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Tiger Fan · 12-13-2019, 12:26 AM

KINGS ORGANIZATIONAL DEPTH CHART

Part One: Position players

I do one of these each season but have not posted an update since the 1926 season. However, as we approach 1929 spring training here is where the Brooklyn Kings staff sees our team depth chart.

CATCHER

I feel we have been loaded behind the plate for a couple of years now but the emergence last year of 8th round draft pick MIKE TAYLOR has sent us to a whole new level. Taylor is well on his way to becoming a superstar in this league even though the 22 year old has only played 84 FABL games (batting .325 with 7 homers). He is so good he displaced 28 year old MICKEY DOWELL, a career .308 hitter who averaged about 85 rbi's a season. Dowell will still get playing time as I am having him learn third base and Taylor can also play first base so the idea is Taylor gets about 110 games behind the plate and another 20-30 at first with Dowell catching the remaining 50 odd games and filling in at third as well.

I have four above average prospects in the system, at least according to my interpretation of their stats and my head scout Rube Carter's assessment. The BNN scouting services doesn't consider any of them top 100 candidates but TOM AIELLO is ranked about 130th although in my mind he has a great prospect. Aiello hit .291 in 85 games at AAA as a 21 year old catcher while playing error free defense. He needs to improve his CS% a bit (threw out 35% of runners in AAA but was better in lower minors) but I think that will come. BILL SMITH, JOE CAMERON and HACK LAPOINTE are also have potential to develop into above average FABL catchers.

FIRST BASE

29 year old LOU GARMAN has been a solid first baseman for me since I took over the club and he has a .324 career average. The only knock on him is the game is changing and Garman lacks the power I need from the first base position. He will stay with the big club as a reliable back-up and insurance piece but I will be transitioning his at bats to some combination of the previously mentioned Mike Taylor or 3 converted outfielders in LYNN RANDALL, GUS POWELL and CHARLIE POWELL. All 3 are young and capable of being above average corner outfielders but we have a logjam at that position so one of them will get a lot of time at first base. Randall hit 18 homers in an 84 game audition at AAA a year ago but failed to deliver this past season, hitting just 6 while batting .291 between AAA and Brooklyn. I still have confidence in him but if he doesn't produce there is plenty waiting in the wings.

GUS POWELL was a 9th round pick out of Lincoln College in 1926 who hit 30 homers at Class B Tampa as a rookie pro in 1927 and then followed it up with 41 homers at three levels, including 21 in 87 games in Brooklyn, last season. He struggled with contact in Brooklyn, batting just .204 with far too many strikeouts but I think it will come as his contact rate was pretty good in the minors. He is also adequate with the glove at first base as compared to a little below average if I play him in left field. CHARLIE POWELL (no relation) is a 23 year old Canadian I acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline. Charlie hit 55 homers at 3 levels last season including 3 in 13 starts in Brooklyn last September. He can rake and provides above average defense in the outfield.

Further down the chain I have a 22 year old in NICK BENNETT, a third round pick out of Ellery College in 1927. Bennett hit .305 at three levels (primarily AA) but I will want more power out of him as he matures (just 4 homers) to remain an above average rated prospect. I also like EDDIE KELLOW, who we rate as an average major league talent. Kellow, a 1926 14th round pick out of Indiana A&M hit 37 homers between Class B and A as a rookie pro in 1927 and followed that up with 16 and a .352 average last season but his playing time was limited because I had a logjam of young prospects to look at. The plan is to play the 23 year old Kellow a lot at AA this year.

SECOND BASE

WILLIE JACKSON is 26 and has proven he can be a slightly better than average FABL second baseman. The 26 year old hit .292 with 9 homers last season while providing average defense for us at second base. He will be pushed soon by a kid I really like in 22 year old ELMER ROOT. A 4th round pick out of high school in 1924, Root has slowly progressed through the system and had a breakout year at the plate, hitting .343 as he split the year between AA and AAA. Root also stole 28 bases and looks like a future lead-off man in Brooklyn. I would like his defense to improve a bit and Rufus Carter says he is confident it will. BNN calls him the 74th rated prospect in the sport.

SHORTSTOP

24 year old ARNOLD BOWER has been in our system for a while and finally made his FABL debut last season, hitting .307 in 80 games. He was a 2nd round pick out of high school in 1922 and took some time to develop but he is here to stay. Carter loves his defense, especially the ability to turn a doubleplay and he has plus speed. He took the starting job away from RIP AGEE because Bower can provide more offense and similar defense. Agee is a very good bench player with the skills to provide strong defense at second or shortstop.

