1980 Big Leagues First Year Player Draft
CHICAGO, IL (6-15-1980) The Big Leagues held their annual First Year Player Draft yesterday at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, and all eyes were on the Atlanta Thrashers, who held the first pick. Many predicted the Thrashers would select Amos Reid, an 18-year-old pitcher from Newfield High School in Selden, New York. But the Atlanta brass changed course and ended up selecting another high school pitcher, Gene Engle, a lefty from Glassboro High in Glassboro, New Jersey. Engle, a 6’2” 18 year old, projects to have an excellent sinker, excellent splitter, and an excellent forkball. His changeup is slated to be fringy. All of his pitches have solid movement, which should help keep him from giving up too many long balls. The Thrashers are expected to start him off in AA Savannah.
The full Top 10 includes:
1. Atlanta Thrashers - SP Gene Engle, Glassboro, NJ
2. Montreal Royales - SP Ed Didlake, 18 years old, Glendale, AZ
3. Los Angeles Bluebirds - CF Bill Hilson, 18 years old, New Orleans, LA
4. Milwaukee Chiefs - SS Billy Evans, 18 years old, Detroit, MI
5. Houston Buffaloes - 3B Willie McClure, 18 years old, Vista, CA
6. Washington Generals - SP Barney Raphael, 18 years old, Salisbury, NC
7. New York Metropolitans - SP Hughie Taschner, 18 years old, Lee, MA
8. Dallas Texans - CF Sam Tobb, 19 years old, Los Angeles, CA
9. Brooklyn Atlantics - SP President Brown, 23 years old, UAB
10. San Diego Skippers - SP Amos Reid, 18 years old, Selden, NY
Our top five picks were:
1. SP Cy Nugent - (Round 1, 13th pick - 18 years old, Moorestown, New Jersey). He has three pitches right now, his best being his slider, a cut fastball, and a changeup. His stats this season included a record of 10-0 with a 0.73 ERA in 13 starts. He gave up 52 hits in 98.1 innings, while striking out 170 and walking 22. He gave up two home runs over the course of this season.
2. SS Willliam Meier - (Round 3, 91st overall pick - 19 years old, Vandenberg AFB, CA). Has a strong, lean frame. Should be an above average defender. Well above average speed. Has a good eye at the plate. This season he batted .407/.491/.615, 2 home runs, 23 RBI in 21 games.
3. SP Frank Moore - (Round 4, 119th overall pick - 19 years old, Norway, ME). Has a dominant curveball, average fastball, well-below average changeup. When he throws strikes, has the potential to dominate. But doesn’t throw strikes often enough yet. Stats this season were a 9-2 record, 1.26 ERA in 14 starts. 156 strikeouts in 107 innings. Walked 30 in those 107 innings.
4. C Milo Montgomery - (Round 5, 147th overall pick - 19 years old, Wilmington, DE). Tall, thick-bodied build. Projects to be a patient hitter with good discipline. Average power potential despite his size. Will probably strike out with regularity. This season he batted .420/.496/.661 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI in 27 games.
5. SP Juan Hernandez - (Round 6, 175th overall pick - 22 years old from Notre Dame). Repertoire includes cutter, fastball, and changeup. Lacks command right now, causing him to walk too many hitters. Stats this year were 4-7 record, 5.03 ERA, 107.1 innings in 16 starts. Gave up 111 hits and 62 walks, while allowing 13 home runs.
The rest of our picks were:
6. C Jimmy Charles (Round 7, 203rd overall pick - Dallas, TX)
7. SP Abe Stanek (Round 8, 231st overall pick - West Paterson, NJ)
8. C George Daniel (Round 9, 259th overall pick - Great Neck Plaza, NY)
9. SP Michio Furuya (Round 10, 287th overall pick - Eastmont College)
10. SP Silver Shoemaker (Round 11, 315th overall pick - Corsicana, TX)
11. SP Jim Johnson (Round 12, 343rd overall pick - Ft. Mitchell, KY)
12. SS Ben Rucker (Round 13, 371st overall pick - Sunnyvale, CA)
13. RP Billy Autry (Round 14, 399th overall pick - Wellesley, MA)
14. SS Jack Musgrove (Round 15, 427th overall pick - Kendall, FL)
15. SP Dewey Slinker (Round 16, 455th overall pick - Moreno Valley, CA)
16. SS John Wood (Round 17, 483rd overall pick - Gardena, CA)
17. SP Bob Goss (Round 18, 511st overall pick - Shelbyville, IN)
18. C Charles Morrison (Round 19, 539th overall pick - Parkland, WA)
19. C Rooney Roney (Round 20, 567th overall pick - Orchard Mesa, CO)
20. CF Bill Jackson (Round 21, 595th overall pick - Tucson, AZ)
21. C Dave Kenley (Round 22, 623rd overall pick - San Antonio, TX)
22. 2B Pat Vitale (Round 23, 651st overall pick - Owensboro, KY)
23. C Bill Tompkins (Round 24, 679th overall pick - Houston, TX)
24. C Ken Behringer (Round 25, 707th overall pick - Grand Junction, CO)
25. C C.V. Boone (Round 26, 735th overall pick - Danville, VA)
26. C Joe Vine (Round 27, 763rd overall pick - Rosemead, CA)
27. 1B Malachi Leone (Round 28, 791st overall pick - Lee’s Summit, MO)
My favorite names of our draft are SP Silver Shoemaker and C Rooney Roney.