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Week 21: August 31st-September 6th
4 Attachment(s)
Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 55-73 (6th, 30 GB) Stars of the Week Rich Langton : 31 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .323 AVG, .871 OPS Doc Love : 28 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .321 AVG, .959 OPS Mike Taylor : 22 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .364 AVG, .970 OPS Schedule 8-24: Win vs Foresters (1-2) 8-25: Win vs Stars (3-11) 8-26: Win vs Stars (4-10) 8-27: Loss vs Stars (9-1) 8-28: Win vs Cannons (2-12) 8-29: Loss vs Cannons (4-2) 8-30: Loss vs Saints (3-0) Weekly Record: 2-5 Seasonal Record: 57-78 (6th, 32.5 GB) Stars of the Week Rich Langton : 28 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.198 OPS John Lawson : 24 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .375 AVG, .942 OPS Doc Love : 25 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .320 AVG, .786 OPS Schedule 8-31: Win vs Saints (2-3) 9-1: Loss vs Saints (9-3) 9-2: Loss vs Kings (12-2) 9-3: Win vs Kings (3-4) 9-4: Loss at Sailors (9-10) 9-5: Loss at Sailors (3-6) 9-6: Loss at Sailors (2-3) Recap I can't even remember the last time I missed a report, but yesterday was one of those. It was as busy of a day as I could have imagined, three finals, but as long as I didn't fail, they should be the last undergraduate assignments I ever have to turn in! So to celebrate, a longer fake baseball report! The week was pretty bad, 2-5 plus the news of Ollie Page's high ankle sprain ending his season, I'll focus more on an overall monthly recap then just weekly. There was not much good to talk about other then Rich Langton's recent hot streak. Three homers the past two weeks as brought hip up to 12 for the season and he's hitting a nice .308/.347/.486 (111 OPS+) on the year with 25 doubles, 11 triples, 79 RBI's, and one more strikeout (28) then walk (27). August was actually our best month of the season, an even 14-14 and our only .500 month. May and June were close, but my guess is August ends up the best of the months. We haven't hit or pitched all season, and chances are we'll end up in 6th and we'll pick 6th in December. We did look decent in August though, with Allen Purvis looking excellent. He was 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 6 walks, and 10 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched. Hardin Bates was reliable as well, 3-3 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 21 walks, and 17 strikeouts in his 48 innings. Dave Rankin was unlucky, 2-5 with a save, 4.66 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 10 walks, and 22 strikeouts. The ERA was average for the month, but his 3.70 FIP paints a much nicer pitcher. Even Milt Fritz looked okay, 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 15 walks, and 10 strikeouts in 47.2 frames. We've definitely had worse months than this and other then Rankin, the other three overperformed. Rankin's 108 strikeouts are seven ahead of Les Zoller for second in the CA and he's 14-20 with a 4.06 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.46 WHIP, and 72 walks in 270.2 innings pitched. He's just 30 innings away from 300 and I think he should be able to reach it. He needs three more starts and maybe a relief outing and he should be fine with 19 more games left. At the plate, we didn't hit all that much. Despite injury, Rich Langton had the best month. He hit .337/.352/.530 with 4 homers and 20 RBI's in 88 trips to the plate. Ray Ford got a little power surge, slashing .325/.384/.482 with 3 homers, 20 RBI's, 20 runs, 10 walks, and just two strikeouts in 125 trips to the plate. He was shockingly Rookie of the Month as well, something I did not realize when I started and had to double back. It's the first of what has been a rather disappointing rookie season for Ford who is hitting just .306/.359/.405 (95 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, and 76 RBI's. I have to be patient with him as the factor adjustment has made things harder for him. He's just 25 and has the potential to still blossom into an All Star. Doc Love hit .310/.371/.451 with 2 homers and 13 RBI's in one less PA then Ford. Not much good besides that, with just Pete Asher putting together an above average batting line. He was just 8-for-20 with with 4 runs scored and driven in. He's gotten a little time at second with Paul McLain, but I'm expecting both to see less time in the lineup with rosters expanding. The scariest part of the month, however, is John Lawson. He hit well this week, but if August Lawson batted just .230/.277/.336 with 2 homers and 11 RBI's in 130 trips to the plate. This has dropped his season line down to .330/.388/.494 (124 OPS+) but I'd imagine he'll improve that once the season finishes. His two homers away from 20, but needs almost 20 more RBI's if he wants to reach 100 this season. Lawson hasn't had a 20-100 season since 1930, but his .330 batting average is the lowest of his career. I was not too surprised by this, as it is hard to hit for a high average at our park and .338 was/is his lowest season mark. I won't mention Taylor or Page's struggles, but Ollie finished his season with a .278/.336/.406 (89 OPS+) batting line which is pretty good for a shortstop. Add in the 15 doubles, 10 triples, 12 homers, and 10 steals and you have a really productive all around player. He's still just 26, with a ton of room to grow, but his floor now is still the #4 ranked shortstop in the FABL. Looking Ahead Here is a weird way to start the week: a pair of games in Cleveland. No, we did not play them before, and no, we do not play them after. We just get two games in a day before our first off day of the month. It's looking like we'll see Eddie Quinn and Sergio Gonzales. Quinn has been excellent, 12-10 with a 3.99 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 64 walks, and 62 strikeouts in 214.1 innings pitched. He's much better then Gonzales, but the 24-year-old has excelled in his 153.1 innings going 13-6 with 5 saves, a 3.46 ERA (139 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, and 46 walks and strikeouts. It's going to be tough to score on both, so you can rack up the two losses now. Max Morris is back too, and while he has had a ton of struggles, the Foresters will welcome back the pop. Leon Drake hit his 19th homer and with one more will join T.R. Goins and Dan Fowler in the 20 home run range. Fowler needs one more for 30 and Brooks Meeks one away from 9. They've dropped to seven back despite their 82-52 record which is good enough to win a pennant in another year. After that off day we get two in New York with the 7th place Stars. At 52-82, they are six behind the Cannons for the 2nd overall pick. The Stars have watched Lou Martino struggle in 12 FABL and AAA starts. The numbers in New York are actually better, 1-7 with a 5.13 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.96 WHIP, 29 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched. The former 16th Overall pick is just 29 and this is in no ways a change of his talent. In 1,204 FABL innings he is 72-54 with a 3.66 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 419 walks, and 484 strikeouts. Al Mann is up from AAA and has hit .333/.373/.362 (86 OPS+) with 2 doubles and 8 RBI's in 69 at bats. "The Welshman" isn't naturally a power hitter, but with playing in New York and okay extra base hit numbers in the past I expect him to eventually end up with a much more impressive slugging percentage. Next stop is Montreal, where we get two with the Saints. At 65-69, they're tied for fourth with the Wolves in the battle for Canada. It'll be cool to see who finish fourth and I hope both can finish above .500. Stadium adjustments have allowed the hitters to flourish and I like a lot of players on their team. Let's start with All-Star Bill Ross who is 11-11 with a 4.20 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 55 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 205.2 innings atop the Saints rotation. This kid is the real deal and I really hope we don't face him. Or Jake DeYoung, who shut us out to end last week as a measure of revenge. The 23-year-old rookie is 5-7 with a 3.88 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 14 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 95 innings. I've tried to trade for him in the past and I really wish I offered a lot more. The southpaw has really good stuff and his pitching style is perfect for the Parc Cartier. I also have to mention another guy I've tried to acquire before, George Thomas, who's been excellent in 1936. The 26-year-old is 17-10 with a 3.69 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 77 walks, and 64 strikeouts in 241.2 innings pitched. We end the week in Brooklyn, a two game series that starts Sunday and ends Monday. The Kings are 89-45 and are hoping to cruise to a Continental Association pennant. Tom Barrell is looking to repeat as Allen Award winner, going 19-5 with a 3.32 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP, 43 walks, and 139 strikeouts in 268 innings pitched. I do miss him, but if Tommy never got hurt it wouldn't matter. His numbers were just as good or better. Just like how Mike Murphy is breaking out, 15-6 with a 2.93 ERA (163 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 61 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 221 innings pitched. After an average '35 he's matching his '34 season totals in what continues to be an up and down career. The 28-year-old is a nice co-ace for Barrell and Joe Shaffner, Art White, and Bob Cummings are all excellent options. Al Wheeler is also looking to repeat at an award, with an MVP caliber season this year as well. The Decatur kid is hitting .355/.446/.609 (160 OPS+) with 34 homers and 131 RBI's in 632 trips to the plate. I still with I bought the bullet and traded for Vance and Beach too because I was ready to overpay with Wheeler. Brooklyn is my pick to win it all and the Kings will be a strong competitive force for the rest of the decade. I'm also making a managerial change, moving Jim Cathey to bench coach. I have an offer out on a new manager, so hopefully that happens tomorrow. Roster expansion also takes place, so I'll cover the callups in the minor league report. I will be returning to seven day lineups to get guys playing time like I want. The minor league season is still going on, so guys like Leo Mitchell are going to stay down to get everyday at bats. Milwaukee is looking to threepeat this season, but sit three behind Indianapolis. That's Baltimore's AAA team that hosts a ton of top prospects and a few former Cougars; Billy Marshall and John Barnard who bat one and two in the Hoosier lineup. Minor League Report SS Clyde Hinzman: He's back! He spent most of his season in Milwaukee at short and hit a nice .317/.376/.417 (108 OPS+) with 3 homers, 5 steals, and 43 RBI's. The Page injury gives him a spot in the lineup and he'll likely get to reach his 1,000th FABL plate appearance. The 1925 6th Rounder was used to acquire the key to our championship Cy Bryant and was brought back four season after for a current top 100 prospect Reginald Westfall. He's hit .251/.330/.346 (85 OPS+) with 41 doubles, 10 triples, 7 homers, and 91 RBI's with an at bat in each season since 1930. He can man all four infield positions and my guess is the outfield wouldn't be all that hard for him. He's got an option left, but he's the perfect off the bench utility player who can fill in late in the game or when a guy needs a day off. 2B Russ Combs: Remember him? He kind of stayed healthy and got into 91 games for the Blues this season. It did not go well, hitting .300/.340/.371 (87 OPS+) with a homer, 13 steals, and 48 RBI's. Most of the time was spent at first where he didn't look too good. Second and third were actually better, but in much less time. I might give him a few games at short and second now well most of the young guys are still playing in the minors. Combs hasn't played more then 100 games since 1930, but owns a .318/.366/.445 (117 OPS+) batting line in 690 FABL games. Most of those came between 1928 and 1930, in fact those three years account for 58% of his total games played. Combs has stolen 120 bases, homered 37 times, and drove in 350 runs. When healthy he usually hits, but this year has been the reverse. I think he's done, but I really like him and don't really plan on ever cutting him. He never takes at bats away from the younger kids, but he's a fan favorite too and you always need AAA depth. RF Marty Roberts: Had to purchase his contract, but I do plan on giving Roberts every day at bats. No, that does not mean Rich Langton is moving to the bench, but Roberts is actually a natural center fielder. He'll probably get about half of the starts out there with a few in left and right to give Love and Langton some rest. I needed to protect him from the Rule-5 Draft, so I wanted to get an early look at the 24-year-old. He has an average .276/.365/.394 (99 OPS+) line with 10 homers, 25 steals, and 79 RBI's in 576 trips to the plate. I'm just glad he stayed healthy, as injuries really put a damper on him. Still, he profiles as a prototypical leadoff hitter, but for us we're just using him as a 4th outfielder type. He's got plus contact ability, an excellent eye, and great speed. He showed power in college and AAA, but I'm not sure how it's going to show in Chicago. The former 2nd Rounder ranks 15th in our system and 126th in the league and will get a shot to prove he belongs. I don't expect him to make the roster next season, but I'll give him a shot to stick. Here are a few of my old Roberts reports: CF Marty Roberts (Brunswick Knights): Another breakout freshman, Brunswick's Marty Roberts took home Player of the Week. He's already hit 4 homers and drove in 13 runs on the season, slashing .375/.432/.850 (212 OPS+). The 18-year-old looks to be a quality defender out in center with excellent bat speed which leads to home runs. His teammates Hi Blackburn and Tommy Sharp also have 4 homers a piece which is a big reason the Knights share first place with Ellery at 7-2 after 9 games. (1930: Spring Training) Interesting enough, that Sharp is our former 8th Round pick who doesn't really play much anymore. 