[AZTarHeel]

1918 North Carolina State League — Preseason

NCSL Developmental League gets a facelift
Introducing the Western Carolina League: Rural North Carolina gets some teams!

The biggest change with the North Carolina State League heading into 1918 centered on the Developmental League. For the first time, the “junior” teams no longer would be located in the same city as their parent clubs. Instead, they would have their own league, based in rural communities in the western and northwestern parts of the Tar Heel State. Welcome the Western Carolina League!

There was a big debate about where to place the new-look D-League. Some suggested the creation of a Capital Area League, with teams filling up the small towns and cities around the capital city of Raleigh. Of course, the Capitals were all for that, and Durham didn’t mind. But no one else really bought into it.

Business leaders from the Eastern part of the state -- towns like Rocky Mount, Wilson and Greenville -- suggested placing the D-League in their neck of the woods since at this point and time there are no professional baseball clubs east of Raleigh. But this idea didn’t get much support from NCSL leaders either.

Eventually, it was settled that it would be best to put the junior teams in a rather compact geographic area in the western part of the state, keeping them close to each other and relatively close to a majority of the parent clubs they would support.

A number of towns submitted proposals and the following were selected to host Western Carolina League teams for 1918: Cooleemee, Hickory, Lexington, Mooresville, Mount Airy and Statesville. If you look a modern map, they’re all pretty much located in the Interstate 40/Interstate 77 corridors close to one another, with Mount Airy being the one team a bit far away from the rest. More on these teams and their towns in the next post.


The 1918 Player Draft
The Greensboro Patriots once again used the No. 1 overall pick to grab a potential star pitcher. Their bullpen should be loaded even if half of their No. 1s don’t develop as hoped. This year’s top pick is Howard Miller from California. He's a 6-0 right-hander, age 23. "Nice stuff for a young kid," scouts have said. "But he's still a little inconsistent."

The Durham Bulls are hoping hurler Mark Smith -- a much-taller right-hander at 6-foot-5 -- will help lift their franchise back into contention after a dip in 1917. Smith was the second overall pick.

Arturo Martinez moved from Alaska to North Carolina to play baseball. The switch-hitting left fielder was the first position player picked, going to Raleigh at No. 4. Catcher Cal Wilson, age 18, was born in Greensboro but the Patriots didn’t pick him in the first round. Winston-Salem did. Let’s see how he turns out, and whether he ends up playing in his hometown during his career.


Top 10 Prospects
Some new faces on this list going into the season, as compiled by the fine folks at Baseball Carolina. I have a hunch Tim Johnston will get the call-up for good this season in Charlotte.

Prospects not among the recent draftees have their 1917 stats listed in parenthesis

1) SP Dan “Little Rat” Sutton, 21, Raleigh Capitals (9-4, 2.05 with Raleigh Junior Capitals)
2) SP Tim Johnston, 22, Charlotte Hornets (14-7, 1.11 ERA with Junior Hornets; 0-2, 3.86 ERA with Charlotte big club)
3) C Cal Wilson, 18, Winston-Salem Twins
4) SS Kent Harrington, 19, Greensboro Patriots -- Pats’ second round pick
5) LF Arturo Martínez, 21, Raleigh Capitals
6) 1B Henry “Boom Boom” Butler, 24, Winston-Salem Twins (.305 in 298 AB’s for W-S big club)
7) MR Jimbo Martin, 19, Charlotte Hornets (6-10, 3.61 ERA for Charlotte Junior Hornets)
8) SP Howard Miller, 23, Greensboro Patriots
9) SP Eric Mason, 20, Greensboro Patriots (12-7, 2.49 for Greensboro Junior Hornets)
10) SP Phillip Moreno, 20, Durham Bulls (5-11, 3.78 for Durham and Greensboro junior teams)


Top 10 Position Players
Winston-Salem has the top two position players, according to the Baseball Carolina pundits. Angel Pellicer is widely considered the best player in the short history of the NCSL. What, no Greensboro players on this list?

1. RF Angel Pellicer, 29, Winston-Salem Twins
2. SS Carlos Rodriguez, 39, Winston-Salem Twins
3. 3B Jose Perez, 30, Asheville Tourists
4. LF Alfredo Perez, 27, Asheville Tourists
5. C Marvin Young, 28, Charlotte Hornets
6. 2B Anthony Watson, 39, Durham Bulls
7. 1B Jorge Ledesma, 36, Durham Bulls
8. LF Antonio Arevalo, 29, Charlotte Hornets (1915 Outstanding Hitter traded from the Bulls in off-season - wow!)
9. RF Bill Robbins, 33, Raleigh Capitals
10. 2B Arnie Montgomery, 35, Charlotte Hornets


Top 10 Pitchers
The biggest name not on this list is Asheville ace Merlin “The Wizard” McNeill. His career apparently has been on the decline since last year’s no-hitter in April.

1. Jose Andres, 29, Greensboro Patriots (born in Hickory, has already played for three NCSL teams)
2. Norm Ross, 31, Durham Bulls (part of the trade that sent Arevalo to Winston-Salem)
3. Andy Owens, 31, Raleigh Capitals
4. Chris Wilson, 28, Asheville Tourists
5. Chris Lloyd, 32, Asheville Tourists
6. Jack Fry, 21, Winston-Salem Twins
7. Bill Bergeron, 31, Raleigh Capitals
8. Jerry Parker, 31, Winston-Salem Twins (No. 1 pick from very first draft traded to Raleigh in off-season)
9. Oliver “Skull” Jenkins, 38, Raleigh Capitals (he’s still got something left in the tank!)
10. Gary “Brick” Lee, 33, Winston-Salem Twins (no love for the reigning Outstanding Pitcher?)


AzTarHeel’s Prediction for 1918
To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. This year, I don’t see anyone beating the man. Charlotte stays on top of the heap, though I’ll go out on a limb and say Greensboro joins them in the playoffs. Yes, Greensboro. And every other team fires its manager, disgusted at letting the lowly Pats pass them by in the standings.