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Old 01-09-2020, 10:32 AM   #41
Jiggs McGee
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AIAA College Update

1929 AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
JUNE 10, 1929
RAINER COLLEGE ELIMINATED

The big news to start the 1929 College World Championship Series was the quick exit made by the best team in the AIAA. The Rainier College Majestics, who were 39-11 during the season thanks to a dominant pitching staff headed by Chick Stout, exited the post-season with haste. The Majestics were knocked out of the double elimination tournament with a 7-2 loss to defending champion Lubbock State in their opener followed by a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Southern Division champion Opelika State.

In both cases it was the bullpen, and more specifically Stan Merendino, who let the Majestics down. Karl Moore (7-2, 1.75) pitched 7 strong innings in the opener allowing 2 earned runs before Merendino let things get away by allowing 5 Lubbock State runs in his inning and a third of work. It was more of the same a couple days later as potential first overall draft pick Chick Stout did not have a great game, at least not by his standards, allowing 2 runs in 7 and a third innings but it was Merendino who again wore the goat horns as he failed to retire a batter and was charged with 4 earned runs in the 6-3 loss.

It is a fall of epic proportions for the 20 year old lefthander Merendino who, after a 6-1 0.81 campaign in 1928 entered this season as potential first round pick. Instead, there is a good chance he will go undrafted after posting a 4-2 record with a 6.02 era for a school that had the lowest ERA in the AIAA. Then came the playoffs and in his two appearances totallng 1 and a third innings Merendino goes 0-2 with 2 blown saves, 7 hits against and 6 walks to go with a 60.75 era.

On the Northeast Conference side Commonwealth Catholic is the first team eliminated as the Knights dropped their final 3 games starting with a tiebreaker to determine the NE Division champ and followed by a pair of CWS games. The division tiebreaker was full of drama as Liberty College scored 3 runs in the final two innings to rally for a 4-3 victory and give the Bells their second straight NE Division title. Knights slugger Vic Crawford went 0-for-3 in that game so he fell 1 short of tying both the AIAA single season and career homerun records.
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Old 01-09-2020, 12:02 PM   #42
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AIAA College Update

1929 AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
JUNE 17, 1929
FINALS SET

A pair of familiar teams are the last two standing as the best of 3 AIAA College World Series Finals are set to begin this week. The Liberty College Bells advanced to the finals for the second straight year where they will face the Opelika State Wildcats, winners of the 1927 College World Series.

The Bells advanced with 3 straight victories, beating Henry Hudson 10-6 in their opening game and then twice defeating George Fox, by scores of 9-3 and 14-4, to eliminate the Reds. Liberty College has a strong lineup led by draft eligible juniors Jake Shadoan (.473,16,36), Joe Jones (.395,19,56) and John Collins (.345,19,68). The Bells have two very good freshman starting pitchers in Jim Trippe (10-2, 2.90) and Lenny Bellucci (7-4, 2.87).

Opelika State took the long way into the Finals as they dropped their first game 8-7 to Chicago Poly to move to the loser' bracket in the double elimination tournament. A 6-3 victory over Rainier with the Majestics starting potential #1 overall draft pick Chick Stout, got the Wildcats back on track and they proceeded to be Chicago Poly 6-3 and then eliminate defending champion Lubbock State with a 7-5 victory.

The Wildcats ace is also a freshman. Charlie Bingham (10-3, 1.71) has not looked as sharp in the tournament as he was during the regular season but he will be counted on heavily in the finals. The offensive stars for Opelika State are draft eligible shortstop Joe Foy (.432,5,42) and freshman outfielder Roy Zingale (.324,20,59). 4 starting position players including Foy were members of the '27 title winning team.
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Old 01-10-2020, 09:36 AM   #43
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Battle of the East

From the start of the 1902 season through to the end of the 1906 season it seemed only two teams played baseball, the Boston Minutemen of the Federal Association and the New York Stars of the Continental Association. In those five years only the Toronto Wolves in 1904 would give the respite for baseball fans in what became known as The Battle of the East.

The Stars had come into the 1902 season with confidence on the wane again, from 1895 to 1899 they had finished miles away from first place in the Continental Association, in fact four years in a row they never got closer than 34 games back of the leaders. It changed in 1900 though when they reached the heady heights of 2nd in the Continental, just 8 games back. However they dropped back to double digits in games back and a slump to 5th in the standings in the 1901 season.

The Boston Minutemen seemed to have arrived in calmer waters after finishing only 7 games back in 1901 after finishing 39 games back in 1900, it had been a few years since they'd topped the Federal Association in 1894 so a Boston and New York championship series seemed a longshot before the start of the 1902 season.

The Stars had finished the season with an 82-55 record, 6 games in front of the Chicago Cougars. They'd come into the 1902 championship series on the back of Bill Temple's pitching, Temple had finished the season with 30 wins out of his 42 starts leading the wins table by 7, he'd also topped the strikeouts table a whopping 110 more than his nearest rival James Wigfall (Brooklyn Kings). He fell short of the triple crown by 0.05 to Allan Allen's (Toronto Wolves) 1.82era, to miss the Triple Crown by the slimmest of margins.

The Minutemen had a closer shave with the other team in Chicago that being the Chiefs, finishing the season with an 83-55 record just 4 1/2 games ahead of the Chiefs. The Minutemen just like New York had relied on pitching but were the Stars relied on Temple, Boston spread the load with lefty Bill McDaniel (27) and righty Woody Trease (25) who combined to win 52 games for the Minutemen.

The start of the 1902 Championship Series didn't give away what was to come, there was a rivalry like any other two teams going against each other. It was actually after the Stars had won the series 4-2 that the whole story had come out on the hatred the two teams would end up feeling against each other, not only for that years series but for the years to come.

Harry Lutey third baseman of the New York Stars.

"We came into the championship series pretty confident to be honest, however George Cary our catcher got injured but Oscar Eckle moved from the outfield to take his place and Sam Beight came of the bench to the outfield but most of the guys had been together for a few years so we were used to each others play. Only new guys were John Dennison at first and John Stewart at second, the Boston team were full of guys who'd only just been with them for a year or two think Nelson Morris had been with them the longest and he'd only been there a few years.

The series started pretty quiet to be honest, Jacob Waters Boston's outfielder had a few words to say him being an ex New York Gotham's player but he wasn't playing well and when we went 3-1 up in the series he'd gone quiet. The fireworks started in game 5 when with home field advantage we felt it was over, it was Boston's catcher Walter Tuttle who'd started it. He must have felt they had nothing to lose. Our second baseman John Stewart had been hitting well and nothing was getting past him in the field, well that game he seemed of his game so when he struck out the third time Oscar Eckle asked him what was wrong. Now John didn't speak much English but him and Oscar got on well and could understand each other with their broken English and Spanish, Oscar asked John what was wrong, John pointed to his cleats which were covered with tobacco spit seems Tuttle was spitting on John's cleats when he batted. When Tuttle came to the plate to hit in the next inning he looked at Oscar and said "your friend needs a shoeshine" that was it, Oscar never even stood up and punched Tuttle in the nether regions well all hell broke loose. Ten minutes later Oscar had been kicked out of the game and Sam Beight had broken his hand, end of the game we led the series by only one going into Boston.

Boston was hell, it took us ages to get to the ballpark from the rail station. The Boston fans were throwing all kinds of things at the bus we travelled on, three windows were smashed and a couple players got cut by the flying glass. It was just as bad in the ballpark, well it was unnerving us and we were down 2-0 going into the 5th. Charlie Kinney had popped up to Boston's John Cook at second base, now Charlie was a big Norwegian who had this thing of running to the plate to bat but also running back to the dugout. Well while he's running to the dugout a bottle came flying at him, thankfully it didn't hit him but without breaking stride he leaped on the dugout roof and jumped into the seats. Now Charlie later told me "I got a few punches in before the coppers pulled me of, just not sure it was the guy who threw the bottle".

We turned it round after that and won the game and the series, the crowd were just as bad but thanks to our flying Norwegian we felt unbeatable".
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Old 01-10-2020, 11:20 AM   #44
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AIAA All-AMERICAN TEAM NAMED

Following a record setting season Commonwealth Catholic outfielder Vic Crawford headlines The Figment Sporting Journal's 1929 AIAA All-American Team. Crawford, who was also named to the first team last season, established new single season and career standards for RBI's while also belting 31 homers, one shy of the all-time mark, this season. Joining Crawford as a two-time All-American is Lubbock State catcher Jack Flint, who hit .379 with 7 homers to help the Hawks qualify for their second straight College World Series. Flint is just a sophomore so he has a chance to make it 3 straight seasons as an All-American next year. Two other players on this year's list also appeared on the second team including Opelika State shortstop Joe Foy, who makes the first team this time around. The other is Georgia Baptist star Tom Barrell who is a second team All-American selection for the second straight season.
Code:
1929 POSTSEASON ALL AMERICAN TEAM
      FIRST TEAM 
C  Jack Flint      SO  Lubbock State
1B Bill Tucker     JR  Indiana A&M
2B Freddie Jones   FR  Central Ohio
SS Joe Foy	   JR  Opelika State
3B Johnny McDowell JR  Georgia Baptist
OF Vic Crawford    JR  Commonwealth Catholic
OF Elmer Noodle	   SO  Coastal California
OF Bobby Many      JR  Whitney College  
P  Chick Stout     JR  Rainier College
	SECOND TEAM
C Wilbur Hodges    JR  St Patrick's
1B Jake Johnson    JR  Lubbock State
2B Jake Shadoan    JR  Liberty
SS Larry Colaianni JR  Brooklyn State
3B George Anderson JR  Lubbock State
OF Amos Leblanc    JR  George Fox
OF Johnny McCann   JR  St Blane
OF Rip Curry  	   JR  George Fox   
P  Tom Barrell     SR  Georgia Baptist
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Old 01-10-2020, 11:36 AM   #45
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AIAA College Update

OPELIKA STATE WINS COLLEGE TITLE

For the second time in 3 years the Opelika State Wildcats are college baseball's national champion. The Wildcats swept the best-of-three AIAA championship series 2 games to none over the Liberty College Bells to claim the title. It was the second straight year the Bells reached the finals only to fall just short as they lost to Lubbock State a year ago. It also denied Liberty , winners in 1919 and 1920, of the opportunity to become the first 3-time champion. The Wildcats, Bells, Lubbock State, Indiana A&M and Dickson have all won a pair of National Titles.


