hitter, and I think he spent too much time early trying to hit homers. He's got a ton of power, but that's not his strength. That is hitting whatever pitch comes at him, and occasionally depositing it into the seats. It seems like he's straightened things out from his May slump and all our hitters are starting to put things together. And as good as the hitting was, the starting pitching was actually pretty solid too. Let's start with Dick Leudtke, who I spent a good portion of last post complaining about. I think he took exception to it. He made two starts this week, tossing a pair of complete games with 17 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. We won both, the first 20-3 and the second 6-1 and Leudtke improved his record to 6-5, with the 6 wins best on the team (if you needed another reason why wins are irrelevant) despite his subpar performance. Even better, Tommy Wilcox was dominant on the 9th. He tossed a 4-hit shutout with 7 strikeouts to improve to 4-8 with a 3.48 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, 22 walks, and 43 strikeouts. These numbers are far better then Leudtke, but Wilcox (shout out to Steve) is averaging just over 4 runs of support per game which makes it really hard to win games. I'm actually really impressed with how well Wilcox did, as his .249 BABIP last season was absurd. Our defense was elite, and after spending all season at 8th, we're up to 7th in the CA for zone rating (still 8th in efficiency) now after pacing the entire FABL last year. I also want to petition to the FABL that instead of making the standings by wins and losses, we instead use cumulative WAR. Our hitters rank 3rd and somehow our pitchers 1st. I wonder if WAR has a way to ignore fielding (kind of like FIP) because that's the only way I could understand how our pitching staff is worth the most. As mentioned earlier, we're 3rd in runs scored now, but also top 4 in every hitting category except baserunning. We have a decent amount of minor league news too: Can't remember if I mentioned it last time, but Billy Hunter hit the DL with a sore elbow. He'll be back in 3 or 4 sims, but this is the second time a sore elbow has given him issues. In 20 games with San Jose, Hunter was hitting .307/.329/.493 (107 OPS+) with 2 homers and 15 RBI's. His teammate and 1931 19th Round Pick Bill Deaton started the week off right. The 24-year-old allowed just 3 hits with a walk and strikeout in a complete game shutout over the Fresno Falcons. Deaton has struggled a bit this year, but the win improved him to 2-4 with a 4.95 ERA (100 ERA+), 1,53 WHIP, 15 walks, and 10 strikeouts. On the 9th, Gene Evans was 5-for-7 as La Crosse beat Burlington 21-0! He scored three times, but all his hits were singles. Dave Haight was 4-for-7 with 3 runs and 3 RBI's plus a double and triple. Freddie Bennett was 4-for-5 with 2 runs, 5 RBI's, a walk, 2 doubles, and a triple. Last note is on Johnny Walker. In his last 5 starts, he's allowed one or less earned run in all, but one start. The most recent was a 3-hit shutout of Columbus where he walked 2 and struck out 8. The 24-year-old continues to produce, going 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 20 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched. The amateur pool was revealed today, so we got all the stats for the future draftees. It may be a bit harder to amateur reports, but I'll try to cover a few potential 1934 top picks. We don't get fielding stats, but I'll list both their 1934 statline and a few notes: C Woody Stone: .541/.586/.806, 2 HR, 25 RBI HS Senior: Dunlap (Tennessee) Commit School: College of San Diego Stone is an excellent lefty hitter from River Grove, Illinois. He's got an outstanding contact tool and he struck out just one (a la Joe Mauer) in his senior season. He won't hit many homers or draw many walks, but it's really hard to find a draft eligible catcher with a better bat then his. He's going to be hard for most teams to sign, so I can see Stone as a future top pick in 1937 instead of 1934. If he hangs around I'll take him since he's a hometown kid. CF Alf Pestilli: .294/.377/.554, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 36 SB College Junior: Narragansett For the other figment GM's, we are aware of the storylines that come with the game. Pestilli was born in Italy, but came to the states as a kid. He has two younger brothers including teammate Sal who lit the college circuit up as a freshman and a high school freshman Tony. Alf looks like the worst of the three, but that's not to say he's not a good prospect. He has above average power and speed with a strong eye. He can handle all three outfield positions as well. SP Ed Nagel: 7-2, 1.21 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 17 BB, 105 K HS Senior: Ross (Hamilton, OH) Commit School: Charleston Tech One of my favorite things about high school pitchers is how underdeveloped they are. The 17-year-old Nagel is a 6'2'' lefty who throws in the low to mid 80s. He keeps the ball on the ground and has a nice five pitch miss. He throws a fastball, sinker, curve, change, and splitter His stuff has a ton of potential, but he has to develop a strikeout pitch as he wastes a lot of pitches. Obviously he was dominant in high school, but the competition is just average for him. I think if he can add a little more velocity, Nagel can be a top arm. CF Bennie Griffith: .323/.416/.617, 11 HR, 48 RBI, 32 SB College Junior: All Hallows One of the better college outfielders available, Bennie Griffith has elite speed and was an impressive 32-for-33 on stolen base attempts. He showed a little power as well, and showed excellent plate discipline. All this is secondary as his athleticism is the key to his success. He's annoying on the bases and he'll track down pretty much anything out in the outfield. CF Herb Loflin: .298/.367/.444, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 37 SB College Junior: Lane State Honestly, Loflin isn't really good. But, he's a stats only players dream! Loflin played a game at every position except pitcher and catcher in his junior season at Lane State. He's got good speed and a good eye, but the bat probably won't do much in the majors. His versatility, however, is unmatched and his value is really hard to measure. |
Trade News!
So, I kind of made a trade...
I didn't really plan on in, but Boston approached me on my starting pitchers. It's not a surrender flag, but it is partially driven by how inconsistent we are. Even when we score double digit runs in three of our games, we still had three more with two or less. The pitching staff is old, and we really don't have all that many exciting young arms. Heading out of the CA and into the Fed will be veteran righty Max Wilder. This will be team four for him, but the first trip to the Fed. Coming back to Chicago are a pair of young arms in Karl Wallace and Johnny Cox. The 36-year-old Wilder will be thrust into a playoff hunt after 4+ years in Chicago where Wilder really found himself. While always one of the better pitchers in the game, his Chicago numbers are the best despite coming towards the end of his career. He was 61-45 with a 3.39 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 309 walks, and 464 strikeouts in 1,005.2 innings across 132 starts. His best year was last season, where he was 15-10 with a 2.70 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 63 walks, and 102 strikeouts. Wilder has been one of the most reliable starters, with all nine of the seasons where he started 20 or more games he had an above average ERA+. The only one below 110 was in 1926 where he started a league high 40 games for the Cannons. This year hasn't been as great with our much worse defense, but he's still 4-5 with a 4.14 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 23 walks, and 41 strikeouts in his 10 starts. We're going to miss Wilder, but I'm looking ahead to the future and we do not have many arms. Temporarily, Herb Lowman will replace Wilder in the rotation, but this will be a one time thing. The former Sailor made 27 starts in 1930 and 1931, but hasn't made an FABL start since. He's set to lose to the Kings on Sunday, but I'm working the phones again looking for a few new/different things. I haven't quite decided who will enter the rotation next week if we do not add another arm, but it's going to be one of Norm Stewart, Johnny Walker, or Art Black. Here's the comparison in AAA: Norm Stewart: 6-1, 73.2 IP, 2.93 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 18 BB, 27 K Art Black: 3-1, 50.1 IP, 3.40 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 29 BB, 10 K Johnny Walker: 3-3, 64.1 IP, 3.22 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 20 BB, 26 K Not bad numbers for AAA! Milwaukee has been in the midst of an excellent season, 32-11 and 7 games ahead of the Columbus Titans (who we just swept including the recently mentioned Walker shutout) and the pitching staff has been as excellent as the 1933 Cougars staff. I'm leaning towards calling up Norm Stewart since he has the big league experience and is the oldest, but I really want to see these two get some big league innings. Since they've all already burned their first option, I'm more then okay with rotating between the three if I need to. Of course, I did also add two prospects. This was not just about dealing Wilder. Karl Wallace is the headliner and ranks right outside the top 50 prospects and he will rank as our #1 pitching prospect. For Boston, however, they have a top 10 prospect in Dick Higgins and another in the top 40 with Roy Price. Plus they have an excellent defense which has gotten mediocre pitchers excellent results. Boston is actually going to be really scary now adding both Wilder and New York's Charlie Stedman to that elite defense. Back to Wallace, he's a 1932 6th Rounder has seen a ton of velocity jumps and he's up to 92-94. He's got a four pitch arsenal and does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. His fastball is the go to pitch, but I want to see him polish his change or curve into a strikeout pitch. He's got his first taste of Class B this year, going 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA (103 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, 7 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched. I'd expect he'll report to San Jose. The other arm, Johnny Cox, was taken two rounds after Wallace. He's also a righty, and if you remember, I actually mentioned Johnny Cox a while back. As happy as I am to have him, I am a little upset that I can remember things like that when I struggle remembering simple things like which day of the week it is: SP Johnny Cox (Mississippi A&M Generals): One of the better college arms available for this year's draft, Cox got the misfortune of tearing his UCL in what could be his last start in college. He was 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA (154 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP, and 45 strikeouts compared to just 5 walks in 61.1 innings pitched. A high upside arm, the torn UCL couldn't have came at a worse time and he's likely to miss 13 months. He's definitely going to fall on draft lists, and he may not have a chance to make up for things next year if he isn't selected or doesn't sign. Cox has a nice four pitch arsenal headlined by a high 80s fastball and quality splitter. This is the first injury of his young career, but it may be a tough one to overcome. (May 2nd, 1932) Well, I was right and Boston benefitted from it. Without the injury, there is no way Cox falls to the 8th Round. Usually going 14-10 with a 3.34 ERA (153 ERA+), a 1.14 WHIP, 39 walks, and 168 strikeouts in 258.1 college innings gets you taken in the first few rounds. Boston didn't even need to give him a bonus, and after letting him heal back up, he was really good in his first pro year. In 17 starts in Class C Hattiesburg he was 7-2 with a 2.90 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP, 9 walks, and 31 strikeouts before a promotion to Arlington. He was 2-2 in 5 starts with a 3.94 ERA (117 ERA+), 1,18 WHIP, and both 5 walks and strikeouts. but Cox was a college drafty who's already up in A ball. The 23-year-old is 3-2 with a 3.40 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, 13 walks, and 18 strikeouts in 50.1 starts. I still really like his splitter and I think that it is going to turn into a really good pitch. Add in the fact that he's a groundballer with four pitches including a high 80s fastball that luckily didn't lose any speed after the injury. I'm a little worried stamina wise, but I do think he was on a pitch count in Boston. I generally shy away from pitch counts as I prefer the 6 man rotation. I want these guys to push themselves as kids, but have enough rest that the AI doesn't screw them over. I'm ready to unleash Cox, but I won't be afraid to limit his pitches if I need to. I'm really excited for Cox. Not because he has a ton of hidden upside (although that would be nice), but this is a guy I would've taken in the first couple rounds in 1932 who got the unlucky RNG role of a torn UCL as his first injury. |
Week 9: June 11th-June 17th
Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 29-29 (3rd, 10.5 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 22 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .409 AVG, 1.122 OPS Lou Kelly : 21 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.167 OPS Mike Taylor : 25 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .360 AVG, .887 OPS Weekly Schedule 6-11: Loss at Wolves (5-6) 6-13: Win at Stars (8-4) 6-14: Win at Stars (12-7) 6-15: Loss at Stars (3-5) 6-16: Win at Stars (7-3) 6-17: Win at Kings (12-6) WE ARE .500 AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! Oh wait... Now we're 10.5 out? Nice... Well, a 4-2 week is very impressive, and what's more impressive is Herb Lowman beat the Kings! He threw 143 pitches and was just one out away from the complete game. He allowed 11 hits and 6 runs with a walk and 3 strikeouts. So how did that win? Well, 12 runs and 19 hits tends to help. It was just Brooklyn's second loss of the month and at 39-18 they hold a three game lead on the Foresters (36-21) who are still playing really well. I mentioned Doc Love last sim and he decides to be out Player of the Week. He had a pair of 3 hit games with a homer and nine driven in, but interesting enough he was the only starter in that Kings game who didn't get a hit. Love his up to 7 homers and 30 RBI's in 236 trips to the plate with a nice .315/.360/.505 (115 OPS+) line. Lou Kelly also had a strong week, going 8-for-21 with 10 runs scored. Tom Taylor didn't have a good week, but he added two more homers to increase his total to 13. Moxie Pidgeon is right behind him with 12 and Max Morris has 11. I can't believe Taylor has kept up the power, just 4 short of his total last year on pace for surpassing 30 for the fourth time. I think it might be the first time I said it all season, but Jim Crawford had a good start! Sure, it wasn't perfect, but he got a complete game win with 9 hits, 4 runs (1 earned), a walk, and 3 strikeouts in an 8-4 win over the Stars. It's been a tough year for the 28-year-old who's 4-4 with a 5.58 ERA (81 ERA+), 1.92 WHIP, 35 walks, and 25 strikeouts this season. I miss the 1931 World Champion Crawford who was 18-11 with a 3.15 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 60 walks, and 80 strikeouts in 254.1 innings pitched. He's never walked more hitters then he struck out and his WHIP is already 0.50 higher then any other season. Tommy Wilcox made his worse start of the year, 6 hits and 6 runs with 2 walks and no strikeouts in just 5 innings. But, since wins are useless, he picked up the win as we outscored the Stars 12-7. More impressive might be the Ace McSherry save. 4 innings with 3 hits, a run, walk, and strikeout. He's up to 5-8, and still on track to be the best 20+ loss pitcher there is. He's no Vince DaCosta who was 5-22 with a 5.71 ERA (72 ERA+), 1.67 WHIP, 92 walks, and 46 strikeouts, but they do share a similarity. DaCosta led the league with 22 wins in 1927 (we only won 71 games) with a 3.99 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 98 walks, and 92 strikeouts. This is just like Wilcox (albeit, Wilcox was an Allen Winner) who led the league in wins last season with 21. We're winning a lot more now, so I'm hoping we can flip his record, but if he ends up leading the league in losses this year, I'm going to make sure none of my pitchers lead the league in wins again. After Norm Stewart's struggles this week and Johnny Walker's run, I think it's time he finally becomes the ace I thought he could be. In his last 6 starts, he's allowed 1 or less run in five of them. In a 4-1 win over Toledo this week, he went 8 with 3 hits, a run, walk, and 3 strikeouts as he lowered his season ERA below 3. The 1928 3rd Rounder made 10 starts in Milwaukee, going 4-3 with a 2.99 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 21 walks, and 29 strikeouts. I truly think the tiny lefty is the real deal and his teammates love him. He's a groundballer who throws a low to mid 90s fastball and cutter with a knee-buckling curve. Scouts don't like him, OSA doesn't like him, and I'd guess most of the other teams in the league don't like him much either. I love him and he's more or less excelled at every level. To make his life a little easier, I'm letting him debut on the 21st instead of the 20th, so he gets Baltimore instead of Brooklyn. I felt it might be unfair for him to face Tom Barrell who leads the CA in wins, strikeouts, and WAR. Down in Lincoln, Marty Roberts is absolutely on fire. The 22-year-old has a 25-game hit streak going on. He'll be promoted soon (I want to see how long the streak can go) as he's hitting .367/.418/.497 (140 OPS+) with 2 homers and 20 RBI's. The only scary part is he's 0-for-7 on steal attempts, and a total 5-for-14 in his minor league career. He's been amazing in the outfield, with a +7.9 zone rating and 1.045 efficiency. Roberts ranks 8th in our system and 79th in the league, one spot above Ed Reyes and two ahead of Ernie Carson. Roberts will challenge for batting titles with his contact tool and foot speed, but the power likely won't develop. I think his floor is Cy Bryant and his peak is, well, Chick Donnelly? Is it weird comparing a 22-year-old prospect to a 22-year-old big leaguer? Well, Donnelly is hitting .401/.450/.554 (155 OPS+), but for Roberts to reach that level he'll have to add pop. Another guy having a really strong season in the farm is Hank Stratton. He's hitting .395/.440/.601 (150 OPS+) with 9 homers and 58 RBI's and it is clear the 19-year-old is ready to move on up. The Chicago HS alum was awful last season, so I really wanted to stay consistent. He's been excellent all three months of the year and with Hunter (hurt) and Jordan (promoted) there is room in San Jose. He ranks 11th in our system and right outside the top 100 at 101. Another look at some 1934 draftees: 3B Phil McKenna: .306/.395/.465, 8 HR, 46 RBI College Junior: Coastal California One of the guys I thought was available last ear, McKenna has an excellent eye and he does an excellent job managing the strike zone. He's got a ton of contact potential and he plays a strong third base. SP Harry Parker: 7-3, 2.24 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 26 BB, 111 K HS Senior: Bushwick Commit School: Portland Tech I don't usually like flyball pitchers, but Parker looks like a future big league starter. Standing at 6'6'', he's already throwing in the 90s at 19 and he can throw six pitches. His fastball is really good, but he's going to have to turn one of the other five pitches into an out pitch. He has solid command, but he's pretty committed to Portland Tech. SP Jack Goff: 7-2, 1.04 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 16 BB, 128 K HS Senior: Tilden Commit School: American Atlantic Son of former Cougar (he also spent 1911-1926 with the Stars and Kings) and current Brooklyn Bench Coach Danny Goff, Jack Goff had an excellent senior season. He's a groundballer with a strong three pitch arsenal who keeps the ball in the park. And I also don't think I've ever seen my scout say something like this: "Goff is an ace. If he develops as expected, he could leave a trail of disappointed, over-matched hitters in the wake of his talent." Hey Marv? I know you're kind of new at this thing, but you aren't supposed to compliment pitching prospects... C Charlie Gump: .450/.504/.658, 2 HR, 30 RBI HS Senior: Denham Preparatory Commit School: Eastern State A lot of strong catchers! Gump hit well over .500, but the defense behind the plate is what is most important. He's probably not going to hit for a crazy average ever, but far better then most glove first catchers. He seems likely to head to college, but I think a catcherless team could convince him to sign. ***One quick note. I mentioned Herb Loflin yesterday. I rescouted him, and my scout likes him a lot more then before. Not sure he's a early round pick, but definitely a worthwhile development project. |
Trade News!
