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Old 08-07-2019, 01:17 PM   #1
BadluckinOOTP
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FABL Pittsburgh Miners

Yet another thread chronicling the tris and tribs (trials and tribulations) of an online league team. This one will be about the Pittsburgh Miners who were left a bit derelict by the previous GM in the first live season in FABL history. The Miners are coming off of a 60-94 campaign, good for dead last and 4 games behind the next basement dweller. But, there seems to be some talent, especially offensively that should allow us to be somewhat competitive after a few retools.

I have no real plans on the format of this thread. Don't know how often it will be updated, or in what capacity. It might just be a catch all for my thoughts on my team and the league. This is the first online league I've been in since 2008 when I was a member of the old Time Warp Baseball League and took over the expansion Padres for about a decade (in game time).

The FABL is stats only, which is primarily what I play in my solo league, and the upcoming season will be 1927 which is an era I am not very familiar with and will have to get used to the currently inflated batting averages, hitting .300 doesn't mean much right now.

The main thing I want to accomplish right now is getting a feel for my team and be able to know what I feel good about going into the '27 season and what I could try to improve on.

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Old 08-07-2019, 01:38 PM   #2
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Catchers

We'll just go through the team positions 2-9 for the moment, and then swing back around and look at the staff (which at first glance will not be an enjoyable perusing).

Last year's starter was 28 year old Elijah Brown. He pulled 106 starts last year and put up a .269/.348/.332 line last season. The switch hitter does a good job of drawing walks, but has a pretty anemic bat especially in the context of 1926. He seemed to play a solid catcher and had a 43% CS%, but I don't know what the league average is. He's been very consistent in his career. He's going to hit .275 or so, draw a few walks and do little else. Certainly a candidate for an upgrade, but not a total sinkhole.

Martin Basaldua (28) and Jack Roman (30) split the backup duties last season. Basaldua hit .402 in 101 at bats at AAA St. Paul, but was just 15-86 in his FABL trial, on his way to a .472 OPS. Plus, my scout doesn't seem to think much of his defense. Roman draws walks but has very little punch to his bat. He went for .256/.383/.308 last year in 94 PA and my scout likes his defense, so you'd think the veteran Roman has the leg up on the backup spot heading into the new year.

At AA Birmingham, there is 22 year old Curt Squillante who my scout thinks will be a big leaguer, and his 54 game trial in AA seems to back that up, he went for .357/.413/.456 last year and he really stuck it to left handed pitchers. But, he threw out just 3 runners in AA last year for a 13.6%, which if that's indicative of his skills would make him unplayable in the FABL at catcher.

There are 6 other catchers in the organization, but between their scouting reports and their abysmal stats in their various minor leagues, they aren't worth mentioning. I suppose 20 year old Abban Adjeng is, just because the Nebraskan is also part Papuan and has a cool name. He was 2-17 between S A and A ball.

Conclusion: Elijah Brown is solid, but below average. Catcher is never the easiest position to upgrade in, and I could certainly do worse. He'll likely suit up behind the plate for the next few years.
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Old 08-07-2019, 01:54 PM   #3
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First Basemen

Dave Trowbridge (28) took over the 1st base spot in July and didn't let it go with a .342 batting average on the season in 314 PA's. The positives fall off pretty quick after that. He doesn't have much in the way of power and slugged just .412 on that prodigious batting average. He's not going to draw many walks and his defensive stats aren't much. But, if he can hit .340 again, I can handle it. Unfortunately, I think he's more likely to drop down to around .300 which with his lack of secondary skills would make him a replacement level player.

Johnny Stevens (30) was the first basemen for the Miners from 21-25, and had several solid years. Including a .351 average with 29 triples (league leading) as a rookie in 1921. In 1925, he hit just .297/.352/.413, and was just slightly above average. Last year he got just 116 plate appearances and hit .265/.345/.353, which is not very encouraging. My scout seems to think his best days are already past him, and I doubt we'll see the return of the 4 WAR player he was for 4 seasons.

26 year old Buck Swan was horrendous in his 133 FABL PA's, OPSing just .527. But, he's had strong numbers in the minors, so he'll head back to AAA and see what he can do.

24 year old George Simpson was reduced to 77 games and just 5 starts in AAA last year, but he hit .358/.454/.642 in his limited time. My scout likes him, and he seems like a legit option at 1st base in the future. Spring training will get him lots of reps and if nothing else, I'll make sure he gets AB's in St. Paul this year.

Howie Loyd (24) had 609 PA's at AA Birmingham and OPS'ed 886, but his OPS+ was just 117, to give you an idea of the offense in the Dixie League. With a bit of a logjam in front of him, he might be back in Birmingham to hopefully really mash.

The lower levels have nothing worth writing about, not even for a cool name (looking at you Joe Watson).

Conclusion: I don't have much faith in Trowbridge, he's got an empty batting average, which at 1st base and in the 1920's, doesn't do a whole lot for your squad. Johnny Stevens has the pedigree, but I'm afraid he's about cooked, though I assume I'll give him a few months of starts at the beginning of the 27 season to prove it. George Simpson is the wild card, he'll start at 1st in AAA, and hopefully force his way up to the major leagues.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:07 PM   #4
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Second Basemen

The middle infield is without a doubt the strength of this team, and we'll start with a former MVP (FA Whitney Award), in Eddie Andrews (33). After suffering through three straight injury plagued seasons, he finally stayed healthy and hit .322/.415/.423 and played his usual strong defense at second last season, and managed a WAR of 5.5. He led the league in OPS in 1919, and won the MVP award that season. His age is a concern, and I'm hoping there are a few more years in him. He's easily my biggest trade chit right now, as a 33 year old stud second baseman, isn't really something the Miners need at this juncture.

27 year old Fred Baron has been with the big club the last 4 years but has just 101 PA's to his name. He's never had much of a chance to show off what my scout thinks are decent skills. He's a second baseman only, so if Andrews is on the team, it'll be hard for him to find a spot.

Tony Medina is a 27 year old minor league veteran looking for his first FABL opportunity. He was added to the 40 man roster to protect him from the upcoming Rule V draft, he can play 2B/SS/3B, and played a little of each last year at St. Paul, and he hit .320/.367/.445 in his 598 PA's there last year. I think he's got a future as a backup IF, and will likely see his major league debut this year.

None of the guys further down in the minors look like much.

