Looking Good is southpaw
Warren Spahn. Surely this player will be a top pick in
the off season's draft.The pool this year has some large gaps by position. This scouting report will give our overall scores to the ammy's. The scores are found based on a measurement of most ratings with actuals and potentials taken into account. The scores are position specific, so a 1b score doesn't relate to that of another fielder. So, a player rated higher at this time, may not be a better long term prospect. This report is purposely general, but could be used to get a good overview of a player.
C Strongest gruoup by depth and breadth
1. Roy Campenella 154.5 One of the top players in the pool. Strong hitter and fielder. Early 1st
2. Ted Simmons 150.4 A bit less offense than Campy, but still strong. Good defensive skills. 1st Round
3. Wes Westrum 141.2 Good power, but contact not great. Strong arm and sound defensive skills. 2nd round
4. Shem Lollar 139.4 Cannon for an arm, but doesn't have pop in bat. Will develop in time. 3rd Round
5. Sammy White 135.6 Adequate defensive skills, but may not have the offense to be in bigs. After 4th
6. Ed Bailey 133.4 Needs seasoning. Will have adequate skills to play in time. 4th
7. Del Crandell 131.0 Good offensive skills. Defense and AS not as good as others. Worth a risk. Early 3rd
8. Andy Katt 126.6 Moderate skills in most areas. A big league career may not be beckoning. 5th
9. Smokey Burgess 125.4 Fills a slot only. 5th
1b All players look to go early in the draft.
1. Vic Wertz Score 127.1 Has good power potential (74) and should be a fine hitter.
2. Leon Durham Score 120.0 Big power, but has some contact issues. Worth a risk late 1st early 2nd.
3. Lee May 119.2 Similar to Durham, but has more power. Very slow runner.
4. Kent Hrbek 117.1 Might be the best longterm player of the bunch with strong/balnced offensive capabilities.
2b Not a very strong crop this year
1. Jim Gilliam 137.0 Contact hitter with good speed and adequately plays his position. 2nd round.
2. Danny O'Connell 130.1 Similar to Gilliam, but more power. Gilliam has more SP and CH. Late 2nd to 3rd.
3b Good Depth but Moderate talent in this group
1. Ray Jablonski 136.0 Cannon for an arm and good defensive player. Adequate offensive skills. Late 2nd
2. Tim Wallach 124.1 Big hitter with a mean swing. Needs seasoning in fielding. His PH may make him go in 1st.
3. Randy Jackson 124.1 Good all around skills and has speed. Modest offense, but will be a player. 2nd/3rd
4. Tim Teufel 117.9 Slick glove and adequate all around skills. after 3rd.
5. Willie Jones 117.6 Makes good contact, but doesn't field very well. Strong arm. after 3rd
6. Luis Salazaar 116.7 Good contact and speed. Is learing the position. after 3rd
7. Frank Torre 113.8 Another spray hitter. Solid defense and sound play. after 4th
8. Bubba Phillips 109.5 Another spray hitter. Still learning the position. After 4th
9. Andy Carey 107.6 A project. Needs seasoning in field. May develop into decent player. After 4th
SS Very talented Group
1. Robin Yout 172.0 Can do it all and well. Can't miss. Early 1st
2. Gil McDougald 160.1 Slick fielder who makes contact at the plate. Solid prospect. Late 1st
3. Alvin Dark 159.6 Needs some seasoning. Very good skills, solid prospect. 1st
4. Tom Veryzer 155.0 Strong arm and glove. Has adequate offensive skills to play. 2nd
5. Rafael Ramirez 149.7 Good all around skills, but lacks power. Good prospect. 3rd
6. Ivan Dejesus 146.2 Strong arm and major league glove. Lacks power, but has good skills. 2nd
7. Mike Gallego 144.6 Average offensive skills, but has good defensive ability. Late 2nd Early 3rd
8. Mike Specht 140.5 Puts ball into play. AS is adequate. late 3rd
9. Billy Klaus 133.2 Adequate skills but clearly behind the group in many areas. 4th or later
LF Some good depth and breadth here.