I know, I know...
I always say I'm not going to make trades (I feel like I wrote that 3 or 4 times this season), or make any more trades, or consider trades. In fact, I'm actually working the phones some more. A lot of movement has been going around the league, and I decided to join in. Right after sending Milt Fritz to the Gothams in yet another big deal, I decided to contact the Saints to see if they could use a bat. They've wanted to upgrade their offense, and since I have too many outfielders, I thought Bobby Sprague would be the perfect fit for them. This allows Cy Bryant to move back to center, Doc Love over to left, and Tom Taylor back to his more comfortable right field. In return, we pickup pitcher Joe Foote and big league shortstop Woody Armstrong. Foote was the a big reason for the trade, as we are really low on pitching prospects. Even with the addition of Wallace, only three of our top 23 prospects are pitchers. Foote ranks outside the top 100 at 133 and 9th in the Saints system. A 1932 6th Rounder, Foote returned to Class B for a second season this year. He is 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 17 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. Foote does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground, especially with his 92-94 mile per hour sinker. It's the best of his three pitches, but Foote is not much of a stuff pitcher. He does better when the other team is putting the ball in plate. Since he's just 19, I may start him out in LaCrosse instead of San Jose, but I haven't quite decided yet. I think Foote will have a strong future, but he's got a lot of developing to do. Defense has been a weakness for us and we just traded the extremely popular Max Wilder, so Woody Armstrong is a perfect fit as he's a great gloveman and very popular. Taken 16th Overall in 1926 out of Chicago Poly by the Foresters, he spent just a few months in their organization before being sent to the Saints in a trade for Wayne Robinson. He debuted with Montreal later that season with less then 100 minor league games under his belt. Since then, he's made 3,309 trips to the plate with a .258/.329/.369 (95 OPS+) batting line. He's hit 53 homers, stolen 41 bases, and drove in 361 runs. Defensively, he's got a nice +64 zone rating and 1.059 efficiency at short. I have plans to rotate my middle infielders, so Armstrong will also see some time at short. This season he lost his starting job to their 3rd best prospect Tony White who's hit .360/.448/.539 (163 OPS+) with 17 RBI's in his first 108 trips to the plate while also playing excellent defense. |
Trade News!
Would you believe me if I made another trade? This one saw 10 players go from Chicago to Chicago. Wait, what?
Yep, we sent a huge package (more on that later) to the South Side Chiefs for their best pitcher and best hitter: Dave Rankin and Joe Masters. Let's start with the superstar Masters: Taken 11th Overall by the Chiefs back in 1920, the now 35-year-old slugger debuted for them in 1922 and hasn't looked back since. He's played in 1,846 professional games and has started all but 10, with nine of those in his rookie season. He's done really well, batting .309/.380/.480 (124 OPS+) with 247 homers and 1,369 RBI's. His best season was 1928 where he slashed .388/.456/.709 (202 OPS+) with 56 homers, 195 RBI's, and a whopping 12 wins above replacement. I know, WAR sucks. But 12! That's more then our entire team combined! (I didn't actually look). Anyways, those 195 RBI's are the FABL single season record, which shattered former Gothams center fielder John Jones 174. Interesting enough, the third most all time is also Masters. In 1930 he drove in 167, one more then Max Morris' career best. This year has gone well for Masters, as he's hitting .356/.428/.563 (152 OPS+) with 11 homers and 59 RBI's. Our crosstown counterpart has a very similar stadium to ours, so Masters will be comfortable launching home runs like he's used to. He's also a surprisingly capable defender despite his age, but Kincaid is generally better. In my weekly report, I'm going to go in depth on how I plan to setup my lineups as we are going to have a few moving parts. The second piece was Dave Rankin, an arm I've been interested in for awhile. A 5th Round pick back in 1927 by the Kings and he got 6 starts and relief appearances 1930 that did not go so well. Still, he was one of the Kings better prospects and was a piece of the Milt Fritz blockbuster in that offseason. His first two seasons in Chicago weren't great, but he started to find himself last season. His stats this season look a bit worse then when we started talking the trade, as he allowed 5 or more runs in his last four starts, but he still has a 3.93 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 35 walks, and 51 strikeouts. June was a rough month, 1-2 with a 5.91 ERA (76 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, 6 walks, and 16 strikeouts in 35 innings, but I'm not worried about a few (four) rough starts. The 28-year-old is entering his prime and I just love everything about him. He sits in the low 90s and his sinker leads his seven pitch arsenal. He's also a Tommy Wilcox type starter where you start him in the first and watch him finish off the ninth. He'll slide into the three spot in the rotation, but I think he might be better then Dick Lyons. Well, enough about what I got. What's scarier is what I gave up: SP Jim Crawford FABL 3B Elmer Hutchins AAA LF Ed Reyes AA 2B Red Moore AA SP Bill Ross A CF Ernie Carson B SP Walker Pearce C LF Joe Joseph C Yeah, that's a lot of players... But, I think it will be worth it! Starting with Crawford, he's the only big league piece leaving us. I know this guy is good, but for some reason he doesn't. He broke out as a sophomore, going 18-11 with a 3.15 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 60 walks, and 80 strikeouts in 254.1 innings pitched. He went from our #5 to #1 and helped secure our 1931 title. Unfortunately, he's gotten worse each season since and absolutely nothing is going right for him now. I'm ready for him to blow up in Chicago right after the trade, but he's not happy and we're not happy, so this is a win-win for both parties. Well, and a big win for the Chiefs if he breaks out. But even if he doesn't, let's look at some of these prospects: I'm not quite sure which of the three prospects I want to call the centerpiece, but Ed Reyes, Bill Ross, and Ernie Carson rank 8th, 9th, 10th and 76th, 79th, and 84th on ours and the leagues prospect lists. I'll start with Reyes, who was just recently promoted to AA and has absolutely raked. He's hitting .413/.462/.550 (166 OPS+) with 22 RBI's in 121 trips to the plate. Reyes was taken by us 15th Overall in 1931 and was one of three Atlanta HS players taken in the first two rounds (the others Harry Barrell and our new top prospect Leo Mitchell). Reyes reminds me of a left handed Vince York. He's got a ton of contact potential, a little bit of pop, but not the greatest defensively. He's stuck behind Rich Langton, who my scout thinks could crush big league pitching already. Next is Bill Ross, our 3rd Round pick back in 1930 who's spent the whole season in A Lincoln. In 10 starts he's 5-2 with a 4.39 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP, 21 walks, and 26 strikeouts. He's a three pitch pitcher who sits in the high 80s with a pretty good cutter. His changeup is his go too strikeout pitch, and probably the best pitch, but even his slider can get swings and misses. He doesn't overpower batters, but he places his pitches well. He's got a future in a big league rotation, but likely more in the middle then the top or bottom. This is the second time I've traded a Bill Ross, but I think this run will actually help me (unless this one also ends up beating me in a game 7...). Lastly, Carson is kind of in a similar situation as Reyes. The 1932 5th Rounder is stuck behind Marty Roberts who I am really high on. Carson is a really good prospect in his own right, but what I like about Roberts is how much more superior of a defender he is. Carson can handle center, but may be better suited for a corner. He's always going to hit though, as his contact potential is top of the line and he's an extremely intelligent player, both on the bases and at the plate. Giving up all of these guys hurt, but I've added enough depth across the past two drafts (well, really just 1932) that I think we can stomach the loss. Of course, there's more prospects: 1932 6th Rounder Red Moore ranks 13th in our system and right outside the top 100 at 110. He's already up in AA, but hitting just .299/.333/.390 (90 OPS+) with 2 homers and 25 RBI's in 261 trips to the plate. He's a really good defender at second and he's got top notch speed and contact ability. My scout thinks he's also ready for the big leagues, but I think he needs at least another year of seasoning. He's actually my highest ranking second basemen, but I have Ducky Jordan and Homer Ray right behind him plus Freddie Bennett, Tommy Wilson, and Billy Hunter, our top shortstop prospect. All of these guys except Ray can play either middle infield spot, but I'm guessing if I gave Ray some reps at short he'd pick it up as well. We also included 1932 2nd Rounder Walker Pearce. The lefty ranks 91st in the league, but has only made two starts this season. This kid as a ton of upside, but at 19 he's still all the way down in LaCrosse. He's an extreme groundballer with a high 80s sinker that a strong middle infield will always be able to turn two with. He won't strike out many batters, but he does better when the ball is in play. Even though they throw different pitches, he really reminds me of Dick Lyons. Both guys thrive when the ball is in play because you can't get enough on their pitches. The final two pieces are Elmer Hutchins and Joe Joseph. A 1929 8th Rounder, Hutchins is up in Milwaukee. A natural second basemen, I've started working him out at third. The early results have been pretty good, but I still think second is his better position. He's hitting well at the highest level, batting .319/.356/.431 (106 OPS+) with a homer and 25 RBI's in 204 trips to the plate. Joseph was our 14th Rounder in 1932, and I actually selected him myself via. draft list. He's stuck in a numbers game, and he should be a strong offensive corner outfielder. I think both of these guys are more bench players then every day starters, but Hutchins is plug and play for the Chiefs (if they want) and they can wait for Joseph to develop. The Chiefs are jump starting their rebuild, and perhaps a few more Chiefs may be on the move. So yeah, this is a lot to unpack. This deal is multi-purposed. Masters helps us win now, Rankin helps us long-term. And I also think after seeing Rankin Kellogg (and spelling his name with a g at the end every time for whatever reason) destroy us in the World Series, I think having a Rankin of our own might be a good thing! Just like every trade I make, I know that there is a really good chance that one of the guys I gives up becomes a superstar. But I think with this one there's definitely going to be a Dean Astle or John Lawson. It's just there could be a second (or third) just like the Wilcox/Taylor deal. But one thing I know for sure is that this trade will be talked about for a while. Let's just hope we get another ring before I start seeing Ed Reyes' name in the news every week. Or Bill Ross. Or Ernie Carson. Or--, you get the point... I just can't wait to see Joe Masters in the middle of the order! |
Week 10: June 18th-June 24th
Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 29-29 (3rd, 10.5 GB) Stars of the Week Tom Taylor : 30 AB, 11 H, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .367 AVG, 1.290 OPS Lou Kelly : 31 AB, 12 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .387 AVG, 1.134 OPS John Kincaid : 30 AB, 14 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .467 AVG, 1.084 OPS Weekly Schedule 6-18: Win at Kings (9-5) 6-19: Loss at Kings (4-5) 6-20: Win at Kings (6-5) 6-21: Loss at Cannons (5-6) 6-22: Loss at Cannons (3-5) 6-23: Win at Cannons (8-4) 6-24: Win at Cannons (12-0) So the big news was the trade, but if it wasn't for that, the big news would be tom Taylor. After launching 4 homers and driving in nine while going 11-for-30 with a 1.290 OPS while adding three stolen bases as well. This was good enough for Player of the Week, something he likes almost as much as going 2-for-30 in a week. He's now tied with Rankin Kellogg (who hit 7 homers last week and I spelled his name right! Should have traded for Dave last year!) for the FABL league with 17 homers. He wasn't the only Cougar with a power packed week, as Lou Kelly launched 3 homers of his own and drove in 7. He's up to 9, and with one more he'll technically be the fourth Cougar with double digits (Mike Taylor has 11 plus Joe Masters). He also was 12-for-31 with and equally impressive 1.134 OPS. Bill Ashbaugh was finally starting to heat up himself! He hit .435/.480/.696 (192 OPS+) with a homer and 7 RBI's. He'll make a quick stop on the DL with a sprained knee, but his batting line is almost back up to average. He's up to .286/.347/.438 (96 OPS+), but his 3 homers are only a 7 homer pace. It would be the first season he did not reach double digits, but he's riding a 13 game hit streak and was red hot the entire month. I'm hoping with a little more rest he can pick right back off where he started. This makes the Woody Armstrong trade really helpful, as he can slide into his roster spot. John Kincaid bounced back after dropping below the 100 OPS+ mark for the first time in his career, hitting almost .500 (14-for-30) with a 1.084 OPS with 2 triples and 5 runs scored. Interesting enough, all hitters with 3 or more starts except Clyde Hinzman (68) has above average weeks. The offense has been red hot as we're back up to 2nd in runs scored (where we were last year) and we're finally top 4 in each offensive category (well, 6th in base running). To think a little more then a month ago we were 8th in runs scored. That's last. And Brooklyn has just 8 more runs then us. They rank top 4 in each offensive category as well, (well, 5th in steals). They've done it all season though, so there is a reason they sit a game out of first and we're almost ten back. The pitching, however, was awful as Dick Lyons was crushed and Johnny Walker's debut did not go great. He allowed 8 hits, 6 runs, and 6 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7 innings. We lost the game 6-5 as we couldn't score enough off the struggling Bob Miller. Tommy Wilcox, however, had two excellent starts this week. On the 19th, unearned runs undid us as we lost 5-4 to the Kings. This was round 5 of Wilcox vs. Barrell, and while Barrell didn't get the win, it's another loss for Tommy who's now 1-4 against his trade counterpart. But again, Wilcox pitched better and got killed by his defense. Just one run was earned with 7 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts in 8 innings. His start on the 24th against the Cannons was brilliant. He allowed 5 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in a 12-0 complete game win. Somehow, he's still on track for 21 losses, but Bob Miller might lose 24. He's also on track for 38 starts, four more then Wilcox. There is a big difference in their statlines though: 3.37 ERA (136 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 27 BB, 50 K 5.63 ERA (79 ERA+), 1.63 WHIP, 64 BB, 29 K And these two pitchers rank 1st and 2nd in losses? Huh, who would have guessed... Montreal (33-31) has started to heat back up and we'll be visiting them for four before an offday. This will be a really tough test as Montreal's pitching is really strong and it's basically impossible to hit a home run there. We'll get to see Bobby Sprague right away and we'll get to avoid Milt Fritz. We'll finish June back home for a quick three game series. We'll see the Sailors (30-35) who have dropped to six. Of course, I have to make a few roster moves. With Ashbaugh heading to the DL, Woody Armstrong will join the active roster and Russ Franklin will be called up from AAA. I've been working him in center and left and he's looked fine so far. He's hit well too, batting .322/.363/.462 (116 OPS+) with 5 homers, 11 steals, and 25 RBI's in 252 trips to the plate. He'll be used in a bench role for now, but he's probably a temporary callup. Once Ashbaugh is back and Masters on the roster I'll have a better feel for the lineup, but for now it's pretty much going to be the first week where the only lineup changes are going to be Hinzman and Armstrong flipping second and short plus Tom Taylor (who's out of energy after his big week) getting a day off to start the week. In other news, Max Wilder tossed a 3-hit shutout with 7 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Dynamos. Looks like all he needed was a defense... His second start wasn't nearly as good, but it is fitting he just had to have a defense he's more used to. |