2nd Round, 23rd Overall: CF Marty Roberts (Brunswick Knights): Here's basically the return for Vince York. Marty Roberts may actually be a better prospect then Hunter, and he more or less replaces Joe Johnson in the organization. Another younger player, the junior won't turn 21 till November 17th while some in his class are almost 22. My scout isn't nearly as big of a fan, but his .355/.399/.592 (149 OPS+) line as a junior with 9 homers, 12 steals, and 40 RBI's is much more encouraging. The power definitely spiked, as he almost reached his combined mark, but his career .314/.377/.521 (142 OPS+) line isn't all too far from this year's performance. He's a strong defender as well, with a +4.2 zone rating and 1.031 efficiency this season and he didn't make an error the last two seasons. He's got a ton of upside in the field and on the bases, and he should be an above average hitter. I'm not sure if the power will develop, but Roberts has all the tool to be a top 5 center fielder. (1932 Draft) C Mel Goldenberg: I like having three catchers on hand, so coming up is our backup last year. He hit .282/.343/.386 (91 OPS+) in Milwaukee with 4 homers, 41 RBI's, 32 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 376 trips to the plate. The 34-year-old has 1,933 FABL plate appearances, most with the Eagles, and owns a .284/.329/.376 (77 OPS+) line with 11 homers and 263 RBI's. Nothing special here. LHP Johnny Walker: The only arm coming up, the 26-year-old Johnny Walker had a tough start to the season, but will finish his AAA season 10-8 with a 4.14 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.51 WHIP, 62 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 150 innings pitched. He'll get another shot to start in Chicago as I'll be using an adjusted 6-man rotation in September. For his career he's 5-7 with a 4.67 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, 43 walks, and 51 strikeouts in 88.2 innings pitched. I'm not going to give up on him, but unfortunately Walker's chances are running out. He won't get waived, but he may be a emergency starter/stopgap arm not a rotation piece. Pug Bryan is knocking on the door, and while I don't see a callup for this season, I really want him to earn a rotation spot Opening Day. That's all for the callups, but here's a few more reports on some of the other guys in the system: CF Orlin Yates (AAA Milwaukee Blues): The reason why Roberts was in right, Orlin Yates may have been passed up for a callup now, but once the Blues season ends, he'll likely get his contract purchased as well. Part of the Tom Taylor trade, Yates has split time between Mobile and Milwaukee. He's hit about the same and played 63 and 62 games respectively, with all but one a start. He would have been a perfect option for a platoon with a righty like Roy Moore, but I want him to get some more at bats under his belt. He's a defensive marvel out in center with blazing speed. He swiped 11 bags and hit .306/.373/.445 (114 OPS+) with 3 homers and 35 RBI's with the Blues, but he doesn't quite have the best attitude. My scout thinks he has "the talent to flourish as a centerfielder" but I'm not as sold on him ever hitting that. I am excited to get a look at him, but he just isn't better then Carlos Montes. If he wants a spot he has to earn it quick, as it's only a matter of time before the former first rounder takes the job. CF Elias Canady (A Lincoln Legislators): It took a little for him to get his career started, but Elias Canady seems to have found his swing. The 21-year-old was August Batter of the Month, hitting .342 with 3 homers, 16 RBI's, and 23 runs scored. The 1932 8th Rounder is having a great year, batting .287/.383/.442 (120 OPS+) with 37 doubles, 8 homers, and 62 RBI's. He's usually struggled with strikeouts, but he's flipped it this season with 68 walks and 44 strikeouts. He continues to look excellent in the outfield, this season a +11.1 zone rating and 1.061 efficiency. We're filled with outfielders in the farm, so it may be a slow crawl up for him. He's got one more season before becoming Rule-5 eligible, but don't expect him to be left unprotected. He also ranks just inside our top 30, sitting at 29th in our system and 190th in the league. SS Hal Wood (B San Jose Cougars): I made my export really late last night and must have forgot to set the Cougars lineup, so Wood didn't get to make his first week of starts last week. I promoted our 1st Round pick up from La Crosse after he hit .335/.415/.512 (128 OPS+) with 4 homers, 5 steals, and 61 RBI's in 510 trips to the plate. He was excellent out at short, an impressive +13.4 zone rating and 1.052 efficiency in his first pro season. The 8th Overall pick projects to be a strong defensive shortstop with the potential to hit over .300 with 10 homers and 20 steals. I love collecting middle infielders and I can't imagine he'll be the last shortstop I select in the first round. I'm not looking to take one this year, but I almost always take one in one of the first five rounds. Wood now ranks 4th in our system and cracks the top 50, checking in at 42 at the moment. RHP Bob Saltzman (C La Cross Lions): It was a dominant outing for the Lions as they shutdown the Moline Pioneers 12-0, but thanks to Saltzman, we only really needed one run. He tossed a 6-hit, 4 strikeout shutout to improve to 3-3 on the season. We had a lot of arms down in La Crosse, but last year's 7th Rounder has a nice 4.34 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 29 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched, which is 5th on the team. The 19-year-old "Knuckles" has a six pitch arsenal featured with a strong knuckle curve. The slender righty has a high 80s cutter and he just needs one more of the four other pitches to develop if he wants to start in the big leagues. Walks hurt him a little now, but when his command improves he's going to strikeout more. He seems to be a depth arm, but with young pitchers you truly never know what you're getting. |
Week 22: September 7th-September 13th
Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 58-77 (6th, 31.5 GB) Stars of the Week Ray Ford : 31 AB, 16 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .516 AVG, 1.430 OPS John Lawson : 31 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .355 AVG, .846 OPS Paul McLain : 16 AB, 6 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.007 OPS Schedule 9-7: Win at Foresters (6-3) 9-7: Loss at Foresters (6-7) 9-9: Loss at Stars (4-8) 9-10: Loss at Stars (8-9) 9-11: Win at Saints (11-7) 9-12: Loss at Saints (5-11) 9-13: Win at Kings (10-6) Recap Well I wish I called up Pug Bryan...Poor kid fractures his elbow and will have to wait five months before he can pitch again. The 23-year-old was 8-3 with a 3.38 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 31 walks, and 56 strikeouts in 125 innings at the highest level in the minors. That ends his chance of making the Opening Day roster as I will want him to have his first healthy starts in the minors with little to no pressure. Joe Foote also got hurt, but it's just for a few weeks. On the field, we picked up a much need Player of the Week award with Ray Ford the winner. He was 16-for-31 with a homer, 6 RBI's, and 11 runs scored. Ford has been red hot lately despite the team's poor play, but he's continuing to grow into a reliable player. With a few weeks left he's got a respectable.318/.370/.431 (105 OPS+) batting line in his rookie year with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 5 homers, and 82 RBI's in his first 612 plate appearances. His awful defense will make things difficult, but I know he is going to hit better next season. This kid has a ton of talent and I know that he is going to be one of the better hitters in the game. He did have a little help offensively, but the rest of the bunch wasn't great. Paul McLain actually looked really good, 6-for-16 with 3 doubles and 5 RBI's. Russ Combs got into the fun, 4-for-10 with a walk, two steals, and three driven in his return to the team. I let him play short one of the games and he made one of the three routine plays. He also made an error and got to just one ball, so it was rough. John Lawson was 11-for-31 with 3 doubles, 3 RBI's, and 6 runs. Doc Love was 7-for-25, but four of those hits were doubles. Dave Rankin had an adventure, a relief outing loss, back spasms in the first of his start, and then another rough relief outing the next day. Poor guy got messed over by the AI and now likely won't reach 300 innings. I'm not going to start him until Friday, but this still allows three starts. With all the extra arms, no need for the starters to relieve anymore, so I can space my rotation a bit better. Most of the starters struggled, but Dick Lyons tossed a vintage start, 8 innings with 3 hits in an 6-3 win over the Foresters. Tommy Wilcox also got a win! I also hired a new manager, former King Walt Bailey (who actually got his second win against the Kings) to replace Jim Cathey. Cathey will stay with the organization as the Bench Coach. I like how he does with the clubhouse, but Cathey isn't much of a Manager. Bailey has had success with the Kings, including back-to-back 90 win seasons in 34 and 35 before being fired early in the season. They're both old, but he seems to be like the manager for a good team, not a bad one. Either way, he's ours until I decide otherwise. Looking Ahead One more in Brooklyn and it looks like we'll get Bob Cummings. The Chicago kid was taken 7th Round overall in 1933 and is 11-6 with a 4.48 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 58 walks, and 87 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. He should be able to top us, but we won the first game, so we at least get a split. Brooklyn is 91-50 and five games above the Foresters, so I like their odds against us. Next we are in Baltimore, where I do like our odds. They're 48-93 and likely picking second in the 1936 draft. 1934 2nd Overall Pick Gus Goulding is a perfect 6-0 with a 3.58 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 14 walks, and 18 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. He's played in 4% of the games and contributed to 13% of the wins. It's pretty impressive, but also somewhat expected of a kid who was projected to lead a rotation. He may end up 4th in a stacked Cannons rotation, but this kid has everything you're looking for; command, movement, nice stuff, and great stamina. I am truly scared of the future of Baltimore's rotation, especially with how committed they were to a four man rotation when they were competitive. If you have to beat Rufus, John Edwards, Goulding, and Rusty Petrick to beat the Cannons, you're probably not going to do it. The offense of course might also not score, so you can get to the pen (unless it's Pinky Conlan), but in a few years there will be more of the next generation other then just Clark Car in the majors. Speaking of Edwards, the 3rd pick in the 1933 draft debuted last week against the Sailors. The 20-year-old allowed 9 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. He's not as ready as Goulding, but his potential is unlimited as well. Off on the 17th before for with the Wolves back home. Toronto is 69-72 and two above the Saints in the battle for Canada. Another young arm, Joe Hancock, is off to a tremendous rookie season. 1933's first overall pick is 14-14 with a 3.64 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 76 walks, and 103 strikeouts in 217.1 innings pitched. He's another tough out and someone we're bound to face. Chick Wirtz has struggled lately, but Chuck Cole has improved his overall lines a bit. He's 18-11 with a 4.60 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.54 WHIP, 102 walks, and 104 strikeouts. He's four behind Rankin and has a chance to finish second in the league. They used September to bring up a Chicago kid, Levi Redding, who is hitting leadoff and playing center. He's 8-for-25 with a double, triple, 2 steals, and 5 RBI's. Minor League Report Harry Parker (AA Mobile Commodores): Is there anything this kid can't do? Another shutout for Parker, this time against the Atlanta Peaches. It was a necessity for Parker to keep them scoreless as the offense only managed a single run. He struck out seven and allowed 8 hits without walking a hitter as he improved to 5-3 in 8 starts. He's got a 3.10 ERA (148 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 17 walks, and 32 strikeouts in 66.2 innings after 129.2 equally impressive innings down in Lincoln. I feel like every week he does something great and now my scout sees "future number two starter" as he continues to trend up. Prospect evaluators continue to push him up as well, reaching #10 in our system and 69th in all of baseball. Parker is someone I really thought was going to be a steal and it continues to look like a nice little pick. Of course, potential only means so much, and he'll still have to prove it in Chicago before I pat my back too hard. LF Bobby Mills (AA Mobile Commodores): Mills actually drove in the loan run and was 3-for-4 with a double in the Parker shutout. No, I'm not covering him because of that... I'm covering him because he was Player of the Week! Mills was 13-for-24 as he improved his batting line to .310/.370/.479 (122 OPS+) with 13 homers and 108 RBI's. I'm impressed with the maintain of his power, 14 homers in A ball last year, which was something I thought he wouldn't reach against tougher competition. Besides, he had just 2 in 52 games with the Commodores last season, giving him 16 in 114 games. My scout is a big Mills fan and OSA ranks him 12th and 92nd respectively in their prospect rankings. I'm not the biggest fan of corner guys like him, but there hasn't been much interest in Mills in the past, so my guess is he'll stay with us. |
Week 23: September 14th-September 20th
Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 58-77 (6th, 32.5 GB) Stars of the Week John Lawson : 22 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .364 AVG, 1.045 OPS Dave Rankin : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA Marty Roberts : 14 AB, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.071 OPS Schedule 9-14: Win at Kings (1-0): 11 innings 9-15: Loss at Cannons (6-7) 9-16: Loss at Cannons (2-15) 9-18: Win vs Wolves (0-1) 9-19: Loss vs Wolves (5-4) 9-20: Loss vs Wolves (15-11) Recap I'm not sure if I should be happy or upset, but our only two wins of the week were 1-0 shutouts. When you find out exactly how we won those games, it gets worse. Since I like focusing on the good, I'm just going to pretend those were the only two games this week. Let's start with the opener, an 11 inning shutout to complete a third sweep of the first place Brooklyn Kings. Milt Fritz didn't pitch the 11th, but picked up the win since we scored in the top half. Fritz walked 6, but allowed just 3 hits with 2 strikeouts as he improved to 17-4 on the season. Ace McSherry struck out two in a perfect ninth and picked up his six save. We only had three hits, one of those Russ Franklin who pinch hit for Fritz to leadoff the 11th. He doubled and scored the winning run. A Ray Ford sac-fly brought him in, but a Harry Barrell error at short got him to third. Dave Rankin decided he wasn't injured anymore, but after his nine innings the Cougars offense again failed to put a run on the board. Rankin was impressive, 5 hits, a walk, and 3 strikeouts in the shutout victory. Luckily, we were the home team and John Lawson had enough. After he took the first pitch he then swung for the fences, flying out to left field. Rich Langton decided the take and launch method would be his plan of action, but he was unfortunately given a strike. Still, he swung for the fences and managed to hit his 14th homer on the season and second of the week. The walk off victory gave the always unlucky Rankin the win. He is now 15-21 on the season with a 4.07 ERA (114 ERA+) and 1.46 WHIP. Him and Chuck Cole have both struck out 111 on the season, but Cole's 4.1 K/9 is a bit better. In an interesting turn of fate, I claimed former Cougar Pete Carey who pitched on Monday against Mobile. Carey used to pitch for Mobile, and I wanted an extra arm on the big league club. He left in the third with elbow pain. Turns out the 26-year-old needs radial nerve decompression surgery and will miss the rest of the year. Straight to the 60 for him now, so I am still without the extra arm I was hoping for. Looking Ahead This is it, last week of the season. At 62-86, we're half a game back of the Stars for the fourth pick in the draft. It's truly crazy how lucky we were to win our two games, so we really should be 60-88. I'm not saying I want to finish in seventh, but I do want to trade for the #1 pick and I do know that my pick is much more valuable 4th then 6th. Not only that, we have to beat Toronto and Philadelphia while the Stars get the Saints, Kings, and Cannons. They'll be in New York for all the games and I think they might actually be a better team then us. Sure we have the triple LLL's (Lawson, Love, and Langton), but with Page hurt our lineup really thins out. Not only that, Rankin is the only formidable pitcher, but he gets two starts so we're probably going to get t least one win. We'll see what happens. Even though we do finish the Wolves series on Monday, we end the year with them, so I'll start with the Sailors. They are 90-59, half a game behind the Foresters and five behind Brooklyn. They're off to start the week, so they'll be in Chicago to scout our game against the Wolves. John Kincaid is now three hits away from 2,000, and he'll get to get a chance to hit the milestone in a stadium he is very familiar getting hits at. Kincaid spent more then half of his 1,429 (846) FABL games with us and hit .337/.378/.447 with 15 homers, 64 steals, and 411 RBI's. Kincaid has a respectable .338/.382/.440 (103 OPS+) batting line with 13 steals and 67 RBI's this year and has done a great job in the field. It is interesting to think if the Sailors would be in first if Kincaid and Herb Flynn were having better seasons. Flynn is 13-13 with an adjusted league average 4.82 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 71 walks, and 77 strikeouts in 222.1 innings. He would have been excellent as a third ace next to Merritt Thomas and William Jones. Thomas is 19-6 with a 3.29 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 64 walks, and 85 strikeouts in 205 innings pitched. Jones is 16-13 with a 4.00 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 80 walks, and 99 strikeouts in his 263.1 innings. It's not quite the Kings or Foresters rotation, but it's really impressive. These are our last three (well, four) home games and our last chance to add to what is now our 7th consecutive season with one million fans. We rank 6th in attendance despite picking 6th or higher in the draft. Our attendance per game is 14,356, a little down from last season. We finish the season in Toronto. The Wolves are 72-75 and two ahead of the Saints for the battle to Canada. .500 is still in reach, but they'll need to win all the games against us. Larry Vestal is going to need some help in the lineup if Toronto wants to compete, as former independent acquisition Al Jensen is not enough. He's having a solid season, batting .310/.389/.453 (108 OPS+) with 8 homers and 89 RBI's, but that's not quite what you want from your best hitter in the lineup. I think Doc Love would really help the Wolves, so I'm hoping to work out a deal after the season concludes. They have the pitching to be extremely competitive in the Continental Association. I've covered Joe Hancock enough, but 1930 13th Rounder Jake Smith has put together a nice little breakout season. He's 13-12 with a 4.20 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP, 30 walks, and 64 strikeouts in 212 innings pitched. Last year was his first full year as a big league starter and lost a league worst 19 games in 29 starts. He had decent numbers, a 4.75 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 28 walks, and 69 strikeouts in 202.2 innings pitched. With George Garrison and Buddy Long waiting in the minors Smith is showing he belongs in the Wolves rotation. He's a reliable #3 now, but he may end up being one of the better fives you could ask for. |
Here's to hoping you can move up to get the pick you want! :D
What are the short-term prospects of the Cougars being close to pennant-worthy? Are there a few young stars ready to turn this ship around? |
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Week 24: September 21st-September 27th
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Weekly Record: 1-5
Seasonal Record: 63-91 (6th, 35 GB) Stars of the Week Ray Ford : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .346 AVG, .832 OPS Marty Roberts : 10 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.333 OPS John Lawson : 23 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .261 AVG, .781 OPS Schedule 9-21: Loss vs Wolves (9-4) 9-22: Loss vs Sailors (5-4) 9-23: Loss vs Sailors (5-2) 9-24: Loss vs Sailors (4-2) 9-25: Loss at Wolves (0-6) 9-27: Win at Wolves (8-3) End of Season Recap Despite going 1-5, we'll finish in 6th because the Stars were 1-6. That means we pick sixth, again, just late enough that I don't get who I want and just high enough that I might as well pick at the end of the draft. I'm hoping to move up or down, doesn't matter which way, so I either can get Sal or grab a pitcher and not feel like I'm reaching too hard. If we don't trade the pick, expect Billy Woytek or Al Jennings to be our pick. My guess 1-4 is Sal, Messer, Jones, and Edwards in some order, but I could pick up Pete Papenfus or Jim Morrison a round early towards the end of the first. With the Kings and Chiefs starting the championship Monday, there is still a ton of time to prep for the draft. My scout is a big Mike T. Taylor fan too, but he's a corner outfielder with no positional rating and our current Mike Taylor isn't working out all that well. Enough about what is coming up, let's talk about what happened. Starting with the pitching staff, we decided to rank 7th in nearly each pitching category. Despite the easiest park to hit home runs in, we actually ranked 3rd in home runs allowed, so at least we did something right! Technically, tied for 3rd, but other then pen ERA (6th) and strikeouts (6th) we were seventh in everything else. All that being said, we still had an All-Star atop the rotation who has now unfortunately led the league in losses back-to-back years and three times total. 30-year-old Dave Rankin was 16-22 with a 4.06 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 80 walks, and 117 strikeouts. He fell an inning short of 300 because of the stupid day-to-day injury, but finished the season with three consecutive complete games for a Continental Association best 23 on the season. Rankin is everything you want in this era for a starting pitcher, someone who can just pitch all nine innings. That's what Tommy Wilcox used to do. Except Wilcox just did it a little better... Not to take anything away from Rankin, but just because he's an ace, doesn't mean he is an ace. I hope he ends up our four once we're competitive, behind some combination of Cy Sullivan, Pug Bryan, Harry Parker, Karl Wallace, Joe Foote, and Stumpy Beaman. A few of these guys could be up next season and Rankin is almost the benchmark for them to pass. He's as reliable as it gets and the more we improve the defense the better his numbers are going to look. Rankin may be the most interesting pitcher, but he's not the only one worth talking about in the rotation. Hardin Bates really struggled this season, but the 6'5'' righty just had a bad season. After five seasons with 150 or more innings without a below average ERA+, Bates was just 6-15 with a 5.95 ERA (79 ERA+), 1.69 WHIP, 93 walks, and 70 strikeouts in 202.2 innings with us and the Gothams. This will also get better, it's just an off year. All pitchers have them, and for Bates, it happens to be this one. In 1,286.2 big league innings he is 78-61 with a 3.83 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 474 walks, and 480 strikeouts. Bates isn't quite the complete game machine that Rankin is, but he's can do it when he's pitching good. He's still in his prime at 29 and he has a lot of innings left in him. Milt Fritz had an okay year, 17-15 with a 4.82 ERA (96 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 104 walks, and 78 strikeouts in 270.2 innings pitched. Fritz doesn't strike many hitters out, so I'm really going to need a strong infield defense. I think with Hunter eventually at short and Page at second Frtiz will really enjoy pitching in Chicago. He doesn't really give up many home runs, so our park is almost pitcher friendly for him. He's passed his Gothams win total (11) and is now three away from passing his Saints total. I'm hoping he can win more with us then everyone else combined, but he's going to need to put together a stronger season next year if he wants to add on to his win total. He got really lucky in some of starts and I think the league is just getting better pitchers. He was early bloomer, but I still think there is some untapped potential I can work out. This season should be the floor. Each year we are going to get better as a team and when the team is winning Fritz is winning. A winning Fritz is a happy Frtiz and a happy Fritz can dominate. He eats a ton of innings too and that's why I thought him and Rankin could be an amazing 1-2 combo. There's still time, but I don't think I'll get to live out that dream. Last pitcher to mention is the longest tenured Cougar Dick Lyons. Even at 36 he is effective, 8-12 with a 4.90 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.54 WHIP, 36 walks, and 57 strikeouts in 200.1 innings. There it is! He sneaks another 200 inning season, making in nine straight. Lyons' command is excellent, he almost never allows a homer, and like Fritz, a strong middle infield could really improve his numbers. For Lyons, it would prolong his career as a starter. Like Tommy Wilcox, he has unlimited job security because you can always stash guys in your pen. As long as Lyons keeps his command, he can continue in the rotation until a better option emerges. The offense was disappointing, with a lot of subpar seasons. John Lawson had his worst season, but I wasn't all that surprised or disappointed. He still hit .330/.391/.491 (125 OPS+) with 20 homers, 39 doubles, and 93 RBI's in 697 trips to the plate. Lawson has little protection in the lineup, but it was still a star level season. His defense was capable and he was an All-Star yet again. Funny enough, I brought Johnny Douglas back on a minor league contract. He announced his retirement at the end of the season (so now), but despite 38 injuries he kept playing for his love of the game. I'm hoping to add him to our organization as a pitching coach. He almost feel like the original Tommy Wilcox, dominated pitcher ravished by injuries. Unfortunately Doc Love and Rich Langton had down seasons too. Starting with Love, he hit just .305/.354/.472 (111 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 13 homers, 15 homers, and 89 RBI's in 649 plate appearances. It's a new floor for the 30-year-old left fielder who may have to worry about Leo Mitchell. Mitchell isn't ready to play left in the big leagues yet, and if he never is, that means eventually Love will be out of luck. For the 25-year-old Langton, I knew the park factors adjustment would hamper him. He had a comparable .303/.345/.480 (110 OPS+) batting line with 27 doubles, 13 triples, 14 homers, and 89 RBI's in 576 trips to the plate. He walked 35 times and struck out 33 times and he played average defense in right. It was his first full season out there, but he did miss some time with injury. It does seem to be a theme for Langton, but when he's healthy he does produce. I was really hoping for a big season from Ray Ford, but he hit just .319/.371/.430 (105 OPS+) with 38 doubles, 7 triples, 5 homers, and 87 RBI's in an unlucky 666 plate appearances. Cause for alarm? Not when he walks 52 times and strikes out just 16 times. If he could just play a little defense we would of had a perfect infield with Page at third, him at second, Mitchell at first, and Hunter at short, but Ford decided that fielding was optional. He doesn't suck at first and he can probably do left field, but he's got to hit more then this. He's a gamer though, he plays his heart out and will work to improve his craft. This kid can flat out hit and the sky is the limit for Ford. Final shoutout goes to Marty Roberts! He made 58 trips to the plate and hit .306/.397/.510 (131 OPS+) with a double, 3 triple, a homer, and 9 RBI's. He was caught stealing all three times, so that is pretty impressive too, but he really outperformed all expectations. He's the early favorite for the starting center field job next season as Roy Moore and Bert Wilson had their struggles. Orlin Yates and Carlos Montes will have their shot too, but I don't think Montes is ready. He's going to be amazing, just not yet. Hopefully a minor league report tomorrow, maybe today. I was considering a playoff preview, but both playoff teams have their own reports so it's not really needed. Might end up doing a review of the mock draft too as we approach draft day. My scout is going to be busy! |
Minor League Report
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Despite the absolute lack of success for the major league roster, the minor league system is loaded with good players who win games! Our "worst" teams were Milwaukee and La Crosse who both finished 80-60. La Crosse was the only team who didn't make top two while Mobile and San Jose both won their respective titles. In fact, only the Hattiesburg Top Hats won more games (103) then San Jose (94) in the entire minor league affiliation ladder. Plus, our system still ranks 3rd in the league and we've graduate two top 10 prospects (Leo Mitchell and Ray Ford), a top 25 prospect (Rich Langton), and a bunch of others the past two seasons. Let's take a look at how each team did:
