[ayaghmour2]

A little league news first. We found out the new patch will fix the bug that shows an overall and potential ratings graph in scouting history. Once the new patch is released, we'll be good to continue with the offseason and start the draft.

SP Ben Turner (113th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 131st Overall (1926)
Alma Mater: Scranton HS Miners
Last Year Rank: 3rd

Turner spent all year in AA for the first time in his minor league career, and the 22-year-old managed to hold his own. He was just 10-13 with a 4.54 ERA (102 ERA+) and 1.59 WHIP with 60 strikeouts in 200.1 innings. These numbers could have been better, so he's likely to return to AA for the start of the 1931 season. Unlike most of the starters in our system, Turner has pinpoint control with just average stuff and uses finesse instead of an overpowering fastball. He's got four decent pitches with a sinker, curve, slider, and change. He doesn't throw too hard, just grazing the 90s with the sinker, but he's got a future in the rotation, whether it's ours or another teams.

SP Milt Nelson (114th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Brooklyn (1928)
Drafted: 12th Round, 195th Overall by Detroit (1922) and 4th Round, 54th Overall by Brooklyn (1925)
Alma Mater: Louisville HS Titans and Louisiana State Cougars
Last Year Rank: 11th

Right behind Turner in both our rankings and the league rankings, Milt Nelson got another cup of coffee this season and he did exponentially better then last year. In his two starts this season, he was 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA (305 ERA+) and 1.85 WHIP. He did walk 10 and strike out just 3, but he piled on a lot more strikeouts then walks (190/108) with Milwaukee. The numbers there were great, going 11-4 with a 3.33 ERA (126 ERA+) and 1.42 WHIP in 143.1 innings. He's 26, so on the old side, and he's likely done all he could in the minors. I'd love to see someone with his stuff, a 96 MPH cutter, and a tendency for keeping hits on the ground, pitch the last two innings of a game when the starter can't go all the way through. I still feel like he has a future in the rotation, but I can't justify giving him a rotation spot over Wilder, Lyons, Russell, Crawford, or Leudtke yet, but I'd love to see him as a mainstay in our rotation for years to come.

C Jim Stevens (132nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Cleveland (1929)
Drafted: 23rd Round, 353rd Overall (1926)
Alma Mater: Pierpont Purple
Last Year Rank: Not Ranked

Another player who got a cup of coffee in the majors, Stevens went 1-for-9 with a pair of walks in his first taste of FABL action. Stevens has a ton of power, and showed that off in AAA this year, hitting 29 homers and driving in 80 runs with a .246/.344/.497 (123 OPS+) batting line with the Blues. A 25-year-old from Hawaii, him and Jim Kyle will battle for our backup catcher role behind Fred Barrell. My scouts a big fan of Stevens, thinking he can slam 25 homers a year and be a productive big league regular. I don't think he'll ever hit that many homers, but it never hurts to have a guy with all that pop on the bench. He isn't a great defensive catcher, his arm is a little weak, but pitchers seem to pitch really well when he's behind the plate. He might have starter potential, but he won't be able to start over Barrell. Regardless, having a guy like him on the bench will help us a lot in big games.

CF Billy Marshall (155th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 10th Round, 145th Overall (1929)
Alma Mater: Birmingham HS Bulldogs
Last Year Rank: High School

Selected in the 10th Round last year out of Birmingham HS, he had an excellent senior season batting .391/.419/.503 (188 OPS+) with a homer, 10 steals, and 32 RBI's. He spent a little time on the DL this year, but had a productive .362/.425/.492 (120 OPS+) line with 3 homers and 30 RBI's in 146 trips to the plate with La Crosse before a late season promotion to San Jose. He struggled there, but at just 19, I didn't have high expectations for him in a league with players much older then him. Marshall isn't much of a defender out in center despite his speed, so I've worked him out in left most of the season. His value is on offense, where he has elite contact potential in the swing at everything and hit everything type of way. He won't walk a lot, and strikes out a bit, but when he puts the ball in play it usually lands where defenders aren't. He won't surpass Joe Johnson out in center, but he could eventually find a spot in left with York in right.

RP John Peterson (182nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Minor League Free Agency (1926)
Drafted: 6th Round, 99th Overall by Detroit (1922)
Alma Mater: Scranton HS Miners and Detroit City College Knights
Last Year Rank: 14th

I'm not sure why the game likes the injury prone Peterson so much, but he does share the same Alma Matter of Ben Turner. He must have some value if OSA puts him in the top 200 prospect list, but he's not on the mound enough to live up to whatever potential he might have. He's already had 13 injuries with two setbacks, but most have been short term with just 3 over two months. He has pitched well the past two years with Lincoln, with ERA+'s of 167 and 111 in 41 and 44.2 innings, so when he does pitch, he has been effective out of the pen. The Chicago native is on the old side, at 26, and hasn't pitched past A ball, so I'm not sure what the future holds for him.