[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 27-32 (6th, 12.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Tommy Wilcox : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Joe Masters : 14 AB, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.043 OPS
Tom Taylor : 28 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .250 AVG, .669 OPS

Weekly Schedule
6-17: Win at Kings (7-6)
6-18: Loss at Kings (2-7)
6-19: Win at Cannons (4-0)
6-20: Win at Cannons (3-2)
6-21: Loss at Cannons (3-6)
6-22: Loss at Cannons (1-6)
6-23: Win at Saints (4-3)

Summary
GUESS WHO'S BACK?

BACK AGAIN!

TOMMY'S BACK!

TELL A FRIEND!

GUESS WHO'S BACK! GUESS WHO'S BACK! GUESS WHO'S BACK!

If you pretend his first 1.2 inning start never happened (which is my plan), Wilcox's first start in almost an entire calendar year was similar to something he's done 15 times since 1929, tossed a complete game shutout. In complete game #115 (he's only made 168 starts), Wilcox looked like he's been pitching all year, allowing just 5 hits, a walk, and adding on a pair of strikeouts in his first decision of 1935. Other things happened this week, but taking out this game it was really just a mediocre week. Split the two with the Kings and split the Cannons series. We did win the first against the Saints, but it's becoming more apparent that our win's aren't all that important. At 31-35, we're tied with the Eagles for fourth worst record, which means we hold the #5 pick. I think I'm ready to start moving a few pieces.

Looking Ahead
We finish June with three more against the Saints, an off day, and then three hosting the Sailors back in Chicago. Montreal sits at 31-34 and there pitching has turned things around. While George Thomas continues his strong start to the season (7-3, 3.35, 29), Randy Taylor and Earle Whitten have started to straighten things out. Whitten especially, who's 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 4 June starts. The offense has had some issues, but catcher Tom Bird is hitting .322/.417/.475 (137 OPS+) with 4 homers and 32 RBI's while seizing the starting catching job and former Cougar John Banks has done well out of the eight hole. He's batting .331/.381/.394 (107 OPS+) and playing a dependable second base.

The Sailors have fallen under rougher times, and they've dropped to .500 on the season. Now just the Foresters (37-28) and Kings (42-23) boast records better then .500. Lefty Herb Flynn has blossomed into a strong starter, as the former Rule-5 pick is 5-2 with a 2.90 ERA (152 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 34 walks, and 35 strikeouts in 96.1 innings. He has a 0.03 ERA advantage over the Wolves' Chuck Cole. And even with William Jones struggles, him, Flynn, and William Jones make up an enviable 1-2-3. I'm hoping we just see one of them, as Russ Reel and Oscar Morse are much easier to hit. The offense isn't great, but a lot of that is attributed to their park. I've mentioned Dick Walker's cool skillset before, but he's not the only one who's excellent at walking. The Sailors pride themselves on their discipline at the plate, ranking 1st in walks and strikeouts.

Batters
Saying Lou Kelly came back to earth is a little of an understatement. Has 1935 season is giving me way-to-soon flashbacks of GME, skyrocketing for absolutely no reason, thinking it will last for more then just a few days (sims), and then it plummets right back to the disappointment you remember from before the jump. Since June started, he's hitting just .244/.303/.411 with 2 homers and 13 RBI's. This last week was extremely tough, 5-for-29 without an RBI or extra base hit. This is the guy who still leads the CA in RBI's (55) and OPS (1.036), but he's now a point behind John Lawson for the batting title and his triple slash has dropped to .386/.437/.598 (157 OPS+). Obviously, still amazing numbers, but a little more realistic then what I was becoming too accustomed too.

Some better news involves Joe Masters heating up. He was 6-for-14 with a trio of RBI's as he slowly starts to show that he can still put the ball in play. Hitting .219/.253/.375 (55 OPS+), I'm still unsure why the decline happened so fast. My scout doesn't even think he's better then Jake Moore, and it's only a matter of time before Leo Mitchell passes them both. I'm now actively shopping John Kincaid which would open up a roster spot for Leo Mitchell to make his debut and hopefully take the first base job and keep it for the next 10-15 years. Moving an outfielder (maybe Kelly or Taylor) is also in the cards, so I can bring up another youngster in Rich Langton. Both kids rank inside the top 50 (14 and 33) and are homegrown, something the Cougars organization hasn't seen in years.

