The W.P. Kinsella League random update thread

[BirdWatcher]

Following last year's WPK draft, which by all indications was one of the weakest in recent memory, this year's draft class looked like one of the stronger classes in some time.

Leading the way, and to the surprise of nobody chosen first overall, was prep shortstop Henry Machado, out of Miami, Florida. Machado is the nephew of former big league outfielder Luis Machado. Henry Machado is a bat-first player with prodigious power potential but also has the defensive chops to at least begin his career at shortstop. However, it appear that the Montreal Royals, who picked him, are already asking him to move to a corner outfield position, so it will be interesting to see how his career plays out in terms in terms of primary position. He has average speed and doesn't look like he would be more than adequate in left field, but at the plate he combines good discipline with plus plus contact skills and elite power. He should be a superstar in the WPK before long.



Taken second overall, by the Milwaukee Cadets, was high school starting pitcher Adam Wyatt. Wyatt is relatively advanced for his age and profiles as durable, with great stamina, excellent makeup, and four pitch repertoire in which every pitch has a chance to be a legitimate out pitch (his changeup remains below average but is just good enough to suggest that it might develop into the elite offering it potentially is expected to be). For a prep pitcher, this seems like a pretty safe bet and Wyatt should have a great WPK career ahead of him.



Earlier indications were that Juan Garcia, a left fielder out of Cincinnati College, might fall to the Denver Brewers at the 9th pick overall, but his stock rose prior to draft day and he went to St. Louis as the third pick. Garcia is another guy with a great hit tool and plus plus power potential. Like Machado, he has average speed and base running skills at best and will only likely be an adequate left fielder (first base and/or DH are most likely where he will end up eventually). And there are some questions about his makeup ("lacks an edge") but his bat should make him a valuable big leaguer.



The Seattle Alligators, with the fourth pick, took collegiate starting pitcher Jeff Gibbons out of San Antonio College. Gibbons should have electric stuff, with an elite cutter as the best of his four pitches. He also has good stamina. But the biggest question with Gibbons is whether he can stay healthy, as he projects as likely to be injury prone.



With the fifth pick, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack took JuCo starting pitcher Ken Good (out of Houston College). Good was one player the Brewers would have been happy to see fall to them at #9, as he profiles as durable, an extreme groundball inducer, has four plus pitches with the best a changeup, good stamina, and a great work ethic. He is one of the more advanced starting pitchers in the draft and if he doesn't exactly have any one aspect of his game that stands out as elite, he has the look of a very consistent #1 in any big league rotation for years to come.



Before the Brewers got to pick at #9, other players who were taken were center fielder Brian Ramquist by Columbus (elite eye, good power, questionable bat to ball skills, great speed and outfield range), starting pitcher Corey Bennett by Boston (another pitcher Denver coveted, great makeup, excellent changeup and curveball combination with two other lesser pitches, good stamina), and left-handed starting pitcher Mark Hughes by El Paso (high school arm with high ceiling but a lot of development needed still, particularly in the area of control, three good pitches, high work ethic).

In the next post we will look at the Brewers first five picks.

[BirdWatcher]

Having had their worst season since 1967, the Denver Brewers had the 9th pick in the 1986 WPK draft.

With that pick they drafted 19-year old JuCo first baseman Jonathan Murphy. This, to be honest, isn't how the Brewers front office saw this playing out. Murphy is slow, the only defensive position he can even possibly play is first base, and he will mostly be a liability there, and his baseball IQ is questionable. So why did they pick him, then, you ask? Well, simply this- other than the first overall pick, Henry Machado, Murphy was probably the best hitter in the draft. If the WPK hadn't instituted a designated hitter rule starting this season, there is no way the Brewers would have picked this guy this early. But as a DH, he looks like a future middle-of-the-order force. He combines plus plus contact skills with potentially elite power and a well above-average eye. He is also a hard worker, loyal, and has low greed. There were members of the Brewers front office who weren't in favor of this pick, but ultimately he was simply the best player still available and in the end that was the winning argument.



The Brewers second round pick was another non-Brewers kind of pick. Bill Arvayo, a 19-year old left fielder out of New York College, is another bat-first position player who might end up without a position (other than DH.) Arvayo, like Murphy, is a flyball hitter with excellent power and a good eye. He doesn't have the contact skills that Murphy does, but he should be at least above league average in that regard. He's not much faster than the extremely slow Murphy, and while he has a pretty fine outfield arm, he is a corner outfielder at most and one with limited range. He certainly could play first base eventually, if that is in the cards. Arvayo is another guy with a great work ethic and low greed, at least.



With their third round pick the Brewers went for the best left-handed reliever left in the draft pool, in 20-year old Sharaf Sanchez out of Austin College. It might seem early to pick a reliever (and, yeah, it probably was), particularly given that the Brewers are very strong in this area, both at the big league level and in the high levels of the minor leagues, but left-handers are a weakness in the organization. And Sanchez, who should have elite stuff with his wicked splitter and great 4-seam fastball, is nearly big-league ready right now. He is a groundball pitcher whose movement and control still need some development but are nearly average already and profile as becoming solidly above average soon. He will start his professional career at single A Bainbridge and if all goes well could be in the Brewer bullpen as early as late next season. (And, although he is a U.S. citizen born in Morristown, New Jersey, he is also one of the few players in the WPK baseball universe whose second nationality is Israeli.)



Ty Pruit, who the Brewers took in the fourth round, is a guy the Brewers think will surprise some people. Pruit is a prep starting pitcher out of Fort Worth High School, but for a high school pitcher, he seems to have a pretty high floor. He is durable, a very hard worker, has three already pretty advanced pitches with his curveball and slider both projected to reach plus plus status, and his potential control is his greatest strength, which he should combine with above average stuff and movement. His stamina isn't great, but it is above average, and with his excellent control he should be an efficient pitcher. Pruit might not look like a true ace in the making, but the Brewers front office thinks he is a solid investment and should become a reliable middle-of-the-rotation arm once he develops a bit more.



