The Whirled League

Baseball The Way It Never Was

Tag: Hugh Duffy

TWIWBL 67.1: Year 2, Week 10

By

On October 8, 2024

In TWIWBL

June 4th

We’ve entered June, so we’re clearly heading towards our midseason stride.

#Awards

Since we cross into June we have a bevy of awards.

In the AL, the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth was named the Batter of the Month, hitting .347 with 15 homers in May, driving in 34 and scoring 30 times. And look, that’s impressive. But Ruth’s reputation certainly helped him with the honor, given that he had the 3rd best OPS in the AL for the month, trailing behind Miami‘s José Canseco (1.430) and Detroit‘s Ty Cobb (1.429). Canseco also had more homeruns, leading the WBL for the month with 18. Ruth’s RBI and R numbers did lead the league, and it is hard to argue against his numbers.

In the NL, the award went to Ottawa‘s Larry Walker for the second consecutive month. Walker hit .273 with 17 dingers and a whopping 38 RBI, but his selection wasn’t unanimous. Looking at just the major slash stats, his BA was eclipsed by Houston‘s Tony Gwynn, who hit .441 for the month; his OBP by Homestead‘s Josh Gibson, who led the NL with a .480 mark; and Gibson’s teammate Mike Epstein SLG mark of .833 SLG eclipsed Walker’s .818. But Walker’s HR and RBI numbers led the league by a lot, and 38 RBI in 26 games is just remarkable.

The Black Yankees doubled it up, with Ron Guidry winning the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 6-0 with a 1.73 ERA in May while in the NL, Rob Dibble of the Indianapolis ABC‘s was a bit of a surprise selection. Dibble went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 8 saves, certainly a strong performance. You really can’t quibble with Guidry’s selection, but Dibble was selected over San Francisco‘s Lefty Grove (5-1, 1.18) and Brooklyn‘s Smokey Joe Williams (4-1, 2.16). Homestead’s Josh Lindblom had more saves than Dibble (11 to 8), but Lindblom’s other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive. Still, if it were up to me, the award would have gone to Grove.

There’s just not a lot to say about Julio Rodríguez other than wow. Miami’s surprise starter in CF leaving Spring Training hit .397 with 13 homeruns in the month, earning the AL Rookie of the Month. Over in the NL, the award went to Smokey Joe Williams, who, as mentioned above, was in the running for the overall award, let alone the rookie honor.

Player of the Week Awards were given out as well, although overshadowed by the larger honors for May.

Philadelphia‘s Aaron Judge has continued to develop from his impressive showing last season, and a recent hot streak where he hit .444 with 3 homeruns earned him the NL Player of the Week. Canseco was significantly hotter, hitting .636 with 5 homeruns to earn the AL award for the second consecutive week, perhaps some comfort against being snubbed for the monthly honor for May.

#Team Performance

Last week I wrote The New York Black Yankees and the Indianapolis ABC’s have each gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. This week, it’s still true. New York now leads Cleveland in the Bill James Division by 6.5 games, while Indianapolis has moved into 1st place in the Marvin Miller Division, leading Kansas City by .5 games.

San Francisco has a little more breathing room in the Cum Posey Division, leading Chicago by 5.5 games and the surprising Miami Cuban Giants by 6. The Effa Manley Division is still tight, with all 5 teams separated by only 4.5 games, from Homestead in 1st to Philadelphia and Ottawa in a virtual tie for 5th.

Detroit continues to flounder, going 2-8 in their last 10 games and plummeting to 13.5 games behind the Black Yankees.

#Player Performance

Batters

A shorter list: Ty Cobb is first or second in each of the slash categories, and he, Larry Walker, and José Canseco are all challenging Babe Ruth‘s historical dominance of the league.

Cobb and Tony Gwynn are still well over .400 as the calendar turns to June.