Milwaukee Blues (AAA Century League: 81-59, .579, 2nd: 1 GB): Milwaukee generally have a lot of veteran players, but at the end of the season 1 through 5 in the lineup are all under 25 and at one point they had a young ace in Pug Bryan. Starting with Bryan, who had 20 impressive starts between his two injuries. He was 8-3 with a 3.38 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 31 walks, and 56 strikeouts in 125 innings. Art Black managed to find success despite the walks, 11-8 with a 3.32 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 77 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 146.1 innings pitched. Didn't quite earn him a job back, the walks are still going to be crazy high, but at least it was a step in the right direction. Pitching wasn't the rosters strength, that would be the bats, led by Leo Mitchell who showed us a glimpse of the future. He didn't spend the whole season there, but he slashed .359/.396/.479 (130 OPS+) with 4 homers, 10 steals, and 70 RBI's in 505 trips to the plate. This might be what he ends up hitting in the big leagues, but the 23-year-old seems likely to return to Milwaukee next season too. Once the glove is down, he'll be up everyday. We had a few other who should be up in the big leagues soon. 1B/RF Johnny Waters is more or less a lock to get his contract purchased to protect him from the Rule-5 draft after an excellent season. He only made 406 plate appearances, but he hit an impressive .347/.393/.507 (136 OPS+) with 7 homers and 78 RBI's. He hasn't shown much power, but this was approximately 10 homers on a full season. Not only that, he's struck out just nine times in the past two years. He's a switch hitter so he can hit lefties and righties equally well and opposing pitchers can almost never best him. Another guy likely to join the 40 would be the recently turned 25-year-old Orlin Yates. Part of the Tom Taylor trade, Yates spent half the year in Mobile and the other half in Milwaukee. The skilled gloveman hit .305/.382/.447 (118 OPS+) with 4 homers, 13 steals, and 43 RBI's with an excellent +10.6 zone rating and 1.113 efficiency out in center. Both Yates and Walters profile as bench bats, but center field is a weak spot now and he'll get a shot to win the starting job as well. Not all the prospects in AAA are ready for the big leagues, especially #4 prospect in all of baseball Billy Hunter. Just a quick 20 game stint, but the 21-year-old hit just .274/.304/.393 (83 OPS+) with a homer, steal, and 16 RBI's. He spent 76 games at short and 44 at third this season, but short is easily his spot. A +11.3 zone rating and 1.061 efficiency in a short period of time is pretty impressive for a youngster, but I finally found the first downside of Billy Hunter. It took four seasons to find one, but his personality is now "Hunter is an underachiever" so I can't imagine how talented he would be with a different one. If top 10 prospect since draft day is underachieving, I'm scared to find out what could happen if he decided to try a little harder. There's also 23-year-old Phil McKenna, who despite being a year and a half older, is only in year two of his pro career. Most of his season was in Milwaukee as well, and he slashed .285/.360/.425 (106 OPS+) with 6 homers, 63 RBI's, 43 walks, and 13 strikeouts. The 1934 5th Rounder has flown up the system and he's chomping on the bit to get in. The glove is improving, still not great at third, but I think he could be a middle tier starter at third. Last guy up close is Johnnie Williamson, also part of the 1934 draft. Our 8th Round selection is also up in AAA, spending his last 48 games there. It was tough, he hit just .262/.339/.298 (69 OPS+) with 21 RBI's in just under 200 PA's. He looked much better in Mobile, but he'll get another run in Milwaukee before having a chance to overtake Mike Taylor. Harry Mead is right behind him in AA, so it may not be a long starting time for Williamson, but rumors have it that Mead may or may not be involved in a potential trade. Mobile Commodores (AA Dixie League: 87-53, .621, 1st: 9 GA): One of our two championship teams, the next generation of Cougars pitching really showed off while seeing the position players progress past them. Harry Parker's last nine starts came in Mobile, and the now 58th ranked prospect in the FABL continues his Pug Bryan-esque rise up the system. A 7th Rounder from 1934, the 21-year-old was 5-4 with a 3.09 ERA (148 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 19 walks, and 33 strikeouts in 75.2 innings with the Commodores. It's been a while since we've had a mid round pitcher blossom like this, giving us throwback vibes to Dean Astle and Ben Turner. The towering Parker seems to throw a complete game every time he's out, five straight to end the season and 17 with 9 or more total innings in 24 starts. I always thought Parker was going to overachieve, but even I did not see this coming. He wasn't even the highest ranked pitcher on the staff, behind our number 2 pitching prospect Karl Wallace. Wallace, however, was the only member of the rotation to struggle, and a tough second half of the season soured his season line. He finished 10-7 in 18 starts, but with a 4.81 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 48 walks, and 50 strikeouts in 147.2 innings pitched. The 22-year-old is the final member of the top 50 prospects in the FABL, but he seemed to lose a little control after his promotion from Lincoln. His excellent command is one of his best features, but each time he gets promoted he seems to walk more batters then he did before. He's corrected the trend with his second go at things, so I think a few more Mobile starts will do him well. Same goes for Cal Knight, who skipped A ball (in our system) and made 22 starts for the Commodores. The 23-year-old southpaw had a nice 13-6 record with a 3.96 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP, 74 walks, and 54 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched. He has had control issues in the past, unlike Wallace, but never an almost 4.0 BB/9. I don't expect him to patch up the walks like Wallace, as I knew walks may be an issue with Knight. Still, he tends to strikeout much more hitters and I think with another year under his belt the walks and strikeouts will come closer to each other. I do have a pair of Rule-5 eligible pitchers in John Hartz and Chet Peacock, but I think only Hartz gets protected. Our 2nd Round selection from 1931, the 23-year-old worked his way back into our future plans with a strong season. He was 16-8 with a 3.51 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 68 walks, and 46 strikeouts in just under 200 frames. This all came after 15 okay starts in Lincoln last season, but Hartz took the next step this year. We do not have many options for our pitching staff, but Hartz still has a season or two before he can be trusted in the big league rotation. Peacock, however, had a rough 9 start stint in Milwaukee, but his 13 starts in Mobile were much better. At 7-5 he had a 3.02 ERA (152 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 24 walks, and 21 strikeouts in 110.1 innings pitched. They are great numbers, but the 24-year-old has generally underperformed in his six minor league seasons. Last pitcher worth mentioning was Joe Foote, who's sprained ankle ended his season a little early. In 23 starts he was 10-11 with a 3.28 ERA (140 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 56 walks, and 64 strikeouts. He just turned 22, and he's always been very high developed for his age. I could see him pitching in Chicago next year, potentially out of the pen, but he's got a future in the rotation. Enough about the pitchers, the lineup has a lot of prospect power as well, but a lot of those players didn't finish the season in the lineup. A fractured knee ended Hank Stratton's season early, but that didn't stop him from raking while he was healthy. He hit .353/.373/.476 (123 OPS+) with 42 doubles, 3 homers, and 85 RBI's. Stratton looked okay at both first and third, but Stratton's talent is being able to put the ball in play frequently. He won't walk very much, but he's really worked on cutting down the strikeouts. I want to see a little more power from him, but knee injuries are tough. He's not much of an athlete, so I can see him recovering rather well, but this likely ends any chance of having a double digit home run season in the majors. There was also Billy Hunter, who hit .307/.385/.450 (120 OPS+) with 3 homers, 3 steals, and 51 RBI's before getting the call to Milwaukee. There was a lot of pop too courtesy of Henry Cox and Bobby Mills. Cox struggled when he started the year in Mobile, but after a quick demotion to get back on track, he finished the season with 17 homers and 60 RBI's in 80 games. He hit a strong .259/.343/.503 (121 OPS+) and the 20-year-old finished the season with 30 combined homeruns in 140 games. Cox has never gotten much love from the prospect people, but that's now 72 homers in two seasons. Mills, however, usually ranks in the 80-120 range for top prospects, and he launched 15 homers and drove in 115 runs in 620 trips to the plate. "Nutball" hit .305/.363/.477 (120 OPS+) with 41 doubles, 53 walks, and 38 strikeouts. He'll turn 23 next season and I imagine he'll start all of next season in Milwaukee. I never expected the Snohomish native to last this long in our organization, but he's done everything he can to force his way into our lineup. We had another trio of top prospects who are a little further off in Ducky Jordan, Carlos Montes, and Harry Mead. Jordan spent all of this season in Mobile after a little time in Milwaukee, hitting .266/.338/.448 (106 OPS+) with 36 doubles, 18 triples, 8 homers, 25 steals, and 74 RBI's in one less then 600 plate appearances. The "Hot Springs Hotshot" can hit from both sides of the plate and while most of his time was spent at second, he filled in at first, second, third, and center too. I thought Montes would be in Chicago already, but after a rough stretch in Milwaukee I moved him back down to Mobile. He spent almost an equal time at both level, with the .270/.357/.418 (104 OPS+) line in AA. He combined to steal 24 bases, hit 26 doubles, 12 triples, and 8 homers with 57 RBI's. He's only 20, so I probably just expected a bit too much, but he should still turn out to be an elite defender and hitter. I mentioned Mead was involved in trade talks, but he really broke out this season. He spent almost equal time in Lincoln and Mobile, and while the Lincoln numbers were better, he still hit an impressive .313/.387/.485 (129 OPS+) with 4 homers and 47 RBI's. He walks (69) a lot more then he strikes out (21) and he doubled 48 times between both stops. The Harvey, Illinois kid is a lefty thrower who kind of makes it work. None the less, he's a tremendous receiver who makes his pitchers better. Both clubs ranked top 3 in nearly every pitching category and played better when he was on the roster. Lincoln Legislators (A Heartland League: 83-57, .593, 2nd: 2 GA): They gave it a good run, but the Legislators fell just two games short of winning their league. As I kept bringing guys up, they kept dropping a bit, but even after guys like Harry Parker moved up, they maintained a dominate pitching staff throughout. They did finish the season with our #1 pitching prospect Cy Sullivan, and he looked like the ace he could end up being. The 22-year-old was 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 32 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 143.1 innings with the Legislators. The strikeout numbers were really low, but he had the best walk rate of his pro career and Cy consistently went the distance when on the mound. I haven't decided where he'll start next year, but this was a perfect season for the 6'6'' former high school shortstop. 22-year-old Sam Hodge put together a strong season as the 1934 6th Rounder is approaching the top 200 for prospect rankings. He made 20 starts in Lincoln and was an effective 12-3 with a 3.39 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, 31 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 151.1 innings pitched. He'll be 23 next season and my scout thinks he can work his way into the back of a rotation. The now 74th best prospect Stumpy Beaman had an okay season in Lincoln, 13-8 with a 3.92 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 41 walks, and 58 strikeouts in 190.1 innings. He'll get another go at A ball, but I really like how he's developed. He didn't spend much time in San Jose, and more then held his own in Lincoln. Unlike most of our towering starters, Stumpy really is stumpy (5'6'') and he's profiling as a righty Dick Lyons. Both are short (Lyons is 5'8''), keep the ball on the ground, and keeps walks low without striking out too many. Before moving onto the hitters, I do have to share Harry Parker's dominated stats: 10-3, 2.78 ERA (153 ERA+), 1.02 WHIP, 21 walks, and 66 strikeouts. Sure, he allowed almost a homer a start (11 in 15), but I can't imagine how good his numbers would be without the homers. The offense was a rag tag group of prospects, but former 8th Rounder Elias Canady found his own this season. The glove has never been a problem, but the bat finally came around! He hit .284/.383/.445 (122 OPS+) with 39 doubles, 79 walks, 11 homers, and 76 RBI's. You think a great defender would steal bases, but Canady has never been much of a base stealer. He'll turn 22 in a few weeks, but it has been a slow climb for Canady until this season. I'm hoping he's found his stride, as you can never have too many guys who can play center. Our 5th Rounder Jimmy Bach spent all season in Lincoln, and the "Maestro" spent some time at second, third, and short. He hit fine too, an averageish .289/.335/.409 with 16 doubles, 11 triples, 6 homers, 12 steals, and 59 RBI's. I expected Bach to crash and fail and end up in San Jose, but he's already 23 and isn't one of those high upside guys you can really "ruin" by rushing. Former 19th Rounder Larry Robison looked okay in Lincoln after a demotion from Mobile, slashing .299/.356/.468 (120 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 5 homers, 20 steals, and 38 RBI's. Lot's of speed, low strikeouts, passable walks, a little gap power, and he's worked his way into the top 200. San Jose Cougars (B California-Oregon-Washington League: 94-46, .671, 1st: 9 GA): One of the bests minor league teams we've ever had, the San Jose Cougars finished September 16-4 in what was easily the most successful season they've ever had. A lot of guys had breakout season, including 1932 22nd Round Pick Cuno Myer who hit an astronomical .372/.430/.513 (136 OPS+) with 11 homers and 104 RBI's. He walked 55 times and struck out just 26 times and added 32 doubles in a much more successful season with the Cougars. Our #6 starter Rusty Watts, turned into an ace, 13-4 with a 3.42 ERA (152 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 35 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 17 starts and 6 relief appearances. I didn't even plan on giving him starts this year until injuries hit, but after increasing his fastball to 95-97, the 1934 13th Rounder continues to just put up absurd minor league numbers. Is Watts a new hidden gem? Who knows! You never can quite tell with young pitchers. Looking at some more established prospects, 1933 2nd Rounder Tommy Wilson hit an impressive .302/.401/.468 (118 OPS+) with 10 homers, 24 steals, and 96 RBI's. What's more impressive, is the almost 60 point gap between his walks (71) and strikeouts (14). This plate discipline is absolutely amazing, nothing like anything Wilson has displayed before, but this is a nice little perk. Especially considering how awesome he was defensively at second, third, and short this season, Wilson's prospect spark continues to rise. He's up to 116th in the league and 15th in our system, and projects to be another viable infield starter. Oscar Panduro spent half his season in San Jose, with a still impressive .368/.388/.498 (121 OPS+) batting line to go with 4 homers, 62 RBI's, and 3 steals. Not quite his crazy La Crosse numbers, but still an excellent performance from the Chicago kid. He move to center after last year's 3rd Rounder John Johnson ruptured a tendon in his elbow. Before that, he got into 111 games and hit a strong .329/.388/.507 (123 OPS+). He added 20 doubles, 15 triples, 9 homers, 13 steals, and 79 RBI's in an all around productive year. On the mound there were some struggles, but the COW is a very hitter friendly league. It may not look it, but when last year's 2nd Rounder Doc Smith was 5-3 with a 4.98 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 7 walks, and 18 strikeouts in his 9 starts, he actually pitched pretty well. Sure, he had a 2.66 ERA (182 ERA+) and 1.13 WHIP before the promotion, but these were strong numbers for a lefty in his first season. Illinois native Joe Brown started all 23 of his appearances and was 9-8 with a 4.89 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 46 walks, and 42 strikeouts. 