On the farm WILLIE RAZZANO was highly thought of at one time after a great 1926 season but he has struggled to hit at AAA and is no longer considered a top prospect. However, two youngsters seem to have some very good potential in 19 year old RABBIT MUDD and 20 year old WALT LAYTON. Our first round pick out of high school a year ago, Mudd hit .259 with 7 homers at Class B Tampa this past season. He has a decent glove but may ultimately be moved to second base. Layton was a 16th round pick out of high school two years ago and struggled in limited action as a rookie pro at Class B Tampa. He broke out at Tampa last season, batting .304 with an outstanding defensive zone rating. Rube Carter calls him a cornerstone piece of the future. I am not sold yet but the kid has certainly caught my attention. I may challenge him to perform at Class A Omaha this season.

THIRD BASE

We paid a high price to get JOHN WILDER from Pittsburgh a year and a half ago but he has proven to be worth the cost, batting .302 with 12 homers and a 3.8 WAR in his first full season with the Kings. His defense is solid, but not above average. His playing time might be cut this year through no fault of his own, just because I need to get Mickey Dowell's some at bats.

I was able to trade a former second round pick in 21 year old Dave Bristol in my deal to move up to first overall in the draft in a big part because of how much we like PHIL LONG. The 23 year old was a 24th round pick out of high school in 1923 and has steadily rose through our system. He struggled when given a taste of AAA in 1927 but was much better last year, batting .282 with 7 homers as he split the year between AA and AAA. Carter loves the kid, says there is more power coming and we are both happy with his glove. I don't know I would rate him an above average big league prospect- I would say more average- but Rube is very high on him.

Another guy we like at third base is 21 year old TONY KING, who we picked up from the New York Stars at the trade deadline. A 6th round pick out of high school in 1925, King hit .282 at AA this past season. His defense needs work but Rube calls him a second-division starter. I see maybe a little more from the kid. JOHN WYCHE is another guy Carter likes. A 20 year old who was taken in the 24th round, I have yet to give him much playing time but at the urging of Carter he will get his chance in either Class B or C this year.

The guy I like as our 3B of the future is BUCK SARGENT. A 20 year old high school pick in the third round of the 1926 draft, Sargent has shown great power with 18 homers at Class A Omaha a year ago. He needs to work on contact but he has plus defense and I think plus power potential.

OUTFIELD

We are loaded with young major league ready talent here once again, even after I dealt several prospects the past couple of years. DOUG LIGHTBODY is just 25 but already has a batting title and a Whitney Award under his belt. Last season Lightbody hit .356 with 35 triples and a 5.8 WAR- and that was a down year for him compared to his previous season. 24 year old AB THOMAS has a vacuum for a glove in center and had 21 outfield assists last season. He also hit .303 while lead the league with 38 stolen bases.

With those two set in center and right we have the previously mentioned 1B-OF crew of Lynn Randall, Charlie Powell and Gus Powell to fight for playing time as well as veteran CLARENCE HALL. Hall is 29 and would likely be starting for 8-12 other teams in the league. He has hit .348 for his career including .395 in 245 plate appearances in 1927 when he lost his starting job and moved to the 4th outfielder spot. Last year he struggled with limited playing time and ended up batting just .191 in Brooklyn but hit .303 in a 41 game stint in AAA. I am confident the numbers will return to normal this year and manager Wally Grant is making a case for starting him but I think the Powell's are going to be too good to sit on the bench.

We also now have to contend with what to do with 23 year old HERB SMIDDY. I grabbed him as a minor league free agent in 1925 and he has outperformed my expectations with a breakout year at AAA Houston last season. Smiddy hit .339 and while he does not have a lot of power, he does have speed (stole 31 bases for Class A Omaha in 1927) and earned a September callup to Brooklyn where he went 5-for-15 with a pair of doubles and a homer primarily as a pinch-hitter. The issue is going to be finding somewhere to play him and unfortunately I may have to send him down to AAA for another year.

There are also a number of above average potential outfielders in the minors with the closest one to being ready is 24 year old BERNIE CARTER. The 24 year old was a 14th round pick out of Coastal California University and hit .270 in a backup role at AAA a year ago. My third round pick this year, ART SUMMERS out of St Matthew's College, is not ready for me to call him an above average prospect but I think he has the possibility of reaching that level after hitting .340 with 31 homers in 150 career college games.

SUMMARY

The league scouting service does not show the Kings a lot of respect. With the addition of first overall pick Tommy Wilcox (who I will discuss with the pitchers) we have finally moved out of the basement and are ranked the 11th best minor league system. The service has OF JIM GENTRY(72) and Charlie Powell (82) as well as 2B Elmer Root (76) as my only top 100 prospects. I like Gentry but I like a lot of my other outfielders better than him and am surprised there is no mention of Smiddy, Aiello and several other players mentioned above. Overall, I am as happy as I have been at any point with the quality of our position player prospects.