The series opener started as a tremendous pitching duel between a pair of freshmen aces in Charlie Bingham (10-3, 1.71) of the Wildcats and Liberty's Jim Trippe (10-2, 2.90) who held each other's club's off the scoresheet through 6 innings. Trippe was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 6th and his replacement, fellow freshman Dave Putnam(2-4, 4.71), got lit up for 5 Opelika State runs in the top of the 7th. Liberty got a pair of runs back in the 8th but Opelika State added insurance in the ninth in the form of a solo homerun by series MVP Glenn Thompson (.321,9,41) that made the final score 6-2 for the visiting Wildcats.

Thompson would add 3 more hits in the deciding game as Opelika State built a 4-0 lead and then survived a late Liberty rally to hang on for a 4-3 victory and the title. All-American shortstop Joy Foy (.432,5,42) also chipped in with 3 hits for the winners while catcher Bud Ward (.244,5,21) had a huge 4-for-4 day including a solo homerun and a double. For Ward and Foy, both starters on the 1927 team, it was a second championship to cap each of their college careers.
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Old 01-11-2020, 09:46 PM   #46
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1929 Amateur Draft Coverage

PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 1 - OUTFIELDERS

As we work towards a final mock first round for the 1929 FABL draft let's begin with a several part series that will take a look at the top draft eligible candidates by position. We will begin with a look at what appears to be a very deep crop of outfield talent.

1- VIC CRAWFORD: Commonwealth Catholic - Just a dominant season and dominant career for the 2 time All-American. Crawford slashed .360/.451/.925 with 31 homers and 85 rbi's. He set the single season and career AIAA record for rbi's and came within 1 of doing the same for both single season and career homers. He put up pretty consistent numbers in each of his 3 seasons, provides pretty good defense and looks like he has the makings of a top level power-hitting corner outfielder.

2- AMOS LEBLANC: Gerge Fox - If you need a speedy centerfielder look no further than the 20 year old from Clinton, Michigan. Leblanc hit .443 and stole 25 bases this season.

3- ELMER NOLDE: Coastal California - Nolde did not play as a freshman but had a solid sophomore year and then was outstanding this past season slashing .380/.495/.793 with 21 homers for the Dolphins.

4- BOBBY MANY: Whitney College - Improved each of his 3 seasons of college ball finishing with a .410/.530/.781 slash line this season with 17 homers and 76 rbi's.

5- AL COUCH: Lubbock State - Was MVP of the 1928 College World Series finals and followed that up with a career best .411/.481/.703 and 16 homers.

6- NELLIE DAWSON: Wisconsin State - Only Crawford, Nodle and Many had a higher WPA out of draft eligible outfielders. Dawson slashed .438/.474/.751 and his 18 homers doubled his output of a year ago.

7- DAN FOWLER: Commonwealth Catholic
- Perhaps overshadowed by teammate Vic Crawford, but centerfielder Fowler did plenty to impress scouts, slashing .328/.453/.682 with a nice combination of power (20 HR) and speed (18 stolen bases).

8- ANDY DYE: Omaha HS - One of the top hitters in the high school ranks, the 18 year old slashed .460/.516/.577. He hit 10 homers a year ago but did not have any this season so there are concerns about whether he will develop the power to play a corner outfield position. Has a big frame (6'1") so perhaps the power will come.

9- JOHNNY MCCAIN: St Blane - Solid freshman season before dipping last year but he more than made up for it with an outstanding season this time around, slashing .443/.532/.716 with a career best 12 homeruns.

10- JOE JONES: Liberty College - After 2 pedestrian seasons, Jones exploded in 1929 slashing .395/.475/.727 with 19 homers to help the Bells reach the NCAA finals for the second straight season. Hitting .522 with a homer in his 5 playoff games won't hurt his draft stock either.

11- JOHN COLLINS: Liberty College - Only fitting to have Jones and Collins rated one after the other as scouts have spent plenty of time in Pennsylvania watching the two of them play. Collins' slash numbers were down slightly from his sophomore season (.345/.427/.720) but he did hit 19 homers and finishes with 56 for his 3 year career. He also smacked 3 more homers in 5 playoff games for the Bells.

12- JOE JOHNSON: Central Ohio - An injury cost him a month of his draft year and might hurt his stock but when he did play, Johnson was very good. He slashed .384/.463/.717 with 10 homers in 33 games while stealing 11 bases. He is a natural center fielder which will only help him in a draft dominated by corner outfielders.

13- BILL KIRBY: St Louis HS - Kirby is a bit of an unknown. Entering the season the 17 year old had only played 8 high school games but he played all 40 for St Louis High this season and slashed .444/.471/.584. He only hit 2 homers but at 6'4", 195 lbs as a 17 year old you have to think the power will come. A sweet swing, looking at his spray chart he really uses the whole field and played pretty good defense. The limited sample of games might push his draft stock down a bit.

14- GAIL GIFFORD: Portland HS - Gifford projects to be a tremendous defensive centerfielder based on his zone rating numbers. Was pretty good at the plate as well, slashing .355/.427/.523 and was very consistent throughout his 3 year prep career. No homers, although he did hit 10 as a 15 year old rookie but he did steal 9 bases.

15- STEVE STUDER : Frankford State - Another center fielder, Studer both helped and hurt his draft stock this year. There is some concern about his batting average dipping for the third straight season from a high of .398 as a freshman to .277 this past season. He did show a lot more power than you might expect from a centerfielder with 20 homers but stole just 9 bases this season after averaging 23 per season in his first two years. His defense is pretty good, as it looks like he can play center in the majors. I can see him going one of two ways - either being a big talent or perhaps just as likely a huge bust if he can't hit for average against pro pitching. He makes my list because I have watched him for 3 seasons, but been just a little less impressed each one of them.



There were probably a dozen other guys that I could have slotted in the 10-15 range so it does seem to be a pretty deep class of outfielders. Next up I will take a look at the top catchers available in the 1929 draft
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Old 01-12-2020, 12:02 PM   #47
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1929 Amateur Draft Coverage

PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 2 - CATCHERS

It does not look like a very strong draft year for catchers. I would be surprised if any of them go in the first two rounds. Here are the 10 I would say are the best of the bunch.

1-WILBUR HODGES - St Patirck's: One of the best hitting catchers available, slashed .332/.408/.422.

2-DICK MILLER - Dickson College: slashed .307/.395/.488 with 10 homers. Defense might be a big of a concern with Miller though.

3-DAN GARDNER - Wisconsin State: hit .328 with a bit of power (7 HR) but threw out just 32% of would be base stealers.

4-MIKE BERNING- Lynn HS: Pretty good defensive catcher, threw out 56% of base runners. Had a down year at the plate, batting .281. Won't get a lot of extra base hits.

5-ANDY ROSS - Wichita HS: Has to be the best defensive catcher available. 78% CS and a decent CERA. Not bad as a hitter, slashing .261/.325/.304 but obviously will get even less extra base hits than Berning.

6-TOMMY HARDIN - Washington DC HS: Another very good high school defensive catcher but likely will have trouble contributing offensively with a .267/.325/.320 slash line. While his defense greatly improved, Hardin's offense regressed over his high school career.

7-JOHN BARTLETT - Milwaukee HS: slashed .286/.353/.364 in his only season playing high school ball. Looked pretty good behind the plate, 55% Caught stealing, good CERA as well.

8-CHUCK STEPHENS - Portland HS: hit over .300 in both of his high school seasons and hit 7 homers a year ago but just 1 in the same number of games this season. Decent defensive numbers though.

9-AL ROBERTSON- Commonwealth Catholic: Makes the list because he is about the only draft eligible catcher with some pop in his bat, belting 10 homers after getting 5 each of his two college seasons. Needs to make better contact though as he slashed .244/.322/.475 and defense might be suspect.

10-BUNNY HAIGH - Henry Hudson University: slashed .288/.383/.405 which was a big improvement from a .192 batting average as a sophomore. Had some power his freshman year when he hit 8 homers but dropped to 3 this season as a junior.
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Old 01-13-2020, 08:50 AM   #48
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PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 3 - FIRST BASEMEN

An unusual collection of first basement this year. There are some very interesting college sluggers who perhaps will strikeout too much to make the big leagues, and most of those guys have a very limited sample of college games in which to judge them. Bill Tucker being the best example of these. There are also several high school first baseman who hit for a very high average but have questions surrounding their ability to generate power. The one exception is the top ranked first baseman as Jake Johnson seems to be able to do it all, and has a history of playoff success. Here are the top ten first basemen.

1- JAKE JOHNSON: Lubbock State - Johnson enjoyed three very productive seasons at Lubbock State, slashing .422/.506/.701 in his draft year with 14 homers. Hit 19 round trippers as a freshman and while his average was fine, he dipped to just 4 homers his sophomore year before rebounding with 14 this season. Played a lot of playoff games over his career and seems to be a clutch hitter, winning 3 different playoff series MVP's and went 7 for 12 in 3 games this postseason.

2- BILL TUCKER: Indiana A&M - Came out of nowhere to hit the second most homeruns in the AIAA this season. Tucker slashed .287/.367/.846 with 30 homers after only seeing limited pinch-hitting duties as a sophomore. Needs to cut down on his strikeouts but looks to have makings of a power-hitting first baseman many FABL teams lack.

3-WILL BRYANT : Central Ohio- Like Tucker, Bryant has a very limited playing history but hit 15 homers and slashed .401/.460/.665 this season, his only year as an everyday player.

4-JOHN RIVERS : North Carolina Tech
- Seeing a real trend here with first basemen having a breakout year. Add Rivers (.268/.420/.780) to the list. First season as a starter and he hit 27 homers. Seems like a Bill Tucker duplicate, with perhaps a slightly larger concern about strikeouts as he fanned more often than any other draft eligible player.

5-GEORGE GUTT: Mississippi A&M
- Started 2 and a half seasons for the Genernals and had a breakout year in 1929 (.376/.426/.590). Not quite as much power as some of the other prospects but still hit 12 homers on the year and 22 in 125 career games.

6-BILL EPPLER: Northern Mississippi
- Started every game in his 3 years with the Mavericks and showed steady improvement each season, capping it off with a 13 homer .365/.451/.640 performance this year.