1934 9th Rounder Jim Miller was 6-6 with a 4.51 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, 37 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 101.2 innings pitched. A lot of Miller's starts were really short, so my guess is he might not be making too many more starts. Still, if he pitches like this, I'll find a way to make it work. Final shoutout to Otis Campbell. A former failed starter move to the pen and tossed 65.1 excellent innings in a semi-stopper role. He was 5-3 with 17 saves, a 2.76 ERA (189 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 36 walks, and 27 strikeouts. La Crosse Lions (C Upper Mississippi Valley Association: 80-60, .571, 3rd: 9 GB): If I really wanted to, La Crosse could have been top two as well, but I kept promoting guys up to get more guys playing time. That includes Hal Wood, who hit .335/.415/.512 (128 OPS+) with 4 homers, 5 steals, and 61 RBI's before a late season callup. Or Grover Donahue, who was 10-5 with a 2.92 ERA (165 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 49 walks, and 56 strikeouts in 19 starts before a late season call of his own. Add in the Art Saunders and Harry Peterson injuries and the previously mentioned Panduro and Smith, a lot of important roster pieces moved up. One of the guys who didn't move up was 19-year-old Chubby Hall. A projected first round pick, we managed to get Hall 34th Overall last season and he was instantly added to the top 100 prospect list. Up to 47th now and 5th in our organization, he really showed he has a lot of way to go. Hall hit just .294/.324/.376 (72 OPS+) as he watched his strikeouts jump to 59, more then twice his 21 walks. In high school it was much different, 15 walks to 1 strikeout, and he only hit one more homer in 132 games with the Lions. Am I worried? Not one bit! How many teenagers can consistently hit college pitchers and more experienced prep guys? Most of our prep draftees struggled, including Jocko Pollard, Sonny O'Callaghan, Steve Mountain, and Harl Haines, because most C ball teams have age ranges from 18 to 25. Sure, for us, all the guys that play are 22 and under (as is the case for most), but even two years pitching in the low minors is a lot more then a few high school at bats. I knew Hall was extremely raw and a long developmental project, but now at least a floor is established. I do want to focus on some of the success, including last year's 7th Rounder Izzy Sevilla. He had a tough start to his year, but finished with a strong .314/.398/.483 (117 OPS+) batting line. He swiped 46 bags, doubled 31 times, tripled 16 times, homers 7 times, and drove in 59 while scoring 104 times. Excellent leadoff skills, solid defense, and strong bat speed are his strengths, but I still see fourth outfielder when I look at him. Our other 7th Rounder from last year Stu Johnson hit fine too, .317/.377/.473 (109 OPS+) with 9 homers and 70 RBI's. Both were college guys who were much further along the development path, and I expect both in San Jose next season (Johnson was there for a little, didn't work out), if not to start, to finish. We had a ton of different guys starting games, including Bill Seabolt who started his year in San Jose and finished in La Crosse. He was much better down here, 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA (147 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 21 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched. Ralph Kendall held his own despite being a prep guy, 7-11 with a 4.29 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.59 WHIP, 64 walks, and 55 strikeouts. He was our 5th Round pick purely because my scout liked him, and this strong performance propelled him up to 497th in the league, just inside the top 500. This ended up being far longer then I expected, but there were a lot of good things in the minors this year. It makes the losing in Chicago a little easier to handle knowing that at each level our top guys are able to out preform the rest of the league. Very few of our highly ranked guys struggled this year, and if they did, it wasn't necessarily unexpected or devastating. There's a lot of things for the Cougar faithful to be excited for, assuming I don't trade the prospects early the second we start to overperform. |
Your minor league system is where I’m trying to get to.
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I think it is encouraging that you have a lot of under-25s that may be ready for the Bigs soon. I love the description of Hunter in his "underachiever" role. That could mean he is the most talented prospect of all and will blow up (in a good way) once he finally gets it.
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1936 "Mock" Draft
We're about to get the 1936 Draft going, so I wanted to do a sort of mock draft review. The in game one refuses to rank pitchers, so instead of covering the first round, I'll be covering the top 10 hitters and top 6 pitchers to have a little variety in the rankings:
CF Sal Pestilli (Narragansett): Easily the most hyped non-Barrell prospect, it's almost not worth covering Pestilli because he's informally been selected #1 overall by the Dynamos. If we finished 7th, Pestilli would've been informally selected a Cougar, but there seems to be a clear cut top 4 in the draft and Detroit seems to have warmed up to the idea of Pestilli patrolling center in Thompson Field. This kid is a legit five tool player and hit .380/.437/.732 in his three seasons in the middle of the Navigators lineup. The middle brother added 38 doubles, 23 triples, 32 homers, 97 steals, and 171 RBI's in 152 games, equivalent to a full FABL season. He's got 30/30 potential with the chance to challenge 40/40 all while hitting for a batting title and playing an outstanding center field. Rumor has it he could go from the campus to the lineup, potentially forming a dangerous outfield in Detroit with Irv Brady and the recently acquired Leon Drake. 1B Walt Messer (McKinley Tech): He couldn't quite hit .600 three seasons in a row as senior "Wally the Knife" hit .586/.631/1.126 with 13 homers and 49 RBI's for McKinley Tech. That earned him a full ride to go to Collingwood College, but there is little to no chance Messer turns down a chance to go pro. In 363 high school plate appearances Messer slashed .601/.639/1.140 with 38 homers and 139 RBI's. It's obvious that he's loaded with power, but I am very surprised Messer doesn't walk more. For someone who almost always gets a hit, you'd think he'd walk more then just 47 times. Still, my scout thinks the eye will develop and his power potential will turn him into a "human highlight film" which is generally a more apt comparison for defenders then sluggers, but it's hard to oversell Messer's power. I'm a big Henry Cox fan, but even his power pales in comparison to Messer. He's not a great consolation to Sal Pestilli, but if you don't have corner players and select second, you'll be pretty thrilled with Messer. 2B Billy Woytek (Loyola): Here's where things start to get a little murky, as after the clear-cut 1-2 for hitters, it's going to be a free-for-all for the rest of the picks. A California kid born and raised, Woytek went to Loyola in LA and is committed to Golden Gate University. "Blue Collar Billy" hit .504/.599/.874 with 45 doubles, 8 homers, 55 steals, and 75 RBI's in 66 games. He's got a strong hit tool with a quick and loose swing, paired with a strong eye, and potentially developing power. He's an extremely gifted athlete with good speed and he doubled his home run total with four as a senior. With a little more gap power he could turn into a Jack Cleaves type player, but Woytek reminds me a lot of Cleveland's Brooks Meeks. I don't like taking second basemen early in a draft, but I've done it before with Bill Ashbaugh and I may do it again with Woytek. CF Al Jennings (Gates University): Another option for our pick, Al Jennings was a three year starter for the Griffins, Jennings hit .325/.382/.493 with 37 doubles, 19 triples, 14 homers, 113 steals, and 138 RBI's. Jennings turned 22 in August, and is a projected top five pick due to his defensive ability, hit tool, and extra base hit power. He does walk a bit, totaling 62 compared to just 3 walks each season, but that will never be one of his greatest strengths. Good pitchers will challenge him, but very few will be able to best him. He feels like a "safe" pick and a pick that I would make, but I don't see Jennings ending up a Cougar. With Carlos Montes penciled in as center fielder of the future, it would feel weird adding someone two years older then him. I can see Jennings falling to the middle of the first, with a team like St. Louis or Toronto able to add a really strong piece that contribute pretty early. CF Tony Richardson (Fall Creek): A high school center fielder with some experience in the infield as well, Tony Richardson was unheard of until this season. He broke out as a senior, slashing .500/.581/.805 with 2 homers, 16 steals, and 28 RBI's in his 21 prep games. Not much to go off of with the 17-year-old, but my scout and OSA alike seem to feel very highly of him. He projects to be an above average defender with good pitch recognition skills and he does an outstanding job consistently making contact with the ball. He's a very risky pick and I can't see him being selected in the top five. There are a lot of interesting pitchers available and we just do not know much about Richardson. He's a high risk, high reward prospect that is well worth the development time. RF Ed Stoddard (Pullman): Another kid we don't know much about, the Chicago kid Ed Stoddard got just one year in the starting lineup. He hit .516/.596/.768 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and 30 RBI's. Not the most encouraging numbers, especially from a 19-year-old corner player where you want to see a lot more pop. That combined with one year of statistics and a rather uninspiring scouting report make me suspicious that Stoddard is truly the 6th best prospect available. The Chicago kid is stuck in a class deep with outfielders and he didn't quite show off enough to make me thing he's worth a first round selection. 3B Denny Andrews (Maryland State): A switch hitter from Maryland State, Denny Andrews hit .298/.429/.504 with 18 homers and 75 RBI's. That was impressive, but so was the 81-to-22 walk to strikeout ratio that really helped Andrews' OBP. His strong eye makes it hard to fool him and his top of the line power makes him an extremely challenging out. He's no Mack Sutton, but this is back to back seasons with truly game changing talents at third base available. The league as a whole is rather weak at third, and that makes Andrews a really attractive candidate for an early selection. There are also very few alternatives at third, so a team in need of a new specialist for the hot corner may consider trading up for a change to snag him. RF Mike T Taylor (University Military): I don't think I'm going to want another Mike Taylor in my organization, but Mike T. should be the second player with that name to debut in the FABL. Taylor stole 100 bases in 67 high school games combined with a .519/.563/.859 batting line. Not much power, just 8 homers, and there are a lot of other corner guys with more pop then him and Stoddard. The power may end up developing, my scout predicts above average power, but he's going to need to dedicate a lot of development time to adding muscle. He's 6'1'', but just 160, and honestly profiles a lot more as a center fielder then a right fielder. Interesting enough, he has no positional ratings, so my guess is he's just a bad defender like Doc Love. He's demanding a $17,000 bonus to sign, so perhaps Taylor drops out of the first like Chubby Hall did last year. RF Fred Vargas (Cass Tech): Another high school outfielder, Fred Vargas was a three year starter at Cass Tech where he hit .442/.557/.779 with 11 homers, 16 steals, and 86 RBI's in 371 trips to the plate. The lefty has excellent plate discipline, but he doesn't make all that much contact. He makes up for it with the pop, 5 homers in 23 games as a senior, but expect low averages with high walks and strikeouts. He's not quite a three true outcomes player, won't strike out that much, but I wish he made more consistent contact. He has the tools to start, but doesn't quite have the upside I look for in a first round pick. The defense is a mystery, so I'm guessing average at best, but with so many corner outfield options, it'll be tough for Vargas to stand out. LF Bob Edgin (Opelika State): If I had to dub one of the players available the "will always be good, but impossible to trade" player of the class, it would be Bob Edgin. A three year starter for the Wildcats, he hit .296/.387/.450 with 17 homers, 39 steals, and 101 RBI's in 126 games out in left. They are nice numbers, but unfortunately for the Georgia native, there really isn't much demand for corner outfielders who can hit. He's got strong pop, a good eye, and rarely strikes out, but there are 50 other guys just like him hanging out in AAA. He'll rise through the system fast, but will end up stuck behind someone who's just a little bit better then him. LHP Johnnie Jones (St. Paul): Despite being ranked 15th in the mock draft, I'd wage Billy Hunter that he's selected earlier then that in the actual draft. The 6'4'' southpaw dubbed "The Patron Saint of Groundballs", the towering 18-year-old made 42 starts for his high school and finished 28-5 with a 1.44 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 78 walks, and 400 strikeouts in 349.2 innings pitched. Not sure he's the best pitcher available, but his upside is unmatched. As you might expect, he's elite at keeping the ball on the ground, as his high 80s sinker is outstanding. It's next to impossible to get any sort of contact on it, and if you do, chances are it's going to bounce a few feet from home plate. He's got great command and great movement, and does a nice job supplementing the sinker with his slider, change, and the occasional forkball. As with all high school pitchers, there is tremendous risk, but I expect Jones to be selected by the Stars right after Pestilli and Messer go to the Dynamos and Cannons. I'd be thrilled to end up with Jones, but that seems about as likely as getting Pestilli. If injuries don't hit, he's a surefire ace, and perhaps one of the best pitchers we'll see. Of course, just like with any 18-year-older, you won't see that greatness for a long time. RHP Bunny Edwards (Red River State): I think I've gone back and forth over who's the "best' pitcher available this year a thousand times, but one of the guys always in the mix was Bunny Edwards. A Christmas baby, he'll turn 21 at the end of the year, but the 20-year-old finished his AIAA career 20-5 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 77 walks, and 268 strikeouts. Not quite a plug and play starter, the 5'7'' righty finished his Red River State career strong, 7-1 with a 2.