Then, with the fifth pick, another odd pick for a team that has historically sought out high tools, speedy, defensively gifted prospects. Hayden Bradford, and 18-year old first baseman out of Milwaukee High School, is sort of a poor man's (team's?) Jonathan Murphy. He's another flyball hitter with good power (though his gap power is expected to exceed his homerun power) and a plus eye, with perhaps only average contact skills (although his ability to avoid striking out looks pretty solid, so he might exceed expectations a bit in terms of his bat-to-ball tool). On the plus side, and not an insignificant factor in his being picked here, Bradford looks like a natural leader. And, given the rest of his profile, he does have average speed and base stealing savvy though he doesn't run the bases very well. He might be insurance in case Murphy busts, or trade bait, or, well, time will tell.



After this, the Brewers took another left-handed reliever in Jonathan Waterman (great stamina, excellent curveball), Bryce Bakker, a 19-year old JuCo player who was listed in the draft as a first baseman but who the Brewers believe should become a very fine defensive third baseman, with his strong arm and above-average range (decent speed, good power and eye), another reliever, Joey Ledet (another curveball specialist with good control and high stamina), yet another left-handed reliever (see a trend?) in Jesse Blevins (yup, great curveball, high stamina, good control), and with their 10th round pick yet another corner outfielder with a good bat and questionable defense in Kyle Volz. Volz is more contact than power oriented though he should have above-average power, has great makeup (though low leadership skills) and the most fascinating part of his game is that for a guy who is painfully slow afoot, he is an excellent base stealer and even better baserunner. He won't steal many bases, but when he goes he will likely be successful and he should surprise opponents with some savvy base advancement.

In the remainder of the draft the Brewers continued to focus on stockpiling useful relief arms, largely because this has been an area where the team has often had to scramble to sign free agents just to have enough lower level of the minors arms. (No such problem at the higher levels, where they are flush with pitching of all kinds, except maybe quality southpaws.) They drafted just one catcher, who has good defense, great power and eye, and who will rarely actually make contact with any pitches while at the plate. (It was a very weak catching class.) They did also get a few better fielding middle of the field position players, just none who have any big league starter potential. Center fielder Jose Ximenez, taken in the 13th round, could be an interesting dark horse for a bench role someday, with his elite speed, excellent defensive range, wonderful eye, and average power. Now if only he had even the least bit of contact hitting potential, he might amount to something.

So, in a year where the draft class was considered one of the best in years, did the Brewers have a good draft?
If you catch them in a thoughtful and candid moment, members of the Brewers front office would probably say, eh, could have done better, but there is some potential there.

In Jonathan Murphy they got a guy with very real potential to become a middle-of-the-lineup force without a position other than DH. They got a high floor, high ceiling left-handed reliever in Sharaf Sanchez, the draft pick from this crop of future Brewers most likely to have a big league impact soonest. Bill Arvayo and Hayden Bradford should both have big league bats but will have to hit enough to counteract poor defense. And Ty Pruit has a chance to be a valuable #3 or #4 starting pitcher. After that, the guy that the front office thinks might be most likely to over-achieve is 7th round pick Bryce Bakker, who has strong all-around skills.

[BirdWatcher]

Eric Maisch, who was the MGL Harris/Lee award winner in 1982, having started very slowly in 1986 has been trending in the right direction since early May, and yesterday hurled probably his second best start of the year, shutting out the Portland Wild Things on 4 hits.



Rookie right fielder Jerry Lillie has also been trending in the right direction after a somewhat slow start. Lillie (.279/.403/.575), led the way on offense in the win, going 3 for 4, hitting his 13th double and 2nd triple of the season and scoring twice.

Another younger outfielder, Javier Hernandez (.275/.343/.413) has also been hitting better and he went 2 for 4 in this one.

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers rookie first baseman/DH Gene "Basher" Brasher, for the second time in 1986, is named the MGL Hitter of the Week. Brasher played a big role in powering the Brewers to a 3-game sweep over the visiting Portland Wild Things by going 6 for 12 in the series, and in yesterday's 5-3 victory he hit his 7th double and team-best 15th homer.



Fellow Brewer rookie Jerry Lillie also remains hot, now hitting .290/.411/.581 with 14 doubles and 12 home runs. Lillie strikes out quite a lot but he has also shown a penchant for walks and is on pace for nearly 100 of each this season.

Down at AAA Chester, top position player prospect Nick Mull (#54 in the WPK among prospects) had a terrific week at the plate. Mull is known more for his great speed and plus defense at second base, but he has a bat tool that is good enough to earn him a big league career in at least a defensive backup role.



The Brewers end the week as #1 on the WPK Power Rankings and have climbed to within 2 1/2 games of the first place San Francisco Velocity as we head into the second half of the month of June.

[BirdWatcher]

Jerry Lillie entered the season as one of the prognosticators favorites to contend for the MGL Rookie of the Year award, and although he showed some early signs of promise his first few months of the season weren't particularly impressive.



Well, he's definitely starting to impress in the month of June, bringing his batting average up from .253 at the end of May to .301 today, while posting an OBP of .415 and leading the Brewers now in home runs with 16. This after hitting 3 bombs in yesterday's trouncing of Baltimore on the road, including a Grand Slam, while going 4 for 5, scoring 4 runs, driving in 6, and throwing out a runner at home plate from right field.



Another Brewer rookie who has been playing well is infielder Brandon Singer, who was the Brewers 5th round pick in 1981 and was called up to the big league club for the first time in mid-May, when the Brewers demoted reliever B.J. Adams to give him some more minor league seasoning. Singer is mostly known for his glove and for his speed and excellent base running abilities, but thus far he has hit .298/.404/.553 in 58 plate appearances and yesterday hit his 3rd big league home run. Granted, the left-handed hitter has only had 3 plate appearances against left-handed pitching thus far (and has made 3 outs) but he is at least making a strong case for a platoon or utility infielder role with the Brewers.

[BirdWatcher]

A couple of great veteran players having excellent seasons got bad news this past week.

Pittsburgh right fielder Matt Van der Heyden, an almost sure future Hall of Famer, is hampered by a strained triceps and will likely be out of action until at least early August.



Meanwhile, San Francisco's Mike Shervey, who came to the Velocity in an off-season trade after spending eight very successful seasons as a member of the San Antonio Keys, was on pace for a 7+ WAR season in San Fran and helping to propel them back to the top of the MGL West standings thus far. It is a bad time to lose the slugging corner infielder (not that there would be a good time) with the red-hot Denver Brewers having closed the gap in the race to just 1/2 game.



