The Outpost League

[Big Six]

Your use of the players' faces in your Outpost League updates has convinced me to move the Keystone League over to OOTP2007 for the next season. I'll keep it running in 6.5, just in case, but I think I'll be very pleased with the switch. For one thing, I believe I can declare a player "untradeable," so I won't have to tolerate another situation like the one where the AI traded Williamsport icon Randy Ong while his team was three games out of first.

Just out of curiosity...what is Two-Ton Tony Jones' listed height and weight?

[ifspuds]

I've been pretty happy with the switch to OOTP 2007. I'm sure I'll run into issues, but for now it seems pretty stable, and I love some of the additional options, one of which is FaceGen.

As for "Fat Tony" Jones, he's listed at 6 feet, 225 pounds. That didn't seem particularly large to me until I saw that David Wells weighs in at 225 pounds, but he's 6'4", so this kid must be pretty solid.

You'll be interested to know that OOTP 2007 treats Tony Jones a lot more kindly than 6.5 did. Jones is the #1 starter for the North Reach (AAA) Trappers and is 1-1, 2.81 with a 1.25 WHIP, rated a 3/7/5 (S/M/C) against 8/9/10 talents. He's finally coming along.

Allison's 1st round pick this past season, Tyran Rowe, is doing him one better, though: 0-1, 0.00 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP in 2 starts. Talk about your tough luck: Rowe's allowed 2 unearned runs in 15 IP and it's resulted in a loss and a no-decision. Thisi s in the B-level city league, the equivalent of AA.

[ifspuds]

The office of Lennox Herrion, manager of the Elliott Springs Tornadoes
May 17, 2018

The atmosphere in the office was already approaching funereal when the Tornadoes' team doctor, Cakravata Smirti, walked in the door. Present at this small, silent meeting was the Tornadoes manager, pitching coach Ray King and the young Elliott Springs phenom, Jamie Wilder. Wilder wore jeans and a t-shirt, Herrion and King their uniforms. A combination that Herrion feared very much was going to be the rule, rather than the exception, for some time to come. He'd seen the barely concealed agony on Wilder's face when he'd come out of the game against the Greens. A game the team had won easily, 7-1, but one in which Wilder only threw 3 and a third.

Considering that Wilder had missed most of last season with a torn labrum, and struggling to regain his form, nobody expected the news from the doctor to be good.

The doctor took the empty chair. "It's not good."

Wilder clenched his jaw tightly. The 23-year old might be confident -- even cocky -- when he got on the hill, but in the clubhouse, he was still an uncertain kid. Herrion could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to not show the obvious emotion he must be feeling.

A deep breath, a clearing of the throat, and Smirti explained. "You've been overcompensating for the shoulder, Mr. Wilder. It's caused undue stress on your arm... I fear very much that the bicep muscle is torn."

If the atmosphere was funereal before, it was... well, Herrion couldn't even think of a word to describe the chill hanging over the small gathering. Ray King finally broke the silence. "How long, doc?"

"There are two issues there. One, how to keep the shoulder recovering properly? Two, how to let the bicep heal?" Smirti shook his head. "I would guess eight months."

"Eight months!" Wilder burst out. "That's another entire season!"

The doctor just nodded. "I wish there was better news I could give you, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Herrion, Mr. King, but there just isn't."

[Dark Horse]

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

The office of Lennox Herrion, manager of the Elliott Springs Tornadoes
May 17, 2018

The atmosphere in the office was already approaching funereal when the Tornadoes' team doctor, Cakravata Smirti, walked in the door. Present at this small, silent meeting was the Tornadoes manager, pitching coach Ray King and the young Elliott Springs phenom, Jamie Wilder. Wilder wore jeans and a t-shirt, Herrion and King their uniforms. A combination that Herrion feared very much was going to be the rule, rather than the exception, for some time to come. He'd seen the barely concealed agony on Wilder's face when he'd come out of the game against the Greens. A game the team had won easily, 7-1, but one in which Wilder only threw 3 and a third.