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 22 walks, and 95 strikeouts. The command has improved, and like Jones, he does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. He doesn't feature a dominant sinker, but his mid 80s fastball gets a lot of swings and missed, his change up does an excellent disappearing act, and the curve has excellent bite. As a college pitcher, he's a safer bet, and just ranked two spots lower then Jones in the mock draft. Edwards doesn't quite have ace upside, but his floor is a middle of the rotation arm and with his steady improvement in college, I think Edwards will continue to improve. He's throwing harder now then he did during the season as well, and while I expect him to be a top five pick, it will be really hard for Edwards to last past six. LHP Jim Morrison (Indiana A&M): I almost feel a personal connection to Jim Morrison, who I correctly deduced would have a bounce back junior year that would propel him up draft boards. Usually that's a good thing, but in this case, it means I'm probably going to end up reaching to take Morrison. A five pitch pitcher, the Sycamores' ace was 8-4 with a 3.41 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 47 walks, and 80 strikeouts in 118.2 innings after a slight setback as a sophomore. The 6'2'' Morrison finished his collegiate career 21-12 with a 3.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 126 walks, and 210 strikeouts across 325 innings pitched. His best pitch is either his knee buckling curve or high 80s fastball, but his arsenal is already FABL quality due to his capable change up. He'll mix in a splitter and forkball as well, and possibly his greatest strength is the movement he gets on each one of his offerings. I think the Woodbury native is a very well developed arm who could rise through the system in a season or two like Pug Bryan, but also like Bryan, sacrifices upside for a higher floor. There's no way he lasts past pick 25, but I'm hoping I don't end up using the 6th pick on him. RHP Pete Papenfus (West Plains): As a sophomore, "Peter the Heater" broke on to the scene by dominating Missouri prep hitters all season long. The 18-year-old was a perfect 10-0 with a miniscule 0.53 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 19 walks, and 189 strikeouts. Of course, those numbers are impossible to replicate, but in 41 starts for West Plains he was a near perfect 30-1 with a 0.93 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 97 walks, and 524 strikeouts in just 308.1 innings. Yes, an insane 15.3 K/9. And while high K/9's are common in the amateur levels (and some minor leagues as well), you almost never see a value that high. So how does he do it? Well, when you are blessed with a high 90s cutter and fastball, there's really not much you need to do. His stuff is electric, his arsenal polished, but his command can allude him at times. His 1.7 BB/9 in 1934 never stayed below 3 the next two seasons, but I'm really not too concerned by a few walks. He allowed just a single homer each season with an absurd 4.8 H/9 for his career and he tends to only allow soft contact. When you see an nearly 100 mile per hour pitch from an 18-year-old, it's hard to not just stop and dream about what he could be. The ultimate combination of high risk, high reward, he seems like someone who could develop injury problems, although that's the only thing stopping him from being an outstanding strikeout arm. LHP Wally Doyle (Waco): Another excellent high school arm with the tools to lead a rotation, Wally Doyle was extremely consistent in his three high school seasons. He kept his ERA between 0.98 and 1.15, his strikeouts between 155 and 187, innings between 103 and 118, and WHIP between 0.82 and 0.87. Like the four pitchers prior to him, he's probably better then most of the guys expected to be selected before him as I'd also wager Hunter that Doyle is selected before the 45th pick. He doesn't throw all that hard, sitting comfortably in the mid 80s with his cut fastball, but he's also a groundball specialist. He has great raw stuff that needs some work on, but the tools for success are there. I like his command and movement, but he's a long term development project with tantalizing upside. My scout is really big on him, ranking him the second best pitcher available, but unlike last season, my scout is actually very similar to what OSA likes. Last year he had guys like Doc Smith and Ralph Kendall very high, but the only guy in his top 5 (for pitcher's) not in the mock's top five was Whitney College's Hank Beckman. I feel a pitching run in Chicago coming, so a "win" for this draft is two of the top six arms in the first 20 or so picks of the draft. |
Trade News!
It's not the biggest blockbuster, but we did move top 100 prospect Hank Stratton to the Cleveland Foresters for righty Dan Everett and the Foresters 2nd round selection. What started as Ben Turner negotiations and of course a few George Dawson offers that got rejected on the spot, eventually evolved into a really beneficial trade for both of our teams. Stratton didn't have a direct spot in our future infield, which I now envision as Page-Hunter-Jordan-Ford left to right and he's the perfect age to replace the aging, yet still effective Charlie Berry in the Foresters infield. "Jitters" will move from our 10th rated prospect to their #1 rated prospect and will be healthy and ready for Opening Day. The 22-year-old will look to build on a strong 1936 season in Mobile where he hit .353/.373/.476 (123 OPS+) with 3 homers and 85 RBI's in 512 trips to the plate. Our 5th Round selection in the 1932 draft, the lefty is a talented hitter with a "balanced, rhythmic swing" and he's capable at the hot corner. After a rough 1933 season in La Crosse, Stratton has hit at every level and projects to be a top of the order hitter. If he had a bit more power I never would have let him go, but John Lawson has a lot of good years left and there are a lot of young guys I'm looking at with the new pick. I'm not going to touch on Everett yet, as I'm releasing my top prospect list after this post and will cover him there. He ranks 136th in the league which is 18th in our system.
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Top Prospects
Totally forgot to post these when the new top 100 was released yesterday, but here is our fresh top 30. Pre-trade our system ranked 2nd in the league with 190 points, two more then the Keystones. Neither of us are close to the Cannons (272), but they could see three top 20 prospects graduate pretty soon. In total we have 13 top 100 prospects after the Stratton trade, 24 in the top 201 (Pug never gets love...), and 44 in the top 500:
1. SS Billy Hunter (4th Overall): 3rd/13th 2. C Harry Mead (31st Overall): 5th/38th 3. RHP Cy Sullivan (35th Overall): 4. SS Hal Wood (42nd Overall): 8th Overall Pick 5. RF Chubby Hall (46th Overall): 34th Overall Pick 6. RHP Karl Wallace (50th Overall): 8th/58th 7. CF Carlos Montes (54th Overall): 9th/60th 8. SS Ducky Jordan (55th Overall): 10th/71st 9. RHP Harry Parker (56th Overall): 16th/126th 10. RHP Bill Scott (71st Overall): 29th/240th 11. RHP Stumpy Beaman (80th Overall): 12th/95th 12. LF Bobby Mills (85th Overall): 13th/99th 13. SS Tommy Wilson (100th Overall): 17th/129th 14. RHP Joe Foote (114th Overall): 15th/122nd 15. SS Ivan Cameron (118th Overall): 18th/131st 16. CF Marty Roberts (128th Overall): 19th/135th 17. RHP Art Saunders (135th Overall): 133rd Overall Pick 18. RHP Dan Everett (136th Overall): Acquired from Cleveland 19. 2B Gene Evans (160th Overall): 24th/163rd 20. RF Larry Robison (170th Overall): 22nd/155th 21. LF Dave Haight (171st Overall): 23rd/157th 22. CF Elias Canady (174th Overall): 26th/201st 23. CF Orlin Yates (179th Overall): 30th/242nd 24. RHP Pug Bryan (201st Overall): 21st/140th 25. CF John Johnson (202nd Overall): 37th Overall Pick 26. 1B Cuno Myer (233rd Overall): 28th/238th 27. LHP Mutt Clabough (260th Overall): Not in top 30 28. 3B Phil McKenna (310th Overall): 27th/204th 29. CF Oscar Panduro (321st Overall): 158th Overall Pick 30. LF Billy Jordan Jr. (330th Overall): 197th Overall Pick Lot's of posts today, maybe a fourth tonight with the top five prospects in the system. We're still really deep, and I'm hoping after the draft we get even deeper. I'm looking to add more pitching as the offense is really starting to take shape. The 1932 draft class is starting to really take shape both in the majors and in the upper levels of the system, and we're almost ready to look at some legit pitching prospects. It's been a while since a young Cougar arm has done much with us, but OSA gives FABL ETA's of 1937 for Sullivan, Wallace, Parker, Beaman, and Foote. I know they all can't hit, but we do look to have a nice future rotation forming. |
The Last Cougar 1st Round Pick?
As ominous as this title may sound, that does not mean I am leaving my post as Chicago Cougars general manager. I think you'd have to take me out kicking and screaming from the GM's chair and then you might want to call for backup! No, we're changing how the draft works a little (more on that closer to the next draft) so there may not be many more first round selections since I love making picks and the new format takes that away in the first two rounds a little, so I am more then likely going to trade my first and second round picks most seasons (we'll probably see the "why would this make sense" second for third round pick trades a few times in the next couple seasons) so I can ideally get FABL pieces or at least prospects I've drawn a liking too instead of one of the top 32 players on the mock draft.
Anyways, enough about that; let's talk about the future of the Chicago Cougars pitching staff. I tried my best to hide who I really wanted to take in the Mock Draft (almost like all the pitchers have longer writeups...), but I had to turn "electric stuff", "surefire ace", "dream pitcher", and "if I could design a perfect pitcher he would look a lot like this" into "ultimate combination of high risk, high reward" "a single homer each season with an absurd 4.8 H/9" and "blessed with a high 90s cutter and fastball". Honestly, blessed was probably the highest compliment I've given to many players, but if you couldn't tell already, I selected Pete Papenfus from West Plains high school in Missouri. More commonly known as "Peter the Heater", the 18-year-old from Willow Springs, Missouri is a polished four pitch pitcher with an FABL quality selection of offerings already. I also undersold his velocity, it's not just high 90s, its 97-99, and I'd be stunned if he debuts before adding more velocity. Not only that, just take another look at his numbers: 15.3 K/9, 0.93 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 0.1 HR/9, 4.8 H/9, 30-1 record. This kid is an over the top power pitcher who doesn't specialize in keeping the ball on the ground, but can also do a pretty good job of that. Yes, there are command issues, an okay 2.8 BB/9 that is deflated a little by an unstoppable freshman season, but who's afraid of a few walks? Not me for sure! Let's talk about that "if I could design a perfect pitcher he would look a lot like this" part. This is more from a modern lens, but to me, if you have overwhelming, dominant, electric stuff, you don't necessarily want to control it that well. Don't get me wrong, but if you have a triple digit heater, do you really want a well controlled changeup that sits in the strike zone? Do you really want to paint the corners with a pitch that could end up hanging a little and get punished? No! I want a guy who you are scared to stand in the box against because that 100 mile per hour fastball could take your head off or end up right down the middle. I don't want him locating curveballs and changeups on the corners to get called strikes, I want guys swinging out of their shoes on 58 foot breaking balls that out of his hand look like triple digit fastballs. When your stuff is as good as his, you can live with the walks, especially with how good he is at erasing batters. He'll walk or strikeout the good hitters, but even when they get on base, he can just get the slow guys to ground out. Eventually, our middle infield defense should be elite with Billy Hunter and Ducky Jordan, so this strategy seems like a sound one. Of course, he's far from a sure thing. 18-year-old with high 90s fastball just screams future arm injuries, and look no further then Tommy Wilcox to see what one bad RNG role can do to your career. That being said, I have a lot of hope that Papenfus will blossom into an ace that can rival Tom Barrell and Rabbit Day's strikeout numbers. He's polished in baseball skills, is loaded with pitching talent, and I don't have to worry about a lagging changeup hampering his career. All his pitches can be thrown effectively and he doesn't have many off nights. Truly his only flaw is his command, and that's something I can live with. Sure, I would have loved Sal Pestilli patrolling center in Chicago for the next two decades, but all Papenfus will cost is our first rounder. I expect to add two more pitchers with my next two picks, before spending most of the remaining picks on position players. I do need a catcher, so potentially one of my seconds will be used on one, but I imagine one of our next five picks will be used on one. |
You know, as the league's commissioner I need to stay impartial, but I'm not going to lie: if something bad happens to Peter the Heater, I will cry a little bit.
