PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 1 - OUTFIELDERS
As we work towards a final mock first round for the 1929 FABL draft let's begin with a several part series that will take a look at the top draft eligible candidates by position. We will begin with a look at what appears to be a very deep crop of outfield talent.
1- VIC CRAWFORD: Commonwealth Catholic - Just a dominant season and dominant career for the 2 time All-American. Crawford slashed .360/.451/.925 with 31 homers and 85 rbi's. He set the single season and career AIAA record for rbi's and came within 1 of doing the same for both single season and career homers. He put up pretty consistent numbers in each of his 3 seasons, provides pretty good defense and looks like he has the makings of a top level power-hitting corner outfielder.
2- AMOS LEBLANC: Gerge Fox - If you need a speedy centerfielder look no further than the 20 year old from Clinton, Michigan. Leblanc hit .443 and stole 25 bases this season.
3- ELMER NOLDE: Coastal California - Nolde did not play as a freshman but had a solid sophomore year and then was outstanding this past season slashing .380/.495/.793 with 21 homers for the Dolphins.
4- BOBBY MANY: Whitney College - Improved each of his 3 seasons of college ball finishing with a .410/.530/.781 slash line this season with 17 homers and 76 rbi's.
5- AL COUCH: Lubbock State - Was MVP of the 1928 College World Series finals and followed that up with a career best .411/.481/.703 and 16 homers.
6- NELLIE DAWSON: Wisconsin State - Only Crawford, Nodle and Many had a higher WPA out of draft eligible outfielders. Dawson slashed .438/.474/.751 and his 18 homers doubled his output of a year ago.
7- DAN FOWLER: Commonwealth Catholic - Perhaps overshadowed by teammate Vic Crawford, but centerfielder Fowler did plenty to impress scouts, slashing .328/.453/.682 with a nice combination of power (20 HR) and speed (18 stolen bases).
8- ANDY DYE: Omaha HS - One of the top hitters in the high school ranks, the 18 year old slashed .460/.516/.577. He hit 10 homers a year ago but did not have any this season so there are concerns about whether he will develop the power to play a corner outfield position. Has a big frame (6'1") so perhaps the power will come.
9- JOHNNY MCCAIN: St Blane - Solid freshman season before dipping last year but he more than made up for it with an outstanding season this time around, slashing .443/.532/.716 with a career best 12 homeruns.
10- JOE JONES: Liberty College - After 2 pedestrian seasons, Jones exploded in 1929 slashing .395/.475/.727 with 19 homers to help the Bells reach the NCAA finals for the second straight season. Hitting .522 with a homer in his 5 playoff games won't hurt his draft stock either.
11- JOHN COLLINS: Liberty College - Only fitting to have Jones and Collins rated one after the other as scouts have spent plenty of time in Pennsylvania watching the two of them play. Collins' slash numbers were down slightly from his sophomore season (.345/.427/.720) but he did hit 19 homers and finishes with 56 for his 3 year career. He also smacked 3 more homers in 5 playoff games for the Bells.
12- JOE JOHNSON: Central Ohio - An injury cost him a month of his draft year and might hurt his stock but when he did play, Johnson was very good. He slashed .384/.463/.717 with 10 homers in 33 games while stealing 11 bases. He is a natural center fielder which will only help him in a draft dominated by corner outfielders.
13- BILL KIRBY: St Louis HS - Kirby is a bit of an unknown. Entering the season the 17 year old had only played 8 high school games but he played all 40 for St Louis High this season and slashed .444/.471/.584. He only hit 2 homers but at 6'4", 195 lbs as a 17 year old you have to think the power will come. A sweet swing, looking at his spray chart he really uses the whole field and played pretty good defense. The limited sample of games might push his draft stock down a bit.
14- GAIL GIFFORD: Portland HS - Gifford projects to be a tremendous defensive centerfielder based on his zone rating numbers. Was pretty good at the plate as well, slashing .355/.427/.523 and was very consistent throughout his 3 year prep career. No homers, although he did hit 10 as a 15 year old rookie but he did steal 9 bases.
15- STEVE STUDER : Frankford State - Another center fielder, Studer both helped and hurt his draft stock this year. There is some concern about his batting average dipping for the third straight season from a high of .398 as a freshman to .277 this past season. He did show a lot more power than you might expect from a centerfielder with 20 homers but stole just 9 bases this season after averaging 23 per season in his first two years. His defense is pretty good, as it looks like he can play center in the majors. I can see him going one of two ways - either being a big talent or perhaps just as likely a huge bust if he can't hit for average against pro pitching. He makes my list because I have watched him for 3 seasons, but been just a little less impressed each one of them.
There were probably a dozen other guys that I could have slotted in the 10-15 range so it does seem to be a pretty deep class of outfielders. Next up I will take a look at the top catchers available in the 1929 draft