7-ROSS HUGHES: Cambridge HS -None of the high school first basemen displayed much power and Hughes failed to hit a home run, but his .371/.432/.535 line deserves consideration. He hit 11 homers over his first two high school seasons so perhaps there is some power in his future. He actually played shortstop in his first year but let's just say it was an adventure for him.

8-JIM HATFIELD: Buffalo HS - Another high school kid with limited power but at 6'1" perhaps it will come. Slashed .374/.428/.589 in his draft year and did hit 7 homers a year ago.

9-JAKE SHOEMAKER : Garden State - Shoemaker had 3 very solid seasons with the Redbirds, slashing .349/.414/.612 and hitting 38 homers in 146 career games including 16 this season.

10-BILL BRADLEY : Niagara Falls HS - .376/.428/.522 for the 5'11" Bradley in his draft year. He hit 8 homers in his first high school season but dipped to 4 a year ago and just 1 this season. Only struck out 44 times in 550 career plate appearances.
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Old 01-13-2020, 08:53 AM   #49
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PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 4 - SECOND BASEMEN

There are some really strong defensive second basemen available in this draft. There are also three players who really standout at the top of the list.

1- JAKE SHADDOAN : Liberty College: Just a dominant draft year for Shaddoan (.473/.532/.779) who played 3 seasons for the Bells. Very consistent offense although this year was certainly his best season. Solid defense at second base and the best hitter at his position. Also spent some time at first base and was a second team All-American twice.

2- SAM ORR : Henry Hudson University: Highly touted coming into the season and did not disappoint with a .357/.396/.683 slash line and 18 homeruns. Very good with the glove at second as well and has some speed, Orr stole 11 bases this season. I have followed him for 3 years and felt he would be a first round pick all along. If he drops out of the first round, it will be through no fault of his own but rather just a case of some very good outfield and pitching depth in the class.

3- HENRY CLAYTON : Spartanburg HS: Just an incredible defensive season (+15.2 ZR, 1.253 Eff) by the 17 year old. Pretty good year at the plate as well .387/.451/.486 with only knock could be a lack of pop in his bat.

4- VINCE BURKETT : Bayou State: 2 years of very strong defense and some power with 48 homeruns in 150 career college games. Needs to cut down on strikeouts is the one knock on him. .282/.355/.672 in his draft year.

5- RAY BARNES: Boulder State - Another very strong defensive second baseman, Barnes was also a career .372 hitter in his 150 games with the Grizzlies. Slashed .373/.444/.458 this past season.

6- ED SINGLETARY : Louisville HS - .361/.425/.452 in his draft year. Just 1 career homerun and he is undersized so the power may never come but he did hit 35 doubles in 120 career games. Defense is solid.

7-TOM GREGORY : New Orleans HS - No question that Gregory can hit after slashing .405/.447/.549 but his defense does raise some red flags. Perhaps a move to third base is in his future as he likely lacks the power associated with first base, although first might be a much better long term defensive option for the 17 year old.

8- SAM LEHMAN : Tulsa HS - Be tough to find a better defensive second baseman than Lehman, who can also easily handle third base. Very little power as of yet. Slashed .301/.349/.373 but a 15.4 ZR and 1.235 defensive efficiency should get him noticed.

9- JOE FRETWELL : Chicago HS - Another strong defensive high school second baseman, Fretwell needs to get better at the plate. Slashed .295/.380/.416 in his draft year. Does have 10 homers in his high school career and a .468 career slugging percentage.

10- JOE HONEYWOOD : Cambridge HS - Unlike most of the other high school 2B to make this list, Honeywood's defense could be a concern. He does look like he has some offensive potential and improved his batting average and OBP each of his 3 seasons - slashing .389/.474/.473 in his draft year.
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Old 01-14-2020, 01:40 PM   #50
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PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 5 - SHORTSTOPS

A pretty talented group but this position has two players- 1 high school and 1 college- that stand out from the pack. I would say both of them are potential first round picks.

1- GEORGE DAWSON : Knoxville HS - Slashed .447/.484/.594 in his draft year with excellent defensive numbers. Also stole 24 bases in 105 career high school games.

2- JOY FOY : Opelika State - I did not think any shortstop would surpass Foy on my list but I have to put Dawson slightly ahead of him due to the high schooler's outstanding numbers. That is not say Foy is bad with the glove, which he isn't but Dawson is just outstanding. Foy was a second team All-American selection a year ago and first team this season after slashing .432/.502/.617. He is older and closer to big league ready than Dawson so Foy may still be the first shortstop selected.

3- LARRY COLAIANNNI : Brooklyn State - Has the offensive numbers .426/.496/.599 to compare with the top two but is a big step down in defensive ability. 3 year starter at Brooklyn State, Colaianni hit 22 career homers as a college player.

4- BILL HOOKER : Wichita HS - Really improved his defense each of the past three seasons. Had a bad year at the plate last season after a good freshman year but bounced back in 1929, slashing .323/.386/.449

5- DUTCH REID : Commonwealth Catholic - Hit 10 homers and slashed .362/.427/.558 so his bat is not a concern. However, defense might be. Not terrible with the glove but just an average college shortstop in the field.

6- STEVE CLARKE : Chicago Poly - Very strong in the field and some pretty good numbers at the plate, slashing .342/.391/.500. Started every game over the past 3 seasons for the Panthers and hit .417 in three playoff games this season.

7- JAY PENDER : Providence HS - Started his high school career as a third baseman, moved to shortstop last season where he was acceptable but really improved his defense this year to the point where he is among the best high school shortstops defensively. Power went down a bit this season but his average and patience at the plate greatly improved slashing .333/.411/.469. Everything about him suggests he is improving and may be snatched up a lot higher than this ranking presently has him.

8- JAKE BEHRINGER : Georgia Baptist - Solid all-around player, slashed .317/.382/.417 for the Gators while playing solid defense.

9- BILL WHITE : Queens HS - An injury ended his season a little early but still played 32 games slashing .363/.400/.519 as he improved for the third straight season. He also improved in the field but just to the point of providing acceptable defense at shortstop. He was very bad his first two seasons but like Pender seems to be on an upswing.

10- LEO JORDAN: Holyoke HS - A defensive whiz with a +17.8 ZR and 1.222 EFF but there is question as to whether he will be able to hit at the next level. Slashed .267/.357/.367 this season and those numbers were slightly down from his career average.
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Old 01-15-2020, 09:58 AM   #51
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1929 Amateur Draft Coverage

PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 6 - THIRD BASEMEN

Not a great crop and highly unlikely a third baseman gets selected in the first round but there are at least three players available that are deserving consideration as a second or third round pick.



1- GEORGE ANDERSON: Lubbock State - Second team all-american slashed .332/.408/.607 with 13 homers in his draft year and followed it up with a .308 average in playoff action. Provides average defense. I put him number one but top 3 are all pretty close but I would say it's unlikely any of them go in the first round.

2- SPEED SHAIN : Greensboro HS - Plus defense and a good eye at the plate are the strengths of Shain, but he will need to develop some power to thrive in pro ball. Slashed .325/.419/.412 this season and improved on those categories in each of his three seasons in Greensboro.

3- JOHNNY MCDOWELL : Georgia Baptist
- First team All-American selection is pretty much on par with the first two on the list. Had a better batting average and OBP than Anderson but nowhere near the power, slashing .406/.468/.491 this season.

4- RED FREEMAN : Holyoke HS - Solid defensive third baseman with the hope that at 6'2", 180 lbs the power comes. He hit 7 homers as a rookie and 4 last season but none this year. Slash line is .342/.429/.424 in his draft season.

5- NICK WALLACE: Wisconsin State - Three year starter has played some second base as well. Defense was improved this year and he had a pretty solid season at the plate, slashing .359/.412/.500. Hit just 5 homers which is up from 2 a season ago but down from his freshman total of 14 when he slugged .651.

6- DON HALLAM : Somerville HS - Trending in the wrong direction as all 3 slash categories dropped for the third straight season. Was .321/.374/.470 this season after being .446/.505/.910 and getting plenty of attention as a high school freshman. Average defense. While he has dropped each of the 3 seasons he still has some very good career high school numbers. I had him sneaking into the first round in my pre-season mock draft. He has certainly dropped from there but some team still might grab him in the top 3 rounds.

7- MEL CARROLL : Hartford HS - Really only started the one season at Hartford High, slashing .382/.431/.474. Defense is average at best but with not a lot of depth at 3B in the draft he will get selected, and likely in the first 5 rounds.

8- RANDY FARGO : Boulder State - Was an All-American in 1928 but his slash line was a career worst .303/.377/.469 in his draft year. Did hit 10 homers and has 29 in 150 career games and his defense improved over what he did the previous two years, but it is still just average. Fargo is one of the few third baseman available with some pop in his bat.

9- TOM WATSON : Northern California - Hit 13 homers this season and 33 in 150 career college games. Slashed .296/.370/.541. Defense is average to slightly below average.

10- JOHN WILSON : St Blane - An injury cost Wilson half of his draft season but he did hit .336/.393/.509 in the 27 games he played. Had 8 homers as a freshman and batted .321 but slumped badly last season.
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Old 01-15-2020, 10:03 AM   #52
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PREVIEWING THE 1929 DRAFT
PART 7 - PITCHERS

A very deep crop of pitchers, and 4-6 elite guys at the top. There are a lot of good high school arms and I probably could have chosen 10 other guys to fill out spots 6-10 on this list so there is depth. At the top it comes down to Stout or Barrell, but Tom Blalock has quietly done a great job at Chicago Poly and there are a couple of high school arms as well. Despite a couple of elite position players, I would not be surprised if the top 5 picks are all pitchers.



1- CHICK STOUT : Rainier College - Just a dominant season from Stout as he went 11-1, 1.30 to lead his team to the best record in college baseball. 141 k's and just 26 walks in 117 innings of work. It is between him and Barrell as to who goes first overall.

2- TOM BARRELL : Georgia Baptist - What else can we say about Barrell that has not already been noted. Stayed for a fourth year and become the Gators best hitter as well as their top pitcher by playing first base on days he wasn't on the mound. Went 6-2, 2.10 this year with a 0.80 WHIP. Because of his ability to play 1B and hit with power he might just get selected ahead of Stout and be a great two-way player. If I am judging on pitching alone though I will give Stout the advantage.

3- BEN BERNARD : Mobile HS - 16-4 with a 1.10 era and a 0.84 WHIP over his college career. Stands a good chance of going third overall but being a high school arm may come with a little more risk than Stout or Barrell.

