September 28, 1928
KINGS LOOK AHEAD TO 1929 - Part II
Last article we discussed the potential opening day 1929 lineup for the Kings. This time let's look at the state of the organization's pitching.
Major changes took place in the days leading up to the trade deadline as the Kings parted ways with 3 veteran starters in Mose Smith, Cal Williams and Del Plummer along with reliever Dick Dover as it was clear they would not have a chance to repeat as Continental Association champions. Instead the focus was turned to acquiring assets to allow the club to quickly retool. As mentioned in the previous report the state of the Kings position players looks very promising. There is plenty of good young talent that is major league ready. Unfortunately the pitching staff has a lot more questions marks.
The Kings are very high on pitcher George Johnson, who was aquired from the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for veteran Cal Williams at the deadline. Johnson is the Kings top pitching prospect and currently ranked #31 on the league top prospect lists. The organization sees the former 6th overall draft pick as a key piece of the rotation but unfortunately it will not be for a couple of more years. Johnson is still just 20 years old and struggled in a short stint at Class A Omaha to end the season.
The hope is Johnson eventually develops into a top of the rotation guy, which is something Brooklyn desperately lacks. The closest thing to that currently would be
Topsy Moran or
Harvey Rodgers. Each is in their 3rd season with Brooklyn since being acquired from Toronto as minor leaguers prior to the 1926 season. Moran is a 29 year old righthander who went 9-11 this season and is 23-25 for his career while the 27 year old Rodgers was 13-12 this year and is 37-25 in his career. The only certainty around the Brooklyn pitching staff for next season is both Rodgers and Moran will be in the rotation.
That leaves about a dozen pitchers competing for the final six spots on the staff. It is a wide gamut of players that range from young rookies to veteran's who were claimed off the waiver wire but regardless of their history they all know a job is wide open. Brooklyn auditioned most of those arms in the big leagues in September and all will be given another look in the spring. Here is the list of them and some notes on each.
MICKEY BEAVERS: 24 yr old righthander acquired in trade with Cleveland in July.
Beavers looked very good in his first two minor pro seasons since being selected in the 12th round of the 1925 draft by the New York Stars. He was traded to the Cleveland organization and struggled a bit in AAA this season but looked strong in 6 appearances for Houston (AAA) after being acquired from the Kings. He was promoted to the majors in September and given 6 starts as the Kings wanted to get a good look at him. Results were mixed as he had a few rough outings but also looked very good in a 2-1 complete game victory over Chicago for his first win and also in a season ending 3-1 loss to the Stars. The hope is he has a strong spring and will be in the Kings rotation in April.
JOE BLANSIT: 23 yr old righthander signed as minor league free agent in 1925.
Blansit was named the 49th best prospect in the league at the start of 1927 but has since dropped off that list. He struggled at AA a year ago but was moderately impressive with Houston this season, going 16-7 with a 4.03 era. He was called up in September and got 2 FABL starts, winning one of them, but getting hit pretty good in both. Barring a great spring he is likely ticketed for Houston again in April.
LEON CAMPBELL: 26 yr old lefthander acquired in a trade with the New York Gothams in 1924.
Campbell went 14-2 for Brooklyn as he took the city by storm in 1926 and followed that up with a 17-13 campaign and finished third in pitcher of the year voting in the pennant winning season a year ago. With the return of Del Plummer from injury and after a bad spring, Campbell was moved to the pen where he struggled. He was sent down to Houston in May and went 5-0 with the Bulls before coming back up to Brooklyn in August. He was given a couple of starts down the stretch and got beat up in both of them which did not help his standing with the Kings. He has a career record of 38-23 with Brooklyn and the Kings desperately hope he can regain the form he should last year.
ART CARLSON - 28 yr old lefthander selected by Kings in 5th round of 1921 draft.
