JULY 1, 1935
TEN THINGS I THINK: DRAFT POOL EDITION
By Jiggs McGee
I am back with another edition of "Ten Things I Think" and today's focus will be on this December's draft. So with no more delay let's get right into with a fearless prediction.
1- If Rabbit Day does not get there first then Rufus Barrell II will be FABL's next 300 game winner. Remember you read that here. Even if the 31 year old Day does get the 144 more victories he needs before his playing days are done I still expect Deuce Barrell to be a 300 game winner as long as he stays healthy. I would also not be surprised if by the time his playing days are over Barrell will be baseball's all-time strike out king. I think the kid is major league ready now at age 18. How else can you explain a high school pitcher with 199 strikeouts and just 4 walks in his draft year. The mock draft has Rufus currently slotted 4th but I can not see any way Rufus is not selected first overall and he may be what I believe would be the first high school pitcher to go straight to the majors without at least a season in the minors.
2- According to OSA this is the year of the first baseman with four of them presently projected to go in the opening round including first overall Red Johnson. Johnson, who hails from Portland, Oregon, hit 21 homers the past two seasons for Central Catholic High School in his hometown and is said to have elite raw power. OSA calls him a future all-star and he may be a great consolation prize after Barrell for the Detroit Dynamos, who's Thompson Park seems perfectly designed for the righthanded Johnson. The Dynamos are likely thinking pitcher - perhaps George Garrison - with the second overall pick which they are sure to have as the basement dweller of the Federal Association but Johnson might be the perfect replacement for Al Wheeler.
3- There must be something about small Rhode Island colleges. Hal Wood, from Smithfield College in Smithfield, Rhode Island, is the best of the college crop of draft eligible players. Last year we had Alf Pestilli from Narragansett selected in the fourth round and next year each school has a potential first round pick in Smithfield second baseman Yank Buxton and Narragansett's Sal Pestilli, who was the National College Player of the Year as a freshman and an All-American last year as a sophomore. He is the younger brother of Alf.
4- Who will be the first teammates selected in the draft this time around? Last year it was obvious that St Blane University pitching mates Bobo White and Gus Goulding would go high and they did with White going first overall to Washington and Goulding taken next by Baltimore. The year before it was a pair of Hartford High School pitchers who both celebrated early with John Edwards being selected 3rd overall by Baltimore and Al Miller going fourth to the Chicago Chiefs. In 1932 we had Curly Jones going first to the New York Gothams and his Henry Hudson University teammate George Gilliard being taken 5th by Washington. 1931 gave us a pair of Central Ohio Aviators with second baseman Freddie Jones being taken second by St Louis and Boston grabbing pitcher Jim Taylor 10th. Central Ohio actually went one better that year with 3 players taken in the first round as Detroit selected P Joe Stevens 12th overall.
There are no sure bets like White/Goudling last year or Jones/Gilliard a couple of years prior but if I was to make an educated guess I would say it will be a pair of Central Ohio Aviators celebrating first once again as pitchers Al Jones and Bill Seabolt should likely both go by the end of the second round.
5- Speaking of Al Jones he is the younger brother of St Louis Pioneers star second baseman Freddie Jones. Al, a pitcher, followed in his brother's footsteps to Central Ohio and like Freddie won a Frank Christian Award as college player of the year. Now he hopes to duplicate Freddie in the draft and go in the first round.
6- The Jones' are not the college brother act as Henry Hudson University has the Gilliard's. Ed is draft eligible this year after the outfielder hit .271 with 7 homers for the Explorers last season. George also went to Hudson before being selected 5th overall by Washington in 1932. He is currently pitching in AA. Another brother of a pro ball player in this year's draft class is Roy Oldham. Roy was born in Nashville just like the Jones boys but he is younger so he likely did not play with Al Jones at any point in his career. Roy is an 18 year old third baseman from Nashville Bible School who OSA feels may have big league potential. The big leagues are something that so far have eluded 30 year old Ray Oldham, who is also a third baseman and played his high school ball at the old Nashville High School of the feeder leagues. Roy spent some time in the Kings and Foresters organization but is presently playing for San Antonio in the independent Lone Star League.
7- Staying with the family connections there are a number of sons of former big leaguers in the draft with the most famous being Ed Ziehl's son Eddie. The elder Ziehl was one of the greatest hitters in FABL history and it appears Eddie may have inherited a bit of that talent. A third baseman, Eddie hit .448 for Mount St Michael Academy High School in New York City this past season. Perhaps playing on his dad's nickname (The Lion), OSA says Eddie could be penciled in for a lions share of the starts at his position once he matures.
8- Other father/son draft duos are Jack Blanton, a high school shortstop who's father Bill played a handful of minor league games in 1907. Gabe Cain Jr, a high school infielder from Houlton, Maine who's father played 41 FABL games for 3 teams in the early 1900s. Cain is projected to be a second round pick.
Bayou State outfielder Jimmy Jarvis' dad Adam spent nearly two decades in the minors pitching in over 100 games at AAA but never got the call to the big leagues. Billy Jordan was a former pitcher for Washington and the Chicago Cougars who won 19 big league games. His son Billy Jr. was born in Chicago but grew up in California and has committed to North Carolina Tech if he does not get drafted. An outfielder, he is said to be a reserve player at best.
Finally, we have Gainesville(GA) high school 3B Cletus Van Horn who has already committed to Carolina Poly. His dad Clyde spent a year with St. Patrick's University as a backup catcher and had a very small cup of coffee - just 1 game- in the minors.
9- We have some great nicknames in this draft class. Here are just a few: Hard Boiled Henry Koblenz, Jack "The El Dorado Kid" Hale and Bob 'Zip' Zizza but the best has to be Mack Sutton, the Arkansas Artilleryman. Sutton an 18 year old third baseman from Arkadelphia, Arkansas was a High School All-American this season and his said to have elite skills. He is listed second in the OSA Mock Draft.
10- Finally I will take a stab at picking the Mr. Irrelevant in this year's draft - the last of the 400 players selected. I am going to go with a high school second baseman by the name of Gene Ham. Ham, who played his high school ball for Wallkill (NY) HS, had the lowest average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of any draft eligible high school player this season. OSA says he is well below average across the board. Ham has committed to Brooklyn Catholic University so an education is likely a very good choice for the young man.