Considering that Wilder had missed most of last season with a torn labrum, and struggling to regain his form, nobody expected the news from the doctor to be good.

The doctor took the empty chair. "It's not good."

Wilder clenched his jaw tightly. The 23-year old might be confident -- even cocky -- when he got on the hill, but in the clubhouse, he was still an uncertain kid. Herrion could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to not show the obvious emotion he must be feeling.

A deep breath, a clearing of the throat, and Smirti explained. "You've been overcompensating for the shoulder, Mr. Wilder. It's caused undue stress on your arm... I fear very much that the bicep muscle is torn."

If the atmosphere was funereal before, it was... well, Herrion couldn't even think of a word to describe the chill hanging over the small gathering. Ray King finally broke the silence. "How long, doc?"

"There are two issues there. One, how to keep the shoulder recovering properly? Two, how to let the bicep heal?" Smirti shook his head. "I would guess eight months."

"Eight months!" Wilder burst out. "That's another entire season!"

The doctor just nodded. "I wish there was better news I could give you, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Herrion, Mr. King, but there just isn't."

That was an excellent post, spuds. Short and to the point, it communicated brilliantly the disappointment of all concerned. Great writing.

[ifspuds]

Thanks, k_c. I couldn't believe it when Wilder went down again, so the story just sort of wrote itself. It's nice when that happens (though it doesn't happen nearly often enough).

[ifspuds]

June 1, 2018

Team              W   L   Pct   GB   Stk   L10
Elliott Springs  21  11  .656    -    W3   6-4
Lorris           17  15  .531  4.0    L1   3-7
Silver Beach     17  16  .515  4.5    L2   4-6
Tifton           16  15  .516  4.5    L3   4-6
Gentry Hills     15  16  .484  5.5    W1   5-5
Marsein          14  17  .452  6.5    W1   5-5
Allison          15  19  .441  7.0    L1   5-5
Deepvale         14  20  .412  8.0    W2   7-3

League News

Looking at the standings, you'd think that Elliott Springs was unchallenged at the top. The 2nd through 4th place teams are barely above .500, while the Tornadoes rip along at 10 games over. But as recently as a week or two ago, three teams were within a game of first. To be sure, the Tornadoes deserve their top spot: they're first in runs scored and first in runs allowed. The Greens are for real so far, led by a resurgent Cliff Rock, who ranks among the league leaders in a number of offensive categories. It's hard to imagine, though, that the man who's hit .234, .185, .194 and .214 in his Bay League seasons will continue to hit .359 all season long.

The big offensive star in the Bay League thus far, however, is Allison's Alton Strong. The talented infielder has always been something of an enigma to fans and teammates, never living up to the billing he's been given. This season, however, he's on top of the heap, hitting .344/.430/.656 and leading the league in homers. He's got lineup company in Walter Sebring (.292/.437/.517), but those two can't pitch, and that's been Allison's biggest trouble.

The Silver Beach Whales are getting great pitching, led by Bobby Edwards (4-4, 2.63) and last year's Top Pitcher Tayshaun Curry (6-3, 2.75) but a rough patch to end May has them wondering how to get back into the race. After a pair of solid wins against Lorris, they were swept by Marsein and Deepvale and split a 2-game set in Elliott Springs. Their next 10 games are at home, though, and they could quickly get back in.

Monthly Awards
Batter of the Month: Alton Strong (ALL): .357/.440/.690, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 3 SB.
Pitcher of the Month: Shawn Dawson (TIF): 4-0, 1.41, 13 BB, 42 K, 38.1 IP.

