WHAT THE KANSAS CITY OPENING DAY ROSTER COULD LOOK LIKE
The exact terms of the expansion draft have not yet been finalized but I thought it would be interesting to do a mock draft in order to allow me to get a rough idea of just how challenging things will be with a new expansion club.
For this exercise I decided each existing team would protect 20 players and that there were no limits as to how many players could be selected from any one team. I did a best guess at the protected list for each team and then alternated selecting players by position for 2 expansion teams. Afterwards, I used a coin flip to decide which of those two teams was mine so here is a far too early look at your 1955 Kansas City Bulls. I imagine a few of the guys who made my list will be protected so would not be available in the draft but here is a rough look at what the quality might be for one of the expansion teams next year. I drafted 20 players for each expansion team and we will get 5 players each from the amateur draft. We will be forced to round out our teams with signings off the free agent heap (we are playing reserve clause era rules since it is the mid-1950s so there will not be much help in free agency.
At the bottom of this post are images showing the current ratings, career stats and 1953 stats (since the season is just 3 weeks in to the 1954 season at this point). Here is a bit of information on each of the players who comprise this "Mock" Kansas City Bulls team.
Note- I should add Bulls has not been officially announced as the club's nickname but I am expecting it will be the choice.
TOM MICUCCI - 27 year old from St Louis. 35-26 lifetime record with a 3.37 career ERA.
Micucci is a guy I could really see on an expansion club. He still has pretty good ratings and 3 solid pitches but has stamina is practically non-existent after numerous injuries. He was a former fifth overall pick who had an outstanding 10-1 sophomore campaign in 1950 despite missing 3 months of it with injury. He has pitched very little the past year and a half and is certainly injury prone but just the kind of player an established team can't afford to protect and an expansion team could take a shot on.
RICHARD MCCARTHY- 26 year old from Pittsburgh. 30-33 lifetime record with a 3.63 career ERA. A back end rotation piece at best on most teams, he might be the opening day starter for KC. He had back to back 10 win seasons for Seattle at the start of the decade but like Micucci has battled injuries the past couple of years.
KURT SCHOTT- 25 year old from Chicago Hawks 60-73 lifetime record with 4.56 career ERA. May not be exposed by Chicago as he is currently the number two starter on their team and off to a good start this year but they will have some tough choices on who to protect. Schott is a former first round pick who went 14-11 for the Hawks in 1949 and won 16 games in 1952. Had a rough 1953 season as his era ballooned and record fell to 8-14 but is off to a good start this year.
GEORGE STANLEY- 37 year old from Cincinnati. 49-45 lifetime record with a 3.43 career ERA. Stanley was part of the group that broke the color barrier in 1946 with the formation of the ABL. He started his career north of the border with Toronto before moving to Cincinnati in a 1947 trade. Stanley has not pitched much recently due to an injury plagued 1953 season. Has made a pair of All-Star game appearances.
ANGEL PIERCE- 29 year old from Buffalo. 62-72 lifetime record with a 3.89 career ERA. Most of the pitchers available are there because of past injury troubles and Pierce is no different, having missed most of the 1951 season after undergoing elbow surgery. He did start 28 games a year ago, posting a 10-15 record and the Beavers likely have a decision to make on whether to protect Pierce or Ray Underwood. Let's go with them protecting Underwood allowing Pierce to move from the bottom of the rotation in Buffalo to a mid-rotation spot in Kansas City.
WILLIE ZARATE- 27 year old from San Francisco. 76-72 lifetime record with 3.98 career ERA. The Seagulls will choose to keep younger arms like Fred Bridges and Marvin Cooper over Zarate letting the inconsistent starter be exposed. Inconsistency really does sum up his career. Zarate seems to be content to alternate between very strong seasons and losing campaigns, going 10-14, 20-10, 11-13, 17-14,12-13 over the past 5 years.
CHUBBY COPELAND- 35 year old from Chicago Traders. 25-22 lifetime record with 40 saves and a 3.10 career ERA. Copeland gets a chance to be the closer with an expansion team after having been a part of 4 World Series winners in Chicago.
ART ROBINSON- 29 year old from LA Pobladores. .245 career hitter in 537 games. Has been a backup in LA most of his career but his work ethic, decent throwing arm and leadership skills will make him a good fit to help bring the young pitchers along in Kansas City.