12-13-2019, 12:26 AM	#138
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,873	1929 Depth Chart KINGS ORGANIZATIONAL DEPTH CHART Part One: Position players I do one of these each season but have not posted an update since the 1926 season. However, as we approach 1929 spring training here is where the Brooklyn Kings staff sees our team depth chart. CATCHER I feel we have been loaded behind the plate for a couple of years now but the emergence last year of 8th round draft pick MIKE TAYLOR has sent us to a whole new level. Taylor is well on his way to becoming a superstar in this league even though the 22 year old has only played 84 FABL games (batting .325 with 7 homers). He is so good he displaced 28 year old MICKEY DOWELL, a career .308 hitter who averaged about 85 rbi's a season. Dowell will still get playing time as I am having him learn third base and Taylor can also play first base so the idea is Taylor gets about 110 games behind the plate and another 20-30 at first with Dowell catching the remaining 50 odd games and filling in at third as well. I have four above average prospects in the system, at least according to my interpretation of their stats and my head scout Rube Carter's assessment. The BNN scouting services doesn't consider any of them top 100 candidates but TOM AIELLO is ranked about 130th although in my mind he has a great prospect. Aiello hit .291 in 85 games at AAA as a 21 year old catcher while playing error free defense. He needs to improve his CS% a bit (threw out 35% of runners in AAA but was better in lower minors) but I think that will come. BILL SMITH, JOE CAMERON and HACK LAPOINTE are also have potential to develop into above average FABL catchers. FIRST BASE 29 year old LOU GARMAN has been a solid first baseman for me since I took over the club and he has a .324 career average. The only knock on him is the game is changing and Garman lacks the power I need from the first base position. He will stay with the big club as a reliable back-up and insurance piece but I will be transitioning his at bats to some combination of the previously mentioned Mike Taylor or 3 converted outfielders in LYNN RANDALL, GUS POWELL and CHARLIE POWELL. All 3 are young and capable of being above average corner outfielders but we have a logjam at that position so one of them will get a lot of time at first base. Randall hit 18 homers in an 84 game audition at AAA a year ago but failed to deliver this past season, hitting just 6 while batting .291 between AAA and Brooklyn. I still have confidence in him but if he doesn't produce there is plenty waiting in the wings. GUS POWELL was a 9th round pick out of Lincoln College in 1926 who hit 30 homers at Class B Tampa as a rookie pro in 1927 and then followed it up with 41 homers at three levels, including 21 in 87 games in Brooklyn, last season. He struggled with contact in Brooklyn, batting just .204 with far too many strikeouts but I think it will come as his contact rate was pretty good in the minors. He is also adequate with the glove at first base as compared to a little below average if I play him in left field. CHARLIE POWELL (no relation) is a 23 year old Canadian I acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline. Charlie hit 55 homers at 3 levels last season including 3 in 13 starts in Brooklyn last September. He can rake and provides above average defense in the outfield. Further down the chain I have a 22 year old in NICK BENNETT, a third round pick out of Ellery College in 1927. Bennett hit .305 at three levels (primarily AA) but I will want more power out of him as he matures (just 4 homers) to remain an above average rated prospect. I also like EDDIE KELLOW, who we rate as an average major league talent. Kellow, a 1926 14th round pick out of Indiana A&M hit 37 homers between Class B and A as a rookie pro in 1927 and followed that up with 16 and a .352 average last season but his playing time was limited because I had a logjam of young prospects to look at. The plan is to play the 23 year old Kellow a lot at AA this year. SECOND BASE WILLIE JACKSON is 26 and has proven he can be a slightly better than average FABL second baseman. The 26 year old hit .292 with 9 homers last season while providing average defense for us at second base. He will be pushed soon by a kid I really like in 22 year old ELMER ROOT. A 4th round pick out of high school in 1924, Root has slowly progressed through the system and had a breakout year at the plate, hitting .343 as he split the year between AA and AAA. Root also stole 28 bases and looks like a future lead-off man in Brooklyn. I would like his defense to improve a bit and Rufus Carter says he is confident it will. BNN calls him the 74th rated prospect in the sport. SHORTSTOP 24 year old ARNOLD BOWER has been in our system for a while and finally made his FABL debut last season, hitting .307 in 80 games. He was a 2nd round pick out of high school in 1922 and took some time to develop but he is here to stay. Carter loves his defense, especially the ability to turn a doubleplay and he has plus speed. He took the starting job away from RIP AGEE because Bower can provide more offense and similar defense. Agee is a very good bench player with the skills to provide strong defense at second or shortstop. On the farm WILLIE RAZZANO was highly thought of at one time after a great 1926 season but he has struggled to hit at AAA and is no longer considered a top prospect. However, two youngsters seem to have some very good potential in 19 year