José Canseco (MCG). 304/421/881. 29 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 333/390/611. 7 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 420/471/862. 79 H, 28 2B, 4.0 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 382/447/742. 48 R.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/463/683. 85 H.
Pete Hill (HOU). 282/366/505. 8 3B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 312/382/540. 29 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 307/426/743. 66 RBI, 55 R, 44 BB, 3.7 WAR.
Larry Walker (OTT). 318/394/764. 26 HR, 61 RBI.

It often feels like the SB leaders should be handled separately: San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson leads the WBL with 42 steals. Indianapolis’ Bob Bescher has moved into 2nd place with 32 (and only 6 CS) while Ottawa’s Tim Raines has 30. Raines’ struggles at the plate are clearly contributing to his not challenging Henderson this year: while Rickey’s has an OBP just under .400 at .392, Raines is way down at .332.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón leads the league at 9-1, with Houston’s Toad Ramsey (9-2) and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry (8-1) close behind. Six pitchers have 7 wins, we’ve only included below the 3 that have only 1 or 2 losses. Also included are all 3 starters with sub-3.00 ERA’s (Ramsey, Philadelphia’s Hardie Henderson, and Los Angeles‘ Doc Gooden).

Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-1, 3.88.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.43.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 5-4, 2.92.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 7-4, 3.13. 92 IP, 2.7 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-1, 3.17. 99 K, 3.39 FIP, 2.7 WAR.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-3, 2.83.
Luis Padrón (IND). 9-1, 3.66.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 7-2, 3.94.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-2. 2.69. 87 IP, 108 K, 0.93 WHIP, 2.66 FIP, 3.8 WAR.
JM Ward (PHI). 2-1, 3.46. 1.00 WHIP.

Relievers

There really isn’t a dominant closer in the WBL this season–the league leaders in saves have given up a bunch of runs; the dominant performers haven’t been racking up the saves. Indianapolis’ Rob Dibble is probably the best of the group. Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel, tied with the Black Yankees’ Rheal Cormier for the league lead in Holds, has probably been the best bullpen performer overall so far, and is pushing teammate Jeff Pfeffer for a shot at the closer spot.

13 IP minimum.

Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 2.84. 9 H.
Rob Dibble (IND). 2-1, 3.06. 12 Sv.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 4.91. 14 Sv.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 1.10. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-1, 3.80. 15 Sv.
Tug McGraw (HOU). 2-2, 1.26. 1 Sv.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 1-2, 6.16. 12 Sv.

Some mention somewhere should be made of Brooklyn’s Fernando Valenzuela, who is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 4 Holds in over 40 innings. The Royal Giants have a very strong rotation, and Valenzuela is still looking for his first opportunity to step into a starting role.

#Injury Report

Will this week be the long awaited reckoning for Chicago’s Jack Doyle? The return of SS Damian Jackson, expected at the end of the week, may be the final nail in Doyle’s WBL service time.

#A Ball Check In

Wrapping up our 3 week trip through the minors, we’ll examine A ball this week. Given A ball’s focus on youth, we won’t have an age division, instead just presenting the top 2 performers at each position. 100 A PA minimum for batters.

Pos
CLew Brown (22, KCM). 331/369/633.Tom Egan (20, PHI). 279/353/545.
1BBabe Herman (21, LAA). 246/325/515.Aubrey Huff (22, CLE). 254/330/443.
2BTim Shinnick (21, NYG). 316/416/424.Ron Jackson (23, NYG). 240/352/473.
SSAlfredo Griffin (19, DET). 333/389/454.Dick Schofield (22, HOM). 260/395/360.
3BSteve Hertz (20, HOM). 276/350/579.Bob Aspromonte (18, IND). 263/351/444.
LFBill Buckner (20, MEM). 415/443/694.Pip Koehler (24, HOD). 286/385/519.
CFOdúbel Herrera (22, PHI). 319/394/610.Clyde Milan (22, NYY). 316/445/480.
RFHugh Duffy (20, POR). 283/231/530.Marquis Grissom (23, MCG). 279/376/430.
SPSean Newcomb (24, NYY). 4-1, 2.54.
Clayton Kershaw (19, HOM). 4-2, 2.48.		Frank Dwyer (21, HOD). 6-1, 1.58.
Jim McElroy (21, PHI). 4-1, 1.65.
RPJoe Edelin (24, NYY). 1-0, 1.77. 14 Sv.Mélido Pérez (20, NYY). 3-1, 2.05. 9 Sv, 4 H.