League Leaders

Batting Average                Stolen Bases
J. Lutz (DPV)         .379     E. Ashman (GEN)         11
B. Dixon (GEN)        .369     R. Isenhour (ESP)       10
C. Rock (LOR)         .359     C. Rock (LOR)            9
                               T. Smith (LOR)           9
                               
OPS                            ERA
A. Strong (ALL)      1.086     J. Thompson (TIF)     1.77
T, Smith (LOR)       1.040     S. Dawson (TIF)       1.87
C. Rock (LOR)        1.036     J. Chambers (DPV)     2.29
                                
Home Runs                      Wins
A. Strong (ALL)         11     F. Wise (ESP)            8
J. Brown (ESP)           9     M. Marek (LOR)           7
3 tied with              8     3 tied with              6
                               
RBI                            Strikeouts
A. Strong (ALL)         32     M. Marek (LOR)          89
R. Gomes (ESP)          31     G. Williams (MAR)       66
J. Sowder (ALL)         27     K. Richardson (ALL)     62

Runs Scored                   
C. Rock (LOR)           29
R. Isenhour (ESP)       28	
W. Sebring (ALL)        27
A. Strong (ALL0         27

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

Thanks, k_c. I couldn't believe it when Wilder went down again, so the story just sort of wrote itself. It's nice when that happens (though it doesn't happen nearly often enough).

Couple of things like that have happened recently in my HBF dynasty.

1) In a fight between the two Texans Jack Johnson and Cleveland Williams at Houston's Reliant Park Pavilion I had built Williams up to be a heavy crowd favourite in the weeks leading into it and even though Johnson clearly dominated the fight, the scorecards didn't reflect it. He won the decision but not by as much as he should have, which gives the impression that the judges were influenced by the pro-Williams crowd.

2) Boston's Jack Sharkey is expected to do well in the World Championship tournament but has struggled to a 2-2-1 record in his first five fights. I wrote up a news story reporting him being arrested for public intoxication two weeks before a must win fight against Oscar Bonavena. What does he do in the fight? He decimates Bonavena, winning every round and landing a HBF record 268 punches in the six round fight.

It's nice when these things happen.

[Big Six]

It's great to see Strong and Sebring starting to rake. Now if the pitching will turn around, Allison might be able to put together a decent season.

Keep up the good work, Jeff.

[ifspuds]

Has there been a Bay League player with the kind of pressure placed on Ben McAfee? It's not the sort of pressure that a consensus top prospect like Ty Fuchs or Ryan Traore gets, though McAfee has the tag of "top prospect" in the Whales organization. No, McAfee has a different kind of worry on his 21-year old shoulders.

McAfee got 93 at-bats for the Whales last season as a backup outfielder, hitting .280/.324/.387 with 8 steals in 8 attempts, popping a pair of homers. He's probably best suited as a center fielder: though he plays a great right field, he doesn't have the strong arm expected of that position. So when the 2018 season started, it looked as though he would be backing up once again. Jacob Leslie held the center field job, though mostly by virtue of his defensive abilities (.218/.281/.377 career line), and Josh Sowder was entrenched at right field. Sowder holds the record for highest single-season batting average, and while he's never come close to that .398 mark he put together in 2015, he's still a valuable player at the plate (.308/.345/.486 career line). If the Whales were going to clear space for their up-and-coming youngster, Leslie would've seemed like the logical choice.

Until Josh Sowder decided to challenge Bay League finances by demanding a raise in pay from notoriously prickly Whales owner Michael Hernandez.

Sowder soon found himself packing his bags for Allison, and a spot opened up for McAfee. With the heavy gaze of his team's owner resting very heavily on him. Not to mention the rabid following the Whales have built up over their brief history.

What's McAfee done with the opportunity? Not even the most starry-eyed of Silver Beach optimists could have predicted a .322/.406/.504 performance, but that's just what McAfee has delivered. Maybe the most encouraging sign is the fact that he's walked 17 times and struck out just 11, giving him an opportunity to wreak havoc on the basepaths. While he's stolen just 5 bags in 8 attempts, McAfee is drawing raves around the league for his understanding of the game and his smarts on the bases, with a seemingly instinctive sense of when to go for the extra bag.

Are we looking at the breakout season for a worthy successor to such outfield notables as Tega Smith and Mario DeGray? It's the first basemen around the league that have been drawing a lot of the notice and all of the postseason award hardware, but if McAfee can hold up this level of performance, that might be changing.