Washington's dynamic 27-year old right fielder, Myon-ki Choi, has extended his consecutive games hitting streak to 25 now and Washington has just over-taken Jacksonville (as of yesterday) for first place in the SJL East.



In Denver, Jerry Lillie, rookie right fielder, who has now been given the nickname Hammer by the Brewers faithful (apparently there is an oblique Lillehammer joke in there somewhere), earned MGL Player of the Week honors for his recent heroics.



In a season that is featuring some impressive performances from young hitters (someday we do need to give some attention to Houston's Atsushi Matsuda, whose exploits have been somewhat lost in the crush of rookie slugging news), the Brewers certainly have two of the young power hitters putting together great seasons, in Hammer and Basher.

[BirdWatcher]

The WPK Standings as we enter the month of July:




Chicago continues to be the class of the SJL West, but their 1975 expansion mates, the Houston Cavaliers, are not far behind them. Pity the Milwaukee Cadets, who have never won more than 90 games in a season and have had losing records in 14 of their 21 seasons in existence, including the 7 seasons heading into the current campaign.

After a sluggish start, the Washington Night Train once again find themselves atop the SJL East standings, with the currently slumping Jacksonville Wolf Pack still very much in the hunt. The Columbus Whalers, who were one of the most dominant teams in the WPK the first 15 or so seasons of the league, have now slid into perennial cellar dweller contention for the past several seasons.

The Denver Brewers had moved into sole possession of first place just a few days ago but head into July in a dead heat with San Francisco, not just for first place in the MGL West but also for best record in all of the WPK.

And in the almost always mediocre MGL East, Detroit is currently the best of an unimpressive division, with the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings being the biggest disappointment thus far. Oh, and the Montreal Royals, do they still play in the WPK or have they been relegated to a minor league yet?


Brewers rookie right fielder Jerry Lillie won MGL Batter of the Month as well as MGL Rookie of the Month honors for June.



Over in the SJL, another relatively unheralded rookie outfielder, Columbus' center fielder John Hassey, the #46 top prospect in the game, also won both Batter of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors.



Given how bad Columbus is, it is impressive that they also had the Pitcher of the Month in the SJL, in veteran and likely future Hall of Famer Luis Ramirez. The 3-time Harris/Lee award winner is an iron man who still throws upwards of 100 mph at age 34 and would have much more impressive numbers if only he had any kind of team around him.



And in the MGL, the Pitcher of the Month for June was Portland's very talented 24-year old right-hander Kyle Gilbert, who currently leads all of the WPK with his miniscule 1.88 ERA.

[BirdWatcher]

Is Jeremy Beeson, the Denver Brewers first round pick in the 1984 draft, destined to soon be the starting third baseman for the big league club?
It is increasingly looking like that is the case.
Beeson certainly helped his case with a great week last week and at age 23 is proving that he can conquer AAA pitching.



The Brewers currently have a superstar veteran third baseman in Ryan Campbell (.275/.378/.466), who last season finished strong to put up a 5.5 WAR season and even with another slow start is on pace for 4.6 WAR this season. He will turn 31 a bit later this summer and is under team control for two more seasons of arbitration eligibility. So one would think that would block Beeson from getting much big league playing time soon. But rumor has it that Brewers management hasn't been happy with Campbell's performance. Campbell does draw walks but his power production, which theoretically should be one of the strengths in his game, has been largely missing since joining the Brewers, he hits into a lot of double plays, his defense at third, while improved this year over last, is underwhelming, and he often seems to wilt at the most crucial moments of games. There has even been some talk of the team moving him in a trade prior to the deadline at the end of the month.


Speaking of prospects like Beeson, with the season having hit the technical half-way point, updated prospects lists have been published.

As a further indicator of how strong this most recent draft class was, three of the top four prospects in the game were just drafted earlier this summer.






The Brewers see their top prospect, pitcher Mike Warner fall from #3 overall to #21, while their 17-year old pitching prospect Mario Valle rises from #14 to #12 and now sits atop the Brewers prospects list.
The Brewers most recent first round pick, first baseman Jonathan Murphy, is next among Brewers prospects, debuting at #43 overall.
Bernie Lopez, who is probably past-due for breaking into the Brewers rotation, goes from being #30 to #56 in the WPK.
And Nick Mull, currently on the active roster with the Brewers, drops from #54 to #60.

[BirdWatcher]

The woeful Milwaukee Cadets have been in the WPK news this week.
Let's start with the most recent happening, which was a lot of fun for Cadets fans.

Second year left fielder Jose Galvan, in just his first game with the big league club this season, not only went 4 for 4 but his 4 hits were all home runs. He becomes just the 4th player in WPK history to have a 4-homer game (the first being Tanner Yurek as a member of the Denver Brewers in the inaugural WPK season of 1965, and the most recent being Donovan Hickson of Washington last year during his MVP season).




On the other hand, one of the primary reasons Galvan was recalled from AAA was an injury suffered by the Cadets best young player and last season's SJL Rookie of the Year, Kusuma Kartosuwiryo. The 22-year old fan favorite is expected to be out with a sore shoulder until about mid-August.



Careful readers might also note that the pitcher who gave up 3 of Galvan's 4 homers was former Brewer ace Sadahige Kawasaki, now with the El Paso Dawgs. This reporter has been meaning to report on Kawasaki's apparent bounce-back season with the Dawgs, but now the potential future Hall of Famer has had two rough outings back-to-back to see his ERA rise from a very respectable 3.26 to a more pedestrian 3.79.

[BirdWatcher]

In what was a tense pitching duel through the first six innings at Centennial Stadium in Denver yesterday, Eric Maisch got the complete game shutout win against the dangerous Phoenix Speed Devils.



Even though the game was scoreless after six, it didn't look very promising for the Brewers until the seventh inning, with Phoenix starter Jake Greene looking unhittable, having allowed just 2 harmless singles and 1 walk through 6 while striking out 9 batters. While he would get one more K in the 7th, he also walked Jerry Lillie and was lifted with 2 outs recorded in the inning. Reliever Ricky Marroquin then promptly gave up a 2-run homer to Ryan Campbell, followed immediately by a solo shot off the bat of rookie infielder Brandon Singer.



And that would be more than enough run support for Maisch on this day.