4- TOM BLALOCK : Chicago Poly - 25-6 with a 2.20 era and a 0.95 WHIP for his college career. Overshadowed by Stout and Barrell but whoever picks him will be getting a great consolation prize.

5- FRED O'DELL : Portland HS - Went 7-0 with a 2.20 era and 0.98 WHIP this season. Had a down year last season so really a surprise he moved up this high. Two good years out of his 3 in high school might make him a little more risky than the 4 arms ahead of him but he certainly has a high ceiling.

6- RAY BYRD : Omaha HS - Just came out of nowhere. After two poor season he put it all together in his draft year going 5-1 with a 0.82 era and an amazing 0.65 WHIP. Are those numbers just a fluke due to a small sample season of one high school season or is he really that good?

7- PHIL NEWCOM : Central Ohio - Went 7-1 with a 1.02 WHIP and a 194 ERA+ in his draft year. Low strikeout totals but also does not walk many - only 3 free passes in 77 innings this season.

8- OWEN MILLER : Dickson College - 22-6 with a 1.36 WHIP and a very impressive 10.8 K/9 for his career. Struck out a college leading 153 batters this season. As with most strikeout pitchers, walks might be a concern. He did a good job of cutting down on homeruns allowed this season.

9- MIKE SANDERS : Austin HS
- Lefthander has a 1.03 WHIP and 240 ERA+ for his high school career but I am most impressed with the fact he did not surrender a home run in 161 career innings.

10- HARVEY CHILDERS: San Francisco HS - 1.85 career ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 243 ERA+, just 2 homers allowed in 175 innings and averaging just 2.5 BB/9. Once concerning thing is his strikeouts were way down this year, just 21 k's in 50 innings which seems low compared to other high school arms.

So that completes the rankings by position based on stats. Next up, the series concludes with my mock draft.
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Old 01-16-2020, 09:18 AM   #53
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FIGMENT SPORTING JOURNAL MOCK FIRST ROUND

Ignoring team need, as we still do not have any idea of the final draft order, here are the top 16 players available in the 1929 draft, at least in the eyes of The Figment Sporting Journal. This list is compiled based on stats only, no scouting reports were taken into consideration. Of course, the big question - and it has been the same one everyone has been asking for two months - is will it be Stout or Barrell.

Stout had the better season on the mound but when you factor in Barrell's genetics and the fact he is also a tremendous hitter that could become a very good two-way player we will give the nod to Barrell.

Here is the projected first round.
Code:
1-  TOM BARRELL	  	RHP-1B-OF  Georgia Baptist
2-  CHICK STOUT   	RHP	   Rainer College 
3-  VIC CRAWFORD  	OF	   Commonwealth Catholic
4-  JAKE SHADDOAN  	2B	   Liberty College
5-  BEN BERARD		RHP	   Mobile HS
6-  TOM BLALOCK		RHP	   Chicago Poly
7-  AMOS LEBLANC	OF	   George Fox
8-  FRED O'DELL		RHP	   Portland HS
9-  SAM ORR		2B 	   Henry Hudson 
10- RAY BYRD		RHP	   Omaha HS
11- ELMER NODLE		OF         Coastal California
12- BOBBY MANY		OF         Whitney College
13- PHIL NEWCOM 	RHP	   Central Ohio
14- OWEN MILLER		RHP	   Dickson College
15- JAKE JOHNSON	1B	   Lubbock State
16- AL COUCH		OF   	   Lubbock State
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Old 02-07-2020, 02:04 PM   #54
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Draft coverage - A look back at the 1919 draft

With the 1929 Figment draft under way I thought it would be a good time to take a look back 10 years ago to see how the first round picks panned out.

Maybe this article can be taken as a cautionary tale on the risk associated with prep players. 13 of the 16 first round draft picks in 1919 were high schoolers and only 3 of them had would I would consider to be a solid career led by number one overall TR Goins with Washington. Carlos Cano of the Gothams and longtime Brooklyn King catcher Mickey Dowell were the other two. The two college pitchers selected did very little but the lone college hitter, 8th overall pick Sandy Lovelle, is still going strong in the middle of a productive career.

1- T.R. Goins Washington - The Eagles hit a homerun with this pick as Goins has been arguably the best catcher in the game for the past half dozen or so seasons. Taken as an 18 year old out of Cincinnati HS, Goins made his big league debut in 1923 and won a World Championship Series with Washington that season. He was also on a pennant winner in 1925 and earned the 1926 Whitney Award as the Federal Association's Most Valuable Player.

2- Al Swain- NY Stars - The high school outfielder made it as high as #18 on the prospect rankings but never really panned out. He spent a couple of seasons as a reserve with the Stars before being waived and claimed by Montreal. He is still active at age 29 but playing AAA in the Saints organization.

3- John Rudd Cleveland - Another high schooler, Rudd was a complete bust. He played just 31 FABL games before the Foresters released him in 1928. He spent last season with independent Oklahoma City (a Class A loop) and hit .373 with 13 homers.

4- Carlos Cano - NY Gothams - The run of high school players continues with the Cuban born Cano who was selected as an outfielder from Mobile HS. It took him a while to get to the big leagues, not debuting until 1925 as a 25 year old but Cano has looked very good the past two seasons, including this year when he hit .310 in 134 games. He has a 26 game hitting streak for the Gothams in 1928.

5- Ray Bell - Pittsburgh - The third baseman from Knoxville High School only played 24 career FABL games. He bounced around with several organizations and at 29 is still active with AA Dayton in the St Louis Pioneers organization, but he was certainly a wasted pick for the Miners.

6- Mickey Dowell- Brooklyn - The second high school catcher from this draft to enjoy a solid big league career. Taken out of Philadelphia HS by the Kings, Dowell made his big league debut at 23 in 1924 and was the Kings everyday catcher until being forced into a back-up role this season. He hit .303 in 40 games this year and is a career .308 hitter in 673 games. Dowell led the Continental Association in rbi's in 1926.

7- Lenny Ayres - Phi Sailors - Ayres has the distinction of being both the first college player and first pitcher selected in the 1919 draft but he did little of note in his brief career. He gave plenty of indications of future stardom while at Detroit City College, compiling a 23-6 record and a 2.18 era, and was named the #8 prospect in the game prior to his rookie pro year. He pitched a shutout in AA very early that season and was promoted to AAA late in the year despite being still just 21 years old. He went 8-11, 4.31 as a 22 year old at AAA San Francisco in 1921 but was released at the end of the season and immediately retired from the game.

8- Sandy Lovelle - Baltimore - Cannons landed a gem in the Wisconsin State outfielder who won a Whitney Award in 1926 and has played almost 1000 career FABL games and is still going strong at age 31, coming off a .308 season in 112 games for Baltimore.

9- Mike Pierce - Boston - High School shortstop played for Memphis before being drafted by the Minutemen. He had a couple of pennant winning seasons in the minors at Springfield (Class A) but was released in spring training 1923. The Chicago Chiefs signed him and assigned him to his old high school town, where he hit .309 for AA Memphis and earned a brief call up to the big leagues that season. By 1925 he was up for good and has been a steady hitter for a SS since then, averaging .322 and playing 472 career games. A late bloomer that Boston gave up on too early.

10- Steamboat Rude - Toronto - College pitcher out of Northern Mississippi was traded once and released 6 times in a brief career that ended with his retirement in 1925. Rude did save 15 games for Detroit as a rookie in 1924 and was 12-9 with 19 saves in 103 career FABL appearances, all in relief.

11- Whitey Rioux - Chi Chiefs - San Antonio High School shortstop lasted just one season in the Chiefs organization before they released him after he hit .198 at Class A. The Washington Eagles signed him and he moved his way up their system, making his FABL debut in 1925. He was only an everyday player for one season but did spend parts of 4 years with the Eagles, hitting .316 in 235 career games. His defense is a little below average and he lost his roster spot in Washington this year, spending almost the entire season in AAA Kansas City.

12- Roy Myers - Phi Keystones - Brooklyn High School outfielder won a prep championship and was MVP his senior year but never panned out in big leagues. Keystones dealt him to Boston in 1923 and he did make his FABL debut with the Minutemen that season. A classic 4-A player, he has been solid at AAA including a 21 homer season in 1927 but is not good enough for the big leagues, hitting .262 with 0 homers in 168 games over parts of 5 seasons.

13- Willie Fumes - St Louis - Pioneers selected the 3B out of Los Angeles High School as an 18 year old and he has been in their system ever since. Fumes peaked as the #16 prospect in 1921 and has been on the St Louis roster since 1924, but mostly as a backup. He has played 398 FABL games and is a .302 career hitter.

14- Billy Blank -Detroit - The Dynamos ended up firing blanks with this selection out of Liberty College. A lefthanded pitcher, Blanks was originally drafted by the PhiladelphiaSailors out of high school in 1917 but was quickly released and went to college. He never advanced past AAA and retired in 1924.

15- Cal Blackshear - Chi Cougars - Asheville High School shortstop was released by the Cougars after his first pro season and signed as a free agent with the New York Gothams. He finally made his big league debut last season at the age of 28 and played in 103 games this year for the Gothams, batting .263.

16- Hugh Wright - Montreal - Wichita High School first baseman bounced around the minors for a number of years but was never a serious candidate for promotion to the bigs. He retired following the 1927 season playing just 10 games as high as the AAA level.


Clearly a bad first round to the 1919 draft. In hindsight, it was a pretty weak draft but there were a couple of gems taken in later rounds led by Wayne Robinson, who played a key role in Detroit's World Championship Series win this past week. Robinson was taken with the last pick of the fourth round by Montreal in the 1919 draft.
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Old 02-27-2020, 05:29 PM   #55
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Jiggs McGee's 1930 FABL Predictions

JIGGS MCGEE'S 1930 PREDICTIONS

The 1930 season is underway and here are my fearless predictions. Please remember that the odds are old Jiggs will be way off base again this year. Last season I had Philadelphia reaching the World Championship Series - just too bad I typed Keystones instead of Sailors. My two second place predicted clubs ended up winning their respective leagues so I made out okay in that regard but I crashed and burned on number one with the Keystones coming in third, 10 games back of Detroit, in the Federal Association and I must have been sniffing pine needles or something when I picked the Foresters to win the Continental over the Sailors. Cleveland crashed and burned, just like my predictions and finished with just 64 wins a year ago.

So you have had fair warning. Do not take this predictions to your local bookie.