[ifspuds]

Originally Posted by Big Six

It's great to see Strong and Sebring starting to rake. Now if the pitching will turn around, Allison might be able to put together a decent season.

The pitching is... well, not good. 8th in runs allowed, and only Malik Howard (3.53) and Kyle Richardson (3.77) with ERAs below 4. Andre Logan (2-5, 5.09 ERA, 1.70 WHIP) is definitely better than he's shown this season. And Andre Cougar (4-5, 5.40 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) should be better. To be honest, so should Kyle Richardson. It's starting to look like Richardson might be one of the biggest disappointments in the league in terms of return on talent. He's still just 25 years old, and has the talent to be one of the top starters in the league, but the results simply haven't lived up to that billing. If the starters can get it figured out, they should be in good shape. The bullpen is 3rd in the league in ERA.

Another thing the Spelunkers could really use is for Jeff Anderson to get it figured out. There are really only three star-quality hitters in the Allison lineup, and Anderson is the third of those. Anderson hit a career-high .356 last season, and has never hit below .316 for a full season in his 4 seasons played. He has literally no home run power, so his value is tied strongly to his batting average and plate discipline. The discipline's still there, but he's hitting just .262, well off his career mark of .332 (which includes that .262 average). Anderson's been one of my favorite players, but I admit a soft spot for third basemen (says the president of the Bradley Foster Fan Club ). I hope he gets it turned around. He's one of the quiet stars of the league.

[Dark Horse]

Nice story about McAfee.

Until Josh Sowder decided to challenge Bay League finances by demanding a raise in pay from notoriously prickly Whales owner Michael Hernandez.

Sowder soon found himself packing his bags for Allison, and a spot opened up for McAfee. With the heavy gaze of his team's owner resting very heavily on him. Not to mention the rabid following the Whales have built up over their brief history.

But what happened to Sowder?

[ifspuds]

In scanning back over my posts to find and link to the answer to your question, Dark Horse, I realized that I never made the post that explained what happened to Sowder. Now that's embarrassing. The issue was alluded to in post 196, but my followup post never made it to the board.

That will be fixed soon. Thanks for asking the question, since it's a fairly important point in Outpost League history.

[ifspuds]

Excerpt from "Aces, Hawkeyes and Golden Boys: Early Baseball in the Outposts" by Frank O'Leary

"The announcement in 2017 that the Bay League had officially sanctioned eight cities to host minor league teams had a ripple effect that brought about a number of changes throughout the league, not just in those cities welcomed under the umbrella of John Baxter's grand experiment. For some of the players that had been with the league since its inception, this was an indication that perhaps money wasn't quite as tight as the team owners had always said.

It's important to remember that travel around the Outposts still was not terribly reliable or easy. Many players hadn't left their own little corner of the island since they first arrived from Earth, busy as they were trying to carve out a stable existence in their new homes. The development of a baseball league upset that arrangement, sending people far and wide across the Outposts. Baseball players in the early days were paid a small stipend to send home to their families, on top of the room and board allowance they needed to keep a residence in another city. It was never very much, though it was more than most Outposters got, and the fact that no one was certain if the Bay League would have any success kept anyone from complaining too loudly about the situation. But as it became increasingly clear that there was a tremendous demand for baseball throughout the Outposts and fans poured into the early, tiny parks, some of the players felt they deserved a bit more.

Josh Sowder is credited with being the first player to openly challenge the controlled stipend levels. Playing right field for the Silver Beach Whales, Sowder was a fan favorite and at the time, held the record for batting average in a season with a .398 mark in 2015. After the Class A league was conceived and affiliated with the Bay League, Sowder saw an opportunity to ask for a raise. In retrospect, he might not have been the ideal maverick. The Whales were owned and operated by Michael Hernandez, a name that needs no introduction, even now. Predictably, when confronted with a player not only challenging his own authority and rule, but the carefully crafted system of the entire league, Hernandez flatly refused his right fielder's request. He went one further, shipping Sowder later that day to the Allison Spelunkers, who had yet to make any sort of noise in the Bay League and were widely considered to be a haphazardly-run franchise, for nearly nothing in return.

