[Hrycaj]

Springfield Rifles: Middle Atlantic League (Class A)

Record: 90-50 (.643) League Champs!

The Rifles dominated the Middle Atlantic League in 1928 winning it by 14 games. They were 40 games over the .500 mark and we are hoping that many of our future Minutemen are on this roster. Some people may feel that winning in the minor leagues is not important, but I disagree. Players need to learn how to play as a team and they need to learn how to win together. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to just focus on individual development and then tell guys to be a team player and learn how to win when they get to the top level. So we are very that the Rifles could make it back-to back in the MAL. (5 titles total in their history). On the field the team was top or near the top of the league in almost every offensive, defensive and baserunning category. It sure is fun to have such a team in our system.

Pitchers:
The Rifles staff was pretty tough to beat in ‘28. Here is more of a breakdown in list form:
SP Joe Dorsainvil: 24 years old,179.1 IP, 15-4 record, 60 K/42 BB, 1.81 ERA
SP Walter Slattery: 23 years old, 221.1 IP, 15-10 record, 120 K/93 BB, 3.86 ERA
SP/RP Ike Watson: 22 years old, 189.0 IP, 12-7 record, 71 K/64 BB, 3.19 ERA
SP Ray Smith: 24 years old, 108.0 IP, 10-2 record, 34 K/30 BB, 2.15 ERA
RP Sal Johnson: 21 years old: 41.2 IP, 4-4 record with 4 saves, 26 K/11 BB, 3.02 ERA
SP Harry Meek: 22 years old: 66.0 IP, 6-2 record, 25 K/9 BB, 2.73 ERA (stats from Arlington)

Dorsainvil was a 6th round pick in ‘25 and seems the most poised for a promotion. Slattery still needs to get the walks under control a bit, Watson was sneaky effective, Ray Smith was doing really well but then was injured and will miss a full calendar year and Harry Meek is the wild card. Meek was drafted by Detroit 14th overall in last years draft. He was released and we took a chance on hm. He dominated hitters in Class B so we moved him up to Springfield where we think he belongs to start the season next spring.

Catchers:
22 year old Hugie Fletcher a 22 year old undrafted minor league free agent has worked out for us behind the dish. When we were looking at promoting Gentry we thought hard about moving Fletcher to AA and have Gentry take his spot on the Rifles. We didn’t do that simply because we really though Gentry’s bat could play up another level so Fletcher stayed put. For the season, Fletcher hit an even .300 and played nice defense behind the dish. Fletcher split time with BIll Stone, but I think the job will be all his next season.

First Base:
24 year old Harry Smith was a real nice offensive weapon for us in ‘28. He hit .301 and was second on the team in doubles (35) and RBI’s (83). Smith will not turn 25 until next September so we can maybe keep him down for another year to work on the glove depending on a few things in AA. I think the bat can play up a level but I do not want him sitting the bench if he is blocked at the next level.

Second Base:
23 year old Ben Huffman led the Rifles with 16 home runs on the year. Huffman played average defense but what is most concerning to me is the average. Huffman only hit .241 on the season. While I love the power I don’t want to necessarily sacrifice that much average for it. If his contact could come along he has a chance to make a big league roster. Our scout thinks the contact will develop so I hope he is right.

Third Base:
24 year old Jim Porter is going to force his way into a AA lineup next season. Porter was one of our top players on the team. He plays excellent defense at the hot corner and hit 15 triples on the year. Porter has a solid eye as he walked 33 times while only striking out 14 times. As good as his season was he was underappreciated by some of his teammates that actually put up better numbers. Still, I can’t see how keep Porter off of a AA roster next season.

Shortstop:
I love good defensive shortstops. We have to be strong up the middle. Now if we can find one that can hit to go along with the defense then we really have something special. 21 year old Earl Michael is showing signs of being such a player. Michael was the clubs 1st round pick back in ‘24 and he has had a nice steady development curve since his first year in professional ball. To go along with his very solid glove Michael hit .307 with and OBP of .363. Michael also has a solid eye with a 45 B/31 K ratio. Earl will play his entire next season as a 21 year old as his birthday is in October. We may be able to get away with another season at Springfield but I’m hoping to see him play AA next season.

Outfielders:
Offensively, our outfield in Springfield was dangerous. We have a bunch of guys to list so we will do it like we did the pitchers:

LF Chick Dyer: 23 years old, .357 avg, 45 doubles, 9 triples, 14 homers, 87 RBI’s, 11 SB.
CF Gary Nichols: 26 years old, .322 average, 30 doubles, 12 triples, 91 Runs, 28 SB.
RF Ed Calvert: 22 years old, .283, 20 doubles, 30 runs
RF Mike Cifelli: 22 years old, .346 Avg in 257 PA’s after his call up from Arlington where he was very productive.

Dyer was a beast. Easily the best hitter on the team. He has a tremendous eye. He almost walked three times more than he struck out. His .411 OBP and .357 average were both league best. Dyer was the 7th overall pick in ‘25 and he is progressing very nicely. We are just waiting for the glove to make the final leap. We are looking at a jump to AAA next season with him.

Nichols is a product of outfield overflow in the organization. At 26 I want him out of single A ball. He was very productive this season and needs the challenge of a higher league.

Calvert was having a nice season and is a tremendous defensive asset in right field. Cifelli was just too good in Arlington that we had to make a move. This is a case where you would like to morph two players into one body.

In closing, there was a lot to like about this group. It will be interesting to see how it all fits together in the next few seasons.