A NEW ERA IN FIGMENT BASEBALL IS UNDERWAY
While reactions were mixed among team executives prior to the event, the new process allowing top amateur players some say in where they end up plying their trade was on the whole a rousing success. There were, as is the case in every draft, winners and losers but there was also a lot more excitement waiting for players to decide which offer they will accept. In the end the 32 players involved were the big winners and Brooklyn King Curly Jones, who was a real catalyst for the change, was all smiles at the end of the proceedings.
"I wish I had the right to have some say when it was my draft," stated Jones by telephone from Toronto where his club was slated to play later in the day. "I am not saying I would not have chose the Gothams but it would have been nice to have it be my decision and not be handed out like cattle at auction. Obviously we didn't get everything we wanted but this is a start."
Jones was referring to attempts to organize a union of players, which was something that did not occur but he did earn a small victory for newcomers to the league with the concession from the owners to allow what OSA deems to be the top 32 players the opportunity to pick their destination, when since 1911 when the FABL draft began it has been entirely the owners say.
Some teams will love the system after today while others will hate it simply based on who they did - or didn't - manage to land. Like the new format or hate it, it was hard to argue against the drama as the top 32 players and representatives from each of the 16 FABL clubs gathered on the floor of the Potomac Arena in Washington D.C., not far from the league offices, for the ceremony. While no fans were in attendance there was plenty of cheering (and groaning) as each player stepped up to the podium and announced his choice of employer. Perhaps the highlight was seeing Detroit Dynamos General Manager DD Martin dancing a jig after hearing that catcher Pete Casstevens had picked the Dynamos.
"What can I say," gushed the Dynamos GM shortly afterwards. "Pete is the player we wanted and we made sure he knew just how much he would mean to this organization."
Casstevens, who's father Clint was a Whitney Award winning outfielder with Pittsburgh, said he just liked the direction the Dynamos were heading. "I have been following the exploits of Sal (rookie outfielder Sal Pestilli) and my dad knows Mr. Morris fairly well so it just felt right. Plus Mr. Morris (Detroit player-manager Max Morris) said my dad owed him for stealing a Whitney Award away from him a while back."
Remember there are still 23 rounds of a conventional draft ahead and some real talent still available but here is a look at the winners and losers from the first ever Players Phase of the FABL draft.
WINNERS
DETROIT DYNAMOS: The Dynamos landed Casstevens, the latest and maybe best of a growing crop of talented young receivers. He was ranked #2 by OSA after the Syracuse High School star was named the winner of the Adwell Award as High School Player of the Year. Lost in the excitement about Casstevens was the fact the Dynamos also signed Cuban born outfielder Juan Pomales out of St Francis University of Ohio. Pomales was ranked the #5 prospect but Detroit immediately after signing him announced a trade with the Chicago Cougars that would return a pair of pitching prospects to the Dynamos. So much for players controlling their own destiny I suppose but it made an excellent day even better for Detroit fans.
NEW YORK GOTHAMS: The Gothams got their new Ed Ziehl in second baseman Roosevelt Brewer. The two-time High School All-American second baseman out of Chicago has the potential to be a franchise cornerstone and the centerpiece of what might someday be known as a Hundred Thousand Dollar infield with last year's number two pick Walt Messer at first base, Mule Monier, a 1934 fifth rounder at shortstop and Billy Dalton, the 10th overall pick of the 1934 draft at the hot corner. The Gothams second player was Constantine Peters, a 21 year old fleet-footed center fielder from Springfield State. Peters was listed as #17 on the OSA list.
ST LOUIS PIONEERS: The Pioneers picked up a pair of highly touted infielders in Joe Pestilli and Luke Michaels. Yes, Joe is one of Sal Pestilli's brothers and the only infielder in the family. He was an All-American second baseman at New York Maritime College but his future likely belongs at third base as the Pioneers have all-star Freddie Jones penciled in as their second baseman for the next decade. 18 year old shortstop Luke Micheals was honorable mention for the High School All-American team twice during his prep days at Santa Barbara High School in California. Pestilli was ranked #4 on the OSA list with Micheals 7th making them the second highest duo to go to one team behind only the Dynamos.
Afterwards Pioneers assistant General Manager Charlie Kane had some thoughts on the entire event: "I was not a fan of this process when it was introduced but the actual experience was very fun. We ended up with two top seven guys when we (would have been) drafting 10th so we feel pretty good about it overall. Pestilli could see a future move to 3B and while I'm not totally sold on Michaels it's always good to have top shelf short stops in the system."
PHILADELPHIA SAILORS: The Sailors may end up being very big winners here if all goes according to OSA's script. Both outfielder Cotton Dillon, ranked 18th and shortstop Willie Hall, ranked 23rd are high school players labelled projects, but each has a terrific upside. Dillon was an All-American at Hillsdale High in Michigan while Hall played his high school ball in Massachusetts but was born in Rhode Island, so he combines with the Pestilli's to give tiny Rhode Island 3 of the top 32 players.
PITTSBURGH MINERS: Spud Bent is the big pickup for the Miners as the Maryland State All-American third baseman established a number of AIAA record breaking totals including most career RBI's and stolen bases while also finishing third all-time in hits. Add in shortstop Bill Carr, who is celebrating his 21st birthday today, and the Miners get two players rated in the top 12 by OSA.
