[ayaghmour2]

With the new regional draft round for the upcoming 1939 January Draft, I thought it would be fitting to cover some of the players I will have priority of, if they make it past the first two rounds. I won't re-cover Whitey Dorsch, easily the best of the 50 or so Illinois kids.

RHP William Russell
School: Millville
1938: 7-2, 100.1 IP, 1.97 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 16 BB, 93 K
Career: 16-5, 226.1 IP, 1.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 46 BB, 213 K

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, but William Russell moved to New Jersey as a kid and attends Millville High School. But, since the determinant is City of Birth, not school, Russell is a potential option for us. My scout is a fan, thinking he could end up a back of the rotation arm due to a great and consistent change up. He's also got a mid 80s fastball and mediocre forkball, plus he can offer up a slider if he needs to as well. None of the other three pitches are all that great, but combined it's enough to allow him start in the big leagues. He's improved his control as well, and I imagine his change up will be even more effective if he adds some velocity to his fastball. It could also make it a decent #2 offering, and I expect the 6'6'' righty won't be sitting in the 83-85 range his whole career. He also may end up a two way player, and after no at bats as a sophomore he hit .365/.380/.460 with 7 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 24 RBIs in 132 trips to the plate. These aren't the best numbers, so my guess is pitching his future role, but it is something he could potentially add to his game. You can never have too many pitchers, so getting a potential rotation piece in Russell could be intriguing come Winter.

3B Dick Carson
School: Carolina Poly
1938: .264/.378/.447, 236 PA, 10 2B, 3B, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 13 SB
Career: .269/.382/.457, 530 PA, 22 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 82 RBI, 26 SB

Another kid from the Chi, Dick Carson got a scholarship to Carolina-Poly out in Durham, and he's started his first two seasons there. He was better as a freshman, batting .273/.385/.465 with 12 doubles, 11 homers, and 45 RBIs, but he did look good last year as well. Carson has demonstrated a keen eye at the plate and he has the potential to have an average eye compared to FABL players. He does make some bad swings, which will stop him from hitting for a high average, but he's able to drive the ball when he makes contact and have more then enough power to punish mistakes. He's also looked really comfortable on the field at third, and it would be good enough to make up for a low average or low power. Luckily for him, I don't think he'll be low in either category, so the defense will be the cherry on top and not what gets him an opportunity. We are now very deep in the system at third, so Carson may not be a Cougar, but he's definitely an exciting prospect I've been following for a bit.

CF Raoul Pertorini
School: DeKalb
1938: .452/.504/.769, 117 PA, 13 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 32 SB
Career: .476/.539/.791, 234 PA, 24 2B, 10 3B, 7 HR, 61 RBI, 48 SB

Another Chicagoan who didn't stay in Chicago for school, Pertorini moved to the suburbs and went to school out in DeKalb. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore, hitting .500/.556/.814 with 11 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers, and 33 RBIs. His triple slash was down a bit this year, but he doubled his stolen bases and added to his double and homer totals. Raoul's best asset is his speed, using it to consistently take the extra base and it looks like he's harnessed that raw speed into base stealing ability as well. His defense is fine, but he may be better suited for left or right as he develops. He has to work on his approach at the plate, too many reckless and unnecessary swings, and he doesn't make enough contact to make it worth it. Still, he has exciting tools, doesn't turn 17 until April, and could be groomed into a functional organizational piece.

1B Jim Dorsey
School: Plantations College
1938: .277/.366/.435, 293 PA, 14 2B, 3B, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB
Career: .277/.379/.444, 608 PA, 31 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 84 RBI, 8 SB

I'm not a big first basemen fan, but I love power and Jim Dorsey seems likely to reach double digits for the first time this year. With 9 homers as a freshman and 8 as a junior, I wouldn't be too surprised to see 10 or 11 from the 6'2'' righty. Born in the city, Dorsey got a scholarship to Plantations College out in Rhode Island, and he's put up pretty similar seasons where he hit .277 both times. The story is the same for him as most, better season last year then this, but while he did have a lower batting line and homer, run, and RBI totals, he cut down his strikeouts from 40 to 28 in just 22 fewer plate appearances. This is a significant drop, and Dorsey is projected to draw a lot of walks as he matures. It appears his judgment of the strike zone is improving, and that's always a plus for power hitters. He doesn't make consistent contact and neither Marv or OSA are all that high on him, but there aren't too many good Illinois bats.

