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ayaghmour2 · 10-28-2021, 06:21 PM

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 30-29 (5th, 3.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Freddie Jones : 26 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.210 OPS
Carlos Montes : 21 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.219 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 24 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.048 OPS

Schedule
6-19: Win vs Cannons (2-11)
6-21: Win vs Saints (5-9)
6-22: Loss vs Saints (10-9)
6-23: Win vs Saints (3-5): 13 innings
6-24: Win vs Kings (0-2)
6-25: Win vs Kings (0-1)

Recap
So go 5-1 and make up one game, but go 4-3 and make up two? Would it be better to go 4-3? Of course not! An amazing and happy week, and what makes it even better, is Jim Lonardo will not only get to keep his nice Chicago home, but play for the Cougars instead of the Chiefs! Obviously this makes us better, and having a top pitcher like Lonardo can only help. We finished off the Cannons with a sweep, took two of three from the Saints, and then we actually have the chance to sweep the Kings! It was a weird week, half the week we destroyed opposition pitchers, half the week we couldn't hit a lick, but whenever you end up 5-1, you'll accept the 2-0 and 1-0 wins instead of dwelling on the disappearance of offense.

Peter the Heater looked like the arm I've always envisioned, tossing a 3-hit shutout in our 1-0 win over the Kings. He walked just 5 and struck out 9, finally dropping his ERA below 5. His 53 strikeouts are now third best in the league, but with the Lonardo acquisition, him and Cy are going to see their starts occur a bit less frequently as the season goes on. I think Pete will be a perfect stopper, but with a week before a Lonardo start, him and Cy have one last chance to hold on. The other shutout came from the one youngster who's actually pitched well, the reliable yet homer friendly Harry Parker. He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3 in our 2-0 shutout victory over the Kings. That is back-to-back 5-hitters for Parker, who is now an even 5-5 with a 3.84 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 30 walks, and 38 strikeouts in his 12 starts.

Our two start starter was Milt Fritz, who tossed what could be a complete game in both. The first was in our 11-2 win, going all nine with 8 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and a strikeout. The second was in our 5-3 win over a former team, Montreal, but since it went into extras, he didn't pitch the whole game. These nine frames saw 9 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts, to drop his season ERA to an about average 4.34 (97 ERA+). He hasn't looked great, but I have faith that Milt will end up with a nicer ERA once the season ends, as he's a very effective, if somewhat unreliable, rotation arm. The reliable Dick Lyons picked up another win, evening his record to 5-5 as well, going 7.1 with 7 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), a walk, and 3 strikeouts. Cy wasn't as lucky, a no decision in our loss, 6 innings with 7 hits, 7 runs, a walk, and 2 strikeouts.

The loss went to Allen Purvis, 3 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs, and a strikeout. He's usually the scoreless one, but both Pug and Brown failed to allow a run despite three walks a piece. They both won't stay on the roster, as Brown will head to Milwaukee as I claimed longtime Cannon Dutch Leverett off waivers. Debuting with them in 1926, he's pitched an inning with them each year sense, 2,110.1 in total split between 250 starts and 166 relief outings. Now 36, Dutch is 114-123 with 31 saves, a 4.61 ERA (90 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 812 walks, and 765 strikeouts, and as a starter, he has six 200+ inning seasons. He'll pitch more mop up for us, but his stay on the roster may very well be short. Not just because of Lonardo, but there is a chance that someone more appealing comes on waivers.

Ray Ford returns to the big league club, sending Bobby Mills back down to Milwaukee. He didn't have the greatest success in Ford's absence, just 6-for-25 with a homer, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 5 RBIs. Lucky for us, while Ford was out, Carlos Montes almost hit like him. This week it was 8-for-21 with 3 doubles, 3 runs, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs. The season line still isn't pretty, but he's raised it to .240/.299/.429 (90 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 3 steals, and 25 RBIs. Freddie Jones also had another big week, 12-for-26 with 2 homers, 3 walks, 3 RBIs, and 8 runs scored. This was finally good enough for a Player of the Week, and Jones pushed his season line to .349/.417/.526 (148 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 5 triples, 4 homers, and 24 RBIs with almost double the walks (25) then strikeouts (13). Leo Mitchell boosted his average as well, 9-for-24 with 2 doubles, a homer, 5 RBIs, 4 runs, and 4 walks. John Lawson was 9-for-26 with his 9th homer of the season, as well as 2 doubles, 5 runs, and 6 RBIs.