LOSERS
CHICAGO COUGARS: A few teams might lay claim to having the worst day but hard to argue with the Chicago Cougars when their Scouting Director Marv Branson summed the day up this way: "I don't think anyone was worse off then us, but I guess Baltimore is a close second."
Like most teams the Cougars had little interest in outfielders, particularly corner outfielders due to the glut of them in the sport. Two players had to sign with every team and it just so happened the Cougars got two of the players they liked the least in Marv Smith and Ray Powell. Smith, a 22 year old from Portland Tech, was actually ranked 11th by OSA but the Cougars admitted they would not have considered him before the fifth round. He is from Montana so he has that in common with Chicago infielder Ollie Page. Powell is an 18 year old from Little Rock (AK) High School but also a player who was not on the Cougars radar. The only saving grace for Chicago was the deal announced immediately after the draft with Detroit for Juan Pomales.
BROOKLYN KINGS: Like the Cougars the Kings wanted nothing to do with outfielders as they are loaded at the position but just as Chicago did, Brooklyn ended up with a pair of them. Joe Herman was #20 on the OSA list and is a centerfielder out of Grange College in Kentucky, for whom he was an All-American this season. He has some skills and with current Brooklyn centerfielder Bill May struggling at the moment, who knows maybe Herman will have a future with the Kings. Bob Pettaway, another college center fielder, was the other player to choose Brooklyn. He is a 20 year old from Baton Rogue State with tremendous work ethic and versatility as he can likely play anywhere but catcher. He was originally a 10th round pick of Baltimore out of high school in 1934 but decided to go the college route instead. The Kings love his attitude but question his skillset and durability.
BALTMORE CANNONS: The Cannons are loaded with young pitching talent and are a team on the rise but they desperately need some young offensive talent. Their resurgence would have been greatly aided by the ability to land either Casstevens or Brewer but instead they had to settle for SS Alex Turner. The 31st ranked prospect out of Lincoln College is said to have limited upside. Their second player was 16th ranked Ed Greenwood, a pretty good centerfielder out of Mississippi Tech but they missed out on the prize of that group as well in Tony Pestilli, who chose the Keystones.
CLEVELAND FORESTERS: Cleveland had traded away the rights to landing one of the players to Washington prior to the draft so the Foresters had to settle for just one signing and that was outfielder Charlie Nathan, a 21 year old from South Valley State who was ranked 30th. Foresters scouting director Ollie Moses summed it up this way: "Cleveland gambled and lost hard. The scouting staff consensus on Nathan was he was the 53rd best player available.
THE REST
BOSTON MINUTEMEN: The Minutemen can be considered winners for landing the only pitcher in the group of 32 as Duke Hendricks, who was a second team All-American at Baton Rogue State and a teammate of Brooklyn's Bob Pettaway. While not expected to be an ace, the 21 year old is projected as a solid #3 starter. 9th ranked Eddie Haley, a centerfielder from Portland Tech (where he was a teammate in the outfield with Marv Smith, was the other Boston signing.
CHICAGO CHIEFS: It was a moderate win for the Chiefs in second baseman Wes Parks and outfielder Dick Hall. Parks is an 18 year old high school player out of Bryan, Texas who was ranked 6th by OSA while Hall, who played his college ball at Laclede, and was ranked 13th. Both project to be average big leaguers.
MONTREAL SAINTS: The Saints add catcher Phil Squires and second baseman Eric Fiore. Fiore was ranked 24th and Squires 25th. Both have Kentucky ties as Squires played at Grange College while Fiore has committed to Bluegrass State but that will change since he will sign with Montreal. They both made the top 32 but OSA feels they are each on the bubble for developing enough to make the big leagues. The day feels close to a loss for the Saints.
NEW YORK STARS: The only club that failed to send a representative to the meeting but second baseman Ira Armstrong and outfielder Paul Hall both agreed to join the team even though there was no one around to welcome them to the organization. OSA like's centerfielder Hall, a 22 year old out of President's College in Illinois, and feel he has great upside. Armstrong is a high school second baseman with a bright future according to OSA as well so despite having no one represent them the Stars made out pretty well.
PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES: A pair of outfielders but the Keystones made out very nicely in landing the youngest member of the Pestilli brood. Tony was ranked 15th by OSA and while his career lacks the flash of Sal, he may prove to be a very good big league outfielder. It will take time as he is just 18 and will be the only one of the 4 ballplaying Pestilli's not to play college ball before signing a professional contract. The Keystones second player is Bud Mullen, who at 32nd was the lowest ranked player in the group and is on the bubble for ever making the majors.
TORONTO WOLVES: The Wolves got the player with perhaps the most untapped potential in third baseman Ockie Holliday. He was featured in the draft preview for his impressive power numbers but the question mark is he played at a small school and only for one season. The upside is there for the second team All-American as OSA ranked him #3 but will he reach his full potential. Tom Frederick was also a top 8 prospect and should be a nice fit with the Wolves. If Holliday pans out then Toronto is a big winner.
WASHINGTON EAGLES: The only club to receive three players thanks to a trade with Cleveland, the Eagles ended up with second baseman Henry Sheridan, first baseman Jim Hammond and catcher Paul Wilkerson. The first two are not overly impressive but Wilkerson prevents the day from being a loss for the Eagles as the the 21 year old from Oklahoma City State has quite an upside and could be one of the better signal callers in the game someday.
The standard phase of the draft, which will consist of 23 rounds this year, is now underway.