[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 31-28 (3rd, 3.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Donnie Jones : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 4 BB, 13 K, 0.00 ERA
Hal Sharp : 19 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .368 AVG, 1.053 OPS
Johnnie Jones : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 3 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA

Schedule
6-9: Loss vs Foresters (8-7)
6-10: Win vs Foresters (0-8)
6-11: Win vs Foresters (0-1)
6-13: Loss at Wolves (0-3)
6-14: Win at Wolves (8-2)
6-15: Win at Wolves (2-0)

Recap
There was plenty of good this week, as we took two of three from both the Foresters and Wolves, but I have to shoutout the Jones Brothers. Donnie and Johnnie have been remarkable, and the duo dominated this week and last. Donnie threw not one, but two shutouts, giving him the clear Player of the Week nod. Both were impressive, as he tossed a 4-hitter against the Foresters and a 7-hitter against the Wolves. He struck out more in Chicago, setting down 7 Foresters, but he also walked 4, while he struck out 6 in Toronto without walking a batter. Donnie now ranks 2nd in the CA in ERA (2.36), tied for first in wins (9), and first in strikeouts (62). Yes, Donnie has struck out more bats then Pap! His 5.2 K/9 and 1.12 WHIP are best, although more surprisingly Duke Bybee (1.19) is third and Joe Brown (1.23) is fifth! He has thrown 22.2 consecutive scoreless innings, but that's actually shorter then his older brother's streak. Johnnie didn't throw two shutouts, but he was a hit away from a no-no, and has yet to allow a run in 24.1 consecutive innings. After having no luck winning games last year (10-14 despite a 2.64 ERA), the lefty is now 5-2 with a 2.95 ERA (133 ERA+) and 40 strikeouts in 88.1 innings. These two have been dominant nearly all season, which has more then made up for Pap's slow start.

Pap was tagged with another loss, dropping to 5-7 as we were shutout by George Garrison. The fireballer went 8 and allowed 10 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts, and he's now lost three straight despite allowing 4 or fewer runs in each start. Things just haven't clicked for the fireballer, who seems very unlikely to win his third (at least in terms of full Peter the Heater seasons) consecutive Allen Award. His 3.54 ERA (111 ERA+) is still good for a regular pitcher, but we all know he's anything but. It will be interesting to see if he misses the All-Star game this year, as there have been plenty of stronger performances even on his own club. Joe Brown isn't one of them, but his start clearly was, as he earned a complete game win with 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts to improve to 6-4 on the season. Duke Bybee had a tough 6th inning that ruined his night, as the Foresters plated six on the young lefty, and even more painfully, they all came with two outs. His ERA is back over 4 (4.11), but there's plenty of bad luck involved, as he doesn't really allow guys to reach base. Despite allowing a home run, he did prevent longballs in four straight starts, and the start was his fifth with one or fewer walks. FIP (3.56, 90) likes what he's done, and I'm very confident the final marks will favor our talented youngster.

Despite the four wins, the lineup didn't really do much. Of course, that never includes Hal Sharp, may be the best hitter in the league. Sharp went 7-for-19 with a double, triple, and homer, now hitting a robust .368/.406/.550 (159 OPS+) in 225 trips to the plate. He leads us in nearly all stats, including the entire triple slash, homers (8), hits (77), runs (34), doubles (12), WPA (1.54), and wOBA (.433). Ray Ford stopped his cold streak, going 4-for-9 with 2 doubles, a homer, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs. Clark Car continued to heat up, 3-for-9 with a double and two walks. Unfortunately Leo Mitchell, Harry Mead, and Dick Walker haven't had much success, and the trio went just 9-for-53, striking out 11 times. Mitchell at least had a double and triple, but he sports an uncharacteristically low .282/.322/.419 (101 OPS+) batting line in 245 trips to the plate. The only time he had a sample of that size and such a low line was way back in 1935 where he hit .316/.376/.399 (108 OPS+) in 250 PAs. In his nine seasons with 450 or more PAs, he never produced an OPS+ below 130. He's in uncharted waters right now, but I have complete faith in our talented slugger.

With Mead's struggles, we're bringing up Eddie Howard to make his major league debut. They'll split time for now, as the #28 prospect will probably play every third game. Our former 2nd Rounder was hitting .347/.423/.443 (117 OPS+) with 11 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 20 RBIs. He's sported a 20-to-7 walk-to-strikeout rate at the plate, and actually struck out (26) more hitters then he walked (25). The pitching was solid, as he was 4-3 with a 4.02 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.49 WHIP in his eight starts. He won't start on the mound for us, but when he's not catching he could mop up an inning or two. He'll likely debut on Tuesday against the Cannons, and I expect him to start every third game or so. Heading down to Milwaukee is Homer Guthrie, who hit just .192/.382/.231 (70 OPS+) in 34 trips to the plate. If all goes well, Howard will be done with the minors, and if he starts hot, he could take the starting job outright.

I'll dive more deeply into it later, but the mock draft was published and they really loved the Cougars draft class. 1st Rounder Jerry Smith checks in at #1 while 2nd Rounder Garland Phelps is listed at #4. No more representatives in the first, but 3rd Rounder Dudley Sapp leads off the second round and somewhat surprisingly 5th Rounder Buddy Jenkins joins him at 12th in the second. 4th Rounder Roy Gass checks in at 3.5, rounding out what could be another very deep class. I didn't expect any of our arms to show up, the mock tends to avoid them and neither were truly top-of-the line arms, but bats were the focus and the early signs point to plenty of hits.

