Overall

It was an entertaining season in Pittsburgh, for sure.

A season for the ages by the young phenom Josh Gibson, a declaration of timelessness from Willie Stargell, continued contributions from a surprising cast of supporting characters, and no pitching whatsoever.

Entertaining may not always be a good goal.

The Grays may be the most WBL team of them all: no complaints about the offense and a desperate need for better performances on the mound. This feels like a team building towards something special, with a lot of weight on whether the middle infield can finally come good.

What Went Right

WBL world, meet Josh Gibson. Gibson was good last year, but this year was in an entirely different stratosphere, managing a .400 average on the final day of the season, drawing a good number of walks, and adding over 100 extra base hits (including 49 homers) for a 1.312 OPS. Throw in 145 RBIs and 131 runs scored for those of you who like such things, and you have a Mel Trench Award winning season at 21 years old.

Willie Stargell is a decade older, but chipped in with 56 homers and a 1.001 OPS, refusing to give any quarter to age, although he is more of a DH type than anything else right now.

Rick Reichardt continues to surprise people, slashing 284/355/586 and holding down the LF job.

Andy Van Slyke hits wherever the Grays play him–1B, 3B, LF, even CF, which some see as his ultimate destination. Van Slyke led the team with 64 steals as well.

Judy Johnson impressed as a teenager, posting an OBP over .400 while playing all 3 infield positions.

After this, we hit a series of perfectly adequate performers–Goose Goslin in limited time, Roberto Clemente, Andrew McCutchen. Nothing great, but nothing bad either.

And then the pitching … Um. Yeah.

Doug Drabek was excellent as a starter, posting a 4.76 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 23 starts and Bartolo Colón even better, posting a remarkable 2.36 ERA over 50 innings.

In the bullpen, the addition of Robb Nen gives the Grays a good backend, paired with Josh Lindblom and his 35 saves.

And … that’s about it. Rick Ownbey was serviceable in the pen, and Gary Lucas did enough to warrant a looksee in the Spring.

ALL STARS

Mike Epstein
Josh Gibson
Josh Lindblom
Rick Reichardt
Willie Stargell

MAJOR AWARDS

Roberto Clemente, NL RF Gold Glove
Josh Gibson, NL Mel Trench Award; NL Team of the Year; NL C Silver Slugger
Willie Stargell, NL Team of the Year; NL DH Silver Slugger

RECOGNITIONS

Josh Gibson, NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team; NL 21 & Under Team
Judy Johnson, NL All Rookie Team; NL 21 & Under Team
Cliff Lee, NL Over 30 Team
Josh Lindblom, All NL 2nd Team; NL Over 30 Team
Robb Nen, All NL 2nd Team
Rick Reichardt, All NL 3rd Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Josh Gibson, MVP
Josh Lindblom, Pitcher of the Year
Willie Stargell, Heart & Soul
Bartolo Cólon, Fan Favorite

Clayton Kershaw, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Paul Waner, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

After the names above, Cliff Lee (8-4, 5.30 in an injury plagued year) was the best starter. By far. Billy Pierce, Ray Brown, and Francisco Liriano were all below average, and David Price and Juan Marichal, brought over late in the season, were horrific.

And the middle bullpen was an issue all year, with poor showings from Brickyard Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Dave Giusti, and Carlos Zambrano. Promising youngsters like Tim Lincecum and Nip Winters were equally bad … it was just a mess, leading to the Grays having close to 30 arms see action throughout the season.

Offensively, the biggest question is whether the duo of Honus Wagner and Napoleon Lajoie will ever deliver. Both showed the beginnings of promise, with 46 and 55 doubles respectively, but neither hit or drew walks, and Wagner still looks overmatched at SS. They’ll get another year to figure it out, but patience is wearing thin.

Rick Ferrell was awful as Gibson’s backup, but, I mean, whatever.

Transactions

March

None.

July

IF Chris Sabo to IND for 4th Round Pick.

The smallest of small deals. Sabo did well, so the ABC’s probably won this one, but it’s fine.