With the win and with San Francisco having dropped 3 straight, the Brewers currently have a 1 1/2 game lead in the MGL West.

[BirdWatcher]

Taking a look at the current standings as we enter the All-Star break here in the 1986 WPK season:




Some of the leaderboards for the SJL batters and pitchers:






And here is the same for the MGL:

[BirdWatcher]

Here is the final All-Star voting total for the Shoeless Joe League:






And here is the roster:






Going through team-by-team, in order of most All-Star representatives per team:

---the Houston Cavaliers (5):
Closer Matt Harris gets named to his 3rd All-Star game. Harris was the 1984 Reliever of the Year and has been in the Houston bullpen since 1979, most of that time as their primary closer. He is a sidearming, hard working, groundball specialist.
Houston's 23-year old catcher, Jun-hun Youn, out of South Korea, is a first-time All-Star. He has a good balance of defensive skills and offensive abilities.
Atsushi Matsuda is one of a large crop of gifted power-hitting rookie batters in the WPK and a strong Rookie of the Year candidate.
Second baseman Wilfredo Garcia is a bat first second baseman headed to his second straight All-Star squad.
Left fielder Alex Raymos hasn't quite reached his expected MVP-level potential but he is only 25 still and is on pace for a 6 WAR season this year. He combines strong defense with a nearly flawless hit tool. This is his third All-Star selection.

---the Jacksonville Wolf Pack (4):
Manny Bell, David Parker, and Casey van Fossen- three members of the Jacksonville starting rotation and now three All-Stars (for Parker it is his second time). For anyone looking to figure how the Wolf Pack has been in contention all season long thus far, this gives you a pretty good idea. The rotation is young and boy is it talented. Bell is the old guy here at 24- both of the other two are 23. Last season this reporter often referred to the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings rotation as the best in the game, but this year the Wolf Pack seem to have taken over that title. And after these three great youngsters the rotation also includes two grizzled veterans who are also still pretty good in Jose Mendoza and Mike Hiatt.
Tim Evans, the often overlooked 28-year old right fielder for the Wolf Pack, heads to his second All-Star game. He has a career slash line of .318/.370/.510. On the other hand, he isn't much of a fielder and likely is destined to be a full-time DH before long.

---the Chicago Fire (3):
They are the best team in the SJL, and while they only have three All-Stars, two of them were the top vote-getters at their position and the other is pretty fantastic too.
Starting pitcher Bill Johnson, at the tender age of 22, after two seasons in the Fire bullpen (quite good seasons) is now a full-time starting pitcher and is one of the best.
Reliever Tyler Criss quietly got a start late last season with the Fire, pitching in 20 games with a 2.05 ERA, but this year he is the primary closer and his 23 saves leads the league. He is only 23 years old, he is durable, and he's very bright and hard-working. This guy should have a bright future ahead of him.
Speaking of bright futures, 25-year old Pat Thompson is the pretty clear heir to the title formerly held by the future Hall of Fame great Bud Lindsay- best overall shortstop in the game!

---the Columbus Whalers (3):
From the best team in the SJL to the worst.
But what the Columbus Whalers do have is two future Hall of Famers still near the top of their games in left-handed starting pitcher Luis Ramirez (34, Iron Man) and third baseman Chris Tobin (turns 40 in early September, on pace for a 5.7 WAR season). It is Ramirez' 11th All-Star game and Tobin's 14th!
They also have an exciting rookie center fielder in John Hassey.

---the Milwaukee Cadets (3):
The Milwaukee Cadets have three All-Stars. Why, is anybody's guess.
Reliever Matt Collins is 30-years old, a good teammate who likes to golf, and durable. He has had a pretty good start to the season. Is he an All-Star? Well, technically he is now, for the first time. Good for him.
Left fielder J.D. Hill would reportedly give the shirt off his back to a friend in need. Hopefully not in the middle of a bitter Milwaukee winter though. Okay, to be fair, Hill is on pace for 4.7 WAR, which would be his best season thus far at age 30.
Second baseman Mark Schleicher is an All-Star for the second time. Because, well, sometimes it helps when you play on a really bad team. And yeah, he is also on pace for his best season yet at age 30 (he turned 30 yesterday- Happy Birthday Mark!). But overall, these are not the most exciting All-Stars a team could hope for.

---the El Paso Dawgs (3):
Veteran reliever Rich Davis was the Reliever of the Year in 1982 and is a 2-time All-Star. On the other hand, he is kind of a jerk and this year his 21 saves come in a package with a 4.46 ERA and 1.76 WHIP.
Nobody will ever accuse Jose Gutierrez of being a jerk. The veteran (34) left fielder is respected around the league and has been one of the best leaders (Captain) in the game since he was a young pup over a decade ago. This is his 8th All-Star selection and he has a decent chance of eventual WPK Hall of Fame enshrinement, especially as he has had a resurgence in his 30's after a few down (and injury plagued) seasons in his mid-20's.
B.J. Dyer got off to a crazy hot start in this, his rookie season, and while he is still hitting .312/.337/.508 his early power production has disappeared. Which isn't a surprise as he was always considered more of a contact-first batter with below-average over-the-fence power and a poor eye. He is a decent fielder and will probably always hit for a good average with some nice extra base power and speed but not likely a perennial All-Star.

---the San Antonio Keys (3):
The recently mighty Keys are headed in the wrong direction in the standings these days.
But in Sal Montella they have probably the best catcher, at least in the SJL if not in all of the WPK. Montella is a fan favorite, one of the best pure hitters at his position, and a well above average defensive backstop as well. And now he is also a 3-time All-Star.
And they have future Hall of Fame middle infielder John Mussaw, now a 7-time All-Star and a 2-time SJL MVP.
It is hard to believe that this is 29-year old left fielder Danny Belmontes first All-Star selection, but I guess the quietly productive outfielder's exploits have often been overshadowed by those of his more famous teammates. It is about time he got an All-Star bid.

