The White Sox were drafting 11th in the amateur draft, and this draft class made last year's look strong. Six of the first seven picks were starting pitchers (Joe Corbett, Bob Veale, Jack Pfiester, and Danny Jackson were the top four).
There wasn't anybody that jumped out at me and we couldn’t get any help at the positions we needed in the first round. 4 of the 5 top players were relievers, so by default we took SP Carlos Silva. Let's just say I'm not too excited about this pick, but I truly believe he's the "best available."
Reliever Lou Fiene was picked in the second round, catcher Art Rico was picked in the third round, and relievers Brad Thompson and Walter Ockey rounded out the draft.
This was a tough draft, and looking at their current ratings and potential ratings only Carlos Silva has any potential out of all five of the guys. Some drafts you get a few guys who could help out, but with this group I don't think anyone will help next year. I'm not going to break the bank for anyone though, I'll offer slot and if they accept great, but if not the White Sox will get an extra pick next year.
We'll have to look for other ways to get better this offseason.
The Cubs lost the World Series this year to the Washington Senators in six games. Most of the core is still there. Cap Anson led the team in batting average, while Ron Cey led the team in home runs and RBI, while picking up his 2000th hit. Ewell Blackwell and Fernando still are a great one-two in the rotation, and in fact Fernando won the Cy Young after going 23-11 with a 2.46 ERA while Blackwell won his 200th game. The Cubs fell apart the year after I left with injuries, but have been to the World Series three straight years since, winning one.
The Tigers haven't been back to the Series, after a couple of injury plagued years. Last year CC went down, this year it was Lawrie and Drott. Sabathia rebounded nicely this year though going 23-14 with a 2.61 ERA to win the Cy Young in the AL. Bill Hobbs picked up his 2000th hit for the Tigers this year.
With two of my former pitchers winning the Cy, another of my former pitchers was elected to the Hall. Eddie Cicotte who pitched for me for the Pirates was honored:
While Carlos Delgado won the NL Rookie of the Year (.269, 32 HR, 106 RBI), our own Carlos May won the AL Rookie of the Year (.328, 16 HR, 88 RBI).
The Sox also had the Hitter of the Year in Garry Maddox (.319, 14 HR, 93 RBI). Definitely a nice rebound after an injury plagued rookie season.
Shortstop Jerry Standaert won a Gold Glove, the only White Sox player honored.
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Finally I made a decision to go back to a reserve roster and do away with the minors. Since players drafted are usually close to ready with the random draft I don't think it's going to harm too much with a reserve roster. I don't really use minor league stats to guide my decisions and I'm getting tired of constantly hiring minor league coaches. That maybe a bad reason, but I don't think it'll change much and if I reach the point of a fictional draft I'll reevaluate the minors.