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ayaghmour2 · 02-09-2025, 06:18 PM

RHP John Roberts (433rd Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 58th Overall (1959)
Alma Mater: Findlay Trojans

This part of our list has the pitchers, as four of the five guys here call the mound home. If he had better stuff, John Roberts could be a decent back-end starter. Instead, he's got a middling four pitch mix, led by a sinker that sits in the 89-91 range. It generates a lot of his groundouts, but the whiffs are not there. In 158.1 innings, he had just 77 strikeouts, going 8-9 with a 3.07 ERA (106 ERA+) and 1.33 WHIP. On the plus side, he does a great job keeping the ball in the park, which could be useful as an innings eater out of the pen. His control is decent, and the one thing that gives him a chance to hang around long enough to improve the stuff. A thin system works in his favor, as the former 4th Rounder is still one of our more exciting pitchers. He's got the good base of talents, but without the polish, filler is what he's best suited for.

RHP George Spencer (436th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 5th Round, 74th Overall (1961)
Alma Mater: West Muskingum Tornadoes

Our 5th Round selection last season, 19-year-old George Spencer is a useful arm despite some of the struggles he had this year. Working in La Crosse, he was 4-3 in 12 appearances (9 starts), maintaining a 6.96 ERA (76 ERA+) and 2.12 WHIP with a lot more walks (52) then strikeouts (38). An extremely raw prospect, Spencer has excellent stuff, with a plus-plus curve and change. The hard stuff gets hit hard, as his fastball and sinker end up over the seats when they shouldn't, and he leaves a lot of pitches over the plate. He misses the zone a lot too, but with elite stamina and a burly 6'2'' frame, he can throw well over 100 pitches a night. The stuff is the key to success, and if walks weren't a thing he'd get FABL guys to strikeout. Right now I see him as a swingman or even a super stopper, but without any increase of control, he's not going to be a reliable starter. A 19.2 BB% isn't manageable, not much in the double digits is, but with the right efforts he can be a useful FABL pitcher.

Which is more then I can say for the most of these guys!

RHP Charlie Christian (462nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Minor League Signing (1958)
Drafted: 8th Round, 124th Overall (1957)
Alma Mater: Bisbee Pumas

A guy who bounced a round a ton before he got to Chicago, Charlie Christian was involved in the first ever trade proposal I made, as he was one of our only ranked pitching prospects and Bob Allen really wasn't that good of a pitcher. The Imperials weren't interested in Christian, eventually settling on Delos Smith, as he was preferred to Christian and Bob Decker. It's probably better for us we got to keep Christian, as he has a decent fastball/curve mix with solid overall stuff. A hard thrower, he sits in the mid-to-high 90s, which makes me really want his splitter to develop into a third plus pitch. The command and movement need their work, but he's just 23 and has plenty of time to refine his approach. He struggled this season in his 23 starts in Rockford, but the 6 in Rockford were actually great. He was 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA (179 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts. He should be back there to start next season, and with a little luck he could earn a 40-man spot in the offseason.

1B Jack Drake (485th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with St. Louis (1958)
Drafted: 3rd Round, 36th Overall (1956)
Alma Mater: Northbridge Islanders

If Christian earns a 40-man spot it could be at the expense of Jack Drake, who I don't think has much more of a shelf life. The 24-year-old has made two appearances in each of the past two seasons, and come September he'll have a third chance for his first FABL hit. 0-for-5 so far, he's got one option left, and I fully expect that to be used this season. Acquired in a trade with the Pioneers (no, not for Jerry Smith), Drake's bat just hasn't developed, as despite his doubles power he just isn't effective. He strikes out too much and doesn't put the ball in play enough, limiting his overall value. If he had some slug, it could make up for that, but Drake has Tom Halliday power. At least he's fast, but the failed third basemen isn't good enough of a defender to make it worth it.

RHP George Chism (499th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with St. Louis (1956)
Drafted: 4th Round, 49th Overall (1954)
Alma Mater: Kingston Tigers

Since we lost Mario Saucedo in the Rule-5 Draft, I can just finish here with George Chism, who was actually part of the ill-fated Jerry Smith trade. If that was never made, we probably win the Conti with Smith, and we'd have a chance to beat the Dynamos in the World Championship series.

Instead, we have Chism and Milt Payne, and I guess Chief Brady, who the AI cut and I brought back without realizing it. As absurd as it is, a Whitney winner and 10-Time All-Star when he was 28 brought back what has only amounted to 20 PAs as a backup catcher of Milt Payne. Joe Barwick retired and Luke Bush is sitting in free agency, and it's truly appalling we traded our best player since John Dibblee for less then peanuts. Less then table scraps. Just a gift of the guy who hit .278/.373/.519 (149 OPS+) with 168 homers, 509 RBIs, and 30.8 WAR in 780 games. The guy I expected to lead us for his entire career, he was tossed away in his prime, and few players have had a good season as he did in 1959.

Ah sorry, enough about Smith... Chism is the one we employ, and the 26-year-old could be a Cougar. Maybe? Like he isn't a terrible pitcher and he keeps the ball on the ground, so he could give some innings out of the pen. He's a starter now, but he doesn't have much stamina. Most of his time with Little Rock came out of the rotation, starting 21 of 27 games, and the 3.99 ERA (110 ERA+) and 3.82 FIP (87 FIP-) were pretty nice. He held a 1.30 WHIP in 155.2 innings pitched, walking 49 with 104 strikeouts. A bit of a know it all, his teammates don't love him, but he's not doing anything wrong, and he does help bestow his knowledge on those around him. Wherever he ends up, I'll let the manager do what he wants with him, and he's got a chance to earn a cup of coffee like Phil Means did by sticking around and pitching well.

