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ayaghmour2 · 08-15-2020, 04:36 PM

After a dreadful July, the Cougars have decided to strike a major deal with the Brooklyn Kings. Chicago has required SP Tommy Wilcox and C Mike Taylor for a four player package including former #1 Overall Pick Tom Barrell, World Series MVP C Fred Barrell, former #2 Overall Pick Mike Murphy, and top prospect SP George DeForest.

I really did not want to move Fred, but he was necessary to net Wilcox. Wilcox is a 25-year-old righty who has the potential to be the best pitcher in all of baseball and he currently ranks as the fourth best pitcher in the league. Worth over 6 WAR the past two seasons, Wilcox has really broken out this season, going 9-9 with a 3.19 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. Wilcox has an elite seven pitch arsenal including a fastball, sinker, curve, change, forkball, screwball, and knuckleball. He does an excellent job mixing these pitches up and fooling hitters left and right. He keeps the ball on the ground consistently with excellent command and he can pitch deep into games. He's led the league in complete games the past two seasons and already has 13 this year. He's an iron man arm who's never been hurt and if needed, we will skip back of the rotation arms to give Wilcox has many starts as possible.

Mike Taylor is probably one of two catchers in the league that is better then Fred Barrell and actually a little less then a year younger. Not only is Taylor and excellent hitter, but also an excellent defender. In four and a half seasons, the former 8th Rounder is hitting .321/.382/.496 (126 OPS+) with 68 homers and 368 RBI's. He's hitting a lot more homers then usual this year, 15 with 55 RBI's to go with a .285/.365/.489 (115 OPS+) batting line. Taylor is a much needed lefty bat for our lineup and he adds power to a lineup that severely needs it. Other then Tom Taylor's 18 homers, no one has more then 5. Taylor is an excellent hitter even if he hasn't done as well as usual this season, but I expect the homers to continue to increase with the move to Chicago. Our park is really homer friendly with a short centerfield and a 300 foot left and right field line.

We had to give up a ton of prospect capital to get these two stars, including the #29 (Barrell) and #60 (DeFoerst) prospect in the league plus a great catcher in Fred Barrell and a hard throwing lefty in Murphy. I love Fred, but his bat isn't where I'd like it to be and both him and Tom have had their share of injuries. We're built to win now and even though I'll likely regret seeing the Double Barrell action in Brooklyn for years to come, the Wilcox-Taylor battery is going to be just as deadly.

08-15-2020, 04:36 PM	#191
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 2,995	Blockbuster! After a dreadful July, the Cougars have decided to strike a major deal with the Brooklyn Kings. Chicago has required SP Tommy Wilcox and C Mike Taylor for a four player package including former #1 Overall Pick Tom Barrell, World Series MVP C Fred Barrell, former #2 Overall Pick Mike Murphy, and top prospect SP George DeForest. I really did not want to move Fred, but he was necessary to net Wilcox. Wilcox is a 25-year-old righty who has the potential to be the best pitcher in all of baseball and he currently ranks as the fourth best pitcher in the league. Worth over 6 WAR the past two seasons, Wilcox has really broken out this season, going 9-9 with a 3.19 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. Wilcox has an elite seven pitch arsenal including a fastball, sinker, curve, change, forkball, screwball, and knuckleball. He does an excellent job mixing these pitches up and fooling hitters left and right. He keeps the ball on the ground consistently with excellent command and he can pitch deep into games. He's led the league in complete games the past two seasons and already has 13 this year. He's an iron man arm who's never been hurt and if needed, we will skip back of the rotation arms to give Wilcox has many starts as possible. Mike Taylor is probably one of two catchers in the league that is better then Fred Barrell and actually a little less then a year younger. Not only is Taylor and excellent hitter, but also an excellent defender. In four and a half seasons, the former 8th Rounder is hitting .321/.382/.496 (126 OPS+) with 68 homers and 368 RBI's. He's hitting a lot more homers then usual this year, 15 with 55 RBI's to go with a .285/.365/.489 (115 OPS+) batting line. Taylor is a much needed lefty bat for our lineup and he adds power to a lineup that severely needs it. Other then Tom Taylor's 18 homers, no one has more then 5. Taylor is an excellent hitter even if he hasn't done as well as usual this season, but I expect the homers to continue to increase with the move to Chicago. Our park is really homer friendly with a short centerfield and a 300 foot left and right field line. We had to give up a ton of prospect capital to get these two stars, including the #29 (Barrell) and #60 (DeFoerst) prospect in the league plus a great catcher in Fred Barrell and a hard throwing lefty in Murphy. I love Fred, but his bat isn't where I'd like it to be and both him and Tom have had their share of injuries. We're built to win now and even though I'll likely regret seeing the Double Barrell action in Brooklyn for years to come, the Wilcox-Taylor battery is going to be just as deadly.