1. Frank Robinson 143.0 Potential superstar. Already can hit big league pitching. Can't miss. Early 1st
2. Rupert Jones 134.2 Has problem with lefties, but has good skills. Very fast. Good bat. Late 1st
3. Jim Landis 123.7 Good all around player with all areas slightly above average. late 2nd
4. Lonnie Smith 117.3 Needs to develop defense. Good speed with an eye for the ball. 2nd
5. Jim Rivera 112.1 Average offensive skills and not fully ready. late 3rd/4th
6. Jay Johnstone 111.6 Great eye for the ball, but lacks big swing. Barely adequate defensively. 3rd/4th
7. Sergio Ferrer 91.1 Not likley to be a major league impact player. 5th
CF Some strong players
1. Andre Dawson 149.4 Cannon for an arm and an explosive swing. Major power here. 1st
2. Richie Ashburn 139.3 Great eye for the plate, and very mature. Good speed. 1st
3. Bobby McDowell 135.1 Speed covers for lack of OF experience. Adequate offense 2nd
4. Juan Samuel 134.7 Great speed and hard swing. Needs to mature on and off field. Worth a late 1st.
6. Paul Householder 115.2 Big drop off from others. Good arm and decent power, but nohting superior. 4th
7. Mark Funderburk 107.4 Very shaky defense, but has some offensive pluses. Maybe a DH. 4th
RF Weak section of the outfield this year
1. Larry Herndon 139.7 Very speedy and has strong arm and defensive skills. Makes adequate contact. 2nd
2. Tom Brunansky 121.3 Poor bat control and fielding ability which may be adequate with time. Big power. 3rd/4th
Starting Pitchers Pitchers
1. Warren Spahn 162.6 Great movement and has potential to be really very special. Early 1st
2. Don Newcombe 143.3 Workhorse that will throw and throw. Good FB and Movment. 1st
3. Johnny Sain 140.8 Low AS but great command and movement. Throws a dirty ball. 1st
4. Dick Donovan 139.7 Another finesse pitcher who relies on command and movement. late 1st
5. Billy Pierce 133.6 Power pitcher with good AS and FB. Strong prospect. late 1st
6. Art Fowler 130.6 Crafty pitcher. Good ratings on three pitches. 2nd
7. Bart Miadach 128.5 Good AS, but command and control is not the best. Worth a 2nd round pick.
8. Brooks Lawrence 128.1 Adequate AS and command, movement and control. Could be effective starter. 2nd
9. Derrick Turnbow 127.9 Strong arm and respectable command. Needs more development. 2nd
10. Carl Erskine 126.4 Adequate AS. Nasty slider and good curveball. Needs time. late 1st/2nd
11. Sal Maglie 125.8 Good all around pitcher. Will be a solid starter. 1st
12. Bob Turley 125.1 Great AS. Lacks control, but may improve. Big thrower. late 1st
13. Bobby Shantz 124.7 Strong arm and good command of three pitches. Worth a pick in 2nd for sure.
14. Willard Nixon 124.2 Respectable ratings and AS. Control and movement need work. late 2nd
15. Bob Grim 123.6 Nasty biting curveball. Adequate AS and FB. 2nd
16. Murray Dixon 124.2 Can throw all day. Four solid pitches. 2nd
17. Harvey Haddix 122.4 Very strong arm, and three good pitches. Good prospect. 2nd
18. Lindy McDaniel 120.3 Strong prospect. Three good pitches, and may be made into a reliever. 1st/2nd
19. Johnny Antonelli 119.9 Crafty pitcher with good movement. Worth a shot in 2nd.
20. Lew Burdette 119.6 Low AS but good command and movement. Another good prospect. late 2nd.
21. Saul Rogovin 119.4 Good movement and command. Nothing spectacular, but solid overall. Late 2nd/3rd
22. Jack Sanford 119.4 Good CB and respectable FB and SI. Ball hangs on occastion, but worthwhile 2nd/3rd.
23. Don Bessant 118.5 Respectable pitches with adequate command and AS. 3rd
24. Tom Sturdivant 116.8 Respectable pitches, and adequate AS. 3rd
25. Bob Keega 115.4 Devastating sinker. A real dirty ball that is impressive. Average AS. late 1st/2nd
26. Hal Jeffcoat 114.5 Adequate AS and FB. CB can be big, but does hang it up on occasion. 3rd
27. Willard Schmidt 112.8 His EN will give him long outings, but command, AS and CO are only adequate. 4th
28. Ramon Ortiz 108.8 Strong FB and AS make him interesting. Needs to develop other pitches. 3rd/4th
29. Tom Pohlasky 102.8 Off speed with high EN but sometimes his movement is lacking. Adequate starters. 4th
Relief Pitcher
1. Kerry Ligtenberg 128.3 Strong Arm and a mean cut fastball. Need relief, he's solid. late 1st/2nd
2. Dick Farrell 120.4 Pure heat. Big fastball and biting sinker. Good prospect 1st/2nd
3. Al Worthington 116.7 Big Fastball with pop. Good looking closer type. 2nd
4. Tom Brewer 115.2 Adequate command and AS. 3rd/4th
5. Hersh Freeman 110.4 Strong closer in late innings. Respectable command. Good Sinker. 3rd
6. Ed Roebuck 110.3 Middle reliever. Adequate command and movement. 4th
7. Clem Labine 101.4 Good Hard fastball and tough in clutch. 2nd
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Draft Order
The pitching is so deep this year that clubs will probably opt for position players rather than loading up on arms. Here are the projected top 10 picks.
