Delmon Young Projections

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

2009 was a tremendously difficult season for Delmon Young, on the field and off. Young left the team in June as his mother was losing her battle with cancer. When he left, he was hitting .300. His mother passed away, and when he came back, Young really struggled, striking out more than every other at bat. He ended up finding more time on the bench. But then in September, he was back in the lineup every day and really contributed mightily to the Twins push to the playoffs.

During the offseason, it has been over-chronicled that Young lost almost 30 pounds. He looks great, and is healthy. More important, teammates talk about how he is a much better teammate, much more relaxed. The biggest thing I take from it is his prolonged dedication. That illustrates a strong commitment. He can go out and play and know that he has done everything he could to put himself in a good situation.

Of course, we don’t know what he will do when the real games start. His spring training batting average isn’t real strong, but he does have several extra base hits. His defense was never his strong suit, but he is not as bad as many people think. As for what happens after the 2010 season, it will certainly be interesting. If he has another year similar to his past two with the Twins, the team may choose not to offer him arbitration because he would likely get a raise to over $4 million. If he has the type of year that we all hope he is capable of, well, then his arbitration number could be closer to $8-9 million. If he gets off to a slow start, could he be platooning by midseason? I mean, Jim Thome does need at bats, and Jason Kubel can play left field. Depending upon all of that, will the Twins trade him and bring up Ben Revere at league minimum in 2011? These are the tough decisions that will have to be made… after the season… not now.

For now, how about we do a group projection for Delmon Young’s 2010 season. Will it be disappointing again, or will he take a large step forward? Below, you will find his 2009 statistics, followed by my projections for Delmon Young’s 2010 season.

2009 Stats –

.284/.308/.425, with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 12 home runs, 60 RBI and 2 SB.

Seth’s 2010 Projection –

.309/.344/.471 with 33 doubles, 5 triples, 21 home runs, 82 RBI and 18 SB.

What do you think? What are your Delmon Young 2010 Projections? Leave projections and comments here.

Ramos to AAA, Neshek Makes Team!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

 

Twins fans and bloggers have probably spent way too many words this spring on the backup catching situation, myself included. I’m as high on Wilson Ramos as anyone. In the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook, I ranked him behind only Aaron Hicks in my Top 40 prospect list. But Ron Gardenhire this morning had to tell Ramos that he would be starting the season in Rochester. Thankfully Bill Smith made the right decision here, as much as I would like to see Ramos get an opportunity with the Twins. It really was the easy choice. Fortunately, Ramos did everything he could to make the choice more difficult. Simply put, Ramos needs to play. 

But Twins fans and bloggers should be spending a LOT more time talking about one of the best stories in baseball this spring, the return of Pat Neshek. After being out since May of 2008, Neshek proved himself strong this spring and earned a spot on the Twins opening day roster! It’s a testament to all of the hard work that he has put in to make it happen. So, congratulations to him.

 

Any thoughts? Leave comments here.

Joe Mauer Projections

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

A year ago at this time, Twins fans were a little concerned about the health of Joe Mauer. We were not certain if and when he would play again. Well, he came back on May 1, and in his first at bat, he hit an opposite field home run. In the next at bat, he doubled. He pretty much hit the rest of the year. He became the first player in nearly three decades to lead the league in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587). He was an All Star for the third time, won his third batting title, third silver slugger award, second gold glove award and his first American League MVP award (including 27 of 28 first-place boats).

This spring, the Twins have not had Mauer play terribly much, but he will (hopefully) be ready to play a full season. Today, I am looking to each and every one of you who reads this to post your projections for Joe Mauer for the 2010 season. Here are his 2009 stats, followed by my prediction.

2009 Stats –

.365/.444/.587, with 30 doubles, 1 triple, 28 home runs, 96 RBI and 4 SB.

Seth’s 2010 Projection –

.321/.404/.517 with 41 doubles, 0 triples, 24 home runs, 104 RBI and 2 SB.

What do you think? What are your Joe Mauer 2010 Projections? Leave projections and comments here.

Can Ramos Make This Roster?

My StarTribune TwinsCentric blog entry for Tuesday talks about How Wilson Ramos can make the Twins roster, in my opinion. I personally think that he needs to play at least half of the time to justify his roster spot. But the stream of consciousness blog format shows the affects of getting Ramos the playing time. It’s not as simple as you might think. I’d love to hear you thoughts on the blog itself, and also welcome other questions in the Comments section.

