[ayaghmour2]

13th Round, 193rd Overall: LHP Roy Arnold
School: Little Rock HS Pioneers
Career (AA): 27-30, 6 SV, 122 G, 496 IP, 3.57 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 88 BB, 268 K, 101 ERA+, 10.8 WAR
Career (A): 51-33, 8 SV, 152 G, 802 IP, 3.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 177 BB, 414 K, 120 ERA+, 15.1 WAR

He may not be the most well known pitcher, but "Rowdy Roy" Arnold weas one of the few guys to pitch well into his 30s. Part of that was because he was a relatively decent prospect despite the late pick, and he started his minor league career as a starting pitcher. He started 16 of his 20 appearances with the Lions in year one, going 2-5 with 4 saves, a 4.10 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP, 37 walks, and 71 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched. The next three seasons he bounced between La Crosse and San Jose, and in 1933 he found himself in Lincoln. He had back-to-back 2.5+ WAR seasons for the Legislators, including a 1934 where he had a 3.67 FIP (78 FIP-) in 17 starts before earning a three start stint in Mobile. It went spectacular, as he allowed just 3 walks and 3 earned runs with 24 hits and 12 strikeouts in 27 innings.

He got seven starts in Mobile to start 1935, but the then 24-year-old did not look very good. This got him demoted to Lincoln, where only 8 of his 22 outings came as a starter. Those became the last starts for him as a Cougar, as he spent the next five and a half seasons as an organizational reliever. After we cut him, the Sailors picked him up, though he cut before the 1943 season. He quickly signed with the Cannons, and ended up winning a MAL Championship with the Camden Rockets. Arnold pitched well in a swingman role, going 12-4 with a 3.76 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 30 walks, and 92 strikeouts. It came in 150.2 innings, split between 16 starts and 10 relief outings. He then had an even better season, going 15-12 with 2 saves, a 2.30 ERA (131 ERA+) and 0.98 WHIP. He's struck out 137 with just 31 walks, and he threw 223.1 innings across 29 outings (25 starts). The Cannons then did bring him up to AA for the 1945 season, where he went 11-13 in 26 starts. He came an out away from another 200 inning season, and held a 3.29 ERA (94 ERA+) and 1.18 WHIP with a much better 2.40 FIP (77 FIP-). Despite pitching that well, he realized that there was no shot of him every making his FABL debut, so Rowdy Roy eventually hung up the cleats once the 1945 season finished.

14th Round, 209th Overall: LF Dave Ward
School: Henry Hudson Explorers
Career (AA): .212/.266/.287, 78 G, 336 PA, 5 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB, 50 WRC+, -1.1 WAR
Career (B): .310/.363/.479, 89 G, 335 PA, 20 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 48 RBI, 18 SB, 117 WRC+, 2.3 WAR

A three year starter at Henry Hudson, Dave Ward dominated early for the Lions, hitting .419/.486/.565 (167 OPS+) before a well deserved promotion. He played 35 games with the Lions, tallying 10 doubles, 2 homers, 11 steals, and 20 RBIs. He held his own with San Jose, hitting .301/.357/.449 (106 OPS+) in 307 trips to the plate, he added 16 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 17 steals, and 39 RBIs. He was back there for 1931, he was 11-for-27, adding 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 9 RBIs. Thought it came mostly off the bench, it got him to Lincoln, where he hit just .216/.267/.388 (93 OPS+) in 150 trips to the plate. He dealt with injuries that year and the next year, but at 23 Ward produced in A ball. He hit an impressive .309/.350/.489 (138 OPS+) with 6 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, and 7 RBIs.

He didn't make it back to the roster for 1934, instead playing with the Waco Wranglers of the Lone Star Association. It did not work one bit, as in 336 trips to the plate he hit just .212/.266/.287 (49 OPS+) with 5 doubles, 6 triples, and 2 homers with 31 runs, 22 RBIs, and 5 steals. They cut him after, and he hooked on with the Pueblo Mountaineers of the WBL. He made just 32 appearances, hitting just .280/.355/.336 (77 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a homer, 10 steals, and 15 RBIs. They cut him in September, and then a month later, he decided to hang up the cleats.

