On the cusp of the 1883 season let's take a look at tomorrow's stars, or potential stars, today. The top prospect list was released, and on top of that list is the #1 overall pick from the 1882 amateur draft.
1) CF - Joe 'Mudcat' Chapman, Rams -
Mudcat spent the past four years manning centerfield for the Stanford Cardinals, hitting .319 for his college career with 25 RBI, 42 runs scored, and 27 runs scored. The Rams made Chapman the number one pick in the draft, and Chapman first is tasked with winning the starting center field job, then helping turn around a franchise that has never seen the postseason. The Rams are hoping that Chapman can join a lineup featuring 25 year old 2B Benjamin Boyd, 25 year old C King Kelly, 23 year old 1B Ed Cartwright, 23 year old SS Yank Robinson, and 27 year old 3B Curtis Cottrell to form the core that will take them to the next level.
2) CF - Pete Browning, Panthers -
Browning struggled with injuries in college, and was limited to just 21 games during his college career at LSU, but after hitting .354 as a junior Browning felt he had nothing left to prove and declared for the draft a year early, and was selected by the Panthers with the third pick in last year's draft. The Panthers are hoping that last season was an anomoly, and they are closer to their 1881 record of 9-8 rather than last year's 5-11 record. They feel that Browning is already an upgrade in centerfield defensively, so he'll get a chance to contribute from day one.
3) SP - Jason Jackson, Packers -
Jackson was a first year starter at college for the Ducks, but struggled going 3-8 with a 3.81 ERA his first year, and the Ducks held him back until his senior year, where it looked like he finally put things together going 6-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 110 innings. Jackson will get a chance to learn under Matt Kelley, the 40 year old veteran, and is next in line to take over for Kelley once age starts to catch up with Kelley.
4) SP - Jamie Dickerson, Texans -
Dickerson is an interesting pitcher to be listed fourth. In reality he's been a highly regarded prospect since his college days with the Tarheels, and despite not getting into a game showed enough for the Texans to spend the ninth overall pick on him. He's got the potential to be an elite starting pitcher, but he's not there yet, and not too close either. He'll start on the Roughnecks development squad where he'll attempt to go from prospect to pitcher.
5) LF - Bobby Cushman, Pilgrims -
The 23 year old Cushman got on everybody's radar with two years playing for the California Golden Bears, hitting .351 and .365 in back to back seasons, but Cushman made a strange decision to play for the Miami Hurricanes his senior season, where he hit just .262 and looked overmatched.
The Pilgrims liked what they saw and drafted Cushman though, and last year Cushman hit .294 with a .400 on-base percentage with their development squad, the New England Patriots. However, when the Pilgrims had a left field opening this season they opted to sign 32 year old Canadian League import Johnny Glick instead of hand the job to Cushman.
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I should note that Jackson was a player created on request, and looks like he made it through the college journey unscathed. If you'd like to create a player and follow them through college to potentially the pros please let me know.