Carlson has had a brief call up each of the past three seasons but struggled on each occasion. He had a really good year at AAA (12-5, 2.71) for the second straight season and one gets the sense he is a good AAA pitcher but no better than that. Allowing 15 hits and 11 earned runs while walking 7 in 7 2/3 September innings in Brooklyn has likely eliminated him from contention for a job in Brooklyn come April.
BILL DENGLER - 23 year old righthander selected by Kings in the 2nd round of the 1925 draft.
The Kings have always been very high on the Maryland State Bengal graduate and he had a very impressive big league debut in 1926 after just 12 minor league starts. Several teams over the years have inquired about acquiring Dengler but the Kings will not part with him. He looked pretty good out of the pen this year after being promoted from Houston so one has to assume he will land a roster spot in April. The Kings want it to be in their rotation but his performance at camp will decide that.
CLARENCE FLANDERS - 25 yr old righthander acquired in January 1927 trade with independent Portland.
Flanders caught the Kings attention when we went 17-9 for Portland of the Great West League in 1926. Brooklyn traded for him and after a 6-0 start at Houston he made his big league debut last summer. Results were mixed with Flanders going 2-3 with a 4.42 era. He was caught in the numbers game in the spring and ended up at AA Knoxville where he was less than impressive. The Kings did recall him in August after all the trades and were very impressed as he went 3-1 with a 1.08 era in 11 appearances. He was exceptional in 3 starts to end the season and based on that a rotation job is his to lose in the spring.
JACK GUNDERSON - 27 yr old lefthander signed as a minor league free agent in September 1925.
Gunderson's story is one of resilience. Drafted 3 times and released on each occasion. Played a 3 different colleges, cut 14 times by either FABL or independent teams before finally sticking with Brooklyn. He had 7 saves for Houston in 1926 and was rewarded with a few innings in the big leagues that season, saving both games he pitched in without allowing an earned run. He spent each of the past two seasons in Houston, notching 11 more saves, and was called up to Brooklyn each September. He looked very good this September and will enter camp in March with the closer's job his to lose.
BUZZ HAM - 25 yr old lefthander acquired in trade with Chicago Cougars in June 1928
Brooklyn dealt a decent prospect and an 8th round pick to the Cougars for the lefthander and they were rewarded as he was the Kings best pitcher down the stretch. Ham went 8-5 and led the FABL with a 2.57 era this season. He only started 12 games in Brooklyn this year but will be given a chance in spring to prove he is worthy of starting opening day.
ART HARVEY - 29 yr old righthander drafted by Brooklyn in the 3rd round in 1920
Harvey has spent the last four years in AAA and has an 80-82 career record but has never pitched a game in the big leagues. The Kings might give him a shot in spring training but it is clear that, much like Art Carlson, they think of Harvey as a AAA pitcher.
LEON THOMPSON - 28 yr old righthander acquired from Pittsburgh at 1927 trade deadline.
The much travelled Thompson has pitched for four teams in the FABL but only appeared in 72 career big league games including 45 with the Kings. A Brooklyn native, Thompson seems to have found a home in the Kings bullpen but even though he got some starts in September it is clear the Brooklyn brass thinks of him as a bullpen piece only.
HARRY SCHAB - 31 yr old righthander claimed off waivers from Philadelphia Sailors in July 1927
Schab has spent most of his time with the organization pitching in Houston (15-13 in 30 starts) but did see some action with the Kings after being promoted in August. He gave up 9 runs in 3 innings in his debut in August which killed his era, but in truth he was pretty solid out of the pen in Brooklyn after that outing. He earned a couple starts to end the season but all they did was reaffirm the Kings thoughts that Schab belonged in the pen. He might stick come April but that is likely dependent upon Campbell, Flanders or someone else struggling more than what Schab accomplishes.
Code:
1928 PROJECTED PITCHING STAFF
ROTATION
1- Buzz Ham
2- Harvey Rodgers
3- Topsy Moran
4 & 5- between Leon Campbell, Clarence Flanders
and Mickey Beavers
BULLPEN
CL - Jack Gunderson
REL - Leon Thompson
REL - Harry Schab