Quote:
Originally Posted by ifspuds
Hey Big Six, could you give me a bit of background on the Portland squad? Do we have any hopes of climbing the PCL standings?
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Sure, Jeff. I'd be happy to do that.
It's hard to blame the Beavers' pitching staff for the team's performance in 1922. Although they struggled with their control, walking the most batters in all of MLB, they managed to keep their opponents off the scoreboard fairly well. The Beavs allowed 5.1 runs per game, in a season when the average team gave up 5.3.
Southpaw
Kurt Donovan posted a fine 17-11 record, but he allowed 321 hits in 274 innings and walked 129 batters, while striking out only 65. Veteran
Emilio Romano and rookie
Earl Whitehill were, by far, Portland's most effective pitchers. Romano's record (9-13) should have been better, given his 3.28 ERA. Whitehill, on whom the Beavs used the #9 overall pick in June, came straight to the Show and pitched well (10-7, 3.38 in 18 starts). Romano and Whitehill were the only Beavers pitchers to strike out more betters than they walked.
The Beavers offense was, in a word, horrible. Only the dreadful Padres were less productive; the Beavers' team OPS of .714 was forty points below the league average.
CF
Robert Wallace (.321/.426/.429) had a very good year; he smacked 39 doubles and two homers, drove in a team-high 90 runs, and walked 102 times. 2B
Henry Warren (.305-3-61, 32 2B, 18 3B, 92 R) and C
Henry Harris (.297-3-68) were also solid, and Harris is only 23 years old. 1B
Victor Morales led the team with 11 homers and has some value.
The Beavers could have some help on the way from their Minneapolis Millers affiliate (64-66 record in 1922). The Millers' best pitcher was
Paul Davis (15-10, 2.80, 231 K in 228 IP). At age 26, Davis isn't much of a prospect anymore, but it's hard to see how he couldn't have helped the Beavers some. The Millers lineup is full of guys in their late 20s and early 30s who couldn't make the Beavers.
Portland will have a good position in next June's draft, so they can take a big step forward if they use their pick wisely. They need to do some rebuilding, and there are several very good teams in the Pacific Division that they'll need to pass on their way to the top.