All-Stars

Players selected to 4 or more All-Star Teams:

CJ Heiserman (6) (all as NL P)
Rick Florie (6) (all as AL RF)
Tom Joseph (6) (three as NL 2B, three as NL CF)

Angel Chavez (5) (all as NL P)
Bill Hall (5) (all as NL 1B)
Clay Burke (5) (all as AL SS)
Ernest Truman (5) (all as NL C)
Rodrigo Julio (5) (all as NL P)
Willis McNamara (5) (all as AL C)

Anthony Rehfield (4) (two as AL LF, one as AL CF, one as NL LF)
Davey Montanez (4) (three as NL P, one as AL P)
Dwayne Grace (4) (three as AL CF, one as NL CF)
Ed Tanner (4) (all as AL 3B)
Fred Chase (4) (all as NL P)
Hal Leskanic (4) (all as NL LF)
Ichiro Chang (4) (three as AL P, one as NL P)
Luis Cordero (4) (all as NL RF)
Omar Bennett (4) (all as NL RF)
Randy Lincoln (4) (all as AL P)
Skip Sikorski (4) (all as NL P)

AL North preview

Season five was a disappointment for the Toronto franchise that had, up until then, owned the division. They slipped back to second place but still had a strong enough season to make the playoffs. With the club under performing tmf was in no mood to take a wait and see approach. Feeling like this was more regression the a off year for the club he started dealing. First they dealt slugger Kid Holtz and his 4.5 mil salary. Soon after Trent Jackson's 5.4 mil followed. Then the waiting game that netted them Benjamin Liniak for a modest 4.5 mil one year deal with the hopes of proving he still can produce at an All Star level. With some hungry younger guys making the bigs out of camp it is obvious that the idea is to make a transition to younger guys. Toronto still gets a lot of power out of their line up lead by former MVP Ed Tanner. The pitching is still top notch, and this team could easily steal the division. While a slow start out the box has Toronto at 1-6 the feeling is they will make a run at some point. The only question is will it be to late? Predictions: Second place; Wild card playoff birth.

New York has been able to make a steady climb from the worst record in all of Cooperstown in season one to the best record in all of Cooperstown in season six. The team made some bold off-season moves which may come back to haunt them in the long run. After losing two of their starting pitchers (Kim and Ortiz combined for 34 wins) they took their savings and traded for Little Rocks two biggest stars, Rick Florie (30) and up and coming SS Jordan Stoops. The deal cost them super DH Copper Ruffin, who promises to be one of the best hitters for seasons to come. The win now approach continued with signing of SP Walter Simmons. Simmons is an under rated .500 pitcher with Milwaukee. New York will have a hard time improving on their 1032 win campaign but should approach the century mark again this season. A strong top of the rotation should win a ton of games with the powerful line up that New York has. The third and fourth starters are a question which might force NY to hurry SP prospect Benito Bonilla a season early Predictions; First place. This is a young and cheap team. They should be able to stay together for many seasons.

Cleveland has been mired in sub .500 seasons since the inception of Cooperstown but feel they have a decent shot of over coming that obstacle this year. Last season dmurphy was able to bringing talent across the board, acquiring DH Johnny Beiser, RF Wilfredo Rosado and set up man Eric Roberts, Adding to that this off-season he brought in aging closer Davey Montanez (37) for a three year 27 mil contract. A risky move but this does show dmurphy willingness to roll the dice in an effort to win games. Stud in the making Alex Hernandez comes back looking to improve on his career best season to anchor the staff. This kid has future Cy Young written all over him.
While the team is still a little light in the hitting department, they do have some strong arms. The pen is one of the more solid aspects of a team that is young and still growing.
Predictions; Third place, no playoffs. Until this team can show the 5-1 start is not just a good couple of games or that Toronto has fallen they will remain a third place team

After a second straight last place finish Augusta picked up and left for north of the border. Say hello to the Ottawa Octopus. Ottawa did some house cleaning by letting go of a couple older players such as strong man Ramon Masato (signed by New Orleans) who hit 57 four baggers last year. They did however bring in a group of 30 somethings that tells us they are no going into a rebuilding mode. They were all one or two year deals, which tells me their is a youth movement on the horizon. Still with these moves it was a mild surprise to see the winter meetings come and go with out and trades being made. The choice to grow the team from with in is often a good one albeit a slower process. Even with the loss of Masato the team looks to have pop up and down the line up. The team should hit some and surprise a few people but the pitching is a little behind the bats. The biggest down fall will be a lack of defense. The North is developing into a tough division and Ottawa will need to show something to get out of the basement.