Lastly, the draft was completed, so expect an recap on all the picks a bit later tonight. I have to sign a ton of guys, all in the top five rounds including Jimmy Ballard and Harry Harris of who I selected. For the new players, we have to sign six other prospects, but I'll cover them later. A few draftees that did sign cracked the top 500, including Connie Wright (288th), Arnie Scurlock (376th), and Bob Hobbs (495th). There will be a lot of movement, but we sit with 48 top 500 prospects, although that will drop one with the Jordan trade.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Kings, who we jumped ahead of and pushed down to 28-31. I doubt we'll shut them out a third time, but we have a shot to score more then two runs off the struggling top prospect Sergio Vergara. Vergara currently ranks as the 10th best prospect in baseball, but the 23-year-old from Juarez is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA (60 ERA+), 1.91 WHIP, 24 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 6 starts and relief outings. I definitely think he'll turn things around, I just prefer if that happens after we bash his pitches out of Cougars park. Somehow, Brooklyn is 7th in runs scored despite being 2nd (to us) in homers, so hopefully we'll be able to stop them from scoring. Al Wheeler continues to heat up, two more homers to increase his season total to 12. He's hitting an average .263/.343/.455 (102 OPS+) with 5 doubles and 39 RBIs, but each time I look at him, his batting line continues to grow. A win should keep up our momentum, but I can't be too upset with a loss.

We welcome the Cannons back to town next, as they've dropped a bit further to 22-39 and 12.5 games out of first. No Barrell means starts for Howie Pike, who is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA (86 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 9 walks, and 8 strikeouts in 2 starts and 9 relief outings. We'll likely see him, Payne, and Goulding, and Gus is the only one I'm worried about. He's lost his last three starts to fall to 5-8, but his 3.58 ERA (118 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 32 walks, and 45 strikeouts are all strong metrics. The offense scores more the Brooklyn, but the rest of the offensive starts are much worse. They've had a lot of players struggle, including second basemen Charlie Ross. The first pick of the 1937 draft (after lottery rounds) will probably turn into a very good player, but the 24-year-old is not there yet. He's hitting just .247/.253/.258 (34 OPS+) with a double, walk, and 8 RBIs in his first 91 trips to the plate. His double play partner Charley McCullough's bat has started to freeze, his line dropping to .254/.397/.294 (84 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a triple, 13 RBIs, 29 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 157 PAs. Even worse, easily their best hitter Whit Williams is dealing with a strained oblique, which may make him miss this week. It's day-to-day, but a 3-4 week recovery, could be enough to put him on the DL. In his 60 games, he's slashed an impressive .307/.379/.485 (125 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 8 steals, and 40 RBIs. I like our chances in this series, and while a sweep would do us well, anything less then 2 of 3 would be a failure.

We finish the week and homestand with a big three game series against the Stars. We do get an off day after, but the 33-26 Stars will be a huge test, and one that would have been nice to have Lonardo for. The offense is strong, led by veteran outfielder Moxie Pidgeon. He's tied for the most homers in the league (12) by a non-Pestilli, and year one in New York has him hitting .318/.373/.500 (124 OPS+) with 8 doubles and 44 RBIs. The always intriguing Ray Cochran is continuing to excite, hitting .328/.409/.511 (137 OPS+) out of the leadoff spot. He's walked 32 times and struck out just 7 times, while adding 12 doubles, 11 triples, 3 homers, and 21 RBIs. But no one can compare to the 40-year-old Dave Trowbridge, who is still hitting a robust .346/.423/.478 (133 OPS+) with 13 doubles, a triple, 5 homers, and 37 RBIs with nearly twice the walks (30) as doubles (16). The rotation has started to improve as well, as the Stars now have the most strikeouts (237) in the league, and have gotten some quality innings from their youngsters. Billy Riley has turned things around, 6-7 with a 4.15 ERA (103 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 32 walks, and 41 strikeouts in an out less then 100 innings. Chris Clarke has been added to the rotation, and in 3 starts and 5 relief outings he is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. If run differential is your thing, we have the advantage over New York, and I'm really hoping we can take advantage of shaky defense and we hopefully pick up another series win here.