August

IF Freddie Lindstrom & 2nd Round Pick to CAG for P David Price.

Ouch. Price was awful for Homestead, and Lindstrom looks like Chicago’s 3B of the future. If Price doesn’t bounce back, this is a very bad deal.

IF Howard Johnson, IF Davey Johnson & 3rd Round Pick to NYG for P Juan Marichal & P Robb Nen.

Like Price, Marichal was horrible. But Nen is a quality bullpen arm, and both Johnson’s were blocked here, so this is probably OK. Probably.

Positional Overview

C

It’s Josh Gibson‘s world and we’re just living in it.

With Rick Ferrell‘s horrible showing, look for Cam Carreón to have the inside track to serve as Gibson’s backup next season.

1B

Mike Epstein had a bit of a down year, but this is still his position, with support from Stargell, Van Slyke, and some others.

Ken Harrelson and Ed Kranepool offer a little depth in the system, but there are always options at other positions as well that could move here.

2B

The Grays really want Napoleon Lajoie to take over here.

If he falters, Judy Johnson is an option, as are both Jeff Kent and Bill Mazeroski, with Rennie Stennett a reasonable alternative at some point as well.

SS

The Grays really want Honus Wagner to take over here.

If he falters, Judy Johnson is an option, as are both Omar Vizquel and Dick Groat, with JJ Hardy and, perhaps even moreso, Khalil Greene, providing reasonable alternatives at some point as well.

3B

The Grays really want … wait. OK, this looks like Judy Johnson for a while.

That said, it’s quite possible Johnson shifts to SS, and Wagner moves here. But Wagner will need to improve even more offensively to make that happen.

LF/RF

It’s a bit of a challenge. On the one hand, Rick Reichardt and Roberto Clemente are quite solid. On the other, they may not be good enough for a team trying to eventually win a championship.

Goose Goslin and Owen Wilson offer decent bench support, and perhaps either Starling Marte or Mike Shannon could do that as well.

This may be a more serious issue in a few years as Lloyd Waner, Paul Waner, and Ralph Kiner move through the system.

CF

Andrew McCutchen is …. fine. With the potential to be more than that. But right now, fine. The Waner brothers can play here as well, and Max Carey has some ability as a reserve.

DH

This is Willie Stargell‘s domain, with some support from Goslin and Wilson.

SP

So, so unsettled.

Bartolo Colón and Doug Drabek are in the rotation for sure, but beyond that? The Spring will have a fierce competition between Cliff Lee, Billy Pierce, Francisco Liriano, Nip Winters, Bob Friend, Ray Brown, Tim Lincecum, Juan Marichal, David Price, and (if he recovers in time), Corey Kluber.

That’s a lot of names: look for some to end up at AAA, some in the bullpen as long relievers.

Clayton Kershaw is perhaps the best starting prospect in the game: look for him to start the year at AA, but the 19 year old may get his shot this year. While his ceiling is probably lower, Catfish Hunter is also an elite talent, and John Candelaria still has time to establish himself at the WBL level.

RP

There is reason for optimism. A bullpen of Michael Jackson, Robb Nen, and Josh Lindblom has a chance to be very strong, and if Rick Ownbey or Gary Lucas can contribute, there’s a chance here.

There’s some talent deeper in the system: Mychal Givens, Ricardo Rincón, even Sarge Connally.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 1
2nd Round: 0
3rd Round: 0
4th Round: 2
5th Round: 1

It’s a strong system, so the paucity of early picks should be navigated alright.

Progress. Finishing over .500 with some clarity on long-term talent would be a success for next year.

Best Case

The roster stabilizes, and a handful of talent establishes itself as the core of future years. Napolean Lajoie and Honus Wagner settle in at 2B and SS respectively, and the OF talent clarifies. And, anyone reliable steps forward on the mound. Anyone.

Worst Case

Nothing settles, nobody figures it out, and the pitching continues to be miserable.

Key Questions

• Who pitches?
• For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF).