Career Marks

With five seasons in the bag and a brief look at team records I would like to turn your attention towards some personal records. Players have been struting their stuff through out Cooperstown but some stand out more then others. First off the bats.
Batting avg.....Bill Hall .374
Hits..................Roosevelt Richardson 1006
Home Runs.....Ed Tanner 283
OBP.................Anthony Rehfield .469
Slug %..............Bill Hall .744
OPS .................Bill Hall 1.204
RBI...................Terry Perez 798
Runs.................Livian Cordero 655
Stolen bases.....Willian Davis 244
Walks................Anthony Rehfield 600

Meanwhile the pitcher stats are dominated by only a handful of guys. Most of them are older but it looks as if their career numbers will stand on their own for a long time

Games...............Ben Wickman 427
Quality Starts...CJ Heiserman 157
Wins...................CJ Heiserman 109
Losses................Emil Sosa 75
Complete game. David Ramirez 51
Innings...............David Rameriz 1524.3
# of pitches........David Ramirez 21,811
Shutouts.............CJ Heiserman 15
Saves..................Fred Chase 189
ERA....................Angel Chavez .206
BA Allowed........Angel Chavez 2.17
Strikeouts..........CJ Heiserman 1,225
K's per 9.............Angel Chavez 8.18
Walks..................Sammy Perez 516
K's per BB...........Jimmy Durham 4.28

Franchise snapshots

Hey
I was looking to add something to the blog since it seemed neglected for such a long time. I was hoping the start of the new season would stir some people to contribute. I will periodically put something up but the hope is to get some help. I decided to start by taking a snap shot of all the franchises and comparing them to each other. Before people start complaining they have not been around the whole five seasons I would like to point out this is a franchise snap shot and not a look at the individuals. Maybe after this upcoming season when I update this I will add each owners personal winning percentage. Below is a list of all the teams in Copperstown and where they rank through five completed season based on winning percentage. I decided to stick with the basics and listed only wins and loses followed by winning percentage. Feel fee to let me know of any mistakes I made or if you have any suggestions.

1. Boston 493-317 .609

2. Durham 484-326 .598

3. San Diego 483-327 .596

4. Toronto 477-333 .588

5. Lil Rock 466-344 .575

6. Pittsburgh 456-354 .563

7. NY (NL) 455-355 .562

8 Louisville 453-357 .559

9. Trenton 449-362 .554

10. Detroit 448-389 .553

11. Charleston 432-378 .533

12. Portland 421-389 .520

13. Kansas City 419-391 .517

14. Norfolk 418-392 .516

15. Las Vegas 415-395 .512

16. San Jose 408-402 .504

17. Pawtucket 399-411 .493

18. New Orleans 397-413 .490

19. Scottsdale 392-418 .484

20. NY (AL) 390-420 .481

21. Monterrey 387-423 .478

22. Sioux Falls 382-428 .472

23. Vancouver 381-429 .470

24. Nashville 377-433 .465

25. Mexico City 377-433 .465

26. Milwaukee 375-435 .463

27. Columbus 354-456 .437

28. Ottawa 342-468 .422

29. Clevland 322-488 .396

30. St Louis 321-489 .396

31. Seattle 303-507 .374

32. Toledo 282-528 .348

NL Stat Leaders

With 4 games left, here is a quick glance at the races to win each of the statistical categories:

