Overall

Indianapolis has to be pretty happy with the season, which included their first postseason appearance, some major hardware, and the clear emergence of a young nucleus to build around.

Two names jump out above all others: CF Oscar Charleston and P Luis Padrón. Padrón, at 22, was the dominant pitcher in the league and Charleston, at 21, moved into the elite category of WBL outfielders.

It’s a team that needs a few more pieces in place and, as importantly, needs a bounce back year from Johnny Bench and a healthy year from Joe Morgan. But if that happens, and if the preferred 6 man rotation finally clicks, the ABC’s could easily make another postseason run.

What Went Right

We’ll start on the mound, with Luis Padrón‘s Brock Rutherford Award winning season. Padrón went 23-3 with a 3.22 ERA and a miniscule 1.04 WHIP in a dominant year. Nothing is less predictable than young pitching, but Padrón sure looks like a long-term ace for the ABC’s.

Johnny Cueto wasn’t as good as Padrón, but was quite effective over his 35 starts.

Mike LaCoss was very impressive in a late season opportunity. And … that’s about it on the mound.

Oscar Charleston slashed 337/381/619, with 38 homeruns, 130 RBIs, and 101 runs scored, adding 46 steals for good measure. He played in 152 games, collected 207 hits, and even led the WBL with 14 triples (for even more good measure).

Joe Morgan was the ABC’s sparkplug until a late season injury ended his hopes of showing up in the playoffs. Morgan hit even better than Charleston, slashing 306/425/612 in 104 games, and the prospect of the two of them being healthy for a full season is mouth-watering.

Joey Votto and George Foster exceeded expectations, combining for 74 homeruns and 167 RBIs, with Foster showing more pure power but Votto a more rounded overall offensive game.

Johnny Bench fell off from the heights of last season, but still led the team with 46 homeruns, driving in 116. He’s still an elite backstop, and is just coming into his prime at 25.

Chris Sabo was surprisingly effective at 3B after coming over via trade, posting an .854 OPS.

Bob Bescher can’t hit much, but he sure can run, stealing 80 bases while posting a .355 OBP.

The ABC’s had a quartet of late season call ups that were quite impressive at the plate, with Hal Morris, Emil Frisk, Ed Swartwood, and Ross Youngs all showing well in limited appearances.

ALL STARS

Oscar Charleston
Luis Padrón

MAJOR AWARDS

Oscar Charleston, All NL Team; NL CF Silver Slugger
Luis Padrón, All NL Team; NL Brock Rutherford Award
Joey Votto, NL 1B Gold Glove

RECOGNITIONS

Oscar Charleston, NL Mel Trench Award 2nd Place; NL All Rounder 3rd Place; NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team; NL 21 & Under Team
Adam Dunn, NL All Rookie Team
George Foster, NL All Rookie Team
Dave Henderson, NL Over 30 Team
Mike LaCoss, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Joe Morgan, All NL 2nd Team; NL 24 & Under Team
Edward Nolan, NL 21 & Under Team
Luis Padrón, NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team
Eppa Rixey, NL Over 30 Team
Chris Sabo, NL All Rookie Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Oscar Charleston, MVP
Luis Padrón, Pitcher of the Year
Joe Morgan, Heart & Soul
Oscar Charleston, Fan Favorite

Brad Radke, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Ed Swartwood, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

On the mound, the biggest thing that went wrong was thorough mediocrity: Eppa Rixey, Doc White, Sad Sam Jones, and Willie Mitchell were all very meh across a combined 52 starts.

Rube Foster and The Only Nolan, however, were downright bad (Nolan’s year was cut short due to injury, and at 20, he certainly can bounce back).

The back end of the bullpen was among the worst in the league, with Rob Dibble struggling mightily despite his 24 saves and Rob Murphy just plain struggling. Still, both arms are live enough that they’ll be back.

In the field, Dave Henderson wasted 170 PAs to the tune of a .543 OPS before heading to the minors.

After Morgan was hurt, neither Denis Menke nor Tommy Helms did much at all. Helms was slightly better, but still posted only a .699 OPS.

SS remains highly unsettled: as much as the ABC’s would like to see Barry Larkin take over, he’s yet to show that he can really handle WBL pitching.

Robin Ventura was given another shot at the WBL and once again failed miserably, with a sub .500 OPS over 20 games.

Lew Ritter, Larry Pratt, and Mike Redmond were all awful as Bench’s backup.

Transactions

March

IF Davey Concepción & 3rd Round Pick to NYG for P Sad Sam Jones & 4th Round Pick.

Feels pretty meaningless, although perhaps Concepción will turn into the SS the ABC’s are missing.

July

4th Round Pick to HOM for IF Chris Sabo.

Sure, this worked out decently enough.

August

OF Jake Stenzel to CAG for P Joe Lake.

Stenzel was performing well, but was pretty blocked with Indianapolis, while Lake profiles as a decent back of rotation option, so this seems fine.

Positional Overview

C

Johnny Bench has this locked up, but his backup spot is up for grabs. Veteran Mike Redmond is probably the best defensive option, but he, Bo Díaz, Patsy Gharrity, and Christian Vázquez will be given a look.