Trade Bait

Will the team hit it stride in time for Stargell to contribute? If not, he could be an attractive piece for a competitive team.

Roster Evaluation

So. Much. Talent. So little production. Even with that, though, the presence of anything approaching average pitching makes the Grays a .500 team.

Talent Ratings

Best In The Minors

Hope for the Grays persists, largely in how dense and deep their system is. 16 prospects in the top 200 bodes well for their future.

Up to nine spots on the mound are up for grabs, including 3 rotation slots. Positional depth needs to be resolved in the lineup. Second round draft pick Judy Johnson will be given every shot to seize the 3B job.

Injuries

Daniel Hudson has missed most of camp so far, but might be back to show enough to make the opening day roster.

First Cuts

With 28 pitchers starting off in camp, Homestead clearly had a lot of work to do, with many decisions destined to be made on very limited data. Here’s who didn’t make the cut after the first week of Spring Training: starters Pink Hawley, Clayton Kershaw, John Candelaria, and Hal Carlson and relievers Mychal Givens, Ed Seward, and Ricardo Rincón.

With that many arms still in camp, the Grays only moved one C, Tim Thompson, out of camp, along with 3B’s Freddie Lindstrom and Brock Holt. Judy Johnson is hitless so far, but has impressed the coaching staff enough to stick around a little more.

Impressive starts from Rey Sáncehz and Jack Wilson at SS have forced Dick Groat out of camp, while Rennie Stennett remains, largely on the bases of his performances towards the end of last season. Jeff Kent has also been impressive, although Davey Johnson remains the presumptive starter at 2B.

Paul Waner is tearing the cover off the ball, but his brother Lloyd is hitless, meanings the siblings will be separated with Llyod heading back to the minors, along with CF Darren Lewis. That’s left a crowded OF still pretty clogged: Ralph Kiner has impressed with his power, Max Carey with his speed, and Goose Goslin is barely holding onto a spot. Of those three plus the remaining Waner, there looks to be–at most–a single roster spot available.

Second Cuts

Only 4 pitchers–Gary Lucas, Gary Nash, Ray Brown, and Bartolo Colón–have ERA’s over 2. Of those, Brown and Colón will be given some more time, but both Nash and Lucas were shipped off to the minors. That still leaves a ton of arms in camp, so something will have to give over the next week.

C Tim Thompson was shipped out. Rick Ferrell probably should be, but his defense and his WBL experience keeps him around for now.

18 year old Judy Johnson turned some heads with his defense, but needs some time in the minors. The Grays recalled Pedro Feliz for depth at 3B.

Goose Goslin and Max Carey were also sent down, although Carey was recalled a few days later, just to provide another glove in CF.

The Grays are in an interesting spot: a host of players who were assumed to not have much chance to make the team are performing fantastically, led by Ps Doug Drabek and Cliff Lee and position players Ed Kranepool, Paul Waner, Jeff Kent, Rey Sánchez, Chris Sabo, Cam Carreón, and Jack Wilson. This has created some unanticipated competition, keeping camp crowded but also making the next week quite crucial.

Third Cuts

Homestead continues to retool their pitching staff, with Bartolo Colón‘s poor Spring sending him to the minors along with Arodys Vizcaíno and Ping Gardner. Other than Francisco Liriano as their opening day starter and Josh Lindblom as their closer, though, nothing on the staff is settled.

The backup C slot continues to be challenging: Del Crandall has been spectacular, but doesn’t offer much defensively. Cam Carreón was demoted, but Peaches Graham and Rick Ferrell remain in the mix with Crnadall behind Josh Gibson.

Pedro Feliz, Max Carey, and Ralph Kiner were all sent down as well. That still leaves 1B and the OF overcrowded, and the Grays’ obsession with Rennie Stennett needs to probably come to an end. Owen Wilson and Davey Johnson–both essentially guaranteed roster spots due to their performance last year–are struggling mightily while Ed Kranepool, Rey Sánchez, and Jeff Kent are all tearing the cover off the ball.