Week 11: June 25th-July 1st
Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 35-36 (6th, 11.5 GB) Stars of the Week Tom Taylor : 23 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .348 AVG, .913 OPS Tommy Wilcox : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 4 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA John Kincaid : 20 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .350 AVG, .909 OPS Weekly Schedule 6-25: Loss at Saints (3-8) 6-26: Win at Saints (5-4) 6-27: Loss at Saints (1-2) 6-28: Win at Saints (6-0) 6-30: Loss vs Sailors (3-4) 7-1: Loss vs Sailors (0-1) Masters and Rankin can't get back soon enough! The Saints series was solid, but we could not score against the Sailors and three of the four losses this week were just by one run. We're an impressive 8-15 in one run games which is more or less a recipe for disaster. In other weekly news, both Rankin Kellogg and Tom Taylor added another homer so they're both still tied at 18. Taylor has a five homer lead in the CA with Moxie Pidgeon in second at 13. Taylor was also named the CA Batter of the Month. He hit .314 with 8 homers, 24 RBI's, and 28 runs scored. He added 6 steals, 5 doubles, and 2 triples. He has a legit chance to hit 40 for the second time in his career and he's 9 homers away from 200. His 191 are 10th all time, but he has five active players ahead of him including his new teammate Joe Masters and Lou Kelly. He's also going to spend much more time in right which should give him a nice WAR boost. He actually did really well in center all things considered, with a 1.001 efficiency and -0.5 zone rating in just 349.1 innings. In his career, he just has 543 innings. With very little experience, he was basically average. Of course he's no Cy Bryant, who somehow has a +3.9 zone rating despite not having enough innings to qualify for efficiency. His 1.049 would be just below Pablo Reyes who gets the advantage of playing in Montreal. The entire stadium is very big, and his centerfield is a square not a "W" like ours (I feel like this is really hard to visualize) as the 319-392-402-411-397-358-334 dimensions sort of form a box out in center at the Parc Cartier. Don't get me wrong, Pablo Reyes is amazing. He's just not Cy. There wasn't much good this week, but the best decision I made was pitching Tommy Wilcox on short rest against the Saints before an off day. He was brilliant, tossing a 5-hit shutout with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. As crazy as it seems, his 3.14 ERA this year has a better ERA+ (146) then his league leading 2.58 ERA (146 ERA+) last season. He's approaching .500 again and in his last five starts he has three complete game shutouts and a 1 earned run start. He's putting the team on his back right now and he's not giving up any hard contact and he hasn't allowed an extra base hit in either of his last two starts. Interesting enough, the best start of the week might have been courtesy of Johnny Walker. He lost on the 1st, but allowed 7 hits, a walk, and struck out 6 with just one unearned run. In three starts in the big leagues he's 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. I was afraid he wouldn't pitch this well, so I had Phil Hicks ready in case I needed another starter. Instead, he'll be waived back and may end up getting claimed. If Dick Leudtke can just stop sucking, our rotation should look really scary. Wilcox and Lyons atop with Rankin sliding back in. Our defense is better, but the double digit deficit looks scary. Unfortunately, we did not hit at all this week. Other then Taylor, the only one who sort of did anything was John Kincaid. He was 7-for-20 with a solo homer. Lou Kelly was just 2-for-23 and Mike Taylor 2-for-18. Yes, it's impossible to hit in Montreal, but by time we came to Chicago we should have been able to score at least one run off the 26-year-old waiver claim George Johnson. Now that Joe Masters joins the lineup, things are going to be a little bit different for the lineup. There will be a lot of rotation between my players, and this is going to be a position map. I'm not saying these guys will make starts at each position each week, but I do expect these guys to make starts at these positions a few times a month. Mike Taylor: C Lou Kelly: 1B/LF/RF Bill Ashbaugh: 2B/1B Joe Masters: 3B/1B John Kincaid: 3B/2B/SS Woody Armstrong: SS/2B Clyde Hinzman: 2B/SS Doc Love: LF/RF Cy Bryant: CF Tom Taylor: RF/CF Russ Franklin will head right back down to AAA as Masters and Rankin (added the g...) join the active roster. We have one more home game against the Sailors and then we'll head to Cleveland (45-25) for a tough three game series with the Foresters. The scheduling kills us, as we have to head home for a double header with the Wolves (31-40) before finishing the first half of the season in Philly for three more with the Sailors (35-36). We're almost at the All-Star Break and I don't expect us to have too many this year. I'm submitting my ballot, and I included Tommy Wilcox and Tom Taylor plus both Tom and Fred who we traded for Wilcox. Wilcox definitely deserves to be an All-Star and I couldn't not include the CA home run and RBI leader especially because he's a Cougar. The All-Star break should help us stay fresh and it could be exactly what we need to right the ship. A little minor league news as well. I just started giving Tom Spitzer more at bats and he returns the favor with a big 5-for-5 game in a 12-3 win. In 27 games this year, the 23-year-old Spitzer hit .390/.430/.540 (155 OPS+) with 20 RBI's in 100 at bats. The former 7th Rounder started out as a shortstop, but he's moved to third before starting to play some second base so I could keep his bat in the lineup. Freddie Bennett was named UMVA Player of the Month. The former 12th Rounder hit .309 with 5 homers and 24 runs driven in and scored in a strong month. He had a tough start to the season, but has brought his batting line up to .266/.326/.505 (99 OPS+) with 15 homers, 70 RBI's, and 9 steals. I never expected to see this much power for Bennett who is just one homer shy of his total in high school. He's looked strong defensively as well and has some experience at all four infield spots. His defense at shortstop is elite and he's done really well at second this year too. I think Bennett could be a real rarity, a power/defense shortstop that I've never really seen in this league. He does strikeout a ton and won't make much contact, but he's even got some speed too. His teammate Harry Chamberlain was pitcher of the month, 14.1 innings out of the pen with 4 saves, 13 strikeouts, and 12 walks. The former 19th Rounder has done really well in C Ball, but he really struggled in San Jose. We were talking about funny nicknames, so I found one of my favorite in the amateur draft pool: 3B Bill Downs: .495/.565/.780, 3 HR, 28 RBI HS Senior: Trenton (OH) Commit School: Mississippi A&M His nickname alone is worth drafting, as the "Potlach Potato" almost hit .500 as a senior. He's got excellent plate discipline and he consistently hits the ball up the middle of the field. He may never develop enough power, but this kid almost never strikes out and he hits a ton of extra base hits. I'm a big fan of him and I think he could be a dependable big league starter. |
Week 12: July 2nd-July 8th
4 Attachment(s)
Weekly Record: 3-5
Seasonal Record: 38-41 (6th, 15.5 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 36 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .333 AVG, .896 OPS Tom Taylor : 39 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .308 AVG, .761 OPS John Kincaid : 37 AB, 13 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .351 AVG, .730 OPS Weekly Schedule 7-2: Loss at Sailors (5-7) 7-3: Loss at Foresters (1-2) 7-4: Loss at Foresters (1-6) 7-5: Loss at Foresters (2-3) 7-6: Win vs Wolves (11-13) 7-6: Win vs Wolves (4-7) 7-7: Win at Sailors (7-1) 7-8: Loss at Sailors (0-2) Recap Umm, can it get any worse? At this point, not so sure. The All-Star break could not have come soon enough as getting swept by the Foresters and dropping five in a week is just another nail in the coffin. We ended up with just three All-Stars, the two I voted plus Mike Taylor. Tom is a fully time All-Star, but the former Kings Wilcox and Mike Taylor are two-time. Looking at our two new acquisitions, Joe Masters had a rough week, hitting just .229/.282/.286 (43 OPS+) with 6 RBI's. Rankin picked up two losses, but one wasn't too bad. He pitched the 8th, allowing 8 hits and 2 runs with a walk and strikeout in 8 innings. I think I might try out a four man rotation. Johnny Walker won't be needed this week, so he'll head down to AAA and Bill Ashbaugh can come back from the DL. If we have a lot of games, I still have pen guys I can slide in like Lowman or even one of McSherry or Grossman could make a start. We have a double header on the 21st, so we definitely have to use a spot starter then. And poor Tommy Wilcox... Seven day lineups kind of screwed him up because I had him starting the 3rd and then the 7th (short rest because of double header). He pitched valiantly in a 2-1 14 inning loss. He managed to throw almost 200 pitches in 13.1 innings. He allowed just 8 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts before a Moxie Pidgeon sac-fly ended the game. He then had to pitch on three days rest against the Wolves. He mustered up just 4 innings and 72 pitches before leaving in the win. Regardless, he only allowed 13 total hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts in 17.1 innings in four days. I really hope they give him the All Star game off... But, since we are at the half way point, let's do a midseason review: Let's start with the offense. That's been what's good. We don't lead in any category, but we're back up to top 4 in all categories as our baserunning is up to 4th. We've scored 430 runs with 372 runs allowed, so based on the always taunting Pythagorean, we sit 38-41 when we should be 45-34... Not great, but not 300 games out of first place. Just eight and a half. Still tough, but not impossible. We've hit .287/.343/.417 as a team with 54 homers and 35 steals. On the pitching side, it's been much worse. The pen is strong and we don't walk anyone, but the exciting thing is how things are trending up. Our ERA both overall and for starters are back up to 4th (just like runs scored) and the defense is vastly improving. Our zone rating is back up to third and efficiency to 5th after spending most of the year in 8th. We do have a few really bad categories, with hits (6th), average (6th), BABIP (7th), and strikeouts (5th) all in the bottom half. So, has any individual been that good this year? Well... We've just been painstakingly average... Every hitter in our lineup has an OPS+ between 90 and 110. This accounts for Love, both Taylors, Kincaid, Kelly, Hinzman, Armstrong, Bryant, and Ashbaugh. What I think is crazy is that Kincaid, Mike Taylor, Kelly, and Ashbaugh are all simultaneously having their worst offensive seasons. And Tom Taylor basically is too. In order, their previous OPS+ lows are 110, 119, 106, 125. Tom Taylor's pervious low was 97, but that was his injury ridden 1930. The next low was 121. This year, they're at 104, 100, 91, 96, and 104 compared to their career averages of 118, 150, 126, 129, and 143. So basically my five best hitters all decided that this was the perfect season for them to all not show up... Granted, this is a little unfair to Tom Taylor. The other four are doing bad, but at least he's producing. He's hitting .276/.326/.500 with 19 homers, 11 steals, and 63 RBI's. That's a really strong statline for the Canadian Club who has a comfortable 5 homer lead in the CA with a one RBI deficit between him and John Lawson. Him and Doc Love have really been the lone bright spots, but even Love is hitting just .315/.356/.487 (109 OPS+) with 9 homers and 38 RBI's. I just need one guy (fingers crossed it's Masters or Kelly) to explode. I already mentioned Tommy Wilcox, the ultimate pitching God. Somehow, he's even better this year even though literally every player on the roster has done worse this season then last. The 6'4'' righty is still on track to lose 20 games, but his 7-10 record does not do his performance justice. He has a 2.95 ERA (155 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 34 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 149.1 innings pitched. He's started two more games then anyone else in the rotation and he's probably thrown 800 more pitches. But it does not matter. This kid just goes all out. Well, ever since 1932... I just love how (as expected) my "WHY DOES THIS GUY SUCK SO MUCH" has changed to "WHY IS THIS GUY SOOOOOOO AMAZING!" as it seems he just finds new ways to surprise me. Dick Lyons has done well too, 5-4 with a 4.08 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 31 walks, and 35 strikeouts in 114.2 innings pitched. His fellow Dick Leudtke has fully reverted to 1929 Gothams Leudtke who was dominated in relief. His record is almost identical to Wilcox at 7-9, but I'm sure you can tell that his 5.24 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.58 WHIP, 48 walks, and 43 strikeouts look much different. I haven't had to endure a season like this in awhile. Leudtke has never walked more hitters then he struck out. Even in 1929 in 8 starts in AAA he had equal, but not more. Even his standalone starts in 1924 and 1926 had more strikeouts then walks. He averages a full strikeout more per nine then walk. And now he's just walking everyone. So what's happened this year? Well, it's been a mix of things (no particular order): 1. None of our hitters are overperforming. And none of them are even "average" for themselves. The only hitter on the team who's OPS+ (even the bench players) is above his career average is Cy Bryant. That's because his 100 is greater then his 99 career average. 2. More bad luck. We're 8-17 (.320) in one run games. We're 1-3 (.250) in extra innings. Our actual record is 7 games worse then our expected record. 3. Cleveland is better then good. Even like, really good. The pitching is amazing. The offense is amazing. Not quite 1933 Chicago Cougar levels, but they also don't play in a hitting palace like Chicago. They hit a ton of homers, they don't let you score, they are 10-2 against us and have swept us three times this year. I think we were swept three times total in the past three seasons. Let alone against one team... 4. Brooklyn is way better then expected (my expectations). It's fun looking at the second place team and seeing their #1 and #2 arms are your former top 2 draft picks. I was hoping Brooklyn would wait till we got a ring before Barrell and Murphy broke out... I keep telling myself it's okay because I have Wilcox. Brooklyn's offense is elite as well. They rank first in all three triple slashes, WAR, wOBA, runs, hits, and extra base hits. That's really all you can ask for. And the pitching, especially top 3, is really impressive. 5. Probably the biggest reason, myself. I messed with perfection. I thought after a 2-0 WS lead that I would have a second ring. Then everything fell apart and I panicked. And I continued to panic. I'll probably panic trade again. Every time I say I won't, I end up doing it, so I'm going to say that I will. Oh yeah, and to add insult to injury: Jim Crawford: 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 CG Finally, manager Dick Pozza was relieved of his duties. I had little to no expectation of extending him (final year of his contract), but Pozza won 90+ games in three straight years including a World Series win and loss. But, I don't like how he handles certain things and he doesn't like Tommy Wilcox. Now, at 38-41 and 15.5 games out, there's nothing left to do this season. I offered one manager a one year contract. If he signs, it'll be a trial run. If not, the recently extended bench coach Hank Sims will take over. He was our manager 1927-1929 and was moved to bench coach when Pozza was brought in. The guys love him and he's as conventional as it gets. If Sims gets the job, AAA manager Herbert Styles is the likely replacement for Sims. He was a big league bench coach from 1925-1927 on the south side, but has spent the last six seasons in Milwaukee. He's won two titles (30, 32). At 44-26, the Blues have a four game lead in the Century League. Can a manager change make up 16 games? Nah, but 15 and a half? Easy money! Can't wait till 1935... |