Minor League Report
RHP/CF Juan Pomales (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's been a while since we got a Juan Pomales update, and I've been trying to squeeze him in, but there have always been a lot of guys throwing well. Well, this time it was Pomales, an 8-hit shutout in an 8-0 win. Pomales improved to 5-3, walking just one and striking out 8. This was his second complete game in three starts, and in his 9 starts he has a 4.26 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 13 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 67.2 impressive innings pitched. Of course, El Conjeo is more then just a pitcher, as he's hitting .318/.396/.502 (119 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 11 steals, and 27 RBIs in 231 trips to the plate. He has had some struggles in the outfield, an efficiency of .997, .989, .1.068 left to right, with near equal innings in center and right with a little less time in left. His prospect shine is growing too, now up to 45th in the league while jumping to third in the system after the Jordan trade. His tools are impressive, but sadly he throws just 84-86 with his fastball and sinker, something I thought would increase by now. His curve is really good and enough on it's own, even if the hard stuff doesn't overpower people. His control has really developed well, almost Lyons-esque, dropping his BB/9 to 1.7 this year. Tom thinks mid-rotation, OSA a still developing future #2, and I'm beyond stoked with his pitching development. At the plate, he's projected to be a .350 hitter with a good sense of balls and strikes. His speed creates havoc on the basepaths and he has shown strong range in the outfield. Maybe center won't be his final resting spot, although he can definitely handle it, but his arm is elite and he could be one of the best right fielders. Think Tom Taylor, just hopefully without the peaks and valleys at the plate. Pomales definitely seems ready for the big leagues, and I may not be able to keep in Milwaukee the whole season like I initially thought.

LF Chubby Hall (AA Mobile Commodores): Our minor league system has been really good this year. Milwaukee is in first, 42-16. So is Lincoln, 42-15. As are San Jose (40-17) and La Crosse (37-20). But for one reason or another, the Mobile Commodores are not so lucky. Just 26-31 and 12 games behind the New Orleans Showboats, things are not looking good for the Commodores, but don't tell that to Chubby Hall. He took home Player of the Week, 14-for-34 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs. As impressive as that sounds, he actually lower his season line, as he hit .412 during the week, causing his season line to drop to .433/.474/.615 (181 OPS+). He started the season in Lincoln, so he only has 116 plate appearances with Mobile, but he's already doubled 10 times, homered 3 times, and drove in 21 after 11, 1, and 8 respectively in Lincoln. This season has been a huge break out with the bat for the 1935 3rd Rounder, as the 22-year-old is inside the top 20 for prospects. Best in our system and 17th overall, Hall is a true gem who I was lucky that people passed up because of his corner outfield status. The defense there isn't great, but if you hit like he has, it doesn't really need to. The youngster has an elite hit tool and excellent plate discipline, swinging at the good pitches and not the ones he can't do anything with. His upside is unmatched in our system, reminding me a bit of Leo Mitchell just from the right side of the plate instead. I've taken my time so far with Hall, giving him two full seasons in La Crosse to get his footing, but he could be getting closer to Chicago, but OSA still projects a 1941 big league debut. I think he may be able to beat that my a year, but I know Rich Langton is starting to sweat. Mitchell is the best left fielder in the league, but Langton is ranked just 14th for right fielders, despite his .276/.315/.448 (100 OPS+) season line. He's also almost 28, and will turn 30 during the '41 season, and I won't be holding Hall down for Langton if Hall would look like an upgrade. The only thing he hasn't quite developed yet is his power, but as a flyball hitter, I can see a lot of flyballs sneaking over the fence, or the powerful Chicago winds can push a few warning track flies a little bit further.

LHP Ray Wilcox (A Lincoln Legislators): He did it again! It was a perfect early birthday gift for the now 24-year-old Wilcox, who tossed a 4-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over the Cedar Rapids Chiefs. It was his second shutout in his last three starts, this one saw him walk one and strike out nine. They keep telling me he's not ready for A ball, but the results have shown otherwise, as Wilcox is a nice 6-2 in his 9 starts. He owns a 4.45 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP with 22 walks and 51 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched. The strikeouts are way up for the southpaw, as he's been befuddling hitters on a much more frequent basis then ever before. His K/9 is an outstanding 7.8, and while obviously a career high, he has had two other 5.0 or higher in earlier stints at Class C and B. His stuff is very impressive, a bit like Tommy, but instead of a knuckler he features a high 80s cutter. His fastball, change, and splitter are solid as well, but he doesn't command them quite the same. OSA loves his stuff and thinks he'll be a strong back of the rotation starter, and if the last couple of starts are any indication of his future, they be on to something.

