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CF Henry Norman (70th Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Chiefs (1948)
Drafted: 3rd Round, 36th Overall (1947)
Alma Mater: Cleveland Tigers

If Henry Norman could ever stay healthy, he'd probably be ahead of Jerry Smith and Frank Reece, but instead he found himself finishing out his season in Lincoln. That's where he spent his 94 games in 1950, but there's a better chance he ends up in Milwaukee, then Lincoln again. 22 as of September, Norman has green arrows to Milwaukee, and if it wasn't for a crowded Little Rock outfield that was winning a pennant, he'd probably have received a promotion at some point. Instead, the former 3rd Rounder hit .330/.418/.476 (145 OPS+) in 443 trips to the plate, recording 14 doubles, 6 triples, 10 homers, 60 RBIs, 71 runs, and 8 steals. As awesome as the 56-to-24 walk-to-strikeout ratio, the absolute best part of Norman's season was the homers. Ten doesn't seem like a lot, but considering he had five last season (including Cuba) and three total in the two previous seasons, this jump in power was a huge positive for our young outfielder. More of a contact/line drive/never whiff kind of hitter, power was never expected from him, as most of his offensive value comes from his elite hit tool. OSA talks about how he excels with hitting it where they ain't, and with his speed and discipline he's able to work at bats, leg out hits, and take the extra base when he finds a gap. Unlike Reece and Smith, defense isn't quite Norman's strong suit, so anything more then average defense in center would be a stretch. He did get a lot of reps in right this season, and he looked really good, which makes a Smith-Reece-Norman outfield something Little Rock fans may be treated as they look to defend their title.

2B Biff Tiner (71st Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 13th Overall (1949)
Alma Mater: Elkin Elks

After hitting .367/.429/.516 (144 OPS+) in 54 games for the Lions last year, I thought Biff Tiner would be more then ready for San Jose. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong...

Last year's first rounder played 58 games before I finally had enough, as Tiner was hitting just .223/.317/.280 (58 OPS+) with an awful -7.0 zone rating and .855 efficiency at the keystone. 8 doubles, 8 steals, a triple, 22 walks, and 20 RBIs wasn't enough to counteract all the bad, so the 19-year-old was worth a poor -1.6 WAR. He then moved down to La Crosse to finish the season, where he hit a much more respectable .323/.457/.462 (120 OPS+) in a smaller 81 PA sample. He even homered, twice to be exact, adding a double, triple, 3 steals, 17 RBIs, and 15 walks. He spent some time at second, but with Andy Robinson getting most of the reps, we started giving him some time in left. It didn't look very good, but having a second position in our organization is huge, and if him and Robinson are moving up together, he'll need somewhere else he can get reps. With his work ethic, I expect him to figure out left quickly, but without seeing his outfield ratings, there's no way to know how competent a fully experienced Tiner is in left. Defense seems to be a weak point of his game, but I'm not sure it's weak enough where he's going to be relegated to left and first. At 6'2'', first would be an easy transition, but he's far more useful at second. With and excellent contact tool and good discipline, he should keep walks up, hits up, and strikeouts down, and he's got decent pop for his age. Dixie thinks he'll grow into above average power, which would be huge if he's relegated to a corner. I'm not betting on the power, more the contact/eye mix, but he's got a lot of developing ahead of him, and with an excellent middle infield in Chicago it'll be okay for us to take our time.

SS Elmer Grace (77th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 52nd Overall (1948)
Alma Mater: St. Dominic's Padres