Midseason Minor League Report
Milwaukee Blues
44-26, .629, - GB, 1st Century League (AAA) It's been an excellent season so far for Milwaukee who paces the century league this season. We don't have a lot of prospects in our highest level, but our #4 prospect Rich Langton hits fourth for the Blues. Ranked 46th in baseball, he's got into 20 games and hit .308/.365/.359 (91 OPS+) in 85 trips to the plate. The 22-year-old slashed an impressive .397/.440/.570 (167 OPS+) before the promotion so I'm not too worried about the average start. Most AAA guys have big league performance, so for someone who was in college two seasons ago he's way advanced for his age. The pitching staff has really been the strength for Milwaukee. The top three of Stewart-Black-Walker has been amazing and we rank 1st in ERA, starter's ERA, runs, hits, and BABIP. Stewart is 12-2 with a 2.93 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 30 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 126 innings so far. If the four man rotation doesn't work out as planned, Stewart will rejoin the big league club. I used the Rule-5 pick out of the pen last season, but I still think his future is in the rotation. He's fully stretched out and has given us excellent results so far. I gave Walker the call first, as his 10 starts were better (at the time of the callup), going 4-3 with a 2.99 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 21 walks, and 29 strikeouts. Both guys are having excellent seasons, and even Walker's callup (1-2, 4.97 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 15 BB, 14 K) wasn't all that bad. Art Black has looked okay, but he may not have what it takes to start. He's thrown just 83.2 innings in 15 starts, but he's 4-2 with a 3.55 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 45 walks, and 17 strikeouts. Mobile Commodores 41-29, .586, 4 GB, 2nd Dixie League (AA) Headlined by our top prospect Leo Mitchell, Mobile is has some of our better prospects as well as some filler guys that are holding lineup spots while other prospects are making their way up. Mitchell has been amazing this year, hitting .377/.425/.498 (145 OPS+) with 4 homers and 49 RBI's. The lefty is just 21, and while he could rake in AAA if he wants to, I'm probably going to let him hang out here for the rest of the season Mitchell has spent a full season in C ball and A ball, so it's only fitting he spends the season in AA. The outfield is really strong, with interesting prospects in Johnny Waters, Roy Moore, and Marty Roberts. I'm a big fan of Roberts who's an excellent defender with a strong hit tool. The 1932 2nd Rounder is 7th in our system and just got the callup after his A hit streak ended. He's made 54 trips to the plate and hit .354/.446/.521 (156 OPS+) with a steal and 11 RBI's. Waters, a former 15th Rounder, ranks 24th in our system and he's just hit at every level so far. He conquered A and B ball last season and is slashing .335/.361/.475 (121 OPS+) with 58 RBI's. I wish he had some pop, just a single homer on the year, but he's more of a high contact low power corner outfielder. Moore is the vet of the team, as unlike the other three he was a 1931 draftee not 1932. Moore is a really good center fielder, but I'm giving him reps in left now that Roberts is here. He hasn't hit much, but his +5.4 zone rating and 1.023 efficiency in center are very strong. He ranks 13th in our system, but his AA line this year is worse then last season. He's hitting just .312/.346/.359 (88 OPS+) with 2 steals and 36 RBI's in 70 games this season. Pete Carey was supposed to be the star of the staff, as I love the 24-year-old fireballer. Unfortunately, a herniated disc is costing him a few months, but his 10 starts before were very strong. The 1927 17th Rounder was 5-4 with a 3.20 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 20 walks, and 38 strikeouts. The rest of the rotation is a collection of failed/failing prospects like Bobby Love, Joe King, and Gordie Thompson. Lincoln Legislators 35-35, .500, 8 GB, 5th Heartland League (A) There's a lot of movement in the low minors, so I'm not too shocked Lincoln is just .500 on the year. The quality of the prospects at this level aren't as good, but Lou Roach, Johnny Cox, and Chet Peacock all rank in the 20-30 range. I think Cox is really good, but he just does not have that much stamina. He's excelled since the Minutemen trade, 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA (155 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 8 walks, and 14 strikeouts in his four starts. He's got four good pitches and keeps the ball on the ground, but I am a little worried that he can't get out of the 6th. Roach is a 23-year-old outfielder from Park Ridge, Illinois and he's hit a strong .313/.364/.480 (121 OPS+) with 4 homers and 38 RBI's. He's a natural centerfielder destined for a corner, but he's got decent pop and a nice bat. He's stuck with a full AA outfield, but he may end up making his way up later in the season. Peacock just got the callup, but he was 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 16 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 11 starts. He was our 6th Rounder in 1930. Our middle infield ranks better, with Ducky Jordan and Homer Ray ranked 10th and 11th in our system. The 20-yearold Jordan has spent less then half the season with Lincoln, but he's hit .277/.348/.475 (115 OPS+) with 2 homers, a steal, and 16 RBI's. The Hot Springs Hotshot is a strong defender and hitter with excellent speed and he's got big league talent. A year older and drafted a year before, Homer Ray has spent a season at La Crosse and San Jose before reaching Lincoln this year. Ray's saw his power disappear, going from 7 to 5 to none. He's hitting a league average .292/.328/.435 with 46 RBI's. He's a very surehanded defender at second, but he's as bout as light of a hitter as it gets. San Jose Cougars 31-39, .443, 11 GB, 6th C-O-W League (B) Even though the baby Cougars are doing as poorly as the big boys, four of our top ten prospects call San Jose home. When healthy (I'm afraid he's Russ Combs 2.0), former 1st Rounder Billy Hunter has looked really good. He's hit .307/.329/.493 (106 OPS+) with 2 homers and 15 RBI's in 79 trips to the plate. He's developing his glove, but he's filled to the brim with defensive and offensive potential. He's really smart, handles the bat well, and will steal a few bases. At just 19, he has so much room to grow and in a draft filled with talent 1932), it's nice seeing your first rounder in the top 25 in the two years after being selected. 5th and 6th Rounders Hank Stratton and Bobby Mills are also on the team, with both ranked at the bottom of the top 100. Stratton demolished the ball in LaCrosse and has hit an equally impressive .340/.386/.466 (130 OPS+) in 14 games since the promotion. He's an outstanding defensive infielder with plus contact and developing power. He hit 9 homers in C ball before the promotion, but still has yet to hit one in San Jose. Mills is hitting a slightly below average .324/.345/.432 (96 OPS+) with 3 homers and 36 RBI's in exactly 200 plate appearances. They're okay numbers for the 20-year-old. but "Nutball" has the chance to challenge for batting titles. He hit 10 homers as a senior in high school and seven his first two seasons, but he's managed just 7 in his 400+ minor league PA's. He won't do much in the field or on the bases, so a little power would be really nice. San Jose is also home to a few of our new acquisitions. Both Karl Wallace and Joe Foote are now part of the Cougars rotation. As a team, San Jose hasn't pitched well with a 5.15 ERA (5th). Our starter's are actually 2nd (4.87), but they haven't got enough run support in the high scoring league. Wallace has made 4 starts, 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.72 WHIP, 5 walks, and 12 strikeouts. Foote, on the other hand, will be set to make his San Jose debut this week. La Crosse Lions 53-34, .609, 5 GB, 2nd Upper Mississippi Valley Association What a difference a year makes! La Crosse was awful last season and this year they find themselves just five games after first with a win percentage above .600. There's a lot of power in this lineup with Freddie Bennett and Dave Haight both past 10 homers on the season. The left fielder Haight ranks 16th and has hit 10 homers and drove in 61 runs. The Alaska native is a strong defender in left and he's swiped 17 bases and tripled seven times. Bennett ranks 22nd, and he's hit 16 homers and drove in 73 runs while adding 12 steals. He's a really good defender and he can play all over the infield. The biggest surprise has been recent 10th Rounder Nat Doane who's slashing .341/.382/.659 (148 OPS+) with 6 homers and 16 RBI's in 89 trips to the plate. The pitching has had some success, but our #3 prospect Cy Sullivan has not looked like the talented pitcher he is. He's 4-3 with a 5.85 ERA (88 ERA+), 1.93 WHIP, 44 walks, and 26 strikeouts. He's just 20 and he added two miles to his fastball this month, and his potential keeps on growing. I'd love to see more on field results, but most high school pitchers struggle in La Crosse. That hasn't been the case for Frank Gordon, who's 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 24 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 69.2 innings pitched. A former 18th Rounder, Gordon has added a lot of speed to his fastball and he continues to generate a ton of groundballs. 11th Rounder El Long has started to heat up and he's 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 29 walks, and 31 strikeouts. All three arms were from the 1932 draft. |
Week 13: July 9th-July 15th
This is going to be a short one:
Me on Friday when talking about Tommy Wilcox and firing Pozza (and if he would manage the All-Star game): "Well, they have beef, so I wouldn't be surprised if Pozza tried to ruin his unbreakable arm lol" July 9th, 1934 "Chicago Loses Tommy Wilcox for Season" "The doctors have spoken and Tommy Wilcox of the Chicago Cougars didn't like what he heard. The 27-year-old starting pitcher is almost certainly gone for the rest of the year and depending on his progress could miss some of next season as well. Wilcox sustained his season-ending injury during the Philadelphia Sailors game yesterday at Sailors Memorial Stadium. He had to leave the game because he hurt himself while throwing a pitch. Today the Chicago medical staff reported Wilcox had a rupture ulnar collateral ligament and would be absent from the lineup for at least 14 months." I hate this season :crying::crying::crying::crying::crying: |
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Week 14: July 16th-July 22nd
Weekly Record: 4-4
Seasonal Record: 43-48 (6th, 19 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 29 AB, 15 H, 5 HR, 11 RBI, .517 AVG, 1.645 OPS Mike Taylor : 30 AB, 14 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .467 AVG, 1.233 OPS John Kincaid : 35 AB, 14 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.004 OPS Weekly Schedule 7-16: Win vs Cannons (2-3) 7-17: Win vs Stars (6-14) 7-18: Loss vs Stars (5-4) 7-19: Win vs Stars (4-6) 7-20: Loss vs Stars (6-2) 7-21: Loss vs Saints (11-10) 7-21: Win vs Saints (2-4) 7-22: Loss vs Saints (16-11) Summary Not going to lie, I still have not recovered from the Tommy Wilcox injury, but I am going to do my absolute best not to mention it every sim. No promises, but I'll try to cover the better stuff. This was a mediocre week, 4-4, but when Norm Stewart and Herb Lowman have to make starts in a season that doesn't matter, 4-4 almost feels good. As crazy as it seems, we'd pick 6th in the draft if the season ended now. We conceivably could pick top five and after another injury (Bill Ashbaugh) chances are we are going to keep on losing more. The Wolves and Chiefs are tied for the fourth pick at 39-51 while Detroit (35-54), Washington (31-58), and Baltimore (29-63) are the top three. This was a weird week, but Doc Love took home Player of the Week. He crushed the ball like I thought he would at home, going 15-for-29 with 5 homers and 11 RBI's. He really heated up this month, batting .393/.452/.667 with 7 homers and 16 RBI's in 21 games. For the season he boosted his batting line to .332/.379/.529 (125 OPS+) with 14 homers and 50 RBI's. He's on pace for 24 homers and 85 RBI's in his first full season as a starter. He's not the best defensively, but he more then makes up for it at the plate. Love likely had the best offensive week of the entire year (303 OPS+), but both Mike Taylor and the now injured Bill Ashbaugh did excellent. Taylor was 14-for-30 with 2 homers and 9 RBI's while Ashbaugh was 5-for-11 (got hurt game four) with a homer and 3 RBI's. Taylor was named an All-Star, but he's hit just .280/.340/.453 (97 OPS+) on the season. He's hit 13 homers and drove in 51 RBI'S and he's on pace for his third straight 20+ home run season. Taylor still is one of the best catchers in the game, but he's having such a poor season in comparison. His career average is .312/.377/.487 (126 OPS+) and he consistently put up excellent seasons. In his six previous seasons, he had a 125 or higher OPS+ in all but his 1930 season. It's nice he's also starting to heat up, but I'd love it if he saves all the good weeks for next year. Ashbaugh will miss at least five weeks with a sprained knee, so he's almost guaranteed to have his worst season. He's hitting just .290/.350/.438 (96 OPS+) with 4 homers, 5 steals, and 41 RBI's in 243 trips