G - 10 tied at 158
AB - Philip Maduro/CLB (658) has this wrapped up with a lead of 13
R - Livan Cordero/COL (137) leads Tom Gray/BOI by 3 and Lariel Pescado/MNT by 4
H - Gray (208) leads Tom Joseph/DUR by 6
2B - Gray and Lawrence Brumbaugh/MIL are tied (43)
3B - Gray and Francis Karros/TRE are tied (11), with Hal Leskanic/SJU 1 back
HR - Bill Hall/COL (53) leads Karros by 1
RBI - Felipe Mota/COL (149) has this wrapped up with a lead of 13
BB - Ernest Truman/DET (105) leads Pescado by 5
SB - Gray (61) has this wrapped up with a lead of 7
AVG - Hall (.391) has this wrapped up with a lead of .045, and would need something like a 9 for 12 finish to hit .400
OBP - Hall (.462) leads Truman by .009
SLG - Hall (.808) has this wrapped up with a lead of .175
OPS - Hall (1.270) has this wrapped up with a lead of .203
Streak - Ronn Faulkner/TRE (33) had the longest hitting streak of the year

AL North Season 1 Draft Report

Since Jason is doing such a nice job with the NL reviews, I volunteered to take the AL. Here is the first installment, the AL North:

Chicago Capones
(College 10, HS 10)

1/13 Felix Lee (19, SP)
A good, not great, player is not ideal for the 13th overall pick, but that is what the Capones got. Lee, a self-described "hick from Georgia" is likeable. Lee has borderline ML-stuff, but is strong and should be able to give the Capones several 8-inning, 5-earned run efforts when he matures. He has good control and keeps the ball down, but doesn't get many strikeouts either. In the right rotation, he could end up a key #3 or #4 guy who eats up 200 innings a year.

4/125 Hong-Jin Hukata (18, SP)
Is Hukata a big-league starter? Opinions differ. For a fourth-round pick, the Capones have to be happy with him. A 6-innings-every-5th-day type, if he can keep his walks down and retire just enough guys, he may see a few big league starts before it is all said and done.

5/157 Dale Ainsworth (22, SP)
Ainsworth just doesn't have big-league stuff, and, at age 22 already, it looks certain that he never will. He will likely top out at AA or maybe High A.

6th rounder Albert Ortiz (20, 3B) is a JuCo gem that the Capones unearthed. Ortiz is solid all around, with all near-70 defensive ratings and some power to go with an above-average eye. Durable and healthy, one can certainly envision him getting 162 starts at third or right field while putting up a .280/20/95 as a seven-hole hitter.

Best Player: Lee

Biggest Reach: Ainsworth

Biggest Bargain: Ortiz

Overall: Lee and Ortiz could both be in Capones unis by S7 and could give them a few good years. On balance, with just the #13 pick and no others until the fourth round, the Capones should be moderately happy with their results.

Cleveland Feather Heads
(College 12, HS 12)

1/28 Don D'Amico (18, C/DH)
D'Amico can rake. Problem is, that's all he can do, and he can't do it that often. Drafted as a C, Cleveland has moved him to DH where he will likely spend his career. It will be an impressive career if he can improve his durability and keep himself in the lineup by the time he matures. D'Amico may have a slight weakness against lefties, but he hits for contact, hits for power, and has an excellent eye. He doesn't have the range to play anywhere but catcher, but his ability to handle pitchers is in doubt. As a DH, he could excel, but most scouts expect he won't be able to handle the transition from a 30-game HS season to a 144-game MILB season, much less 162. He might find a niche as a platoon DH against right-handed pitching, but even 110 games a year might be too much for the young Iowan, coming off a state championship in which he hit for the cycle in the title game, including a walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

2/74 Frank Nakamura (18, C)
Cleveland went catcher again in the second round, and got a legit ML backstop in Nakamura. While he will probably never be an all-star, a long ML career seems likely for the youngster from Farmington Hills, Michigan. Despite his 6-5 frame, he has solid defensive tools, and doesn't have a weakness at the plate. The Feather Heads are trying out Nakamura at both 1B and RF in the Rookie League, which might be a bit of wishful thinking.

3/106 Craig Stone (20, C/DH)
Perhaps the Feather Heads will be trying out some type of revolutionary multi-catcher defense. Because Stone appears to be a mirror image, from a baseball standpoint, of Nakamura. Both players are a little short in the durability department, and Stone hits lefties better while Nakamura hits righties better, so they might make a decent tandem in a few years.