---the Washington Night Train (3):
The class of the SJL East for several seasons now (again, this was also true in the early days of the WPK), the Night Train send speedster Kenny Brown to the game as the top DH vote-getter in the SJL. Brown is now a 2-time All-Star and at age 28 looks to be having his best season yet. He is a fan favorite, has maybe the most elite speed tool in the game, and is a great contact hitter who will rarely strike out.
Washington will also be represented by last year's SJL MVP, Donovan Hickson, who got off to a slow start in 1986 but remains one of the most feared power hitters in the game and is on pace to not only hit 40 homers but also steal 25 bases.
And the exciting and super smart 27-year old right fielder Myon-ki Choi is headed to his 4th All-Star game. Choi is a gold glove winning fielder, an elite runner, and a great contact hitter who also generally gets into double digits in home runs. If he keep going like this he might be an eventual Hall of Fame candidate.

---the Philadelphia Mud Hens (2):
The Mud Hens got off to a strong start this season but have since been falling down the standings.
That certainly can't be blamed on veteran closer Vinny Arreola, who has 22 saves and an 0.54 ERA and is tied for 2nd in the SJL in WAR among pitchers. Arreola was the MGL Reliever of the Year in 1982 as a member of the Charlotte Sting and is now in his first year in the SJL with Philly after one season in Brooklyn. Today is his 30th birthday! Other than profiling as being injury-prone, Arreola is one of the best relievers in the game and a 7-time All-Star.
Philly's other All-Star is underrated veteran center fielder Mike Florack, headed to his 3rd mid-season classic.

---the Pittsburgh Roadrunners (2):
It isn't the best of times for the big league baseball clubs in the keystone state.
Pittsburgh has the top vote-getter among not only SJL right fielders but among all SJL outfielders in likely future Hall of Famer Matt Van der Heyden. Unfortunately, Van der Heyden has been out of action since June 19th and the team just got news that his recovery is not going well and he will miss at least another 3 weeks.
Catcher Aaron Reitz will be available to play in the game this week in Los Angeles' Avalon Park and it is his first All-Star game in his second season as a big leaguer (he was the backup catcher last season). Reitz is very good defensively and a decent hitter and at age 26 just getting his big league career going.

---the Seattle Alligators (1):
Well, if you are only going to have a single All-Star representative you at least want it to be someone worthy of the honor. And although he is on pace to lose 19 games this year (blame that on the lousy team around him), 25-year old starting pitcher John Stone is AS worthy. The durable young right-handed hurler is a control specialist with excellent breaking pitchers (curveball, slider) who induces groundballs at high rates. This is his first All-Star game but likely won't be his last.

[BirdWatcher]

Final voting totals for MGL All-Star game:






And the roster:






Team-by-team:


---the San Francisco Velocity (7):
The Moonlight Graham League is much more top-heavy than the Shoeless Joe League in terms of representation by teams.
And leading the way is the San Francisco Velocity with their 7 All-Stars.
Starting pitcher and 2-time Harris/Lee award winner Jon Harrington heads to his 6th All-Star game. The 32-year old iron man righty is on pace for a 24-7 season and contention for another Harris/Lee to add to his trophy case.
A pair of relievers will also be representing the Velocity: veteran journeyman iron man righty (and former Denver Brewer) Raul Melendrez and 28-year old rookie righty Eric Lusk. It is Melendrez 2nd All-Star game and of course Lusk's first. They are both having fine season, but this seems like a bit of stretch.
Ryan Olney, 25-year old first baseman, is also headed to his first All-Star game. This is Olney's first year as a full-time starter and he is on pace for 5.2 WAR so this is well-deserved.
Veteran third baseman Mike Shervey was voted in as the starter but won't be available to play as he is dealing with a strained PCL. It is hard to believe that this only the 2nd All-Star selection for the former San Antonio Key's slugger who has lead the league in RBI the past three seasons. This is his first season in the MGL.
Left fielder Ryan Frommeyer was also voted in as a starter in his first All-Star appearance. Frommeyer is currently leading the MGL in batting average in his rookie season (he had a cup of coffee- 33 PA's- last season).
Cameron Olsen is now a 6-time All-Star. The gifted but highly disruptive and disliked veteran left fielder is on pace for a 5 WAR season.


---the Denver Brewers (6):
Not surprisingly, in a season dominated by the top teams in the MLG West, the Velocity and Brewers have an inordinate number of players headed to L.A. for the All-Star game.
Denver sends starting pitcher Eric Maisch for his 2nd All-Star game.
Designated hitter/first baseman and rookie basher, Gene "Basher" Brasher, is an All-Star for the first time. This one surprised me as I didn't vote for him. But he is among the league leaders in several offensive categories, particularly those that measure power hitting.
Veteran second baseman Justin Banks was named the starter at his position and is now a 3-time All-Star.
Fellow veteran infielder, third baseman Ryan Campbell, is an All-Star for the second time. (Another surprise to me- I wouldn't have included him.)
Willie Romero is voted in as the starting shortstop and deservedly so if you ask this reporter. Romero's bat is just mostly average (though he has hit 12 homers) but his glove is still elite (12.7 ZR).
And rookie right fielder Jerry Lillie is also named a starter in his first All-Star appearance. Well deserved!

---the St. Louis Redbirds (4):
The Redbirds are staying over the .500 mark thus far thanks to both some great performances by veteran stars and the rise of a few young stars.
It is the veterans who earned the All-Star berths, led by oft-injured but incredibly talented third baseman Steve Whitehead getting named to his 7th All-Star squad.
When the Redbirds added veteran catcher Andrew Litteral as a free agency signing in the offseason even they probably didn't expect this kind of production out of the 32-year old backstop: .353/.389/.459 slash line in addition to his normally great defensive and pitching-staff handling abilities. Litteral is also now a 7-time All-Star.
Left handed sinkerball starting pitcher Dan Clark is already a 5-year veteran at age 27 and now a 2-time All-Star.
For Gus Reyna, 26-year old first baseman who has been in a backup role the past 2 seasons, it is not only his first year as a starter on the Redbirds but also his first All-Star selection. The smart and hard-working (and uncharacteristically, for his position, speedy) player deserves this honor.


