PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 6 - THIRD BASEMEN
Not a great crop and highly unlikely a third baseman gets selected in the first round but there are at least three players available that are deserving consideration as a second or third round pick.
1- GEORGE ANDERSON: Lubbock State - Second team all-american slashed .332/.408/.607 with 13 homers in his draft year and followed it up with a .308 average in playoff action. Provides average defense. I put him number one but top 3 are all pretty close but I would say it's unlikely any of them go in the first round.
2- SPEED SHAIN : Greensboro HS - Plus defense and a good eye at the plate are the strengths of Shain, but he will need to develop some power to thrive in pro ball. Slashed .325/.419/.412 this season and improved on those categories in each of his three seasons in Greensboro.
3- JOHNNY MCDOWELL : Georgia Baptist - First team All-American selection is pretty much on par with the first two on the list. Had a better batting average and OBP than Anderson but nowhere near the power, slashing .406/.468/.491 this season.
4- RED FREEMAN : Holyoke HS - Solid defensive third baseman with the hope that at 6'2", 180 lbs the power comes. He hit 7 homers as a rookie and 4 last season but none this year. Slash line is .342/.429/.424 in his draft season.
5- NICK WALLACE: Wisconsin State - Three year starter has played some second base as well. Defense was improved this year and he had a pretty solid season at the plate, slashing .359/.412/.500. Hit just 5 homers which is up from 2 a season ago but down from his freshman total of 14 when he slugged .651.
6- DON HALLAM : Somerville HS - Trending in the wrong direction as all 3 slash categories dropped for the third straight season. Was .321/.374/.470 this season after being .446/.505/.910 and getting plenty of attention as a high school freshman. Average defense. While he has dropped each of the 3 seasons he still has some very good career high school numbers. I had him sneaking into the first round in my pre-season mock draft. He has certainly dropped from there but some team still might grab him in the top 3 rounds.
7- MEL CARROLL : Hartford HS - Really only started the one season at Hartford High, slashing .382/.431/.474. Defense is average at best but with not a lot of depth at 3B in the draft he will get selected, and likely in the first 5 rounds.
8- RANDY FARGO : Boulder State - Was an All-American in 1928 but his slash line was a career worst .303/.377/.469 in his draft year. Did hit 10 homers and has 29 in 150 career games and his defense improved over what he did the previous two years, but it is still just average. Fargo is one of the few third baseman available with some pop in his bat.
9- TOM WATSON : Northern California - Hit 13 homers this season and 33 in 150 career college games. Slashed .296/.370/.541. Defense is average to slightly below average.
10- JOHN WILSON : St Blane - An injury cost Wilson half of his draft season but he did hit .336/.393/.509 in the 27 games he played. Had 8 homers as a freshman and batted .321 but slumped badly last season.