[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 6-1
Seasonal Record: 48-44 (5th, 12 GB)
Stars of the Week
Mike Taylor : 11 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 2 RBI, .545 AVG, 1.727 OPS
Billy Hunter : 25 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .400 AVG, .960 OPS
Harry Parker : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 2 BB, 11 K, 1.00 ERA

Schedule
7-18: Win vs Cannons (2-5)
7-19: Win vs Kings (3-7)
7-20: Win vs Kings (1-10)
7-21: Loss vs Kings (3-2)
7-22: Win vs Saints (1-3)
7-23: Win vs Saints (2-4)
7-24: Win vs Saints (3-6)

Recap
Just like that we're on a little run! This season has been a mix of highs and lows, but the young pitching powered us to an impressive 6-1 week as we find ourselves now just three games behind the second place Toronto Wolves. Pete Papenfus has rightly garnered a lot of publicity and his share of headlines, and he had an outstanding two start week. The first was an 8 innings win over the Kings where he allowed 3 hits and runs (2 earned) with 8 walks and strikeouts. He won the second start as well, with a somewhat similar outing. He tossed a complete game victory over the Saints with 5 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks, and 9 strikeouts. That's now 27 strikeouts in 28 innings, and he's just 15 strikeouts shy of Milt Fritz's team best 42. And as good as he was, Harry Parker was even better! The towering 6'6'' righty tossed a pair of complete game 4-hit victories, also against the Kings and Saints. He allowed just one run, two walks, and eight strikeouts in the first game and three runs (one earned) and three strikeouts in the second. Our other three starters pitched exceptional as well, with the "worst" start Sullivan's loss against Brooklyn. He allowed 7 hits, 3 runs, and a walk, and really the only blemishes a pair of solo homers. Fritz bounced back against the Cannons, a complete game win with 6 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Dick Lyons continued his elite form, 8 innings with 6 hits, a run, a strikeout, and two walks. Lyons 2.69 ERA is now third best in the Continental Association, behind just Mike Murphy (2.56) and William Jones (2.64). It's a little cheeky of a stat, but the top four in our rotation all have sub 3 ERAs, and Lyons 2.69 is the highest of them. Granted, Papenfus, Parker, and Sullivan have combined for 111.1 innings pitched, less then Lyons' 147, but the average age between the three is just 22.3. This is extremely encouraging for the future of the Cougars, and this is exactly the type of week we might have to get used to in Chicago.

Mike Taylor continues to set the world on fire, and while he just made three starts, he was 6-for-11 with a double and two solo homers. Taylor is up to .300/.362/.493 (129 OPS+) on the season with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 8 homers, and 30 RBIs as he's seem to regain his vintage form. I've put Taylor on the block a few sims ago, but there hasn't been too much interest on that front. Johnny McDowell also did well in his three starts, 7-for-15 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, 3 runs, and an RBI. Rich Langton put together a great week, 9-for-22 with a double, triple, three RBIs, and five runs scored. Billy Hunter got back on track, 10-for-25 with two doubles, a triple, and three runs scored and driven in.

Looking Ahead
We're off to start the week, but we'll use that to prepare for our upcoming roadtrip. The first stop is the toughest, three with the 60-32 Kings. Brooklyn has moved Joe Shaffner to the one spots in their rotation, as the reigning Allen Winner is 12-7 with a 2.78 ERA (150 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP, 49 walks, and 50 strikeouts. He's on a little bit of a downslide, three straight losses, but he's still one of the best pitchers in the game. Alf Pestilli has cracked double digit homers, 11 with 47 RBIs and a .305/.382/.553 (142 OPS+) batting line. And while most of the season has been good for the Kings, second basemen John Langille is having a tough year at the plate. He's batting just .274/.345/.380 (89 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, and 34 RBIs. This is a far cry from his career average triple slash of .306/.368/.453 (117 OPS+). The Kings are without Fred Barrell for a few more weeks, he's suffering a severe hip strain, and replacement Bill Johnson is hitting just .248/.325/.371 (82 OPS+) in his absence.

We then see the other side of the standings, three with the last place Stars before a travel day to Canada. New York is 32-56, 26 out of first and three and a half behind the Cannons for 7th. 24-year-old Billy Riley has done okay in the rotation, now 5-6 with a 3.76 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.38 WHIP, 21 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 64.2 innings split between the rotation and pen. Unfortunately Les Zoller has shown no signs of turning things around, now 2-8 with s 7.12 ERA (58 ERA+), 1.93 WHIP, 57 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 92.1 innings pitched. I feel like every time I mention the Stars, I also mention former Cougar Chink Stickels, who is hitting an outstanding .344/.404/.546 (149 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 12 triples, 2 homers, and 39 RBIs. He's third in the batting race, but he won't come close to Fred McCormick's .417. The Stars have inputted 24-year-old Johnny Hopper into the lineup and behind the plate, but the former first rounder is hitting just .237/.269/.289 (48 OPS+) in 160 trips to the plate. Hopper is on par with Harry Mead in terms of potential, potentially top five catchers in the game, but both are having rough times at the plate. It will be interesting to see if any other top Stars prospect start to make the trip up from Los Angeles, with top 100 prospects Joe Angevine and Hub Parks currently in the Knights lineup. Parks is on the 40, so expect at least a September callup, but he may not be playing his natural center as Stickels has that on a lock.

Minor League Report
RF Red Looney (AA Mobile Commodores): A little on the older side for a prospect, but Chicagoan Red Looney is making the most of his aged 26 campaign. Our 10th Rounder in 1934, Looney is having an excellent season, batting .305/.367/.512 (136 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 12 steals, and 40 RBIs. It's been a strong all around season for Looney, as the natural center fielder has done an outstanding job in both corners so far. He's also generally been an excellent center fielder, so I'm not all that surprised he's done well in the corners. In 154 games out in center he has a strong 1.046 efficiency with a 1.086 in 250 games out in left while nearly all his right field experience has came this year. At the plate, he does have a lot of power, and he projects as a 20-10-15 player with the chance to steal 20 bases as well. Marv is a big fan of Red, thinking he can be "penciled in for a lion's share of starts", but I think fourth outfielder is more realistic. Still, he's got a lot of talent and if it wasn't for a crowded outfield situation in AAA, he'd be pushing for a late season roster spot.

RHP Roy Carey (A Lincoln Legislators): Some times I get a little caught up in my own evaluations of a player, and that causes me to completely ignore scouting reports. One of those players would be Roy Carey, as my scout continues to dislike the former 2nd Round selection despite his continued success this year. He's made 13 starts so far, with the closes inches away from perfection. Carey allowed just a single hit and a pair of walks as he improved to 8-1 as the Legislators topped the Brewers 6-0. His ERA has now dropped below 2 to 1.96 (203 ERA+) and he owns a 1.12 WHIP with 24 walks and 19 strikeouts as he approaches 100 innings. A natural groundballer, Carey doesn't throw that hard, sitting in the 83-85 range with his sinker, but he offers five other pitches as well. His stuff will never top the charts, but he just needs two other reliable offerings as the sinker is a very dependable pitch. Carey has a red arrow when I try to bring him up to Mobile, so perhaps he's still a little underdeveloped, but it's hard to ignore the results he's posted so far.