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woodfeld · 04-19-2007, 12:19 AM

1942 Season Preview
Michigan League
North Division

Iron Mountain Miners
Predicted finish in division – 2^nd
Minor League system ranking – 11^th (out of 16)
The Miners bring back the reigning ML MOB this year for a change. 2B John Watson looks to replicate the kind of season he had last year, but with an added caveat. “I want to win the Cup so bad. We have what it takes on this team to get to that point, we just have to go out and execute,” he said in spring training. They get a healthy CF Cullan McHugo back, after he played in only 57 games last year and that will give this team a boost as he should provide a spark both defensively and at the top of this powerful lineup. The biggest question for this lineup is if this will be the year RF Nathan Willman busts out and hits the 35-40 home runs he’s capable of. Meanwhile, the pitching staff looks to be good, but not great. RHP Carlton Wunderlich could be a MOP finalist, while RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez and RHP Edgar Guzman provide solid support. The bullpen is a different story, as this is the Miners one major weakness. They will need to address this weakness if they have hopes of winning it all, adding a strong left-handed pitcher would be a huge addition to his team, as they don’t have any decent lefties.
Best Hitter – 2B John Watson (15 Contact, 8 Gap, 14 Power, 17 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Carlton Wunderlich (12 Stuff, 14 Movement, 12 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA 3B Clement Magennis, 21 Years Old. Potential – (7 Contact, 13 Gap, 13 Power, 9 Eye, 5 Avoiding K’s) This powerful Michigan native has had two very impressive minor league seasons split between AA and AAA. Most scouts agree that he’ll be able to provide a powerful bat in an MOBL lineup, but will he be able to make contact enough and get on base enough to warrant a spot?
Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – RHP Soham van Tessel – The righthander has seen nothing but AAA batters and hasn’t quite progressed like the Miners have hoped. He has been switched to middle relief to try and crack the lineup, which is entirely possible with how shaky the Miner bullpen is.

Mackinac Trolleys
Predicted finish in division – 1^st
Minor League system ranking – 2^nd (out of 16)
The third time is the charm right? For the third consecutive year, the Trolleys look like the top team in the ML North on paper, but will they finally be able to put it all together and be the contender many see them as. There doesn’t appear to be an easy out in the entire lineup as they have guys that can get on base consistently (SS Mike ‘Patches’ Helmick, LF Donovan Beller) and guys that can knock them in (CF Jon Koepke, newly acquired RF Vasco Ayala). They added Ayala, a powerful young left hander, in a deal from Zanesville that sent last year’s starting catcher, Kris Edmonston, to the Engineers. They like Ayala an awful lot, but this deal was to give C Boswell Seppings a chance to play everyday. ‘Bozzie’, as he is known to Mackinac fans, is considered the top prospect in the entire MOBL. The pitching staff has some big plusses and some very big minuses. RHP Timothy Hart is an absolute stud and should dominate in the MOBL for another 7-8 years at least. He had a dominant year last year and should be even better this year. They have some question marks though from other guys in the staff, but the bullpen looks pretty good. “I truly believe we are entering this season with the best team we’ve had in the three years I’ve been here,” Donovan Beller said before Opening Day.
Best Hitter – CF Jon Koepke (16 Contact, 17 Gap, 14 Power, 12 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Timothy Hart (15 Stuff, 12 Movement, 18 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RHP David Massiter, 20 Years Old. Potential – (7 Stuff, 8 Movement, 19 Control) Massiter, the Trolleys 1^st round pick in 1940, has progressed rather nicely and looked absolutely fantastic in his brief appearance in AAA Cheboygan last year. He will, clearly, never be a guy that will overpower you, but will look to nibble on the corners and pitch consistently.
Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – RF Tyrone Porch – Porch was dealt to Zanesville during the 1940 season to give him a chance to play everyday, which he was able to do the rest of that season for the Engineers. The problem was that Zanesville had RF Tim Williams pegged for that spot for the 1941 season and Porch spent all of the 1941 season in AAA Newark, where he starts this year. He has nothing more to gain in the minors and should be on a MOBL roster somewhere.

Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers
Predicted finish in division – 3^rd
Minor League system ranking – 8^th (out of 16)
The defending ML North champs will field another good team, but will it be good enough to repeat? Their offense is lead by the amazing duo of MOB-candidates LF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Wareham and CF Jesus Ortiz. “I don’t think there is a more feared twosome in the game right now,” a ML North scout said. They are helped by the gold glove defense of RF Isaiah Stroud (who can also swing the bat well) and C Ken Clark, who is the heart and soul of this team. One knock on the lineup though is that is heavy with left handers. The arrival of young, talented, switch hitting 2B Jack Eaddy should help them out. The pitching staff is in shambles though. There is no clear #1 starter here and there are a lot of questionable guys in the bottom half of the rotation. “The starters are going to give up some runs, no doubt; but that bullpen is fantastic and should shut teams down if they have a lead,” the scout said. RHP Seth ‘Hack’ Gabriel could be the best closer in the league, based on talent alone, and the acquisition of middle relief ace RHP Luis ‘Cowboy’ Chavez from Toledo help make this a formidable pen indeed.
Best Hitter – LF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Wareham(17 Contact, 17 Gap, 18 Power, 14 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Seth ‘Hack’ Gabriel (16 Stuff, 12 Movement, 18 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – Short Season SS Todd Walker, 18 Years Old. Potential – (15 Contact, 12 Gap, 9 Power, 19 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s) Walker looks to be a potential top of the order hitter here and the White Lakers will be sure to bring this young stud along slowly. He’s kind of an aloof player, but always plays hard and can play the shortstop position very well for someone his age. Look for Walker to be in a Lakers’ uniform in a couple years.
Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – LHP Sivan ‘Gunner’ O’Shea – O’Shea currently sits as the #3 starter in the rotation, although he looks like he still has some developing to do to hit his full (and high) potential. The White Lakers hope his experience from starting 20 games in the past two seasons for them will help him assimilate himself as their #3 guy quicker.

Traverse City Cherries
Predicted finish in division – 4^th
Minor League system ranking – 3^rd (out of 16)
I can most assuredly say, for the third straight year, the Cherries will finish in dead last in the ML North. But, this will be the most competitive team they’ve fielded yet and could surprise some with a halfway decent record this year. They have some young offensive prospects that will be able to lift the spirits of Cherries fans in RF Bob Dingwall and RF Howard Cole. That’s right, they play the same position unfortunately. But don’t be surprised to see Dingwall (the most promising young player Traverse City has ever had) in CF at times this year. Cole was picked up in the offseason from Toledo, where he wasn’t going to see the light of day with RF Juan Satelo firmly entrenched there. “I’m just glad I finally have a chance to play every day in the MOBL,” Cole said during spring training. They both will be sure to absorb everything veterans CF Dave Batt and 1B Jhon Sarceda have to say. Meanwhile, the pitching should be better this year with the nice 1-2 punch of RHP Ronte O’Murphy and LHP Clark Josephson. Josephson has become a fan favorite since coming over the in the much debated deal from Akron. He was 8-5 with a 3.68 ERA after he came to Traverse City and the organization expects him to build on that this year.
Best Hitter – CF Dave Batt (16 Contact, 8 Gap, 17 Power, 8 Eye, 18 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – LHP Clark Josephson (12 Stuff, 8 Movement, 16 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – A LHP Pancho Vargas, 19 Years Old. Potential – (11 Stuff, 15 Movement, 11 Control) Vargas has developed quite nicely thus far since being picked 2^nd overall in the 1940 MOBL Draft. He dominated in what little action he saw in A Cadillac last year, but still spent the majority of his season in Short Season ball. The Cherries eagerly await their first ever draft pick to arrive and be a stable force in their rotation.
Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – 1B Miguel Bonola – Bonola still awaits his first taste of MOBL baseball as he has spent his entire career in the minors. He struggled a bit in 1940, but played very well in AAA last year and with the injury to Jhon Sarceda, Bonola could get the call-up to start the year. Still only 23 years old, Bonola projects to be a very solid, dependable player in the future.