Pitchers
I guess Tommy Wilcox isn't the only pitcher in our organization (although sometimes it feels that way...), so I should take a few notes on the other guys who throw the ball to Mike Taylor. Dick Leudtke has continued a nice run of starts, picking up his 5th straight win in his 5th start with 8.2 or more innings in a row. He allowed 11 hits and 2 runs with 2 walks and strikeouts in the 3-2 win over the Cannons. After a May which saw him post a 7.28 ERA and 1.83 WHIP, Leudtke righted the ship and has started to build back some of his trade value. In 4 June starts he's a perfect 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 6 walks, and 9 strikeouts. He's back to striking out more (26) then he walks (24) and his 5.03 ERA (94 ERA+) is somewhat respectable. Dave Rankin has had some tough starts recently, but he's still second in the CA with 55 strikeouts and he has a nice 4.26 ERA (111 ERA+) and 1.37 WHIP. I'm worried about Dick Lyons, however, who's only made it to the ninth in one start this year. Now 35, the iron man is starting to show signs of decay and his WHIP is pushing 2 (1.94). Especially with us not competing right now, Lyons isn't going anywhere even if he never brings his ERA back below 6. Besides, he was there in 1929 when we set the worst team ERA record, so why not let him stay for 1935 where we might do the same.

Minor League Report
SP Hank Spencer (AAA Milwaukee Blues): So maybe I should have just let him start the season in AAA... After an awful stretch in the majors, Hank Spencer has been brilliant in 8 starts. He's 4-1 with an elite 2.12 ERA (233 ERA+), 0.94 WHIP, 5 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched. The hard throwing southpaw is one of our top pitching prospects, ranking 3rd behind the highly touted 21-year-old righties Cy Sullivan and Karl Wallace. Spencer attacks hitters with his fastball and then he gets excellent downward movement on his change and curve. I don't expect him to maintain the +5 K/9, but he seems to be in the Dave Rankin range (3.5-4.0). This is his last option year, so he'll be guaranteed a roster spot next season, but I'm a big fan of the sidewinding southpaw.

3B Phil McKenna (A Lincoln Legislators): It took just two weeks in A ball before Phil McKenna took home his first Player of the Week award. Fresh off a promotion from San Jose, last year's 5th Rounder went 11-for-26 with 3 homers, 10 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. It's been a really impressive 66 PA sample for the Coastal Carolina alum who's hitting .377/.500/.679 (186 OPS+) with 4 homers, 14 RBI's, and 12 (!) walks. He did just turn 22, but McKenna seems to be really advanced for a recent draftee. The plate discipline is very impressive, as he's actually a super aggressive hitter. McKenna swings a lot and generates a ton of power, but he's limited his strikeouts well so far. I can see this becoming an issue as he continues to progress, but for now I'm happy to have gotten a guy I thought could've been a first rounder the year.

3B Dick Voss (B San Jose Cougars): I probably waited a little too long, but it's about time Dick Voss got the promotion to San Jose. He took home another Player of the Week Award and will finish with 49 games in the lowest minor league level. Our recent 14th Rounder, Dick Voss hit .435/.512/.671 (173 OPS+) with 9 homers and 54 RBI's. The only reason Voss was down in La Crosse was because McKenna was in San Jose, but now that he's been up there for two weeks with no signs of a premature promotion, Voss can start his climb. And it may look like power is his calling card, but this is more of an added surprise. Voss profiled as a contact first hitter and somehow his C ball numbers (in 6 more trips to the plate) are much more impressive then his college numbers.