15th Round, 225th Overall: RHP Frank Coleman
School: Buffalo HS Bison
Career (C): 0-1, 5 G, 7.1 IP, 9.82 ERA, 2.59 WHIP, 4 BB, 7 K, 53 ERA+, -0.8 WAR

Frank Coleman's career was short and sweet, as he pitched just five times and allowed 15 hits, 8 earned runs, and 4 walks with 7 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched. Most impressively, he allowed 6 homers, and was cut two months in to the season. He didn't sign anywhere the rest of the season, or the next, and Coleman quickly retired after the 1931 season.

16th Round, 241st Overall: 2B Bob Crocker
School: Coastal Carolina Dolphins
Career (A): .238/.295/.311, 167 G, 254 PA, 9 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 19 RBI, SB, 70 WRC+, 0.1 WAR
Career (B): .277/.327/.401, 214 G, 673 PA, 27 2B, 3B, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 20 SB, 102 WRC+, 2.6 WAR

A guy who played a little baseball across a lot of years, Bob Crocker wasn't anything special as a second basemen, but he spent five seasons in our organization, going from La Crosse to Mobile with most of his time in San Jose. You could say his best time came in 1932, where he hit .292/.333/.410 (109 OPS+) in 84 games. Crocker swiped 16 games and provided 40 runs, 12 doubles, 9 homers, and 34 RBIs.

We never cut Crocker, but he left the organization in the now defunct independent draft, as he went to the Denver Plainsmen for Chink Stickels. That's the same Chink Stickels that plays center field for the Toronto Wolves, and was part of the monster John Lawson deal that brought the Hall-of-Famer back to the organization that drafted him.

Crocker didn't have nearly as much interesting on his end, and the Plainsmen actually cut him before appearing in a game. He spent the next four seasons bouncing between five teams, though he never started more then the 26 games he did with the San Antonio Missions to start his independent career. His best year came in 1937, where he split time between the Wichita Rustlers and Des Moines Bears. The only issue was he had a combined 29 plate appearances, which somewhat lessens the shine of his .333/.379/.444 (130 OPS+) line. He played just one more season, retiring at 29 after the 1938 season.

17th Round, 257th Overall: RHP Cy Plummer
School: Ellery Bruins
Career (A): 3-3, 6 SV, 75.1 IP, 6.69 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 20 BB, 15 K, 69 ERA+, -1.3 WAR
Career (R): 3-8, 17 G, 90.2 IP, 4.37 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 28 BB, 69 K, 87 ERA+, 1.6 WAR

A teammate of 12th Rounder Harry Jones at Ellery, Cy Plummer was a Cougar lifer, making stops at every level except AAA. His best work came in 1930, but it was just 13 innings with 7 hits, 7 walks, an earned run, and 12 strikeouts. It was the only time he had an ERA below 4, though his 4.12 in 39.1 innings for the Lions in 1932 was exactly league average. We cut him before the draft in 1935, and after being signed and released multiple times without ever throwing an inning, he decided to retire once the offseason officially started.

19th Round, 289th Overall: RF Bill De Berardinis
School: Brunswick Knights
Career (A): .282/.349/.399, 240 G, 706 PA, 22 2B, 14 3B, 8 HR, 67 RBI, 33 SB, 101 WRC+, 1.9 WAR
Career (B): .241/.344/.362, 160 G, 554 PA, 24 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 53 RBI, 35 SB, 95 WRC+, 1.4 WAR

A Long Beach native, Bill De Berardinis didn't do too great his first two seasons at Brunswick, but as a junior he hit .344/.424/.401 (123 OPS+) with 15 steals, 12 doubles, and 25 homers, and ended up a 19th Round pick of ours. The lack of homers should have been a concern, but he got into a great start at La Crosse. De Berardinis slashed an impressive .372/.436/.545 (149 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers, 16 steals, and 49 RBIs. He did okay in the 51 out of 121 games he played with San Jose. That was the most he ever played, though he only spent the next two years in our organization.