The trade was widely panned throughout the growing following surrounding the Bay League. Sowder exemplified those early Silver Beach teams, who put together a string of winning seasons with marginal talent that endeared them to a wide range of fans. No one mistook Sowder for Ace Gervin or Mario DeGray, but he was a solid, dependable performer that brought fans out to the park on a consistent basis. Hernandez was willing to rip that cog out of his well-oiled Whales machine. The future of the league, the balance of control and finances, as Hernandez saw it, was more important.

The message was quiet, but clear. Don't rock the boat, no matter who you are. It would be some time before another player stepped forward to try and get a larger piece of the Bay League pie..."

[Dark Horse]

[ifspuds]

June 1, 2018

Team              W   L   Pct   GB   Stk   L10
Elliott Springs  33  20  .623    -    W1   6-4
Lorris           31  22  .585  2.0    W3   6-4
Silver Beach     31  22  .585  2.0    W4   7-3
Gentry Hills     25  26  .490  7.0    L3   5-5
Allison          25  29  .463  8.5    W1   6-4
Tifton           23  28  .451  9.0    L1   2-8
Deepvale         22  32  .407 11.5    L1   5-5
Marsein          20  31  .392 12.0    L5   3-7

League News

It's quickly turning into a three-team race at the top of the standings. The Tornadoes suffered a 5-game losing streak midmonth that allowed the Greens and Whales to sneak up the standings and close the gap a little, but they're the only three teams above .500 just over halfway through the 2018 season.

How are the Greens doing it? Remember, this is the team that won the very first Bay League title, and promptly sank into the cellar the following year. This turns out to be an extremely well-balanced team. Offensively, they're first or second in the league in nearly every category, thanks to huge seasons from Tega Smith, Cliff Rock, Aaron Thomas and unknown Marlon Nelson, all of whom have OPS over .900. Smith in particular is leading the race for Top Batter honors, hitting .389/.491/.622 with 20 steals in 25 tries. The 25-year old Nelson is a particular surprise. Picked up in a quiet trade with Deepvale before the season, he hit a miserable .194/.247/.403 in 310 AB for the Ferrymen last season. Plenty of power, but loads of strikeouts and no contact. He's cut down a bit on his strikeouts and as a result is making a lot more contact, hitting a robust .346/.381/.554 and putting that power to good use.

It's not just offense for the Greens though. They've allowed the fewest runs in the league, behind 24-year old ace Michael Marek (11-2, 2.56). Their bullpen outside of closer Brandon Watkins has been miserable, or they might well be in first place in the standings as well. The starters, outside of the struggling Dalonte Morrison, have been top-notch. Mike Woollum (5-4, 3.24) and Carlin Bonner (7-4, 3.47) have provided terrific support to Marek in the #1 spot. Lorris fans have to be especially happy with Woollum, considering the Greens traded Shawn Dawson to get him. The 25-year old Dawson (6-4, 3.62), now pitching for the Tifton Generals, looks like one of the future superstars of the league.

There's good news and bad news in Allison. First baseman Walter Sebring was named player of the week two straight weeks in the Bay League, and is enjoying a career year in his 4th season. Sebring, still just 21, is hitting .333/.462/.588 on the season and is on pace to set career highs in nearly every statistic. Unfortunately, his infield mate, Alton Strong, who had been keeping pace right with him, hurt his knee on the 27th and will be out at least 3 weeks. Strong was also in the midst of a career year, hitting .347/.440/.636. The Spelunkers, already thin in the lineup, will have to scramble to make up Strong's production and try to claw back into the race.

Monthly Awards
Batter of the Month: Tega Smith (LOR): .453/.568/.653, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 24 runs, 11 SB.
Pitcher of the Month: Michael Marek (LOR): 4-1, 1.88, 9 BB, 37 K, 43.0 IP.