1. Cleveland Indians With the top pick the Tribe can go many ways. Lot of young players already, but with strong prospects at catcher, and Kaline and Bonds have the corners secured in the OF. Probably best pick is SS Robin Yount.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates Team has so many holes to fill. Probably best to start behind the plate. C Roy Campanella.
3. Detroit Tigers A very weak OF makes CF Andre Dawson a nice fit for Tigers.
4. Philadelphia Phillies If any of top three make it past, Philly may grab them. Local boy CF Richie Ashburn would be a nice player, but if he's around club should go with P Warren Spahn.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers Yount is likely to be gone, and since 3b is a hole, a natural move might be picking SS Alvin Dark and moving DeCinces back to his natural position.
6. Baltimore Orioles Overall weak in so many areas, particularly at the bat. No 1b prospect in this organization which is why the nod has to go to 1b Vic Wertz.
7. Atlanta Braves If one of the top three outfielders are around the team should grab them. If not LF Rupert Jones may be bumped up, but P Don Newcombe is a more likely prospect.
8. Seattle via Cincy No Brainer here for Seattle. Team has a stacked OF and with such pitching depth C Ted Simmons has to be the choice.
9. Texas Rangers Team needs a solid SS as they haven't had one since Guzman slipped through hands. SS Gil McDougald will fill that slot nicely.
10. Seattle Mariners Mariners may grab another bat. Probably a 1b prospect. 1b Leon Durham.
Los Angeles RF Jack Clark is off and running. Hitting .295 with 14 homers and 41 RBI's the long developing prospect, though short by LA's timeframe is turning into a featured hitter in his debut season. Buc's 1b Jack Elliot is hitting a torrid .340 in spot play. Todd Benzinger filled in well for Jimmie Foxx, hitting .265 in 123 at bats while "The Beast" was on the DL. Clark's rookie counterpart, 2b Frankie Frisch has fallen from an average of .280 to .245, but still is playing a solid infield. Unheralded LF Gerald Williams is playing well enough for Cat's Rockies hitting .262 with 9 HR's while roaming the vast ranges of Coor's Field. Texas' rookies Mike Ivie and Tommy Hutton are proving less than a dynamic duo as the two platoon at 1b, but CF Mookie Wilson (275 4 HR 19 RBI, 17 SB) is showing slick fielding, timely hitting and blinding speed at CF. Chris Richard has 11 homeruns and is hitting .237 for the Brewers. Meanwhile Al Kaline's Cleveland debut has been modest, hitting .245 with nine homers. Putting up similar numbers is Boston's Dave Winfield (.246 9 HRs 42 RBI's). Seattle's Dennis Martinez is getting the ball now as a starter, despite an inconsistent season that has seen him be a starter a reliever as well as throwing very good and very badly. Someone who is thowing well is Milwaukee's Billy Chapel, 4-5 3.78 in 73 innings. Dennis Eckersly threw so well from the pen, that he was promoted to the rotation and is producing, 3-0 3.52 in 54 innings pitched. However, none can hold a candle to Boston's starter and closer, Tony Armas Jr. and Tom Bruno. Armas is 9-3 with an ERA of 2.73. While Bruno has an ERA of 1.03 in 35 innings as a member of the tough Red Sox pen. Over to the NL, two teamates, Al Downing and Tom Wadell are throwing well enough from the pen. Another reliever showing good potential is Philadelphia's Rolando Arrojo, add to that mix, LA's Jeff Fassero and the NL has some nice looking mid range pitchers. Two Rockies Starters are putting up innings for the Cat, Highly touted Henry Wiggen has been fair 2-4 4.70 in 73 innings pitched, but junk man supreme, Eddie Harris has been better than advertised, 4-3 3.89 in 62 innings.