Griffin and Kershaw standout as the only teenagers listed. The Gothams have two 2B listed, although Washington is really spending more time at SS. And, Memphis’ Bill Buckner, although currently out for a couple of weeks through injury, is just dominating the league in most categories. Of this group, he, Kershaw, and Herman are probably the best long term prospects.

Year II Season Preview: Portland Sea Dogs

By

On March 27, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

A deep playoff run once again, with championship contention.

Best Case

Everyone behind Walter Johnson in the rotation takes a step forward: Bert Blyleven becomes a legitimate #2, Dizzy Trout becomes more consistent, Elmer Brown makes the transition from the bullpen successfully, and first round pick Walter Ball steps right in, making the choice when Joséito Muñoz returns from injury a difficult one. Even without Gavvy Cravath (lost to free agency), the Sea Dogs should score quite a few runs, especially if Rogers Hornsby can prove a permanent solution (at least for a couple of years) at 2B.

Worst Case

None of that happens in the rotation, Hornsby and Gil Hodges show the effects of age, and the OF ends up regressing towards absolute mediocrity (which really comes down to how much you think Bobby Murcer, Harry Hooper, and supersub Gary Pettis overperformed last season).

Key Questions

  • How will the Sea Dogs compensate for the loss of Cravath?
  • Who joins the OF?

Trade Bait

Yes: the Sea Dogs still need to resolve the situation behind the plate, and trading either Joe Mauer or (more likely) Iván Rodríguez seems likely. Moving people on could also resolve the Buddy Bell/Adrián Beltré situation as well as provide Pettis an everyday opportunity elsewhere.

Well that was interesting. The Sea Dogs essentially turned Beltré, Rodríguez, and some useful prospects into Paul Molitor, Vladimir Guerrero, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

Roster Evaluation

POSEliteStrongSolidMehWeakUnknown
CMauerLee
1BHrbekHodges
2BHornsbyMolitor
3BBell
SSFregosi
LF/
RF		MurcerHooperBurroughs
CFPettisGriffey, Jr
SPJohnsonBlyleven
Muñoz		Trout
Pérez		KoosmanMillerBall
EndHoffmanBrownMelanconSantana
RPWilliams
New Addition | Injured

There’s clearly potential here–the players likely to regress (Murcer, Kent Hrbek, Hornsby) are balanced by newcomers Griffey, Jr and Molitor, both of whom are strong favorites to improve. But, like so many teams, they’ll go as far as the pitching will take them.

Talent Ratings

WBLMinors
Raw PowerIF Rogers HornsbyIF Miguel Sanó
Batting EyeIF Rogers HornsbyIF Eddie Yost
ContactOF Ken Griffey, JrOF Bubba Morton
Running SpeedOF Gary PettisOF Alex Diaz
OF Hugh Duffy
OF Otis Nixon
OF Howie Shanks
Base StealingOF Gary PettisOF Otis Nixon
IF Defense3B Buddy BellIF Lee Tannehill
OF DefenseOF Gary PettisOF Charlie Jamieson
StuffSP Walter JohnsonP Harry Harper
ControlSP Bert BlylevenP Bob Porterfield
VelocityRP Trevor HoffmanP Heath Hembree

Best In The Minors

RankAgePOSName
1 (16)20OFVladimir Guerrero
2 (20)20OFHugh Duffy
3 (23)22OFChuck Klein
4 (40)26IFHughie Jennings
5 (124)25PWalter Ball
6 (137)23PDylan Bundy
7 (138)18PHarry Harper
Others: None.