League Leaders

Batting Average                Stolen Bases
B. Dixon (GEN)        .393     T. Smith (LOR)          20
T. Smith (LOR)        .389     C. Rock (LOR)           19
J. Lutz (DPV)         .376     R. Isenhour (ESP)       16
                                                              
OPS                            ERA
T. Smith (LOR)       1.113     J. Thompson (TIF)     2.13
A. Strong (ALL)      1.076     J. Chambers (DPV)     2.36
S. Underwood (TIF)   1.053     M. Marek (LOR)        2.56
                                
Home Runs                      Wins
W. Sebring (ALL)        14     M. Marek (LOR)          11
A. Strong (ALL)         14     F. Wise (ESP)           11
H. Land (ESP)           13     B. Earl (GEN)           10
                               
RBI                            Strikeouts
A. Strong (ALL)         50     M. Marek (LOR)         126
R. Gomes (ESP)          44     G. Williams (MAR)      110
H. Land (ESP)           42     K. Richardson (ALL)    101
J. Sowder (ALL)         42     

Runs Scored                   
J. Anderson (ALL)       44
W. Sebring (ALL)        44
T. Smith (LOR)          44

[Big Six]

AGGGHHHH! Get well soon, Alton...

Great job as always, Jeff.

[CatKnight]

Poor Marsein. C'mon guys!!!

[ifspuds]

Marsein is a surprise to me. They've got more talent than you'd expect out of a last place club.

I think the offseason trade of shortstop Robbie Isenhour to Elliott Springs for starter Greg Williams has been the major issue here. Isenhour is a major talent at shortstop:

Year/Team  Age   G   AB   H  2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG 
2014 MAR    26  67  250  74  13  3  8  40 34 23 24 18 11 .296 .355 .468
2015 MAR    27  69  270  95  14  2  9  50 44 21 28 13  8 .352 .396 .519
2016 MAR    28  46  190  58  13  2  6  36 25 12 22 10  4 .305 .347 .489
2017 MAR    29  97  375 126  23  3 14  83 58 32 44 21 14 .336 .385 .525
2018 ESP    30  52  218  66   5  3  6  27 42 15 33 16  7 .303 .345 .436

He hasn't hit well this year, at least not up to his usual standards, but that's a big chunk of offense to replace, and it's been replaced by Chad Ball, who's hitting .198/.246/.374. Of course, they didn't just give Isenhour away, they got what they were thinking would be a surefire ace at the top of their rotation:

Year/Team  Age   G  GS  W  L  ERA   IP   HA  HR  BB   K  CG SHO  WHIP  
2014 ESP    26  11  11  7  4 4.04  91.1  68  16  38  98   4   0  1.16  
2015 ESP    27  19  19  6 11 3.37 157.2 114  15  63 156  13   0  1.12 
2016 ESP    28  19  19 12  4 2.91 151.2 106  19  42 182   8   1  0.98 
2017 ESP    29  32  32 14 10 2.85 262.1 200  22  91 261  14   1  1.11

Those are his numbers with the Tornadoes. No reason to think he'd be anything other than that ace the Knights needed. Here's what he's done this year:

Year/Team  Age   G  GS  W  L  ERA   IP   HA  HR  BB   K  CG SHO  WHIP  
2018 MAR    30  15  15  7  7 3.90 120.0 111  10  46 110   7   0  1.31

A lot of that can be chalked up to an absolutely miserable opening month for his new team: 0-2, 7.58 ERA. And he's certainly been better since, posting ERAs of 3.38 and 3.06 in the months since, but it put the team in a hole they haven't been able to dig out of. There's something to be said about the wisdom of swapping big stars with the team you and everyone else is chasing. It's a very risky proposition. Clearly the Knights thought they needed that big time pitcher, but other teams have proven that you can go out and find those sorts of players surprisingly cheaply, giving up young players mired in the minor leagues. Players such as Matt Roy, who's still moving very slowly through the Knights system. The Tornadoes have such depth that they likely would have accepted such a deal. Not only is owner Carroll Edwards not much of a businessman, he apparently doesn't hire the sharpest baseball minds either.