JESUS LUNA- 25 year old from St Louis. .226 career hitter in 107 games. Never had much of a chance to play in St Louis sitting behind 2-time all-star Walter Marshall. Decent defense and pretty patient at the plate but won't provide any power.
FRED CRUMLEY- 36 year old from LA Pobladores. .298 career hitter with 246 homers in 1149 games. Crumley would certainly be the player with the most name recognition. Another of the former Negro League stars who joined the ABL when it debuted in 1946, Crumley led the league in homers three times including 1950 when he hit a record 57 round trippers. He currently has 246 round trippers for his career and it may take an expansion team for him to become the just the fifth player to reach the 250 milestones as it appears his power has deserted him and he may not get a lot of playing time this season. He was a legend for a time in Philadelphia but has been a reserve since moving to Los Angeles for the 1953 season, hitting just .214 with 9 homers in 89 games. He is 2-for-12 with no homeruns as primarily a pinch-hitter this season. In Kansas City, Crumley's main job would be to look good in batting practice and hit some longballs, giving the fans something to cheer about, as they won't have much to cheer for most games.
PHIL CASTRO - 25 year old from Brooklyn. .222 career hitter in 76 games. Can play first or third but really needs to learn to hit more to be pencilled in the lineup for either position consistently.
CHUCK OLSEN - 24 year old from San Francisco. .210 career hitter in 256 games. With Bill Rodriguez and Ernie Oliver ahead of him on the middle infield depth chart, the Seagulls leave Olsen exposed. Terrific defense at either second or short, but like much of this roster, he may struggle at the plate.
GENE HOFF - 24 year old from Baltimore. .182 career hitter in 58 games. The Lords have some young talent in the middle of their infield and they can't protect them all so Hoff ends up moving to Kansas City. Will provide outstanding defense at second base and good leadership skills but likely won't hit a lot.
BUDDY SLAYTON - 29 year old from Montreal. .266 career hitter in 433 games. Can play shortstop or first base and was a .298 hitter in 75 games last season so might be one of the Bulls better hitters, which says more about their lack of talent than it does about Slayton's ability.
TONY CARTER - 25 year old from Brooklyn. .224 career hitter in 196 games. Second infielder the Bulls take from Brooklyn. Carter would likely be the starting third baseman and bat near the middle of the order as one of the few guys with a bit of power on the team.
JEFFERSON SALMON - 24 year old from Chicago Hawks. .251 hitter in 281 career games. Maybe a long shot the Hawks leave him exposed but Salmon looks like a perfect lead-off man for the expansion club. Very little power but exceptional speed and strong defense in centerfield, the Bulls will just need him to get on base enough to use that speed.
LARRY DRAKE - 29 year old from Los Angeles Pobladores. .235 hitter in 963 career games. Spent a number of years as a starter in Toronto before moving west and becoming a backup. Might be one of the Bulls better hitters but there will be concerns about his defense in the Kansas City outfield.
CAL RAINEY - 25 year old from Detroit. .250 hitter in 44 career games. Plucked off the Detroit reserve roster, Rainey has a strong arm in right field and may hit for some power. He will need to cut down on strike outs to play regularly however.
JOHN MIDDLETON - 25 year old from Seattle. .190 hitter in 50 career games. Hard worker looks to do a lot of things right but never got a chance in Seattle. Defense is perhaps a concern but might be one of the club's best hitters.
HUB ANDERSON - 32 year old from Houston. .265 hitter in 978 career games. With a number of good young corner outfielders on the way up the Drillers leave Anderson exposed and the Bulls are glad to take his experience from winning 4 World Series titles during his time with the Chicago Traders. Does not possess a lot of speed but is smart on the bases and solid as a corner outfielder. Never a power hitter - he hasn't homered since 1952 - but should be able to get on base.
So there you have it. An idea of what the Kansas City Bulls expansion draft might look like. This team would play pretty solid defense but will struggle at the plate and be very thin on pitching, especially if injuries again hit their mostly fragile pitching staff. The good news is, while not officially finalized, it appears the Bulls and their expansion cousin from Washington will pick at the top of the draft order meaning at least one and hopefully two if the draft class is deep enough major league ready players will join the fold.
I will likely do a second version of the mock draft after the trade deadline and it will be interesting to see what, if any effect a couple of expansion drafts coming up the next two off-seasons, have on existing teams and how they view trades.
Here are the current ratings and stats of these Mock Kansas City Bulls.