[ayaghmour2]

Well, it's official: the Pioneers are legit! After curb-stomping the Fed in a dominant performance, they kept the Sailors in check, holding them to two runs in each of the last two games of the WCS, winning the best of seven series in six. In reality, it's all because of us. No, not because we sucked this season... But because of Danny Hern. The odds-on and potentially unanimous Allen Winner, Hern was the centerpiece of the Freddie Jones trade way back in 1938. He threw 301.1 inning and won 25 games, working to a stellar 2.78 ERA (144 ERA+) and 1.25 WHIP with 127 strikeouts. He led the league with a 7.6 WAR and 78 FIP- while leading St. Louis to their first championship in the human era.

We also said good bye to Dick Walker, who hung up the cleats at 41 after hitting just .220/.359/.297 (81 OPS+) in his first ever sub-100 game season. Walker, who debuted in 1928, spent 20 seasons in professional baseball, appearing in 2,784 games with the Sailors and Cougars. Walker finished his career with a .272/.379/.426 (123 OPS+) batting line and accumulated 78.9 WAR with 422 steals, 2,742 hits, and 1,769 walks. Known for his consistency and durability, a herniated disc that cost him just one week in 1945 was his only injury of note, and before his quick decline this season, he posted a WRC+ above 100 in 18 consecutive seasons. He was boasted impressive leadoff abilities, as Walker was always able to find a way on base, and once on, his speed made him a nightmare for the opposition. His name is all over the Sailors career record books, as the first basemen ranked 1st in homers (136). walks (1,189), runs scored (1,314), and triples (209), 2nd in RBIs (959), games played (1,911), and at bats (7,102), 3rd in hits (1,995), steals (298), WAR (55) and OPS (.825), 4th in doubles (325), OBP (.382) and slugging (.443). As a Cougar, he appeared in 873 games and hit a productive .250/.372/.386 (119 OPS+) with 108 doubles, 63 triples, 57 homers, 124 steals, 303 RBIs, and 580 walks. He lasted a bit longer then I thought, getting a good six and a half seasons in the Windy City. I expect the Sailors to retire his number, and he's got a shot to don their cap in the Hall of Fame. He wasn't a prototypical first basemen, but he was a consistent and reliable top of the order bat for 90% of his career.

Now, on to the actual purpose of the post, the top prospects! I won't lie, this list will probably look much different as early as next week, as I'm going to spend a lot of time retooling the organization. But at this point, our system ranks 3rd in the league with 158 points, trailing just the co-leading (167) Kings and Foresters. Unlike those two teams, and the rest of the league, we are the only team with two top ten prospects. That would be back-to-back first rounders Bob Allen (6th) and Jerry Smith (10th), which makes me believe that trading our first was a huge mistake. A third to add would be nice, but we do have 9 prospects in the top 100 with one more at 101, 24 in the top 250, and 49 in the top 500. The full list is below:

1. RHP Bob Allen (6th Overall): 1st/2nd
2. CF Jerry Smith (10th Overall): 5th Overall Pick
3. C Garland Phelps (24th Overall): 21st Overall Pick
4. CF Johnny Peters (44th Overall): 3rd/32nd
5. LHP Ron Berry (56th Overall): 8th/70th
6. RHP Harry Beardsley (74th Overall): 9th/78th
7. LHP Bert Rogers (76th Overall): 7th/60th
8. CF Frank Reece (81st Overall): 4th/37th
9. 3B Otto Christian (82nd Overall): 6th/50th
10. SS Buddy Jenkins (101st Overall): 77th Overall Pick
11. 1B Dudley Sapp (103rd Overall): 44th Overall Pick
12. RF Jimmy Hairston (129th Overall): 12th/122nd
13. RHP George Carter (177th Overall): 141st Overall Pick
14. C Mike Bordes (181st Overall): Acquired in trade with Eagles
15. LHP Mike Emerson (185th Overall): 61st Overall Pick
16. RHP Tommy Seymour (195th Overall): 15th/158th
17. CF Rupert Abbott (197th Overall): Acquired in trade with Eagles
18. CF Ed Sutton (204th Overall): 93rd Overall Pick
19. 2B Bob Schmelz (205th Overall): 21st/220th
20. SS Bob Stout (212th Overall): 16th/169th
21. CF Harley Dollar (214th Overall): 131st Overall Pick
22. SS Roy Gass (222nd Overall): 64th Overall Pick
23. SS Willie Watson (243rd Overall): 157th Overall Pick
24. LF Clyde Parker (244th Overall): 23rd/230th
25. 3B Bill Nash (253rd Overall): 177th Overall Pick
26. CF Phil Boyes (261st Overall): 14th/149th
27. 2B Roxy Hilts (274th Overall): 18th/181st
28. LHP Ray Paulson (276th Overall): 70th Overall Pick
29. RHP Lee Parker (300th Overall): 35th/368th
30. 1B Cal Rice (305th Overall): 26th/263rd
31. RHP Jim Williams (321st Overall): 22nd/225th
32. LHP Dutch Yoak (329th Overall): 25th/236th
33. RHP Jim N Smith (341st Overall): 34th/364th
34. RHP Bill Ballantine (351st Overall): 39th/391st
35. RF Bob Rogers (355th Overall): 37th/379th
36. SS Tom Brownleaf (361st Overall): 30th/285th
37. SS John Price (375th Overall): 32nd/317th
38. RHP Babe Stinson (378th Overall): 24th/232nd
39. RHP Fred Terry (384th Overall): 115th Overall Pick
40. RHP Dick Garcia (385th Overall): Not Ranked