Can the Knights climb out of the cellar? I don't expect them to be in last place all season. They're too good and there are other teams with far less talent. But it won't be another upper division finish for the Little Team That Could.

[ifspuds]

It's time once again for the annual draft recap, where we take a look back on the players selected in the preseason draft and how they're progressing.

1. SS Ryan Traore, Deepvale Ferrymen.

Traore started the season on the bench in Deepvale, but has since moved into a platoon role, starting against RHP at third base, a position he has more range at. He's not hitting particularly well yet (.181/.257/.232), but his plate discipline appears solid and he's stolen 5 bases in 7 attempts. The Ferrymen think he's developing nicely, and they appear committed to keeping him in the lineup.

2. 2B Will Monroe, Lorris Greens

With the Greens challenging for the top spot in the standings, they're being patient with their top prospect. Monroe is holding his own at Class A Fanning Island, hitting .273/.360/.364 with a pair of homers in 176 AB. Neither of Lorris's second basemen are world-beaters, so if Monroe continues to progress, he might just get that shot at the big time he's expecting.

3. SP Darius McKie, Tifton Generals

It's hard to figure out what the Generals are doing with McKie. The big right-hander was pitching very well at Class B, 5-5 with a 1.61 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, including a pair of shutouts in May. Then on June 25th, the Generals sent him down to Class C. Not much of a surprise that in his first start down there, he tossed a 2-hit, no walk, 8 strikeout gem. Scouts are raving about his work ethic, and to McKie's credit, he went out on the mound and showed he wasn't happy about the demotion, rather than shooting his mouth off. He'll be back up, but no one's saying why he's down there in the first place.

4. SP Garrett Rush, Gentry Hills Scouts

Rush got the call up to the Scouts on June 20th when Jon Britton went on the DL. He was placed in the bullpen, but hasn't made his Bay League debut yet. He didn't set Class A on fire, but he turned in a solid performance for the Valerma Wranglers while he was there: 3-5, 3.69 ERA, 1.39 WHIP with 47 strikeouts and 20 walks. Just 18 years old, he'll probably head back down where he can get more innings.

5. SP Tyran Rowe, Allison Spelunkers

Rowe is an enigma. His performance at Class B is indicative of a dominant performance: 2-5, 1.03 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 25 K against 10 walks. Yet if you talk to Allison insiders, they're not sure he's quite as good a talent as they first thought. What becomes of Rowe is a tossup at this point. Some scouts think he's still got every bit of the talent the Spelunkers thought they were getting, while others think his performance won't translate well as he climbs through the organization.

6. LF Michael Thomas, drafted by the Marsein Knights

Thomas never got an at-bat in the Marsein organization, as he was included in the big trade that sent Robbie Isenhour to Elliott Springs for Greg Williams. The 23-year old Thomas is at Class A Land's Edge, where he's not hitting well at all (.197/.220/.250), batting 8th in the lineup and playing left field. He doesn't look like a player with a lot of upside, but he might turn into a 4th or 5th outfielder... if he were in an organization with less depth than Elliott Springs.

7. CF Brett White, Silver Beach Whales

White is up with the Whales, but he's only picked up 4 AB this season and has a double to his credit. He could use a little more playing time if the Whales want him to develop into anything. He's not helping much riding the pine in the Bay League.

8. 1B Ronell Green, Elliott Springs Tornadoes

Green has impressed the Tornadoes with a strong debut at Class A Land's Edge, hitting .343/.383/.463, but they're a little concerned about his plate discipline: just 7 walks against 20 strikeouts in 108 AB. They've got plenty of time to teach him whatever skills they believe him deficient in, with the strongest organization in the Bay League not in need of a new big league first baseman any time in the near future.