[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 59-54 (4th, 10.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 27 AB, 11 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .407 AVG, 1.132 OPS
Billy Hunter : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .346 AVG, .857 OPS
Ray Ford : 23 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .304 AVG, .776 OPS

Schedule
8-17: Loss at Sailors (2-4)
8-18: Win at Sailors (9-8)
8-19: Loss at Sailors (3-4): 10 innings
8-20: Loss at Foresters (5-12)
8-21: Win at Foresters (7-6): 10 innings
8-22: Win at Foresters (6-3)

Recap
We survived the gauntlet! It didn't go how I expected or how I wanted, but we flipped the script this week and let the Sailors take the series before taking a series from the Foresters. It was a really hard fought week, three one run games with two ending in extras, and no ground was gained or lost. And it means absolutely nothing, but my favorite stat of the week comes from Milt Fritz. Fritz is generally really good at keeping the ball on the ground, and he's allowed just 6 homers on the season. As impressive as that is, the cool part is how he's hit three homers on the season! Fritz is hitting .175/.197/.317 (34 OPS+) this season and now has five homers as a Cougar. In fact, half of his 10 career homers have came in the past two seasons, proving that truly anyone can hit a home run in Chicago (two of the others were when he played for the Chiefs), even if this most recent one came on the road. He also made two of the starts, a win an no decision across 16 innings. He allowed 19 hits, 6 runs, and 7 walks with 3 strikeouts to get back on track.

The rest of the rotation, however, had a ton of issues. Pug's string of domination was ended, lit up for 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks with a pair of punchouts as he lasted just 3 innings. This messed up our rotation a little, with Dick Lyons coming in for 5 shaky innings of relief. He allowed 5 runs and 5 hits with a walk and three strikeouts in the 12-5 loss to the Foresters. This gave Dave Rankin two starts, a 5 and 10 inning outing. They weren't great (although no loss!), 19 hits, 13 runs (9 earned), and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts, but he won the 10 inning start and we won the 5 inning start. Allen Purvis got the win, pitching the next four innings and allowing just a single run with 3 hits and 2 walks. Luis Sandoval pitched 3.2 innings out of the pen, picking up a loss and save with a run, two walks, 5 hits, and a strikeout.

John Lawson overtook Love and Wheeler this week, 11-for-27 with 5 doubles, a homer, 3 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. He's 11 RBI's down, but with a month plus left it's still technically possible for him to win a Triple Crown. No one else had a real standout week, but bench bats Bert Wilson and Johnny Waters combined to go 5-for-10 with a double, RBI, walk, and two runs scored. Billy Hunter had another good week, 9-for-26 with a triple, 2 doubles, 3 runs, and 4 RBI's. Ollie Page's power shined through, 5-for-23 with a double, two homers, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 RBI's. Leo Mitchell and Ray Ford had similar weeks, combining to go 13-for-44 with 3 doubles, 7 RBI's, 8 runs, and 9 walks. The lineup will be getting Rich Langton back soon, and while I could activate him now, I think I'm going to wait until next week, give him a week on rehab, and then bring him up when rosters expand. Mitchell has been outhitting him, and then I won't have to burn an option on Joe Foy or deal with finding at bats for Johnny Waters in the minors.

Looking Ahead
We break the "pattern" this week, as even though we start with an off day, we don't get a pair of three game sets after. We stay on the road, but we'll be in Montreal for just two days after taking Monday off. Montreal is 55-60 and leading the second division in 5th place. Former Cougar prospect Bill Ross has continued to excel, 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 32 walks, and 62 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched. Montreal has one of the worst rotations in baseball, so Ross has been huge for him. He's had some help, with fellow 24-year-old Jake DeYoung putting up strong numbers too. He's 12-6 with a 3.93 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 40 walks, and 77 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched. As these two mature, Montreal should have an excellent 1-2 punch, and their top prospect, Wally Doyle, has all the tools needed to front a rotation. They'll hope George Thomas continues to figure things out, as he's dropped his ERA to 4.60 (94 ERA+) and his walks (56) and strikeouts (57) are near even. Hank Barnett has moved to the eight hole, but the slugger is hitting a league average .272/.353/.436 (102 OPS+) with a well above average 15 homers and 72 RBI's. Adam Mullins just turned 25 on the 21st, and his .324/.420/.436 (120 OPS+) batting line is extremely impressive for a catcher. He's hit 5 homers and drove in 59 RBI's while on pace to walk 90 times with just 11 strikeouts.

After that quick stop, we'll head to Baltimore for three with the Cannons. After a nice start to the year, Baltimore has dropped to seventh at 49-67 and they sit four games behind the Stars for the #2 lottery slot. Pinky Conlan is out for the year, so they've replaced him with 21-year-old southpaw Art Edwards. "Enforcer" Edwards was their 10th Round selection in 1933 and he ranks 15th and 177th respectively in the prospect rankings. Just three starts so far, and he's 0-2 with a 6.64 ERA (63 ERA+), 1.67 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. He doesn't have near the upside of Goulding, Edwards, or Petrick, but he is a rather interesting young arm. And speaking of Goulding, he's starting to heat up again, now 12-15 with a 3.86 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.30 WHIP, 71 walks, and 111 strikeouts in a strong year two. He's just 24, and now the only non 21-year-old in the Cannons rotation. Former Cougar draftee John Barnard has taken the starting third basemen job, and even after a rough week, is still hitting .242/.346/.409 (99 OPS+) in his first 24 games. He's doubled four times, tripled twice, and homered while driving in seven. Jim Mason has started to cool down, but he's still hitting an effective .326/.373/.454 (117 OPS+) with 8 homers and 51 RBI's.