Conclusion: Eddie Andrews is the guy for sure, if he stays healthy, he seems like a lock for at least a 4 win season at second. If I can move him, Roman might finally get a shot at some real playing time. Medina likely isn't more than a utility player.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:17 PM   #5
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Shortstop

We'll get to our Stradivarius, and that is 27 year old Doc Nowack , he's a bonafide star and after missing 20-40 games each of his first 3 seasons, he finally put in a full 154 this past year and hit .303/.366/.440 with 40 doubles and 15 triples, and he's one of the better defensive shortstops in the league. BNN has him as the 5th best shortstop in the league. Pretty telling that our best player is just the 5th best at his position. But, he'll hit at the top of the order and play good defense and will likely have another strong year.

Dewey Benton (32) was in the majors for 6 or 7 years and even started at SS before Nowack showed up, but he spent all year in AAA last year and OPS'ed just .574 in 467 PA's, and it isn't likely he ever sees the FABL again.

25 year old Lou Blanton hit .319 in the offensive minded Dixie League (AA), and plays okay defense on the left side. He'll get a shot at AAA this year. Fellow 25 year old Les Krentz hit even better (.883 OPS in AA), and will follow Blanton to AAA St. Paul this year.

It's becoming a theme, once you get past AA, the guys in the lower levels aren't well thought of or their stats are bad, or more likely the case is both.

Conclusion: This is clearly Doc Nowack's spot and hopefully will be for another 5+ seasons.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:29 PM   #6
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Third Basemen

27 year old John Barber was the starter at the hot corner last year, and after some promising trials in '24 and '25, his first shot at being the starter all year fell a bit flat. Barber hit .279/.338/.360 last year with slightly above average defense. My scout is still optimistic about him, and I do think if he gets another shot at third, his offensive numbers will improve.

Herb Martin (28) can play 1st and 3rd, and he saw 30 starts at 1st before Trowbridge took over. He doesn't have much thump in his bat which makes his .294 average last year pretty empty. A corner infielder with no power, even in 1927 doesn't get you very far.

Charlie Stephens was the Miners' third basement from '21-25 and was above average each year before he lost his starting job to Barber last year. Stephens hit .344/.414/.475 in 1924, and was a 6 win player. He fell to a WAR of 3.2 in '25, and then was regulated to a reserve role, OPS'ing .755 (right at league average) in 121 PA's. The 30 year old has a nice pedigree and will be battling Barber for the spot this spring.

My scouts like 24 year old Johnny Allen who split time between AA and AAA last year. He shows a nice eye and his sure handed at third, even if his range seems to be limited. He'll man the hot corner for AAA St. Paul this season.

Sam Vasiliou turns 23 in a month and had an OBP of .393 in 107 at bats for the A ball Gary Steelmen, my scout thinks nothing of him, but it was nice to have someone with even passable numbers down in A ball (where Gary went 29-111)

Conclusion: It's odd that the previous GM (or AI) sat Stephens after he was solid for quite a few years. Barber didn't exactly rip the starting spot away from him, so they will battle it out this spring for the hot corner, and I'd guess Stephens will probably come out on top.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:37 PM   #7
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Left Field

Jim McGee (28) was the starting left fielder last year and in his 609 PA's, he managed all of 0.7 WAR. He hit .298, but had just 20 extra base hits all year and he's a weak defensive left fielder. I am determined to not have him start next year. The lefty will be a pinch hitter at best next season.

24 year old Tom Hopkins is really the closest thing to a prospect we've seen so far. After hitting .400 on the nose and OPS'ing .948 in AA Birmingham in 1925, he followed that up with a .347/.437/.477 line in AAA St. Paul last season. The lefty hit 12 homers and showed a good eye. He's never going to be much in left field, but should be an upgrade over McGee there, and with the bat. He's my front runner for the left field job right now.

Milo Nelson OPS'ed .721 in the Dixie League, which is not good. He's only 21 though and my scout likes him, so he'll get another crack or 3 at it.

SSDD for everything below AA.

Conclusion: McGee with his poor defense and below average offense, has no business as a FABL left fielder, but he should be okay as a pinch hitter off the bench. The youngster Hopkins has nothing else to really prove in the minors and will get an extended look in LF this year for the Miners.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:46 PM   #8
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Centerfield

We have another former FA Whitney Award (MVP) winner in center fielder Clint Casstevens (which looks a lot like Cat Stevens), just a few years ago in 1924, Casstevens (30) hit .334/.368/.535 and popped 54 doubles and 26 triples, both of which led the league, and got the award for best hitter. He's fallen off a bit offensively and was at .304/.349/.450 this past year, but still had 43 doubles and 16 triples to go with 5 that made it out of the park. His problem is that his defensive chops have really deteriorated and he went from a solid defensive CF to an atrocious one almost over night. His bat will still play though, and I'm going to attempt to move him to right field this spring.

Almost 26 years old, Johnny Collins was horrendous in 224 at bats at AAA St. Paul, but he's hit at other levels of the minors and does a decent job in center, so he'll repeat at AAA.

24 year old William Goodman plays a solid center field, but missed most of the season last year due to back problems. When he was able to play he hit .336/.381/.433 in almost 150 at bats for Birmingham. Right at league average for the Dixie League.

Our A ball squad Gary, just grabbed random fans from the stands to play center over the course of the year.

Conclusion: Last year's centerfielder Casstevens will return and has a good chance at a solid offensive season, but he just can't hack it in center anymore and he'll transition to RF where he should be fine. That does mean we have a very large hole in centerfield going into the 1927 season.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:54 PM   #9
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Rightfield

Tom Prosser is 27 years old, like my whole team seems to be. He had a solid 1925 season, but really struggled last year and managed just a .248/.311/.324 line last year in nearly 400 PA's. He's better than that, I think, but I don't know by how much.

Another former starter, Bob Grant (30) has a nice bat (left handed of course) and can hit .300 in his sleep, even if there isn't much pop or much of an eye there. His defense in right is only average, and it will be hard to find a spot in the lineup for him. Fellow 30 year old Bob, Bob Garrett is a very similar player to Grant, he can hit for average, little else, and plays an okay right. And he's left handed. I wonder how they get along in the clubhouse?

Charlie Sloan is 30 as well and had some decent seasons as a reserve in the early 20's for the Miners, but he really fell off a cliff and had a horrendous season in AAA St. Paul, using his 580 PA's to OPS .637.

