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Tiger Fan · 12-23-2019, 04:13 PM

APRIL 16, 1929
KINGS MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM CALLED BASEBALL'S BEST

What a difference six months can make! Last summer, with top prospect Mike Taylor already established in Brooklyn and no longer qualifying for prospect status, the Brooklyn farm system was ranked 15th out of the 16 FABL teams. Flash forward to this month and suddenly the Kings system is considered the best in baseball after the draft and a number of trades netted a boatload of young pitching talent. The Kings already had a very strong core group of good young position players, nearly all of whom will ply their trade in the major leagues this season but had, until very recently, lacked much in the way of pitching talent. That has changed drastically and the Kings minor league coaching staffs are tasked with chore of getting these young talented players ready to contribute at the big league level.

Brooklyn has a number of changes with it's affiliates this season. To start with the Kings are no longer associated with the Houston Bulls after the Century League decided to change it's footprint and move away from the deep south. Houston still has a team and it's still called the Bulls but they will not be affiliated with any major league organization and will compete in the entirely independent Texas-based Lone Star League. There was some other shuffling at the AAA level and Brooklyn ended up agreeing to house their AAA players in Rochester of the Union League. The Rooks used to be associated with the Baltimore Cannons and were previously playing at the AA level in the Eastern Association.

No change at AA as the Knoxville Knights of the Dixie League remain with the Kings. The Omaha Cowboys are still the Class A affiliate but will play in a new league as the club left the Heartland League and will join affiliates of Detroit and Toronto in the Western Baseball League where the remaining 5 clubs in the 8 team loop will be unaffiliated. Tampa also returns as the Class B entry with no changes but the Kings have added a 5th club with the addition of Class C. The Marshalltown Kings will compete in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association and be home primarily to first year pros.

So that is the new layout of the organization. Here is a quick look at some of the top prospects at each level.

ROCHESTER ROOKS (AAA)

Transferring the primary affiliate from Houston to nearby Rochester is a welcome move for Scouting Director Rube Carter as it makes it much easier for him and his staff to take in games. The Houston Bulls won the Century League a year ago and while winning at the minor league level is not the main objective, it certainly helps to develop the right mindset in the young prospects.

This will be a transition year at AAA as most of the top prospects that played at that level are year ago are now in Brooklyn and the organization's prize prospects are still likely a year or two away from AAA. I say likely because there is a decent chance that number one overall pick Tommy Wilcox moves up from AA at some point during the season. Right now, the top pitching prospects in Rochester are Mickey Beavers and Del Lyons. The 24 year old Beavers came over in a deadline deal with Cleveland last year and is likely next in line for promotion to Brooklyn while Lyons, a 23 year old second round pick in 1926, looked very good in AA a year ago.

Jim Gentry, Elmer Root and Tom Aiello are the three position players to watch at Rochester. Gentry, a 23 year old centerfielder who is ranked the 81st best prospect in the game, hit .299 at Knoxville a year ago. He was a second round draft pick in 1924 out of Washington High School. The 22 year old Root is ranked #84 by OSA. He was taken in the 4th round of the 1924 draft out of Milwaukee High School and had a breakout year last season, splitting time between Omaha and Knoxville. Aiello is also 22 and the Kings feel he is a much better prospect than his 168th ranking indicates. Scout Rube Carter raves about all aspects of Aiello's game and he looked very comfortable in a half season at Houston a year ago. A 4th round pick out of Queens High School in 1925, Aiello's father briefly played in the Kings outfield in the early 1910's.

KNOXVILLE KNIGHTS AA

There will be plenty of attention on the Knights to start the season as that is where first overall draft Tommy Wilcox will begin his pro career. The career AIAA strikeout leader from Liberty College looked very impressive in spring outings with Class A Omaha and don't be surprised to see him in AAA before the year is out. While none compare to Wilcox, there are some other good young arms in Knoxville including 23 year old Jerry Townsend, and 24 year old [/b]Lyman Weigel[/b]. Townsend is a 1926 8th round pick from Pierpont University who progress through 3 minor league levels a year ago while Weigel, ranked 103rd by OSA, was a 1925 7th round pick from Commonwealth Catholic.

Among position players to watch we highlight Joe Cameron, Tony King and Sam Tyree. Cameron is a catcher, a 3rd round pick out of Chicago High School in 1924, who's development has been slow but seemed to hit it's stride a year ago when he batted .316 at Class A Omaha. King, a 21 year old third baseman acquired in a trade with the New York Stars, is the 104th rated prospect. He hit .282 a year ago splitting the season between the Stars AA affiliate and Knoxville. Tyree is a 21 year old outfielder who hit .283 in Omaha a year ago. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Spartanburg High School in 1925.

