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RHP Bill Holloway (422nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 5th Round, 56th Overall (1943)
Alma Mater: Lincoln College Presidents

After a strong season in San Jose last year, Bill Holloway spent his entire season in Lincoln. It wasn't perfect, but Holloway competed in each start, going 11-14 with a 4.52 ERA (91 ERA+) in 29 starts. Holloway tallied 183 innings with 87 walks and 124 strikeouts, but his 1.60 WHIP was very elevated. FIP still thought he was an above average pitcher, as he recorded a 3.93 (94 FIP-) due to his impressive 6.1 K/9 and 0.3 BB/9. A big strikeout arm, Holloway has impressive stuff, featuring a nice high 80s fastball and sinker. His fastball is the go to, but his sinker is effective down in the zone. His change and knuckle curve can get strikeouts, but Holloway doesn't have full faith in them yet. The Chicago native has a lot of interesting tools, and very well developed stuff, but his command eludes him at times. Right now, he projects to be nothing more then a spot starter, but he's just 23 and could have a velo bump left in him to take him to the next level.

3B Buddy Brumbaugh (444th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 7th Round, 97th Overall (1944)
Alma Mater: Wallingford Wild Boars

Last year Holloway and Buddy Brumbaugh were back-to-back in the prospect rankings, but at 18 and 19 instead of 36 and 37. While Holloway didn't have a poor season, Buddy really struggled, and actually hit worse in his 18 games with the Lions then he did in 54 with the Cougars. That's not to say that he hit well in San Jose, as the third sacker hit just .222/.269/.351 (80 OPS+) with 8 hits, a triple, 4 homers, and 18 RBIs. He struck out a whopping 62 times in 182 trips to the plate, while drawing just 9 walks. To be fair, Buddy just turned 20, and spent all of his season as a teenager. He hit better then some of our other youngsters, and showed decent enough power. He won't be a big home run hitter, but he does a good job drawing walks and should develop into a strong defender. Third will be his spot, but he can handle second and short as well. The former 7th Rounder has dropped a bit in our prospect rankings, but he should be able to keep every day at bats through next season.

C Homer Guthrie (446th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 7th Round, 110th Overall (1942)
Alma Mater: Maryland State Bengals

A hot-sauce connoisseur, no one benefitted from the Mike Taylor retirement as much as Homer Guthrie. Sure, I was likely planning on protecting him in the Rule-5 draft regardless, but now the former 7th Rounder seems to be locked in to the back-up catcher role on the big league club. 25 on New Year's, Guthrie had a big season for the Blues, appearing in 131 games and making 537 trips to the plate while worth nearly 5 (4.9) WAR. Guthrie produced a 123 WRC+ and slashed .275/.390/.351 (111 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 62 RBIs. A disciplined hitter as well, he walked (80) nearly twice as often as he struck out (43), and his eye is likely the best of his tools. He's a capable defender too, throwing out over half (53.3%) the runners that tried to steal, and while efficiency/zone rating aren't great ways to measure catcher defense, his are off the charts (1.243, 4.7). Pitcher's love throwing to the tall and athletic 6'3'' righty, and he does a good job managing the staff. He could be a fringe starter, but with Mead there now and Eddie Howard ready, Guthrie could fill our backup catcher role for seasons to come. He's got all three options, which will prolong his time in the organization, but even if Mead gets injured, Howard likely gets the lion's share of the starts. Still, for a 7th Rounder, career cady isn't too bad. And you get to collect that pay check!

RHP Ray Warren (451st Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 141st Overall (1945)
Alma Mater: Westminster Warriors

A pretty solid AI pick, Ray Warren is good enough to start, but I had plenty of other arms I wanted to give starts to, so the now 18-year-old spent his time as the Lions stopper. He looked pretty good, going 5-4 with 6 saves, a 2.91 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 28 walks, and 29 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched. A three pitch pitcher, I will look to get him some starts, but we have so many arms and not enough innings. Warren could be subjected to the pen again, but I want him to get at least five starts (if not more) in the upcoming season. A soft-tosser, Warren won't pile up the strikeouts, but he does a good job generating weak contact. I'm not sure his future lies in a big league rotation, but he has the stuff to start, and his youth works against him. Crazy enough, he's been a live a year less then the human era, and no 18-year-olds are fully developed.

RHP Wally Eversole (469th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 143rd Overall (1945)
Alma Mater: Centreville Choctaws

Taken two picks after Warren, Eversole checks in right after Warren in our prospect rankings, and rounds out our top 40. Unlike Warren, Eversole started all eight of his appearances, but he ran into some troubles. The 18-year-old went 2-5 with a 3.61 ERA (84 ERA+) and 1.37 WHIP with 23 walks and 31 strikeouts, but actually threw less (47.1) innings then Warren did out of the pen. It may be tough for Eversole to pick up starts next season, but right now La Crosse manager Ted Crittenden wants him in the four spot, pushing Al Robison and Lonnie Sis to the pen. A four pitch pitcher, Eversole has very raw stuff, with his best pitch projected to be a low 90s cutter. None of his four offerings are going to be plus or better, but he's a finesse guy opposed to a power pitcher. If he can keep his pitches in the zone, he could be effective, but his control will need some work. If he keeps walking batters, he'll be lucky to get the occasional spot start, and while there is some promise, he could be mopping up games in the farm a few seasons in the future.