Bob Burgess is 23 (Bob's Burgers?) and you guessed it, left handed. He had a strong year in AA last year, even by Dixie League standards, going for .354/.429/.527 and had 54 extra base hits. He looks like a very bad defensive right fielder. He'll start the year in AAA St. Paul and we'll see if his bat outweighs his weakness in right.

The Miner's top pick in the 1925 draft was Eddie Wilson who went 5th overall. The 22 year old isn't too well thought of by my scout, despite his prodigious college numbers. His last year at Dartmouth, he hit .374/.464/.663, but was over his head with a quick promotion to AA. He hit .272 with little secondary skills in his 100+ at bats in the offensive heavy league. For whatever reason, he wasn't even starting in AA. I'll likely just make sure he starts and hope he can put up some numbers in the Dixie League. I'm almost afraid to put him in Gary, as I think there is something in the water there that makes everyone hit .200.

Conclusion: As the last post said, Casstevens looks like the likely RF this year, leaving a hole in center. Prosser and the two Bobs don't look like they'd be anything but league average in an absolute best case scenario. Burgess looks like has the bat, but he also needs the DH rule.
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Old 08-07-2019, 04:10 PM   #10
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Pitching

The Federal Association (the other league being the Continental Association) was certainly the more offensive-centric league of the two and in that context our pitching wasn't too bad last year. Our 4.37 ERA was good for 2nd in the league and it was our .715 team OPS, good for last in the FA that really did us in.

29 year old Hap Goodwin as our so-called ace last year, going 13-20 with a 3.42 ERA in 299.2 (so close) innings. Last season was the first time he's ever been above league average on the mound, and like a lot of pitchers in this league, his performance is going to come down to BABIP luck. He'll likely take the mound opening day.

Carl Mellen is a 33 year old veteran who had a tremendous 1924 season, 26-7 with a league leading 2.95 ERA. But, in his soon to be 11 year career, it is looking more and more like that's the extreme outlier in his career. Hopefully he has a few years left in his arm to toss league average ball.

Bob "Topper" Simmon led the league in pitching WAR in '23 and '24, but has been nothing but a soft-tossing righty who relies on defense. He led the league in losses last year with 23.

Jack Reed is 29 and made his major league debut last year and then stayed in the big leagues to pitch 238 innings. Very bad innings.

26 year old Bill Morrill was the 5th starter/long man last year (his first in the FABL) and had 7 starts on his way to 102.2 innings pitched and he put up a very pretty looking 3.42 ERA. In his 7 starts, he went 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA, which makes him a shoe-in to at least take Reed's spot in the rotation next year.

Marco Ramirez (27), Jim Smith (25), Dick Salten (26) and Gene Roberts (26) all pitched at least 200 innings last year in St. Paul and all had ERA's in the 4's. Smith (4.35) and Roberts (4.34) led the bunch while Salten and Ramirez were both closer to 5. Smith split time between the rotation and bullpen, and really shined as a starter with a 3.70 ERA compared to his 6.47 in 33 games out of the pen. Nelson Salcedo (27) got 11 starts last year and did well (3.55 ERA), though his peripherals are unpleasant.

25 year old lefty Jack Thompson is 6'8", 225 and had to endure a season in the Dixie League last year and really did pretty decent. He was 17-13 with a 4.56 ERA, which is above average in the DL. He's a hard thrower at 92-94 and he'll get a shot at AAA this season.

My scout likes the arm on 23 year old Leo Proctor who got battered around in AA to the tune of a 5.79 ERA. Lefty Spencer Gause is also 23 and is fairly well thought of even though he's been stuck in Gary for the last 4 years and he hasn't given much reason to promote him for the '27 season.

My scout likes the makeup and arm on 20 year old Pete Berry. He only had 5 starts last year but did pretty well in Gary. He'll likely be in AA and we'll see how he fares in the Dixie League.

My top pitching prospect is lefty Ed Trammell (20), back in 1925 for the A ball Gary Steelheads, he pitched 166.2 innings and had an ERA of 10.91, yes, 10.91. Luckily, last year went better. He was in the newly established S A league with Spokane, and went 4-12 with a 4.53 ERA and struck out nearly a batter per inning. He returned to Gary in the bullpen, but got smacked around pretty good. BNN thinks he's the 7th best pitching prospect in the game, but those numbers sure beg to differ.

There are a number of other pitchers who weren't profiled and you can imagine why.

Conclusion: We need a few guys to add to the staff. Hap Goodwin isn't the ace you'd like, for certain. There's a collection of league average guys on the main staff and peppered through AAA and AA. Trammell is the wild card down in A ball, he's got the physical ability but needs to prove himself and it'd serve him well to get in entire season in the rotation somewhere, likely A ball Gary.
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Old 08-07-2019, 04:58 PM   #11
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1926 First-year-player draft

Due to the timing of my taking over of the Miners, I didn't have any say in my first 4 picks, which were:

1st Round: P R/L Walt Palmer - Louisiana State. The lefty tosser had a fantastic career at LSU, With a career 29-8 record and a 2.48 ERA in 329.2 IP. Statistically, he'll go down tied with the most wins in collegiate history. My scout and BNN are both less thrilled about him. I do think his floor is probably pretty high and I can't imagine him not being at least a decent 3 or 4 starter. He's likely to start in Gary, though it's frightening to think of the meager run support he'd get.

2nd Round: RF L/L Larry Jones - Portland (OR) HS. A high school outfielder who showed some pop his senior year of high school with 11 homers. My scout doesn't think much of him, but does admit he's got some power in his bat.

3rd Round: RF R/R Hal Flinn - Boston College. I definitely would have wanted to take a righty outfielder in the first couple of rounds of the draft, though I don't know if I would have picked Flinn. He started his first two years, but only got into 11 games last season, though he did get into 20 postseason games. In those he hit .325/.376/.481 with a couple of homers. His freshman year was his best statistically which worries me a bit. The scout doesn't think he'll be much.

4th Round: 1B/RF L/R Hal Swenson - Pacific. Pacific went 44-6 last year and a big reason was the power hitting Swenson. He went for .360/.421/.623 with 12 homers in 198 PA's for a monster junior season. He plays a solid 1B, and can play the corners in the OF as well, but I'm not sure how well, since he only played 1B for Pacific. He's a guy I would have probably picked in the 2nd or 3rd round so I'm glad the AI snagged him.