OMAHA COWBOYS A

The Kings brass is very high on pitchers Ossie Mahoney, George Johnson and Dave Rankin. The 21 year old Johnson is the 40th ranked prospect by BNN and was acquired from the Chicago Chiefs last summer. A 1926 first round pick, taken 6th overall out of Birmingham High School, Johnson struggled last season at Class A but the Kings are hoping he gets back on track this year. Mahoney was the Kings 4th round pick this past December out of St. Pancras, where he had 3 solid seasons. Rankin, at 22, is a year older than Mahoney and was selected in the 5th round of the 1927 draft out of Northern California University. He is presently ranked the #88 best prospect in the game.

There are several position players at Omaha the Kings feel have a good shot at a solid big league career. High on that list is shortstop Walt Layton, a 16th round pick in 1926 from Boston High School who had a breakout year in Tampa last season. Outfielder Loren Morgan is a 23 year old 1927 4th round pick out of Mississippi A&M, the same school that produced several current and former Kings outfielders including Doug Lightbody. Morgan looked very good in Tampa last season. This season's third round pick, outfielder Art Summers from St. Matthew's College, earned a ticket to Omaha with his solid play in the Clas C spring training.

TAMPA CIGAR KINGS B

No longer the 'Baby Kings' with a new level of minors below them this club will nevertheless be very heavily scouted as a pair of prized 20 year old pitching prospects in recent additions Larry Brown and Johnny Jacob will begin their Kings career here. Both were acquired over the winter in trades and Jacob is ranked the #10 overall and second best (behind Wilcox) pitching prospect in the game while Brown is ranked #57 overall. Brown, a lefthander, was dominant in Class B a year ago, going 20-11 with a 3.27 era for Chattanooga of the same Southeastern League Tampa is a part of. He was the 4th overall selection in the 1926 draft out of Oakland High School. Jacob struggled in his first pro season after being taken from High Point High School in the 4th round of the 1927 draft but the Kings hope to see a similar breakout with him this year to what Brown accomplished in his second pro season.

Also keep an eye on first baseman Ron Rattigan and middle infielder Rabbit Mudd. Rattigan, a 20 year old acquired along with Jacob yesterday from Baltimore, is the #21st ranked prospect in the game after being drafted by the Cannons from their hometown Baltimore High School in the 14th round of the 1927 draft. The results were not there last season (.249,8,48) but Rattigan has loads of potential. Mudd, also 20, was taken by the Kings 15th overall in the 1927 draft out of Milwaukee High School. He is ranked the #89 prospect in the game and is equally at home in the field at either 2B or SS.

MARSHALLTOWN KINGS C

The newest entry will be home primarily to high school draftees from the last two rounds and some recent college picks. some pitchers looked very impressive in spring training including 19 year old Art Blake, who was a 2nd round pick in 1927 who's pro debut was cut short with Tampa a year ago due to a knee injury. 21 year old Tommy Chandler a recent 12th round pick out of St. Patrick's and 2nd rounder Joe Russell, an 18 year old who went 23-2 with a 1.23 era over 3 seasons at Toledo High School are also expected to shine in the coming years.

Another pitcher to watch is 19 year old Jim Ferro. With no high school or college experience the youth came from the semi-pro leagues to a very brief stint with independent Hollywood of the Great Western League but was released. He attended an indoor tryout camp over the winter that was primarily a publicity stunt to drum up interest in the new team, but was granted an invite to spring training where he caught everyone's attention. Ferro pitched 42 spring innings in Class C camp and fanned 69 batters in that span. He is rough, and needs a lot of development but Brooklyn signed him to a minor league deal and he will begin in the Marshalltown bullpen. The big leagues are a longshot for Ferro, but so was getting a roster spot out of an indoor tryout camp.

SUMMARY

With a lot of good young position players already in Brooklyn, the Kings have been focused on pitching talent and now own the top two pitching prospects in the game as well as 6 of the top 41. There will be plenty more coming in the next year as Brooklyn stock-piled draft picks as well as young arms and owns 2 picks in every round from the second through 7th as well as their own first rounder. Loads of potential, but the question remains as to how much of it can reach those lofty expectations. Pitchers, especially high school arms, are very unpredictable.

