[FuzzyRussianHat]

Because of the inaugural draft and players needing to build up service time, there really weren’t any free agents of note for the 1884-85 offseason. The way to build up talent was going to be the first amateur draft or by trades. There was only eight rounds worth of players in this group with Milwaukee holding the #1 pick.

The Brewers took 3B Denny Lyons, who is expected to contribute immediately as an all-around batter. The Boston Braves took RF Mike Tierman second, followed by SS Oyster Burns to New Orleans, SP Toad Ramsey to Minnesota, and CF Jimmy Ryan to Louisville. Below are the top 50 picks from the draft and their ratings: The only top pick to not sign was #9 choice Matt Kilroy by the Phillies, who opted to instead attend college. He will be eligible again in 1887.



Below are the top-rated batters in baseball entering 1885. A few veterans signed longer-term deals in the offseason, the biggest being New Orleans’ RF Orator Shafer at $32,120 over five years. By arbitration, Athletics RF Paul Hines has the largest salary for 1885 at $14,255.



Below are the top-rated pitchers in baseball. The Athletics also have the highest-paid arm for 1885 with Jim Whitney at $10,166. Buffalo gave Tommy Bond a five-year, $35,460 deal which is the largest overall contact.



*Also a programming note, the schedule for 1885 ended up not being the correct one that I had inputted in. For whatever reason, the game ignored my custom one and instead generated a random one that doesn’t seem to make any distinction between divisions. I didn’t realize it until after I had already moved forward and saved into the season. I’ll make sure to double-check that moving forward.