5th Round: C R/R Charlie Jackson - Southern Cal. My first actual pick as the Miners GM. In hindsight I should have grabbed Colorado C Jim Pool, but Jackson's great Junior season (.368/.420/.532) was too much for me to pass up, plus my scout thinks he's got the chops to be a solid defensive catcher.

6th Round: SS R/R George Craig - Rutgers. Had three excellent seasons (even if he didn't play much as a sophomore due to injury) at Rutgers. His freshman year he hit .364 with 10 homers in 213 PA's. Last year he mellowed out a bit with a .332/.386/.487 line and he played solid defense at SS. He's probably better suited at third down the line, but he'll start off as a SS, probably in A ball.

7th Round: P Clyde Briant R/R - Harvard. My scout really liked him and had him near the top of his pitcher list, so I picked him despite some just okay stats for the Crimson. He went 3-3 with a 3.39 ERA in 63.2 innings last year. But, again, my scout liked him and I need some pitching talent anyways.

8th Round: OF Al Fletcher S/R - Indiana. Had a great junior campaign with a .366/.430/.561 line with 10 homers and 28 stolen bases. He can play all three OF positions and looks like pretty well. And he can really, really run. If his potential with the bat comes around, he'll be a useful player.

9th Round: SP John Beruba R/R - Bucknell. Another guy my scout liked, though Beruba had better numbers than Briant. Went 6-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 15 starts for the Bison, and had close to a 4/1 K/BB ratio.

10th Round: OF Bob Loser R/R - Washington. Heck of a name. Played RF next to #1 overall pick Karl Stephens at the U of Washington. Was a bench player for two years before lighting up the NCAA to the tune of .368/.444/.667 in 117 at bats. He had a solid postseason as well. A guy I drafted purely on his stat output, my scout doesn't think too much of him.

After that the CPU took over:

The highlights look like:

11th Round: SS Ed Stewart R/R - Reading HS (PA). Performed well as an amateur and my scout thinks he has a chance some day.

13th Round: P Connie Cannon L/L - Boston College. A guy I had on my list, though I don't think I did that correctly (statslab vs in-game), and I might have just gotten him by chance. He was drafted out of high school in 1924, saw one game of professional action and was released. He somehow ended up getting a couple of starts for Boston College in the '26 postseason, doing okay, and I've drafted him. Not quite sure how amateur and college works in feeder leagues.

17th Round: P Cotton Rice R/R, the high schooler has a cool name but wants a ton of money to play pro ball, I'll pass, and hopefully it doesn't come back to bite me.

Past that there are a lot of guys without much in the way of statistics or in shining scouting reports. If any of them perform well in Spokane or Gary, they'll be sure to earn a profile.
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Old 08-07-2019, 10:18 PM   #12
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A trade!

We have my first real transaction as the GM of the Miners and it is a fairly big one. We send off Ed Trammell, a 20 year old pitcher who BNN thinks is my #1 prospect and one of the more promising young pitchers in baseball. The lefty was a minor league free agent signing in 1925 and had, as previously mentioned, a 10.91 ERA in 166.2 A ball innings. He was much, much better last year. He's still very young and clearly the national publications like his talent.

Where did we send him? Montreal, Canada to the Montreal Saints where we received Tony Henderson and Leon Thompson. Henderson is the key, he'll be 24 when the season starts is an actual right handed outfielder and he looks like he could be the Miners center fielder for the forseeable future, something we desperately need. BNN has him as the #39 prospect. He had 131 at bats in A ball last year, OPS'ing .877 before getting called up to AAA Minneapolis where he slashed .267/.350/.451 in 223 PA's. He missed the last month of the season with an ankle injury. Unless he has a horrendous spring or is injured, he'll penciled in at CF and bat somewhere low in the order to start the season.

The other guy we got is a bit of a throw-in, but will certainly help bolster a thin staff a little bit. Leon Thompson is a soon to be 27 year old who spent time both in the Montreal system and the Boston system. In Minneapolis is where he had 17 starts and went 4-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 117.2 innings. He got BABIP lucky, but he's one more guy I can throw in the rotation if things get ugly. He's pitched briefly in the majors and has consistently strong minor league numbers. He made it in two games last year for Montreal, pitching two scoreless innings. In '25, he got 3 starts and 34 total innings with a 4.46 ERA with Boston. He has a decent shot at being the 4th starter this year.

I'm tantalized by how much the national publications liked Trammell even if my scout didn't think much of him and his numbers certainly haven't been promising, but Henderson looks like he's developed enough already that he'll at least approach league average at CF at the minimum and has the chance with some improvement to be a genuine asset out there. He allows Casstevens to slide over to RF, where hopefully his now limited range will play better.
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Old 12-08-2019, 04:27 PM   #13
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What's been going on

It's been a while, and a few things have happened. Two full seasons, one bad, one okay. A trade or two and a lot of draft picks.

1927 - 70-84, a 10 game improvement from the year before, in which I think the team was left derelict. No hitting, okay pitching.

1928 - 77-77, was in the race for the league crown, but fell out down the stretch, especially after dealing with a month long road trip in September. Had some great pitching performances, but our hitting was too pedestrian for how powerful offenses in the Federal Association are.

We're in the middle of the draft, and I'll update that in good time, but let's see where our Miners are heading into the 1929 calendar year:
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Old 12-09-2019, 09:05 PM   #14
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Catchers going into 1929

L/R Jim Pool was acquired from the Brooklyn Kings midseason 1927, and it was largely due to me making a critical mistake in my first draft ever. I chose Charlie Jackson over Jim Pool, because (if I remember correctly) my scout liked Jackson's defense quite a bit, and I was worried about Pool's.

But, all Pool did for half a season was crush B level pitching to a ridiculous degree for the Tampa Cigar Kings, a 1.032 OPS in 341 at bats, including a .509 on base percentage.

He hasn't quite reached that level, but he did reach the FABL last year and hit .247/.357/.438 with 10 homers in just 219 plate appearances. The 10 homers were second on the team, and I'm thinking with a full season, he could hit 25 or 30. His batting average might not be pretty, but the walks will keep him decent. He threw out 55% of runners last year in the FABL, and his defense has been solid in his pro career. He'll turn 24 right before the beginning of the new year, so I think Pool's got a vice lock on the starting position for at least a few years.

