APRIL 1, 1935 - KINGS SPRING TRAINING WEEK TWO
I was hoping it was an April fools joke when I got word Art White will miss the next two months, but unfortunately it was not. Time and time again our decent young pitching prospects go down with an injury. We are still without Johnny Jacob who was a top ten prospect that we lost a year ago when he blew out his arm at age 25. Jacob still has hopes of coming back but a setback this winter means he won't pitch again until at least spring training next year. There have been plenty of others as well with White, presently our #3 prospect and 39th overall, the latest. The 1932 third round pick out of George Fox University had the inside track on the final spot in our bullpen until he went down in a game with Cleveland last week. He had pitched 5 scoreless innings of 3-hit ball in the contest before the injury. The good news, if there is any, is it was his hamstring and not his arm but he will be sidelined until late May. His injury comes a week after we lost 1927 second round pick Art Blake until early May with a muscle strain.
The injury bug continued to bite the Kings last week as backup third baseman and key pinch-hitter Buck Sargent also suffered a muscle strain and will likely not be available until May. The Sargent injury does buy us some time to decide what to do with Nick Wallace, who like Sargent is 26 years old and out of options. Wallace would likely have been placed on waivers in an attempt to get him down to Rochester but, at least for now, the 1929 third round pick out of Wisconsin State will stick with the big club as a reserve corner infielder. Wallace has played 105 career games with the Kings and hit .290. He is 5-for-18 (.278) so far this spring.
It was a rough week on the field for the Kings as well as we dropped 4 of 6 games to even our spring record at 6-6. The week started off on the wrong foot as Tom Blalock, the former college sensation at Chicago Poly and first round pick turned minor league journeyman, punched his ticket back to the minors with a dreadful outing last Monday vs the Chicago Cougars. Blalock only retired two batters while allowing 9 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks in a game we would lose 16-2. Bert Henggler, the waiver wire pickup from Cleveland, had rough debut in a Kings uniform in the same game as he was roughed up for 7 runs on 9 hits in two and 2/3 innings. We will chock it up to jitters as Henggler looked much more composed in his next outing, tossing a pair of scoreless innings in a win over the Philadelphia Sailors.
This week I will get much more serious about our rotation as each of the expected rotation guys will get a start with Tom Barrell (1-0, 2.25), Ken Carpenter (2-0, 1.00), Mike Murphy (0-0, 3.52), Joe Shaffner (0-1, 3.00) and Max Wilder (1-0, 4.50) each getting a start this week. Those 5 will be joined by Del Lyons, Hal Galvan and recent waiver pickup Henggler on the final roster. The question now is do I just bring 8 pitchers north or will one of Larry Brown (0-1, 6.48), Chuck Murphy (0-0, 4.50) or George DeForest (0-1, 6.48) show enough in the final two weeks to earn a spot. My expectation is I will start the season with an 8 man staff so each of those three will likely head to AAA Rochester.
The bats continue to heat up in the Florida sunshine. All four of my starting infielders are hitting over .400 in spring action led by Harry Barrell (16-for-33), who leads all players in spring hits. Dan Barrell (.476), Jake Shadoan (.429) and John Langille (.409) are the others. Those 4 along with catcher Fred Barrell (.308), centerfiedler Bill May (.318) and right fielder Doug Lightbody (.250) are assured starting roles when opening day hits. I do have a battle shaping up in left field as young Jose Serna continues to make his case. The 22 year old, who was in Brooklyn all of last season as a rule V pickup but played sparingly, is hitting .346 in the spring and the natural centerfielder would give us outstanding defense should he hit enough to wrestle the starting job from Art Summers and Joe Perret, who I had planned on platooning. However Summers is in the midst of a 2-for-17 spring slump and Perret is not doing much better at 3-for-18 (.167). It is only March so I am not making any rash changes yet but the thought of an outfield with both May and Serna in it is very appealing to our pitching staff.
PROJECTED 23-MAN ROSTER
Here is where things stand right now.
8 or 9 Pitchers: Tom Barrell, Mike Murphy, Ken Carpenter and Joe Shaffner in the rotation with Max Wilder as the swing man and the combo of Del Lyons, Hal Galvan and Bert Henggler handling the relief duties. My expectation is the 3 pitchers in camp (George DeForest, Larry Brown and Chuck Murphy) all get sent to Rochester.
2 Catchers: Fred Barrell with Bill Smith again returning as his backup. The third catcher in camp is minor league veteran Joe Clark and he will go back to Rochester.
6 Infielders: The starters are clearly set. Dan Barrell will play first base and I can spell him with either second baseman Jake Shadoan or outfielder Doug Lightbody. Shadoan is my second baseman - a terrific hitter who's defense seems to be improving. Shortstop Harry Barrell is 21 and already likely the best at his position in the league and third baseman John Langille looks to duplicate an outstanding rookie campaign. Nick Wallace will come north as the backup third baseman now that Buck Sargent is on the DL. That leaves a pair of middle infielders who are both gifted with the glove at either second base or shortstop to fight it out for the final job. Walt Layton has spent the past 5 years with the Kings but has played sparingly since Harry Barrell arrived. Not the best hitter- he is slashing .239/.309/.324 for his 405 game career but his work with the glove is nearly as impressive as Harry's. Rabbit Mudd is a former first round pick who has been up and down between Brooklyn and Rochester. His bat is slightly better than Layton's, slashing .261/.311/.376 in 272 games with the Kings, but his defense, while still very good, is a notch below Layton. Both have option years left so there is no issue demoting either to Rochester.
6 or 7 Outfielders: Bill May will get the job in centerfield and Doug Lightbody owns right. Art Summers, Joe Perret and Jose Serna are battling for left field with Ab Thomas and Jim Gentry in the mix as well. The original plan was to give Serna a couple of months playing every day in Rochester but he may force me to carry 7 outfielders.
The other two guys still in camp are Jimmy Schlosser and Elmer Nolde. I like both of them but won't have room. Nolde, a 1929 second rounder, still has an option left so he will go to Rochester. Schlosser is 27, has been in the system since being selected in the 6th round of the 1929 draft out of Central Ohio University. He has only made the big club for 16 games and spent most of last season in AA Knoxville, where he hit .393. I will have to designate him for assignment and remove him from the 40-man so there is a chance he will be lost as a waiver pickup but there is no room for him with the Kings.
So very little needs to be decided the next two weeks. They key is to have everyone stay healthy and the bats continue to hum in preparation for our season opener two weeks from tomorrow on the road against the New York Stars.
ROSTER MOVES THIS WEEK
Demoted Pitcher Tom Blalock to AAA Rochester
Place P Art White on the 60-day DL and 3B Buck Sargent on the 15-day DL.