1901 INTERNATIONAL ROOKIE LEAGUE SEASON PREVIEW
(Report Date - 4/20/01)
LEAGUE PREVIEW
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1900 STANDINGS
Washington League East Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Ogden Raptors 52 48 .520 - 58-42 - Champs
Idaho Falls Chukers 51 49 .510 1.0 43-57
Missoula Osprey 50 50 .500 2.0 52-48
Billings Mustangs 45 55 .450 7.0 42-58
Orem Owlz 40 60 .400 12.0 42-58
Team To Watch: Missoula Osprey
- Missoula is the minor league team of the Chicago White Sox, who had a very good and deep rookie draft, thus giving the Osprey the nod as the team to watch in the WL East. Their top players are all on the offensive side of the ball, including a pair of corner OFs with MLB talent. RF Louis Gagnon had a so-so year last year, hitting .250 with 10 hr in 76 games and LF Fred Crolius was selected by Baltimore in the 9th rd of the draft but waived and claimed by Chicago. After a good improvement in the off-season, he is the team's leadoff hitter with 15/20 speed and a potential of 12/20 contact. Missoula only finished 2 games off the pace of Champions Ogden and have made enough improvement to overtake them in 1901.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Barney McFadden (BIL)
- McFadden was a 6th rd pick of Baltimore in the 1900 draft and he will start the season as the opening day starter for Billings. The 24yo projects to a solid MLB pitcher, who has potential ratings of 4/20/12, a very dominant movement & control pitcher. His endurance is only 11/20, something that will need to improve to be a ML starter, but a season in the IRL should help improve that, as well as his stuff.
Hitter To Watch: C Ed Hallworth (OREM)
- The 27yo Hallworth is a 4th rd draft pick of the Cubs and will be batting cleanup for the Owlz in his first season. At 27, he is not your ordinary rookie, and his ratings portray that as he has already reached his full potential. He should dominate in the IRL however with a 12/20 in contact and 8/20 in power, one of the best combos of all the hitters in the league. He is also a very good defensive catcher. The Cubs are deep at the C position, so he might be good trade bait for them later in the year.
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1900 STANDINGS
Washington League Central Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Boise Hawks 59 41 .590 - 58-42
Jupiter Hammerheads 48 52 .480 11.0 46-54
Tri City Valley Cats 45 55 .450 14.0 44-56
Eugene Emeralds 40 60 .400 19.0 41-59
Yakima Bears 40 60 .400 19.0 46-54
Team To Watch: Boise Hawks
- Tough to pick against a team that won it's division by 11 games last year. Parent organization Boston Red Sox had a solid draft, however most of their selections are in the majors. Even so, the Hawks are a talented team even after losing reigning WL MVP Armando Capois, who is up with the MLB team. Their biggest strength is a strong starting rotation led by 12 game winner from last year Jesus Iqute & 8-2 with a 1.97 era Harry Harpham.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Harry Harpham (BOI)
- Last year with Boise, then 19yo Harpham went 8-2 with a 1.97 era in 12 gs for Boise. Now at 20yo, and after a solid off-season, Harry is one of Boston's better pitching prospects. With potential ratings of 7/8/8, he never figures to be a star, but he could be a very solid back of the rotation SP. He still has alot of room to improve, but if you project his 12 game injury short season to 30 starts, he would have been a candidate for the WL Cy Young last year.
Hitter To Watch: 2b Erve "Dutch" Beck (TRI)
- Beck was a 5th rd selection in the 1900 draft of the Cleveland Indians, and many thought he would be their opening day starting 2b. But Beck struggled in the spring and was sent down to the minors, for what should only be a short stay. He is your prototypical #2 hitter/defensive 2b. His potential ratings show the story, 14/20 contact, 18/20 avoid K, 20/20 sac bunt, 11/20 speed and 14/20 defense. He should be up with the Indians soon and will be a nice role player type starting 2b that every winning team needs.
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1900 STANDINGS
Washington League Western Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Vancouver Canadians 60 40 .600 - 55-45
Everett Aquasox 58 42 .580 2.0 58-42
Aberdeen Ironbirds 56 44 .560 4.0 57-43
Brooklyn Cyclones 56 44 .560 4.0 59-41
Team To Watch: Vancouver Canadians
- The reigning WL West champs are the favorites to repeat as the pennant winners. Colorado's minor league affiliate has one of the most powerful teams in all of the IRL. LF Derek McNally, 3b Jens Nussbaum, C Nobuharu Kurihara all have above avg power and top prospect RF Leonardo Gargiola projects to a 30 hr guy in the MLB with a 14/20 potential HR power. On the mound, while their starters are nothing to write home about, they sport a very deep and talented bullpen with quite a few MLB quality RPs.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Vito Ceara (EVE)
- The reigning IRL ERA leader was released by the Yankees in the off-season and signed on with the Reds who assigned him to their minor league team, Everett. He made 19 starts for Aberdeen last year, and while only going 11-5, he was dominant with a 1.52 era and 0.92 whip. Pitching in the same division should only help Vito as he is familar with the hitters, and at 25yo, he has maxed his potential with ratings of 7/8/10.
Hitter To Watch: CF Almandeto Garcia (ABE)
- The top prospect on the Yankees rookie team struggled a bit last year going .259 with 10 hr, 48 rbi, 57 runs and 19 sb. But the 22 yo prospect projects to a solid starting MLB outfielder with projected ratings of 14/20 contact, 12/20 power, 13/20 eye, 15/20 speed and 12/20 defense. A 5 tool caliber prospect, Garcia should produce better numbers this year for Aberdeen unless the Yankees decide to call him up sometime this season.