What a weird system. Their top end is probably the strongest quartet in the game, Ball is in the opening day rotation, and then the entire system falls off the cliff.

MostLeast
AgeIF Jeff Cirillo, 35
OF Bubba Morton, 35
P Bob Porterfield, 35		P Harry Harper, 18
HeightOF Walt Bond, 6’7″OF Nemo Leibold, 5’6″
IF Howdy Caton, 5’6″
OPSIF Freddie Freeman, 1.130 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, .558 (AAA/AA)
HRIF Freddie Freeman, 47 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, 1 (AAA/AA)
SBOF Harry Hooper, 38 (WBL)Many with 0
WARIF Freddie Freeman, 6.2 (—)IF Bobby Wine, -1.6 (—)
WWalter Johnson, 14 (WBL)Pascual Pérez, 3 (WBL/AAA)
Colby Lewis, 3 (AAA)
SVJohan Santana, 23 (WBL)
ERAJoseito Muñoz, 2.80 (WBL/AAA)Mike Trombley, 6.56 (—)
WARWalter Johnson, 4.7 (WBL)Mike Trombley, -0.5 (—)
Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

TWIWBL 56.1: Spring Training Notes – Portland Sea Dogs

By

On February 16, 2024

In TWIWBL

{ These are in no particular order–or, more exactly, they are in the order in which teams wrap up their Spring Training games. }

Spring Training Questions

The competition between Ruben Sierra and first round pick Chuck Klein for a corner OF spot should be fierce; similarly, while Buddy Bell excelled at 3B for Portland last year, he continues to be pushed by Adrián Beltré.

First Cuts

With the roster expected to be essentially set, much of this is pro forma for the Sea Dogs. But still there are some surprises–on the negative side, the relative struggles of many of the more established arms. Two pitchers who were seen as contenders for bullpen spots–Atlee Hammaker and Harry Harper–were returned to minor league camp, along with José Berríos.

That leaves 19 pitchers still in camp, something that will have to be sorted out over the next week or so.

Cliff Lee and Ernie Krueger have been fantastic so far in camp, which is just what a team with Iván Rodríguez and Joe Mauer behind the plate needs. Carlos Ruiz was returned to the minors.

At the corners, things have cleared up a little: Mickey Vernon, Don Baylor, Miguel Sanó, Jeff Cirillo, and Freddie Freeman were all sent down with very strong starts from Al Oliver, Eddie Yost and Buck Jordan keeping their hopes alive. And, at least so far, Beltré is dominating Bell in the contest to be the Sea Dogs’ starting 3B.

Wayne Garrett hits minor league camp while Greg Litton is only around due to the lack of other options at 2B behind Rogers Hornsby and Fred Dunlap (but that was how he stayed on the roster most of last season, so …). Strong starts from Hughie Jennings, Howdy Caton, and Elvis Andrus keeps the field crowded at SS.

The OF remains crowded as well, even with five departures (Charlie Jamieson, Gene Stephens, Wes Parker, Hugh Duffy, and Kiki Cuyler). Oliver has played here, and Chuck Klein has been fantastic at the plate, as has last year’s fourth OF, Jeff Burroughs. With Bobby Murcer seeming a bit slow in CF, the competition for the corner spots is pretty fierce.

Second Cuts

The Sea Dogs staff remains a puzzle, with only Ray Fontenot heading out of camp right now. The other four pitchers who are struggling (Elmer Brown, Mark Melancon, Mike Cuellar, and Bob Porterfield) all performed well last season, but do need to turn it around over the next week or two.

The long national nightmare is over for now, as Greg Litton was jettisoned to the minors, along with Eddie Yost. Tom Satriano was recalled for some 2B depth.