---the Phoenix Speed Devils (4):
And, of course, the other strong MGL West contender, Phoenix, also has several All-Stars.
Starting pitcher Jonathan Reichman, who won 16 games last season, is one of the most promising young hurlers in the game at age 25, in spite of playing his home games in a hitter's haven. This is his first All-Star honor, but probably won't be his last.
Closer Steve Hensgens also head to his first All-Star game in spite of leading the MGL in saves with an impressive 47 last season. The smart and stuff-first 23 year old is on pace for 38 saves this season and has an impressive 1.70 ERA.
John Sposato, the Speed Devils gold glove winning catcher who turned 26 today, is a first-time All-Star. He doesn't have much of a hit tool at all but is probably the best defensive catcher in the game now and it is great to see him get some recognition.
And what to say about rookie center fielder Hyeong-uk Chun? All Chun is doing is threatening numerous WPK single-season records (he is on pace to absolutely shatter the single season homer mark with 69!) in his true rookie campaign (not even a cup of coffee before now). The 24-year old out of South Korea looks to be running away not just with the Rookie of the Year award but also the MGL MVP provided he doesn't fall off a cliff (or get hurt) in the second half of the season. This is probably the most remarkable start to a WPK career yet.

---the Baltimore Lords (3):
Another first time All-Star at the catcher position is Baltimore's 28-year old Rafael Negrete. Negrete is having a good, not great, season and this one looks like it might be a bit of a stretch. He also has a reputation as a pretty jerky dude.
Veteran first baseman Mike Lovett (formerly a Brewer) at one time was considered a future league MVP. That never quite materialized for him but at age 34 he is now a 4-time All-Star and is in the midst of what might his best season since 1979 when he led the league in RBI (139) while playing for Philadelphia in the SJL and put up 6.6 WAR.
Noel McMillan is also now a 4-time All-Star. McMillan was the 1982 MGL Rookie of the Year and while he has had a bit of an inconsistent career thus far (1.2 WAR last season in 154 games played, 5.6 WAR the season prior), he does have good all-around skills and is having season worthy of AS inclusion, even if not more than that.

---the Portland Wild Things (2):
Portland starting pitcher Kyle Gilbert is the mid-season frontrunner to win this year's Harris/Lee award. At age 24 this is his first All-Star game but almost surely there will be many, many more ahead for the talented kid with good leadership skills.
His rotation mate, Dave Seem, will be coming with him to L.A.. Seem profiles as injury prone and the lack of movement on his pitches can be a concern but he does have tremendous stuff with three elite-level pitches (slider, changeup, fastball). This is the 26-year old southpaw's first All-Star game but if he can stay healthy it shouldn't be his last.

---the Brooklyn Aces (2):
Brooklyn closer Michael Tucker has a strong case for best closer of his generation. At age 26 he already is now a 5-time All-Star and 3-time Reliever of the Year. He is also a fan favorite. Will he eventually be a Hall of Famer? I wouldn't bet against him.
Andy Raley has quietly now earned his 2nd All-Star selection at age 30. Raley is another fan favorite and a solid, though far from spectacular, player. But he's a good guy and it's hard to begrudge him this honor.

---the Charlotte Sting (2):
At age 23 young Sting second baseman Alex Bock is just starting to unlock his potential and the ceiling is very high for this kid. In 686 big league plate appearances thus far he has a slash line of .336/.413/.478. He's a decent fielder but almost surely won't win any Gold Gloves in his career. But the speedy, hard working kid has a line drive approach with the kind of contact hitting tool that could lead to multiple batting titles and even a decent amount of power. First of many All-Star appearances likely.
Veteran right fielder (and another former Brewer) Eric Hammock was the MGL MVP last season and is having another strong year, though not quite MVP contention caliber. He is very injury prone but when healthy remains a fine player and this is his 4th All-Star game.

---the Detroit Falcons (1):
Rick Ernst, the Falcons 25-year old righty starting pitcher, is already in his sixth season in the big leagues and has a career record of 47-50 (also 24 saves from his first two seasons as a reliever) but that is largely about the quality of the team behind him. He is 5-8 this year but has a fine 3.24 ERA, a decent 1.27 WHIP, and after leading the league in K/9 last year at 8.0, his K/9 this season is 8.2. The Falcons lone All-Star deserves the honor.

---the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings (1):
Probably the most disappointing team in the WPK this season, the Diamond Kings send only starting pitcher Matt Greene, the reigning Harris/Lee award winner, to L.A. Greene is having another strong season, a fact that is somewhat obscured by his 7-6 record due to the ineptitude of the team around him.

---the Montreal Royals (1):
Someone has to represent the pitiful Royals in L.A.
That honor has gone to 25-year old rookie left fielder John Grant. He seems like a decent guy, a humble sort. He is on pace to hit 22 homers, which is pretty good. His slash line is .267/.341/.495, which is, well, not horrible exactly. Have fun kid. Can't say you really earned this, but you might as well enjoy it as there is no guarantee you will ever have this opportunity again.

---the Los Angeles Spinners (1):
And finally, your hosts, the L.A. Spinners. And just one guy for the hometown fans to scream for. That's pretty sad.
Granted, the L.A. representative is a fan favorite: 37-year old reliever Kazurhiro Miyamoto. This is Kaz's second All-Star game. Did I mention he is a fan favorite? Yeah, that's pretty much all I got.

[BirdWatcher]

A few of the basic facts:






After an extremely disappointing 1985 season in which the Brewers normally vaunted starting pitching rotation floundered, and it was thought in no small part because of poor defense behind them, the front office sought to make offseason improvements not by changing the names in the rotation but by remaking the defense behind them.

And, here at the All-Star break of the 1986 season, we probably have a large enough sample size to rule that the plan was a good one and has done the trick.

Key acquisitions like 5-time Gold Glove shortstop Willie Romero and 1-time Gold Glove center fielder Danny Hendricks have helped improve the Brewers defense to the point where the team is 3rd in the MGL in ZR and first in (fewest) errors at this stage of the season. Romero's OPS+ is 83 and Hendricks' is 90 but their defense has so improved the team that their relative lack of offensive value is counterbalanced by that.

Not of course that improved defense is the entire story. Surely there has also been some talent development for younger starters like Stephen Brooks (primarily improvement in control) and Eric Fehrenbacher (quite a bit better movement than last season) that comes with big league experience and good coaching.

Another factor is likely that starting catcher Willie Ortega, who is a superlative handler of pitching staffs and overall defensive gem, missed a big chunk of the middle of the season last year with a fractured ankle and having him behind the dish for the majority of games this year has helped the staff a great deal.

