[ayaghmour2]

The last of the roster reviews go to the outfield. There's a lot of young talent (at least according to my scout) at the major league level and waiting at AAA Milwaukee. This will be the first season in over twenty years that John Dibblee will not be apart of the Cougars outfield.

LF Dick Fessell: A midseason callup last year, the 25-year-old lefty Dick Fessell will retain the starting job as no one else really tried to take the left field position. A 3rd Round selection of ours in the 1925 draft, Fessell hit .273/.357/.349 (91 OPS+) with 3 homers, 8 steals, and 25 RBI's. He won't kill us in the field, but he may eventually find himself at first base once Dibblee decides to call it a career as we have a few higher upside outfielders waiting behind him. Fessell is used to this, as he was the third outfielder with Doug and Frank Lightbody at Mississippi A&M and spent most of his time at first once the younger Lightbody joined the Generals. He doesn't have a lock on the starting spot, but he's likely to stay on the active roster for most of the season.

CF Bob McCarty: It was hard giving him the starting job over George Jordan, but McCarty is technically our second best player (which isn't a good thing...) and wasn't terrible last season. Acquired in the 1927 offseason along with SS Pat Schurring from the Stars for a trio of prospects including current Stars relievers Bert Houston and Phil English, McCarty was supposed to start in center last season before dislocating his shoulder in the Spring. After coming back, he hit .277/.340/.364 (90 OPS+) with 5 steals and 27 RBI's in 220 at bats. He's a decent defender, but he may shift to left is Jordan gets back on track in AAA.

RF Art Panko: At one point, it looked like Art Panko was going to be one of the best players in the FABL. A 4th Round pick of ours in 1920, Panko debuted in 1922 and was dominate the following two seasons. With OPS+ of 131, 141, and 153, he hit 55 triples, 78 doubles, 23 homers, stole 54 bases, and drove in 293 runs in 280 games. In 1923 he lead the league in triples (30) and RBI's (122) and then in 1924 lead the league in RBI's (102), average (.348), slugging (.523), and OPS (.935). He had two average seasons after that, and seemed to rebound in '27 before he put up his first below average offensive season (95 OPS+) of his career. He's a great defender in the corners, and may see time at left depending on Fessell's performance and the rest of the AAA squad. My scout has slowly soured on him, but a rebound makes him an appealing trade candidate.

CF Joe Davis: I had the first pick of the Rule-5 Draft, and went with 24-year-old Joe Davis. An 11th Round Pick by the Foresters out of Lynn HS, I was rather shocked he was left unprotected. He's hit at every level and is a pretty capable defender out in center. My scout is a huge fan of his, and even with our depth in the outfield, I couldn't pass up on him. There's a very low chance he doesn't stick with the team all through the year, and he can play himself into the starting lineup and he'll get some starts in left and right as well to spell both Fessell and Panko against lefties.

CF Hi Lawson: A 10th Round Pick by us in 1920, he won the 1919 College World Series with Liberty College, the same school that produced #1 Overall Tom Wilcox who we narrowly missed out on in the draft (the #1 pick alternates between the Federal and Continental, and even though we had the worst record, it was the Federal's turn) as well as our 11th Round Pick Jim Dyer. 1928 was Lawson's first taste of the majors since 1925, but he hit just .242/.320/.298 (68 OPS+) with 7 steals and 23 RBI's in 82 starts in center while McCarty was hurt. Lawson's defense and his lack of options helped him earn the final outfield spot, but don't expect him to survive the rest of the season.

CF Mike Smith: Our last Rule-5 pick (of 6) who made the team, Smith isn't the defender Davis is, but he has some prospect shine and hit an impressive .339/.406/.506 (143 OPS+) with 10 homers and 39 RBI's in AA Memphis. A 3rd Round Pick back in 1923, we got him from out crosstown rival Chiefs. He was actually a 14th Round Pick by the Kings the year before out of Nashville HS, but they released him and he transferred to Pittsburgh HS and raised his stock. The lefty Smith will get starts in left and right when Fessell and Panko need rest, but he is a little less safe then Davis for remaining on the roster.

The outfield had the most cuts, with Juan Valquez, the aforementioned George Jordan, Don Phillips, and Johnny Johnson. Jordan is ranked 97th in the league for prospects, but the switch hitter hasn't quite hit to his potential. Johnson isn't ranked as a prospect, but the 25-year-old is a decent filler starter if needed. Valquez and Phillips are nothing more then depth pieces with little to no value other then injury insurance.

Our Opening Day isn't until after Christmas, but until then, I will write about whatever comes to mind. I plan on doing a top prospect and draft review post, but may touch into the history of the Cougars as well.