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

1- PHILADELPHIA SAILORS: I knew the Sailors would be good last year, I just thought Cleveland had the makings of a break out team. I won't make the same mistake this time around even though I do like what I am seeing in Baltimore. The Cannons are firing but the first place boat has sailed out of range and it will be manned by the Sailors. Their combination of the best pitching staff in the league and an offense led by Tom Taylor and Jack Cleaves is too much for the rest of the Continental.

2- BALTIMORE CANNONS : Baltimore is good. I like their pitching with Rabbit Day and Dutch Leverett and I think they could be even better if Lee Drouillard moves from the pen to the rotation. Joe Welch and Lou Kelly is all you need to say about the offense. The pair combined for 70 homers and 240 rbi's last season.

3- NEW YORK STARS: The Stars are kind of trapped on their own. Not good enough to keep up with Philadelphia and Baltimore but certainly better then the rest of the CA.

4- BROOKLYN KINGS: Led by Tommy Wilcox the young Kings are coming, but they are still a year away as a lack of quality pitching will keep them out of contention. There are young pitchers on the way so 1931 will be a different story but if Philadelphia and Baltimore both win 100 games the league may only see 3 teams over .500 this season.

5- CLEVELAND FORESTERS : The pitching is awful. However, the Foresters have some great hitters led by outfielders Moxie Pidgeon and Joe Perret which will be enough to hold off Montreal and Chicago to top the second division.

6- MONTREAL SAINTS : Like Montreal and Chicago, the Saints have talent coming but I think the loss of Al Allen Jr (traded so they could draft Vic Crawford) will hurt them this year. It will definitely help in the long run as Crawford looks like a future superstar in the outfield but the pitching is too thin behind Charlie Stedman to make up for the lack of hitting this year.

7- CHICAGO COUGARS: Another team on the rise and I could have put Chicago, Cleveland and Montreal in a hat and drew numbers to see who I think should finish 5th,6th or 7th (but I only do that to select first place - or so it must seem). It is worth watching the Cougars not only because of their wealth of young talent but also to see the ageless wonder - John Dibblee - still going strong at age 41. Could 4000 hits be a possibility. You wouldn't have thought so but Dibblee had 167 a year ago while hitting .346, and now has 3747 for his career.

8- TORONTO WOLVES: All I can say for Toronto is sorry it is an even year. The Wolves can't even win in the draft as the Federal Association gets first overall pick this season. At least there is hope for the future with new ownership.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION

1- PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES : Old Jiggs has picked the Keystones three straight years and I will keep picking them until they win. In all seriousness, the certainly have the team capable of doing it - at least on offense with star first baseman Rankin Kellogg leading the way.

2- ST LOUIS PIONEERS: Maybe it is more for sentimental reasons but I want to see Max Morris in another Series. The greatest slugger who ever lived hit 50 homers last year but he is now 35 years old and time may start to erode him of his incredible skillset. I am thinking this might be the year Morris nearly single-handedly carries the Pioneers to a pennant but falls just short.

3- DETROIT DYNAMOS: March 26th. That was the day Frank Vance broke a bone in his elbow and also ended the thoughts of the Dynamos repeating as champion. There is still plenty of talent in the Motor City but a title defense has not happened in the Fed since 1922-23. I was thinking that trend might end this season, until Vance's season ended before it began.

4- NEW YORK GOTHAMS: They have struggled since a breakout 1926 season when they won 96 games and their first pennant since 1896. Bleak times returned the last 3 seasons despite so talent on the roster. New York will be better than the last place club they were a year ago.

5- CHICAGO CHIEFS: Two years removed from a pennant the Chiefs had a strong season a year ago but fell just short of Detroit. Maybe Joe Masters has another year like he did two seasons ago when he hit 56 homers and won the league MVP but I wouldn't count on it. Or perhaps someone else might emerge to join Masters and Jim Hampton as the offensive catalyst's for the Chiefs but even if they do I would find it hard to see Chicago winning with the pitching they have.

6- PITTSBURGH MINERS: A year ago I thought the Miners could contend with their pitching staff but then injuries struck and the team struggled before settling for a 5th place finish. Jim Pool and Frank Lightbody are emerging stars and there pitching staff is among the better ones in the Fed. I do often wonder what impact (positive or negative) playing in the only pitcher friendly park in the FA has on the Miners. I like this team and they may sneak into the first division but won't contend.

7- BOSTON MINUTEMEN: The Minutemen had me wondering what I missed a year ago when I pegged them for 7th place and they got off to one of the best starts in Figment history. However, after their few minutes of fame the club crashed and burned to finish the season in 6th place. Like Pittsburgh, they may battle the Chiefs and Gothams for fourth but I expect they will settle in somewhere near the bottom of the league.

8- WASHINGTON EAGLES: I picked the Eagles for last place a year ago and they surprised me with a .500 season. So I don't want to jinx them. I will pick them for last once again meaning TR Goins and company might just have another break even season. I am leaning towards that not happening and they Eagles land in the basement.
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Old 03-01-2020, 08:27 PM   #56
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A look at the 1930 Draft Class

1930 DRAFT PREVIEW

At the beginning of last season I released a preview of who I felt the top candidates for the 1930 draft were. It was obviously a very rough guess as all of these players still had two years to play before their draft came around. At that time I thought we would have a banner crop of pitching but now, with just a few months left to impress FABL scouts, the 1930 draft pool is looking pretty weak, at least in comparison to the top end talent available the last couple of seasons. Here is a peak at some players who might make an impact on FABL in the coming years.

CATCHER- This looks like a very good class for catchers after a couple of lean years. I have been a huge fan of Lubbock State's Jack Flint for 2 years now. A two-time first team all-american, Flint is looking even better this year then he did in his first two seasons. A lifetime .371 college hitter with 17 homers in 127 games makes him seem like a future starting catcher in the big leagues. Chicago Poly's Jim Wright is another player to keep an eye on. He was a second team All-American as a freshman and is hitting at a .327 clip this season now that he is back behind the plate after a year at first base for the Panthers. Going into last season I also like high school Clem Bliss after the Syracuse Star hit .359 in his first season. Bliss was very good last year as well but his stock has dropped this season as he is struggling at the plate. One to keep an eye on is Nashville HS catcher James Demastus, who is having a huge year after looking well below average his first two prep seasons.

FIRST BASE - It seems like a real down season for first base talent. No one stands out as the power hitting player teams look for at the position. I don't see anyone worthy of a first round pick at this position with the closest perhaps being Opelika State's Jack Burr. The 21 year old is batting .315 this season but has just 7 extra base hits in 116 plate appearances.

SECOND BASE - Heinie Dunn of Elmira HS is listed as a second baseman but has seen much more time in center field for the Emeralds. Either way, his work at the plate has been stellar this season, hititing .375 and looking like he could be a solid lead-off man one day. Dunn has 19 stolen bases in 63 career high school games. I also really like Travis College's Doc Littlefield. He looks a lot more polished the Dunn, with a .307 career average in 117 college games and some outstanding work with the leather. Wichita HS product Hiram Martin is another defensive wizard who has been very consistent at the plate the past two seasons.

SHORTSTOP - Last year I felt there were a lot of good high school shortstops in this class and I feel that is still the case. I really love what Lee Porter is doing for Nashville HS. He has put up some tremendous defensive numbers and his pretty solid at the plate, hitting .347. He won't provide much in the way of power but does look to have some real speed on the base paths, swiping 20 in his first year of prep ball and on pace for another 13 this season. Chick Caruthers of Somerville HS and Otto Deal of Meridian HS are two others who play solid defense. They may not hit for average as well as Porter but do have a little more pop in each of their bats. Jim Beard of Lynn HS is another one worth keeping an eye on. The college crop is much thinner with George Fox's Joe Nelson as perhaps the only one worthy of consideration in the first couple of rounds. Nelson's defense is very good but his .289/.363/.390 career college slash line does not stand out.

THIRD BASE - Johnny Turner and Ike Briggs are a pair of college third baseman that stand out. Both have shifted from other positions with Turner a former 2B and Briggs had played 1B. Turner hit .416 a year ago for George Fox and is close to the pace again this year while Briggs, who may end up as an outfielder, is a .325 career hitter with Grafton College. Briggs had double-digit homerun totals each of his first two seasons but the numbers are down a fair bit so far this year. None of the high school players really stand out. Perhaps a team might take a chance on Elias Bradley from High Point HS. He had a huge 16 year old season with 12 homers and a .345 average but really dropped off a year ago and is not a lot better this season. Nashville HS's Jack White is in a similar situation, with great numbers as a 16 year old before a slump last season. Finally, I mentioned Red Eggleton a year ago as one to watch. The two-way player hasn't come close to duplicating his .417 average as a freshman but the New Orleans High Schooler has looked pretty good on the mound, fashioning a 2.34 era in 5 starts with a very good ERA+

OUTFIELD - There is some outfield talent available. At the collegiate level we have Rip Curry, a corner outfielder from George Fox who is hitting .426 this season. Al Horton of College of San Diego had a 5-hit game earlier this season and is batting .333 on the year. He did not play as a freshman but hit over .400 a season ago. Neither have shown much power however. Another college outfielder to consider is Liberty centerfielder Chris Thompson. He doesn't have power but can certainly get on base with a .375/.393/.443 slash line. For power the best bet is likely Jim Dorsey. The Boulder State CF-1B hit 12 homers a year ago and has 8 at the mid-season mark this time around. A dark horse might be Ellery Bruin corner outfielder Harry Buckley, who has 36 homers in 127 career college games but just a .236 batting average.

Among the high school outfielders one that stands out is Joe Goodwin. The Memphis HS corner outfielder had a big rookie season before slumping last year. He seems to have regained his form this time around and is slashing .303/.381/.685 with 10 homers through 23 games. Others of note include RF Stan Ware from Wilkes-Barre HS and centerfielders Phil Dawson of Los Angeles HS and Jack Grant from Omaha HS.

PITCHING- Two seasons ago I felt the top end of this pitching class would have some outstanding high school arms. However, most of them have not lived up to the promise they showed as 16 year old's. Mel Ennis from San Antonio HS went 8-0, 0.59 as a 16 year old. He still hasn't lost a game in his prep career but his era and his WHIP have both risen considerably so I have my doubts about him right now. Frank Kelly was the other guy I really loved after his 1928 season as a 16 year old going 8-2 with a 1.41 era and a 14.9 k/9 ratio. He did not pitch at all in 1929 and has been bad this season so I now question if Kelly will even get drafted, never mind at the top of the first round.