Looking Ahead
It's make or break time! We'll look to keep up our momentum with a very tough four game series against the Cannons in Cincinnati. At 35-25, they are still ever-so-slightly leading the Continental Association by run differential, with the Stars having one more win and loss. Fred Galloway (.247, 1, 8) could be on his way back, but it would be very tough to imagine Al Wheeler (.344, 3, 18, 2) returning to the bench, likely leaving Gail Gifford (.274, 3, 24, 3) without an everyday spot in the lineup. That's not the only change, as shortstop Charlie Rivera (.303, 4, 26, 2) has taken the job at the keystone, with Chuck Adams (.249, 6, 28) now leading the order instead of Charley McCullough (.229, 6), who hasn't done much other then draw a ton of walks. The lineup is looking better, which can make up for the pitching staff starting to falter. Once again we'll get a teams top three, as well as #4 starter Charlie Griffith (7-3, 4.53, 34). As always, I'm worried about Rufus Barrell (5-4, 3.10, 52), but even our lineup should be able to do some damage against Bob Arman (6-3, 3.63, 42) and Red Hampton (6-6, 4.33, 12). They're lucky they get to miss Donnie Jones (9-4, 2.36, 62), but other then Bybee (4-5, 4.11, 42) vs. Barrell the matchups tilt heavily in our favor. But considering we're on the road, it may not be enough, as the Cannons are 15-8 at the new Tice Memorial Stadium and they've won 5 of our 8 contests so far. Technically if we sweep, we could end up in first place, but I'd consider a split a huge victory, as we can't let them gain ground over us.

We're off after that, and will head to nearby Forester Stadium for a weekend series with Cleveland. They're now tied with the Kings for six, eight games behind the Stars and Cannons. It's a double header on Sunday after the opener on Saturday, but since we're off again to start next week we won't have to worry about ruining our rotation. I mentioned Davey Morris, who is having a tremendous rookie season despite just 22 AA starts prior to the season. He's started 8 games and relieved 5, going 3-2 with 2 saves, a 2.29 ERA (177 ERA+), 1.54 WHIP, 41 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. 23 later this month, he could be a legit piece to build around, but I don't envision him finishing the season with the ERA crown. Richie Hughes (3-9, 5.83, 42) did end up beating us, but he was not very good, allowing 8 hits, 7 runs, and 5 walks with 4 strikeouts in an 8 inning victory. Lorenzo Samuels (.377, 4, 14) has stayed hot, but since he dealt with lefties he only started against Donnie, where he was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks. Especially if we slip up against the Cannons, these are must win games, and I think by time this week ends, we'll be in striking distance of the top spot in the association.

Amateur Report
1st Round, 5th Overall: CF Jerry Smith
School: Jackson Generals
Commit School: Utah A&M Aggies
1947: .523/.589/.1.205, 107 PA, 16 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 34 SB
Career: .523/.586/.1.143, 314 PA, 41 2B, 13 3B, 31 HR, 102 RBI, 72 SB

He's number one! He's number one!!! HE'S NUMBER ONEEEEE!!!!!!!

For some reason, there is no consistency in the Mock Draft, but in my copy of the game, OSA predicts that Jerry Smith would have been the #1 pick! Instead, we got him at five, and the hopeful superstar had an outstanding senior season. He won't become an Aggie after leading all high school draft eligible players with a 1.205 slugging and 1.793 OPS and his 12 homers were tied for first with #4 pick Jim Morrison. The hardworking outfielder slashed an elite .523/.589/.1.205 as a senior, setting personal bests for homers and doubles (16), as well as steals, OBP, slugging, OPS, and WAR (3.5). Simply put, this kid looks elite, and I'm not sure I can find a weakness here. His 15-to-4 walk-to-strikeout ratio this season was impressive, and its now 43-to-14 for his prep career. He has power, speed, and can hit for a high average, but the only real question mark is defense. With his speed you'd expect him to be effective out there, but even if its not, he'll more then make up for it with the bat. I'm curious to see how high he ranks in the prospect lists, but I'm pretty sure he'll eclipse 26th ranked prospect Johnny Peters. Smith is still young, but he looks to be pretty well developed, and he could be the first real offensive star we've developed in a while.

2nd Round, 21st Overall: C Garland Phelps
School: Sheffield Fightin' Irish
Commit School: Pittsburgh State Finches
1947: .544/.615/.845, 125 PA, 12 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 8 SB
Career: .547/.621/.860, 326 PA, 29 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 99 RBI, 15 SB

He's not impossible to sign, but $31,000 is going to put a huge dent in our pocketbook. He doesn't have the power of Smith, but both finished their high school careers with their third .500+ season. "Einstein" did have a personal low triple slash of .544/.615/.845, but that's still an excellent line, and even more so for a catcher. He did set bests for doubles and triples, as well as hits (56), walks (17), and WAR (3.1). He's got the potential to be a perennial All-Star, and even though we have Eddie Howard, Phelps seems to have even higher of a ceiling. He'll contend for batting titles, hit a few homers, and draw a ton of walks. He's got plenty of raw power, which he could eventually turn into home run power, and he's going to be a very tough out each time. The only question will be the defense, as I'm not sure he's ever going to be great at it. Like Smith, just passable is good enough, as the bat is going to carry him his whole career. He's super young, 18 in August, so it's going to take a long time for him to be big league ready. I'm super excited to see how he can do, and I can't wait until we can get him signed.

With the weekend coming up I might release a few Amateur Reports as we have ten rounds instead of the usual eight, and as usual, we have plenty of extra picks. A lot of exciting bats will be joining the roster, which could maintain our spot (3rd) in the prospect ranks.