Over the next five seasons, he spent most of his time in the Western Baseball League, a Class-A league, where he spent time with five different clubs. He also got a 16 game stint in the Lone Star Association, though the only time he was ever really any good was his first year of independent ball. It started with the Tulsa Roughnecks, where he hit .346/.393/.500 (135 OPS+), but they cut him after just 13 games. He then signed with Amarillo Stars, where he hit an even better .347/.423/.531 (151 OPS+), finishing with 10 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homers, 12 steals, 30 walks, and 27 RBIs between the two levels. Unfortunately, he quickly fell off, hitting just .288/.340/.411 (90 OPS+) in 38 games, which led to his release. He eventually retired after the 1937 season a few weeks before his 29th birthday.

21th Round, 331st Overall: CF Tom Robinson
School: Cumberland University Explorers
Career (B): .273/.322/.355, 87 G, 120 PA, 7 2B, 3B, 10 RBI, 2 SB, 0.3 WAR

Another college outfielder, Tom Robinson never really got a chance, with just 13 starts through 4 seasons. Granted, he wasn't any good, as he never had a WRC+ above 100. He had a few homers in college, but never in the minors, and he quickly retired in 1934.

22nd Round, 337th Overall: RF Bobby Belcher
School: Sadler Bluecoats
Career (A): .345/.429/.532, 88 G, 161 PA, 7 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 154 WRC+, 1.3 WAR

If quality of name had anything to do with baseball quality, Bobby Belcher would be hitting hundreds of FABL homers, instead of spending half a season as a member of our organization. He went just 2-for-14 with the Lions, and was cut in late May. He was signed by the Amarillo Stars, and actually looked good off the bench. Belcher hit .353/.410/.471 (140 OPS+) with a triple and two doubles. Despite that, he was cut, yet again caught somewhere else and hit well off the bench. It was with one of the Stars' opponents, the Tulsa Roughnecks, with a picturesque .444/.444/.1.111 (292 OPS+) line. Yeah, it's just 18 at-bats, but the Roughnecks weren't thrilled, cutting him loose. He got three more tries, including a decent run with the Denver Plainsmen where he hit .353/.476/.485 (152 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBIs in 29 games. He struggled in five starts with them the season after, and after sitting out all of 1934, he ended up retiring.

23rd Round, 353rd Overall: LHP Bob Flynn
School: Lincoln Presidents
Career (AA): 5-6, 8 SV, 47 G, 117 IP, 4.69 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 53 BB, 70 K, 105 ERA+, -0.3 WAR
Career (B): 16-10, 29 G, 251.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 119 BB, 148 K, 129 ERA+, 3.8 WAR

Despite going to nearby Lincoln College, Bob Flynn never pitched an inning for our organization, and was cut the day after the draft. He spent 1930 in independent ball, but then caught on with the Sailors organization. He spent 1931 as a member of the Miami Sailors rotation, going 16-10 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 148 strikeouts. He dropped down to Class C in 1932, though he pitched in AA and A the following season. He was alright, but before the 1934 season the Sailors decided to part ways. He bounced between a ton of independent clubs, suiting up for just two, both in the Lone Star Association. He went 1-1 with a 5.01 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.80 WHIP, but with 16 walks to just 5 strikeouts. Still, Flynn knew even at 25 he'd never make it to the majors, and retired at the end of the season.