I'm really hoping he is the absolute beast that we both think he's going to be. 300 wins, 3000 strikeouts... Can't wait to watch it unfold :D |
Top Prospects: 1-5
SS Billy Hunter (4th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 14th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Cincinnati HS Tigers Hopefully the FABL's top offensive shortstop for the next decade, the Billy Hunter era is almost here. A month away from 22, Hunter is clearly one of the truly elite prospects out there. He has the potential to hit over .350 while providing excellent defense as he continues to develop his power. The biggest jump for Hunter this season was in plate discipline. Generally he's pretty even with walks and strikeouts, but this year it wasn't even close. Since most of his time was with Mobile, I'll focus just on that period where he walked 50 times compared to just 12 strikeouts in 102 games with the Commodores. Pair that with a .307/.385/.450 (120 OPS+) with 32 doubles,7 triples, 3 homers, 3 steals, and 51 RBI's. He spent half his time at the hot corner, but at short had a nice +7.6 zone rating and 1.049 efficiency in a few less then 500 innings. The sky is the limit for Hunter, and my scout thinks he's going to be far better then Ollie Page, who currently ranks as the #4 shortstop He'll be in Chicago to start camp, and will handle short while Ollie Page gets some reps at second, but expect him to start the season in Milwaukee. He had some issues in his 20 games there this year, but a strong Spring will be enough to make me ignore that. Regardless, I think this is last time Billy Hunter ranks as a prospect. I'm hoping he'll end the season in Chicago, and hopefully be up early enough to shed his prospect status, but there's no way Hunter isn't a Cougar an in game season from now. C Harry Mead (31st Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 58th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Memphis HS Pharaohs 1936 was a huge breakout for the lefty catcher Harry Mead. After matching 102 OPS+ in La Crosse and San Jose across consecutive seasons, the bat exploded. He started in Lincoln where he hit .325/.424/.478 (142 OPS+) before an eventual promotion to Mobile. The numbers were almost as good, .313/.387/.485 (129 OPS+) in two fewer plate appearances. He combined to hit 48 doubles, 7 homers, and drove in 77 runs with an impressive 69-to-21 walk-to-strikeout ratio. An Illinois kid, Mead is almost set to debut for one of his close to home teams. Mead demonstrates excellent plate discipline and has really improved his hit tool. I never really expected him to hit over .300 and I bet more on the glove then the bat when I selected him. My scout raves about his defense as well and it seems like all the pieces are finally falling into place. He'll turn 23 next season, and with how terrible Mike Taylor has looked, if he starts out hot in Milwaukee, he'll be catching Dave Rankin and Hardin Bates in the Summer instead of Art Black and Dick Sexton. RHP Cy Sullivan (35th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 60th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Austin HS Senators Another high school draftee from the 1932 draft, Cy Sullivan unfortunately will not be joining Hunter and Mead in Chicago next season. My goal is for Sullivan to start in AA, as after going 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 32 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 143.1 innings with the Legislators, I think he's ready for tougher competition. I got lucky with Sullivan, who fell to the 4th Round after a terrible senior year on the mound that was 1000% not his fault. I got to reap the rewards of that, and the 6'6'' righty has blossomed into one of the top young pitching prospects in the FABL. Sullivan is a four pitch pitcher who despite being the oldest of the top three, has the furthest way development wise. I knew he'd be a project, but it's looking like a rather successful one. My scout views him as a #2 and generally relies on his excellent command and trickery to get batters out. He has boosted the velo a bit, from 84-86 to 87-89 since being drafted, but I was hoping the lanky righty would be throwing in the low 90s now. His one true weakness is his hustle, but with all the improvements he's made so far it makes me wonder how much better he could be. I see ace when I look at Sullivan, but I think my scout (and OSA) are probably going to be closer with their projections. SS Hal Wood (42nd Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 8th Overall (1935) Alma Mater: Smithfield College I did a lot of shuffling in the draft last year, and ended up with Hal Wood being my first round selection. Sure, I probably would have been better off taking Koblenz or Van Ness, but I can't complain too much with who I ended up with. He's actually just a month younger then Sullivan and older then Hunter and Mead, Wood spent most of his season all the way down in La Crosse. After a slow start, he turned things on and finished with a .335/.415/.512 (128 OPS+) batting line across 510 plate appearances. He had 29 doubles, 19 triples, 4 homers, 5 steals, and 61 RBI's. He walked (57) more then he struck out (36) and owned a nice +13 zone rating and 1.049 efficiency at short. Wood reminds me of an old school leader who does all the little things right. No standout tools of any kind, but no real weakness of any time. My scout says he is working "hard at developing leadoff skills" but I see Wood as more of a #2 hitter. He's a great personality in the clubhouse, always helping out his fellow teammates, and his intelligence and overall personality really raise his floor. I'll be honest, I was a little worried about taking Wood, but it seems I made the right choice. RF Chubby Hall (46th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 34th Overall (1935) Alma Mater: Westinghouse According to the top prospect rankings, I really whiffed on my second round picks (Grover Donahue is a legit middle of the rotation arm...), but they think I made up for it with Hall. Considered a first rounder in the mock draft, Hall fell out of the first two rounds so I snatched him up with one of the picks I acquired from trading back. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old was awful in La Crosse, hitting just .294/.324/.376 (72 OPS+) with 7 homers and 61 RBI's. This is nothing like the .535/.603/.899 line from high school where he still hit 6 homers in over 100 less games. Lot's of sign for concern, his strikeouts shot up to 59, almost triple his 21 walks, and the extra base pop completely disappeared. He had two more extra base hits in 132 La Crosse games compared to the 23 he had as a senior. Next year looks to be a mulligan for Hall, who I knew would be pretty underdeveloped when I selected him. At least he can't do worse then this next year! |
Top Prospects: 6-10
RHP Karl Wallace (50th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Boston (1934) Drafted: 6th Round, 91st Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Milwaukee HS Maroons The only member of our top 10 that was not selected by us, in what may have been the most underrated trade I have ever pulled off, I acquired Karl Wallace and Johnny Cox (eventually flipped for Ray Ford) for veteran Max Wilder. 23 in February, Wallace spent most of the season in Mobile, and while he didn't do all that great, he still was effective in the rotation. Wallace was 10-7 with a 4.81 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 48 walks, and 50 strikeouts in 147.2 innings pitched. The walks were up a bit and the strikeouts were down a little, but it did come after seven strong starts down in Lincoln. A polished four pitch pitcher, he boasts a nice mid 90s fastball that he supplements with a decent curve, cutter, and changeup. He hasn't quite shown it yet, but Wallace projects to have pinpoint command and he can go extremely deep into games. He threw an 161 pitch complete game and a pair of 152 pitch complete games and a clean bill of health. OSA drools over him; "Wallace's ceiling is immense - future rotation anchor" and I actually think they are on to something. My scout isn't nearly as high on him, ranking behind Sullivan, Scott, and Parker, but I think when it is all said and done, Wallace might be our most reliable arm. And don't think that means a dull and consistent like say Dick Lyons. I mean you can take it to the bank that he's going all nine with three runs and a reasonable WHIP. CF Carlos Montes (54th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 12th Overall (1934) Alma Mater: Citronelle Bulldogs 1936 was a tough season for the former first round selection, as he had a tough spring that saw Roy Moore take the opening day center field job. Not only that, he struggled in AAA, sprained his elbow, and then finished his season in AA. It was equal time split between them, but his .270/.357/.418 (104 OPS+) Mobile line and .249/.324/.387 (87 OPS+) Milwaukee line could not have been further from what I envisioned. Now before I get ahead of myself, nothing changed about Montes, I just probably expected a bit too much from the 20-year-old. My scout raves about him, "high ceiling and low floor" with "the potential to become one of the best." His defense out in center is strong, and it will only improve with more playing time. He's patient and has excellent speed, but he doesn't seem to have much extra base pop. He did triple a lot this season, 12 in 127 games, but just 26 doubles compared to 24 steals. Sure he's no Sal Pestilli, but him and every other center fielder in the league will be competing for second best and I don't think there is another center fielder with a higher ceiling. SS Ducky Jordan (55th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 6th Round, 92nd Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Little Rock HS Pioneers "The Hot Springs Hotshot" was a guy I was pretty high on draft day, but decided to wait until the 6th to select him. Looks like it panned out pretty well, as the versatile switch hitter has grown tremendously both in the field and at the plate. I rushed him a bit last season, so I took a step back and let Jordan spend his whole season in Mobile. I wanted him and Billy Hunter to get used to playing together, as I envision that as our future middle infield. Jordan is more then talented enough to play short, but posted an incredible +14 zone rating and 1.065 efficiency at second despite just 30 games prior at the keystone. He didn't hit for a very high average, but had a productive .266/.338/.448 (106 OPS+) batting line to go with 36 doubles, 18 triples, 8 homers, 25 steals, and 74 RBI's in one less then 600 plate appearances. His speed and defense are elite, but sometimes he's a little too aggressive at the plate which leads to a lot of poor contact. Very few swings and misses, and he's started to walk more then he strikes out, but the tiny 5'7, 145 pound Jordan is extremely gifted in baseball skills. If his parents were a bit taller, maybe his name would be in the same sentence as Billy Hunter. RHP Harry Parker (56th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 7th Round, 108th Overall (1934) Alma Mater: Bushwick Tigers I feel like I talk about him all the time, but Harry Parker is the reason I enjoy spending so much time sorting through draft eligible players. I probably reached taking him in the 7th Rounder, he could have lasted much longer, but I am glad I didn't waste too many picks before I decided to take the 6'6'' complete game machine. He only had three starts this season less then 8 innings, and two of his three 8 inning starts were losses on the road. That means in his 24 starts, he finished 19 of them. 1933-1934 Tommy Wilcox, is that you? Did you come back disguised as Harry Parker to give it a second chance? The timeline fits, Wilcox got hurt during the 1934 season, giving him enough time to transfer all of his pitching abilities to Parker in preparation for the 1935 season. There are a lot of ways to analyze Parker, but let's start with the raw stats. In 15 starts with Lincoln, he was 10-3 with a 2.78 ERA (153 ERA+), 1.02 WHIP, 21 walks, and 66 strikeouts. Then in 9 starts in Mobile, he was 5-4 with a 3.09 ERA (148 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 19 walks, and 33 strikeouts. Technically, he did do worse after the promotion, but the 2.3 BB/9 and 3.9 K/9 are still then all of our pitchers including Dave Rankin. Not only that, despite the flyball tendencies that I guess is his only weakness, he's kept his HR/9 below 1 at each minor league stop so far. He's excellent at missing bats, for the most part maintains command of all six of his pitches, and is completely unrattled on the mound. Then on the tools side, he throws a commanding low 90s fastball while also mixing in a change, slider, splitter, curve, and cutter. Parker almost places the pitches where he wants them and will freeze hitters with his excellent stuff. It may be pushing it, but I want to see Harry starting games in Chicago next season. I haven't decided where he'll start, probably Mobile for a few more starts, but one thing is for sure: Harry Parker is not leaving our organization for a very long time. RHP Bill Scott (56th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 7th Round, 111th Overall (1933) Alma Mater: Holyoke HS Oaks Note to self: the 7th round is for pitchers. A year before Parker was Bill Scott who I sort of lucked into. Don't get me wrong, I scouted him a ton and did like him, but when I selected Scott I wasn't thinking "this kid is going to be a stud" like I did with Parker. I thought "pitcher, he's added velocity, and nice high school numbers, definitely worth a shot." I felt the 1933 class was very weak (looks like I was right), and you can tell that by how I ended my draft post: "I'm just waiting on my 1st, 2nd, and 4th rounders. None of the other scrubs are any good, and I really only expect Barnard to crack our top 30." Well, I was a little wrong. Barnard never cracked our top 30 (and never played a game in our organization) while Tommy Wilson actually did (top 100 prospect now and he's a total stud), but since he was our 2nd Rounder he wasn't really grouped into the "scrubs" category. No third or fifth round pick and other then Scott and I guess Nate Doane, a whole lot of nothing came out of this class, so I guess it makes sense Scott blossomed. In stats only there are a lot of mysteries, but I still don't quite understand Bill Scott. Not just his meteoric rise through our system, but how he seemingly can continuously throw faster (seven velocity bumps since 1932 including three this year) then he did before. Where we are at right now, the righty comfortably throws in the middle to high 90s with an unhittable fastball. His curveball is almost as good, but his third pitch, the slider, is more of an after thought. Originally I thought this could stop him from developing into a starter, but the slider is passable enough with the two potentially elite pitches. In fact, I was so convinced he wasn't going to develop the slider, that his first two seasons he spent a little more then half of his appearances out of the pen. That changed this season where he started all 11 of his La Crosse appearances and all 6 of his San Jose appearances before a strained forearm ended his season a month early. The results were okay, actually better in San Jose, but Scott is one of the few players in my organization I am at a loss with. Like Bobby Mills, I've tried extremely hard to trade him, but had no success. In fact, I think before the 1936 deadline I offered Scott in nearly every trade that involved a pitcher leaving our organization since the prospect prognosticators started giving him some love. Now I think it's worth hanging on to him. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't hesitate to move him over Parker, Sullivan, Wallace, or Bryan, but I think I need to watch him grow. He'll turn 21 in a week and a half and my scout thinks he's going to end up our #2 right behind Cy. |
