1912 National League Rookies
Wilbur Cooper, SP, Age 19, Pirates
Cooper is talented and exhibits control over three solid pitches. However, the Pirates pitching staff is very deep and Cooper is just 19, so he may have difficulty making the team. If he does, he will likely begin in the bullpen, at least until aging veterans
Rube Waddell (5-13, 4.56 ERA) and
Jack Pfiester (14-12, 3.93 ERA) give up their spots.
Dixie Davis, SP, Age 21, Reds
Davis will be a fine addition to an already solid Reds pitching rotation. He has superb control of his pitches and should be key to helping the Reds capture another pennant. He should begin his career near the top of the rotation and may one day be its ace.
Heinie Groh, 3B, Age 22, Giants
Groh is a fine hitter who will take over at third base for the Giants in place of
Art Devlin (.249, 51 R, 17 SB in 417 AB). He plays good defense too, which is great news for San Francisco as they continue to improve in that facet of the game in hopes that their talented pitching staff may some day reach their potential.
Rabbit Maranville, SS, Age 20, Braves
Maranville is a MLB Hall of Famer known for his defense, but he will find it difficult to win a starting job in the MLHR due to his lack of offense. He will begin his career backing up sophomore
Scotty Ingerton (.215, 24 HR, 64 RBI) who has a powerful bat and also plays superb defense. With second baseman
Charlie Hickman (.280, 38 HR, 105 RBI) now age 35, Maranville's future may be to replace him.
Eppa Rixey, SP, Age 20, Phillies
This MLB Hall of Famer, once the winningest lefty in MLB history, will make a great addition to the Phillies rotation. This rotation will now be one of the most formidable in the National League. Unfortunately, the Phillies have a lot of holes offensively so they probably will not have enough to compete for the pennant.
Dave Robertson, RF, Age 22, Giants
Robertson is a slugger, pure and simple. He joins a team already on the verge of being the top offensive team in the league. However, the Giants already have the powerful duo of
Steve Evans (.285, 26 HR, 66 RBI) and
George Burns (.238, 14 HR, 71 RBI, 28 SB) in the corner outfield sports. That means Robertson will begin his career in a part-time role and will have to hit his way into the starting lineup.
Tom Seaton, SP, Age 24, Phillies
Seaton gives the Phillies yet another talented pitcher. Perhaps with the addition of Seaton and Rixey, the Phillies will have enough talent to join the pennant race. However, last season they finished last for the first time in 31 years and they had the lowest scoring offense in the NL.
Ernie Shore, SP, Age 20, Giants
The Giants added three pitchers this season with Shore, Jeff Tesreau (below) and
Al Demaree. Their presence should significantly upgrade the team's pitching staff, particularly the bullpen. That is where Shore will begin - at the back end of the pen. He will be looking to earn a spot in the rotation in the near future, but that will be a tall order since four of San Francisco's starting five are aged 25 or younger.
Casey Stengel, RF, Age 21, Dodgers
Stengel, elected to the MLB Hall of Fame as a manager, was also a fine batter in his day. He will get a shot to play regularly in right field for Los Angeles. The Dodgers are actually assembling a fine offense, but they are weak in the pitching department. That will probably keep them near the bottom of the standings, but Stengel will be batting cleanup and should make them a little more formidable.
Jeff Tesreau, SP, Age 23, Giants
The hard-throwing Tesreau was the prize of the offseason for San Francisco, a team that has four players on this list. He joins fellow stud pitchers
Christy Mathewson (14-14, 4.37 ERA),
Rube Marquard (14-11, 4.09 ERA) and
Dick Rudolph (10-11, 3.99 ERA) in an exciting rotation. Now, if they can just pitch like we know they are capable of doing, they will be tough to beat.
Cy Williams, CF, Age 24, Cubs
This is just amazing! The Cubs already had two of the top three power hitters in the NL on their roster in
Fred Luderus (.292, 46 HR, 114 RBI) and
Vic Saier (.249, 31 HR, 75 RBI in just 301 AB). Now they add Williams, who rivals Boston Red Sox super-slugger and single-season home run record holder
Gavvy Cravath in pure power. The biggest difference between Williams and Cravath is that Cravath will have a slightly better OBP but Williams plays far superior defense and strikes out less. The Cubs were already the top scoring team in the MLHR last season, and now they have a slugger like Saier batting 6th behind
Heinie Zimmerman (.290, 25 HR, 91 RBI)!
