[ayaghmour2]

The Cougars have checked in to camp down in Florida, ready for another exciting season of baseball. As I mentioned recently, there aren't many battles going on in camp, so the goal will to be stay healthy and get players worked out in different positions. It's definitely a sign of good things to come that ten of our top eleven prospects are in camp, and the one missing is the now 21-year-old Chubby Hall who spent his first two seasons in La Crosse. I tried to claim (and then later sign) former Cougar John Kincaid, but the Kings outbid us. Below is a list of players being brought down for camp, guaranteed spots denoted by an asterisk:

40-Man Members
RHP Joe Brown
RHP Pug Bryan*
LHP Clarence Crane
RHP Milt Fritz*
RHP John Hartz
RHP Bill Kline
LHP Dick Lyons*
RHP Oscar Morse*
RHP Chet Peacock
RHP Allen Purvis
RHP Dave Rankin*
RHP Cy Sullivan
C Harry Mead
C Mike Taylor*
C Johnnie Williamson
1B Ray Ford*
1B Bobby Mills
1B Larry Robison
1B Johnny Waters
2B Bill Ashbaugh
2B Johnny McDowell*
2B Paul McLain
2B Ollie Page*
2B Homer Ray
3B Johan Camargo
3B Russ Griffin
3B John Lawson*
SS Freddie Bennett
SS Billy Hunter*
SS Ducky Jordan
LF Doc Love*
CF Elias Canady
CF Aart MacDonald
CF Carlos Montes*
CF Roy Moore
CF Orlin Yates
RF Ernie Carson
RF Rich Langton*
RF Leo Mitchell*

Non-Roster Invitees
RHP Del Burns
RHP Sam Hodge
LHP Cal Knight
RHP Pete Papenfus
RHP Harry Parker
RHP/CF Juan Pomales
LHP Ricky Watts
C Lave Young
1B Chris Smith
2B Bots Shearer
2B Tommy Wilson
SS Ivan Cameron
SS Tip Harrison
LF Red Looney
RF Henry Cox

Yep, Peter the Heater is in camp, and he will be starting our first Spring game of 1938! Oh yeah, and he's the new #1 prospect in baseball! That's what a 101 mile per hour fastball will do for you!

Camp Battles

Position: Second Base
Sports Available: 1
Favorite: Johnny McDowell
Competitors: Ollie Page, Paul McLain, Bots Shearer, Homer Ray, Ducky Jordan, Tommy Wilson

Easily the most exciting and potentially the only battle worth following will be who mans the keystone in Chicago. Assuming he can handle the position fine, I expect the former Gotham Johnny McDowell to earn the job out of camp, but both him and Page are guaranteed roster spots. The longshot, and arguably the most interesting option is NRI Tommy Wilson, who currently ranks 7th in our system and 66th in the league. Walt actually wants him to be the starting second basemen, but my guess is that the former 2nd Rounder starts the season in Mobile or Milwaukee. McLain, Shearer, Ray, and Jordan are all longshots to win the starting job, but all four, especially the first two, will be competing for an infield spot.

Position: Bullpen
Sports Available: 3
Favorites: Allen Purvis, Bill Kline, Clarence Crane
Competitors: John Hartz, Joe Brown, Cy Sullivan, Chet Peacock, Cal Knight, Sam Hodge, Rusty Watts

Assuming we stay healthy, the rotation is set. Sure, Harry Parker probably wants to steal a roster spot, but it wouldn't make sense to option Pug Bryan and Oscar Morse and Dick Lyons don't deserve to lose their rotation spots, especially considering Marv thinks Parker's currents aren't quite past Lyons yet. Of course, there's no reason for Parker (or Pete for that matter) to waste away in the pen when he isn't even on the 40 yet. I almost listed Purvis as a lock due to his leadership, popularity, experience, and swingman abilities, but he's 35 and we have so many intriguing options. Crane and Kline are both lefties, but since most FABL players don't have heavy splits, it shouldn't matter too much. In fact, Kline is significantly better against righties (131.2 IP, 2.73 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 152 ERA+, 40 BB, 53 K) then against lefties (66 IP, 6.82 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 63 ERA+, 15 BB, 25 K), so if anything, he's the perfect middle man for a three man pen.