Final Cuts

Needing to thin out the competition for the backup C role, Peaches Graham is the first to head down to the minors, followed by Rennie Stennett and Jack Wilson as the Grays tried to figure out their infield.

Cliff Lee‘s demotion to AAA was Homestead’s first step towards clarifying their staff for opening day. But that was as far as they got in the drive to cut to 30, as Del Crandall‘s Spring performance sent Rick Ferrell down, and two players with excellent Springs–Paul Waner and Ed Kranepool–were also sent down to receive steady ABs at AAA.

Babe Adams and the impressive teenager Catfish Hunter were both sent to the minors along with Jeff Kent, who had an excellent Spring but at 37 is not part of the Grays’ plans.

Earl Hamilton was the final cut from the pitching staff, leaving the Grays with a nasty set of choices. In the end, it came down to prized prospect Napolean Lajoie, incumbent 2B Davey Johnson, of OF sub extraordinaire Owen Wilson. The Grays, in a move met with much skepticism, decided to hand the 2B position to Lajoie, sending Johnson to AAA.

Overall

With a .500 record predicted before the season, the Grays’ season is a bit of a disappointment: nobody could have seen the amount of talent they have on the mound performing so poorly.

This is a team building for 2, maybe 3 or 4, years down the road, so there a ton of unanswered questions that bear watching.

What Went Right

If you had Mike Epstein and Rick Reichardt on your bingo card for best players on the Grays before the season started, you’re a savant. But they were easily the best hitters over the course of the season (Epstein finished with an OPS just shy of .950; Reichardt just over .900).

Two players–OFs Andy Van Slyke and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson–were basically as good as those two in about a half season of work each.

Josh Gibson declared himself a superstar of the future, with an OPS of .833 as a 20 year old catcher. Davey Johnson was solid at 2B.

Rennie Stennett showed enough in 20 games to earn a look next year.

Willie Stargell has a ton of power.

Francisco Liriano was a good starter for most of the season, and Bob Friend was even better, but only put in 88 innings. Earl Hamilton was decent enough to warrant another look.

Josh Lindblom responded to losing the closer job excellently, earning it back and cementing his role for next season. Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti surprised, pitching quite well in limited opportunities.

ALL STAR SELECTIONS
1B Mike Epstein; C Josh Gibson

What Went Wrong

The left side of the infield was a bit of a mess: Honus Wagner has all the talent in the world, and the Grays seem committed to him at SS long term, but he neither hit nor adapted to the position very well. And everyone else given a chance (other than Stennett) struggled mightily: Chris Sabo, Frank Taveras, Jack Wilson, Jeff Kent, and Pedro Feliz.

Roberto Clemente and Andrew McCutcheon were … fine. But the Grays really need one of them–if not both–to take a major step forward.

Willie Stargell only has a ton of power, and struck out nearly 200 times.

Nobody else that was given a chance to join the rotation was any good (Billy Pierce, Corey Kluber, Hal Carlson), and most were quite bad (Carlos Zambrano, Ray Brown, Cliff Lee, Babe Adams, John Candelaria).

Michael Jackson imploded entirely in the second half of the year.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Phil Garner to San Francisco for IF Steve Hertz & 2nd Round Pick {Judy Johnson}

Given Garner’s age, getting anything for him seems fine.

July

P Vean Gregg & 5th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Travis Bowyer, OF Mike Shannon & 4th Round Pick {Pink Hawley}

I mean … it’s weird for a team this desperate for pitching to trade away pitching.

IF Arky Vaughan & 3rd Round Pick to Cleveland for IF Nap Lajoie, P Arodys Vizcaíno & 1st Round Pick {Ralph Kiner}

An absolute win. Moving Vaughan clears the way for Wagner, the Grays hope Lajoie can move to 2B over time, plus the potential of Kiner.

Looking Forward

SP

So. Much. Need. Only Ray Brown looks to be around long term, and he needs to get much better. There are useful pieces here, and Cliff Lee has a very live arm, but this is the most pressing need for the Grays organization.

RP

Some talent in the minors, with Daniel Hudson and Mychal Givens standing out especially.