Romero was signed to a long-term contract in the offseason not long after being acquired and should be anchoring the infield for years to come. Ortega has already been signed to a contract for next season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility after that. Rumor has it that the team has been working to re-sign Hendricks for next season at least (his last year of arbitration eligibility) but the negotiations stalled a bit when Hendricks declined the initial offer (which was his opening request). But likely he will be signed before long.

Perhaps due to the influence of Romero at short, both veteran second baseman Justin Banks and third baseman Ryan Campbell have been putting up better defensive numbers this season than they did last season. Banks had a ZR of -0.9 last season and is at +1.5 now. Campbell, who committed 29 errors last season with a ZR of -3.5, has made 11 errors at this point of 1986 with a ZR of +1.7.

Now there are questions about whether either of them will be back for the 1987 season. Banks is eligible to be a free agent at the end of this season, and he is well-liked by management, but he is also expected to be quite expensive and he is also 30 years old. One of the Brewers top position player prospects, currently on the big league club, is second baseman Nick Mull, who has Gold Glove defensive potential but is unlikely to be any more than a league-average hitter in the WPK.
And top third base prospect Jeremy Beeson is tearing up AAA (.369/.396/.492), should be a great contact hitter in the WPK, though with not much power or OBP skills, and should be at least a plus defender at third. Ryan Campbell is under team control for two more seasons, but is also 30 and as has been discussed here, has underwhelmed Brewers management in terms of on-field performance.

The outfield is potentially in flux.
We haven't reported this very well, but the former titans of the outfield, 3-time MGL MVP right fielder Antonio Acuna and 5-time All-Star left fielder Val Guzman, are suffering through miserable seasons and getting less and less playing time. Acuna, a potential future Hall of Famer based mostly on his brief but tremendous peak as a player, is not only not producing but has evidenced near catastrophic loss of basic skills at age 33. Having won 3 Gold Gloves in right field, Acuna is now a defensive liability (-2.7 ZR). He is hitting .183/.231/..282. His previous elite speed is now just a bit above average, although he does remain a very savvy base stealer and base runner. His talent drop has been so significant that even Acuna himself expects only to be a bench player and he seems to be perfectly happy with his current insignificant role on the team (he is very unhappy about his performance, at least, as he should be). He has an opt out in his contract at the end of the year, and insiders say that management was sort of hoping he might grow tired of just sitting on the bench and choose to opt out. That is looking unlikely, and he then has 4 more seasons on his contract making an AAV of $700 K (a pretty hefty number at this point of WPK history). Many expect that if Acuna doesn't opt out the team will be forced to simply release him and eat that remaining contract.
Val Guzman does not show evidence of nearly as much skills erosion as Acuna, but he is just hitting .191/.262/.305 in 148 plate appearances this season. Defensively he remains solid enough at age 32 (ZR of -0.4), he still has great speed and has stolen 6 bases without being caught once this season, and 8 of his 25 hits this year have been for extra bases (4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR's). He is also considered the best leader in the clubhouse, now that former team captain Ben Flynn has been allowed to move on. But as greatly popular as Val is with both Brewers fans and the front office, the reality is that the team can buyout the last year of his contract, which is next season, and likely will.

Javier Hernandez has been the primary left fielder this season and brings some value with his great speed, acceptable defense, league-average-ish batting, and great hustle. He is not likely the long-term replacement for Guzman in left field though.
And Myles Ford (.269/.315/.479, 104 OPS+) has been a fine 4th outfielder for the team, and is the only acceptable backup for Hendricks in center field currently on the active roster.

Jerry Lillie, of course, is a Rookie of the Year candidate (well, in any season that didn't include Hyeong-uk Chun as a rookie) and at this point has a stranglehold on the starting right field job for the near future, at least.

Looking forward a few seasons though it is hard to predict who might be in the Brewers outfield other than Lillie. One possibility is the Brewers top outfield prospect, center fielder John Bittner, currently playing in AA and who was the starting DH in yesterday's Prospects Game. (He went 0 for 2.) Bittner has the range to stick in center field or to be an elite left fielder (his weak arm would make him less suited for right field) but in spite of his tremendous speed he isn't much of a threat on the base paths and his bat-to-ball skills might hold him back from being a WPK starter. On the other hand he does have some of the best power potential in the system and a plus plus eye. The Brewers have a few other good hit tool, average to poor fielding corner outfield prospects (or semi-prospects) at the upper levels of the minors but the cupboard is a bit bare in the outfield ranks pending how well this year's 2nd round pick Bill Arvayo develops.

So we've talked about most everyone (other than the bullpen) and somehow have neglected first baseman Chris Romines (.327/.362/.423), last year's breakout star for the Brewers. Romines continues to over-achieve his previous reputation as a non-prospect and has turned into a very good contact-first hitter at the WPK level and a strong fielder at first. He is not your prototypical first baseman, but he is your prototypical Denver Brewers first baseman (think Bobby Erbakan and Brett Taranto). There are some bigger boppers coming up through the system (as well as backup first baseman Gene Brasher, who is primarily the team's DH) but for the near future at least expect Romines to be the starter at this position.

Let's wrap this up with just a few quick notes about the bullpen. It's pretty good and likely to just keep getting better. Dan Folk, our closer, is now 22 for 22 in save opportunities this year with an 0.88 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 32 strikeouts to 6 walks and no home runs allowed. In short, he has been dominant and his lack of inclusion in the All-Star squad this year was inexplicable.
Veteran righty and former Rule 5 draft pick Paul Johnson just continues to be a consistent solidifying influence in middle relief and set-up situations.
Willie Ramirez has had a few rough outings which elevated his ERA a bit but profiles pretty similarly to Folk and has a 10.1 K/9.
Fan favorite 30-year old lefty Rand Pinti continues to confound with basically just one pitch, a very good sinker, and is having another strong season.

And with such really fine relief pitching prospects as B.J. Adams, Cesar Perez, and this year's 3rd round pick, Sharaf Sanchez, not far from being big league ready, the 'pen should be solid for the foreseeable future.

[BirdWatcher]

Hyeong-uk Chun, the 24-year old Phoenix Speed Devils rookie center fielder, saw his legend grow on a national stage as he led the MGL to a 4-1 victory over the SJL in this year's All-Star Game.
Chun was 1 for 3 in the game but he was the difference maker as he drove in 3 runs, the first on a first inning sacrifice fly and then the other two on an 8th inning big fly.