3B John Blakes
School: Morris
1938: .426/.530/.722, 135 PA, 15 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB
Career: .417/.526/.674, 272 PA, 29 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 58 RBI, 9 SB

While there may not be many good bats, there are a lot of third basemen. I'm not too sure what to make out of John Blakes, as the still 15-year-old (16 in October) barely hit .400 as a sophomore and just happened to have a huge power surge as a junior. He hit more then double as many homers as last season, and improved his slugging almost a full 100 points. Both OSA and Marv talk about his plate discipline and how he should draw a lot of walks, but neither of them mention this newfound power. Both reports are a little old, so I am re-scouting Blakes myself, but if the power is legit, his entire prospect profile changes. His age is also just as interesting, as he's so much younger then most of the other 1939 draftees. This could be why he has hit for such a low average, and could also explain the growth in power. If the power comes around, his value will be immense, but without it he's a dime a dozen infield prospect who likely doesn't get past A ball.

LHP John Marsh
School: Lockport
1938: 6-3, 98 IP, 1.56 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 36 BB, 128 K
Career: 24-6, 303.2 IP, 1.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 96 BB, 385 K

A three year starter! Lockport's ace, John Marsh is one of the few who actually played as a freshman, and he's looking to add to his already 43 games started as a high schooler. Marsh has been very consistent, with ERAs sitting between 1.56 and 1.73, WHIPs between 0.98 and 1.07, and K/9s between 11 and 11.8. The only issue with Marsh, however, are his pitches. He has a sinker, fastball, and changeup, and unfortunately, none of them look like good pitches and stronger hitters will be able to make him pay. He sits in the 86-88 range, but he doesn't generate many grounders with his sinker and after a 1.9 BB/9 as a freshman, he's posted marks above 3 the past two seasons. Still, the numbers are very good and pitchers have turned the "Bullpen" projected role into something starter-oriented (plus there's always the enigma of Otis Cook) to improve his future value. The 6'1'' southpaw is a lean and athletic arm, he has added velocity in each of the past two seasons, and if he ends up throwing in the 90s, it adds a lot of value.

SS Leo Mick
School: Central Kentucky
1938: .307/.365/.448, 212 PA, 8 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 39 RBI, 36 SB
Career: .296/.353/.427, 432 PA, 18 2B, 9 3B, 5 HR, 64 RBI, 75 SB

See! Not everyone from Illinois is from Chicago! A native of Peoria, Leo Mick spent the past two seasons at Central Kentucky, and he'll look to keep up his positive trend. Last year he upped his average, OBP, slugging, hits, runs, triples, homers, and RBIs. Mick profiles as a bench bat currently, but he's got above average contact potential and he makes all the routine plays in the field. He does have some experience at third as well, and I'd imagine he'd be able to learn second rather easily. He almost never strikes out, a huge plus, so with Mick you will se a lot of soft contact and bloop singles over the shortstop. He's hit a few homers in college, but it's not expected to translate to bigger FABL ballparks.

SS Arnie Scurlock
School: Cumberland University
1938: .291/.358/.386, 251 PA, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 46 RBI, 33 SB
Career: .281/.350/.366, 448 PA, 14 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 80 RBI, 71 SB

A switch hitter from Oak Park, there are very few players as versatile as the highly intriguing Arnie Scurlock. With experience everywhere on the field except catcher, pitcher, and first (although, he could easily man that), Scurlock can fill in wherever he is needed and he should be average or better in each spot. I like him even at short, but it's a bit tougher to judge his outfield play until he reaches a professional team. At the plate, he should be a discipline hitter, but sometimes he's prone to free swinging. The power jump was nice, doubling his homer total from 2 to 4 last season, and another doubling would make him a very hot commodity. The versatility is enough to attract interest in him, and he also showed great improvement in year two. It wasn't just homers that rose, he also increased his triple slash, runs, hits, doubles, triples, and walks. He's on the older side, will be 22 in March, but this could allow him to ascend quickly in an organization.