And … that’s it. Chuck Klein, Jeff Burroughs, Al Oliver, and Gary Pettis are hammering the ball and even the worst hitting players (Riggs Stephenson, Ruben Sierra) are doing fine. So that needs to be sorted out.

Third Cuts

Mike Cuellar won 13 games for Portland last year, but has lost all command so far this season and fins himself headed to AAA, along with fellow pitcher Bill Dietrich.

Neither Cliff Lee nor Ernie Krueger has much of a shot at making the team, but with both Iván Rodríguez and Joe Mauer struggling mightily and those two sporting OPS’ over 1.100, they stick around for a while. That performance also may make the Sea Dogs open to astounding offers for either of their top tier backstops.

1B Buck Jordan, SS Elvis Andrus, and OF Riggs Stephenson all head to AAA.

Final Cuts

Tom Satriano heads to the minors as does Ruben Sierra.

It was assumed that Alan Ashby–brought over in the trade with Miami that sent Pudge Rodríguez to the Cuban Giants–would backup Joe Mauer for the Sea Dogs. But Ashby heads to AAA, leaving the reserve C spot still up for grabs between Cliff Lee and Ernie Krueger.

The trade also brought over Paul Molitor, whose presence makes Fred Dunlap a bit redundant, sending him to AAA.

Four cuts were needed to get to 30: P Kris Medlen (who performed quite well this Spring), SS Howdy Caton (who also performed well, but not as well as Hughie Jennings), RP Bob Porterfield (who has struggled mightily, but is a bit of a surprise after his excellent performance last season), and C Ernie Krueger (who has been perhaps the Sea Dogs’ best hitter all Spring, and has rocketed up their prospect charts). This means the much lauded Cliff Lee will slide into the reserve C spot.

Veteran 1B Rafael Palmeiro had an outside chance to make the roster, but a late slump, combined with his being blocked by Gil Hodges and Kent Hrbek, moves Palmeiro to AAA.

Marc Hall and Cliff Markle had marvelous Springs, but in the end the Sea Dogs’ pitching staff was basically set: there was one open spot, and draft pick Walter Ball cemented that.

Draft pick Chuck Klein finished the Spring with a 1.101 OPS … and it wasn’t enough, as incumbent reserve OF Jeff Burroughs ended at 1.142. Klein heads to AAA in search of regular at-bats, with clear expectations of being back in Portland very soon.

The final cut was Hughie Jennings, who had as good a Spring as can be imagined, hitting .459 with 5 steals. But incumbent SS Jim Fregosi is an all star and a Silver Stick winner, and Paul Molitor–part of the high-profile trade of Pudge Rodríguez–can backup Fregosi (as well as 2B and CF).

Season Review: Portland Sea Dogs

By

On December 28, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

85 - 70, .548 pct.
1st in Marvin Miller Division
Lost to Baltimore in Division Round

Overall

Portland’s year was, if we’re being honest, a bit of a surprise, even though they led the Marvin Miller Division virtually wire to wire. Their offense was excellent all year, they made very impactful acquisitions via trade in Rogers Hornsby and Gavvy Cravath, and their top end pitching was among the league’s best.

Things are unlikely to go as well offensively next year, so it may take some talent acquisition for the Sea Dogs to maintain their place.

What Went Right

Let’s get the acquisitions out of the way first: 2B was an issue for the Sea Dogs all season until they brought in Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City. Hornsby was excellent and looks likely to remain with Portland for a while. Then, even knowing it was likely a rental for the last few months of the season, the Sea Dogs brought in Gavvy Cravath from Philadelphia who was spectacular, slugging .750 over 40 games. Cravath has moved on to Baltimore, proving the old rich get richer thing.

This was a team already hitting at an elite level: CF Bobby Murcer, 1B Kent Hrbek, C Joe Mauer, and SS Jim Fregosi all hit about as well as anyone in the league at their position. 3B Buddy Bell and OF Harry Hooper were solid as well.

