[ayaghmour2]

The New York Gothams may be up 2-0 in the World Series as we speak, but for Chicago Cougar fans, the season has been long over. It's crazy to think that just two seasons ago that was us, up 2-0 in the World Series, and things have changed quite a bit since. Still, even in a year full of losing, I am very excited about the future. We got a quick preview of that in September, but throughout the season I did give more and more time to the younger Cougars who hopefully will make up the next championship caliber team.

A big part of that will be Rich Langton, who took the Continental Association by storm this September. The former 3rd Rounder was Rookie of the Month and hit .368/.397/.649 with 7 homers and 23 RBI's. After the Lou Kelly trade I gave Langton the right field job and he absolutely raked the rest of the year. In 281 trips to the plate Langton hit .344/.384/.576 (137 OPS+) with 11 homers and 45 RBI's. He even managed to walk (18) more then he struck out (11) and swiped three bases. Not only that, the kid is an extra base machine and added 14 doubles and 7 triples.. He's a natural left fielder, but with Doc Love still there, Langton spent all but two of his starts in right. I'm really excited for this kids future, and you can expect to see his name in the Cougars lineup cards for a long time.

He wasn't the rookie who got the most time this year, however, that would be offseason acquisition Ollie Page. He had exactly 400 plate appearances and hit a strong .296/.376/.441 (103 OPS+) with 6 homers and 37 RBI's. He's a capable shortstop, and while the +3.2 zone rating isn't great, it's still an above average mark. I'm hoping with a more capable double play partner then Bill Ashbaugh, Page's shortstop play will show improvement. We've got strong middle infield depth, with Ducky Jordan down in AAA and other options like Billy Hunter and Freddie Bennett in the organization. And we still have Pete Asher, who endured a really tough first year in Chicago. He hit just .266/.358/.323 (71 OPS+) with a homer and 30 RBI's, but after the John Kincaid trade, I started giving him some reps at third. My scout has commented on his arm in the past, so I'm hoping he'll adjust to the position well. He can keep the seat warm for now, as the platoon with Jake Moore is just a temporary fix. Along with the previously mentioned middle infield options, we also have both Phil McKenna and Hank Stratton who will be knocking on the door. I was hoping Asher would be a part of our future, but he's got a lot of competition if he wants to keep a spot.

That's not the only job up in the air, as Bill Ashbaugh's production plummeted after an excellent start to the season. He remained relatively healthy this season, but hit just .282/.339/.453 (96 OPS+) with 11 homers, 6 steals, and 78 RBI's. He did manage to surpass the 500 plate appearance mark, the 7th time he's managed that. Unfortunately, it was still 100 less then the 658 he had in 1932 where he hit an impressive .319/.384/.453 (124 OPS+). I will never trade my first draft pick, but Ashbaugh may not be a regular player for much longer. He's just 31, but with Doc Love still on the team, Ray Ford can't exactly play left field. That means Ford will be in camp next season as a second basemen, and he could potentially end camp as the Opening Day starter. The 24-year-old Ford may have started the season in A ball, but after hitting .407/.517/.549 (147 OPS+) in 25 games, he got the call up to Mobile. Somehow, he was even better, batting .382/.472/.634 (184 OPS+) in 49 games. He ended the season in Milwaukee, coming one PA shy of 300. It was the largest stint of his season, and he hit an impressive .365/.458/.582 (151 OPS+) with 12 homers and 63 RBI's. In total, Ford tallied 20 homers, 125 RBI's, 47 doubles, 97 walks, and just 14 strikeouts. Sure, he's probably the worst defender in the world, but this kid flat out rakes. I'll find a spot for him, because if he hits like this against big league pitching, it doesn't matter where I put him on the field.

Another spot we got very little production from was center field. Even with Tom Taylor, we consistently got below average production. Bert Wilson hit just .246/.298/.309 (52 OPS+) with 2 steals and 16 RBI's in 190 plate appearances, most coming in August. Unfortunately, Chink Stickels hit much worse, a pitiful .178/.208/.247 (13 OPS+), although he did match the 2 steals and played excellent defense. I had very little expectations for Stickels, who had just 62 AAA plate appearances before his callup. It's going to be open season in camp, with Ray Moore and Carlos Montes both legitimate options to break camp. Moore is who I wanted to start in September, but he got hurt the day rosters expanded. The 1931 4th Rounder hit just .317/.380/.387 (87 OPS+) with 3 homers, 59 RBI's, and 30 steals, but he's an outstanding defensive center fielder. He's just 22, but he's almost a veteran compared to our most recent 1st Round selection Carlos Montes. The 19-year-old finished the year in AAA, and hit .408/.488/.831 (215 OPS+) with 5 homers, 2 steals, and 27 RBI's in 87 trips to the plate. It was such a dominate run that he was even awarded Century League Batter of the Month. Montes has flown up the organizational ladder, and my scout thinks he's the best center fielder in the entire organization right now. I will look for outside options in the offseason, but he could be our leadoff hitter come Opening Day.