CF Jim Madsen (B San Jose Cougars): The addition of the new draftees has caused needed promotions and minor league adjustments, and one of the lucky guys going up is last year's 8th Rounder Jim Madsen. He's been off to a strong start in San Jose this year, batting .325/.414/.419 (113 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 18 steals, and 23 RBIs. He'll join the Lincoln outfield, and they'll take advantage of his speed and glove. He has a nice 6.2 zone rating and 1.043 efficiency, and he'll help keep the legs fresh up there, sharing time with Chick Browning, Doug Bennett, and one of our top prospects, Tony Mullis. At the plate, he tends to hit groundballs instead of line drives, but he tends to swing a little too frequently. Madsen may just project as a fourth outfielder, but the Rainier College alum seems to be developing into a productive player. The prospect people don't rank him in the top 500, but I'm liking the path he's taking up the system.

LHP John Jonson (C La Crosse Lions); John Johnson might be something special! In his last five starts, he has four nine inning complete games and one 12 inning one, and he hasn't allowed a run in his last two outings. This time he bested the Ottumwa Owls, a 2-hitter with 6 strikeouts to even his record, like Harry and Dick did, at 5-5. He has now started 7 games with 9 relief outings, with a nice 3.86 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 17 walks, and 33 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched. With an injury to Ray McNeil in Lincoln, we needed a few starters moved up, and with more guys joining La Crosse, Johnson was a perfect promotion target to San Jose where he'll join Oliver Allen. A former 9th Rounder, Johnson has done outstanding down in La Crosse, and certainly seems up for the challenge. He doesn't quite have big league starter written on him, but with a few lucky development bumps, we could have another reliable big league arm in our system.

