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RHP Cy Sullivan (44th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 60th Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Austin HS Senators

"Two picks after Harry Mead I took the gamble on the 6'6'' righty Cy Sullivan. He was stuck with no shortstop his senior year, and actually started most of his teams games there. Sullivan struggled a little in Lincoln this season, but was excellent in 7 La Crosse starts and 14 San Jose starts. He was 5-1 with a 3.98 ERA (136 ERA+) with a 1.14 WHIP, 12 walks, and 21 strikeouts in 54.1 innings with the Lions. With the Cougars he was 5-6 with a 2.74 ERA (165 ERA+), 1.14 WHIP, 29 walks, and 39 strikeouts. I've loved watching Sullivan develop, as he now sits 87-89 with his fastball and his slider has really turned into a strong pitch. He does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground and he effortlessly paints the corners. He's still young, just 21, but Sullivan should anchor our rotation for a long time."

Can you believe there was a time when pitchers didn't front our prospect lists? This season the top five were hitters, and since we drafted Peter the Heater following season, our #1 prospect has been a pitcher. With Duke Bybee likely to graduate during the 1946 season, that stretch may end next offseason, but Sullivan still ranked in the top 50 and had a ton of upside. He never anchored our rotation, but the tall and cranky right did make 35 starts for us during the '38 and '39 season. His rookie season wasn't bad, going 5-7 with a 4.21 ERA (94 ERA+) and 1.47 WHIP with 37 walks and 27 strikeouts. He had a much better record (13-5) as a sophomore, but his ERA jumped to 5.00 (86 ERA+) and he walked 51 in 162 innings with a 1.56 WHIP..

During the 39 offseason, Sullivan was moved with Tony Mullis and a 4th Round pick in the ill-fated Leon Drake deal. That didn't work out too well for us, as Drake was terrible as a Cougar, and Cy was a decent starter. He got just one out as a 26-year-old, but put up back-to-back 200 inning seasons with the Dynamos. Midway through the 1944 season, he was shipped to the Gothams, where he's started 37 games in a season and a half. Sullivan owns a career 55-77 record with a 4.11 ERA (90 ERA+) and 1.42 WHIP in 198 appearances (138 starts). The 31-year-old led the Fed in losses with 18 this season, but his 103 FIP- was inline with his career mark. Sullivan never lived up to his lofty potential, but there's nothing wrong with a dependable starting pitcher who can eat innings and stay healthy.

CF Chink Stickels (45th Overall)
Acquired: Via Independent Draft (1935)
Drafted: 5th Round, 71st Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: George Fox Reds

"Acquired from the Class A Denver Plainsman in the independent draft this year, Chink Stickels put together a strong 485 plate appearances with Mobile where he hit .285/.348/.490 (115 OPS+) with 7 homers, 12 steals, and 48 RBI's, he got a callup to AAA. He hit .339/.371/.542 (119 OPS+) in 62 trips to the plate, but it was a short trip. With the injury to Roy Moore I decided to give a shot to Stickels who was already on the 40-man roster. It did not go well, unfortunately, as he hit just .178/.208/.247 (17 OPS+) with 2 steals and 2 triples in 77 trips to the plate. I didn't expect too much, but obviously, I wanted better. Still, I'm a big fan of Stickels and he'll get to compete in camp next Spring for the wide open center field job. He looked really good in the field and has the potential to hit .330 in the big leagues. I love his potential and while I do think he may need a little more seasoning, Stickels is going to outwork anyone and will eventually secure a big league spot."

Secure that spot he did! He didn't hit .330, but his .322 in 1938 was close, and Stickels owns a very productive .272/.345/.410 (112 OPS+) line in over 5,000 FABL plate appearances. Stickels was one of the few Cougars on the list who already debuted, but his 17 games this season were the only he spent in the Cougars organization. Stickels was the headliner in a four player package before the 1936 season started that landed Hall of Famer John Lawson. Stickels became the Stars every day center fielder in 1938, and had a breakout 6 WAR season. Stickels posted an elite .322/.388/.526 (155 OPS+) batting line and represented the Stars as a rookie at the All Star Game. He produced an elite 161 WRC+ with 48 doubles, 8 homers, 73 RBIs, 13 steals, and a league high 19 triples. He walked (57) far more then he struck out (24), and he's yet to post a season with 20 or more games and less walks then strikeouts. He spent the next four and a half seasons patrolling center there, ending his Stars career with an impressive .274/.347/.424 (115 OPS+) with 197 doubles, 88 triples, 43 homers, 65 steals, and 420 RBIs.