One that has lived up to expectations is Asheville High School's George Jacobs. He was 9-2, 2.95 as a 16 year old, struggled a bit last year but is looking very good this season with improvements in his ERA+, WHIP and homers allowed.

Alan Oliver of Birmingham HS is putting up some nice numbers this year but he did not play either of his first two seasons. A safer bet might be Austin HS's Jud Bobbitt. He had a bad freshman year but was very good last season and is 4-1, 1.76 with a 9.1 k/9 ratio this season.

There are a bunch of decent looking college arms such as Irv Thompson of Georgia Baptist, Ernie Scott of Chicago Poly and Billy Lebeau from Boulder State. However, this draft lacks a high end pitcher or that screams can't miss star like we have seen each of the past two years.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT - I would say this overall is a very weak draft class, at least as far as top end talent is concerned. There are pitchers but no standouts and, aside from shortstop and catcher, the position player class seems poor. I find myself look ahead to the next year and second baseman Freddie Jones, who looks like a generational talent. There are gems to be found in this class, but if you want a can't miss superstar you won't find him in this group.
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Old 03-12-2020, 09:17 PM   #57
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1930 COLLEGE ALL-AMERICANS

Underclassmen completely dominated the AIAA All-American teams as only 2 draft eligible players made either team. The first draft eligible All-American is Lubbock State catcher Jack Flint, a two-time first team All-American who had to settle for second team honours this year behind Frankford State freshman signal caller Harry Rainey. The second one is George Fox University third sacker Johnny Turner, who was one of two Reds to make the first team. Thirteen of the 18 All-Americans were freshmen, setting the stage for what could become quite a draft two years from now. Here are the 1930 All-Americans.


Code:

        FIRST TEAM
C   Harry Rainey Frankford State    FR
1B  Bill Moore  Lubbock State       FR
2B  Freddie Jones Central Ohio      SO
SS  Bill Michael  Georgia Baptist   FR
3B  Johnny Turner George Fox        JR
OF  Chink Stickles George Fox       FR
OF  Wayne Morgan Commonwealth Cath  FR
OF  Dave Henry Bayou State          FR
P   Bernie Johnson Northern Cal     SO

         SECOND TEAM
C   Jack Flint Lubbock State      JR
1B  Nick Shed  Northern Cal       FR
2B  Bill Perkins Northern Cal     FR
SS  Tom Spooner St Blaine         FR
3B  Bill Ashby St Blaine          FR
OF  Sam Brown  Pierpont           SO
OF  Al Heard  Indiana A&M         FR
OF  Heinie Kuss Frankford State   FR
P   George Budd Garden State      FR
We are still quite a ways away from the 1930 rookie draft but it is certainly looking like this will be down year as the high school ranks, like the college league this season, were dominated by younger players leaving what looks like a very slim crop of draft eligible players this season.
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Old 03-28-2020, 08:03 AM   #58
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Jiggs McGee looks ahead to the 1930 FABL draft

A VERY UNIQUE DRAFT CLASS AWAITS

Every year the Figment draft class can be considered unique but that is especially true about the players that will make up the 1930 class. It is unusual for several reasons and all of them centering around a dearth of high end college talent. This college portion of the draft pool, at least aside from 3 time All-American Jack Flint who may have had the best college catching career of all-time, is simply not very deep and lacks high profile star power. Maybe it is the lack of a Barrell brother in this pool- Fred went 3rd overall in 1926, Bobby 6th in 1928 and Tom first last year with young Harry not eligible until next season. Perhaps it is the lack of a dominant pitching prospect such as Tom Barrell and Chick Stout a year ago or Tommy Wilcox in 1928 but this draft appears to be lacking the high end can't miss prospect of years gone by.

So that is what this draft lacks. What the 1930 draft does appear to have is an extremely large proportion of high school players at it's upper echelon, especially at the shortstop position. One could argue the high school pool is no better then years gone by, it is just getting more attention now because the college class is so weak. However, only time will tell which assumption is the right one.

The 1930 draft will mark the sixth one since human GM's took over Figment baseball. It also, on the surface at least, looks like far and away the weakest draft pool we have seen. For comparison sake let's look back at the top players from each of the five previous drafts.

1925

The first human draft may well go down as the greatest of all-time. The star studded group of first round picks included Al Wheeler, Bud Jameson, Bill Ashbuagh, Doug Lightbody, Jack Cleaves and Chick Dyer. Wheeler was a high school pick who has already had two 30-homer seasons for Detroit and has won a World Series as has Cleaves. Lightbody owns an MVP award and a batting title and is fast approaching the 1,000 career hit mark. Ashbaugh and Jameson are two of the best hitters in FABL and Dyer, while a late bloomer, is having a breakout year this season.

1926

Cleveland went with outfielder Karl Stevens over catcher Fred Barrell at #1. Stevens was coming off a great amateur career at Rainier College and is not quite 25 years old but it is becoming apparent he will not live up to the billing of a number one pick. Fred Barrell was coming out of Georgia Baptist as the top catcher but slipped to the Cougars at #3 and is well on his way to becoming a big league star. The Foresters might have redeemed themselves by getting perhaps the biggest steal of the draft in selecting Chicago Poly SS Woody Armstrong, who was later traded to Montreal.

This draft actually had some similarity to the current one as, aside from #2 overall Walt Palmer, the top pitchers were all high school kids. Four of them: Larry Brown, George Johnson, Frank Crawford and George Williams, went in the first round. All, at one time or another, have been ranked in the top 100 prospects but none have made the big leagues yet. Interestingly, and perhaps just the proof needed to explain the dangers of drafting high school arms, only Crawford remains in the top 100 at this time.

1927

Five pitchers went in the first round including a pair of high schoolers but at this point the top prospects certainly seem to be the college guys led by first overall pick Cliff Moss in Montreal. It is still early of course, but at this point 1927 is looking like a very weak class with only #4 Frank Lightbody and 10 pick Andy Carter having seen big league action to date.

1928

The year of the pitcher part I as college superstar Tommy Wilcox went first overall and a total of 5 pitchers went in the top seven picks. Wilcox has the makings of a generational talent while fellow college arm Mike Murphy, who was being briefly considered for the number one slot by Brooklyn before going second to the Chicago Cougars, has so far not progressed past AA and is only ranked 19th on the Cougars prospect list. Meanwhile two of the high school pitchers selected in Chuck Cole and George Thomas are ranked first and third out of all pitching prospects in the league right now. The other one, Phil Hicks, doesn't crack the Gothams top 30 prospects.

1929

The year of the pitcher part II, or at least the high end pitcher as Tom Barrell and Chick Stout went 1-2 after much debate about the two of them all season. There was also another highly touted college arm in Tom Blalock, who went fourth overall and two other pitchers heard their names called in the first round.

The best player in this class may well turn out to be Vic Crawford, a power-hitting college player who generated plenty of buzz in a draft that seemed chock full of high end college talent. 14 of the 16 first round picks came from the college ranks and there was plenty of buzz about them throughout their draft year. In contrast we look at this season, with a poor college crop and little fanfare, so perhaps that is why this year's draft is not talked about as much.

Last season we had all that college talent that was getting talked up as the college's have been of late. However, the high school league often flies under the radar and gets far less publicity. High School players are also less mature and more prone to talent changes - both good and bad - so they are inherently more risky. With an expected run on high school talent in the early rounds this season there may be some booms and there will certainly be some busts - but for the most part it will take a number of seasons for GM's to figure out which they got.

The lack of a clear cut number one and the unpredictability that comes with drafting high school talent is going to make this a very interesting draft. Initial thinking is it is much closer, and perhaps even weaker than the 1927 class was, but in reality at this point it also has the potential to be much better than the 1927 class as well.
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Old 03-29-2020, 12:19 PM   #59
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A Look Back at the 1920 Draft

LOOKING BACK A DECADE: THE 1920 FABL DRAFT


With the 1930 Figment draft fast approaching it is time to continue our annual series where we look back and second guess the first round picks from a decade ago. Here is an assessment of how the 1920 first round draft picks panned out. Overall it was a pretty decent job of drafting by the teams, although some I am sure would kick themselves for passing on Joe Masters, who went 11th to the Chicago Chiefs and joins first overall pick David Merchant as the top two players from their draft class.



PICK 1 - Philadelphia Sailors: DAVID MERCHANT OF
The Sailors missed on a lot of their first round picks in the early years of the draft- see 1912 4th overall Raymond Kircher (0 FABL games), 1916 6th overall Ron Searfoss (0 FABL games), 1917 5th overall Willie Brewer (hit .214 in 78 career games), 1918 11th overall Jim Bob Renolds (5 career games) and 1919 7th overall Lenny Ayres (0 FABL games) but they got this one right. Merchant, a Chicago Poly outfielder is still active and in his prime at age 30 and already owns two Whitney Awards and a .315 career batting average.

PICK 2 - Philadelphia Keystones: CLIFF HERMAN SS
The SS from Waco High School took some time to develop and was only an everyday starter for one season but he has been a decent player for the Keystones. Herman played every game in the Stones 1927 World Championship team and is a career .291 hitter in nearly 600 FABL games.

PICK 3 - Pittsburgh Miners: BEN ABAGHIAN 2B
The Detroit City College infielder is now retired but he did play 411 career games for the Miners and Cleveland. There certainly were better options available but you can say that for every team that passed on Joe Masters or later picks like Phil Sandman or pitcher Dick Richards.

PICK 4 - Washington Eagles: GLENN MORRISON 3B
Morrison is now plying his trade with Portland of the Great Western League after the Eagles released him a couple of years ago, but not before the former Golden Gate Grizzly won a World Championship Series MVP award. That was in 1923 when he hit .529 in the series to lead the Eagles to victory. He also played a role in two other pennant winning clubs and hit .350 in 730 career games. It was actually surprising the Eagles parted ways with him when they did as he was hitting .326 before missing 7 weeks with a hamstring injury in June of 1928. He was released almost immediately after his return from the DL and immediately signed by the independent Green Sox.

PICK 5 - New York Stars: GORDIE LOFTUS OF
The 3 time World Champion and 1926 Series MVP is still going strong for the New York Stars. He has passed the 1,000 career game mark and just recently saw his career average dip below .300. The former Maryland State Bengal is also a .412 career hitter in post-season games.

