[Big Six]

1905 Miscellania

The Skaneateles Mohawks won the AAA championship, sweeping the LeRoy Jellos in the playoff round. the Mohawks also swept the two most coveted league awards. 3B Tony Pugh (.311-14-83, 44 2B) was named the league's Outstanding Hitter, with RHP Paul Morse (19-5, 2.65, 165 K) winning the Outstanding Pitcher prize. Pugh, 22, is considered a better prospect than Morse, 23.

The Baldwinsville Ducks were clearly the class of the AA circuit, going 80-40 during the regular season and beating the Caledonia Scots, 3 games to 1, in the playoffs. 1B Jorge Garcia, 22, was only with the Ducks until late July, when Oswego traded him to Corning. In only 99 games at AA, Garcia hit .370, slugged .603, belted 18 homers, drove in 77 runs, and walked 62 times. That was good enough for an Outstanding Hitter Award. Baldwinsville RHP Jose Navarro (14-4, 2.28, 100 K) won the AA Outstanding Pitcher Award.

All three Batavia minor league affiliates made the playoffs, and the Avon Bards gave the organization a championship when they won the Class A playoffs over the Moravia Missionaries, 3 games to 0. Palmyra LF Joe Carter (.357-5-50, .952 OPS in 79 games) won the league's Outstanding Hitter Award; he was promoted to Class AA, where he hit .330 with Pittsford. Moravia's Luis Rojas (17-7, 1.84, 1.02 WHIP) took home the league's Outstanding Pitcher prize. Both Carter and Rojas were veterans in their mid-twenties, and neither is considered a prospect.

The following ten players are, however, considered prospects. They're Baseball America's top ten players of promise, with their ages on Opening Day, 1906.

Position Players
1. Greg Carruthers, SS, Oswego, age 20.
2. Jack Davis, C, Canandaigua, age 24.
3. Roger Bowers, SS, Corning, age 23.
4. Kokei Suzuki, SS, Ithaca, age 20.
5. Brian Stevenson, 1B, Geneva, age 23.

Carruthers, Davis, and Suzuki you've met already. Bowers was drafted out of St. John Fisher College by the Glassmakers with the #3 pick last June. He's got a sweet lefty stroke with some pop, runs well, and fields adequately. Stevenson hit 23 homers, splitting the season between Geneva and AAA Seneca Falls.

Pitchers
1. Gene Stephens, RHP, Canandaigua, age 20.
2. Dusty Johnson, RHP, Ithaca, age 22.
3. Enrique Medina, RHP, Geneva, age 23.
4. Frank Vance, RHP, Geneva, age 19.
5. Chris Ervin, RHP, Oswego, age 20.

You've heard of DJ already. Stephens won nine games for the Cats after a May call-up; he's got a great arm but his control is spotty. Medina's stuff is even better, and his control is sharper, so I think his upside is greater than Stephens' is. Vance, a Penn Yan Academy product, was the Green Sox' #1 pick in June. He'll refine his skills at Class A Newark again in '06. Ervin won 9 games, posted a 3.07 ERA, and struck out 170 men in 196 innings for AAA Fulton. He's probably good enough for the Foxes rotation already.

Collegiate Champion: Canisius (defeated Syracuse in playoffs, 3-2)
Outstanding Hitter: Stanley Martin, Keuka
Outstanding Pitcher: Jorge Perez, Canisius

High School Champion: Christian Brothers Academy (defeated Fairport High School)
Outstanding Hitter: Jorge Gonzales, Victor High School
Outstanding Pitcher: Fernando Diaz, Christian Brothers Academy