Willie Romero, of the Brewers, deserves some love too, as he was the only player in the game to collect 3 hits, including an 8th inning double. Justin Banks also hit a double in the game, his lone hit. The Brewers two rookies, Jerry Lillie as the starting right fielder, and Gene "Basher" Brasher, taking over at DH in the 6th inning, each also got one hit in the game (Brasher's right ahead of the Chun 2-run HR). Ryan Campbell went 0 for 2 but he also made a spectacular play at third base early in the game and got on base via a hit-by-pitch.

Eric Maisch got the win in the game, pitching 1 inning and giving up a double but working out of the potential jam, striking out 1 batter and getting a pair of harmless fly outs.

[BirdWatcher]

Michael Tucker, who many consider the best closer in the game, was traded yesterday by the Brooklyn Aces, the team who drafted him in the 3rd round in 1978, to the Washington Night Train, who are holding onto a narrow 1-game lead over Jacksonville in the SJL East.
The Night Train have had good success in their bullpen but it is a very left-handed reliever heavy 'pen and Tucker just makes that imbalance even greater. Then again, he's Michael Tucker! He's a fan favorite, a 3-time Reliever of the Year, he's only 26 years old, has 19 saves and an 0.60 ERA this season with 10 K/9.



To get him Washington had to send Brooklyn a pretty fine 23-year old right handed reliever in Andres Reyes (good, but no Tucker), a promising catcher prospect, Victor Rivas (excellent defensive raw skills, poor contact hitting but plus power and eye, not great makeup), and a 19-year old starting pitcher, Edwin Lara, who has some small potential but likely will be held back by his very low movement and poor work ethic.

[BirdWatcher]

Justin Banks(.315/.351/.449) not only banged out 5 hits in last night's victory against the visiting Charlotte Sting, but his last one, his 20th double of the season was the walk-off game winner.



This is three straight walk-off wins against the Sting, the last two both in extra innings.

Myles Ford (.279/.319/.507) has been hot of late and hit a pair of homers in the first win against Charlotte Thursday.



Game two saw Eric Maisch last 8 innings while giving up just a single run on 6 hits while striking out a pair and walking just one batter, but being denied his 13th win of the season when Dan Folk blew his first save opportunity of 1986. The walk-off winner came in the bottom of the 12th (after both teams scored a pair of runs in the 11th) and it came via Willie Romero's 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot.



And in game 3, in addition to the heroics of Justin Banks, rookie All-Star right fielder Jerry Lillie also contributed a 3 for 5, 3 RBI game, hitting a pair of doubles to get to 21 in the season and also clubbing his 21st home run.

[BirdWatcher]

Justin Banks earned MGL Player of the Week honors and the Brewers concluded the week by completing a 4-game sweep of the Charlotte Sting in Denver.



The Brewers end the week with a 3 1/2 game lead over the Phoenix Speed Devils atop the MGL West, while the slumping San Francisco Velocity have now fallen to 5 1/2 games back.


The Los Angeles Spinners, who are a distant 19 games behind the Brewers in 5th place, yesterday dealt away their one All-Star player this year, veteran reliever and fan favorite Kazuhiro "Kaz" Miyamoto, to the Chicago Fire.



It says here that the Spinners didn't get a great deal of value in return, although 23-year old third baseman Guillermo Garcia could eventually make a big league ball club in a limited capacity, with his best skills being a very strong arm, a good eye at the plate, and a bit of pop in his bat. Then again, his career minor league slash line, having never reached higher than A ball, is .190/.286/.316. So probably not.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers, a few days ago, executed a trade with the Los Angeles Spinners which sent L.A. starting pitcher Jose Corpeno and catcher Joe Sandwell.
While the Brewers received a capable and WPK-ready second baseman in Danny Lopez, who joins the AAA Chester Big Stick club, and a gifted glove man and speedy runner with no bat in Nate Thomas, who is now with the single A Bainbridge Brawlers, the bigger picture was that this move freed up some roster space to bring up starting pitcher Bernie Lopez to the big league club and promote starting pitching prospect Mike Warner from AA to AAA.





Sandwell, who for a big chunk of the 1985 season was the primary catcher for the Brewers while Willie Ortega was on the IL, recently came off the IL himself after having suffered an oblique strain which kept him out of action for nearly 2 months. In his absence, Omari Williams, the best hitting catcher in the organization, proved finally that he was ready to be at the major league level, and with concerns about Sandwell's durability (now fragile) and some evidence of declining skills, and only a few days left on his rehab assignment, the decision was made to move on. In addition, the Brewers have another WPK-ready backstop in AAA in the form of Rich Fugate, who is nearly Williams equal with the bat and has better defensive skills. (Williams is defensively above average, but no more than that.)

Corpeno should strengthen the Spinners rotation and deserves a chance to play a larger role on a big league club, but with the emergence of Stephen Brooks and Eric Fehrenbacher as legit big league starters and Lopez ready and Warner not far behind, Corpeno just wasn't going to get that opportunity in Brewers purple and gold.

Editor's Note: And I see that L.A. actually has Corpeno in a setup role in their bullpen. But with aging and fragile Cody D'Onofrio in their rotation, it wouldn't be surprising if Corpeno got a chance to move into the rotation before long.

[BirdWatcher]

There have been two no-hitters hurled in the WPK so far in the 1986 season and both have been thrown by Seattle Alligator starter Chris Karstens. (For reasons unknown to this author, Karstens nickname is "No Hands". But perhaps soon it will No Hits.)




The Denver Brewers, coming off an 8-game winning streak, have now lost 2 games in a row at home to the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings. And in yesterday's loss they also saw 4 players have to leave the game early due to injuries. They have already learned that catcher Omari Williams injury is minor (bruised shoulder) and he should be ready to play in a few days. Reliver Willie Ramirez was diagnosed as having a tired arm and will head to the 14-day IL, with 23-year old relief prospect Cesar Perez being called up from AAA for his first taste of the WPK to take his place on the active roster. Left fielder Javier Hernandez is day-to-day with forearm soreness and not expected to be placed on the IL, but will likely have a more limited role for the next week. But with the team still waiting on a diagnosis for Myles Ford, outfield reinforcement from AAA may be needed soon.