[Jiggs McGee]

RULE V DRAFT RECENT HISTORY

I had started a column last night about the Rule V draft with plans to finish it this morning. My expectation was, with 6 players being selected in each of the past two drafts, it would be a fairly pedestrian event with a similar number of selections.

Instead, I received a cable this morning that floored me. A whopping 22 players were selected including 6 by the Chicago Cougars and 4 by the New York Stars. The Cougars I can understand. They have done it in large numbers before, taking 5 and keeping 3 on their 23 man roster two seasons ago. But the Stars? New York is a top notch club, a playoff contender just two years removed from a dynasty really when they won 4 straight World Championship Series. How will they find room to carry four rule V pickups on their 23 man roster and still be competitive?

That will take an article in itself which will be coming soon but for now here is a look back at the last two rule V drafts and how the picks have panned out so far.


Rule V selections can be split into two groups. The vast majority are young guys that just can't fit into the 40-man roster on their existing club and the selecting club feels it might be worth the risk to burn a roster spot all year in order to have that asset longer term. The remaining few are older career minor league guys that perhaps can fill a specific need for a team.

In both 1926 and 1927 a total of 6 players were selected each year and on both occasions 2 of them were returned to their original team before opening day. Here is a look at last year's Rule V draft picks and how they fared.

                 1927 RULE V SELECTIONS
PICK#   DRAFTED BY    POS NAME       DRAFTED FROM     
1 Montreal         OF Jack Fisher    Washington   RETURNED 
3 Pittsburgh        P Dick Reynolds  Boston   
8 NY Stars         OF Mike Mason     Detroit  
10 Cleveland       1B Ron McDougle   Keystones 
13 Brooklyn        1B Ed Farella     Baltimore    RETURNED
2-10 Cleveland     SS Russ Combs     St Louis

OF JACK FISHER - Montreal liked his 20 homer, .388 season at Class A Trenton in 1926 and 13 homers in 80 games also at Trenton the following season so they took a flyer on the then 24 year old but decided quickly in spring training he could not make the jump to the majors so Fisher was returned to the Washington Eagles. The Eagles moved him up to AA Atlanta last season where he hit .304 with 8 homers. He will turn 26 next season and is unlikely to ever make much of a contribution in the majors.


P DICK REYNOLDS - Reynolds stuck with Pittsburgh the entire year posting a 5-4 record with a 5.22 era in a season in which he was bothered by various injuries. He was taken from the Boston Minutemen organization on the strength of a monster 17-2, 2.56 season in AA as a 24 year old. The jury is still out on whether he can be anything more than bullpen filler.


OF MIKE MASON - A second round pick of Detroit in 1922, Mason split the 1927 season between A and AA, posting some decent offensive numbers including 29 homeruns. New York used a roster spot on him all year and despite skipping AAA, Mason made out okay. He hit .268 with 2 homers in 111 games(68 starts) for the Stars. He might spend the upcoming season in AAA but does seem to have some pretty good potential so a very good pickup by the Stars.



1B RON MCDOUGLE and SS RUSS COMBS - Cleveland selected the pair of 24 year old's and both secured starting roles and posted decent numbers for the Foresters. Combs hit .293 with 16 homers, although his defense at shortstop was suspect at times, as he made the step up from AAA where he hit .360 the previous year. The power was a pleasant surprise as he had shown no signs of having much power in his high school or minor league days. That McDougle stuck, and actually became an everyday player, was a huge surprise. The 5th round pick out of high school in 1923 was not really on anyone's radar even after hitting .356 in 223 plate appearances in Class A in 1927. Cleveland saw something in him and he was selected and earned the first base job in spring training. McDougle did not disappoint with a .313 average in 140 games for the Foresters. He lacks the power (just 1 homer) of a prototypical first baseman so he may not have a long shelf life and his defense is suspect so he can't play anywhere else but he was a decent solution for the Foresters in 1928.


1B ED FARELLA - Brooklyn loved the 35 homers and .320 batting average the 30 year old career minor leaguer put up in AAA Indianapolis in 1927 so they took him and gave him a shot at earning a roster spot as primarily a pinch-hitter. He didn't make the cut in spring training and was returned to Baltimore. The Cannons had younger prospects ticketed for 1B in AAA so Farella was released and retired a couple of weeks later.

              1926 RULE V SELECTIONS
PICK#   DRAFTED BY    POS NAME       DRAFTED FROM     
1       Cleveland  SS Pete Asher     Keystones 
3       Cougars     P Cotton Taylor  Cleveland  
2-3     Cougars     P Ray Powell     Washington  
3-3     Coguars     P Bruno Mack     Toronto    RETURNED
4-3     Cougars     C Tony Stewart   Detroit   
5-3     Cougars     C Red Rapp       Boston     RETURNED

The 1926 draft might be better known as the Chicago Cougars roster party. Cleveland selected SS Pete Asher from the Philadelphia Keystones with the first pick. Everyone else passed except for the Cougars who ended up drafting 5 players and kept three of them all season.

How did those players fare? Asher was just 20 years old and had only a handful of AA games under his belt so he was over-matched but did stick with Cleveland although he spent most of the season on the bench, getting just 53 at bats and hitting .264. Last year they sent him to AAA where he had an outstanding year as a 21 year old, batting .332 and playing very good defense. He looks like a solid prospect well worth burning the roster spot for a year in order to acquire.

As for the Cougars players, the three that made the team were pitchers Cotton Taylor and Ray Powell along with catcher Tony Stewart. Taylor was 24 at the time, a late round draft pick of Cleveland who went 11-3 the previous season at AA Toledo. He made 18 starts for the Cougars, going 8-9 with a 4.69 era in the season after being selected in the rule V draft. Last year he was 6-13 with a 4.10 era so he appears to be a slightly below-average starting pitcher at this point.

Ray 'Cowboy' Powell was a year older than Taylor and he spent the 1927 season in the Cougars pen, going 5-8 with 2 saves and a 5.17 era. Taylor, who originally was a 2nd round pick of Washington's out of Sadler College in 1922, was a little better last year, posting a 6-3 record with 4 saves and a 3.59 era in 43 appearances for the Cougars, all but 3 in relief.

The catcher, Tony Stewart, was a 6th round pick out of high school in 1921 and bounced around the minors with several organizations, including the Cougars, before Chicago took him from Detroit in the rule V draft. He played AAA the previous season so the jump to Chicago was not quite as big as that of some other rule V pickups, and he did fairly well, batting .288 in 90 games. He lost his roster spot in Chicago last year and was sent down to AAA where he had a good year (.341,6,57) but with rising star Fred Barrell working his way up the system and Barney Green already in Chicago it is unlikely the 26 year old figures prominently in the Cougars long-term plans at catcher.