old RABBIT MUDD and 20 year old WALT LAYTON. Our first round pick out of high school a year ago, Mudd hit .259 with 7 homers at Class B Tampa this past season. He has a decent glove but may ultimately be moved to second base. Layton was a 16th round pick out of high school two years ago and struggled in limited action as a rookie pro at Class B Tampa. He broke out at Tampa last season, batting .304 with an outstanding defensive zone rating. Rube Carter calls him a cornerstone piece of the future. I am not sold yet but the kid has certainly caught my attention. I may challenge him to perform at Class A Omaha this season. THIRD BASE We paid a high price to get JOHN WILDER from Pittsburgh a year and a half ago but he has proven to be worth the cost, batting .302 with 12 homers and a 3.8 WAR in his first full season with the Kings. His defense is solid, but not above average. His playing time might be cut this year through no fault of his own, just because I need to get Mickey Dowell's some at bats. I was able to trade a former second round pick in 21 year old Dave Bristol in my deal to move up to first overall in the draft in a big part because of how much we like PHIL LONG. The 23 year old was a 24th round pick out of high school in 1923 and has steadily rose through our system. He struggled when given a taste of AAA in 1927 but was much better last year, batting .282 with 7 homers as he split the year between AA and AAA. Carter loves the kid, says there is more power coming and we are both happy with his glove. I don't know I would rate him an above average big league prospect- I would say more average- but Rube is very high on him. Another guy we like at third base is 21 year old TONY KING, who we picked up from the New York Stars at the trade deadline. A 6th round pick out of high school in 1925, King hit .282 at AA this past season. His defense needs work but Rube calls him a second-division starter. I see maybe a little more from the kid. JOHN WYCHE is another guy Carter likes. A 20 year old who was taken in the 24th round, I have yet to give him much playing time but at the urging of Carter he will get his chance in either Class B or C this year. The guy I like as our 3B of the future is BUCK SARGENT. A 20 year old high school pick in the third round of the 1926 draft, Sargent has shown great power with 18 homers at Class A Omaha a year ago. He needs to work on contact but he has plus defense and I think plus power potential. OUTFIELD We are loaded with young major league ready talent here once again, even after I dealt several prospects the past couple of years. DOUG LIGHTBODY is just 25 but already has a batting title and a Whitney Award under his belt. Last season Lightbody hit .356 with 35 triples and a 5.8 WAR- and that was a down year for him compared to his previous season. 24 year old AB THOMAS has a vacuum for a glove in center and had 21 outfield assists last season. He also hit .303 while lead the league with 38 stolen bases. With those two set in center and right we have the previously mentioned 1B-OF crew of Lynn Randall, Charlie Powell and Gus Powell to fight for playing time as well as veteran CLARENCE HALL. Hall is 29 and would likely be starting for 8-12 other teams in the league. He has hit .348 for his career including .395 in 245 plate appearances in 1927 when he lost his starting job and moved to the 4th outfielder spot. Last year he struggled with limited playing time and ended up batting just .191 in Brooklyn but hit .303 in a 41 game stint in AAA. I am confident the numbers will return to normal this year and manager Wally Grant is making a case for starting him but I think the Powell's are going to be too good to sit on the bench. We also now have to contend with what to do with 23 year old HERB SMIDDY. I grabbed him as a minor league free agent in 1925 and he has outperformed my expectations with a breakout year at AAA Houston last season. Smiddy hit .339 and while he does not have a lot of power, he does have speed (stole 31 bases for Class A Omaha in 1927) and earned a September callup to Brooklyn where he went 5-for-15 with a pair of doubles and a homer primarily as a pinch-hitter. The issue is going to be finding somewhere to play him and unfortunately I may have to send him down to AAA for another year. There are also a number of above average potential outfielders in the minors with the closest one to being ready is 24 year old BERNIE CARTER. The 24 year old was a 14th round pick out of Coastal California University and hit .270 in a backup role at AAA a year ago. My third round pick this year, ART SUMMERS out of St Matthew's College, is not ready for me to call him an above average prospect but I think he has the possibility of reaching that level after hitting .340 with 31 homers in 150 career college games. SUMMARY The league scouting service does not show the Kings a lot of respect. With the addition of first overall pick Tommy Wilcox (who I will discuss with the pitchers) we have finally moved out of the basement and are ranked the 11th best minor league system. The service has OF JIM GENTRY(72) and Charlie Powell (82) as well as 2B Elmer Root (76) as my only top 100 prospects. I like Gentry but I like a lot of my other outfielders better than him and am surprised there is no mention of Smiddy, Aiello and several other players mentioned above. Overall, I am as happy as I have been at any point with the quality of our position player prospects. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles