An excerpt from the personal diary of Brooklyn Whales’ scout Malcolm Franklin.
June 18, 1906
Heading into the draft, Skip [ed note: Whales’ GM/Manager Marques Williams] had made clear his wishes. Top-to-bottom throughout the organization, he wanted to emphasize players with strong fundamentals with the glove and to be opportunistic with any pitchers with projectable upside that fell in the draft for one reason or another.
We had followed a similar philosophy in constructing the Jersey City team—to much success, with the JC squad numbering among the league’s best despite being the second youngest group of players competing—so, I had a good sense of what he was looking for with our picks when I went about creating our rankings of potential picks.
Pick 16: CF John Morris, R/R
From the outset of our scouting process, the raw athleticism of the long lean center fielder from our nation’s capital stood out to our scouting department. Long and lean, Morris impressed at every turn with his raw speed and his feel to hit. We felt confident projecting his glove to stick in center. With plus range and a plus arm, we felt his presence roaming the outfield would be immensely beneficial for the development of our young pitchers who could throw confidently knowing any mistakes were likely to be erased by Morris. Our scouts noted some concentration related errors during their time monitoring Morris, but we figured we could clean those up with instruction.
For a player with his defensive talents, we were very excited by his bat. We had him at plus contact ability, good power to the gaps, good power, and a demonstrated ability to choke up and put the ball in play when behind in the count. We also observed him manufacturing offense time and time again with his ability to lay down a bunt and his speed putting pressure on opposing defenses. At the plate, his profile was one with no major holes.
As an organization used to picking last, we knew we had to be flexible in our approach on draft day. However, Morris was the last player on our list of 12 players with a first round grade (the OOTP Scouting Association had him #8 in their rankings). So, choosing him when our turn came was an easy decision.
Other Players Targeted: SP Justin Little (RCH), SS/CF Eino Major (STLB), 2B Marty Harris (PHI)
Other Players Considered: CF Frank Armitage (CHD)
Pick 27: SP Tyler Cary, R/R
In the second round of the draft, we were in an unusual position for us. We were not picking last. We had shipped off our initial second round pick to Philadelphia for Junius Brembridge, a rangy outfielder that Skip had successfully used throughout the season against left handed pitching. But, when [ed. note: former Whales 3B John] Keyte got on Skip’s bad side for handling [new acquisition Leander] Witheycombe’s signing poorly, we ended up with a higher-than-usual pick in the second and third rounds thanks to the St. Louis Reds’ need for a third baseman and Skip’s temper.
We were not huge fans of the pitchers in this class. In fact, we only had three with draftable grades: [Oran] Mance, [Justin] Little and Cary. Mance and Little were gone to Boston and Richmond, respectively, by our pick at 16. But, we were hopeful that Cary’s unimpressive velocity and lack of any overwhelming offerings would cause him to fall. At 6’1” and 167 lbs., we were confident projecting that the very young righty [17 years old and 7 months on draft day] would be able to add some speed to his varied 5-pitch offering in time and would benefit from the extra time that his youth would afford him in our player development program.
In our time scouting Cary, we observed plus control and plus plus movement on each of his pitches. When you find a guy that has pitches that are hard to square up, and that he can place wherever he wants, you get excited.
We are hopeful that, if his plus sinker continues to develop, he will induce more than his fair share of ground balls. So, we were glad that he fell to us in the draft knowing he probably would not have made it to us at 32. He was the number 16 draft eligible player in our rankings.
Other Players Targeted: CF Frank Armitage (CHD), 3B Clare Spalding (NYB)
Other Players Considered: CF Godfrey Gray (PHI), 2B Shelby Bett (STLB)
Pick 43: SS Leander Ragborne, R/R
Ragborne was a pick primarily out of organizational need than any thought that he could make it to the majors one day. There are certain traits of his that we like: he has a high motor, a decent batting eye and a great glove. But, as of today, it looks like the kid won’t ever hit. Maybe he figures it out eventually, but it’s not something we are counting on.
Charles Taylor has been having a great year in Jersey City. He has been doing impressive enough work with his bat, all the while absolutely dazzling with his glove at SS. Skip had already started talking to [2B Ignatius] Strawson, [SS Clovis] Juby and Witheycombe about shifting around the infield to get Taylor’s glove into the lineup. So, we knew he was going to be in the majors at some point soon. His promotion would leave [Jersey City Chicks’ SS George] Shore as the only capable shortstop in the minors. With the coming addition of a team in the lower minors, we knew we needed to grab some extra shortstops in the draft.
Ragborne’s glove should be able to handle the demands of the position capably. He will be a reliable defender for Cary and the other pitchers on the lower minors team next year, which should allow them to pitch with confidence. With some of our other middle infield targets off the board, he was a clear choice for us at 47.
Other Players Targeted: 3B Vern Chennells (BOS), SS Luciano Anderson (CHD)
Other Players Considered: P/OF Luther Bowering (RCH)
Pick 64: CF/P Earl Clark, R/R
We had considered taking CF Godfrey Gray at Pick 27 because we only had [Jersey City Chicks’ CF Elroy] Soame and first round pick Morris as guys that could capably play centerfield in the minors. I think part of the reason that Skip felt comfortable taking the pitcher in the second was that we knew we could probably get Clark later.
Clark declared himself for the draft as a pitcher. But, through sheer luck, our scouts had seen him snagging fly balls on a practice field prior to a game. So, we were pretty confident that he had the range and ball tracking abilities to play a pretty good centerfield in the minors.
Clark could make it as a pitcher. He has an easy, over-the-top delivery and good movement on his pitches. But, his control is average-to-fringey and he’s already older than most of the draft eligible players [19 years old on draft day], which means he’s more physically mature with less projection to add speed to his offerings and will have less time in our player development program. More likely, he will fill a niche role as a 4th outfielder that can mop-up games to save more established arms.
As a center fielder, he’s got plus range and a plus-plus arm—owing to his pitching background. At the plate, he has a decent eye, an OK ability to make contact, and does a pretty good job of getting a bunt down. Hopefully our coaches can squeeze a little more out of him. But, if not, he will still fill a vital role on our minor league depth charts as a capable two-way player with a plus glove.
Other Players Targeted: C Nick DiGiovine (STLB)
Other Players Considered: C Jesse Camps (BOS), CF Horace Young (RCH)
Pick 80: SS Moses Richardson, S/R
With the last pick in the draft, you cannot be picky. But, we were nevertheless happy to grab Richardson at 80. A young, switch hitter with a capable glove, he will backup Ragborne in the lower minors and likely rotate in at second base.
The bad news is that Richardson currently cannot–and is not projected to be able to–hit at all. But, his eye is OK and his personality doesn’t have any red flags. So, maybe the coaching staff can get some more out of him. He was young for the class [17 years and 8 months old on draft day], so he will get some extra time to develop.
For now, he will fill a crucial support role for the other prospects that come through the lower minors and act as insurance in case of an injury to Ragborne.
Other Players Targeted: C Jesse Camps (BOS), CF Horace Young (RCH)