12-23-2019, 04:13 PM	#146
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,542	1929 Minor League Preview APRIL 16, 1929 KINGS MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM CALLED BASEBALL'S BEST What a difference six months can make! Last summer, with top prospect Mike Taylor already established in Brooklyn and no longer qualifying for prospect status, the Brooklyn farm system was ranked 15th out of the 16 FABL teams. Flash forward to this month and suddenly the Kings system is considered the best in baseball after the draft and a number of trades netted a boatload of young pitching talent. The Kings already had a very strong core group of good young position players, nearly all of whom will ply their trade in the major leagues this season but had, until very recently, lacked much in the way of pitching talent. That has changed drastically and the Kings minor league coaching staffs are tasked with chore of getting these young talented players ready to contribute at the big league level. Brooklyn has a number of changes with it's affiliates this season. To start with the Kings are no longer associated with the Houston Bulls after the Century League decided to change it's footprint and move away from the deep south. Houston still has a team and it's still called the Bulls but they will not be affiliated with any major league organization and will compete in the entirely independent Texas-based Lone Star League. There was some other shuffling at the AAA level and Brooklyn ended up agreeing to house their AAA players in Rochester of the Union League. The Rooks used to be associated with the Baltimore Cannons and were previously playing at the AA level in the Eastern Association. No change at AA as the Knoxville Knights of the Dixie League remain with the Kings. The Omaha Cowboys are still the Class A affiliate but will play in a new league as the club left the Heartland League and will join affiliates of Detroit and Toronto in the Western Baseball League where the remaining 5 clubs in the 8 team loop will be unaffiliated. Tampa also returns as the Class B entry with no changes but the Kings have added a 5th club with the addition of Class C. The Marshalltown Kings will compete in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association and be home primarily to first year pros. So that is the new layout of the organization. Here is a quick look at some of the top prospects at each level. ROCHESTER ROOKS (AAA) Transferring the primary affiliate from Houston to nearby Rochester is a welcome move for Scouting Director Rube Carter as it makes it much easier for him and his staff to take in games. The Houston Bulls won the Century League a year ago and while winning at the minor league level is not the main objective, it certainly helps to develop the right mindset in the young prospects. This will be a transition year at AAA as most of the top prospects that played at that level are year ago are now in Brooklyn and the organization's prize prospects are still likely a year or two away from AAA. I say likely because there is a decent chance that number one overall pick Tommy Wilcox moves up from AA at some point during the season. Right now, the top pitching prospects in Rochester are Mickey Beavers and Del Lyons. The 24 year old Beavers came over in a deadline deal with Cleveland last year and is likely next in line for promotion to Brooklyn while Lyons, a 23 year old second round pick in 1926, looked very good in AA a year ago. Jim Gentry, Elmer Root and Tom Aiello are the three position players to watch at Rochester. Gentry, a 23 year old centerfielder who is ranked the 81st best prospect in the game, hit .299 at Knoxville a year ago. He was a second round draft pick in 1924 out of Washington High School. The 22 year old Root is ranked #84 by OSA. He was taken in the 4th round of the 1924 draft out of Milwaukee High School and had a breakout year last season, splitting time between Omaha and Knoxville. Aiello is also 22 and the Kings feel he is a much better prospect than his 168th ranking indicates. Scout Rube Carter raves about all aspects of Aiello's game and he looked very comfortable in a half season at Houston a year ago. A 4th round pick out of Queens High School in 1925, Aiello's father briefly played in the Kings outfield in the early 1910's. KNOXVILLE KNIGHTS AA There will be plenty of attention on the Knights to start the season as that is where first overall draft Tommy Wilcox will begin his pro career. The career AIAA strikeout leader from Liberty College looked very impressive in spring outings with Class A Omaha and don't be surprised to see him in AAA before the year is out. While none compare to Wilcox, there are some other good young arms in Knoxville including 23 year old Jerry Townsend, and 24 year old [/b]Lyman Weigel[/b]. Townsend is a 1926 8th round pick from Pierpont University who progress through 3 minor league levels a year ago while Weigel, ranked 103rd by OSA, was a 1925 7th round pick from Commonwealth Catholic. Among position players to watch we highlight Joe Cameron, Tony King and Sam Tyree. Cameron is a catcher, a 3rd round pick out of Chicago High School in 1924, who's development has been slow but seemed to hit it's stride a year ago when he batted .316 at Class A Omaha. King, a 21 year old third baseman acquired in a trade with the New York Stars, is the 104th rated prospect. He hit .282 a year ago splitting the season between the Stars AA affiliate and Knoxville. Tyree is a 21 year old outfielder who hit .283 in Omaha a year ago. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Spartanburg High School in 1925. OMAHA COWBOYS A The Kings brass is very high on pitchers Ossie Mahoney, George Johnson and Dave Rankin. The 21 year old Johnson is the 40th ranked prospect by BNN and was acquired from the Chicago Chiefs last summer. A 1926 first round pick, taken 6th overall out of Birmingham High School, Johnson struggled last season at Class A but the Kings are hoping he gets back on track this year. Mahoney was the Kings 4th round pick this past December out of St. Pancras, where he had 3 solid seasons. Rankin, at 22, is a year older than Mahoney and was selected in the 5th round of the 1927 draft out of Northern California University. He is presently ranked the #88 best prospect in the game. There are several position players at Omaha the Kings feel have a good shot at a solid big league career. High on that list is shortstop Walt Layton, a 16th round pick in 1926 from Boston High School who had a breakout year in Tampa last season. Outfielder Loren Morgan is a 23 year old 1927 4th round pick out of Mississippi A&M, the same school that produced several current and former Kings outfielders including Doug Lightbody. Morgan looked very good in Tampa last season. This season's third round pick, outfielder Art Summers from St. Matthew's College, earned a ticket to Omaha with his solid play in the Clas C spring training. TAMPA CIGAR KINGS B No longer the 'Baby Kings' with a new level of minors below them this club will nevertheless be very heavily scouted as a pair of prized 20 year old pitching prospects in recent additions Larry Brown and Johnny Jacob will begin their Kings career here. Both were acquired over the winter in trades and Jacob is ranked the #10 overall and second best (behind Wilcox) pitching prospect in the game while Brown is ranked #57 overall. Brown, a lefthander, was dominant in Class B a year ago, going 20-11 with a 3.27 era for Chattanooga of the same Southeastern League Tampa is a part of. He was the 4th overall selection in the 1926 draft out of Oakland High School. Jacob struggled in his first pro season after being taken from High Point High School in the 4th round of the 1927 draft but the Kings hope to see a similar breakout with him this year to what Brown accomplished in his second pro season. Also keep an eye on first baseman Ron Rattigan and middle infielder Rabbit Mudd. Rattigan, a 20 year old acquired along with Jacob yesterday from Baltimore, is the #21st ranked prospect in the game after being drafted by the Cannons from their hometown Baltimore High School in the 14th round of the 1927 draft. The results were not there last season (.249,8,48) but Rattigan has loads of potential. Mudd, also 20, was taken by the Kings 15th overall in the 1927 draft out of Milwaukee High School. He is ranked the #89 prospect in the game and is equally at home in the field at either 2B or SS. MARSHALLTOWN KINGS C The newest entry will be home primarily to high school draftees from the last two rounds and some recent college picks. some pitchers looked very impressive in spring training including 19 year old Art Blake, who was a 2nd round pick in 1927 who's pro debut was cut short with Tampa a year ago due to a knee injury. 21 year old Tommy Chandler a recent 12th round pick out of St. Patrick's and 2nd rounder Joe Russell, an 18 year old who went 23-2 with a 1.23 era over 3 seasons at Toledo High School are also expected to shine in the coming years. Another pitcher to watch is 19 year old Jim Ferro. With no high school or college experience the youth came from the semi-pro leagues to a very brief stint with independent Hollywood of the Great Western League but was released. He attended an indoor tryout camp over the winter that was primarily a publicity stunt to drum up interest in the new team, but was granted an invite to spring training where he caught everyone's attention. Ferro pitched 42 spring innings in Class C camp and fanned 69 batters in that span. He is rough, and needs a lot of development but Brooklyn signed him to a minor league deal and he will begin in the Marshalltown bullpen. The big leagues are a longshot for Ferro, but so was getting a roster spot out of an indoor tryout camp. SUMMARY With a lot of good young position players already in Brooklyn, the Kings have been focused on pitching talent and now own the top two pitching prospects in the game as well as 6 of the top 41. There will be plenty more coming in the next year as Brooklyn stock-piled draft picks as well as young arms and owns 2 picks in every round from the second through 7th as well as their own first rounder. Loads of potential, but the question remains as to how much of it can reach those lofty expectations. Pitchers, especially high school arms, are very unpredictable. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. Last edited by Tiger Fan; 12-23-2019 at 04:32 PM.