24th Round, 369th Overall: C Bud Ward
School: Opelika State Wildcats
Career (A): .221/.293/.352, 250 G, 832 PA, 32 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 99 RBI, 9 SB, 75 WRC+, 2.7 WAR
Career (B): .276/.355/.407, 89 G, 366 PA, 18 2B, 8 HR, 49 RBI, 2 SB, 101 WRC+, 1.7 WAR

Bud Ward, no relation to 14th Rounder Dave Ward, spent five seasons in our organization as a catcher. He only had one stint above 100 PAs when he was an above average hitter in both OPS+ and WRC+, and it was his first in La Crosse. Bud hit .275/.349/.571 (131 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 7 homers, and 24 RBIs in 106 trips to the plate. He did alright after a promotion to San Jose, hitting an almost exactly average .287/.357/.418 (99 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 7 homers, and 43 RBIs, then he finished it with a nice four game sample with Lincoln. He split time between San Jose and Lincoln the following season, but he stalled out with three poor seasons in Lincoln. We cut him before the 1935 season, and as he remained unsigned for the year, he retired at the start of the offseason.

25th Round, 385th Overall: CF Tom Robinson
School: Brooklyn HS Trojans
Career (C): .228/.316/.307, 42 G, 114 PA, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 15 RBI, 5 SB, 68 WRC+, 0.1 WAR

Rounding out the 1929 class was Tom Robinson, who's career consisted of three high school seasons and 42 games with the Lions in 1930. He did survive the year, despite hitting .228/.316/.307 (59 OPS+), though he was cut before the 1931 season. He waited for two years before finally giving up, retiring at just 21.

FABL Totals
Big League Debuts: 8 of 23 (34.8%)
Parts of 5 Seasons: 2
Parts of 10 Seasons: 1
Parts of 15 Seasons: 0
500 Games: 0
1,000 Games: 0
1,500 Games: 0
500 PA Seasons: 0
1,000 Career PAs: 1
2,500 Career PAs: 0
5,000 Career PAs: 0
15 HR Seasons: 0
20 HR Seasons: 0
50 Career HR: 0
100 Inning Seasons: 12
200 Inning Seasons: 6
300 Inning Seasons: 2
500 Career Innings: 1
1,000 Career Innings: 1
2,500 Career Innings: 1
10 Win Seasons: 11
20 Win Seasons: 3
50 Career Wins: 1
100 Career Wins: 1
150 Career Wins: 1
4 WAR Seasons: 5
Total WAR: 57.8

GWL Totals
Parts of 2 GWL Seasons: 3
Parts of 4 GWL Seasons: 2
500 Games: 1
500 PA Seasons: 5
750 Career PAs: 3
1,000 Career PAs: 2
100 Run Seasons: 1
15 HR Seasons: 1
15 Steal Seasons: 3
25 Steal Seasons: 1
Total WAR: 27.5

FABL Accolades
Allen Awards: 3
All-Star Selections: 4
World Championships: 3

This was nothing more then the Tom Barrell class, but there could have been so much more to come. Jim Hatfield and Billy Marshall were likely both good enough to play in FABL, but once they were stuck in the independent leagues, they never had a chance to get out. Still, most of our FABL debutees were like them, who didn't even make it to year five, though plenty got past that if the GWL was considered. Obviously plenty is said about the Tom Barrell trade, but we still did get stuff out of some of our other prospects. Getting Lou Kelly was a big move on paper, and Tom Spitzer got Hank Spencer which a year later got Joe Brown. That's two legit pieces, and Joe Johnson did help land Bobby Sprague too. It's funny how these early classes turned out, and in hindsight, it's really not that surprising we took such a nosedive after Tommy Wilcox got hurt. A lot of these early classes produced either a longtime contributor or minor league filler, with a lot of misses that shrunk our depth. The key contributors were used mostly to acquire outside help, and even then most of those guys didn't do too much. The 1932 draft was one that produced plenty of talent, and I can't wait to get to that one, but we have one more class before I think I really started to hit my groove. All it took was later draft picks!

Just a little fun fact I noticed to end this: from 1931 to 1941, all twelve players selected by the Cougars in the first round played in at least one FABL game. The only thing to stop this streak? The 1942 draft didn't have a Cougar first rounder!

(Though I don't think Tommy Seymour '43 and Bert Rogers '44 will join anytime soon...)