10-28-2021, 06:21 PM	#641
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,017	Week 9: June 19th-June 25th Weekly Record: 5-1 Seasonal Record: 30-29 (5th, 3.5 GB) Stars of the Week Freddie Jones : 26 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.210 OPS Carlos Montes : 21 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.219 OPS Leo Mitchell : 24 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.048 OPS Schedule 6-19: Win vs Cannons (2-11) 6-21: Win vs Saints (5-9) 6-22: Loss vs Saints (10-9) 6-23: Win vs Saints (3-5): 13 innings 6-24: Win vs Kings (0-2) 6-25: Win vs Kings (0-1) Recap So go 5-1 and make up one game, but go 4-3 and make up two? Would it be better to go 4-3? Of course not! An amazing and happy week, and what makes it even better, is Jim Lonardo will not only get to keep his nice Chicago home, but play for the Cougars instead of the Chiefs! Obviously this makes us better, and having a top pitcher like Lonardo can only help. We finished off the Cannons with a sweep, took two of three from the Saints, and then we actually have the chance to sweep the Kings! It was a weird week, half the week we destroyed opposition pitchers, half the week we couldn't hit a lick, but whenever you end up 5-1, you'll accept the 2-0 and 1-0 wins instead of dwelling on the disappearance of offense. Peter the Heater looked like the arm I've always envisioned, tossing a 3-hit shutout in our 1-0 win over the Kings. He walked just 5 and struck out 9, finally dropping his ERA below 5. His 53 strikeouts are now third best in the league, but with the Lonardo acquisition, him and Cy are going to see their starts occur a bit less frequently as the season goes on. I think Pete will be a perfect stopper, but with a week before a Lonardo start, him and Cy have one last chance to hold on. The other shutout came from the one youngster who's actually pitched well, the reliable yet homer friendly Harry Parker. He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3 in our 2-0 shutout victory over the Kings. That is back-to-back 5-hitters for Parker, who is now an even 5-5 with a 3.84 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 30 walks, and 38 strikeouts in his 12 starts. Our two start starter was Milt Fritz, who tossed what could be a complete game in both. The first was in our 11-2 win, going all nine with 8 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and a strikeout. The second was in our 5-3 win over a former team, Montreal, but since it went into extras, he didn't pitch the whole game. These nine frames saw 9 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts, to drop his season ERA to an about average 4.34 (97 ERA+). He hasn't looked great, but I have faith that Milt will end up with a nicer ERA once the season ends, as he's a very effective, if somewhat unreliable, rotation arm. The reliable Dick Lyons picked up another win, evening his record to 5-5 as well, going 7.1 with 7 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), a walk, and 3 strikeouts. Cy wasn't as lucky, a no decision in our loss, 6 innings with 7 hits, 7 runs, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. The loss went to Allen Purvis, 3 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs, and a strikeout. He's usually the scoreless one, but both Pug and Brown failed to allow a run despite three walks a piece. They both won't stay on the roster, as Brown will head to Milwaukee as I claimed longtime Cannon Dutch Leverett off waivers. Debuting with them in 1926, he's pitched an inning with them each year sense, 2,110.1 in total split between 250 starts and 166 relief outings. Now 36, Dutch is 114-123 with 31 saves, a 4.61 ERA (90 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 812 walks, and 765 strikeouts, and as a starter, he has six 200+ inning seasons. He'll pitch more mop up for us, but his stay on the roster may very well be short. Not just because of Lonardo, but there is a chance that someone more appealing comes on waivers. Ray Ford returns to the big league club, sending Bobby Mills back down to Milwaukee. He didn't have the greatest success in Ford's absence, just 6-for-25 with a homer, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 5 RBIs. Lucky for us, while Ford was out, Carlos Montes almost hit like him. This week it was 8-for-21 with 3 doubles, 3 runs, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs. The season line still isn't pretty, but he's raised it to .240/.299/.429 (90 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 3 steals, and 25 RBIs. Freddie Jones also had another big week, 12-for-26 with 2 homers, 3 walks, 3 RBIs, and 8 runs scored. This was finally good enough for a Player of the Week, and Jones pushed his season line to .349/.417/.526 (148 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 5 triples, 4 homers, and 24 RBIs with almost double the walks (25) then strikeouts (13). Leo Mitchell boosted his average as well, 9-for-24 with 2 doubles, a homer, 5 RBIs, 4 runs, and 4 walks. John Lawson was 9-for-26 with his 9th homer of the season, as well as 2 doubles, 5 runs, and 6 RBIs. Lastly, the draft was completed, so expect an recap on all the picks a bit later tonight. I have to sign a ton of guys, all in the top five rounds including Jimmy Ballard and Harry Harris of who I selected. For the new players, we have to sign six other prospects, but I'll cover them later. A few draftees that did sign cracked the top 500, including Connie Wright (288th), Arnie Scurlock (376th), and Bob Hobbs (495th). There will be a lot of movement, but we sit with 48 top 500 prospects, although that will drop one with the Jordan trade. Looking Ahead One more with the Kings, who we jumped ahead of and pushed down to 28-31. I doubt we'll shut them out a third time, but we have a shot to score more