to the plate. This is after three straight seasons with exactly a 124 OPS+ and 10+ homers and 75+ RBI's. Unfortunately for us, the 20+ homer and 100+ RBI Ashbaugh is a thing of the past and this is injury #10 for the 30-year-old. The former 4th Overall Pick will hit the DL which opens up more playing time for Woody Armstrong and Clyde Hinzman. A few other Cougar hitters had strong weeks, including Joe Masters who really struggled his first two weeks as a Cougar. He was 12-for-32 with 7 RBI's. He's done awful as a shortstop, but John Kincaid hit .400/.432/.571 with a steal, a double, triple, homer, and 2 RBI's. Like many other Cougars, 1934 has been a career worst, batting .336/.378/.453 (107 OPS+) with 3 homers, 3 steals, and 36 RBI's. Cy Bryant did well too, going 13-for-30 with a triple and 6 RBI's. On the pitching side, it was kind of a nightmare. Dick Lyons looked well in his two starts, 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts, but Norm Stewart and Herb Lowman were roughed up. Stewart made his first two big league starts of the season and they could not have gone much worse. He gave up 28 hits and allowed 12 runs in 13 innings with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts while we lost both of his starts. Lowman got a no decision, but allowed 7 (6 earned) with 12 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Even Dave Rankin struggled, allowing 12 hits and 4 runs in 7 innings with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts, but at least he picked up a win. Dick Leudtke split his starts, going 15.1 with 22 hits, 8 runs, 7 walks, and 7 strikeouts. We allowed 52 runs in the eight games so even though we scored almost seven a game, we still lost half of them. A healthy Wilcox would have got the two Stewart starts, so I'd have to imagine this would have been a 5-3 if not 6-2 week. The 5-4 loss to the Stars could have still been a loss with Wilcox, but I can't imagine Wilcox would've gave up 11 runs to the Saints. Of course, with Ashbaugh going to the DL, I get to call someone up from AAA. Art Black will make his major league debut, making him the 26th of our 30 top prospects from 1929 to appear in an FABL game. Black will move Lowman back to the pen, and will get a few starts to show me what he can do. Norm Stewart will get at least one more go around, but I've got a bunch of AAA arms that could replace him. I could bring back Johnny Walker, who tossed a 5-hit shutout in his return to AAA or perhaps one of the former Toronto starters Frank Howk or Bert Sweet. I could bring Gus Cain or Mickey Williams up, but Williams had only made a few AAA starts and Cain has been used mostly out of the pen. Even below AAA are a few big league options, including Gordie Thompson, Bobby Love, or Joe King who would all be set to debut. Former Forester Harvey Tully and former Cougar Tommy Russel make up the AA rotation with them and I even have former Gotham Phil Hicks down in A working on regaining his form from when he was taken 5th Overall in 1928. I have the rest of the season to look forward to 1934, as I have at least two open rotation spots with no Wilder and no Wilcox. Speaking of Wilder, he lasted just 7 starts in the FA before heading back to the CA. He was traded to the Kings who are looking to reach the Foresters who sit five games ahead of them. Wilder struggled with Boston, going 3-4 with a 5.24 ERA (85 ERA+), 1.62 WHIP, 23 walks, and 21 strikeouts. One of the prospects I got back, Johnny Cox, I sent to the Chiefs over the weekend in a minor trade for 2B Ray Ford. He's not much of a defender, so I'm working him out at first base in A ball. The former 14th Round Pick went 6-for-16 this week in Lincoln. He's got a good eye and elite contact skills, but he's got to hit if he wants to make the majors as I don't trust the glove. I wanted to keep Cox, but he doesn't go too deep into games. He's a really good arm, but I'm betting on Ford's upside versus the high floor of Cox. Another thing I didn't mention was that we replaced Pozza with former Forester manager Hank Leitzke. The 57-year-old was the Foresters manager from 1930-1933, but was a minor league Manager from 1914-1927 with the Kansas City Packers/Eagles and then the Cincinnati Steamers manager in 1928 and 1929. He'll get three months to impress me, but I'm not if I'll prefer him over Hank Sims. The Saints signed Pozza, who threw Saints Ace George Thomas 151 pitches in his first start. This was the most of the season for the league leader in pitches per start (134). Thomas tore his labrum last season, so all I can do is hope that the 24-year-old (who I've been a huge fan of since high school) does not face a similar fate as Wilcox. And you can see why I hate Dick Pozza... Looking ahead, we finish the series with Montreal (44-45) before the Kings (56-33) come to town for four. For some reason, the Kings cannot beat us (well, or the Foresters, but who can) while they've beat up on every other team in the league. I expect them to significantly outplay us in this upcoming series. Speaking of Cleveland (61-28), the first place Foresters will join us for three to end July. We're off on the 31st, where our long homestand ends. We've already lost 13 games in July, equal to the 13 we lost in both May and June where we were 16-13. I have little faith in our performance this week, so I'd expect us to drop most of these upcoming games. We're likely going to have our worst month since the dreadful 1932 July where we were 11-18. We need to go 3-5 to match that, but we face the two best CA teams. Minor League Report Leo Mitchell had a strong performance on the 21st, going 5-for-5 in a 9-7 loss to the Atlanta Peaches. Mitchell ranks as our top prospect, and he's hit .386/.430/.503 (148 OPS+) with 4 homers and 56 RBI's as he continues to rake in AA. Mitchell projects to be a top notch contact hitter with decent speed and a strong glove. If he didn't throw left handed, he could probably be a shortstop if not a third basemen due to his excellent defensive abilities. Johnny Waters hit the DL this week, so I'm going to try Mitchell out in right until Waters is back. I have no clue if he can handle the outfield, but I'd love it if Mitchell wasn't stuck to first base. He's in the middle of a 20 game hit streak as well and is hitting an insane .434/.482/.513 in the month of July. Amateur Report I know exactly who I want in this draft. That would be Ray Tracy! Tracy went 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 43 walks, and 100 strikeouts in 112.1 innings pitched. These numbers aren't very great and Tracy projects to be a "relatively ineffective contributor," but the 6'1'' righty from Chicago, Illinois is a senior at Jones in Chicago. Now known as William Jones College Preparatory High School, me, Ray Tracy, and 1936 draftee Bud Canfield all share the same high school! Canfield is the better prospect, and went 6-2 with a 1.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 19 walks, and 89 strikeouts, but Tracy was the first OOTP player I've ever seen from my high school! I've seen a ton from my college, but this was something I never expected. At my time there, we were pretty good, but just a handful of guys went D1 and no one was nearly good enough to be drafted. I won't waste an early pick on him, but he'll be at least an 11th Round pick this year. I plan on taking a lot of Illinois kids (especially in the auto rounds), but I can't see anything cooler then having a guy from my high school throw meaningful innings as a Chicago Cougar. |
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In the college ranks it might be a down year for the most famous local school in your area as Chicago Poly does not have anyone in the draft pool this season but there are several players from other Illinois colleges in the draft. Lincoln College has South Dakota native Pat Carson, a CF that might go in the top ten rounds as well as Pug Bryan. Bryan was a dominant pitcher and a second team All-American selection in 1933 but his stock really dropped this year following a 6-3, 3.23 campaign after he went 10-1, 1.90 last season. Whitney College has no one eligible this year but does have two guys the following year. However, the big prize drawing scouts to the Engineers campus is a freshman by the name of Hank Beckman. The 18 year old was 11-3 with a 2.81 era and while raw, some scouts are calling him a future ace after he tied Gary Swanson's school record for wins in a season. Beckman's 2.73 FIP was the fourth lowest in the nation. Among the 16 smaller colleges around the state only DeKalb State 3B Grover Woodson is part of the current draft class. The Junior from Freeport, Illinois hit .302 this season for the Trappers and is considered a marginal prospect. The best bet for an Illinois product to go high in the draft is Danville native Buck Stanton. The former Danville High School star just completed his junior season at George Fox University in Philadelphia, batting .282 with 4 homers and 44 rbi's in 48 games. In early mock draft projections he is tabbed to go in the second round. At George Fox Stanton is a college teammate of Chicago born first baseman Willie Jones, who is also eligible for the draft. On the high school side, second baseman Ace Anderson, who was born in Chicago but now lives in Cicero, is tabbed as a potential fifth round selection, just ahead of Chicago St. Benedict catcher Gussie Harris. Anderson hit .468 in 27 games for Cicero High and has committed to Midwestern University if he does not sign with a FABL team. The following Chicago born players who are playing college and eligible for the FABL draft this season. Code:
There are also 5 Chicago high school players with college commitments who stand a decent chance of being drafted in December, with Gussie Harris, a catcher from St Benedict, most likely to be the first one off the board. Code:
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Week 15: July 23rd-July 29th
Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 47-51 (8th, 18.5 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 29 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .414 AVG, 1.158 OPS Lou Kelly : 29 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .345 AVG, .973 OPS John Kincaid : 26 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .385 AVG, 1.064 OPS Weekly Schedule 7-23: Loss vs Saints (11-9) 7-24: Win vs Kings (5-6) 7-25: Loss vs Kings (7-4) 7-26: Win vs Kings (5-6) 7-27: Loss vs Kings (8-5) 7-28: Win vs Foresters (0-6) 7-29: Win vs Foresters (1-5) Summary We continue to look mediocre, but somehow beat the Foresters twice after just two wins the rest of the season. We also split with the second place Kings, and now we're 8-6 against them. They have a winning record against everyone but us and Cleveland while the only other two teams we can beat are Toronto and Baltimore. Let's start out by examining the amazing month from Doc Love. While everything else has gone wrong, Love has really turned things around. He's riding a 12 game hit streak and is hitting .398/.456/.673 with 9 homers, 25 RBI's, and 12 walks. He's brought his season statline to .339/.386/.541 (130 OPS+) with 16 homers and 59 RBI's. He's walked (32) more then twice as much as he's struck out (15) with nine of those strikeouts coming this month. As I thought, he loves hitting at home! He's slashing .382/.431/.660 with 13 homers and 43 RBI's in 211 of his 412 trips to the plate. It was another strong week for Love (who deserved another Player of the Week), going 12-for-29 with 2 homers and 9 RBI's. Lou Kelly finally had a strong week, going 10-for-29 with 2 homers and 8 runs scored and driven in. The 1932 MVP and 1933 All Star really has struggled since joining the Cougars, batting just .293/.349/.451 (99 OPS+) with 10 homers and 70 RBI's. Last year was his worst, hitting .258/.327/.431 (119 OPS+) with 20 homers and 85 RBI's. I thought he'd be bound for a bounce back playing for his hometown team, but maybe age is starting to kick in. His 49 strikeouts is approaching his career high of 65 while he probably won't reach his 20 home run career low this season as well. He's still on pace to reach 100 RBI's and runs scored, but that's more a testament to our offensive firepower, not Kelly's individual talent. John Kincaid had another strong week, 10-for-26 with a homer and four RBI's. Kincaid now has four homers on the year, but this is just one away from his career best of five as a rookie. He's started to turn things back around, slashing .339/.383/.463 (111 OPS+) in 457 trips to the plate. Kincaid is as consistent as it gets, providing above average defense at third with an OPS+ between 110 to 124 each year, with most in the 116-124 range. Dick Leudtke finally started to look like himself again as well! His win against the Foresters reminded me of the Leudtke I grew accustomed too, 7 hits, a run, a walk, and 4 strikeouts in a complete game victory. He's almost brought his ERA+ back to 100, siting at 95 with his 4.82 ERA. He's 9-10 with a 1.58 WHIP and has evened his walks and strikeouts at 59. He looked really good in July, going 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 14 walks, and 18 strikeouts and he might be starting to get back on track. He didn't have the best start of the week, however, that would be Dave Rankin's start the day before. He tossed a 6-hit shutout with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in a 6-0 win over Cleveland. Rankin has looked good since coming over, going 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 11 walks, and 21 strikeouts. We also got to see Art Black's debut in a 6-5 win over Brooklyn. He went 7 with 9 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks, and a strikeout. Not great, but he'll get at least three starts. Norm Stewart lost his starting spot after allowing 13 hits and 8 runs including three homers in just 4.2 innings pitched. In his three starts he allowed 41 hits and 20 earned runs in just 17.2 innings pitched. This is nothing like the 2.72 ERA (136 ERA+) and 1.18 WHIP from last season or his 2.73 ERA (158 ERA+) and 1.13 WHIP in Milwaukee this season. Replacing him in the rotation is waiver claim George Johnson. He made 14 starts with the Sailors this season, including a shutout against us, going 7-7 with a 4.82 ERA (89 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, 57 walks, and 48 strikeouts. Originally a 6th Round Pick of the Chiefs back in 1926 and he was named the 71st prospect in the league. He topped out at 29 in 1928 before being traded to the Kings for Cal Williams. Philly claimed him from Brooklyn before the season so this will be stop two for Johnson. He's a team leader, something we could really use, and he has a nice five pitch arsenal. He sits in the 89-91 mile per hour range with his fastball, but none of his pitches are all that exciting. With just a month left before rosters expand, he'll likely keep his spot at least until the season ends. We have a chance to sweep Dean Astle and the Foresters before a much needed off day to finish the month. We have until Monday for the deadline, which means I have more then enough time to get anxious and make yet another trade. We'll start August in Philly to face the Sailors (48-49) who sit right above us in fourth. Then off to Cleveland (65-32) for another three game set prior to an off day. If we win we'll finish July 13-16 if we lose it will be 12-17. Either way, better then the awful July of 1932. Minor League Report One of the guys I mentioned who might get a few starts, Gordie Thompson, might have heard it and he had a strong outing in Mobile against the Knoxville Knights. He allowed just 6 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in a 2-0 shutout win. It hasn't been a great season for the former 5th Rounder, but he's been average. He's 5-4 with a 4.37 ERA (101 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 17 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 70 innings. Gordie never developed into the top starter I thought he had a chance to, but he's added more speed on his fastball and he might end up with a pen role. We had a Player of the Week as well down in La Crosse. 20-year-old Gene Evans was 16-for-32 with 2 homers, 9 RBI's, and 10 runs scored. I've been trying to teach him third base, but it has not gone all that well. He has hit well and the former 10th Rounder is batting .338/.377/.492 (107 OPS+) with 7 homers, 12 steals, and 65 RBI's. He's got a lot of contact potential and solid speed and I think he can be average at second base. I'm moving him back to second and sending Freddie Bennett over to third. He's hit almost identical in June and July, with a .382/.423/.569 June line and .395/.422/.555 July line. |