Speaking of quality middle infielders, Elmer Grace probably should have made a FABL Opening Day roster, but in only his second full pro season, we had no incentive to rush him to the majors. Instead, the elite glovemen put up a tremendous campaign with the Blues, appearing in 133 games and accumulating 7.2 WAR with 25 doubles, 20 homers, and 69 RBIs. He hit an excellent .289/.375/.476 (135 OPS+) with a 146 WRC+, and his 18.6 zone rating and 1.083 efficiency are the step above elite and the step below Skipper Schneider. He's about as good as it gets defensively, and while I'm sure there's someone else at or above his level in the minors, I don't think any of those guys can come close to his bat. Grace could hit big league pitching today, and in the Century League he walked (69) more then he struck out (56). He could be a very useful .300/.400/.500 hitter, though I'm guessing closer to .275/.350/.425, which
is basically Red Bond without the 30+ home runs. Grace seems destined for the 10-20 range, with my best guess closer to 15 then 20. With his glove, even 10 is enough, but unfortunately 1951 doesn't seem any more likely for a significant FABL callup. I'd love to find a home for him, particularly in the Fed, but without obvious needs I'm not sure we'll find a fit that makes success. You can really never have too much talent, and if we lost Sutterfield or Skipper for a significant stretch, Grace should be able to match or come close to the production they were providing.

CF Ike Soeur (92nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 62nd Overall (1950)
Alma Mater: Walla Walla Warriors

Many of our new draftees were completely overmatched in La Crosse, and Ike Soeur was no exception. A gifted Canadian outfielder, Ike Soeur just graduated from Otto Christian's high school, where he hit .505 with 3 homers, 23 steals, and 33 RBIs as a senior. In affiliated ball, his slugging was lower then that, batting just .227/.359/.381 (77 OPS+). Interestingly, he had no doubles or triples, but Soeur cleared the fence five times, driving in 11 and scoring 15 times, while drawing 20 walks. That made his OBP respectable despite hitting below .230, and he actually had just two more hits then walks. While not quite what I expected, Soeur is starting to look more like a modern day prospect, low average, strong power, and an excellent eye, even if he'll strike out a lot. Dixie thinks there's hope for the contact, projecting an above average hit tool. OSA thinks even more, saying he could be "an above average contact hitter" with the "potential to be a .310 hitter." .310 would be nice, leading all non-Leo Mitchell Cougars (technically Hal Wood too as he hit .312 overall, but just .273 with us). I'm more intrigued by the power, as power/defense combos are still rare. If he can be average out in center and hit for average power, the eye will make up for the low contact. Conversely, if he can improve the contact, even at the expense of power, he could be a useful table setter. With someone as young as him, there's plenty of twists and turns ahead, but I'm curious to see how he responds to his poor debut year in his first full season.

RHP Ernie Tisdale (97th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 20th Overall (1950)
Alma Mater: Oklahoma Bible College Dusters

Part of me regrets passing on Rod Shearer, who currently ranks 3rd in the league, but do we really need a 6th top 100 center fielder? I mean, we have a 6th right outside the top 100 in Jeff King too. How much more would Shearer help?

Lucky for us, it's easier to get over that considering Ernie Tisdale is one of just sixteen pitchers in the top 100 prospects, and "Big E" has the perfect build to start in the majors. An intimidating and muscular 6'4'' righty, Tisdale has a deep and FABL quality five pitch arsenal, headlined by one of the best splitters you'd ever see. OSA and Dixie both call it "off the charts" and considering he went from College to Class B and struck out 16.7% of the batters he faced, I think C-O-W hitters would back that declaration up. He's not a one-trick pony either, as his changeup is advanced for his age and projected to be a plus pitch. Then there's the sinker, which while not overpowering, is located well and generates weak contact. If anything, the velocity is the early knock, as he sits in the 85-87 range despite his size. I'm hoping for a velo boost this offesason, as even 87-89 would cement his future as a FABL starter. He's got a fastball too, which is more of an afterthought at this point, and he's still working on locating his slider. If he's throwing a few ticks harder, the quality of those pitches matters far less. They're good enough now, as he was quite effective with San Jose, finishing 6-2 in 10 starts while averaging just over 7.5 innings per start. Factor in the outstanding 3.32 ERA (133 ERA+) and 3.48 WHIP (78 FIP-) with a 1.36 WHIP, 55 strikeouts, and a 1.4 K/BB and it's hard to ask for a much better debut season. I think he's ready for Lincoln, whether he starts there or not is dependent on the rest of our arms, but "Big-E" is well on his way to becoming the next in a very long and expansive list of successful prospects to come through the Cougars pitching lab.