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THE KID & THE LITTLE PROFESSOR ARE READY TO FLY!

ALBANY, NY & PROVIDENCE, RI, May 1 (1859) – With the third season of the National Base Ball Organization just days away, it is time to check on the two players regarded as the most tantalizing young prospects in the 48-team competition when it all started two years ago: Konrad “the Kid” Jensen and David “the Little Professor” Goodman.

To jog the memory, here was what members of the Writers’ Pool who had seen the two greenhorns had to say about them at the time:

KONRAD JENSEN – OF, St. John’s – 17 y/o, 5’9”, 145 lbs. from Providence RI

• BATTING: Contact 45/80+, Gap 60/80+, Eye 60/80+, Avoid Ks 40/80
• DEFENSE (OF): Range 55, Error 75, Arm 60, LF 50/70, CF 25/50, RF 35/65
• OTHER: Speed 60, Stealing 75, Baserunning 70, Sac. Bunt 70, Bunt for Hit 55
• SUMMARY: “The Kid” is only 17, but apparently all he does is think about the art of hitting a baseball. Once his body matures for a year or two and he’s had a good amount of experience playing intrasquad games with the reserves he’s going to be terrifying. St. John’s already has the best outfield trio in the sport, so the question is: who does the hometown kid eventually unseat?

JAMES GOODMAN – P, Minuteman – 19 y/o, 5’4”, 155 lbs. from Huntingdon PA

• PITCHING: Stuff 80+/80+, Movement 35/75, Control 30/80+
• DEFENSE (P): Range 40, Error 40, Arm 50, Overall 70
• OTHER: Stamina 75 Hold Runners 65
• SUMMARY: “The Little Professor” is nicknamed such because he is extremely intelligent and can make a ball do things that nobody’s ever seen before. However, he has yet to figure out how to consistently control where the ball goes and make the ball do what he wants it to do. If he’s able to move past tinkering with game equipment and can master the finer points of pitching, Goodman will gift the sport a new type of pitcher that will present batters with never-before-seen challenges.

In the two years since, the pair has received varying amounts of playing time.

Konrad Jensen actually started twenty games as an eighteen-year-old in the inaugural season – pressed into action due to injury. He acquainted himself well, hitting .309 with nearly an RBI per game. He also stole seven bases without being caught. However, he hasn’t played since due to the superstar power present in the St. John’s outfield trio of Johnson, Kenton, & Wise.

James Goodman has been on the field much more than Jensen, pitching 56 innings in 1857 and 89 more in 1858 as a relief man and spot starter. However, Goodman has struggled in his time pitching the ball. Even though he was able to make the ball move around in wholly unique ways, the lack of mastery over his bewildering stuff led him to a 6.55 ERA in ’57 and a 5.08 ERA in ’58. However, 35-year-old Minuteman pitching companion John Kline took Goodman under his wing to teach him the finer arts of pitching and the results appear to have paid off immensely.

Here are how the two players have improved, what they look like going into the 1859 season, and what roles they will play for their clubs: (ratings in 20/80, CURRENT/POTENTIAL format)

KONRAD JENSEN – OF, St. John’s – 19 y/o, 5’9”, 150 lbs. (was 145) from Providence RI – 4.0/5.0 stars

• BATTING: Contact 45 to 70/95, Gap 60 to 65/75, Eye 60/85, Avoid Ks 40 to 65/75
• DEFENSE (OF): Range 55 to 60, Error 75 to 80, Arm 60 to 65
• POSITIONS: LF 50 to 60/70, CF 25 to 35/50, RF 35 to 55/65
• OTHER: Speed 60 to 65, Stealing 75, Baserunning 70 to 75, Sac. Bunt 70 to 75, Bunt for Hit 55
• SUMMARY: Jensen has improved enough that St. John’s president Borland Craig announced in March that he would be one of the team’s regular corner outfielders going forward. That led the club to let Clive Wise, 1858 Team of the Year member and defending Tucker-Wheaton Cup M.V.P., go to Sons of the Ocean in exchange for the money they had set aside for the Connecticut man’s housing and other miscellaneous expenses. Field Manager Todrick Rogers has decided that Jensen, who hit .395 during the April training schedule, will bat leadoff this upcoming season.

JAMES Goodman – P, Minuteman – 21 y/o, 5’4”, 155 lbs. from Huntingdon PA – 4.5/5.0 stars

• PITCHING: Stuff 90 to 105/110, Movement 35 to 60/75, Control 30 to 60/80
• DEFENSE (P): Range 40 to 45, Error 40 to 45, Arm 50 to 55, Overall 70/70
• OTHER: Stamina 75, Hold Runners 65 to 70
• SUMMARY: Minutemen Field Manager Jason Ford has seen enough improvement out of Goodman that he’s made “The Little Professor” their #1 pitcher for the upcoming season. He struggled during April’s training games (5.75 ERA, 13 BB) but that was because he has apparently added two more grips to his pitching arsenal to bring the total to five.

Konrad Jensen looks like more of a sure thing by default since he’s a batsman and not a pitcher. He also has advantages over Goodman in that he does everything extremely well and he’s surrounded by star players in his hometown of Providence. On the other hand, if Goodman continues the upward trajectory of the command & control of his pitching after adding two new deliveries to his arsenal, he might become unhittable.

Jensen was named in the Preseason Writers’ Poll as one of the ten favorites for N.E.L. Batsman of the Year, while the writers think Goodman will continue to struggle a bit as he continues to harness his considerable talent. Even though he was only with the St. John’s senior squad for six weeks in 1857, Jensen will not be considered for Newcomer of the Year since he has 20+ games of experience as a batter & fielder.

There will be many storylines to the 1859, and seeing how Jensen & Goodman do in their first seasons as featured players will be among the most interesting.