Two reserves were magnificent: each was behind an all star talent, but each kept pushing even them for playing time. Both C Iván Rodríguez and CF Gary Pettis faded a bit at the end of the year, but still posted OPS’ of .827 (Pettis) and .780 (Pudge).

It’s hard to figure out if Gil Hodges‘ year went right or not: on the good side, he was 2nd on the team with 29 homers.

Walter Johnson was fantastic, clearly one of the best starting pitchers in the league at the tender age of 20. Joseíto Muñoz was even better, even younger, and coming on strong when he was injured.

Bert Blyleven and Dizzy Trout were solid enough.

Johan Santana was leading the league in saves before his injury: there are hopes he will be fully recovered by Spring Training. In his absence, the rest of the bullpen stepped up with Portland getting very strong performances from Bob Porterfield, Trevor Hoffman (acquired at midseason), Pascual Pérez, and Elmer Brown.

ALL STARS
3B Buddy Bell; SS Jim Fregosi; 1B Kent Hrbek; C Joe Mauer; OF Bobby Murcer; P Johan Santana

What Went Wrong

Somehow Greg Litton became a fan favorite despite struggling to get his OPS over .600. Neither he nor Fred Dunlap showed anything at all at the plate, although they were useful enough as utility players.

It’s hard to figure out if Gil Hodges‘ year went right or not: on the bad side, he hit .223 with an OPS under .750.

Muñoz and Santana’s injuries sucked. Muñoz may miss most of next season as well.

Not a lot went wrong in the Pacific northwest.

Transactions

March

None

June

P Smokey Joe Wood, C Devin Mesoraco to Kansas City for 2B Rogers Hornsby, OF Vince Coleman & 4th Round Pick

A clear win. Wood is likely to have the best career, given Hornsby’s age, but Hornsby was key to Portland’s postseason push.

July

OF Kirby Puckett, P Jim Kern, P Rick Wise, 3rd Round Pick & 5th Round Pick to Houston for P Trevor Hoffman, P Mark Melancon & 4th Round Pick {Denard Span}

We’ll see. Hoffman was quite strong, and may challenge Santana for the closer’s job next year. It was a clear win for this year, it was also a lot of value to give up.

3B Harmon Killebrew & 1st Round Pick to Philadelphia for OF Gavvy Cravath & 2nd Round Pick {Hugh Duffy}

For this year, totally worth it. Down the road … not so much.

Looking Forward

SP

Walter Johnson is elite. Bert Blyleven and Jerry Koosman should be solid, and while Joseíto Muñoz is unlikely to be as good as his debut, he should be a good rotation starter for many years. So … solid, but another top arm would be welcome. Some believe Johan Santana will come back as a starter, which may help.

RP

This group is solid, but there aren’t many likely reinforcements coming. Still, Trevor Hoffman should be the closer for a few years.

C

As if having Joe Mauer and Iván Rodríguez weren’t enough, the Sea Dogs have the best C prospect at AAA, Cliff Lee, as well. Someone will be traded.

1B

Kent Hrbek for a while, but Rafael Palmiero is pushing him long term. Gil Hodges also plays here, and is an interesting piece: Hodges’ power is undeniable, but he really doesn’t hit well enough to hold down an everyday job.

2B

Rogers Hornsby probably has a few years left, but not much more than that. There is nothing behind him, so this is an area of need.

3B

Another position where someone is going to be moved on: Buddy Bell was excellent this year, but Adrián Beltré probably has the ability to be his equal.

SS

Jim Fregosi was excellent for Portland. Hughie Jennings looks promising for the future as well.

LF

Riggs Stephenson has this for now, but this may be an area the Sea Dogs look to upgrade.

CF

Bobby Murcer was Portland’s most dangerous hitter all year, even if Hrbek had more power. It’s not clear how many years Pettis will accept being a reserve.

