[ayaghmour2]

We added four players and lost two. Starting with the lost players, both players are 28 or older. The first was Howard Moss who went in the 1st Round to the Philadelphia Sailors. The second was Gus Cain, who we've now lost twice in the Rule-5 Draft. He also went to the Sailors.

Starting with Moss, I shouldn't really be surprised he was taken. I would have loved to move him for a later round pick, but nothing ever turned up when I tried shopping him earlier in the year. He's raked two years in a row for Milwaukee, this year hitting .336/.437/.573 (154 OPS+) with 9 homers and 88 RBI's. These are really impressive numbers, but there really isn't a spot for Moss on the active roster. To make things worse for Moss, he's a little less then 300 days younger then current starter Tom Taylor. I don't think we see Moss back, but I'm happy our former 4th Round pick will have a shot to stick in the majors.

For Cain, the former undrafted free agent was taken by the Saints in the 2nd Round of the 1928 draft, he was a 3rd Rounder in this draft. This was the first season since 1929 Cain did not get in the big leagues, and he spent his season split between AA and AAA. He had sub 2.00 ERA's (+200 ERA+) at both levels, but most of his innings this year came at Mobile. He does have 94 big league innings under his belt with a 4.60 ERA (106 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, 34 walks, and 64 strikeouts. He profiles as a strikeout arm out of the pen. He's also a lefty sidearmer who keeps the ball on the ground.

Now here are our guys:

Our first pick was the last pick of the first round, and we took a 23-year-old righty from the best system in baseball. Washington has more then enough depth to make up for the loss of former 15th Round pick Mike Knight who ranked 26th in their system. Knight is a really quirky pitcher, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to him. He is a tiny 5'7'' 150 submarine pitcher who throws five pitches and throws harder then every pitcher in our system except Pete Carey and Stan Gray, with the former able to flirt with triple digits (I was worried Carey would be taken). King got his first taste of AAA this year, going 8-9 with a 4.47 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 55 walks, and 54 strikeouts. I love this kids raw stuff, but command has been an issue for him. I've got an excellent pitching coach and catcher who I think can help Knight take the next step. I'm not guaranteeing him a roster spot (just like with Cliff Ray last year), but I'd say he's the favorite to stick. The pen is really strong right now, but I'd carry an extra arm over a bench bat if it meant keeping Knight in the system.

Our next pick was another pitcher, 25-year-old Augie Bertrand who was a 1927 10th Round Pick. He's not as exciting as Knight, but he's a more experienced and polished pitcher with a higher floor and lower ceiling. He's a groundballer who sits comfortably in the low 90s and spots a five pitch repertoire. He wasn't excellent in AAA, but he showed a lot of promise. He was 14-5 with a 4.28 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 66 strikeouts, and 52 walks. The 11 home runs are concerning as his offspeed pitches our likely flat. I'm hoping that in a pen role he can rely more heavily on his sinker and hopefully more of the contact off him will stay on the ground.

The only hitter we took, I gambled on former 8th Overall Pick Bert Harrison. The Pioneers selected the outfielder out of Memphis HS, the same school that last year's 4th Rounder and top 100 prospect Harry Mead went to. I already added a lefty bat in Doc Love, but Harrison gives us a late game bench option when Love starts over Bryant (or has already been used). The recent 24-year-old hasn't lived up to his lofty expectations, but after a rough AAA season in 1932, he spent all of last season in AA. He hit a nice .328/.373/.501 (134 OPS+) with 8 homers, 7 steals, and 83 RBI's. Harrison has excellent speed, the ability to hit for a high average, and he can fill in at any three outfield spots (although he kind of sucks in center). Our outfield situation is pretty full, as I usually keep five guys and four spots are full (Sprague, Bryant, Love, Taylor) so Harrison will have to show some sort of promise early on.

The last player taken was former Cougar farmhand Harry Parker. He'll be sent back to Pittsburgh. Parker was our 23rd Round pick in 1927 and was part of the four player package that brought Max Wilder and Russ Combs to Chicago. Parker spent the season in AA, going 13-13 with a 4.15 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 104 strikeouts, and 70 walks. I put him towards the end of my list in case I needed an extra arm, but with Knight and Bertrand Parker was just repetitive.

Most of the guys I really wanted were protected (as expected), but I was hoping to get former Chicago Poly grad Tom Blalock. The former 4th Overall pick never really found his footing in the minors, but he was a guy I always had my eye on. He was taken right after Knight, with Blalock going to the Kings. They'll hope he can reclaim his former promise.

Up next we have the minor league rule-5 draft and independent league draft. I generally skip the minor league portion, and will this season too. For the independent league draft, I'm working on scouting to see who I want. I have one empty 40 man spot after sending Parker back.