KINGS COMPLETE 1934 DRAFT CLASS IS INTRODUCED
The first 10 rounds of our 25 round draft are done by human GM's and then the game AI takes over to finish off the draft. Not an overly impressive group of final 15 for the Kings but here is who we ended up with in the 1934 draft.
Code:
RD NAME POS HOMETWON SCHOOL
1 Dan Rogers RF Canton, OH Canton South HS
2 Tip Harrison SS Houston, TX Bluegrass State
3 Jake Wood LHP New York, NY Henry Hudson University
3 Bob Mullins CF Hartford, CT Tilden HS, Brooklyn
4 Gus Parker RHP Port Arthur, TX Port Arthur HS
6 Jack Hill LF Brooklyn, NY Hamilton HS, Brooklyn
8 Jimmy Gibbs RHP Cleveland, OH Collinwood HS, Cleveland
9 Terry Cox SS New York, NY Henry Hudson Prep HS, New York
10 Ike Ray C New York, NY Collegiate HS, New York
11 Hal Reynolds CF New York, NY Maryland State
12 Bill Ramsey LHP Philadelphia, PA Gratz HS, Philadelphia
13 Jimmie Field 3B Brooklyn, NY Wilkes-Barre HS, Wilkes Barre, Pa.
14 Rudy Finch LHP Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis HS
15 Tommy Morris C Howell, MI Howell HS
16 Sam Burnham 2B Newman, GA Torrance HS, Torrance, California
17 Barney Murray LHP Detroit, MI Chadsey HS, Detroit
18 Jim Bob Turner RHP Roanoke, AL Roanoke HS
21 Ismael Suarez RHP Bayamon, PR Gompers HS, Bronx NY
22 Homer Tait 3B Greensboro, NC North Carolina Tech
23 Babe Musgrove RHP Hemet, CA East Texas State
24 Joe Dickinson C Glassboro, NJ Tulsa HS, Tulsa, OK
25 Rube Devaney 1B Manhattan Beach, CA College of San Diego
I won't talk about each of the final 15 as very few are expected to progress far in our system but I will mention a few. Let's start with the local products and I like that the AI GM continued my trend of drafting Brooklyn area players.
HAL REYNOLDS- The New York City native who played his college ball at Maryland State debuts at #37 on our team prospect list. Our 11th round pick, Reynolds has a bit of power according to our scouting director John Spears and is a very solid defender in center field but the concern is his ability to make contact. Spears does think he might have a chance to be a reserve player in the big leagues.
BILL RAMSEY- 12th round pick has his heart set on college and playing for Red River State. He is listed as impossible to sign but I made him an offer and we will see what happens. He possesses a 6-pitch arsenal but none are considered exceptionally strong.
JIMMIE FIELD- Like Ramsey, our 13th round pick is looking to college having signed a commitment letter with baseball powerhouse Eastern State. Born in Brooklyn but grew up in Pennsylvania, scout John Spears loves his athleticism but feels he will be unlikely to contribute at the big league level.
TOMMY MORRIS - Our 15th round selection is rated the number 3 catching prospect in the organization, one slot ahead of Ike Ray, who I drafted 5 rounds ahead of Morris. Scouting Director John Spears feels the Howell, Michigan high schooler should develop the ability to contribute at the major league level, but more of a supplement than a star.
SAM BURNHAM - Our 16th round pick immediately becomes our top second base prospect (24th on the team list overall) but that is by default as we have very little young talent at second. John Spears thinks he can hit .300 if he gets a shot in the big leagues so he just might get to Brooklyn some day. The 18 year old hit .485 for his high school team in Torrance, California. Was born in Georgia but family moved out west when he was young.
HOMER TAIT- Our 22nd round pick out of North Carolina Tech cracked the OSA top 500 prospect list, landing at 411 and number 19 on our team list. He may drop out of the top 100 once all of the other draftees sign but it is nice to see such a late round pick make the list, even if it's just temporary. Tait hit .315 for the Techsters as a junior last season and has decided to forego his senior season and turn pro.
JOE DICKINSON- I was considering Dickinson as my 10th round pick but settled on Ike Ray instead so it is nice to land him here in the 23rd round. He runs well for a catcher, has a good batting eye and plays decent defense. He hit .414 for his high school team in Tulsa last season. By the way, early results show I made the right choice in taking Ray over Dickinson as Ray ranked 4th among our catching prospects while Dickinson is listed 9th.
RUBE DEVANEY- Our 25th round pick cracked the top 500 league-wide prospects at 474. The first baseman from College of San Diego hit .298 with 5 homers for the Friars last season. The scouts like his ability to make contact and say he could develop average power.
SIGNING UPDATE
Most of our top picks have asked for a signing bonus and we have made offers to all of them and are hopeful everyone except for 12th round Bill Ramsey will sign. 8th round Jimmy Gibbs and 10th round pick Ike Ray are the only ones I selected who signed immediately and we received great news on Gibbs as the 18 year old from Cleveland adds to our deep group of talented pitching prospects by being ranked 148th overall in the current OSA top prospects list. Ike Ray did not make the top 500 and is ranked 4th among our catchers.
The big news will hopefully come in the next couple of days as we see were our higher round picks slot in on the league prospect rankings. It should change quite a bit as the new guys sign but here are the Kings top 20 prospects as of early December, 1934.