PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 5 - SHORTSTOPS
A pretty talented group but this position has two players- 1 high school and 1 college- that stand out from the pack. I would say both of them are potential first round picks.
1- GEORGE DAWSON : Knoxville HS - Slashed .447/.484/.594 in his draft year with excellent defensive numbers. Also stole 24 bases in 105 career high school games.
2- JOY FOY : Opelika State - I did not think any shortstop would surpass Foy on my list but I have to put Dawson slightly ahead of him due to the high schooler's outstanding numbers. That is not say Foy is bad with the glove, which he isn't but Dawson is just outstanding. Foy was a second team All-American selection a year ago and first team this season after slashing .432/.502/.617. He is older and closer to big league ready than Dawson so Foy may still be the first shortstop selected.
3- LARRY COLAIANNNI : Brooklyn State - Has the offensive numbers .426/.496/.599 to compare with the top two but is a big step down in defensive ability. 3 year starter at Brooklyn State, Colaianni hit 22 career homers as a college player.
4- BILL HOOKER : Wichita HS - Really improved his defense each of the past three seasons. Had a bad year at the plate last season after a good freshman year but bounced back in 1929, slashing .323/.386/.449
5- DUTCH REID : Commonwealth Catholic - Hit 10 homers and slashed .362/.427/.558 so his bat is not a concern. However, defense might be. Not terrible with the glove but just an average college shortstop in the field.
6- STEVE CLARKE : Chicago Poly - Very strong in the field and some pretty good numbers at the plate, slashing .342/.391/.500. Started every game over the past 3 seasons for the Panthers and hit .417 in three playoff games this season.
7- JAY PENDER : Providence HS - Started his high school career as a third baseman, moved to shortstop last season where he was acceptable but really improved his defense this year to the point where he is among the best high school shortstops defensively. Power went down a bit this season but his average and patience at the plate greatly improved slashing .333/.411/.469. Everything about him suggests he is improving and may be snatched up a lot higher than this ranking presently has him.
8- JAKE BEHRINGER : Georgia Baptist - Solid all-around player, slashed .317/.382/.417 for the Gators while playing solid defense.
9- BILL WHITE : Queens HS - An injury ended his season a little early but still played 32 games slashing .363/.400/.519 as he improved for the third straight season. He also improved in the field but just to the point of providing acceptable defense at shortstop. He was very bad his first two seasons but like Pender seems to be on an upswing.
10- LEO JORDAN: Holyoke HS - A defensive whiz with a +17.8 ZR and 1.222 EFF but there is question as to whether he will be able to hit at the next level. Slashed .267/.357/.367 this season and those numbers were slightly down from his career average.