then two runs off the struggling top prospect Sergio Vergara. Vergara currently ranks as the 10th best prospect in baseball, but the 23-year-old from Juarez is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA (60 ERA+), 1.91 WHIP, 24 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 6 starts and relief outings. I definitely think he'll turn things around, I just prefer if that happens after we bash his pitches out of Cougars park. Somehow, Brooklyn is 7th in runs scored despite being 2nd (to us) in homers, so hopefully we'll be able to stop them from scoring. Al Wheeler continues to heat up, two more homers to increase his season total to 12. He's hitting an average .263/.343/.455 (102 OPS+) with 5 doubles and 39 RBIs, but each time I look at him, his batting line continues to grow. A win should keep up our momentum, but I can't be too upset with a loss. We welcome the Cannons back to town next, as they've dropped a bit further to 22-39 and 12.5 games out of first. No Barrell means starts for Howie Pike, who is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA (86 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 9 walks, and 8 strikeouts in 2 starts and 9 relief outings. We'll likely see him, Payne, and Goulding, and Gus is the only one I'm worried about. He's lost his last three starts to fall to 5-8, but his 3.58 ERA (118 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 32 walks, and 45 strikeouts are all strong metrics. The offense scores more the Brooklyn, but the rest of the offensive starts are much worse. They've had a lot of players struggle, including second basemen Charlie Ross. The first pick of the 1937 draft (after lottery rounds) will probably turn into a very good player, but the 24-year-old is not there yet. He's hitting just .247/.253/.258 (34 OPS+) with a double, walk, and 8 RBIs in his first 91 trips to the plate. His double play partner Charley McCullough's bat has started to freeze, his line dropping to .254/.397/.294 (84 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a triple, 13 RBIs, 29 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 157 PAs. Even worse, easily their best hitter Whit Williams is dealing with a strained oblique, which may make him miss this week. It's day-to-day, but a 3-4 week recovery, could be enough to put him on the DL. In his 60 games, he's slashed an impressive .307/.379/.485 (125 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 8 steals, and 40 RBIs. I like our chances in this series, and while a sweep would do us well, anything less then 2 of 3 would be a failure. We finish the week and homestand with a big three game series against the Stars. We do get an off day after, but the 33-26 Stars will be a huge test, and one that would have been nice to have Lonardo for. The offense is strong, led by veteran outfielder Moxie Pidgeon. He's tied for the most homers in the league (12) by a non-Pestilli, and year one in New York has him hitting .318/.373/.500 (124 OPS+) with 8 doubles and 44 RBIs. The always intriguing Ray Cochran is continuing to excite, hitting .328/.409/.511 (137 OPS+) out of the leadoff spot. He's walked 32 times and struck out just 7 times, while adding 12 doubles, 11 triples, 3 homers, and 21 RBIs. But no one can compare to the 40-year-old Dave Trowbridge, who is still hitting a robust .346/.423/.478 (133 OPS+) with 13 doubles, a triple, 5 homers, and 37 RBIs with nearly twice the walks (30) as doubles (16). The rotation has started to improve as well, as the Stars now have the most strikeouts (237) in the league, and have gotten some quality innings from their youngsters. Billy Riley has turned things around, 6-7 with a 4.15 ERA (103 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 32 walks, and 41 strikeouts in an out less then 100 innings. Chris Clarke has been added to the rotation, and in 3 starts and 5 relief outings he is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. If run differential is your thing, we have the advantage over New York, and I'm really hoping we can take advantage of shaky defense and we hopefully pick up another series win here. Minor League Report RHP/CF Juan Pomales (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's been a while since we got a Juan Pomales update, and I've been trying to squeeze him in, but there have always been a lot of guys throwing well. Well, this time it was Pomales, an 8-hit shutout in an 8-0 win. Pomales improved to 5-3, walking just one and striking out 8. This was his second complete game in three starts, and in his 9 starts he has a 4.26 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 13 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 67.2 impressive innings pitched. Of course, El Conjeo is more then just a pitcher, as he's hitting .318/.396/.502 (119 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 11 steals, and 27 RBIs in 231 trips to the plate. He has had some struggles in the outfield, an efficiency of .997, .989, .1.068 left to right, with near equal innings in center and right with a little less time in left. His prospect shine is growing too, now up to 45th in the league while jumping to third in the system after the Jordan trade. His tools are impressive, but sadly he throws just 84-86 with his fastball and sinker, something I thought would increase by now. His curve is really good and enough on it's own, even if the hard stuff doesn't overpower people. His control has really developed well, almost Lyons-esque, dropping his BB/9 to 1.7 this year. Tom thinks mid-rotation, OSA a still developing future #2, and I'm beyond stoked with his pitching development. At the plate, he's projected to be a .350 hitter with a good sense of balls and strikes. His speed creates havoc on the basepaths and he has shown strong range in the outfield. Maybe