04-19-2007, 12:19 AM	#67
woodfeld Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 198	1942 Season Preview Michigan League North Division Iron Mountain Miners Predicted finish in division – 2^nd Minor League system ranking – 11^th (out of 16) The Miners bring back the reigning ML MOB this year for a change. 2B John Watson looks to replicate the kind of season he had last year, but with an added caveat. “I want to win the Cup so bad. We have what it takes on this team to get to that point, we just have to go out and execute,” he said in spring training. They get a healthy CF Cullan McHugo back, after he played in only 57 games last year and that will give this team a boost as he should provide a spark both defensively and at the top of this powerful lineup. The biggest question for this lineup is if this will be the year RF Nathan Willman busts out and hits the 35-40 home runs he’s capable of. Meanwhile, the pitching staff looks to be good, but not great. RHP Carlton Wunderlich could be a MOP finalist, while RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez and RHP Edgar Guzman provide solid support. The bullpen is a different story, as this is the Miners one major weakness. They will need to address this weakness if they have hopes of winning it all, adding a strong left-handed pitcher would be a huge addition to his team, as they don’t have any decent lefties. Best Hitter – 2B John Watson (15 Contact, 8 Gap, 14 Power, 17 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Carlton Wunderlich (12 Stuff, 14 Movement, 12 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA 3B Clement Magennis, 21 Years Old. Potential – (7 Contact, 13 Gap, 13 Power, 9 Eye, 5 Avoiding K’s) This powerful Michigan native has had two very impressive minor league seasons split between AA and AAA. Most scouts agree that he’ll be able to provide a powerful bat in an MOBL lineup, but will he be able to make contact enough and get on base enough to warrant a spot? Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – RHP Soham van Tessel – The righthander has seen nothing but AAA batters and hasn’t quite progressed like the Miners have hoped. He has been switched to middle relief to try and crack the lineup, which is entirely possible with how shaky the Miner bullpen is. Mackinac Trolleys Predicted finish in division – 1^st Minor League system ranking – 2^nd (out of 16) The third time is the charm right? For the third consecutive year, the Trolleys look like the top team in the ML North on paper, but will they finally be able to put it all together and be the contender many see them as. There doesn’t appear to be an easy out in the entire lineup as they have guys that can get on base consistently (SS Mike ‘Patches’ Helmick, LF Donovan Beller) and guys that can knock them in (CF Jon Koepke, newly acquired RF Vasco Ayala). They added Ayala, a powerful young left hander, in a deal from Zanesville that sent last year’s starting catcher, Kris Edmonston, to the Engineers. They like Ayala an awful lot, but this deal was to give C Boswell Seppings a chance to play everyday. ‘Bozzie’, as he is known to Mackinac fans, is considered the top prospect in the entire MOBL. The pitching staff has some big plusses and some very big minuses. RHP Timothy Hart is an absolute stud and should dominate in the MOBL for another 7-8 years at least. He had a dominant year last year and should be even better this year. They have some question marks though from other guys in the staff, but the bullpen looks pretty good. “I truly believe we are entering this season with the best team we’ve had in the three years I’ve been here,” Donovan Beller said before Opening Day. Best Hitter – CF Jon Koepke (16 Contact, 17 Gap, 14 Power, 12 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Timothy Hart (15 Stuff, 12 Movement, 18 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RHP David Massiter, 20 Years Old. Potential – (7 Stuff, 8 Movement, 19 Control) Massiter, the Trolleys 1^st round pick in 1940, has progressed rather nicely and looked absolutely fantastic in his brief appearance in AAA Cheboygan last year. He will, clearly, never be a guy that will overpower you, but will look to nibble on the corners and pitch consistently. Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – RF Tyrone Porch – Porch was dealt to Zanesville during the 1940 season to give him a chance to play everyday, which he was able to do the rest of that season for the Engineers. The problem was that Zanesville had RF Tim Williams pegged for that spot for the 1941 season and Porch spent all of the 1941 season in AAA Newark, where he starts this year. He has nothing more to gain in the minors and should be on a MOBL roster somewhere. Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers Predicted finish in division – 3^rd Minor League system ranking – 8^th (out of 16) The defending ML North champs will field another good team, but will it be good enough to repeat? Their offense is lead by the amazing duo of MOB-candidates LF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Wareham and CF Jesus Ortiz. “I don’t think there is a more feared twosome in the game right now,” a ML North scout said. They are helped by the gold glove defense of RF Isaiah Stroud (who can also swing the bat well) and C Ken Clark, who is the heart and soul of this team. One knock on the lineup though is that is heavy with left handers. The arrival of young, talented, switch hitting 2B Jack Eaddy should help them out. The pitching staff is in shambles though. There is no clear #1 starter here and there are a lot of questionable guys in the bottom half of the rotation. “The starters are going to give up some runs, no doubt; but that bullpen is fantastic and should shut teams down if they have a lead,” the scout said. RHP Seth ‘Hack’ Gabriel could be the best closer in the league, based on talent alone, and the acquisition of middle relief ace RHP Luis ‘Cowboy’ Chavez from Toledo help make this a formidable pen indeed. Best Hitter – LF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Wareham(17 Contact, 17 Gap, 18 Power, 14 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Seth ‘Hack’ Gabriel (16 Stuff, 12 Movement, 18 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – Short Season SS Todd Walker, 18 Years Old. Potential – (15 Contact, 12 Gap, 9 Power, 19 Eye, 12 Avoiding K’s) Walker looks to be a potential top of the order hitter here and the White Lakers will be sure to bring this young stud along slowly. He’s kind of an aloof player, but always plays hard and can play the shortstop position very well for someone his age. Look for Walker to be in a Lakers’ uniform in a couple years. Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – LHP Sivan ‘Gunner’ O’Shea – O’Shea currently sits as the #3 starter in the rotation, although he looks like he still has some developing to do to hit his full (and high) potential. The White Lakers hope his experience from starting 20 games in the past two seasons for them will help him assimilate himself as their #3 guy quicker. Traverse City Cherries Predicted finish in division – 4^th Minor League system ranking – 3^rd (out of 16) I can most assuredly say, for the third straight year, the Cherries will finish in dead last in the ML North. But, this will be the most competitive team they’ve fielded yet and could surprise some with a halfway decent record this year. They have some young offensive prospects that will be able to lift the spirits of Cherries fans in RF Bob Dingwall and RF Howard Cole. That’s right, they play the same position unfortunately. But don’t be surprised to see Dingwall (the most promising young player Traverse City has ever had) in CF at times this year. Cole was picked up in the offseason from Toledo, where he wasn’t going to see the light of day with RF Juan Satelo firmly entrenched there. “I’m just glad I finally have a chance to play every day in the MOBL,” Cole said during spring training. They both will be sure to absorb everything veterans CF Dave Batt and 1B Jhon Sarceda have to say. Meanwhile, the pitching should be better this year with the nice 1-2 punch of RHP Ronte O’Murphy and LHP Clark Josephson. Josephson has become a fan favorite since coming over the in the much debated deal from Akron. He was 8-5 with a 3.68 ERA after he came to Traverse City and the organization expects him to build on that this year. Best Hitter – CF Dave Batt (16 Contact, 8 Gap, 17 Power, 8 Eye, 18 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Clark Josephson (12 Stuff, 8 Movement, 16 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – A LHP Pancho Vargas, 19 Years Old. Potential – (11 Stuff, 15 Movement, 11 Control) Vargas has developed quite nicely thus far since being picked 2^nd overall in the 1940 MOBL Draft. He dominated in what little action he saw in A Cadillac last year, but still spent the majority of his season in Short Season ball. The Cherries eagerly await their first ever draft pick to arrive and be a stable force in their rotation. Turn back the clock – 1940 Top Prospect Update – 1B Miguel Bonola – Bonola still awaits his first taste of MOBL baseball as he has spent his entire career in the minors. He struggled a bit in 1940, but played very well in AAA last year and with the injury to Jhon Sarceda, Bonola could get the call-up to start the year. Still only 23 years old, Bonola projects to be a very solid, dependable player in the future.