4/138 John Moore (18, 1B/DH)
Moore sold himself pre-draft as a first baseman, but most scouts weren't fooled. Moore is a DH (slow-footed, poor glove, weak arm) but an interesting case nonetheless. He has incredible power and works far more than his share of walks, but is expected to have trouble putting the ball in play on a regular basis. A major-leaguer? Probably. It will likely take him several years to progress through the minor leagues, however.

5/170 Mac Sanders (19, RP)
Sanders probably isn't a major leaguer. His stuff is so-so. His control is iffy. He keeps the ball down with his two best pitches, a sinker and a slider. But he just lacks the durability/stamina combination required in a guy taking up a spot on a 25-man roster. He might be good for 75 innings a year, going 2 or 3 innings in a long relief/setup role every 5th day. He probably can't give 3 innings every 3rd day to even be effective in a six-man tandem.

6th-rounder Kip Monahan (22, 1B/DH) is another good-power, no-contact, no-field DH. However, he is very weak against lefties. 7th-rounder Ernie Larson (22, RF) has a great eye and a good bat, but his glove is a big weakness that could hold him back.

Best Player: D'Amico

Biggest Reach: Moore

Biggest Bargain: Nakamura

Overall: Cleveland got a bunch of offense in this draft. They'll need it if they ever put any of these guys on Jacobs Field with a glove in their hands.

New York Highlanders
(College 14, HS 14)

1/7 Artie James (19, CF)
There is lots to love about James. Fleet-footed, excellent glove, healthy, but most of all, James can crush the ball. The Highlanders will be shocked if he isn't a big-league all-star by Season 8. The only knock on James is his weak arm, but all-in-all, he is the type of guy you want with a top ten pick.

1/26 Wilfredo Rosado (18, 3B)
The $14 million that New York spent on their high school scouting budget paid off with young Wilfredo Rosado. Born and raised in Kodiak, Alaska, Rosado's first trip out of the state was to sunny Florida when reporting to the Highlanders' Rookie League squad. Rosado, a switch-hitter, has a nice bat, with quite a bit of power, and hits left-handed pitching very well. His glove still needs some work, but Rosado projects to be an everyday big leaguer by about Season 6.
New York is trying him out at shortstop, and while he has the arm for it, his range makes him better suited as a third baseman, or possibly a rightfielder.

1/36 Paul Swann (19, 1B)
Another big-hitter, Swann certainly has a big-league career ahead of him. He'll be an average first baseman defensively, or a DH. Great power, very good eye, a little weak against the lefties.

1/47 Zeus Anderson (18, 1B)
Anderson is yet another very good hitter with a ML peak. He has slightly above-average power, but a pretty good eye and will quite possibly be a .300 hitter with a nice OBP.

2/55 Kent McGlinchy (18, SP)
The West Virginian should be a solid, middle-of-the-rotation guy for a ML team in a few years. As a second round pick, he is a nice find. Very good control, great curveball, but a bit weak against lefties.

2/61 Damian Clark (18, RP)
Clark is one of the top relievers of the S1 draft class. He is a rare two-inning closer who will be able to go every other day. His control is adequate and he will give up an occasional bomb, but his wicked screwball is sure to give hitters fits in the late innings.

3/87 Jeromy Nance (20, 3B)
Every scout who saw Nance loved him. He has the defensive skills to play all four corner positions, and could be pressed into action at one of the three middle positions if needed. Meanwhile, he will become a candidate to lead Cooperstown in homeruns by S6. If he can find the right pitching coach to help him learn to hit righties a bit more effectively, he could become the 7th effective major league player in New York's first 7 selections of this draft.

4/119 Clarence Edwards (22, CF)
Edwards could become the 8th. His peak is probably reserve OF, as he can play all three outfield positions but doesn't have quite enough pop in his bat to be an everyday guy.

5/151 Philip Thomas (18, 2B)
Thomas is a speedy second sacker sans slugging skills. He will hit for average and draw a few walks. If he gets a full-time ML gig, he might hit .280 with 30 steals. His range is sick, but his glove is a little weak.

7th-rounder Hiram Walker (18, SS) could sneak onto an ML roster as a utility man/defensive replacement. 9th-round selection Douglas Bailey (18, 3B/COF) hits a tad better than Walker but doesn't have the defensive flexibility, so he may not make the show.