center won't be his final resting spot, although he can definitely handle it, but his arm is elite and he could be one of the best right fielders. Think Tom Taylor, just hopefully without the peaks and valleys at the plate. Pomales definitely seems ready for the big leagues, and I may not be able to keep in Milwaukee the whole season like I initially thought. LF Chubby Hall (AA Mobile Commodores): Our minor league system has been really good this year. Milwaukee is in first, 42-16. So is Lincoln, 42-15. As are San Jose (40-17) and La Crosse (37-20). But for one reason or another, the Mobile Commodores are not so lucky. Just 26-31 and 12 games behind the New Orleans Showboats, things are not looking good for the Commodores, but don't tell that to Chubby Hall. He took home Player of the Week, 14-for-34 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs. As impressive as that sounds, he actually lower his season line, as he hit .412 during the week, causing his season line to drop to .433/.474/.615 (181 OPS+). He started the season in Lincoln, so he only has 116 plate appearances with Mobile, but he's already doubled 10 times, homered 3 times, and drove in 21 after 11, 1, and 8 respectively in Lincoln. This season has been a huge break out with the bat for the 1935 3rd Rounder, as the 22-year-old is inside the top 20 for prospects. Best in our system and 17th overall, Hall is a true gem who I was lucky that people passed up because of his corner outfield status. The defense there isn't great, but if you hit like he has, it doesn't really need to. The youngster has an elite hit tool and excellent plate discipline, swinging at the good pitches and not the ones he can't do anything with. His upside is unmatched in our system, reminding me a bit of Leo Mitchell just from the right side of the plate instead. I've taken my time so far with Hall, giving him two full seasons in La Crosse to get his footing, but he could be getting closer to Chicago, but OSA still projects a 1941 big league debut. I think he may be able to beat that my a year, but I know Rich Langton is starting to sweat. Mitchell is the best left fielder in the league, but Langton is ranked just 14th for right fielders, despite his .276/.315/.448 (100 OPS+) season line. He's also almost 28, and will turn 30 during the '41 season, and I won't be holding Hall down for Langton if Hall would look like an upgrade. The only thing he hasn't quite developed yet is his power, but as a flyball hitter, I can see a lot of flyballs sneaking over the fence, or the powerful Chicago winds can push a few warning track flies a little bit further. LHP Ray Wilcox (A Lincoln Legislators): He did it again! It was a perfect early birthday gift for the now 24-year-old Wilcox, who tossed a 4-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over the Cedar Rapids Chiefs. It was his second shutout in his last three starts, this one saw him walk one and strike out nine. They keep telling me he's not ready for A ball, but the results have shown otherwise, as Wilcox is a nice 6-2 in his 9 starts. He owns a 4.45 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP with 22 walks and 51 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched. The strikeouts are way up for the southpaw, as he's been befuddling hitters on a much more frequent basis then ever before. His K/9 is an outstanding 7.8, and while obviously a career high, he has had two other 5.0 or higher in earlier stints at Class C and B. His stuff is very impressive, a bit like Tommy, but instead of a knuckler he features a high 80s cutter. His fastball, change, and splitter are solid as well, but he doesn't command them quite the same. OSA loves his stuff and thinks he'll be a strong back of the rotation starter, and if the last couple of starts are any indication of his future, they be on to something. CF Jim Madsen (B San Jose Cougars): The addition of the new draftees has caused needed promotions and minor league adjustments, and one of the lucky guys going up is last year's 8th Rounder Jim Madsen. He's been off to a strong start in San Jose this year, batting .325/.414/.419 (113 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 18 steals, and 23 RBIs. He'll join the Lincoln outfield, and they'll take advantage of his speed and glove. He has a nice 6.2 zone rating and 1.043 efficiency, and he'll help keep the legs fresh up there, sharing time with Chick Browning, Doug Bennett, and one of our top prospects, Tony Mullis. At the plate, he tends to hit groundballs instead of line drives, but he tends to swing a little too frequently. Madsen may just project as a fourth outfielder, but the Rainier College alum seems to be developing into a productive player. The prospect people don't rank him in the top 500, but I'm liking the path he's taking up the system. LHP John Jonson (C La Crosse Lions); John Johnson might be something special! In his last five starts, he has four nine inning complete games and one 12 inning one, and he hasn't allowed a run in his last two outings. This time he bested the Ottumwa Owls, a 2-hitter with 6 strikeouts to even his record, like Harry and Dick did, at 5-5. He has now started 7 games with 9 relief outings, with a nice 3.86 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 17 walks, and 33 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched. With an injury to Ray McNeil in Lincoln, we needed a few starters moved up, and with more guys joining La Crosse, Johnson was a perfect promotion target to San Jose where he'll join Oliver Allen. A former 9th Rounder, Johnson has done outstanding down in La Crosse, and certainly seems up for the challenge. He doesn't quite have big league starter written on him, but with a few lucky development bumps, we could have another reliable big league arm in our system.