Week 16: July 30th-August 5th
Weekly Record:3-3
Seasonal Record: 50-54 (6th, 19.5 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 23 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .391 AVG, 1.003 OPS Joe Masters : 25 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .240 AVG, .776 OPS Tom Taylor : 28 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .214 AVG, .670 OPSS Weekly Schedule 7-30: Win vs Foresters (5-7) 8-1: Loss at Sailors (4-8) 8-2: Loss at Sailors (1-9) 8-3: Win at Sailors (3-1) 8-4: Win at Foresters (7-6): 10 innings 8-5: Loss at Foresters (0-7) Summary Of course, I have nothing to do the entire time we were off for the holidays, but come today I'm very busy... This one will be shorter. Either way, we did sweep the Foresters (take that Dean Astle!), but then we left home and the magic ran away. Sailors took two out of three from us and then we split with the Foresters, including getting shutout by the previously mentioned Dean Astle. Herb Lowman also suffered a dead arm, so he'll hit the DL. I'll go one arm short in the pen for now and add a fifth outfielder in Mike Smith. He was hurt for a bit, but is hitting .377/.424/.506 (142 OPS+) with 2 homers, a steal, and 16 RBI's in 177 trips to the plate. Offensively, it was an awful week as you can tell by our Stars of the Week. Lou Kelly was the only hitter with an above average week, going 9-for-23 with 3 RBI's. Tom Taylor hit his Continental Association leading 22nd homer while Joe Masters added his first homer in a Cougar uniform. And John Kincaid tied his career best with his 5th homer. The three hitters more or less were the next three best, and combined to hit 18-for-82 (.220). It's really shocking we won three games this week. On the mound, the double Dicks (is this okay?) pitched really well. Leudtke continues to turn things around, allowing 4 hits, a run, 3 walks, and a strikeout in a complete game win over the Sailors. His ERA is down to 4.61 (99 ERA+) and his WHIP to 1.53, but he still has more walks (62) then strikeouts (60). Barring a miracle (11 consecutive complete game shutouts) his ERA will be above 3.00 for the first time since 1931 and likely the first time above 4.50 in his career. I'm chalking it up to bad luck and I can't wait for the real Leudtke next season. Lyons made two starts, the sweep of the Foresters and the 7-6 extra inning win, but just got the "win" in the first game. He went 13.2 innings with 16 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts. While the 34-year-old hasn't been as great as he usually is, his 3.95 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.49 WHIP are at least respectable and his 55 strikeouts are just five shy of the team lead shared by Leudtke and (cries a little) Tommy Wilcox. George Johnson made his Cougar debut against his former team and it looked like he still thought he was a Sailor. He allowed 13 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) with 2 walks in 6.1 innings pitched. We have one more in Cleveland (69-34) with the first place Foresters before another day off. They sit 8 above the Kings (61-42) and will likely win the Continental Association crown this year. After that we're home for a pair of three game series before another off day. We'll host the Sailors (53-50) and Wolves (43-60). A little good news in the form of a Continental Association Batter of the Month trophy. As expected, Doc Love took home the award after hitting .385/.442/.650 with 9 homers and 25 runs scored and driven in. Love loved spending most of July in our hitter friendly park and really took advantage of it. He's been the lone bright spot in a disappointing year, batting .334/.381/.533 (127 OPS+) with 16 homers, 11 doubles, 10 triples, and 61 RBI's. This kid just hits everything (professional hitter, anybody?) and I wish I had two or three more of him. Down in AA, a powerless version of hitting everything Leo Mitchell also took home the award. A top 20 prospect in baseball, the 21-year-old hit .413/.453/.486 with 22 RBI's as he took home the Dixie League version of the award. Mitchell is on a 7 WAR pace and hitting .386/.428/.499 (147 OPS+) with 4 homers and 65 RBI's. He's a lefty like Love and if he had a little more pop the comp would be almost perfect. Still, Mitchell has top of the order potential and should be an excellent major leaguer, perhaps as soon as next season. He didn't let the award slow him down, tearing off a 12-for-21 week which saw him take home Player of the Week as well. |
Week 17: August 6th-August 12th
Weekly Record:4-2
Seasonal Record: 54-56 (6th, 17.5 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 22 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .455 AVG, 1.136 OPS Tom Taylor : 25 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .360 AVG, 1.069 OPS Joe Masters : 24 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .292 AVG, .787 OPS Weekly Schedule 8-6: Win at Foresters (5-4) 8-8: Win vs Sailors (1-6) 8-9: Loss vs Sailors (3-0) 8-10: Win vs Sailors (4-6) 8-11: Win vs Wolves (5-8) 8-12: Loss vs Wolves (8-3) Summary A 4-2 week? Those never happen anymore! We took another series against the Foresters (71-38) with a 5-4 win and then took two of three from the Sailors (56-53). We split the first two with the Wolves (46-63) and have a chance to win the series tomorrow. We then get two off days before heading to Brooklyn for four with the Kings (65-43). They're 5 and a half back of the Foresters, but we've actually played them well so far. I'm not sure we'll play them well this series, but depending on how the series go it could sink or propel Brooklyn. The bats weren't great this week, but add another big week from Doc Love. It bumped him up to third in the CA with a .340 batting average. He continues to rake, batting .455/.500/.636 with a homer and six driven in. He's up to 17 and 67 on the season. He ranks first on our team in average, second in homers, and third in RBI's. Tom Taylor upped his home run count to 24, two ahead of Max Morris for the CA lead. He was 9-for-25 with 2 homers, 6 RBI's, and a stolen base. He hasn't hit great this year, just .276/.328/.483 (101 OPS+), but with 24 homers, 14 steals, and 80 RBI's which would be a 34, 20, 112 pace. After being just slightly below average in his first 40 or so games in center field, he's back up to a +5 zone rating and 1.049 efficiency in 69 starts. His efficiency is best in the league and he sits juts 0.6 back in zone rating, but Frank Lightbody has almost double the innings. I did a little shortstop experiment as all mine suck, with Woody Armstrong and Clyde Hinzman getting two starts and Slim Bloom and Arnold Bower getting a start a piece. Armstrong took advantage, going 3-for-7 with a walk and RBI while Bloom was 1-for-4 with a triple. Hinzman and Bower combined to go 0-for-10, but I still plan on rotating all four. With just five games this week, Armstrong will get two starts and the rest just one. I've also experimented with John Kincaid at second, but it's gone terrible. He's got a -4.1 zone rating and .881 efficiency in 227.1 innings, pretty poor numbers so far. Before this season, Kincaid has almost exclusively played third, but I've been trying him out here with Masters now at third. Eventually the goal is for Masters to go to first, Kincaid back to third, and Kelly out to right, moving Tom Taylor back to center. With a little more time in the Spring Training out in center, I think Taylor can be an above average defender out there. On the mound, Dave Rankin had a really strong outing in a 6-1 win over the Sailors. He tossed a complete game with 10 hits, one run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. This was much better then his last start, also against the Sailors, where he allowed 9 hits, 8 runs, and 3 walks with just 1 strikeout in 5.2 innings pitched. He hasn't been great in his eight starts with us, but he's 3-4 with a respectable 4.43 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 16 walks, and 26 strikeouts. Dick Leudtke continued his strong run, but he was tagged with a loss in the 3-0 shutout. He went all nine allowing 7 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in his third straight complete game with 3 or less runs allowed. He's combined for a 1.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 6 walks, and 8 strikeouts. He's a strikeout away from evening back his walks and strikeouts and his ERA creeped down to 4.53 (101 ERA+). We don't need a fifth starter this week, so Art Black will head down to AAA. His three starts didn't go too well, going 1-1 with a 5.59 ERA (82 ERA+) and 2.17 WHIP. What was most concerning was the 15 walks compared to 6 strikeouts. He does walk a lot of hitters, 53 to 24 in AAA, but he also allowed the same amount of homers (2) in his 18 AAA starts. I'm bringing up 34-year-old journeyman Pete Walker who has been in the Cougars organization since 1925. From 1929-1934 he was in Milwaukee, and has totaled 528.1 innings pitch there. He has a 4.45 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 175 walks, and 448 strikeouts. This year has gone well for him, 7-4 with 9 saves, a 3.03 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 16 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched. A former 7th Round Pick by Brooklyn way back in 1921, it took Walker 2,138.2 innings of high school, college, and minor league ball before finally making a big league roster. Minor League Report On the 6th in Mobile, right fielder Johnny Waters had a big 5-for-5 game in a 12-5 win over Knoxville. The 22-year-old switch hitter is having a strong year with the Commodores, slashing .333/.358/.464 (117 OPS+) with a homer and 75 RBI's. Despite being a 15th Round Pick in 1932, he's hit at each level on his way up and may end up getting a late season call up to Milwaukee. I wish he had a little more power, as it is really his only weakness at the plate, as Waters has an amazing hit tool and he almost never strikes out. He won't walk, just 16 in 380 trips to the plate, but he has just 8 strikeouts and only 22 all of last season. Of course, he does have a glaring flaw, his awful defense, but that's a worry for another day. Knoxville did have a little revenge, destroying us 22-0 the day after, and they now have a 7 game lead over us for first. Both Ed Grubb and Ed Willson knocked five hits of their own as both Bobby Love and Cy Plummer were absolutely destroyed. Plummer just got the call to AA and allowed 6 hits, 7 runs, and a walk with just one out recorded. Waters was also named Player of the Week, going 15-for-33 with nine knocked in. We had another big game down in La Cross, crushing the Marshalltown Kings 23-7. Switch hitting first basemen Cuno Myer was 5-for-7 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI's while catcher Harry Mead was a perfect 5-for-5 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. A 22nd Round Pick in 1932, Myer was one of the few players I didn't select via list in the auto portion of the draft. He didn't play much last season, but he's slashing .351/.401/.490 (113 OPS+) with 3 homers and 31 RBI's in just over 200 at bats. Mead is now ranked in the top 50, sitting at 48th in the league and 6th in our system. The Harvey native hasn't quite found his bat yet, but his .322/.378/.438 (95 OPS+) line is respectable as his defensive skills are immense. He's got an excellent eye, a little pop, and a decent hit tool, but his bat still needs a little more polishing if he wants to be a top catcher in the big leagues. His glove will be enough to get him there, but I want him to be the next Mike Taylor not Claude Ramsey. Amateur Report We may have uncovered the next ace of the staff! That would be 18-year-old righty Ace Harman! A Philadelphia native, Harman moved to California and attended Los Angeles HS. A six pitch pitcher, Harman finished his senior season 10-2 with a 1.63 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 28 walks, and 139 strikeouts in 126.2 innings pitched. He's committed to Grange College and may not sign out of high school, but he's got a ton of upside and I can't imagine whoever takes him would let him go to college without a fight. He sits in the mid 80s with his cutter and fastball, and all four of his offspeed pitches should be major league caliber. He's got excellent control and strong movement, all which play well for his future. Ace McSherry never developed into an Ace (although no one really expected that), but it would be awesome to see Harman live up to his name. |
Week 18: August 13th-August 19th
Weekly Record: 2-3