02-09-2025, 06:18 PM	#1593
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Top Prospects: 21-25 RHP John Roberts (433rd Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 58th Overall (1959) Alma Mater: Findlay Trojans This part of our list has the pitchers, as four of the five guys here call the mound home. If he had better stuff, John Roberts could be a decent back-end starter. Instead, he's got a middling four pitch mix, led by a sinker that sits in the 89-91 range. It generates a lot of his groundouts, but the whiffs are not there. In 158.1 innings, he had just 77 strikeouts, going 8-9 with a 3.07 ERA (106 ERA+) and 1.33 WHIP. On the plus side, he does a great job keeping the ball in the park, which could be useful as an innings eater out of the pen. His control is decent, and the one thing that gives him a chance to hang around long enough to improve the stuff. A thin system works in his favor, as the former 4th Rounder is still one of our more exciting pitchers. He's got the good base of talents, but without the polish, filler is what he's best suited for. RHP George Spencer (436th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 5th Round, 74th Overall (1961) Alma Mater: West Muskingum Tornadoes Our 5th Round selection last season, 19-year-old George Spencer is a useful arm despite some of the struggles he had this year. Working in La Crosse, he was 4-3 in 12 appearances (9 starts), maintaining a 6.96 ERA (76 ERA+) and 2.12 WHIP with a lot more walks (52) then strikeouts (38). An extremely raw prospect, Spencer has excellent stuff, with a plus-plus curve and change. The hard stuff gets hit hard, as his fastball and sinker end up over the seats when they shouldn't, and he leaves a lot of pitches over the plate. He misses the zone a lot too, but with elite stamina and a burly 6'2'' frame, he can throw well over 100 pitches a night. The stuff is the key to success, and if walks weren't a thing he'd get FABL guys to strikeout. Right now I see him as a swingman or even a super stopper, but without any increase of control, he's not going to be a reliable starter. A 19.2 BB% isn't manageable, not much in the double digits is, but with the right efforts he can be a useful FABL pitcher. Which is more then I can say for the most of these guys! RHP Charlie Christian (462nd Overall) Acquired: Via Minor League Signing (1958) Drafted: 8th Round, 124th Overall (1957) Alma Mater: Bisbee Pumas A guy who bounced a round a ton before he got to Chicago, Charlie Christian was involved in the first ever trade proposal I made, as he was one of our only ranked pitching prospects and Bob Allen really wasn't that good of a pitcher. The Imperials weren't interested in Christian, eventually settling on Delos Smith, as he was preferred to Christian and Bob Decker. It's probably better for us we got to keep Christian, as he has a decent fastball/curve mix with solid overall stuff. A hard thrower, he sits in the mid-to-high 90s, which makes me really want his splitter to develop into a third plus pitch. The command and movement need their work, but he's just 23 and has plenty of time to refine his approach. He struggled this season in his 23 starts in Rockford, but the 6 in Rockford were actually great. He was 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA (179 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts. He should be back there to start next season, and with a little luck he could earn a 40-man spot in the offseason. 1B Jack Drake (485th Overall) Acquired: Via Trade with St. Louis (1958) Drafted: 3rd Round, 36th Overall (1956) Alma Mater: Northbridge Islanders If Christian earns a 40-man spot it could be at the expense of Jack Drake, who I don't think has much more of a shelf life. The 24-year-old has made two appearances in each of the past two seasons, and come September he'll have a third chance for his first FABL hit. 0-for-5 so far, he's got one option left, and I fully expect that to be used this season. Acquired in a trade with the Pioneers (no, not for Jerry Smith), Drake's bat just hasn't developed, as despite his doubles power he just isn't effective. He strikes out too much and doesn't put the ball in play enough, limiting his overall value. If he had some slug, it could make up for that, but Drake has Tom Halliday power. At least he's fast, but the failed third basemen isn't good enough of a defender to make it worth it. RHP George Chism (499th Overall) Acquired: Via Trade with St. Louis (1956) Drafted: 4th Round, 49th Overall (1954) Alma Mater: Kingston Tigers Since we lost Mario Saucedo in the Rule-5 Draft, I can just finish here with George Chism, who was actually part of the ill-fated Jerry Smith trade. If that was never made, we probably win the Conti with Smith, and we'd have a chance to beat the Dynamos in the World Championship series. Instead, we have Chism and Milt Payne, and I guess Chief Brady, who the AI cut and I brought back without realizing it. As absurd as it is, a Whitney winner and 10-Time All-Star when he was 28 brought back what has only amounted to 20 PAs as a backup catcher of Milt Payne. Joe Barwick retired and Luke Bush is sitting in free agency, and it's truly appalling we traded our best player since John Dibblee for less then peanuts. Less then table scraps. Just a gift of the guy who hit .278/.373/.519 (149 OPS+) with 168 homers, 509 RBIs, and 30.8 WAR in 780 games. The guy I expected to lead us for his entire career, he was tossed away in his prime, and few players have had a good season as he did in 1959. Ah sorry, enough about Smith... Chism is the one we employ, and the 26-year-old could be a Cougar. Maybe? Like he isn't a terrible pitcher and he keeps the ball on the ground, so he could give some innings out of the pen. He's a starter now, but he doesn't have much stamina. Most of his time with Little Rock came out of the rotation, starting 21 of 27 games, and the 3.99 ERA (110 ERA+) and 3.82 FIP (87 FIP-) were pretty nice. He held a 1.30 WHIP in 155.2 innings pitched, walking 49 with 104 strikeouts. A bit of a know it all, his teammates don't love him, but he's not doing anything wrong, and he does help bestow his knowledge on those around him. Wherever he ends up, I'll let the manager do what he wants with him, and he's got a chance to earn a cup of coffee like Phil Means did by sticking around and pitching well.