RF

This coming year, this is likely to be a mix of Harry Hooper and Ruben Sierra. If they don’t work out, Candy Maldanado and Tom Brunansky have shown some promise.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With the pick to compensate for the loss of Cravath, Portland had three consecutive picks to close out the first round and start the second. With two of them, they took the closest things to Cravath they could find: OFs Chuck Klein and Hugh Duffy. With the other, they took a franchise arm that is several years away in 18 year old Jon Matlack. They balanced out Matlack with the 15th pick of the 2nd round by selecting Walter Ball, who, at twenty-seven, looks ready for WBL action right now.

Portland has 3 4th round picks and only a single franchise exception remaining. That final choice went to Lee May, who projects to have WBL level power, maybe. The other two 4th round picks were OF Denard Span and reliever Joaquin Benoit.

Rounds 5-8

Portland needs arms. At some point, a SS would be nice, but essentially, arms. They start in the 6th with CJ Wilson, in the 7th with Harry Harper, and in the 8th with Lee Stange.

Rounds 9-12

OF Adolis García; IF Josh Jung; OF Howie Shanks; OF Billy Lush.

12th round Billy Lush decided to not sign with the Sea Dogs.

TWIWBL 53.3: The Rookie Draft

By

On November 30, 2023

In TWIWBL

These are covered in the Season Reviews as well, but figured a list of the first three rounds of the draft would be of interest.

Round One

  1. P Bullet Joe Rogan (Philadelphia)
  2. OF Vladimir Guerrero (Miami)
  3. P Hilton Smith (Kansas City)
  4. P Clayton Kershaw (Homestead)
  5. P Max Scherzer (Ottawa)
  6. OF Carl Yastrzemski (Memphis)
  7. OF Turkey Stearnes (San Francisco)
  8. OF Ichiro Suzuki (Los Angeles)
  9. P Tom Glavine (Indianapolis)
  10. IF Ed Delahanty (Brooklyn)
  11. IF Edgar Martinez (Houston)
  12. P David Cone (New York Black Yankees)
  13. P Zack Greinke (House of David)
  14. C Joe Torre (Birmingham)
  15. P Dave Stieb (Philadelphia)
  16. OF Ralph Kiner (Homestead)
  17. OF Al Simmons (Brooklyn)
  18. P Jacob deGrom (Chicago)
  19. C Bill Freehan (Detroit)
  20. OF Chuck Klein (Portland)

Supplemental Round 1

  1. P Jon Matlack (Portland)

Round Two

  1. OF Hugh Duffy (Portland)
  2. OF Julio Rodríguez (Miami)
  3. OF Earl Averill (Kansas City)
  4. P Tim Lincecum (Homestead)
  5. P Al Orth (Ottawa)
  6. P Bill Lee (House of David)
  7. 3B Judy Johnson (Homestead)
  8. OF Babe Herman (Los Angeles)
  9. P Jim Maloney (Indianapolis)
  10. P Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn)
  11. OF César Cedeño (Houston)
  12. C Darren Daulton (House of David)
  13. 1B Cody Bellinger (House of David)
  14. P Matt Morris (Kansas City)
  15. P Walter Ball (Portland)
  16. P Howard Ehmke (Cleveland)
  17. P Josh Beckett (Miami)
  18. 2B Trea Turner (Birmingham)
  19. 3B Matt Chapman (Indianapolis)
  20. P Jack Quinn (Kansas City)

Round Three

  1. P Bruce Hurst (Philadelphia)
  2. OF Brett Gardner (New York Black Yankees)
  3. IF Carlos Baerga (Kansas City)
  4. IF Justin Turner (Cleveland)
  5. 1B Elbie Fletcher (Ottawa)
  6. SS Dobie Moore (Memphis)
  7. OF Gary Matthews (Birmingham)
  8. IF Marcus Semien (Los Angeles)
  9. P Bob Ewing (Indianapolis)
  10. OF George Selkirk (Brooklyn)
  11. C Will Smith (Houston)
  12. P Bill Gatewood (Philadelphia)
  13. OF Roy Thomas (Miami)
  14. OF José Cruz (Birmingham)
  15. P Harry Staley (Houston)
  16. IF Garry Templeton (Houston)
  17. P Dan Haren (Ottawa)
  18. OF Lenny Dykstra (Chicago)
  19. P Frank Lary (Detroit)
  20. OF Topsy Hartsel (Baltimore)