Seasonal Record: 56-59 (6th, 18 GB) Stars of the Week Tom Taylor : 22 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .364 AVG, 1.076 OPS John Kincaid : 23 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .348 AVG, .812 OPS Joe Masters : 20 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .300 AVG, .964 OPS Weekly Schedule 8-13: Win vs Wolves (4-5) 8-16: Loss at Kings (6-8) 8-17: Win at Kings (5-2) 8-18: Loss at Kings (3-5) 8-19: Loss at Kings (1-3) Summary We won the finale against the Wolves (48-66), but then dropped three of four to the Kings (69-44) who are now within four of the Foresters (74-41). We spend the rest of the month on the road, starting with the Stars (57-59) who we are sort of fighting for to earn the sixth pick of the draft. Next is Montreal (56-56) before an off day where we'll head to Baltimore to take on the Cannons (38-78). As usual, most of the team decided to play poorly, although Tom Taylor raked all week. He was 8-for-22 with a homer, steal, and 2 RBI's. He's up to 25 homers on the season, although Max Morris is now just a homer behind him. He didn't have much help this week, but at least Joe Masters continued to turn things in the right direction. He was 6-for-20 and added on another homer and 3 RBI's. He's hitting just .276/.333/.414 (86 OPS+) as a Cougar with 3 homers and 22 RBI's. Looking at the bad, Mike Taylor, Cy Bryant, and Lou Kelly combined to hit 7-for-59. I cannot understand how Taylor has struggled so much, batting .266/.323/.426 (86 OPS+) with 14 homers and 65 RBI's in 443 trips to the plate. It's been a really disappointing season for the 28-year-old. He's never struck out more then 30 times in a season and he's already up to 40. He usually averages 67 walks and 26 in a 162 game stretch, but he's only walked 35 times this year. I'm hoping this is just a one season thing, as Taylor is still ranked as the 4th best catcher in the league despite how awful the season has gone. Every other hitter on our team except Doc Love (who actually now ranks 1st in LF) has dropped 3 or more spots. Lou Kelly has also struggled immensely, and perhaps I should have expected it. His .288/.346/.429 (93 OPS+) batting line is easily the worst of his career and his 10 homers are likely going to end up less then his career low of 20 last season. At 32, he has 200 career homers and from 1928-1932 he hit 30 or more homers with 100 or more RBI's. I wish that Lou Kelly would surface next season, but he may have to fight for playing time next year. It was another strong start for Dick Leudtke, who got the only win against the Kings. Another complete game, this time with 12 hits, 2 runs, and 2 strikeouts. He's back above 1 K/BB and the soon to be 33-year-old seems to be way past his awful April and May. George Johnson had his first good start with us, going 8 with 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts in a loss to his former team. In his four starts with us, he's 1-3 with a 6.07 ERA (76 ERA+), 1.89 WHIP, 12 walks, and 9 strikeouts. Chances are he won't make the team next season, but at least until rosters expand he'll get a few more starts. Herb Lowman is going to be stretched out in AAA and Ace McSherry will get a start or two. Chances are Johnny Walker or Norm Stewart will eventually take a bulk of the back end starts in the final month of the season. Pete Walker did get to make his big league debut, allowing a hit and striking out one in a scoreless frame on the 16th against Brooklyn. After 1,802.2 minor league innings, he got to finally make a pitch in the big leagues. In sadder news, Tommy Wilcox ranks second in the league in ERA and third in all of baseball is 2.93 ERA in 153.2 innings pitched. If he had a third more of an inning, he would qualify once the season ends as we play 154 games during the season. With William Jones' 2.32 ERA, he likely wouldn't have repeated as ERA champion, but now I have to see him in the standings page for the rest of the season... And then when I got his scouting report "he'll be on the shortlist for top starters in baseball" I could almost feel a tear come out... Only 12 more months... Only 12 more months... Only... 12... more... months... We got to witness 36-year-old Ken Carpenter win his 200th FABL game. After spending his whole career with the Cannons before being traded this season, he won 188 games with them since 1921. A former 3rd Round Pick in 1917, he has a 3.93 EARA (107 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 972 walks, and 1,194 strikeouts in 3,373.1 career innings. Since coming over to the Kings, he's 12-3 with a 3.67 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 33 walks, and 61 strikeouts in 137.1 innings pitched. Minor League Report So some good and some bad when it comes to Karl Wallace. Starting with the bad, the 20-year-old has made 10 starts in San Jose and all ten of them have been, well, bad. He's 0-7 with a 7.41 ERA (66 ERA+), 1.92 WHIP, 19 walks, and 23 strikeouts. Yeah, not too exciting... So, what's the good? My scout has finally realized how great his potential is! Dubbed with "frontline starter potential" Wallace has always had excellent tools, the strong control and excellent mid 90s fastball, but now my scout finally sees it too! He probably is overmatched in San Jose, but with the Class C season almost over I'm hoping a redo next season will eventually see him put things back on track, but the talent is there. Wallace is up to 58th in the prospect lists and 2nd of all our pitchers (behind Cy Sullivan). The baby Cougars have a month left in their season so he has about five starts left, and I'm hoping there is more of the 6 inning, 7 hit, 2 run outings like his last one. It's one of only two of his starts with three or less runs and let's hope the rest follow. In completely good news, I recently promoted left fielder Larry Robison to Lincoln and he was named Heartland League Player of the Week. He was 16-for-32 with nine runs driven in. It was a rough start for him, but he's brought his batting line up to .282/.320/.366 (78 OPS+) with 3 triples and 18 RBI's. Amateur Report It's a little harder then before to find good amateurs to report on, but I am enjoying the good players with the cool names. Next is Tommy Sandstrom who turns 22 tomorrow. The Davidson University junior hit .306/.393/.545 with 10 homers, 38 RBI's, and 33 steals. A lefty hitter and thrower, he's a primary rightfielder who can play left, center, and first as well. He's got great speed and an excellent eye, and he's going to be one of the most disciplined baseball players in the league if he makes it, but at worst he should be a dependable off the bench player. Taking a look at a 1935 draftee, he goes to high school not too far from Chicago. Attending Carthage High School, the junior George Garrison was a perfect 11-0 with a 0.94 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 14 walks, and 153 strikeouts. A six pitch pitcher, Garrison features a high 80s fastball and cutter with a group of decent offspeed pitches. He's got top of the rotation potential and just added a little more speed to his fastball. He does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground and should never give up many homers. I'm a big fan of him and I am really hoping he has a strong senior season. He's on my early shortlist for potential first rounders next season and I'd love to add an arm like him to our system. |
Week 19: August 20th-August 26th
Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 59-63 (6th, 19 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .385 AVG, 1.192 OPS Tom Taylor : 31 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .323 AVG, .855 OPS Mike Taylor : 18 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.056 OPS Weekly Schedule 8-20: Win at Stars (8-4) 8-21: Loss at Stars (5-10) 8-22: Loss at Stars (6-7) 8-23: Loss at Stars (2-4) 8-24: Loss at Saints (4-5) 8-25: Win at Saints (5-2) 8-26: Win at Saints (5-2) Summary Another mediocre week during the mediocre season where we sandwiched a four game losing streak in the middle. Two more one run losses and no more one run wins, but a pair of 5-2 wins in the middle of the Montreal (58-61) series. We did get a win on my birthday to finish the week, but I almost rather lose so we pick higher. We've been stuck in the six spot most of the past couple months, but we just hang around winning and losing almost an equally amount of games. We're off after a final game with the Saints and then we head to Baltimore (41-82) for three with the Cannons before another off day. That off day is roster expansion, so expect some new Cougars to join the team. For sure Herb Lowman will come back from rehab next sim. Bill Ashbaugh is finally healthy, so he'll get at least the week in the minors. I think I'm going to give him some reps at third to see how he can handle it. The goal for next year is to have him and Russ Combs split reps at second so they can hopefully stay healthy the whole season. We don't need a fifth starter this week, but I think Ace McSherry earned a few more. He made two this week and won both. Against the Stars he went 6 with 5 hits, 4 runs, and a strikeout. He did walk seven, which is very concerning, but it's not like George Johnson is any better. His second start was much better, a complete game victory with 5 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and a strikeout. He hasn't made a big league start since the 13 he made in 1930, but the flamethrowing sidewinder has put together a rather solid season. He's 3-2 with 2 saves, a 2.72 ERA (168 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 19 walks, and 15 strikeouts in 43 innings. The 31-year-old still profiles as more of a pen arm, and if I bring up someone like Black, Stewart, or the now struggling Johnny Walker, McSherry will give up some starts to them. I'm thinking about running a more lax rotation in September to make sure Lyons, Leudtke, and Rankin all stay healthy. I'm already down one starter for 1934 plus the fact we don't really have a reliable fourth option. I'm likely going to search for a starter in the offseason, but I think our new contention goal is 1935. We have a few holes now and without our best player it is going to be hard to compete with Brooklyn and Cleveland next year. Speaking of struggling to compete, both Dick Lyons and Dick Leudtke had rough outings. Lyons also had a good one, a complete game win on the 26th with 7 hits and 2 runs, but the Stars destroyed him. He allowed 10 hits and 7 runs with a walk and strikeout in just 2.2 innings pitched. He did excellent the first four months of the season, but August has just sucked. He's 2-2, but with a 6.90 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts in 30 innings. He's averaging just 6 innings a start and he just forgot how to strikeout hitters. For the season he's 10-8 with a 4.39 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.54 WHIP, 41 walks, and 58 strikeouts in 180.1 innings pitched. Leudtke didn't really do that bad, but he was so hot that it felt worse. He lost the 7-6 game, going 7 with 10 hits, 4 runs, a walk, and 3 strikeouts. Dave Rankin pitched fine in his start, 8 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I did a little restructuring in the bullpen as well. Chick Meehan has really struggled, allowing 6 runs (4 earned), 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts in his last two appearances (2.2 innings). The generally automatic Meehan has allowed 17 earned runs in 23 innings since July 1st. 6 of his 13 walks have come in August and he's really inflated his season stats. His ERA is up to 4.80 (95 ERA+) and his WHIP up to 1.60. He's struck out 25 in 45 innings, which is still really good, but the pressure has gotten to him and I'm moving him down to middle relief for likely the rest of the season. The new stopper will be former Minor League Rule-5 pick Don Grossman. Way back when, I posted this: Starting with the minor league draft, I got SP Don Grossman and lost no one. Grossman is a 24-year-old who the Boston Minutemen took in the 4th Round of the 1924 draft. He's been in that organization ever since, and spent most of last year in AAA. He was 2-9 with a 4.33 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, and 111 strikeouts. I took him because of his height, he stands 6'6'' and throws a devastating sinker that is almost impossible to hit. He gets a ton of downward movement to generate numerous double plays with his mid to low 90s sinker. His problem is that none of his other pitches are any good, so if he throws anything other then a sinker he gets hit hard. I plan to use him as a pen arm and he could develop into an excellent stopper.(1930 Offseason) After training Grossman as a reliever for a long time, I'm starting to reap the rewards. The 28-year-old ranks as the best relief pitcher in our organization and he's looked really good as a rookie. He's 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA (158 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 18 walks, and 13 strikeouts. I really thought he'd strike out more batters, but I expect him to pick up the numbers as he gets more comfortable in the big leagues. More likely then not, even if he gives up more runs then innings, he'll remain the stopper the rest of the season. Meehan is 37 and won't pitch forever, so either him or Bill Kline will likely start next season as the stopper. Kline, our former 2nd Rounder, has had another strong season. He's 4-2 with 3 saves, a 3.45 ERA (133 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 7 walks, and 16 strikeouts and he's done really well as a setup man. In parts of four seasons he's tossed 96.2 innings with a 2.70 ERA (168 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 24 walks, and 36 strikeouts. Enough about pitching though. After complaining about how Lou Kelly has been letting me down all year, he decides to have his first good week of the year. He hit homer #11 and was 10-for-26 with 5 walks, 7 runs scored, and 4 driven in. He even added a steal and his .293/.355/.443 batting line is just one percent below average. 1934 is still likely going to be the worst season of his 8 year career as the Illinois' natives homecoming has not gone as planned. Of course, all will be forgiven if he and the rest of the offense decide that after simultaneously planning their worst seasons, they'll surprise and give their best next year. Fellow struggler Mike Taylor also turned things up this week. He was 6-for-18 with a homer, 2 RBI's, 3 runs, and 6 walks (two intentional). He's up to 15 homers on the season and still has a chance to reach 20 on the year. His decline has been the most surprising, as he was always so reliable with the bat. There are very few top notch catchers, so his OPS+ is fourth in the league while only two catchers (T.R. Goins and George Cleaves) boast an above average batting line this year. Tom Taylor added another homer to his total and he's up to 26. He swiped three bags as well while driving in 3 runs. The Canadian Club is on pace for a 30/20/100 season, something a Cougar player has never accomplished (he was so close in 1931). The three time champion has had his lowest average and on base percentage as a Cougar this year, but he's likely to pass his Cougar best for homers (30). I still haven't decided if he's going to be our starting center fielder next season, but if Cy Bryant continues to suck, it might not be too hard of a decision. His batting line has dropped all the way down to .278/.363/.351 (80 OPS+) and he has just one homer and 5 steals. Starting this week I gave Taylor a few of Bryant's starts, and it'll continue this week. As good as his glove is, he's become an automatic out at the plate. He's hit .203/.250/.215 this month with just one extra base hit. We did really struggle with the bat this week, as other then the Taylors and Kelly, Woody Armstrong and Joe Masters shared the 4th highest OPS+ of 60. Doc Love continues to struggle on the road, as his batting line has dropped back down to .328/.377/.515 (122 OPS+) and he hasn't hit a homer since the 13th and only two the entire month of August. He's just two away from 20, and the middle of September is mostly at home, so I expect him to reach it, but I'd love to see him have a strong week before returning home. He's hitting just .280/.355/.392 with 3 homers and 24 RBI's on the road compared to .382/.426/.655 with 15 homers and 51 RBI's at the North Side Grounds. Even better, my shortstops combined to go 5-for-31 (.161) with a double (Armstrong) and 2 RBI's (Bloom). I already have two targets for the offseason to fill my gaping hole at shortstop, but the one I want more probably isn't available. The other is a AAA shortstop who is likely blocked forever, so I'm hoping he'll at least be available. Our farm is really good now (somehow Ray Ford got good?) and I know we have the prospect capital to land a potential top shortstop, but it may be hard to find someone willing to get rid of them. Worst case, I can wait until the #22 prospect in all of baseball Billy Hunter is big league ready, but at 19 that wait may be until 1936. With 11 top 100 prospects and 11 more between 101 and 200, we're still locked and loaded to try and buy our way back in. I'm going to try my best to limit myself to trades for a shortstop and starting pitcher because those are the most glaring needs, but centerfield could be upgraded as well. Bill May ranks 6th in baseball and is currently starting games for the Kings, so he's likely to graduate before the season ends and Leo Mitchell should be bumped up from 11 to 