[ayaghmour2]

I cannot stress enough how minor this trade is, and it's purpose was solely to inflate my draft success rate for the 1932 class. I send Izzy Sevilla and $5,000 cash to the cash starved Stars to pick up our 17th Rounder Dick Earl. I actually gave him an $850 bonus, and then used him in the four pick package to pick up John Lawson in the weeks before the 1936 season. Since then he raked in the Stars system, even earning a 40-man spot, but he never got that big league debut he probably earned. He hasn't hit the best this year, just .246/.309/.372 (91 OPS+) in 223 PAs up in AAA, but after a demotion to AA, he's hit a more on brand .333/.447/.452 (161 OPS+). The bat has never been an issue, he's always been able to hit, but he's pretty poor in the outfield. He has two options left (one hasn't been used this year), so if I needed to I could stash him in Milwaukee this year and next year.

Now, with him and Walker Pearce set to debut in September, 20 of our 30 draftees from that class will appear in an FABL game. Sure, there are some scrubs like the multiply waived Johnny Waters and the 2 innings of Neal Wilkinson, but there's also Billy Hunter, Rich Langton, Harry Mead, Cy Sullivan, Bobby Mills, Ducky Jordan, Hank Stratton, Red Moore, Reginald Westfall, and Dave Haight, all who have had a lot of playing time even if it hasn't all been successful. There are a few others who could end up debuting, including our AAA first basemen Cuno Myer, but other then the three who already retired, the rest are playing Independent ball, so at least they aren't languishing away in the FA pool.

Or, at least that was the plan! It started when I reached out to the Gothams to see if they wanted Rich Langton or Aart MacDonald, but they instead were interested in Leon Drake. Drake is in the midst of his worst season yet, and it is already looking like I gave up far too much to add him. The 31-year-old is hitting just .197/.262/.332 (62 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, and 26 RBIs, and since he was losing more and more time to Orlin Yates, I was hoping to swap him for a struggling, yet like Drake, still quality, veteran big league bat. Now, the Gothams don't have anyone that fits the bill, there only real vet is 36-year-old Bud Jameson, and he's not even struggling, but there is an interesting outfielder in AAA who hit .149/.344/.419 (38 OPS+) in 62 plate appearances with the Gothams. Lucky for us, those are his first 62, and he's an exciting enough 22-year-old. The deal evolved a bit after that, and now Walker Pearce will not be making his debut this September for the Cougars, he'll likely make it a bit sooner for the pitching starved Gothams. Him and Drake will report to the Big Apple, while a 2nd Rounder and Fred Vargas will head to the Windy City.

Vargas currently ranks in the fringes of the top 100, checking in at 95, but Tom Weinstock is a huge fan of the former 1st Rounder. He's got a good swing and excels at drawing walks, exemplified in his AAA .298/.469/.450 (143 OPS+) batting line, and Weinstock thinks he can hit above .300 in the big leagues. He just turned 22 last week, and he seems to have really grown out of his strike out problems. He's always walked far more then he's struck out, but did strike out 80 times in 140 games last year. Including his 11 in 26 games with the Gothams, he has just half that as he's approaching his 90th game, and I think he should be able to keep them down once he's fully developed. He doesn't have much power, just 2 homers this season, and is cause for a little concern. Working for him, however, is our stadium is easy to hit homers at and he hits a ton of flyballs. Tom really likes Vargas, and goes as far to say that he "has immense talent, and someday may be considered in conversations about the best players in the game." I don't by that one bit, even if the report was Very High instead of Average, but I do love his bat and I think he could challenge for an OBP title with his nice contact tool and borderline elite eye. The issue is his defense, as he only has a positional rating in left, and he's at best passable out there. I debated bringing him straight up to Chicago, but instead it will be Earl who replaces Drake, and Vargas will play right in Milwaukee. If his glove and arm are strong, he can be out right fielder of the future, but worst case he can play left and Mitchell can move over to right.

This opens up a lot of playing time for Orlin Yates, who was starting to chip away at Drake's at bats. Yates, like Vargas, is a high OBP guy, and Weinstock thinks he's better then both Drake and Langton, while the positional rankings list him. He dropped to 10th, but was as high as 6th recently, and Yates is a superior defender to Drake. It's just 83.1 innings, but he has a 2.5 zone rating and 1.187 efficiency to go with a strong .296/.394/.401 (120 OPS+) batting line. Add in 3 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, 2 steals, and 13 RBIs with a 22-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and the former Gotham 9th Rounder is having a very impressive season. Yes, it's just 167 PAs and he could fall back to earth again, but my scouts have always thought Yates deserved more playing time, and both Clyde Myer and Pete Morris have Yates as their starting right fielder, not Drake or Langton, even against lefties. Langton will fill the weakside of the platoon, and while he's had a huge fall from his career norms, his .266/.327/.357 (88 OPS+) line is nowhere near as bad as Drake. It's not near his .299/.352/.460 (122 OPS+) line, but the now 29-year-old does have 12 doubles, 2 homers, 2 steals, and 24 RBIs in his 220 plate appearances. This would be his first below average season in terms of OPS+, but he's got time to make up the 12 points below average.

The 2nd Round pick can also soften the blow of giving up Sullivan and Mullis in the offseason, as while there are no guarantees, 2nd Round Picks can be very valuable. Our last two, Danny Goff Jr. and Don Lee are both top 200 prospects, and while there were a handful of misses, past 2nd Rounders like Tommy Wilson and Marty Roberts have done alright for themselves. Plus there is Leo Mitchell, and plus further back to a time before me, Dick Lyons, and we all know how talented they are. Plus, the Gothams are one of five teams under .500 at 40-57, so barring any crazy changes, that second rounder will end up in the top 5. It did hurt moving on from Drake when I paid what I knew would be a high price to get him, but it's better then watching him wallow away on the bench, both Cy and Mullis aren't really the guys you want in your clubhouse, even if they are very talented. Vargas is a bit younger then Mullis as well, and he could end up being just as good if not better, so it's really just hoping my 2nd Rounder ends up better then Sullivan and Eddie Kincaid.