With Bill Barrett off to war, the Stars did a retooling, and I did inquire on Stickels before they shipped him off to the Wolves. He was struggling at the time, hitting just .186/.248/.275 (57 OPS+) with just 7 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, 3 steals, and 18 RBI in 54 games. This scared me away a bit, but he ended up hitting an above average .261/.341/.333 (103 OPS+) for the Wolves the rest oft the way. In his two full seasons with the Wolves, he's put up 5 WAR each time. Stickels put up 5.4 WAR last season for the Wolves, and produced a 111 WRC+ with 28 doubles, 14 triples, 82 homers, 16 steals, and 70 RBIs in 146 games this season. The 34-year-old is still a solid defender out in center, and has been selected to two All-Star games. His 89 WRC+ in the season he was traded was the only time it fell below 100 in a full season. Sure, he helped our rivals win for most of his career, but John Lawson was elite pretty much until the end, and all Stickels cost to acquire was an AI pick Bob Crocker. He's one of the few prospects we've traded that we've had to watch perform well for a rival, and Cougar fans will still have to watch him a few more seasons when the Wolves come to town.

RHP Karl Wallace (58th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Boston (1934)
Drafted: 6th Round, 91st Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Milwaukee HS Maroons

"In what could be one of the better trades we've made, I added Johnny Cox and Karl Wallace from the Boston Minutemen. Cox didn't stay long, I sent him to Chicago for Ray Ford, and he's turned into a nice add, but Wallace was the main target. I'm a big fan of the right who consistently sits in the mid 90s with a strong fastball and cutter. The 21-year-old has a nice four pitch arsenal and he controls all his pitches well. He really struggled last season in San Jose, but in his 12 starts this year he was much better. Wallace was 7-4 with a 2.98 ERA (152 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 17 walks, and 47 strikeouts before getting a midseason promotion to Lincoln. He handled his own in 12 starts there, going 5-4 with a 4.79 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.47 WHIP, 23 walks, and 34 strikeouts. I'm not sure yet if I'll start him in Mobile or Lincoln, but I know he won't finish back down here. I'm really excited for this kid's future and I think he's going to be a really important piece of our rotation."

Originally a 6th Round Pick of the Minutemen, he came to our organization in a very useful trade that also brought Johnny Cox for a grizzled Max Wilder. Wallace never started a game for us, let alone became an important piece, as he was then part of another big trade that brought in Juan Pomales and Del Burns. More trade fun for Wallace, as he spent just half a season in the Dynamos season, but did go 2-1 in 3 starts for them in September. Time for another major trade, as he was part of the three piece package that brought current Cougar Hank Barnett to Detroit in his brief stop in the Dynamos organization. Wallace had an excellent rookie season, going 13-13 with a 3.44 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 98 walks, and 88 strikeouts in just under 250 innings pitched. He never really got much of a chance in the Saints organization, but he did have a major sophomore slump. He was even waived prior to the 1942 season, and while I wanted to claim him, the Sailors had higher priority.

Wallace was the next of many pitchers the Sailors have had success with, winning 20 games with a sub 3 ERA in 30 impressive starts. Wallace followed that up with a similar campaign, tossing a career high 268 innings with a rather unlucky 15-15 record. That didn't match his career best 2.96 ERA (115 ERA+), 5.0 WAR, and 3.19 FIP (89) with 107 walks, 88 strikeouts, and a 1.36 WHIP. He hasn't replicated that since, and has struggled a bit this season. The 31-year-old was 11-10 with a 4.31 ERA (85 ERA+) and 1.41 WHIP with 65 walks and strikeouts. Wallace has been a reliable innings eater who had yet to have an ailment last longer then three days before scar tissue in his shoulder ended his season in early September. He's 8 wins away from 100, but the Sailors rotation will get a lot more crowded next season when more players return from the war. At this point in his career, he owns a 3.67 ERA (102 ERA+) and 1.39 WHIP with 607 walks and 402 strikeouts in 1,611.2 innings pitched.

