[JetsIn06]

The 1948 Portland Rosebuds

We open the season against the champs in Philadelphia, with our $26M man Seth White on the mound.

He goes 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up 5 ER on 5 hits. Not quite the start we were looking for.

And it doesn't get a ton better, either. White starts his time with us with a 5.76 ERA through 12 starts. His K% is down a bit, and his BB% is up quite a bit. We're 18-39 when we get to the draft, worst in the league.

In better news, this draft seems very deep. There's honestly too many options to go through to come up with a board. San Francisco chooses CF Jose Ventura, who's not bad, but not one of the guys I would have taken. Brooklyn then takes SP Chris Hoppe, who looks really good and definitely would have been in the running for my pick if he was there. CF Ben Brady is next to Baltimore, and he's another guy who probably would not have been on my list.

And that brings things to our pick. We have some great choices.

3B Nick Cimino, a high-school RHB looks really good, with 7-grade contact and power. There's definitely some risk he moves off 3B which isn't ideal, and he's got zero speed.

SS Johnny Frank is another high-school bat, but a LHB. He's not got quite the hit profile that Cimino has, with 6-grade contact and power, but he has a extremely advanced approach at the plate, with an 8-grade eye. He likely moves off SS to 3B.

CF John Madore likely becomes a solid corner OF, but the bat is great, with grades of 7 in contact and power along with a 6 eye. He also has speed to go with it. CF Fernando Borrero is another option, who trades some power for eye, but will certainly stay in CF.

On the pitching side, high-school RHP SP Bobby Taddia has three great pitches, with 6's across the board in stuff, movement, and control.

Two college arms, RHP SP Will Hickman and LHP SP Chris Hurd round out my shortlist; Hickman looks like an all-around solid option, while Hurd is the more risky pick. He's got elite stuff, but the lack of command gives him some reliever risk that I'm not sure I'm comfortable with at #4.

This is a very, very hard decision, but I think OF John Madore has the highest potential to become a superstar with the power/speed combination he provides. We make him our pick at #4.

Our second round pick is gone after signing White, so SP Chris Hopkins, a high-school LHP out of Alabama is our pick in the third round. He's got great stuff and control, but will likely need to develop his changeup to really hit his potential.

After the draft, our guy Madore becomes the #3 prospect in the league.

In July, we make a trade, moving a young outfielder in AAA who is actually decent, but listed as a "selfish" attitude, for a reliever who could potentially start, RP Craig Thompson, and an 18-year-old relief prospect named Gabe Hanley.

SP Seth White really turned things around in the second half, with a 2.36 ERA in June, a 2.19 ERA in July, and a stunning 0.39 ERA through four starts in August. Unfortunately, he missed time with a sore elbow in August and we shut him down for the rest of the year to avoid any further injury.

We finish 57-105, one game better than last year, but we're NOT the worst team in the league, so between not losing some allowances for that plus carrying over one of each, we might actually have some flexibility this off-season.

In the Columbia League, the Chicago Packers have unseated the Philadelphia Brewers, but the Philadelphia Patriots of the Federal League have reigned supreme once again. The World Series goes seven games again, and Philadelphia wins, defending their championship. This is their fifth World Series win in the last six years.