PICK 6 - Brooklyn Kings: LOU GARMAN 1B
A first baseman from North Carolina Tech, Garman had a couple of very good seasons with Brooklyn and was a key piece for their 1927 pennant winner, hitting .320 and tying his career high with 135 games played. He was dealt to Baltimore prior to the 1929 season in the Kings youth movement and has been a back-up with the Cannons. Played 620 career games with a .324 average to this point.

PICK 7 - Boston Minutemen: GLENN TWEED OF
Another college player, Tweed was selected out of Henry Hudson. He has been with the Minutemen since 1922 but only as a starter from 1923-27. He his enjoying a strong season this year, hitting .311 off the bench and has a career average of .286 in 718 FABL games.

PICK 8 - Chicago Cougars: CHARLIE GAMBLE SS
A star shortstop at Ellery College, Gamble spent three seasons as a starter for the Cougars but now finds himself in AAA. 503 FABL games with a .322 career batting average.

PICK 9 - Toronto Wolves: TOBY RUNLON P
The Wolves seemed to love their pitchers in the first round of the draft. The only problem is they rarely panned out. Here are the pitchers they drafted in round one and what they did.
Code:
YEAR PICK   NAME            CAREER STATS[/b]
1914  15  Sam Smith       never advanced past A ball
1919  10  Steamboar Rude  traded was 12-9 for his career
1920   9  Toby Runlon     65-71 but success only after trade to Detroit
1921   2  Bert Flores     27-44  still active at age 28 but 1-10 this year.
1925   2  Eddie Quinn     5-6 still active at age 24 but traded up to get him
1927  13  Bill Anderson   just 21 jury still out
1928   4  Cam Cole        just 20 jury still out
Some other teams like the New York Gothams have also drafted a lot of pitchers so the Wolves are not unique here. I just found it interesting that with an aging Gordie Robertston at third base, why the Wolves felt Runlon was a better choice than Joe Masters with this pick. In an era when Max Morris had just started to change the game with his longball prowess, Masters had just helped Liberty College to it's second straight National Championship and had hit 39 homers while batting .289 in 151 career college games.

To be fair to the Wolves organization, they were certainly not the only team to pass on Masters and Runlon did have a decent career at Henry Hudson but given their previous track record with pitchers and the fact that their offense was well below average perhaps makes them a little more guilty then the other teams ahead of them who passed on Masters.

PICK 10- New York Gothams: LUTHER JONES P
Everything I said about Toronto selecting Runlon you can multiply ten-fold for the Gothams. I will say this for Toronto, at least Runlon fashioned a bit of a major league career but the Gothams selection here turned out to be just an awful pick. There were signs right away that taking Jones seemed like a very bad decision as he pitched just 40 innings in his 3 seasons at college and never won a game. He got the briefest of sips of java in the big leagues, 4 relief appearances totaling 5 2/3 innings for the Gothams in 1927 and one more in 1928 before being cut lose after spending 1929 in AA. He is now a teammate of Glenn Morrison's in Portland of the Great Western League. This one is far and away the worst selection of the entire draft as it is a complete waste of a first round pick and it's not like the guy had promise and just busted. He looked bad in college so there was no business in the Gothams even looking at him before the fifth round, or perhaps even later.

If the Gothams entered the draft dead set on drafting a college pitcher they could have had Central Ohio's Rube Frazier, who was 14-11 with a 2.90 era and a 1.15 WHIP over his three seasons and would be taken late in the second round by Baltimore. Frazier is 82-101 for his FABL career. Or how about Karl Clasby, Dick Richards, Gil Kern or Topsy Moran. In short there were a number of decent college pitchers available and seemed far better options at that point then Jones.

PICK 11 - Chicago Chiefs: JOE MASTERS 3B
It is so much easier after the fact but it is clear a lot of teams missed the boat on the Liberty College third baseman. Masters had power in college (39 homers in 151 games) and was a proven winner playing a key role on two National Championship teams. Yes, his averaged dipped to .264 in his draft year and his strikeouts went up but one would think his fielding would have been terrific (the college defensive stats of the era have long since vanished) so a case could have been made for him going at least 2nd overall. (David Merchant hit much better at Chicago Poly but his average was also down from his first two seasons, and Merchant hit a personal best 12 homers in college while maintaining a very good strikeout ratio so the Sailors can certainly be excused for their choice).

Masters is still a very key piece of the Chicago Chiefs, and will forever be remembered in the Windy City for his amazing 1928 campaign (.388,56,195).

PICK 12 - Montreal Saints: BERT HARTMAN OF
The second Golden Gate Grizzly selected in the first round, Hartman has been a solid FABL player since finishing 3rd in Whitney Award voting in 1923. He spent 4 years in Montreal before being dealt to the Chiefs prior to the 1926 season and has been a starting outfielder his entire career, batting .302 in 1,246 games.

PICK 13 - Detroit Dynamos: PAUL VANDENBERG P
The former Garden State Redbird has bounced back and forth between the majors and minors pretty much his entire career, but has appeared in 91 FABL games, compiling a 27-15 record. His best season was 1927 when he went 13-8 for the Dynamos. He was on Detroit's 1929 World Championship roster but did not pitch in the series and was waived shortly after. Baltimore claimed him and at age 30 he is presently working out of the Cannons bullpen.

PICK 14 - Baltimore Cannons: ANDY LAZZARI 2B
At his peak the former Sadler College infielder was ranked the 19th best prospect in the game. Lazzari did go on to play 346 major league games and is still with the Cannons, but he never really lived up to what was expected of him. It is quite possible that injuries played a role as Lazzari has had more than his share although the more serious ones, including a ruptured achilles that has kept him out of action since last September, have occurred only in the last three years.

PICK 15- Cleveland Foresters: BEN HATHAWAY 3B
Hathaway's career peaked with a .313, 13 homer season for the Foresters in 1925 but two seasons later he was waived at the age of 28. The Chicago Cougars signed him and he started for 2 years bringing his career FABL games up to 552 with a .295 batting average but at 31 years of age having spent most of his time in the minors, it is clear his big league days are over.

PICK 16- St Louis Pioneers: BOB MARCEAUX 2B
A star at St. Pancras, Marceaux hit .371 in his draft year and then overcame several injuries early in his career to become an everyday player with the Pioneers for 5 seasons but he has spent much of the past two years at AAA Oakland. He hit .320 in 721 big league games and may get a few more but at age 31 it is clear his career is nearing it's end. Certainly not a bad few seasons put up by a 16th overall pick though, and perhaps it could have been much better without all the injuries that delayed his ascent to the big leagues.

Others of note: Montreal selected OF Phil Sandman in the third round. Toronto selected P Topsy Moran(28-33 but threw a no-hitter) in the second round. Jesse Moore, who has played over 1200 FABL games and Dick Copeland, who is approaching 1200 were two others that went in the second round. The Stars selected P Dick Richards (109-48) in the third round. The Cougars got Art Panko in the fourth while the Chiefs landed catcher Hank Odegaard in round seven. Baltimore outfield Ace Adlon from Golden Gate University was a steal in round 13.


OVERALL
Other the the Gothams terrible selection, the FABL clubs did not do too badly in the first round of this draft and much better as a whole then in some of the other seasons I have looked at.
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Old 04-01-2020, 02:02 AM   #60
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Jiggs McGee's 1930 FABL Draft Preview

1930 DRAFT PREVIEW

Here is a detailed look at the top prospects available for the 1930 Figment League Amateur Draft. It has already been widely talked about but the 1930 draft crop appears to be very weak, at least on the college side, and certainly pales in comparison with some of the high end talent we have seen over the past couple of drafts. There is good news, although not necessarily for teams picking high this year, as early indications are the 1931 and 1932 drafts both look to have some very good talent.

As I did last year, this preview will begin with a list of the top prospects at each position. I will rank the top 10 at each spot (15 outfielders) and provide a brief write-up on each of the top five. The series will finish with a mock draft of the first round.

OUTFIELD

It was tough finding 15 guys I liked for this list and, unlike previous years, the outfielders on the list were dominated by high school guys. The top two guys would be first rounders any year I think, but beyond that there is not a lot of elite talent, looks like some decent players but no stars.


1- RIP CURRY : George Fox Reds- The corner outfielder has been a three year starter for the Reds and hit .414 for his collegiate career including .398 this season. No other draft eligible outfielder with 150 or more career plate appearances has a higher OBP and his 7.2 career WAR ranks third among all draftees. I am concerned about his lack of power - just 19 homers in 143 games- and his small frame (5'10", 160 lbs) makes one wonder if the power will ever come. One other note is Curry is a two-way player and may actually be a better prospect as a pitcher. He was 11-1, 3.05 in 1929 but struggled on the mound this season.

2- AL HORTON: College of San Diego- A two year starter, Horton hit .378 in his college career and displayed plus defense in left field. He is also rated at CF but never played there. If he has the ability to play center that will only enhance his value. Was among the top five in draft eligible outfielders in WAR, slugging percentage, ops+ and stolen bases with 26 in his 100 game career.

3- BUTCH WALDRON: Lincoln HS- I was very high on Waldron two years ago and again last season but he had a disappointing senior year of HS, setting career lows in homers and all 3 slash categories. Looking at his full high school body of work he is a solid prospect, but looking at his senior season alone there are a lot of question marks - but the same can be said for most of the players in this draft.

4- JOE GOODWIN: Memphis HS- Goodwin's 29 career homers are the most of any high school draft eligible player. He was one of the few who had a better senior season than his earlier years with 15 homers in 40 games. Should perhaps be ranked ahead of Waldron as the top high school outfielder but I gave Waldron the nod based on being a CF rather than a corner guy that Goodwin is.

5- STAN WARE: Wilkes-Barre HS- Only played two seasons of high school ball but hit 14 homers in 40 games this year. Had the best career slugging percentage and OPS+ of any draft eligible high school outfielder.

6- PHIL DAWSON: Los Angeles HS
7- ROGER GRANT: Pierpont University
8- HARRY BUCKLEY: Ellery College
9- IKE BRIGGS: Grafton College
10- JERRY COLEMAN: St Matthew's College
11- LOU BALK: Boston HS
12- MILT COX: Somerville HS
13- JOHN WOODS: Birmingham HS
14- DAVE BASS: Spartanburg HS
15- BILL ALEXANDER: St. Pancras

CATCHER

Jack Flint, and a bunch of other interchangable guys is what we have here. It was actually tough finding 10 catcher to put on this list as only 9 draft eligible catchers had a positive WPA.