Of course, one spot is guaranteed: our opening day first basemen will be Leo Mitchell. He did struggle the last couple of weeks, so I almost wish I let him finish the year in AAA, but the 22-year-old still hit .316/.376/.399 (94 OPS+) with 4 homers and 18 RBI's. I don't usually like first basemen, but Mitchell is one of my favorite prospects and I'm really excited for his first full season. He's a true asset at first base and if he wasn't a lefty he could probably play all around the infield. Despite being young, he's a great leader and his teammates look up to him. The sky truly is the limit for this kid, and he has decades of success ahead of him.

I'm really confident about the future of our lineup, but a lot of uncertainty lies in the pitching staff. The biggest question mark is Tommy Wilcox. Is the former ironman broken? He made just 8 starts this year, 3-1 with a 4.72 ERA (98 ERA+), 1.61 WHIP, 23 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 53.1 innings and left multiple starts throughout the season after coming back early from a devastating arm injury. Will he return to his 1933-1934 form where he pitched better then anyone else in the league? Or will he drop back down to the second tier, no longer the head of the class? We do need to depend on him, as there was not a lot of success this year.

Our established arms had a lot of struggles, and we even saw Dick Leudtke pack his bags and move to the big apple. Dave Rankin was just average, but he was easily our best. The 29-year-old was 13-19, leading the league in losses for a second time (19 with the Chiefs in 1933), but working to a 4.60 ERA (101 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP in 276 innings. He walked 100 and struck out 105, and pretty much saw all his numbers go slightly worse then the year before. Dick Lyons just tanked, but still managed to keep up his 8-year stretch of 30 or more starts and 200 or more innings. He was 14-12, but with just a 5.50 ERA (84 ERA+), 1.70 WHIP, 47 walks, and 56 strikeouts. Like Ashbaugh, Lyons won't be moved, and the longest tenured Cougar will always have a spot. Still, he may not end up in the rotation, as I'm actually excited for some of the arms I'm bringing to camp next season.

The arm I'm most excited for is someone who didn't even put on a Cougar uniform this year: Milt Fritz. Added in a very unconventional trade with the New York Gothams, I'm betting on the kid who somehow is turning just 26 in two days. This is a kid with 1,617.2 FABL innings; about 200 more then Tommy Wilcox and 600 more then Dave Rankin. Fritz is a heavily traveled pitcher, going from the Chiefs to the Kings to the Saints to the Gothams to us since the 1930 offseason. It seem like each time he got a little worse, going from leading the league in ERA in 1929 to getting demoted to the bullpen in a pennant race this year. Fritz was just 4-7 with a 5.23 ERA (84 ERA+), 1.56 WHIP, 29 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 75.2 innings with the Gothams before the trade. After the trade, he threw the same amount of innings in Milwaukee (I wish I did this on purpose!). He was a much better 7-1 with a 3.57 ERA (149 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 20 walks, and 23 strikeouts in the low pressure environment. Frtiz will finally have some security, as I am giving him a little birthday gift: a no-trade clause. From this point on, the kiddie gloves are off. He will line up right behind his former teammate Tommy Wilcox in the rotation next season, and I am ready to watch this kid go back to work. I'm hoping he can use the minor league stint as a reset, his morale has improved to good, and after moving him up to the majors, his morale when from "Good" to "Great" and I expect a happy Fritz to be a talented Fritz.

As crazy as it is, Fritz is younger then some of the "prospects" I am excited about like Hank Spencer and Art Black and Johnny Walker is just a few months younger. All three of those guys will be looking to fight for a spot on the staff with the previously mentioned Lyons. The top three is set, and the rest of the staff will spend time both in the rotation and bullpen. Veteran Wayne Robinson may have struggled with us, but even at 37 I think he can be an effective arm if used right. Same goes for Lyons, Ace McSherry, George Johnson, and Wally Larkin. I'll likely have a nine man staff, so that's five openings and six spots. I have managed to add new arms to the system the last two seasons, with bringing back Mel Leonard as well as acquiring Karl Wallace, Stumpy Beaman, Joe Foote, Pug Bryan, and Harry Parker who have joined Cy Sullivan in the top 200 prospect list. The pitching is just a few pieces away from being elite, and if a few things break right for us, perhaps a champion can rise out of the ashes.

Of course, I'm also really excited for the upcoming draft! Once the series ends we'll be drafting and it's always one of the most fun times of the year. I don't love this class, but I always know I'm going to get a handful of guys I really like.