[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 34-26 (3rd, 3.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 27 AB, 13 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .481 AVG, 1.222 OPS
Joe Brown : 2 Wins, 16.2 IP, 4 BB, 3 K, 1.62 ERA
Cliff Moss : 14 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .571 AVG, 1.243 OPS

Schedule
6-15: Win at Saints (9-4)
6-16: Loss at Saints (2-3)
6-17: Win at Saints (4-3)
6-18: Loss vs Stars (11-6)
6-19: Win vs Stars (0-12)
6-20: Win vs Saints (0-4)

Recap
Hey, a winning week! We took advantage of the Saints, winning two out of three in Montreal to start the week, and then we finished the week winning the opener in Chicago. We split the series with the Stars, and in both games the winner put up double digit runs. We're up to 34-26, but our 38-22 expected record is much better and would be good enough for first. For the second straight week, we also finished with back-to-back shutouts, and "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" continues to dominate in what should end up with a Rookie of the Month award. Johnnie Jones has now won his last six starts, tossing a 5-hit shutout with 7 walks and 4 strikeouts as we curb stomped the team that drafted him 12-0. He has started walking more batters then he strikes out, 41 to 36 on the season, but Jones is now 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA (120 ERA+) and 1.23 and just celebrated his 25th birthday on the 17th.

The other shutout came from Joe Brown, our two start starter for the week. Brown did it against the Saints, allowing just 4 hits with 3 strikeouts to improve to 7-4 on the season. He won his first start too, going 7.2 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks. Harry Parker continues to show no signs of a setback after his injury, picking up another complete game win with 9 hits, 3 runs (1 earned), a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Dick Lyons had another nice start, getting a no decision despite just 1 run in 7 innings with 5 hits, 3 walks, and a strikeout. Jim Lonardo was roughed up in his only start, charged with 7 hits and 7 runs in 3.2 innings with 2 walks and a strikeout. Our pen was roughed up a bit too, as both relievers who pitched were charged with runs. Cal Knight made two appearances, going 6.2 innings with 8 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Ben Curtin picked up a loss in Lyons' start, going 1.2 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and a strikeout. Our pitching has been good this year, second to the Cannons in runs allowed, but Jim Lonardo has hit a rough patch and you have to imagine sooner or later Dick Lyons is going to age. We might need to upgrade here, but there aren't too many options available.

We didn't hit all that much, most of the production came in Johnnie's shutout, but Harry Mead is finally starting to look like Harry Mead! Our All Star catcher went 6-for-19 with a double, 2 triples, and 6 RBIs. He's riding a seven game on base streak which has upped his batting line to a still well below average .213/.273/.320 (71 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 33 RBIs. His June numbers, however, looked much more like his 1942 season, as he's hit a productive .288/.312/.492 (129 OPS+) and he's now drove in more runs then every CA batter who isn't Leo Mitchell. Speaking of Mitchell, he had a tremendous week, going 13-for-27 with a double, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. Cliff Moss continues his resurgence, going 8-for-14 with 6 runs and 3 RBIs. Moss is now hitting an elite .339/.416/.446 (149 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 3 homers, and 18 RBIs with almost twice the walks (15) as strikeouts (8). Our center field duo was about as useless as it gets, however, as Yates went 1-for-17 with Homer 1-for-6. Homer did have a steal and Yates scored three times, but that's about as bad as it gets. Clark Car has also continued to struggle, going 4-for-26 with 2 doubles, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs. Car has hit just .195/.235/.312 in June, dropping his season line to .249/.306/.392 (101 OPS+), similar to Freddie Jones' .241/.358/.321 (96 OPS+) season line. We'll need a few more guys to step forward if we want to get back on top the standings.

Looking Ahead
We get four more with the Saints in Chicago, who are now 25-34 and 12 games out of first. We did beat Bill Ross (6-4, 2.19, 19) in Montreal despite good performance from him, and we'll get to see him again. He's been one of their only productive starters, but they've gotten better outings lately from Karl Weiss (4-6, 3.67, 21) and Pat Weakly (2-3, 3.61, 28) is inching closer to being league average in terms of ERA+. They've looked to upgrade their lineup with former 2nd Rounder and top 100 prospect Milt Bennett (.318, 1, 7, 1) and they might be able to bring up Spud Bent who started a rehab assignment last week. We've done well against the Saints so far this season, and I expect that to continue this week, even if we do struggle at home.

Our run of games ends in New York, with four games in three days with the Stars. They will look a bit different, as they traded one of the guys I was going after Chink Stickels (.187, 1, 18, 3) to the Wolves, and then Chris Clarke (5-7, 3.49, 24) to the Cannons. This makes the series with them easier, but it will be tougher to take the division as our two toughest competitors have upgrades their lineups. The Stars teardown may not be going much further, as their only real marketable options are Ray Cochran (.264, 1, 15, 2), who is already 37, and Vern Hubbard (6-6, 3.58, 54) who is having a bit of a down year and will still be in his prime when the war ends. We made a minor deal with them too, as they needed a glove first shortstop, sending AAA shortstop Freddie Bennett their way for an 8th Round Pick. We really need to win both of these series, as we need to take advantage of two struggling teams.