SS Ivan Cameron (C La Crosse Lions): It hasn't been a great season for the defensive marvel, but our 3rd Rounder last season put together a huge 5-for-6 game with 5 RBI's in a 17-6 win over the Ottumwa Owls (Cleveland's Class C affiliate). Cameron has been outstanding at short, boasting a +11.7 zone rating and 1.152 efficiency rating in 59 games at short. The soon to be 19-year-old is hitting a nice .281/.385/.434 (91 OPS+) and he's even added 7 homers and 41 RBI's. I think the power is temporary, but he's shown great discipline at the plate (28 walks to 17 strikeouts) and my scout thinks he's got 80+ walk potential. With good speed on the field and the basepaths, his athleticism is a huge pull and one of the reasons he was on my shortlist. OSA seems to be a fan too, ranking him 21st in our system and 165th overall. I feel like I give myself too much credit for my farm sometimes (it really was just lucky the 1932 class was so good), but if the top prospects were distributed uniformly, you'd expect the 21st prospect to rank 336th (our farm is basically two teams combined).

Amateur Report
CF Joe Zielinski (Caesar Rodney): Despite just being a sophomore, Joe Zielinski slugged like he was already ready to hit FABL pitching. He hit 11 doubles, 10 triples, and 11 homers while also stealing 35 bases, driving in 42 runs, scoring 50 times, and walking 46 times. No college player had an OPS above his 1.010, and he still faced Good competition at Caesar Rodney (college in Delaware). A lefty hitter from Buffalo, he hit .277/.416/.594 while boasting excellent footspeed, a good eye, and excellent instincts in the outfield. I've been trying to find an issue with him, but so far, it's been a little tough. The batting average isn't great, just .277, but I think Joe Zielinski looks exactly like Tom Taylor, just maybe with a few less strikeouts.

1B Walt Messer (McKinley Tech): Last year I was excited about Fred Galloway hitting .500. Perhaps I shouldn't have been... In fact, I should have been drooling over Walt Messer, who hit .613/.648/1.170 with 15 homers and 51 RBI's as a sophomore. Granted, first basemen do kid of suck, but he followed up the sophomore year with another .600 season. This time, Wally the Knife hit a much less impressive .604/.639/1.121 with 10 homers and 39 RBI's. Sure, the competition is just average where he plays, but I know first hand it is not very easy to hit .600 at any level of high school. Despite my best efforts, by JV batting average could only surpass .400, not anywhere close to the .600 from Messer (he also has more homers then I have hits, but that's another story...). He can't be selected until next season, but Messer has power well beyond his years and he's going to challenge for batting titles. Of course, at just 16, he's got a lot of developing to do, but the sky is the limit for him.

SP Bunny Edwards (Red River State): I tried to find a college arm better then Al Miller, but I could not. The closest thing is Bunny Edwards, a sophomore from Red River State. He tossed 98 innings this year and was 7-2 with a 2.39 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He struck out 97 and walked just 26, and while a few other arms did manage to strike out 100 (including a freshman!), neither had comparable ERA's or WHIP's. Edwards' success stems from his combination of groundball generating ability and his excellent stuff that keeps pitchers guessing. All three of his pitches are out pitches, and while he just throws in the 84-86 range, he doesn't need to add more velocity to become effective. Standing at just 5'7'', the 19-year-old "Spaceman" does have the pitching potential to take a team's rotation to the moon!

SP Manny Franco (Old Westbury): During the 1935 season, only two pitchers had an ERA below 2.00 and a WHIP below 0.75. One of those players is well known for being part of Baseball's First Family. The other, well, he's best known for the color of his facial hair. Manny Franco, conversationally labeled "Redbeard" is making his case for top pitcher of the 1936 class after finishing his junior season 10-0 with a 0.62 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 20 walks, and 172 strikeouts. It's another perfect season for Franco record wise, and he improved on his ERA, WHIP and K9 while maintaining a similar BB9. Barrell did strike out more hitters, but Franco had just a 0.2 smaller K9. Of course, Barrell is likely going #1 this year while Franco still has room to grow. With pitching, literally anything can happen in an offseason, but Franco already throws four strong pitches, sits in the 85-87 range, and generates a ton of groundballs.