Our backup, R/R Curt Squillante would be a promising young starter on at least a few clubs. He's about 6 months older than Pool, and made the majors for a cup of coffee in '27, and hit .346 and even won a player of the week award. That earned him the starting job over Elijah Brown coming into this season. He didn't hit .346 again, but started out pretty well before a really bad July prompted Pool to be called up and by the end of the season Squillante had a .259/.313/.375 line in 352 plate appearances. He'll be the backup and likely see most of his starts against lefties, due to Pool's historical struggles against his fellow southpaws.

The aforementioned S/R Elijah Brown got the lion's share of the starts in '27 and was just barely over replacement level, before losing the backup gig and spending the last month of the year struggling in AAA St. Paul. Gene Alexander will receive most of the starts in St. Paul for now. The 27 year old is a slick defender and he's shown flashes of hitting at various levels, but will probably never cut it at the FABL level.

At AA, we had a strong performance from (22)L/R Charlie Ward, who hit .348/.397/.401, the problem is in the souped up Dixie League, that .798 OPS is just an inch below average. He'll repeat in Birmingham, and hope to add a few more walks and a few more doubles into the mix.

Another guy who will repeat at his level despite decent numbers is R/R Charlie Jackson for the A ball Gary Steelmen. The guy I drafted over Pool, hit 27 homers for Class B Spokane in '27 (with 2 doubles, but I think the league totals were a bit wonky that year), before going for 18 homers last year in A ball. It came with a .253 batting average and an unimpressive walk rate. The power seems real though, and he's just 23.

R/R Ralph McLean has finally figured out class B ball after toiling there for a couple of years. In 124 starts he went for .290/.335/.500, with 56 doubles and 12 homers. Due to the backlog of catchers we have, he's going to stay in Spokane for now. Though, if he improves on these numbers, he'll force his way up at some point in the first few months of the season.

Conclusion: I really think we've got a decent cadre of catchers, though I don't know how other teams compare to be honest. I think Ward, Jackson and McLean all look like guys who have bats that should at least play as backups. But, with Pool (and Squillante) both being 24 and looking like strong catchers, there isn't going to be a lot of upward mobility available behind the plate in Pittsburgh.

TL;DR, Jim Pool is a stud, need to look around and see if any teams are weak on catching prospects.
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Old 12-09-2019, 09:21 PM   #15
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First Basemen going into 1929

First of all, let's get it out of the way. I traded Dave Trowbridge for a 2nd round pick (and a late one at that). Trowbridge was a guy with a high batting average, mediocre scouting reports, and a guy that I had been using as a lefty masher, but only got 23 starts in 1927 due to a lack of lefty starters in the Federal.

So I got an offer and I took it, eager to give L/R George Simpson the full time job. Trowbridge made a fool of me, and slashed .997 in 553 at bats for the Stars, including 41 doubles and 14 homers. The good thing is that he's 30, so hopefully he doesn't haunt me too long.

But, it isn't like I had a bunch of scrubs to replace the stud that's Trowbridge.

A hip injury cost him the last month of the year, but 27 year old George Simpson had a solid sophomore season after losing his starting job after the acquisition of Jim Renfroe in the middle of 1927. This year with a full playing schedule he hit .316/.377/.432 with solid defense at first base. No Rankin Kellogg (or Dave Trowbridge) but a solid contribution. He's a pretty good runner, and ended up spending a decent amount of time in the 2 hole in the lineup, and he'll most likely be there again next year.

Like catcher, we've got a number of guys on the farm who look like they'll be competent down the line. L/L Joe Watson is a big fella at 6'3", 220 and he's a horror show with the glove, but all the guy has done for two years is hit. At AA Birmingham, in a high powered league, he hit .348 with 12 homers and ended up with 106 RBI's. Last year at St. Paul, he got off to a white hot start, that almost resulted in his call up before setting down to still finish with a .328/.376/.465 line in 119 starts. He got called up to Pittsburgh at the end of the season and showed well, with an 8-22 performance with 2 doubles, a triple and a homer. He's likely back at St. Paul to start the year, but if he just crushes the ball this spring and early on, he could supplant Simpson, they are about the same age.

22 year old L/L Oscar Morris was a lucklaster part time player for A ball Gary, he had a great offseason and eventually ended up the starting 1st Baseman for Birmingham, and like Watson, just hit. In 445 plate appearances he had a .366/.413/.527 line. He stole 8 bases as well. Defensively, he's bad, though not as bad as Watson, but my scout isn't all that encouraged by him. With Watson in AAA, he'll probably be forced to repeat, unless Watson becomes a bench player in some capacity this year, which is very possible.

21 year old L/L Addie Adkins started off slow after a promising season at Class B Spokane in '27, but by the end of the season he was lacing singles all over the park. It's pretty amazing that a guy who hit .359 had a slugging percentage of .416. He is a good defensive first baseman and can play a solid left field as well, he's the only guy of the players in this post with any positional flexibility. Right now, I think he's pegged to repeat in Gary, but if Birmingham needs a LF or 1B, Adkins will be the first to be called up.

Conclusion: I wish I had Trowbridge, but I have a nice collection besides. Simpson is a good hitter, but he's not the kind of guy you want at 1st, especially with some of his counterparts in the FA. Watson looks to have a real bat, and could edge out Simpson this year, if his offense warrants it. Morris and Adkins have hit for very high averages, but I'd like to see more pop out of both of them.

George Simpson, barring some crazy springs by both Simpson and his competition, will be the starting first baseman to start the year, but does have a somewhat weak hold on it.

I have another guy Hank Swenson, who is probably a natural first baseman, but has played almost solely OF so far in his 2 years in the Miners organization, but I'll get to him later.
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Old 12-09-2019, 09:44 PM   #16
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Second Basemen going into 1929

After a '27 season that saw a very hot start and a very flimsy finish, Pittsburgh Miner great (and former MVP)Eddie Andrews was shipped off unceremoniously to Brooklyn, where had disappeared into the annals of FABL history. I had two youngsters, R/R Jim Welch and R/R Art Wells, both who had solid, but not spectacular seasons in AAA and AA respectively. Both had solid cups of coffee in Pittsburgh in September of '27. And both played good defense, but Wells had a tremendous defensive season with a +17 UZR rating.