CF Carlos Montes (60th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 12th Overall (1934)
Alma Mater: Citronelle

"If you told me Montes would be in AAA at the end of the season when I selected him last year, I wouldn't have believed you. But somehow the 19-year-old's last 87 plate appearances were up in Milwaukee and he hit an insane .408/.488/.831 (215 OPS+) with 5 homers, 2 steals, and 27 RBI's. His worst performance came in Lincoln where he hit just .254/.361/.465 (97 OPS+) in 169 plate appearances with 10 steals, 7 homers, and 38 RBI's. He looked good in Mobile, finishing with a .342/.400/.470 (125 OPS+) line in 228 trips to the plate. My scout thinks Montes is the most developed center fielder in our organization and he's going to get a shot to try and earn the starting job up in Chicago. I'd prefer to start him out in AAA, but we don't have that many options right now. I'm hoping to add external options, but that's not because of Montes. This kid has huge upside, with excellent defensive ability, a great eye at the plate, and blazing speed on the bases and in the field. He's already gotten a boost in the prospect rankings since the original post, and I am really happy I got him last year. And much more happy then I am with who I got this year (although he is pretty good still)."

Montes did have huge upside, and when he wasn't serving in the war, he showcased great speed, outstanding defense out in center, and a very good eye. The only issue is for Montes has been his injury proneness, as since debuting at 21 in 1937, his career high in games is just the 127 he got into before being drafted into the Navy. Despite the troubles with staying on the field, Montes has been an extremely productive ballplayer, hitting .263/.332/.407 (107 OPS+) with 108 doubles, 46 triples, 55 homers, 70 steals, and 287 RBIs in 657 career games. He's also tallied an impressive 86.5 zone rating with a 1.052 efficiency out in center. With Montes leaving after the '42 season, he left a huge hole in center that has now been filled rather well with Don Lee. Montes is a far superior defender, but Lee already looks to be twice the hitter Montes ever was. It's never an issue to have two capable center fielders, but with Moss' old age, Lee seems likely to shift to right. I'm a little worried the time off has eroded his skills a bit, but the Cuban born center fielder turned into a great center fielder and should have a few seasons left in him.

SS Ducky Jordan (71st Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 6th Round, 92nd Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Little Rock HS Pioneers

"A 1930 National Champion at Little Rock HS, the "Hot Springs Hotshot" may not get the rep he deserves. He's a tiny switch hitting shortstop, but he works as hard as anybody and it's shown. My scout keeps waffling over if he's a shortstop or a center fielder, so I'll send Jordan back down to AA and let him play both. It was the only of the three levels he hit above average, slashing .311/.339/.453 (104 OPS+) with 5 steals and 13 RBI's in 115 trips to the plate. He's a really raw prospect, and I might have rushed him a little, but my scout thinks he's ready for the majors. He's got a lot of talent and the athletic ability to play anywhere on the field. I think the bat is going to develop and Jordan should be a dependable big league starter, I'm just not sure if that's going to be at short, or center, or maybe even third."

Our top 10 prospects have already accumulated over 200 WAR (208.6) in their combined FABL careers. Ducky Jordan (0.1) accounts for less then a tenth of a percent of it. I'm not too sure what went wrong with Ducky, as he never did much hitting. Ducky got a cup of coffee in both 1937 and 1938, but him and Art Courtney went across town to the Chiefs in July to acquire former Allen Winner Jim Lonardo. The Chiefs put him on the active roster, but the former 6th Rounder hit just .196/.289/.268 (52 OPS+) in 33 games for the Chiefs. He did appear in a game each season from 1937 until 1943 when he was drafted into the Air Force, and he's been a capable utility man I've even tried to re-acquire a few times. His career .222/.287/.301 (67 OPS+) line isn't very impressive, but he provides plus defense at all three infield spots. He's the first real bust of the group, but he's approaching 500 FABL games, and that's nothing to sneeze at.