[BadluckinOOTP]

We had the best pitching staff (by statistics anyways, which is all that matters in this league) in the Federal this year, and we bring everyone back and I think my guys have the talent to repeat that performance.

Even in his third year, I have to start with the runner up to the Allen Award and that's 28 year old R Jim Smith, who went 17-9 with a FA leading 2.99 ERA. He was consistently a stud all year long, even if he took some bad luck when it came to getting wins. He was leading the league in K rate for a while, but fell off by the end of the year as the Dynamos' Bob Ames really struck guys out this year (4.7!) He's probably NOT the 2nd best pitcher in baseball, but he's a stud who will pick up the opening day start.

Fellow 28 year old right hander Bill Morrill was solid in his first year as a starter in the FABL in '27, going 13-11 with a 4.04 ERA, and he did even better (with the lowest BABIP in the FA) in '28 with a hard luck 13-16 record with a 3.13 ERA, which was good for 2nd in the FA.

29 year old Venezuelan Marco Ramirez also really benefited from good BABIP rates, and finished....get this 3rd! in the FA with a 3.18 ERA to go a long with a 12-8 record. He had a very ugly walk rate, 5 per 9 innings which is very frightening, but he just kept getting out of it each start. I plan for major regression this year, and don't want to rely on him. But, had to profile him 3rd due to having 3 pitchers finish 1-2-3 in the league in ERA.

Finally, someone with bad luck. 31 year old R Hap Goodwin, had back to back seasons in '26 and '27 with ERA's below 4, and even received a few votes for the Allen Award in '27. But, last year, the hits just kept falling against Goodwin and his walk rate grew by 30% or so and it resulted in an 11-21 record and a 5.02 ERA, he had a few excellent stretches in between some really ugly ones. I do think he's going to rebound nicely this year.

We have a couple of young lefties in 23 year old Walt Palmer and 25 year old Spencer Gause. Both of them are former 1st round picks and both got 5 or 6 starts in the FABL last year and both ended up with ERA's above 5. Palmer was drafted 2nd overall two years ago and has an excellent college career on his resume. Gause has been at the top of prospect lists for the last few seasons, but the stats never backed them up. Both will be competing for a rotation spot, if one or both ends up not making it, they'll start in St. Paul. No reason for them to waste away in the bullpen.

Bob "Topper" Simmon is a 33 year old vet, who has 3 20 win seasons to his record, from '22 to '24, but has been below league average the last few years. He started out in the rotation last year, but was removed after 4 bad starts. He was very, very good in the bullpen and a major part of our success last year, going 7-3 with 5 saves and a 2.37 ERA in 79.2 innings out of the pen. My manager Tom Hawkins wants him back in the rotation, and he might end up there again. But, I'd sure like to have him back in the bullpen.

Dick Reynolds, a 26 year old lefty was a Rule V pick from the Boston organization before the '28 season, after he went 17-2 with a 2.56 ERA for AA Worcester, good for a 196 ERA+. He got injured in spring training and luckily, I was able to have him rehab and get some innings in the minors despite his Rule V standing. He wasn't very effective in the FABL, but that is one heck of a AA season in '27, so he'll get chances the next couple of years until that wears off.

Our bullpen was a major strength this year and Simmon and Mike Hicks are a major reason why. Mike Hicks is a 28 year old right hander who got into just 50 games and pitched just 65 innings. He went 4-3 with 9 saves and a 2.76 ERA. This era of baseball doesn't have a lot of bullpen roles, but maybe Hicks should get into more games if he's going to pitch this well.

Our pitching prospects seem kind of weak. The Century League, where our AAA farm club resides is a pitching centric league, so even though I have some guys with some decent looking ERA's, they aren't that impressive in the Century League context.

Jack Thompson is a 28 year old lefty who stands at 6'8", 255, and he was just below league average in AAA last year. But, he's huge, so he's worth mentioning.

25 year old righty Zack Hayward will be in camp this spring and is probably one of our first guys up if we have injuries or poor performances. He had a 4.16 ERA in AA last year, which is solid for the Dixie League, but only got into 4 starts for St. Paul at the tail end of the season. Hopefully he performs well for the Disciples and can contribute some soon.

Birmingham is an ugly place for pitchers, and all the guys who spent time there last year except for Hayward, really struggled. Hopefully a few of the guys repeating will fare better this go around.

Last year's 3rd round pick Roy "Pepper" Lynch is going to be 19 all season, and the right hander performed well in his first pro season. He made mincemeat of the Class B C-O-W league, going 8-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 12 starts, and then held his own for Gary, going 5-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 103.2 innings. He's got nice control, and even though the scouts don't think much of him, I think he's got a future. He'll probably get a few starts for Gary and if he does well, he'll have to see how he does in Birmingham.

There's not much else in the lower minors that stands out and is worth writing about. But, there is an interesting player in John Briel, who only played in 2 games early last year, getting knocked around in Spokane and then ended up buried and never pitched again. But, now my scouts are saying the soon to be 20 year old is ready for the majors, and that's Briel's expectation of himself as well. I'm kind of torn as to where to start the 6'6" right hander.

Conclusion:

Jim Smith, Bill Morrill and Hap Goodwin have three of the spots locked up, and there is a handful of guys who will battle it out for the last spot or two. I assume one of the lefties (Gause, Palmer or Reynolds) will pick up a spot and who knows for the 5th one.

I don't expect the bullpen to be as strong next year, as I think it was largely luck based. But maybe I'll be surprised.