I started Welch, because he had a fantastic spring, and he's 2 years older than Wells. I had a few vets, Herb Martin and Tony Medina get a total of 9 starts at 2nd early on in the year. But, I figured I'd give Welch a month, then play the slick fielding Wells from here on out. But, Welch got off to a hot start and held onto the job besides about a month in the summer, and ended with a .300/.355/.426 line in 536 PA's with 21 doubles and 15 triples. He played a solid second as well, and has firm grasp on the job to start the '29 season.

The aforementioned month that Welch didn't start was manned by Wells, after he had a tremendous 78 games for St. Paul, OPS'ing .843 and had a WAR of 3.9 in that few of games. Welch had gone cold, and so I decided to call him up, and he was a disaster. In 41 starts, and 173 plate appearances, he hit .183/.212/.287 and an OPS+of 34. Just horrible luck on BABIP. But, his defense fell apart too. I assume it's totals-related, but in 538 innings at 2nd in AAA, he didn't make an error. In 248 innings in FABL play, he made 8. Statistical noise, maybe, but he still looks like has good range, regardless of the errors.

I played him some at SS, but with very poor results. I do plan on giving him several starts there in the spring to see if he can tighten up there and add some more versatility to his game.

The farm system is pretty bare when it comes to second basemen, at least compared to C and 1B. I mentioned Medina and Martin earlier as getting a few starts at 2nd early in the season. Martin has been released and Medina was below averaged in a few hundred AAA at bats and will be there again this year.

R/R Mickey McCullough has a pretty weak glove, but hit .322 in Gary before hitting .267 in Birmingham in the last 47 games of the year. My scout likes his bat, but again, his defense isn't much. He is ranked #97 on the BNN list.

R/R Brooks Meeks is a very well thought of prospect, ranked #32 in the league by the BNN, but the results on the field didn't reflect it. I forced him in as the starter at second last year, even though the manager down there didn't want him too. And I see why. He hit .221 with few extra base hits and fewer walks. The 19 year old was a 3rd round pick last year. and was a SS in high school, but a lackluster one, and is probably best suited at 2B.

We added a new level of minors this year, and that'll be the Class C Jackson Junipers. I think Meeks will repeat in Spokane, unless he just craters offensively. Let's see if he can handle Spokane the second time around, if he's as talented as the scouts think he is, he should fare a lot better.

Conclusion: Jim Welch looks like he has the bat and the glove is decent enough. He's pretty far in the lead for the 2B job, and I'm hoping I can bat him 5th or 6th and his slugging percentage will warrant it. If not, the slick fielding Wells can jump in, his horrible performance in the FABL was just horrid luck. I'm very confident he can play at a decent level, even with the horrible stats in a stats only league.
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Old 12-09-2019, 10:15 PM   #17
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Third Basemen going into 1929

I traded the best third baseman in the organization in the Jim Pool trade, when I sent John Wilder to Brooklyn. He was mashing the ball in St. Paul, kept down by a hot John Barber start, when he was shipped off. We got a good return for him, but third base potentially could be a little shaky for the Miners, though a breakthrough season by Johnny Allen, hopefully is presaging something promising.

The 26 year old R/R Johnny Allen really has just done nothing but hit since drafted out of Bucknell College (who has since had their named change) back in '23.

He had a strong season in '27, but stumbled out of the gate before recovering in St. Paul, hitting .271/.347/.413 in 41 starts. He was called up in '28 after uninspiring performances by R/R John Barber, and had a pretty solid season. He cooled off a bit towards the end of the year, but hit .287/.362/.425 in 492 PA's, and showed a hint of power with 7 homers. Which is a decent number for us, even with all of the guys cranking 40+ around these days. Defensively, he's average at 3rd. I gave him some playing time in LF in 27 at St. Paul, he didn't perform well, but he can play it if he has too.

John Barber had 460 plate appearances in 1927, and the guy can hit some singles and has a decent eye, but that's about it. Even Allen's modest power is on another level than Barber's. But, he's a good defensive third baseman and runs well, so he's a useful bench player in this era.

32 year old L/R Charlie Stephens had 4 excellent seasons from '21 to '24, but hasn't performed the last few, and had an OPS of just .658 in 169 at bats in '27. He received just 7 starts all year, and had 56 PA's as a lefty pinch hitter/sub He managed a .446 OBP, worthy of more at bats this season? No, probably not.

Some random minor leaguer or R/R Tony Medina will probably play third for St. Paul to start the year, but I don't think it will be long before R/R Paul Smith is in AAA. He had a decent year for Gary in '27, before hitting .347/.393/.440 last year for Birmingham. Again, not that impressive for the context of the league, but good enough to make me write a paragraph about a fake player.

A great example of why a stats only universe is so great, is me wondering if S/R Earl Chapman is any good. He hit in college, and is a switch hitter, which is always nice to see and the latter was a probably a decent part of the reason of why I took him in the 6th round. Last year in class B, he survived a rough start and rebounded to have a nice season in Spokane, hitting .287/.380/.416 in 511 plate appearances. He's an okay defender, as well. The scouts don't like him, my A ball manager doesn't even want to start him at 3rd. But, I'm going to make him. And if he flames out and has two sorry months, I'll let the manager do what he wants, but until then, I want to see my 6th round pick getting the starting nod each afternoon in Gary, Indiana to see if I should have picked this guy or not.

Conclusion: Hopefully Johnny Allen can replicate his season last year, because if he isn't up to the task, I don't have a lot of faith in the alternatives.
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Old 12-09-2019, 11:04 PM   #18
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Shortstops going into 1929

I called R/R Doc Nowack my Stradivarius when I previewed this team before the 1927 season, and he's not playing very good music. The '27 season was passable, but disappointing, 3.1 WAR. But in the '28 season, Nowack had a horrid July and August, OPS'ing in the .400's both months. He did recover with a nice September which gives me optimism, it was just a cold spell. He finished with a .261/.312/.347 line. The really troubling thing is that his defense continues to fall off, and now it's just barely average. My scout still likes his skills there, so I'm hoping it was an aberration, but I don't think his ratings have fallen off the cliff and I'm going to pencil him in for another 145 starts.

AAA has a couple of guys R/R Lou Blanton and R/R Les Krentz who both play an adequate shortstop and Kretz especially has shown a decent bat. One will start at short stop and one likely at second or third. I don't anticipate either to be more than bench bats potentially.