1B

Joey Votto has made this his own, and with Adam Dunn also being able to play here, probably thoroughly blocks Sean Casey, Patsy Gharrity, and Hal Morris from seeing time in the WBL with the ABC’s.

2B

Joe Morgan is expected to be fully healthy by Spring Training, but the backup infield spot is pretty wide open, given Denis Menke and Tommy Helms‘ struggles this season.

There’s not a lot of options in the system–young Donie Bush can play here, but is better suited for SS, and veteran Craig Counsell could help out in a pinch.

SS

Barry Larkin will be given every chance to succeed here, with Donie Bush the most likely alternative, although the defensive wizardry of Pokey Reese may also be attractive.

3B

A bit unsettled, as while Chris Sabo will go into the Spring as the starter, the ABC’s would really love to see Robin Ventura finally deliver on his promise. Bob Aspromonte and Oliver Marcell have great potential here, but are probably a year or 2 away at this point.

LF/RF

George Foster is set, but there will be some competition at the other spot. Bob Bescher is a useful spark plug, but Ross Youngs, Ed Swartwood, and Edd Roush may offer enough offensively to displace him.

Leroy Stanton and Pete Rose lurk in the high minors as well.

CF

With Oscar Charleston around, there is some talent here that is blocked. Roush and Foster can play here, and the defensive skill of Jim Eisenreich has some attraction as well.

DH

Adam Dunn has the inside track here, but could be pushed by any number of the OF or 1B contenders.

SP

The front 2 of the rotation are obvious in Padrón and Johnny Cueto–indeed, the ABC’s are likely to go with less of a 6 man rotation and more of a 4 starters taking irregular turns between Padrón and Cueto.

Look for Rube Foster, Willie Mitchell, Joe Lake, Mike LaCoss, Eppa Rixey, Doc White, and The Only Nolan to be the primary contenders to fill out the rotation.

Jim Maloney has turned some scouts’ heads, but needs to transition from the bullpen to the rotation–at only 20, he still can. But probably the highest ceiling starting prospect remains Tom Glavine, who may see the high minors this year.

RP

Jack Billingham had a good year. Nobody else did, but the same crew–Clay Carroll, Rob Murphy, and Rob Dibble–are likely to be trotted out once more.

Jeff Robinson and Norm Charlton are knocking on the door if they falter (again).

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

Not a lot of capital here to work with.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Bobby Grich had started his time with Birmingham in an 0-17 slump, but hit an early homerun and a late double in a 9-7 win over the ABC’s. Jim Pagliaroni was the hero, as his walk off grand slam in the 13th, his 36th dinger of the year, was the difference.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Tug McGraw and Casey Stengel were recalled from their rehab assignments.

Thanks to a game shortened by rain to 5 innings, Toad Ramsey got credit for his 3rd shutout and 7th complete game of the season, allowing 1 hit to Kansas City on a 1-0 win for Houston.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Indianapolis recalled pitchers Eddie Watt and Paul Derringer from AAA, along with position players Dan Driessen, Dave Henderson, Ross Youngs, Ed Swartwood, and Hal Morris.

Luis Padrón won his league-leading 18th game, carrying a 3 hit shutout into the 9th inning. He tired rapidly, and eventually needed help from the bullpen in the 7-3 win over Birmingham, but still fanned 11 batters in the effort.

Johnny Bench hit 2 out, including a 3 run shot in the top of the 13th, but it wasn’t enough as the ABC’s fell to Birmingham, 9-7.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Where has this been all year? Luke Hamlin needed help at the end, but still combined with Craig Kimbrel on a 2 hit shutout as the Monarchs topped the Gothams, 4-0.

Dale Murphy‘s 25th homer of the year helped support (another) great effort from A. Rube Foster as the Monarchs topped Houston, 2-1. Foster reached double-digits in wins, improving his record to 10-5.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David hit 7 homeruns, 3 by Mark McGwire, in a 9-2 win over Birmingham. As importantly, it was another solid outing from Jack Taylor, who may have emerged from the horrors of the first half of his season. McGwire now has 14 homers in about 100 PA’s, arguing for a WBL role despite struggling to move his average over .200.

Pete Browning was recalled from his latest rehab assignment, along with Tony Conigliaro, Billy Williams, and Billy Herman. Pitchers Scott Downs, Kerry Wood, and Frank Sullivan also joined the big league club.

We’ve been waiting for a long time for someone, anyone, in the WBL to hit 4 homeruns in a game. What we didn’t expect was that a rookie would do it, let alone in his first game. But that’s what Tony Conigliaro did: 3 homeruns, followed by being hit by a pitch, followed by a 9th inning shot for his 4th of the day. Mark McGwire hit 2, and between the 2 of them, Conigliaro and McGwire drove in 9 runs in the 11-9 win over Philadelphia.

Ernie Banks had 5 hits and 2 homeruns in a 13 inning, 11-10 victory over Philadelphia and then Banks did it again, with another 2 homers in an extra-inning affair, this one a 15 inning marathon win over the Stars by a score of 5-3. Banks now has 50 homeruns on the season.