Lastly, it's draft time, so next sim we'll get the rest of our 1943 draft class filled into our system. I'm really excited to see where some of our new draftees list in the prospect rankings, and we're finally going to have a deeper pool of players to keep the upper levels stacked. The mock keeps reshuffling, but we have a 1st Rounder in Al Clement, 2nd Rounder in Bob Rogers, 3rd Rounder in Jimmy Hairston, and 5th Rounders in Bill Holloway, Alex Snyder, and Lefty Jones. Others that have bounced in and our include Johnny Weaver, Tommy Seymour, Caleb Humphrey, and Dick Garcia, but I'm sure there were others I missed. It's always exciting to see how the system will look after being filled back up again.

Minor League Report
RHP Ira Hawker (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's been a tough season for Ira Hawker, who's 12 starts in AAA haven't been much more then average. I'm hoping start 11 was the start of a better second half, as Hawker was brilliant in our 4-0 win over the Minneapolis Lumberjacks, who hold a one game lead over Hawker's Blues. Hawker tossed a 2-hit shutout with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. Hawker is now 5-4 on the season with a 4.16 ERA (97 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 24 walks, and 48 strikeouts in 84.1 innings pitched. Not great numbers for the 24-year-old on our 40, but his 3.70 FIP (91 FIP-) paints a better pitcher and his 5.1 K/9 is very impressive. A four pitch righty, Hawker does a good job keeping the ball on the ground, and he generates a lot of movement on his pitches. He's not quite ready to start games in the big leagues, but I do think he could be a decent spot starter or mop up guy who can keep the score close as you try to mount a come back. For a guy who was cut because he was a terrible shortstop, he's made huge leaps and bounds just to make it to where he is, and he should be awarded with a big league callup.

CF Jim Madsen (AA Mobile Commodores): It was a huge game for Jim Madsen, who led the Commodores offense to a 9-5 win over the Chattanooga Reliables. Madsen was a perfect 5-for-5 with a double, triple, 2 runs, and an RBI. It's been a nice bounce back season for Madsen, who is hitting .327/.374/.492 (129 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, and 38 RBIs with an impressive 22-to-9 walk-to-strikeout ratio in just over 200 trips to the plate while playing average defense out in center. Now 26, Madsen is running out of shots to make his big league debut, but he still profiles as a decent fourth outfield option. He has above average bat speed and can hit the ball hard to all fields, but I can't see him ever hitting for a high average. He has nice speed but is an awful base runner, going 6-for-17 last season and he's just 1-for-4 this season. With Bunny Hufford in center up in Milwaukee, Madsen is probably stuck in AA for now, but as the new draftees flow into the system, I might move him up to cover a corner in Milwaukee as we're relying on Bob Worley and Oscar Panduro in right. He's a long shot to debut this season, but it's always handy to have a guy who can cover all three outfield spots.

LF Bill Rich (AA Mobile Commodores): Jim Madsen may have had the biggest game of the week, but no one had a better week in Mobile then Bill Rich. The 24-year-old outfielder went 11-for-28 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs. Rich hit a homer in each of his last three games, including a 4-for-6 to finish the week with 2 runs, a double, homer, and 4 RBIs. Rich is in the midst of another great season, slashing .316/.377/.498 (131 OPS+) with 9 doubles, a triple, 9 homers, and 40 RBIs. This is a 25 homer and 110 RBI pace, with the homers a personal best. His triple slash is actually a bit down from his numbers last season, but Rich has still been one of the most productive hitters in our system. Like Madsen, he's going to have to wait his turn to make it up to Milwaukee, but with him eligible for the Rule-5 Draft and a chance to be taken, he might end up making his way up to Chicago this season. Rich always seems to hit better then his talent, but eventually there will be a time where he either stops overperforming, or his talent level will match his production.

1B Billy Biggar (C La Crosse Lions): Hard to have a "biggar" week then Billy Biggar did, as our former 10th Rounder went 12-for-27 with 2 homers and 11 RBIs. It makes up for most of his struggles this season, slashing just .261/.356/.408 (83 OPS+) in 165 trips to the plate. He's added 9 doubles, 4 homers, and 30 RBIs, and the 4 homers are nice as he didn't hit one in nearly 250 PAs with the Lions last year. He's also walking far more frequently, with 17 this year after just 4 last season. The soon-to-be 19-year-old still hasn't hit as much as I expected, as Biggar hit .521/.541/.802 in 26 games as a senior last season at York Springs. First base is one of the weaker positions in our system, as Jocko Pollard is our only primary first basemen ranked in the top 500, but I do think Biggar will make his way up their eventually. He's an aggressive hitter with a strong hit tool, but he's still looking to put everything together. Power doesn't look to be his game, and while he does have quick hands, he will whiff a lot and likely won't ever be someone who avoids strike outs. He looks to be more of a role player then every day guy, and I doubt he'll be able to handle the outfield. Still, as a lefty he can fallback as a pinch hitter, although he sitll has a lot of development ahead of him.