R/R George Craig was a 6th round draft pick in '26, and just got done with his second tour in Gary, Indiana and he improved his numbers to be just about league average, .276/.328/.427 last year in 541 at bats. He can play all over the infield and do an adequate job, he's a bit stretched at shortstop, but that's what he's likely slated to play in Birmingham this year, creating a lackluster defensive combo of he and McCullough.

Gary is where R/R Ed Stewart, prospect number 14 in the BNN listing is playing this season. He was an 11th round pick and a selection of since departed scouting director of James Marcou and he looks like an excellent parting gift. The scouts love his talent, but his performance gave a hint as well. At class B Spokane he hit .257/.348/.435 with 21 homers, that's no great shakes in the C-O-W league, but for a 19 year old it's promising. He's not much at shortstop, and will probably have to be moved left or right at some point, but his bat looks like it will play at a lot of positions, if he grows into his talent.

My 2nd round pick last year was R/R Dick Simpson, but he hardly ever got to play due to Meeks and Stewart. If there had been a class C league last year, he could have started at SS last year, but alas, there wasn't. He'll see if he was worth his draft pedigree (that the scouts now don't agree with) as a starting infielder for either Jackson or Spokane.

Conclusion:

Really hoping Doc Nowack just had an offseason on both sides of the field. If he can revert to his play from a few years ago, we'll have a very solid SS that can bat at the top of the lineup if need be. If this is the new Nowack, we'll be hoping that Stewart can speed up the development.
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Old 12-10-2019, 01:08 AM   #19
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Outfielders going into the 1929 season

Didn't want to try to divide them up by position. So, we'll just start with the ones on the big club, and work our way down.

You have to start with 26 year old L/L Jim Renfroe who came over in the Wilder trade with the Kings. He had a great year, .277/.362/.481 with 21 stolen bases and stellar defense in CF. Unfortunately, he went down with a major knee injury on the last game of the season and now he'll be out until late May/early June. But, when he returns he becomes my best outfielder and a guy I think that is primed for a major season if he can stay healthy.

L/L Tom Hopkins will be 27 next season, and he declined after a great '27 season with a .862 OPS, down to a .805 last season. His homer total dropped from 14-8, which is a problem when I'm putting his horrible defense out there every game. He's a bad leftfielder, though he improved on a horrid '27. And he's started 72 games at 1st the last two years, doing just as horrible defensively. He really needs to improve the hitting statistics, if I'm going to let him trot out there every day.

R/R Tony Henderson was acquired from Montreal before the 1927 season and had a decent enough rookie year, hitting .303/.327/.458 with solid CF defense as a rookie. The lack of walks came back to bite him the next year as a .254 average managed to just get him to a .296 OBP. He'll be the starting CF until Renfroe is healthy again, and I'm hoping he can get BABIP lucky and be productive at the top of the order. He does seem to hit lefties very well, and will be at the top of the lineup against southpaws. He was also 15-18 in steals.

25 year old L/L Bob Burgess really took advantage of an opportunity with the Miners. He had a decent season in AAA in '27 season, hitting .271/.331/.458 with 15 homers in 125 starts before getting a 15 at bat cup of coffee in September. He ended up with a bench spot on opening day, and eventually ended the season as the starting RF. He ended with a .315/.378/.463 line in 395 plate appearances, the problem is he played horrible defense. I don't forsee him hitting like this again, but I do think he makes for a decent left handed bat on the bench. He'll get his fair share starts at right during Spring Training and have the chance to be the starting RF on Opening Day.

1924 Whitney Award winner L/L Clint Casstevens has been reduced to a bench role, OPS'ing .679 last year in 173 at bats, and primarily acting as a pinch hitter. The manager still likes him, and the scout seems to think he's solid, so maybe he should be the right fielder? The former center fielder is very solid as a corner out fielder. Another guy that will see plenty of at bats this spring, fighting for a job.

Our first round pick and 4th overall in the 1927 draft is L/L Frank Lightbody, brother of Whitney Award winner Doug for the Kings. He dealt with some injuries all year, but Lightbody methodically hit his way up the pro ranks from A to AAA before getting in 47 PA's as a Miner. He did well, hitting .366/.409/.512. His numbers leveled out a bit in AAA, but he crushed A and AA pitching and ended up with 26 triples in just 449 PA's across 4 levels. He's a solid defensive corner outfielder who is passable in center, and I think he's likely to be the RF by the end of the year. But, if he doesn't run away with the job in Spring Training, he could start in St. Paul for a little bit and see if he forces his way into the starting lineup.

We have a nice collection of outfield talent in AAA. Lefty Hank Swenson was the 4th round pick in 1926, and the last CPU pick before I took control, mid-draft. He crushed collegiate pitching and has done much of the same in his pro career. He embarrassed A and AA ball last year, and despite a batting average drop in AAA, was a force there as well. .294/.337/.513 in 139 games, with 25 doubles, 15 triples and 20 homers. Very rounded numbers for Swenson. He's exclusively played corner OF as a pro, and poorly at that. He played 1B in college and had decent defensive statistics, so he'd be best off there. And he might have the bat to carry the position too, even though BNN doesn't even have the 23 year old in the top 25 Miners prospect list.

23 year old S/R Milo Nelson had a .133 in 30 at bat cup of coffee last year, after he hit .320+ in both AA and AAA last year. He's had to play a lot of CF due to lack of organizational depth, and he's not too good at it. But, he's a plus defender in the corners and I think the bat could put up league average numbers.

The 5th pick in the 1925 draft, before my time and I believe the online portion as well is R/R Eddie Wilson who was another guy who had an ugly brief stint in the FABL, .150 for Wilson. He's just put up decent numbers in the minors and really doesn't have much plate discipline. If Lightbody comes down to St. Paul, there's going to be a squeeze for playing time and Wilson may end up in Birmingham just to get AB's.

The lower minors are really pretty bereft of much talent. L/L Babe West held his own for A ball Gary as a 20 year old, but will repeat the league to see if he can step it up a notch. He's a good defensive outfielder, so I hope he does.

S/R Al Fletcher was an 8th round pick in '26, and had a monster senior season for Indiana. His pro career has been very streaky. He was on the verge of being called up to Birmingham last year before he had a very poor back half of the season. He's a good base stealer, has some pop, and can play all 3 outfield positions. Could have a future as a decent back up outfielder. He'll stick in Gary, but hopefully not for long as he'll be 24 this season.