C

Josh Gibson has superstar written all over him.

1B

How much do you believe in Mike Epstein? Willie Stargell will see some time here as well.

2B

The Grays are hoping that Nap Lajoie can hold this down long term.

3B

Very unsure. Chris Sabo and Freddie Lindstrom are in the minors, but this looks to be pretty vacant.

SS

There is a lot of pressure on Honus Wagner to succeed at shortstop: he clearly has the athletic skill to make the transition.

LF

How much do you believe in Rick Reichardt?

CF

Andrew McCutchen and Max Carey each have shown some tools, but this could be an upgrade spot for the Grays.

RF

Roberto Clemente seems to have this locked down, but there are voices in the organization that think Paul Waner could unseat him.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With the 4th overall pick, the Grays took the highest ceiling pitcher available, Clayton Kershaw.

Their 2nd pick in the 1st round was a bit of a surprise, and may answer the question of how much do you believe in Rick Reichardt as the Grays took franchise player Ralph Kiner. Kiner will play LF, but is probably 2-3 years away from the majors, giving the organization time to sort out its OF. I would expect the rest of their draft to focus more on needs–pitching, pitching, pitching and perhaps a 3B.

In the 2nd Round, that began with Tim Lincecum and continued with franchise pick 3B Judy Johnson, who should only accelerate Wagner’s move to SS. Homestead had no picks in the 3rd round, but 2 in the 4th. The first of those went to 3B Howard Johnson. That should give them some pieces to work with at 3B, so look for Homestead to load up on pitching for most of the rest of the draft, beginning with their last pick of the 4th round, Pink Hawley.

Rounds 5-8

Pitchers beware, Homestead is coming for you: Ed Seward is the Grays’ final exemption, followed by Johnny Morrison and Ping Gardner.

Rounds 9-12

P Nip Winters, OF Dave Hoskins; P Gary Lucas; and IF Liover Peguero.

The Grays continue to try to figure out their middle infield of the future, recalling Rennie Stennett from AA and Nap Lajoie–their prize acquisition from the final trading period–from AAA, sending Bill Mazeroski and Jack Wilson back down.

Chief Wilson had 4 hits–2 doubles and a triple–leading the Grays to a 5-4 win over Kansas City. John Candelaria improved to 3-1 with a solid start and Josh Lindblom picked up his 13th save.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Johnny Cueto had one of his best starts of the year–7 innings, 3 hits, and only 1 run–but the ABC’s needed a pinch-hit, walkoff double from Hal Morris to win the game after a very rough outing from Clay Carroll let Baltimore back into the contest.

#New York Black Yankees

Ron Guidry‘s return from the DL pushes AJ Burnett back to AAA, although probably only until rosters expand next week.

Guidry’s return was triumphant: 6 innings of 1 run ball in a blowout, 17-2 win over Philadelphia. Eric Davis, Babe Ruth, and Albert Belle each had 3 hits and Lou Gehrig drove in 5 runs. Belle and Mickey Mantle went deep in the romp which, most importantly of all, moved the Black Yankees into a tie for first place in the Effa Manley Division.

In a rain-shortened game, Waite Hoyt improved to 10-6 on the year with a 7-inning, 2-hit shutout as the Black Yankees topped the Stars 3-0.

Ruth hit 2 homeruns–his league-leading 40th and 41st of the year–as the Black Yankees continued their run, beating Philadelphia 5-3 behind a good start from Jamie Moyer and another save from Aroldis Chapman.

#Philadelphia Stars

3 hits from Willie Davis and another 3 from George Hendrick (who added 4 RBIs) weren’t enough, as the Stars fell to the Black Yankees 8-5. The game might have thrown Philadelphia’s rotation into a bit of chaos as starter Jaret Wright was injured, forcing both Don Carman (who gave up 3 runs in a single inning to take the loss) and Pete Alexander into relief duty.

Wright will miss the rest of the season, heading to the DL with a torn meniscus. Robin Roberts was recalled from AAA for the Stars.