Best Player: James

Biggest Reach: none

Biggest Bargain: Clark

Overall: New York had a pile of early picks, and made the most of it. It wouldn't be shocking to see their four first-rounders in the lineup on Opening Day Season 7, and as many as 11 could end up on baseball-reference.com.

Toronto Express
(College 13, HS 13)

1/19 Scott Allen (18, SS)
Allen is an excellent defensive shortstop with no weaknesses. At the plate, the young righty from California stings left-handed pitching. He doesn't have the contact or power that will wow anyone, but he will fill a seven- or eight-slot in a lineup while providing excellent defense up the middle. A solid choice--probably not in anybody's top 15, but for a middle-to-late first rounder, he is sufficient.

2/67 Ed Martin (18, CF)
A durable, healthy center fielder with an excellent glove, a bit of speed, and hits both lefties and righties well with a good eye sounds like a solid second round pick. That's Ed Martin. His glaring weakness is his lack of power--while he may have a long ML career, he has almost no shot of making it to 100 career homeruns.

3/99 Graham Black (20, 1B/LF)
Black is a switch-hitting 1B/LF, with a good not great bat. He projects to be a major-league hitter, but don't expect to see him fill up a trophy case with awards along the way.

4/131 Bill Sanders (20, RP)
Bill Sanders could become a big-league setup guy. Just not a good one.

5/163 Adam Jefferies (19, SS)
Jefferies is a defensive stud. He could make a big league roster that has room for a light-hitting utility guy.

8th-round pick Torey Arias (21, 1B/LF) is pretty good defensively for the positions he's limited to, and could put up a passable ML OBP while stealing a few bases if he earns the chance.

Best Player: Allen

Biggest Reach: Sanders

Biggest Bargain: Martin

Overall: The Express didn't come up with any future All-Stars, but did pick up a couple guys who could help them out in Canada in a few years.

NL East Season 1 Draft Report

NEW YORK GOTHAMITES (College 7/High School 8)

Top Picks

Rnd 3, #110

DARIO KIM (18, RP) – Kim possesses an ML quality fastball and is an outstanding fielder, but that alone isn’t enough to compensate for control deficiencies and the lack of a major league skill set.

Rnd 4, #142

DARIN PERRY (18, SP) – If Perry works hard and squeezes every last drop out of his talent, he’ll be a steady back-of-the-rotation presence for the AA club.

Rnd 5, #174

CODY MILLIARD (18, SS) – an all-or-nothing slugger with mediocre intangibles and some serious holes in his bat, Milliard will nonetheless put up some solid minor league numbers. He projects as a borderline ML RF or 3B.

Notable: 6^th round SS Armando Rodriguez will eventually be a defensive stalwart for the AAA club… The players selected were, on the whole, a durable and healthy bunch of subpar athletes.

Best Player: Milliard

Biggest Reach: Perry

Best Bargain: Milliard

Overall: With free agency snatching up their first two picks and an extremely thrifty scouting budget, the Gothamites’ S1 draft doesn’t look to have produced an ML player.

PITTSBURGH POMERANIANS (College 14/High School 14)

Top Picks

Rnd 1, #16 (unsigned)

A.J. HILL (22, SP) – one of the oldest available first-round graded arms, Hill has yet to commit to being a Pomeranian.

Rnd 1, #40

JOAQUIN DURAN (22, C) – another 22-year old, Duran – a catcher destined for a career as a DH – slipped past a number of AL clubs, inexplicably landing in Pittsburgh’s lap at #40. A solid middle-of-the-order masher with a superb batting eye, Duran’s pure hitting prowess puts him in the class with earlier picks like Steenstra, Trunk and Romero.

Rnd 2, #64

MATTY CUMMINGS (19, SS) – A strong defensive presence who may project to third in the majors, Cummings will make limited impact with his bat but can draw walks and hurt you on the basepaths. He will be a decidedly unsexy but steady day-in-day-out presence.

Rnd 2, #76

CLINTON GREY (21, SP) – A surprising pick in the second stanza, Grey will probably never advance beyond AA ball. An inning-eater with solid control and a good changeup, Grey’s stuff just doesn’t translate well. Case in point: His fastball has been nicknamed “the slug” by opposing batters.

