[ayaghmour2]

Got a full 60 man roster down in camp, but a lot of those guys are there to get some reps and don't have a serious shot of making the team. There are a lot of spots to be claimed on the pitching side of things, but we actually have a few interesting camp battles developing:

Centerfield
Favorite: Carlos Montes
Next in Line: Roy Moore, Bert Wilson
Other Options: Tom Thomas, Marty Roberts, Orlin Yates, Mike Smith

I know he's just 20, but I really want to give the starting center field job to Carlos Montes. 1934's 12th Overall pick shot up all the way to AAA where he finished the season with a .408/.488/.831 (215 OPS+) batting line with 5 homers and 27 RBI's in just 87 trips to the plate. Shockingly, he's exceedingly high developed for his age and rates as our most talented center field option. He projects to be a well above average defender with an excellent speed and an excellent eye. He profiles as a prototypical leadoff hitter, something we haven't quite really had. What will determine how high of a level Montes gets to is the power, after just 2 high school homers he hit 13 last season. Double digit home run power is a stretch, but Montes has all the tools you look for in a centerfielder.

His biggest competition will be Roy Moore, the 1931 4th Round pick who's glove work is impeccable. The bat, not so much, but my scout is predicting him to develop into an above average hitter too. He spent most of last year in AAA, but hit just .317/.380/.387 (87 OPS+) with 3 homers, 30 steals, and 59 RBI's. He's as light hitting as it gets and doesn't have the upside of Montes, but he's much more experiences. Last year's rule-5 pick Bert Wilson has the advantage of being on the 40-man roster (I do have an open spot), but he did not look good in a full time role last year. He hit just .246/.298/.309 (64 OPS+) and could definitely use some seasoning in the minors. Still, he's a strong defender who ranked in last year's top 100 prospect list and has good upside. The biggest longshot might be Orlin Yates, another really talented defender who's bat is a little less reliable. My scout thinks he's big league ready too, but it'll take the perfect storm for him to end up as our opening day center fielder.

Second Base
Favorite: Ray Ford
Next in Line: Bill Ashbaugh, Russ Combs, Pete Asher, Clyde Hinzman
Other Options: Russ Franklin, Duke Fowler, Don Tyra, Woody Armstrong, Forrest Sylvester

This is the most competitive of the position battles, as I have not one, but four recent everyday starters competing against a former #1 overall prospect. Ford, who I'd love to see make the opening day roster, unfortunately never learned how to play defense. Including high school, in 220 games at second he has a -20.4 zone rating. 49 at third, -12.6. 20 in right, -3.3. At least at first (+2.3) and left (+0.5) it doesn't totally suck, but unfortunately Leo Mitchell is a lefty and I couldn't find a home for Doc Love. So the only open spot is second, his "natural" spot. Ford started the year in Lincoln, but worked his way up to Milwaukee which was a little shorter then the combined time at Lincoln and Mobile. His lowest OPS+ was the 151 in 299 AAA PA's, so obviously the bat is not a problem. He's an aggressive line drive hitter who should rack up extra base hits at a count that will make up for all the boneheaded plays in the field. He'll be 25 in June, so I really want him to stay up for the start of the season.

Of course, he's going to have to go through Bill Ashbaugh. Like Ford, Ashbaugh never quite learned defense, so he's more or less a decade older version of Ford. Ashbaugh does have the track record, a .311/.376/.489 (135 OPS+) career batting line, but health has been an issue lately. He's a lock for a roster spot, but his time as a starter may be numbered. He just turned 32, so age isn't on his side, but a lot of productive years are left for him. If Ford isn't ready, I don't think we'll be that much worse off with Ashbaugh. Of course, there's also the always injured Russ Combs who's likely to get hurt in a week. He's a shell of his old self, and just 52 games in the last two seasons and he hasn't got more then 100 since '30. There's no glove, maybe no bat, and potentially no spot for him. Pete Asher and Clyde Hinzman are interesting options, with Hinzman actually being my managers choice for the role. Both have been starters at short (with Asher spending some time at third last season), but don't have that much second base experience. Hinzman spent a lot of time there in AAA last year, but also at first, second, and short. I'd prefer them as bench bats, but they both should be above average defenders at second. There are a lot of other depth options as well, but I'm hoping it doesn't fall that far.

The Pitching Staff
There's too many open spots to give "favorites", but we'll likely be carrying 9 pitchers. Four of those will be the "rotation", Wilcox, Rankin, Fritz, and Lyons. The other five? Well... That's a little tougher. A lot of out of options players: Art Black, George Johnson, Chuck Matthews, Allen Purvis, Hank Spencer, and Ace McSherry plus Rule-5 Pick Mac Watters. I can't keep all of them. And this doesn't include Wayne Robinson and Johnny Walker, who I would also like to see make the Opening Day roster. Options will likely cost Walker a spot, but I'd love to see him win it.

Opening Day is next week, but not too much happening from now until then. Really excited for the season, even if we don't do all that well, because I will get to see the young guys get another season under their belt. That, plus the excitement of Milt Fritz and John Lawson should give Cougars fans something to be excited about. We also now have four "green" starters (Taylor, Page, Love, and Langton) and two "blue" starters, John Lawson and Ace McSherry (this one barely counts), which is a lot better then the collection of sub-10 ranks we saw last year. We do have three, Mitchell and second and center, which could easily all be up with development from him, Montes, and Ford. My scout and OSA have soured on Mitchell for one reason or another, but nothing really has changed. They just don't like his lack of power. I'm not all that worried about that, as I tend to disagree with my scout and OSA a lot anyways.