10. I genuinely don't think we've ever had two top 10 prospects, and even though the prospect rankings mean absolutely nothing, when you're severely failing to meet expectations in the majors any sort of minor league consolation feels better. Minor League Report While browsing my top 100 prospects, I came across an interesting scouting report for Ducky Jordan. "He is a quality defensive shortstop. Jordan is projected to be a speedy, switch hitter that can man centerfield." Jordan has position ratings at first, second, third, and short, but nothing in center. Last year I did play him seven games out in center, but it was pretty bad. I think it's worth giving him some time in center, especially because we don't have a real prospect there in Lincoln. I view him as a shortstop, but it would be nice if he turns into a strong centerfielder. He'll get a few starts each week out in center and we'll see if it becomes his longterm position. Jordan ranks 10th in our system and 95th overall, and is hitting .270/.342/.455 (106 OPS+) in 241 plate appearances with the Legislators. The 1932 6th Rounder has had a nice climb this season as he looked great in San Jose. He's probably going to spend the rest of the year here, but there are no shortstop prospects ahead of him (level wise) so he can ascend at his own pace. Herb Lowman's rehab has gone well, as he was named Dixie League Player of the Week. His first start was a 6-hit, 2 strikeout shutout and his second one was a complete came victory that saw him allow 8 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 8 strikeouts. The 32-year-old will spend one more week down in Mobile, and then he's likely to make at least his fourth start of the season in Chicago when he returns. In the majors he's 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA (117 ERA+), 1.68 WHIP, 31 strikeouts, and 21 walks. His three starts haven't gone great, but other then Tommy Wilcox, none of our starters have had many great starts this year. Unlike most of the other options, none of them have a 14-10 season with a 3.58 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 62 walks, and 81 strikeouts in 228.2 innings. Lowman has always been devastated by the longball, which really plays poorly at our stadium, but he's been pretty reliable for us this year. Amateur Report I don't care if it's in just 26 games and 99 at bats, but hitting over .500 at any level is amazing. And that is what Evansville HS and Evansville native Fred "The Mouse" Galloway did as a senior. He slashed an absurd .515/.617/.737 with a homer, 24 steals, and 29 RBI's in probably the most impressive season I've seen in the pool. Standing just 5'5'', it makes it even all that more impressive. He's an excellent defender, does a great job working the count, and should always hit for a high average. Sure, he'll never hit .500 again, but Galloway has a strong commitment to Central Kentucky where he could probably hit .450. It'll be interesting to see if he goes to college as he'd likely be a first round selection in three years. You can never have too many centerfielders, but if he doesn't get taken in the first couple of rounds, I can see him not signing. |
Week 20: August 27th-September 2nd
4 Attachment(s)
Weekly Record: 3-2
Seasonal Record: 62-65 (5th, 19 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 20 AB, 9 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .450 AVG, 1.638 OPS Cy Bryant : 17 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .529 AVG, 1.176 OPS Joe Masters : 22 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .409 AVG, .871 OPS Weekly Schedule 8-27: Win at Saints (6-5): 13 innings 8-29: Loss at Cannons (9-10) 8-30: Loss at Cannons (3-6) 8-31: Winn at Cannons (6-1) 9-2: Win at Sailors (6-4) Summary We're a super boring and mediocre team who will probably play well enough to ruin our draft position and end up picking 8 through 10 instead of 5th. Things are much more exciting in Brooklyn as the red hot Kings (81-46) are riding an 8 game win streak and are somehow three games ahead of the struggling Foresters (78-49) who dropped five in a row including a three game sweep at the hands of the Kings. I don't know what's going on there, but I still think Cleveland will finish in first. Brooklyn has to deal with a ton of road games and they're better at home. After two games in Chicago, the Foresters have all but three of the rest of the season at home. They're also better at home, and I learned the hard way (and the easy way) how helpful finishing the season at home is. So we won just two games this week and I am shocked that they were both against the Cannons. At 43-85, they probably want to keep losing, although they have the #2 pick locked up as the Chiefs (56-72) and Wolves (54-75) probably can't catch them. The Fed gets the first pick this year, so Washington (43-83) is basically on the clock. Looking at the final month of the season, we'll play one more against the Sailors (67-62) before heading home for a double header with Cleveland (78-49). We get another off day before welcoming both New York (66-62) and Baltimore (43-85) for four. It'll be interesting to see how we end the year as we've been decent (30-27) in Chicago and the offense tends to really pickup. We finished August 13-14, so at least half of our months will be .500 or worse. We're 1-0 in September, so we already have a head start on a .500 month. May and June were both 16-13, but there aren't enough games this month to copy that. Lou Kelly keeps taking things personal, putting up another excellent week that should have earned him Player of the Week. He was 9-for-20 with 3 homers and 10 RBI's (plus 7 runs) in just five games. All the homers and 8 RBI's came in a 10-9 loss against Kelly's former employer, the Baltimore Cannons, but he did get three hits in the Montreal game and a hit in each other game. Nothing against Harry Barrell, but I don't see how 17-for-33 (5 RBI's, 11 runs) is better other then the fact he played more. Cy Bryant also had three great games, going 9-for-17 right after I started taking away more of his starts. He had three hits in all three games including a pair of doubles in our 6-5 win over the Saints to start the week. Tom Taylor, Doc Love, and Mike Taylor all added another homer. That's 27, 19, and 16 for our top three. Masters and Kelly are at 15 and 14, so perhaps we can get five guys to 20 before the season ends. It's probably pushing it, but if Kelly stays hot who knows what will happen. Most of our games are at home, and our stadium is easy for anyone to hit a homer in, so the deck is in our favor. Love did have another rough week, 5-for-25, so he's definitely psyched to return home. On the pitching side, half the rotation did excellent and the other side, well... Left a little to be desired. Starting with the bad, Ace McSherry made likely the worst and final start of his career. He went 6.2 innings with 13 hits, 6 runs, a walk, and a strikeout in a loss to the Cannons who are dead last in the CA in runs scored. In his three starts he allowed 12 runs, 23 hits, and 9 walks in 21.2 innings pitched. The other poor start was also against the Cannons, as Dave Rankin went just 6 with 9 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Dick Lyons got the final start against the Cannons, going 7 and a third with 4 hits, a run, walk, and 2 strikeouts to pick up his 11th win on the year. Dick Leudtke made the two non-Cannon starts, but drew a pair of no decisions. The one against the Sailors was the better, 8 strong innings with 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 3 walks. He pitched nine of the 13 innings in the finale with the Saints, and despite his 15 hits allowed just 5 runs (4 earned) with 2 walks and strikeouts. He's back even with walks and strikeouts (70), but his August was excellent. He was 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 5 starts. He's shown improvement each month, dropping his ERA and WHIP in each month. With rosters expanding, I'm bringing up a few reinforcements. Milwaukee is playing meaningful games right now as they're in first, so I'm not going to completely deplete the team. Norm Stewart will come up to make some big league starts and I'm bringing up veterans Forrest Sylvester and Ed Calvert to give us a few pieces on the bench. Neither is too important to the team, and it allows me to bolster the bench a bit. From Mobile, Herb Lowman returns from his rehab assignment and Harry Simmons will also rejoin the big league club. Bill Ashbaugh will stay down in Lincoln a little longer as I want him to get more reps at third. With Ashbaugh, that will give us 29 of 35 roster spots taken up, but I'm not too sure if I'll fill up our roster. I want Art Black and Johnny Walker to continue making starts, so they'll probably finish the season in Milwaukee. Most of our other 40 man guys are older depth players and it's not worth bringing up Rich Langton, Ray Moore, or Leo Mitchell since they aren't Rule-5 eligible and I'd need to burn an option in the Spring as none of them would enter the starting lineup next year. In the AA rotation I have both Pete Carey and Bobby Love who are Rule-5 eligible, but I'd prefer them making starts in AA as opposed to sitting in our pen. If Stewart gets roughed up too much, I may bring one up to eat a start or two. Next week I may bring up AAA catcher Ken Wyatt so we have a third one on hand, but he'd need his contract purchased (like Carey and Love). We have three empty spots, but it's really only two as Wilcox and Combs will eventually take one up. There are a handful of guys I can DFA, but I think Milwaukee will be better served with Wyatt staying down there. Minor League Report The Class C season ends today, and La Crosse will finish third, either 79-61 or 80-60, so I'll cover some of the guys with a strong season: Freddie Bennett: He hit just a slightly average .280/.338/.512 (101 OPS+), but hit 24 homers, stole 20 bases, and drove in 112 runs. He also added 27 doubles and 11 triples in an overall strong season. He spent time at second, third, and short and excelled defensively at all three spots. He's got legit 20/20 potential and I'm a big fan of the 20-year-old. He showed tremendous improvement from last season and likely will start next season in San Jose. There are very few infielders with his power/speed/defense combo, but he does strikeout a lot and doesn't have the best eye. I think his future is at shortstop, but he could be an awesome off the bench player who can fill in at all four infield spots. Gene Evans: Another 20-year-old, Evans spent time at first, second, and third, but he's likely never going to play third base again. First may end up being his final spot, but he's relatively passable at second. He's a strong hitter, and slashed .334/.383/.495 (109 OPS+) with 9 homers, 18 steals, and 88 RBI's in 621 trips to the plate. He's got good contact and strong speed with developing power. He'll get a late season call up to San Jose and he'll spend the rest of the year playing second base for them. Cuno Myer: He didn't play much last season, but the 1932 22nd Round Pick made the most of his 318 trips to the plate this year. He hit .352/.400/.530 (121 OPS+) with 7 homers and 48 RBI's in a strong season. The switch hitter boasts above average contact potential with a strong eye and great power. He is a beyond awful defender, with a somewhat impressive -14.9 zone rating in just under 600 innings. I can never count on his glove, but if his bat continues to improve like it did this year, it won't matter how many errors he makes. Bobby Mills: Recently added to the top 100, Bobby Mills checks in at 97th in the league. He split time between San Jose and La Crosse, and will likely join San Jose again if I callup another outfielder. In just under 200 trips to the plate, Mills hit .309/.369/.511 (109 OPS+) with 8 homers and 39 RBI's. "Nutball" spent most of the season in right, but he didn't look all that great in the field. He's a plus contact hitter with an excellent eye, but I'm a little worried about finding a position for him. He's young and raw, so he's got a lot of room to grow, but there is no guarantee he ever reaches his lofty potential. My scout thinks he could be better then Tom Taylor (well, current Taylor not prime Taylor), who seems to be on the decline. He's our #3 outfield prospect, behind left fielder Rich Langton and center fielder Marty Roberts, so he's currently set as one of our future starters. El Long: He may not be the most heralded prospect on the team, and even after allowing 5 runs in just a third of an inning in his last start of the season (we somehow won 18-17), he went 7-6 with an impressive 4.44 ERA (121 ERA+) and 1.54 WHIP (by this leagues standards) with 56 walks and 50 strikeouts. The jump in walks this season was a little alarming, but the 6'1'' righty added some more on his cutter and he hovers around 90. He needs to polish his curve or change if he wants to start in the majors, but he's got a long way to go. He's done a great job adding speed each year and he's as hard working as it gets. If he can just polish up his control, Long has a bright big league future. Cy Sullivan: The highest touted prospect in our system, the extremely raw former 4th Round Pick had a dominate July and ended the season with a 5.29 ERA (101 ERA+) and 1.76 WHIP. The 6'6'' righty walked 71 and struck out just 39, but this is much better then the 84 and 24 from last year. He added two miles to his fastball and he's really started to polish his repertoire. His fastball, curve, slider, and changeup all look like big league quality pitches and his slider should develop into a really strong strikeout pitch. He's got to polish out his control, but my scout thinks his ceiling is higher then every pitcher in our organization except good 'ol Tommy Wilcox, who at one point ranked as the #1 pitcher in all of baseball. Sullivan currently ranks 37th in all of baseball and fourth in our organization, but I have high hopes for the former high school shortstop. Harry Mead: Finishing off with another top prospect, Harry Mead ranks 47th in the league and sixth in our system. He didn't have a great year, but he improved on his first pro season with a decent .324/.380/.444 (97 OPS+) batting line. The lefty catcher from Harvey, Illinois added 10 homers and 87 RBI's in 568 plate appearances. My scout says he's "been making real and significant improvement at the plate" which really bodes well for his future. His plate discipline is excellent and anything with the bat a catcher can provide is a plus. My scout raves about his defense and I'm really excited with how his development has gone. He may end up at first, left, or right because of his throwing arm, but I'm going to ride the left catcher until he shows it's a hinderance to his defensive ability. Amateur Report Checking in on another Chicago kid, Earl West gets the headline today. He goes to school in New York, but he was born in the Chi and he'd love to be a Cougar! He had a strong senior season, batting .448/.524/.667 with 2 homers, 31 RBI's, and 34 steals. He walked 13 times and struck out just 3 times while spending time at first, second, left, center, and right. He's tiny, just 5'6'', but he's got a ton of offensive talent plus the speed and athleticism you love to see in a natural centerfielder. He's got "obvious talent both on the field and at the plate" although supposedly he relies too much on that natural talent. He's committed to White Sands University and potentially will defer a draft selection and head there instead. |
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