We finish the week with the first half of a two game set with the Stars. They're 45-71 and sitting in the cellar of the Continental Association. You can't blame Chicagoan Les Zoller, who's 7-8 with a 3.27 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 66 walks, and 81 strikeouts in 167.2 innings pitched. Zoller is a guy I've asked for on many occasion, and the 28-year-old looks to be either a future building block or potential big trade chip for the Stars. Veteran Dave Trowbridge just turned 39, but he's still chugging along to the tune of a .294/.358/.471 (115 OPS+) batting line. He's also hit 14 homers and drove in 56 while looking for just his second 20 homer season. His 14 is most since 1932 (15) and he's on pace for 19, which would be second most of his long career. Former 8th Overall Pick Art McMahon has looked alright in center, but after 235 plate appearances his .260/.296/.324 (62 OPS+) batting line still leaves a lot to be desired. He has 8 steals, a homer, 3 doubles, and 4 triples with 14 RBI's, but he's struck out four times as much as he's walked. They have brought up former Cougar Chink Stickels to function as the fourth outfielder, and he's hitting .237/.333/.474 (109 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 5 RBI's in his first 45 PA's of the season.

Minor League Report
RHP Sam Hodge (AA Mobile Commodores): He was excellent in Lincoln, and the promotion to Mobile has not slowed him down one bit. Start #10 was a beauty, a 6-hit, 1-walk, 2-strikeout shutout of the Memphis Excelsior as Hodge evened his record to 5-5. Hodge has showed the ability to pitch way deep into games, finishing every start he's made including a 151 pitch, 11.2 inning loss against the Chattanooga Reliables. Of course, the former 6th Rounder has looked good while eating those innings, working to a 2.38 ERA (131 ERA+) and 0.93 WHIP with 9 walks and 23 strikeouts in a seemingly impossible 90.2 innings pitched. A towering 6'4'' righty, Hodge still throws in the low-to-mid 80s, but he locates his fastball and cutter well. He mixes in the change, slider, and curve well too, effortless painting the corners. His accuracy leads to low pitch counts and the softness of his pitches help him pitch forever. My scout thinks he's just a pen option, but OSA says "frontline starter potential" which seems to be a reach to me. Of course, if he starts throwing a little harder, I may start to agree with OSA as he's already able to befuddle minor league hitters. He's absent from the top 500 prospect lists, but what do they know! I find it hard pressed to believe there are 22 prospect pitchers in our system better then him, but if he's truly a frontline pitcher, there's a lot to be excited about in our system.

RF Marv Smith (B San Jose Cougars): I feel like I'm a little hard on poor Marv, but I don't think I was able to accurately depict how furious I was when I ended up with him in the lottery portion of the draft. It makes sense, 22-year-old corner outfielders aren't really in high demand, and our system really took a hit with two truly terrible prospects joining our system without our consent. Lucky for Smith, he "can shut out the stress and put it on automatic," so all the berating I've done hasn't effected him at all. I sent the fleet footed lefty to San Jose, and he's looked fine in right and comfortable at the plate. Montana's "finest" is hitting .257/.326/.403 (110 OPS+) with 5 homers, 23 steals, and 31 RBI's in his first 218 plate appearances. The steals are impressive, and while he's no Larry Robison 67 in 105 games), base stealing is an area we can be considered weak in. Smith does have a good eye too, so he should find himself on base frequently and when he's on you can almost give him second base. I'd like to see more pop since he's a corner outfielder, but he's a flyball hitter which plays well at our park. And while I'm far from excited for Smith's future, it's possible I was a bit too hard on him at first. Don't get me wrong, he's not part of our future plans by any means, but it wouldn't be that big of a longshot if Smith became a capable big leaguer.

LHP John Johnson (C La Crosse Lions): I have no idea what to do with this kid. Our recent 9th Rounder, Johnson now has three shutouts in his last four starts, but he's already allowed six or more runs in two more. Just 8 starts in La Crosse, Johnson is 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA (122 ERA+) and 1.15 WHIP, but he has 12 walks with just 5 strikeouts. Nothing about Johnson's performance has made sense, but some days he's just on. I think it's pretty clear already that Johnson will never be much of a strikeout pitcher, but he locates his three pitches well and seems to generate weak contact. The most recent of the shutouts saw five hits and a walk, with 17 groundball outs! 17! In the other two shutouts he had 14, so but he also had 9 or more flyouts in each outing. If Johnson is on the mound, the defense will get their workout for the day, so he could be an interesting arm to follow. I usually try to get really good defensive players, so this could really benefit the youngster from Chicago. If he can improve his stuff a bit, especially his changeup (which looks to be his best pitch), Johnson can turn into a more reliable arm and not just a "hope they don't get a hit" pitcher who picks at the corners.