1- JACK FLINT: Lubbock State- 3 time All-American (twice first team) catcher from Lubbock State is far and away the best catching prospect available and should get consideration for first overall. A .356 hitter as a 3 year starter who also has a little bit of pop in his bat.

2- CLEM BLISS: Syracuse HS- A poor senior season- in comparison to his production the first two years- hurts Bliss but even his 1930 slash line of .275/.397/.451 is better than the career mark of any other catcher not named Flint in the draft pool.

3- WALTER SMITH: Little Rock HS- Like Bliss, his numbers dropped each of his three high school seasons. Is he the 15 year old who hit .344 or the 17 year old who hit .283? He is a winner as he helped Little Rock to a national title this past season. There are also some questions about his arm as he thew out just 24% of base stealers in his high school career.

4- MORT SMITH: Greensboro HS - A real gamble here but it could pay off huge. The defense is certainly there, as he threw out over 50% of base stealers as a senior. I would have ranked him 2nd behind only Flint a year ago when he hit .358 but Smith batted just .212 this season. If he can hit like he did as a junior he will be a great pick, if not well I think he has the defensive abilities to be a backup in the majors.

5- JEFF ROSE: St Blane College- An up and down career for Rose with OPS+ numbers of 168 as a freshman at St Blane, just 64 his sophomore season but a respectable (at least for this draft class) 86 last year. Made great strides with his throwing arm and cutting down on passed balls this season but I think there are going to be a lot of questions about his defense.

6- SOLLY WILLIAMS: Wilkes-Barre HS
7- A.J. WARREN: Oakland HS
8- DON EARLY: Sacramento HS
9- HARRY DUDLEY: Norfolk HS
10-RUSTY STANLEY: Garden State

FIRST BASE

1- JIM WRIGHT : Chicago Poly - Was a second team All-American as a freshman, at catcher, but lists as a 1B in this draft pool. Actually played more at catcher than 1B in his career and while his offense makes him barely average as a first baseman he could be worth a first round pick if he can catch in the big leagues.

2- GLENN THOMPSON: Opelika State- For some reason Thompson did not start much as a junior for the Wildcats, despite hitting .438 in 100 plate appearances this season. Did start last year and slashed .321/.382/.560 in 44 games. He also played a bit of center field, although not very well. This pool is so weak I am inclined to think he might just have first round potential.

3- JACK BURR: Opelika State- Started at 1B for Wildcats ahead of Thompson this year. Thompson had far better numbers but Burr's are not bad for this draft class...career slash line of .286/.339/.408.

4- WALLY RICE: Boulder State
: Three year starter was only a .248 career hitter but among the homerun leaders in the draft class with 18. Can't see him making the big leagues, but I can say the same about 98% of this draft class.

5- JOHN ANDREWS: Dickson College - Started as a freshman and was a pitcher his sophomore season. Only started 4 games as a junior but this draft class sucks so I will say his 12 career homers and 135 career OPS+ make him one of the better first baseman in this class which was entirely a statement on the weakness of this pool rather than the ability of Andrews.

6- BOB REED: Grafton College
7- FRED MILLER: Pierpont
8- RED MULLINS: Syracuse HS
9-JOE GARLAND: Sadler College
10-HAL COLLETT: Greensboro HS

SECOND BASE

1- DOC LITTLEFIELD: Travis College- Tremendous defense from the three year starter. He also has a career .307/.363/.404 slash line. If you compare him to the premier second basemen from last years draft (Sam Orr and Jake Shadoan) he falls way short, but in this class he is worthy of a first round selection.

2- HEINIE DUNN: Elmira HS - He has actually played a lot more games in centerfield than at second base but does not look out of place at either position. Only started two season but improved this year over first season numbers. No power, but stole 25 bases in his career. If he can cut down on his strikeouts perhaps he could be a solid lead-off man.

3- HIRAM MARTIN: Wichita HS - Outstanding defense without a question but can he hit enough to play everyday? Showed a bit of pop this year with 5 homers for his high school club but just a .251 career hitter.

4- CLARENCE HOWELL: Detroit City College- Really improved his defense this season. A 3 year starter but his offensive production dipped each season.

5- TOM DOBSON: Omaha HS- Strong defender slashed .262/.337/.366 for his high school career.

6- CHARLIE JOSEPH: Holyoke HS
7- GEORGE ROBINSON: Garden State
8- PRYOR WNEK: Grafton College
9- TOM WELLS: Brooklyn HS
10- FRANK JONES: Nashville HS

SHORTSTOP

Finally a position with some talent depth. There are probably a dozen high school shortstops deserving of making this list and a half dozen that potentially could go in the first round.

1- LEE PORTER: Nashville HS- Looks to be almost everything you could want in a shortstop. Tremendous range and zone rating, Stole 45 bases in 122 games while slashing .311/.373/.395 in his three season and the best news he is one of the few top prospects who had a great draft year- establishing career bests in all 3 slash categories. Only thing he seems to be lacking his power.

2- OTTO DEAL: Meridian HS - Outstanding with the glove all 3 seasons of high school ball but there is some concern because his offensive production declined through the years. His defense is so good though, it is well worth risking a first round pick that he might just be the real Deal.

3- JOE NELSON: George Fox Univ - The top college shortstop has had two very strong defensive seasons. His offense dipped a bit this year but he is a .284 career hitter in college and stole 43 bases in 150 games.

4- CHARLIE REED: Berkeley HS
- Made great strides to improve his defense this season but it is still only about average. He was pretty consistent at the plate in his 3 years at Berkely High School, slashing .302/.424/.450 with some speed (29 SB) and a little bit of power (10 HR in 120 games).

5- MILT STORY: Buffalo HS - Elite offense his first two seasons at Buffalo HS but, like so many others, he slumped in his draft year. Still finished with a .338/.366/.503 high school slash line. Defense needs work though. Perhaps 2B might be his final destination.

5-

6-BOLIVAR JIM SMITH: Cumberland
7- JIM BEARD: Lynn HS
8- HAL WAGNER: ELmira HS
9- CHUCK CARRUTHERS: Somerville HS
10-TOM HANDY: Mobile HS

THIRD BASE

1- JOHNNY TURNER: George Fox Univ- First team All-American selection this season, Turner followed up a strong sophomore season with a very good draft year, slashing .384/.440/.594. Seems to be a certain first round pick.


2- TOM EGGLETON: New Orleans HS - Two way player did not fare too badly as a pitcher but future likely as a hitter. Had 11 homers and hit .316 in 85 career games.

3- JIM AIELLO: Birmingham HS- A separated shoulder cut his draft year short but slashed .308/.345/.476 over his high school career. Has a baseball pedigree as his father played briefly in FABL and his brother Tom is a catcher in the Brooklyn Kings organization.

4- ELIAS BRADLEY: High Point HS- Seems to have a bit of power potential as he hit 9 homers in his draft year and 21 over 3 seasons at High Point HS.

5- EMIL BIGGS: Coastal California- Had a dreadful sophomore year but was much improved this season when he hit .307. 17 homers in 150 games and a .283 career average.

6- JACK WHITE: Nashville HS
7- PADDY HARRIS: Brooklyn State
8- FRED GRAY: Sadler College
9- STU DICKSON: Trenton HS
10-BOB PAUL: Meridian HS

PITCHER

There are a number of high school pitchers that certainly warrant a look very high in the draft. The concern I have is the unpredictability of high school arms and the two best of the group have regressed rather than improved in their 3 years of high school ball. There is a good chance one of the names below will become a stud but there is likely an even better chance that most of the guys listed here will bust. It is up to the general manager's to find the diamond in this mess.

1- DONNIE SCHEUERMANN: North Carolina Tech- One thing I can say for sure is that Donnie Scheuermann won't be the best pitcher in this draft class, but I think he is the safest pick. He looked pretty consistent over his 3 years with the Techsters, compiling a 19-11 record with a 2.84 era. He gives up a few too many homers for my liking, but it's not an unreasonably high total. His ERA+ has been consistent. I think he is a decent bottom of the rotation guy. He won't wow anyone but he is a safe late first round or second round pick in this draft, and you can't say the words "safe pick" about any of the other pitchers I will list after him.

2- MEL ENNIS: San Antonio HS- Probably the biggest question mark in this draft is where does Mel Ennis fit in? Ennis, you may recall, was outstanding as a 16 year old. He went 8-0 with a 0.59 era in leading San Antonio HS to a national prep championship. The next season he pitched entirely out of the bullpen for some reason, and while he did start this past season he was decent but not at the level of his freshman year. Two years ago I would have pegged him number one overall in his draft class. Now, I am not sure if he is even a first round pick. He could very easily never progress above AA ball, but he also could become a dominant pitcher?

3- FRANK KELLY: Knoxville HS - Kelly is in almost the same situation as Ennis but I would call him a much bigger risk. In 1928 as a 15 year old he went 8-2 with a 1.41 era, fanned 141 while walking just 15 and had an ERA+ of 312 and a WAR of 5.2. So what did he do for an encore in 1929. Nothing...literally nothing. He was not hurt but he did not pitch to a single batter that season. No idea why. This past season he was back pitching but mainly out of the pen and he was very ineffective, posting a 6.85 era and a 57 ERA+ while walking nearly twice the number of hitters he did 2 seasons earlier in half as many innings. I am listing him at #3 here because I think some GM will take a chance on him early, and it might not be a bad move considering how weak this class looks.

4- IKE JOYAL: Wikes-Barre HS - Joyal has some pretty decent numbers, even when you exclude his outstanding junior season of high school ball. Great career WHIP, K/9 and K/BB ratios are very good. Looks like a great pick but in his own way he might be as risky as Ennis or Kelly. Look at his injury history. Nothing long term yet but with that many nagging arm problems already his health scares me.

5- DICK SMITH: Richmond HS - Very consistent 3 seasons of high school ball and pitched for a National Champion in 1929. And he is lefthanded. Maybe not the upside of the 3 high school arms ahead of him but looks to have some real potential.

6- BILL ROSS: Providence HS
7- KARL MOORE: Rainier College
8- ERNIE SCOTT: Chicago Poly
9- OWEN JACKSON: Holyoke HS
10-LEW SPRULL: Louisville HS


Up next will be the a mock first round.
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