1931 National League Rookies
Buzz Arlett, RF, Age 24, Phillies
Some said if Arlett could have begun his MLB career at a younger age, he could have been the Babe Ruth of the National League. Well, he will get his shot in MLHR since no rookie joins the league older than his age 25 season. Arlett may not be Babe Ruth, but he will deepen a Phillies lineup that is suddenly one of the best in the NL. He even plays very good defense in right field. The only issue Arlett's presence creates is determining who loses their starting job.
Chuck Klein (.300, 39 HR, 96 RBI) will move to left field and
Don Hurst (.269, 23 HR, 80 RBI) will likely keep his job at first base. That will mean that 32-year-old
Freddy Leach (.249, 20 HR, 64 RBI) will be backing up all three players.
Ripper Collins, 1B, Age 24, Cardinals
Collins is a power-hitting first baseman who can also play the corner outfield spots. The problem with Collins is that he plays poor defense at all three spots. Plus, the Cardinals are already flush with talent at those spots. They will be very challenged with getting Collins' bat into the lineup regularly. After all, they have former BOY and 3-time Gold Glover
Jim Bottomley (.269, 39 HR, 96 RBI) at first base, 2-time BOY and 2-time Gold Glover
Chick Hafey (.334, 50 HR, 107 RBI) in left field and a glut of three talented players in right field.
Paul Derringer, SP, Age 24, Cardinals
Last season when the Cardinals added
Dizzy Dean (18-10, 2.87 ERA), their third Rookie of the Year pitcher in four seasons, to the pitching rotation, I wrote about how incredible this pitching staff could be. While the Cardinals pitching was impressive, their defense and bullpen were awful last year and they fell short of a third straight pennant. Plus, 5th starter
Flint Rhem (9-17, 5.74 ERA), a normally reliable starter, had his worst season partly due to that lousy defense which allowed his personal BABIP (batting average on balls in play) to rise from .303 in 1928 to a whopping .330 in 1929. Well, Rhem is now moving to the bullpen because the Cardinals have added yet another great starting pitcher in Paul Derringer. A feisty and tempermental pitcher, Derringer was also known for his focus and pin-point control on the mound. He gives the Cardinals the best rotation in MLHR. Now, if the team can just play defense to support these guys, they could run away with the pennant.
Ernie Lombardi, C, Age 22, Dodgers
The Dodgers are continuing to build a solid roster, and this year they have added perhaps the best offensive catcher in the NL. Lombardi is also solid defensively, even though he is regarded as one of the slowest players to ever play in MLB - routinely being thrown our at first base from the outfield. That is the main reason his gap power is so low. However, he will hit for a high average and pound 25+ home runs each season. He is expected to bat clean-up for L.A.
Van Mungo, SP, Age 19, Dodgers
The addition of Lombardi and now pitcher Van Mungo may be enough to finally give L.A. their first winning season since 1917. Mungo was one of my father's favorite players, partly because of the ring to his full name - Van Lingle Mungo - his MLB record back-to-back no-hitters and the catchy song written about his exploits. Make no mistake, Mungo is a great pitcher. He will be among the league leaders in strikeouts and he will allow very few home runs. He will be around league average in terms of walks allowed, but his K/BB ratio should still be very good. Plus, he is just 19 so he should challenge teammate
Bobo Newsom and Cardinals phenom
Dizzy Dean for the title of best NL pitcher for years to come.
Hal Schumacher, SP, Age 20, Giants
The one reason that San Francisco will have difficulty defending their World Series title is the sudden weakness of their starting rotation. Last season, they won the pennant despite removing two starters -
Freddie Fitzsimmons (11-9, 4.90 ERA) and
Waite Hoyt (11-5, 4.88 ERA) - from the rotation mid-season. Both pitchers will likely begin the 1931 season in the bullpen for the first times in their careers.
Bill Walker (8-6, 2.41 ERA), a former starter who took over one of the vacated starting spots last summer, pitched well but will return to the pen as a setup man. To fill the void in the rotation this season, the Giants are turning to two rookies in Schumacher and
Jim Faulkner (5-8-6 ratings). Schumacher is the real prize and he could develop into a reliable, middle-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. The success of this experiment will likely determine how the Giants' season goes.
Allyn Stout, RP, Age 24, Cardinals
I mentioned earlier how poorly the Cardinals bullpen performed last season. That is why the emergence of Stout could be key to their success this season. Former starter Flint Rhem moves to the bullpen in a setup role this year, and Stout should be their primary middle reliever.
Bucky Walters, SP, Age 21, Braves
I had a very difficult decision in determining which team Walters would play for. He began his MLB career as a position player for the Braves and then the Red Sox. After four seasons, he moved to the Phillies where he began to pitch. He turned out to have a very successful pitching career, pitching in 428 games. Because he began his pitching career for the Phillies, part of me wanted to see him pitch there. However, after much deliberation, I decided to add him to the Braves roster since the spirit of MLHR is for players to spend their career with the team they played their first MLB game with. That being said, Walters gives Atlanta a very good pitching rotation. The team finished with the 2nd fewest runs allowed last year, primarily thanks to a first ranked bullpen. Walters presence will only make the pitching staff better. Now, Atlanta needs to add more offense to support these guys with some victories.