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1900 STANDINGS
Lincoln League Eastern Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Auburn Doubledays 57 43 .570 - 57-43
Batavia Muck Dogs 56 44 .560 1.0 56-44
Hudson Valley Renegades 49 51 .490 8.0 54-46
State College Spikes 42 58 .420 15.0 40-60
Williamsport Crosscutters 40 60 .400 17.0 38-62
Team To Watch: Batavia Muck Dogs
- The Lincoln League champions are the pick in the LL East this year. Parent team Tampa Bay had a great rookie draft, and thus Batavia has 3 MLB All-Star caliber players on it's roster this year. SP's George Winter (#4 overall pick) and Tommy Henshall both have 15-20 game MLB winner talents and both are sure-fire bets to be in the D-Rays rotation next year. C Fred Jacklitsh (4th rd pick) projects to a solid everyday MLB catcher and is the best hitter on Batavia. All in all, if these 3 remain in the minors all year, their star power should propel the Muck Dogs to a division title.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Happy Townsend (WIL)
- The round 5 selection of Townsend by Houston turned out to be a steal as SISA lists him as the #1 pitching prospect in the IRL. Some might argue that, but his potential ratings (7/20/12) are very solid and considering he has maxed out his potential, it is a shocker that Houston couldn't find a spot for him in their MLB rotation. The 22yo should dominate the IRL, but his stay here might be very short lived.
Hitter To Watch: 1b Shunso Sotokoba (SC)
- Sotokoba is not your typical rookie ball player. He played in 131 games last year for Seibu in the Japan Int League hitting .251 with 19 hr & 62 rbi. He was traded to the Mets in the off-season for high touted prospect Noe Hoyas. He made the Mets out of spring training, but struggled early hitting only .122 in 41 ab and was sent down to State College. He is now penciled in as their cleanup hitter and has very respectable ratings of 8/20 contact and 13/20 power. He can't be happy playing in the minors though and rumor is he might head back to Japan in the off-season.
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1900 STANDINGS
Lincoln League Central Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Hickory Crawdads 58 42 .580 - 54-46
Delmarva Shorebirds 55 45 .550 3.0 56-44
Hagerstown Suns 55 45 .550 3.0 59-41
Lowell Spinners 47 53 .470 11.0 49-51
Vermont Lake Monsters 47 53 .470 11.0 46-54
Mahoning Valley Scappers 45 55 .450 13.0 44-56
Team To Watch: Delmarva Shorebirds
- The Brewers minor league team finished only 3 games out last year and with Milwaukee's strong draft, should get over the hump this year. With a very deep and talented bullpen led by closer Rodrigro Rivera anchoring the pitching and a lineup featuring some solid hitters and 6 20+ sb threats, they are a defense/small ball type team that should win alot of close low scoring games.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Jack Harper (HIC)
- With reigning LL Cy Young Bill Lane in the majors, Harper takes over as Hickory's ace and the favorite to win the Cy Young this year. The 23yo prospect was the 12th pick in the draft by Toronto and has stellar potential ratings of 6/20/12. He projects to a solid middle of the rotation SP and if Toronto doesn't call him up, he has a chance to follow Lane as the only 20-game winners in the IRL.
Hitter To Watch: CF Jose Sandoval (HAG)
- The 5th rd draft pick by the Dodgers was released after spring training and signed on with SD. As Hagerstown's leadoff hitter, Sandoval is simply a burner with 19/20 speed and 18/20 steal skills. His contact 10/20 and eye 10/20 both need alot of work, but if the 26yo Venezuelan can improve those skills just a little bit, with his speed, he projects to a decent MLB CF with his speed.
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1900 STANDINGS
Lincoln League Western Division
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Lakewood Blueclaws 53 47 .530 - 50-50
Asheville Tourists 52 48 .520 1.0 52-48
Lake County Captains 51 49 .510 2.0 50-50
Kannapolis Intimidators 49 51 .490 4.0 46-54
West Virginia Power 44 56 .440 9.0 46-54
Team To Watch: Kannapolis Intimidators
- The Twins minor league team is stacked with last year's draft picks, most of which are starting the season in the minors. 1st rd pick, 19th overall SP Gene McCann, 5th rd pick Jack Cronin & solid closer prospect Jay Vicars make up the heart of this team, their pitching staff. Their lineup doesn't feature any stars, but all 8 everyday players have contact ratings between 7-10, something that no other team can say.
Pitcher To Watch: SP Jack Cronin (KAN)
- While Gene McCann was the 1st rd pick, 5th rd pick Cronin is the better prospect. Although he is 26 yo, he still hasn't reached his full potential ratings of 4/19/17. He is also more ML ready than McCann and should be promoted sometime this season as he was thought to be the #5 starter for the Twins out of spring.
Hitter To Watch: CF Dave Robinson (LAK)
- The last pick in the 2nd rd of the draft, Robinson was dealt by the Angels to Pittsburgh for 1b Kitty Bransfeld. The 25 yo prospect will start off in the Pirates minor leagues with Lakewood. With potential ratings of 11/20 contact and 8/20 power, he doesn't look like a hot shot prospect, but when you add in his 19/20 defense at both LF & CF and 17/20 speed, he has the talent to be a platoon or part-time player in the majors.