TWIWBL 53.1: THE DRAFT – The Preview

By

On November 28, 2023

In TWIWBL

Alright, here it comes … the first year player draft in the WBL is a big deal, especially this year as a mixture of additional talent and the dissolution of some independent leagues has really elevated the talent pool.

The goal was to make the first 5 or 6 rounds all contain potentially worthy players.

Each team may make up to 4 “free” picks, meaning they can select anyone remaining in the game. For the rest of their selections, they are limited to players historically attached (meaning, a significant amount of their playing time) to their franchises.

Here are the teams, listed in the draft order, and their number of picks per round in the draft for the first 10 rounds (rounds 11 and 12 are unchanged, with each team having 1 pick):

Team12345678910Tot
PHI2211111112
MCG121211111
KCM13111111113
HOM2221111114
OTT1122111112
MEM11131111113
SFS1111118
LAA111212111114
IND121122111115
BRK21111121112
HOU11311111113
NYY1111112111
HOD131221113
BBB11222111215
POR1231111113
CLE11111111111
NYG3211110
CAG112111110
DET1111111110
BAL121111110
Portland also has a supplemental pick after Round One for the loss of Gavvy Cravath via free agency.

A few things jump out from that:

  • San Francisco clearly made a mess of the season, finishing both with the 7th worst record on the season and having traded away most of their draft capital in deals in June when they still looked to have a shot to contend.
  • Birmingham, tied with Indianapolis for the most picks, did so while still making the playoffs.
  • Kansas City, Homestead, and the House of David each have 4 picks over the first 2 rounds.

Here’s how the AI sees the top twenty prospects, along with the franchises that are eligible to draft them.

#NamePosAgeFranchises
1Bullet Joe RoganSP27KCM
2Vladimir GuerreroOF19LAA,OTT
3Ed Delahanty2B20PHI
4Al OrthSP23NYY, PHI
5Mickey HughesSP20
6Hugh DuffyOF20BBB
7Kyle TuckerOF18HOU
8Edgar Martínez3B20OTT
9Clayton KershawSP18BRK
10Chuck KleinOF22PHI
11Doc NewtonSP21
12Joe TorreC20BBB,KCM
13Tim LincecumSP21NYG
14Ralph KinerOF19HOM
15Ichiro SuzukiOF28OTT
16Steve BrodieOF20BAL
17Ben TincupSP19PHI
18Carlos Baerga3B18CLE
19Earl AverillOF24CLE
20Josh BeckettSP20MEM.MCG

That is, of course, a really odd list in places (Mickey Hughes, anyone?). So here are the next 20, in no particular order and according to me.

#NamePosAgeFranchises
1Trea Turner2B20OTT
2Darren DaultonC18PHI
3Ad GumbertSP18HOD
4Julio RodríguezOF19OTT
5Joe Cunningham1B21KCM
6Lenny DykstraOF20PHI,LAA
7Aubrey Huff3B21MCG
8Noah SyndergaardSP21LAA
9Matt MorrisSP21KCM
10George SelkirkOF24NYY
11Walter BallSP26CAG
12César CedeñoOF17HOU
13Jimmy Dykes2B20SFS
14Charlie FergusonSP19PHI
15Zack GreinkeSP19HOU,BRK
16Bryan HarveyRP22LAA
17Pink HawleySP20HOM
18Jack KramerSP18BAL
19Jim MaloneySP19IND
20Max ScherzerSP23OTT,DET

Results for each team are listed in their Season Review pages, coming soon.

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