Top Prospects: 11-15
RHP Stumpy Beaman (80th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Philadelphia (1935) Draft: 7th Round, 104th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Austin HS Senators See! The seventh round is for pitchers! Acquired as the centerpiece in the John Kincaid trade, Beaman's name was floated around in trade talks, both with the Foresters during the Stratton discussions as well as a potential trade of the 6th overall pick. Instead, Beaman will remain a Cougar prospect like his former high school teammate Cy Sullivan. I didn't know that until today (even though I think I've wrote down Beaman's school before), but like Cy, Beaman slipped because Sullivan was manning shortstop while Beaman was on the mound. As a senior he was 3-3 with a 6.39 ERA (75 ERA+), 1.80 WHIP, 16 walks, and 36 strikeouts, and just like Sullivan, this was not his fault. Fast forward to his Cougar career, however, and Stumpy got a lot of Ivan Cameron at short. I'll cover his defensive prowess at the end, but I think we all know he's a better fielder then Cy Sullivan. Beaman made 24 starts at Lincoln, going 13-8 with a 3.92 ERA (108 ERA), 1.33 WHIP, 41 walks, and 58 strikeouts in 190.1 innings pitched. Beaman isn't quite a complete game machine, but the tiny righty manage to averaged 8 innings a start. When he's good he can go the distance, but it looks like 125 pitches is his sweet spot. My scout is "very high" on Beaman, both in his last eight scouting reports accuracy level and he now views him as a #2. Beaman has a lot of development left, he's still got to work on his secondary stuff, but he's got an extremely reliable high 80s sinker that he buries in the zone to generate a ton of groundballs. The command is there, the movement is there, but he's just got to polish his stuff. And if he does, we may end up having a really nice rotation logjam. Ooo I love pitchers! I can talk about them all day! LF Bobby Mills (85th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 6th Round, 90th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: San Antonio HS Warriors The ever untradeable Bobby Mills, he always manages a way to hit, just not enough for other teams to want him. This year was strong for the 22-year-old who hit .305/.363/.477 (120 OPS+) with 15 homers and 115 RBI's. That's now three straight seasons with double digit homers for "Nutball", but defense continues to struggle in the corners. This season might have been the worst, a -10.7 zone rating and .942 efficiency out in left. He's a patient hitter with nice pop and I can see him developing into a lesser Doc Love. Love is also untradeable, so it's almost a perfect fit, minus the fact that he's a righty. Mills might repeat Mobile before heading up to Milwaukee, but I see Mills spending most his career as an off the bench pinch hitter for us. My scout sees starter, OSA sees more, but he won't surpass Love. Or Langton. Or Mitchell. Or even Bert Wilson. SS Tommy Wilson (100th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 31st Overall (1933) Alma Mater: Elmira HS Emeralds I touched on how weak the 1933 draft was, but Tommy Wilson looks like a legit future piece. It took him a little to get going, but this season Wilson seemed to break out in San Jose. He hit .302/.401/.468 (118 OPS+) with 10 homers, 24 steals, and 96 RBI's in 111 games before a late promotion to Lincoln. I brought it up a little before, but Wilson spent time at all three infield positions and was truly impressive considering the total lack of experience at the hot corner before this season and very few pro innings at short. 21 years and 21 days, my scout raves about his speed, defense, and interesting enough, his bunting ability. That's a rather new one, I haven't seen bunting mentioned in a scouting report before, but that could make for a very interesting hidden talent. Wilson is an intelligent and well spoken and has all the tools to succeed. He's got a long climb up, likely starting in Lincoln next season, but with all the quality middle infielders above him, he's probably going to have to spend a lot more time waiting then he likes. RHP Joe Foote (114th Overall) Acquired: Via Trade with Montreal (1934) Drafted: 6th Round, 84th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Holyoke HS Oaks I wish it was on purpose, but I feel like every single one of my pitchers throws with their right hand. I don't quite think it's on purpose, but there is a theme to most of my prospects if you haven't noticed already. The recently turned 22-year-old was almost Harry Parker level this season. He made all 23 of his starts in Mobile where he was an unlucky 10-11 despite a 3.28 ERA (140 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 56 walks, and 64 strikeouts in 181 innings pitched. Despite the walks being up a little, Foote put together easily the best season in his young career. Another 1932 draftee, Foote came over with Woody Armstrong in the Bobby Sprague trade, and like Wallace (and actually Beaman too), was on my way too long 1932 draft list that I knew I could never get all the guys I wanted. Foote profiles to have excellent command once he's fully developed and he's likely to rely heavily on his sinker. It's a nice low to mid 90s pitch, but unfortunately it may be his only real reliable offering. The curve and slider, while still effective, likely will never be plus pitches. Foote has always been ahead of the development curve, and my guess is he'll start 1937 in Milwaukee. SS Ivan Cameron (118th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 47th Overall (1934) Alma Mater: Meridian Eagles I remember back when I took Cameron, I envisioned him as one of those glove only shortstops with awful offensive ratings like 35-30-25-60-40 (out of 100), but he's rated as a 2.5* because his defensive ratings are off the chain. I was definitely right about the defense, a +41.9 zone rating and 1.094 efficiency in his first two seasons already. I'm hoping I'm not right about the bat, but his offensive numbers in San Jose were not all that encouraging. Sure, he probably wasn't ready offensively, but he hit a paltry .267/.317/.371 (72 OPS+) with 7 homers and 79 RBI's. Obviously we want better then that, but with his glove, it's almost acceptable. I see a lot of Oscar King in him, the Cannons skilled gloveman, but until he hits a little more I can't claim to call him George Dawson or Harry Barrell. King is still a respectable floor, as even with a 75 OPS+ in 475 FABL games he boasts a 9.2 WAR, almost all defensive. |
1936 Draft: Round 2
Ideally, these two picks would have been Jim Morrison and Wally Doyle (or at least Hank Beckham), but in the 15 picks between Papenfuss and my eventual selection, six pitchers went off the board including four guys I would have loved to have with my 2 (although I knew Bunny Edwards would be long gone), but I am still happy with who I got.
2nd Round, 22nd Overall: RHP Newt Jackson: Whether it was on purpose or not, I actually covered my eventual first two picks in my initial high school amateur report. Of course, "Peter the Heater" got the biggest write up, but I decided to go with what I viewed as a "a relatively safe pick for a high schooler" with my first of two seconds. A six foot righty, Newt Jackson put together a strong three year career where he went 24-6 with a 1.51 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 50 walks, and 329 strikeouts over 310.2 innings pitched. A four pitch pitcher, he's got strong command of all his offerings and his cut, slider, change, and splitter all look like comparable and effective pitches. OSA seems to love the kid, explaining how he "should end up near the top of any major league rotation" which is much more then I'm expecting. I see dependable mid rotation arm a la Dick Luedtke (I may or may not have been spelling his name wrong the last year and a half), I just probably have to wait five or six years before it surfaces. 2nd Round, 28th Overall: RHP Roy Carey: I continued the pitching run (and I guess my love of righties), but after two high school arms I took the college route. They weren't the best numbers, but Roy Carey had three strong seasons at George Fox University where he was 22-14 with a 3.62 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 135 walks, and 178 strikeouts. There is a little concern with the rise in walks as a senior, his BB/9 jumped to 4.3, but my scout thinks he'll shake those issues off with age. Carey is a really interesting prospect, a six pitch pitcher with a fastball, sinker, curve, slider, change, and circle change. As you may expect with a sinker baller, Carey does an outstanding job keeping the ball on the ground which really helps make up for his lack of velocity. Throwing at just 83-85, he's going to have to find success by mixing his pitches and keeping batters out of scoring position. If they get to first, that's cool, he'll get the next guy to roll into a double play, but a guy at second or third might cause him some issues. My scout doesn't think all too highly of him in his report, but ranks him as the 7th best pitcher in the pool and highest ranked available. OSA thinks his deep arsenal will help him become a reliable #2, but I'll split the difference between them and my scout. He's a back of the rotation guy, but I think he's a pretty safe pick. Despite much velocity, he still puts up strong numbers and a nice velo boost or two might be all he needs to make a productive career. |
Top Prospects 16-20
Before starting, I made a pair of minor trades. I sent CF Harry Schad to the Wolves for their 11th Round Pick and then sent 2B Pete Asher to the Keystones for their 7th Round Pick. Schad deserved a chance somewhere else, just 33 starts in 133 appearances the past three seasons, but he's got some decent tools and while he's not going to surpass Levi Redding, there's almost no other competition in the upper minors in the outfield. He'll get a shot to play everyday and not have to hope for any use off the bench. Asher I debated platooning with Paul McLain at second, but this frees up a 40-man roster spot and will help make my roster decisions a little easier. Philly picks third and Toronto picks 10th.
CF Marty Roberts (128th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 23rd Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Brunswick Knights The first of our prospects to debut, Marty Roberts was excellent in his 58 plate appearance sample. He hit a strong .306/397/.510 (131 OPS+) with a homer, double, 3 triples, 9 RBI's, 6 walks, and just one strikeout while looking capable out in center. It was better then his AAA time where he hit an average .276/.365/.394 (100 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 4 triples, 10 homers, 25 steals, and 79 RBI's in 576 plate appearances. I'm glad he was able to stay healthy (well, he did miss a day with a sore thumb) and he looked nice out in right down in Milwaukee. He's a natural center fielder and this is just year two with any time in right. Speed is Roberts' calling card, but his plate discipline has been pretty impressive. He should have a high average and on base percentage, and with his speed, potentially a high slugging with a ton of extra base hits. RHP Art Saunders (135th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 133rd Overall (1935) Alma Mater: Manning Bulldogs I was surprised Saunders dropped this far until after the draft when I realized he was an "impossible" signing. I decided to throw 20k at him and he decided it wasn't all that impossible to sign him. Unfortunately a torn flexor tendon ended his season this year, but I was really excited to add a pitcher like him to the organization. He made just 9 starts for the Lions, going 3-5 with a 4.67 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.61 WHIP, 24 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched. The high walks were really surprising after a 1.4 BB/9 as a senior. I'm really hoping he can recover, but arm injuries always give me concern. Assuming no drastic change, Saunders throws a 90 mile per hour sinker that generates a ton of groundballs. He mixes in a fastball, curve, and change and his overall stuff is very impressive. None of those pitches are as good as the sinker, but his command could desert him. I like how high he's already rated and this could be a potential Ben Turner or Dean Astle situation. RHP Dan Everett (136th Overall) Acquired: Via Trade with Cleveland (1936) Drafted: 5th Round, 79th Overall (1933) Alma Mater: San Francisco HS Navigators Acquired alongside the pick that eventually became Roy Carey, the now legal to drink Dan Everett spent his first three seasons in Class C with the Ottumwa Owls. He was 16-26 with a 4.71 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.60 WHIP, 130 walks, and 155 strikeouts in 329 innings pitched. His best season was this year where he tallied 180 innings with a 3.60 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 57 walks, and 85 strikeouts. I plan on moving Everett up regardless, but maybe all the way to Lincoln as I think he can handle it. He's got a nice high 80s fastball, good change, and average curve and all three are reliable options. His command isn't always great, but this year it seemed to straighten out a bit. That's his key to success, his ability to locate his pitches, as they are definitely good enough to fool big league hitters. 2B Gene Evans (160th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 10th Round, 159th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Worcester HS Warriors Another guy I try to trade a lot, Gene Evans spent a little time at first due to his lack of defensive skills at second. He's a team leader with good speed and an excellent hit tool, but he's had varied success in his young pro career. He started this season in San Jose despite ending last season in Lincoln, but he hit .328/.374/.448 (106 OPS+) with a homer, 7 steals, and 47 RBI's in 267 trips to the plate. He then returned to Lincoln, but it was very similar to his results there last season. He hit .284/.315/.383 (89 OPS+) with a homer, 5 steals, and 30 RBI's in 295 plate appearances. Evans won't ever hit for power, so it rules out first base, but he's going to need to work on his defense if he wants to stick at second. That'll determine if he starts or ends up stuck on the bench. RF Larry Robison (128th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 19th Round, 303rd Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Queens HS Islanders I almost feel bad for Robison, because the 1932 draft class was so deep that I actually wanted him. There were so many good players that even my 19th Round selection was part of my actual draft list. Not the scouts list, but the list of guys I'd take in the human portion of the draft. He should not have fallen this far, but unfortunately for him there was such a logjam in La Crosse, he basically took the entire season off. He also missed most of last season with a fractured hand and a setback, so he returned to Lincoln for this season. He hit .299/.356/.468 (120 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 5 homers, 20 steals, and 38 RBI's before a call up to Mobile. He did hold his own in about the same amount of time, batting .266/.378/.347 (92 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 5 triples, a homer, 14 steals, and 28 RBI's. The slugging percentage drop was interesting, as his doubles and homers plummeted. I'm hoping this is a one off thing as he's never had a lower slugging then OBP. My scout is a big fan and thinks he's going to develop into an above average big leaguer. |
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