Notable: 3^rd round SP Ramon Ueno and 4^th rounder Alex Clark look to be career minor leaguers, as well… 5^th round RF Rusty Stoops signed for a pricey $3.6 million, but may spend his career as a AAA masher… The Pomeranians took some gambles in the later rounds, but ended up wholly unimpressed with the results: they have yet to sign a single player taken after the 5^th round.

Best Player: Duran

Biggest Reach: Grey

Best Bargain: Duran

Overall: Pittsburgh started out like gangbusters, snatching up Duran and Cummings after they tumbled. The following three pitchers have to be considered disappointments, though, especially considering the resources put into Pittsburgh’s scouting. If Hill signs, the draft will have produced the kind of talent you should see with two 1s and twos 2s. If not, then the failure to secure any useful players in the last twenty rounds of the draft will sting all the more.

ST LOUIS SAINT IFFS (College 6/High School 6)

Top Picks

Rnd 1, #9

JAMES WHITEHILL (18, 2B) – Whitehill has to represent one of the great blunders of the post-ranking draft process. A hotheaded Napoleon type, Whitehill has a keen batting eye and good-to-great speed, but his biceps look like Marvin Trunk’s wrists and his throwing ability is so poor he is projected as a 1B. Whitehill will eventually make the bigs (at $3.25 million, he better), but will probably never be more than a pinch-running utility player.

Rnd 4, #121

EDGAR CHAVEZ (18, 2B) – A poor man’s James Whitehill, if you can believe it. Another burner, with solid range but poor glove work and throwing accuracy, Chavez has a bit more pop than Whitehill but is lost against right-handed pitching.

Rnd 5, #153

BRIAN BONG (20, SP) – No matter where he pitches, this Bong will get hit a lot.

Notable: 6^th round SP Monte Flair has the look of an overachiever that could sneak onto an ML roster, though probably not St Louis’ stacked pitching staff… 11^th round Danny Helton has already been released.

Best Player: Whitehill

Biggest Reach: Whitehill

Best Bargain: Flair

Overall: For the moment, St Louis is the class of Cooperstown, but the club GM had a real chance to silence critics who claim the outlandish contracts and pathetic scouting were mortgaging the franchise’s future. The 9^th pick could have been an exceptional player. Instead, it is James Whitehill.

TRENTON THUNDER (College 14/High School 14)

Top Picks

Rnd 1, #6

CHARLES ROMERO (18, 1B) – a 6-5, 200 pound terror with a fiery temper and an explosive bat, Romero is about as close to a sure thing as you can ask for. Romero mashes lefties and righties evenly, is terrifying enough to draw solid walk totals, and projects to be an absolutely devastating cleanup hitter.

Rnd 2, #54

BRADEN BENARD (18, SS) – Trenton took a gamble when they selected Benard – it was well-reported he was going to fulfill his mother’s desire to see him go to college. The price it would take to break his mother’s heart: $8 million. Trenton hasn’t bitten, despite outrageous Intl prices and Benard’s solid all-around play. An exceptionally patient batter with enough speed and power to make his presence felt in the 6^th or 7^th slot, Benard would probably have to switch positions in the pros.

Rnd 3, #86

FOOTSIE MACDOUGAL (19, 2B) – Another slap-hitting burner, MacDougal isn’t going to turn any heads with his defense or bat, but he lays a mean bunt, has enough speed to preoccupy a pitcher and hasn’t missed a game in his ballplaying career.

Rnd 4, #118

DAVEY WILFREDO (19, SP) – Wilfredo could be a good AAA pitcher or an average spot starter for an ML club. He induces groundballs by the bushel with a plus sinker and solid slider, but his control is suspect and his track record spotty.

Notable: 5^th round SP Al Hayes may not make an ML impression, but is a solid minor league arm… 6^th round SS Pat Maurer is another solid all-around borderline ML type.

Best Player: Romero

Biggest Reach: MacDougal

Best Bargain: Wilfredo

Overall: Romero alone makes any draft class worthy, but Trenton managed to secure some solid talent in the later rounds and, if nothing else, amplified their minor league talent level. If they find the $$ for Benard and pry him away from a higher education, then they have to be happy with the hitters they procured.