Conclusion: We have a logjam going at the top, and when Renfroe returns in May/June, we'll really have a problem. Hopefully Tom Hopkins bat keeps him in the lineup every day. Tony Henderson will play CF no matter how bad his offense is until Renfroe comes back and then we'll see. Renfroe and Henderson in the outfield is pretty solid defensively, if Henderson can hit .300.

Rightfield will be a battle between 1. Casstevens, 2. Burgess and 3. Lightbody. I think 1 has underperformed the last two years, I think 2 had a better season than his ability and 3 will take the job by June.

I think Swenson could eventually hit enough to force my hand and if he really has 30 homer power, I have to promote him. I have no one on my team like that. But, I'm perplexed that the scouts don't like him and he's not in the game's ranking of my top 25 prospects.
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Old 12-10-2019, 08:55 PM   #20
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Pitching going into 1929

We had the best pitching staff (by statistics anyways, which is all that matters in this league) in the Federal this year, and we bring everyone back and I think my guys have the talent to repeat that performance.

Even in his third year, I have to start with the runner up to the Allen Award and that's 28 year old R Jim Smith, who went 17-9 with a FA leading 2.99 ERA. He was consistently a stud all year long, even if he took some bad luck when it came to getting wins. He was leading the league in K rate for a while, but fell off by the end of the year as the Dynamos' Bob Ames really struck guys out this year (4.7!) He's probably NOT the 2nd best pitcher in baseball, but he's a stud who will pick up the opening day start.

Fellow 28 year old right hander Bill Morrill was solid in his first year as a starter in the FABL in '27, going 13-11 with a 4.04 ERA, and he did even better (with the lowest BABIP in the FA) in '28 with a hard luck 13-16 record with a 3.13 ERA, which was good for 2nd in the FA.

29 year old Venezuelan Marco Ramirez also really benefited from good BABIP rates, and finished....get this 3rd! in the FA with a 3.18 ERA to go a long with a 12-8 record. He had a very ugly walk rate, 5 per 9 innings which is very frightening, but he just kept getting out of it each start. I plan for major regression this year, and don't want to rely on him. But, had to profile him 3rd due to having 3 pitchers finish 1-2-3 in the league in ERA.

Finally, someone with bad luck. 31 year old R Hap Goodwin, had back to back seasons in '26 and '27 with ERA's below 4, and even received a few votes for the Allen Award in '27. But, last year, the hits just kept falling against Goodwin and his walk rate grew by 30% or so and it resulted in an 11-21 record and a 5.02 ERA, he had a few excellent stretches in between some really ugly ones. I do think he's going to rebound nicely this year.

We have a couple of young lefties in 23 year old Walt Palmer and 25 year old Spencer Gause. Both of them are former 1st round picks and both got 5 or 6 starts in the FABL last year and both ended up with ERA's above 5. Palmer was drafted 2nd overall two years ago and has an excellent college career on his resume. Gause has been at the top of prospect lists for the last few seasons, but the stats never backed them up. Both will be competing for a rotation spot, if one or both ends up not making it, they'll start in St. Paul. No reason for them to waste away in the bullpen.

Bob "Topper" Simmon is a 33 year old vet, who has 3 20 win seasons to his record, from '22 to '24, but has been below league average the last few years. He started out in the rotation last year, but was removed after 4 bad starts. He was very, very good in the bullpen and a major part of our success last year, going 7-3 with 5 saves and a 2.37 ERA in 79.2 innings out of the pen. My manager Tom Hawkins wants him back in the rotation, and he might end up there again. But, I'd sure like to have him back in the bullpen.

Dick Reynolds, a 26 year old lefty was a Rule V pick from the Boston organization before the '28 season, after he went 17-2 with a 2.56 ERA for AA Worcester, good for a 196 ERA+. He got injured in spring training and luckily, I was able to have him rehab and get some innings in the minors despite his Rule V standing. He wasn't very effective in the FABL, but that is one heck of a AA season in '27, so he'll get chances the next couple of years until that wears off.

Our bullpen was a major strength this year and Simmon and Mike Hicks are a major reason why. Mike Hicks is a 28 year old right hander who got into just 50 games and pitched just 65 innings. He went 4-3 with 9 saves and a 2.76 ERA. This era of baseball doesn't have a lot of bullpen roles, but maybe Hicks should get into more games if he's going to pitch this well.

Our pitching prospects seem kind of weak. The Century League, where our AAA farm club resides is a pitching centric league, so even though I have some guys with some decent looking ERA's, they aren't that impressive in the Century League context.

Jack Thompson is a 28 year old lefty who stands at 6'8", 255, and he was just below league average in AAA last year. But, he's huge, so he's worth mentioning.

25 year old righty Zack Hayward will be in camp this spring and is probably one of our first guys up if we have injuries or poor performances. He had a 4.16 ERA in AA last year, which is solid for the Dixie League, but only got into 4 starts for St. Paul at the tail end of the season. Hopefully he performs well for the Disciples and can contribute some soon.

Birmingham is an ugly place for pitchers, and all the guys who spent time there last year except for Hayward, really struggled. Hopefully a few of the guys repeating will fare better this go around.

Last year's 3rd round pick Roy "Pepper" Lynch is going to be 19 all season, and the right hander performed well in his first pro season. He made mincemeat of the Class B C-O-W league, going 8-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 12 starts, and then held his own for Gary, going 5-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 103.2 innings. He's got nice control, and even though the scouts don't think much of him, I think he's got a future. He'll probably get a few starts for Gary and if he does well, he'll have to see how he does in Birmingham.

There's not much else in the lower minors that stands out and is worth writing about. But, there is an interesting player in John Briel, who only played in 2 games early last year, getting knocked around in Spokane and then ended up buried and never pitched again. But, now my scouts are saying the soon to be 20 year old is ready for the majors, and that's Briel's expectation of himself as well. I'm kind of torn as to where to start the 6'6" right hander.

Conclusion:

Jim Smith, Bill Morrill and Hap Goodwin have three of the spots locked up, and there is a handful of guys who will battle it out for the last spot or two. I assume one of the lefties (Gause, Palmer or Reynolds) will pick up a spot and who knows for the 5th one.

I don't expect the bullpen to be as strong next year, as I think it was largely luck based. But maybe I'll be surprised.
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