There are a lot of exciting young arms, including a pair of top 40 prospects in Sullivan and Brown, but I think we'll be better served letting those two start in Milwaukee. Brown has yet to throw a AAA inning, but his high 90s sinker could be potentially deadly in a multi inning relief role. Still, he's a starter first, and his value in the rotation is immense. Same goes with Cy, but he doesn't have nearly the velocity of Brown. Cy needs some polishing, and while his pitches may never reach their lofty potential, being a borderline starter is sometimes good enough. His elite command works much better in the rotation and he was able to average nearly 8 innings a start this season in the minors, something very few pitchers are able or even allowed to do. The real sleeper to watch is Sam Hodge, who despite always being listed as a starter, Marv is convinced that he's a reliever. He ranks as our best relief pitcher in the entire season, but Hodge is a polished 5-pitch complete game machine. He doesn't throw all that hard, but he's projected to "flourish in a key bullpen role" and all of 1937 was listed as an RP instead of SP in the scouting reports.

In more longshot options, the now healthy John Hartz has successfully rehabbed his fractured elbow and ranks third in our pen, behind Peter the Heater and Bill Kline and in line with Brown and Sullivan. Our former 2nd Round selection, Hartz would probably be considered a starting option in most organizations, but he has a lot of younger and more talented options behind him. He could eat innings for us out of the pen, and function as the emergency starter if we have a minor injury or double header. Also on the 40 is soon-to-be 26-year-old Chet Peacock, who had an excellent minor league season and looks like a capable long man. The biggest wildcard is fireballing southpaw Rusty Watts, who's 97-99 mph fastball would be devastating late in the game. His control is vastly improved, and as long as too many of his flyballs don't leave the park, he could be a very useful high leverage arm that also can go multiple innings. His secondary stuff isn't great, so while he does start in the minors, I do envision him as a reliever.

Position: Catching Tandem
Sports Available: 2
Favorite: Mike Taylor
Competitors: Harry Mead, Johnnie Williamson

He may just be a shell of his former self, but as the lone lefty, Mike Taylor seems likely to get most of the starts against right handed pitchers, with either top prospect Harry Mead or last year's eventual backup Johnnie Williamson. I really want the 23-year-old Mead to secure the majority of the time against lefties, and Marv thinks he's passed up Williamson in terms of development. Both debuted last year, with Williamson's sample longer and more impressive. Either could eventually surpass Taylor as the full time starter, and if Mead wins the job, he'll get a larger share of the catching time then Williamson would. Mead's upside, however, is nearly unmatched in the league, potentially turning into a .330 hitter with 80 walk potential and excellent defense behind the plate.

Position: 5th Outfielder
Sports Available: 1
Favorite: Roy Moore
Competitors: Elias Canady, Aart MacDonald, Orlin Yates, Ernie Carson

I went back in forth deciding if Moore or MacDonald was the favorite, but Moore has played far more major league games and is the superior defender. Regardless, this job is wide open, but has to be filled with a center fielder as I wouldn't trust Langton, Mitchell, Ford, or Love in center even if former Cougar Erv Firth (career .156/.252/.202 hitter) was at the plate. I expect this to turn into a Moore-MacDonald battle, but Ernie Carson is stuck in the role of "my performance doesn't determine my future" and will likely only make the team if one of the top two doesn't separate themselves. Orlin Yates does have a shot, as he's an impressive defender in his own right, but the lefty didn't hit a lick in Chicago last year. Canady is the longest shot, but the 23-year-old is an extremely hard worker who the guys love in the clubhouse.

Position: Pinch Hitter
Sports Available: 1
Favorite: Johnny Waters
Competitors: Russ Griffin, Bobby Mills, Bill Ashbaugh, Paul McLain

I'd consider Waters a lock, but since he can be optioned and others cannot, that is the only thing going against him. The switch hitter slashed an absurd .339/.381/.542 (157 OPS+) in his first 64 FABL PAs with 9 extra base hits and 10 RBIs. He does have another thing against him, he's completely useless in the field, but really other then the aging McLain and maybe Griffin, that applies to all of these guys. There are still other roster spots, so the leadership of Ashbaugh and McLain could still make the team with Waters securing a roster spot,