MINOR LEAGUERS RELEASED

This is always a tough time for some of the Twins minor leaguers. Roster decisions will be made within the next week as the minor league seasons start on April 8^th. Having followed the Twins minor league system so closely, it is always important to remember that not every prospect is going to make it to the big leagues. In the last couple of days, that dream was taken away from a few players. Some of them have given a lot of time to the Twins organization and deserve one last recognition. Here are players released by the Twins in recent days:

• Jason Jones, Mark McLemore, Rene Leveret, Jonathan Waltenbury, Thomas Wright, Kyle Carr, Paul-Michael Klingsberg, Nick Freitas, Brian Bistagne, Matt Gaski.
• The only real surprise for me is Kyle Carr, who put up solid strikeout numbers when he was healthy. Rene Leveret was also a slight surprise as well.

SPEAKING OF PROSPECTS

I will bring back to Prospect Watch in 2010. Many have already voted, and I hope to get more. As I have in the past, I ask your participation in determining which Twins prospects will be shown. Starting right now, and continuing through Wednesday night at midnight, I will take your votes for which SIX TWINS PROSPECTS you would like to see on the left of this screen. As I have in the past, the six receiving the most votes will have their stats updated throughout the season here to help you keep an eye on what they’re doing. To vote for your six Twins prospects, e-mail me your picks.

Tonight on… The Show

I spent two hours in the studio and on the air this afternoon with Phil Mackey on am1500 the Sports Talk Station. That was a great time. Hopefully it will be available via podcast, and if so I will be sure to link to it. We were joined for a couple of segments by Darren “Doogie” Wolfson. We talked about a lot of Twins topics, the final roster decisions, stats versus scouting and the AL Central. Doogie even dissected the NCAA Tournament. Remember, you can hear Phil Mackey along with Patrick Reusse weekdays from noon to 2 on am1500.

At 9:00 central time tonight, I will be hosting the regularly scheduled episode of The Show. That’s right, The Show will be on Sunday night’s at 9:00 central time throughout the season, potentially with a couple of extra shows trickling in as well. Tonight, we will be joined by Twins relief pitcher Pat Neshek who appears to have a very good shot at coming north with the Twins and staying after there was some question about that earlier in camp. It will be good to catch up with the Twins relief pitcher, and you know I have to ask him about his Butler basketball team, and how much trash talk will be done in the Twins locker room this week, particularly between he and TwinsBaseball.com writer Kelly Thesier, a Michigan State alum. The remainder of The Show will be talk about our Minnesota Twins. I’ll be joined by Travis Aune, and we will discuss the final pieces in the Twins puzzle. We will also discuss some minor league topics. Most important, we want to encourage you to participate in the chat room and ask questions. You can all call in to the Around the Horn Hotline at 877-967-9244. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention The Show’s terrific producer, TJ De Santis.

To Listen to Tonight’s episode of The Show, go to SethSpeaks.net (links to be available approximately 8:30).

Observations from Target Field

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

A couple of quick notes:

• On Sunday after the Twins game (approximately 3:30 CST), I will be in studio with Phil Mackey at am1500. Plenty to talk about as it relates to the Twins, I’m sure! If you’re able to listen the radio, great. If not, you can Listen Live online.
• Then on Sunday night at 9:00, I will host The Show. Guests will be announced, but Pat Neshek (congratulations to Butler and their Final Four trip!) has confirmed that he will be on The Show!

• Also, if you have 2 minutes, please read the best review for Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook that I have read yet. Thanks to High Heels on the Field!

My brother and I went to Target Field this morning. The Minnesota Gophers were taking on Louisiana Tech in the first game played in Target Field’s history. Here are some of my thoughts and observations from the day:

• Because it was announced that they would cut off attendance at 25,000 fans, and because my brother had not yet walked around the stadium and I just wanted to again, we wanted to get their earlier. Actually a friend was planning on being there by 7:30 to get tickets right away at 8:00. I wasn’t willing to get up that early, but she was kind enough to pick up a couple of extra tickets for us.
• Anyway, we got to the stadium about 10:45. We proceeded to walk around the entire stadium. We walked and sat in every section of the stadium. We spent time in the club level, noticing all of the pictures, the Kirby Puckett and Rod Carew atriums, and more.
• We went up to the Budweiser party deck. We went into Hrbek’s, and walked through Townball Tavern, which is a great historical review of amateur baseball in Minnesota and its history. There are a lot of great old pictures.
• 

  8 foot Dave Winfield Bobblehead

  Before the game started, we each got a Jumbo Hot Dog, a Schweigert hot dog, of course. So much was made of the Twins and Hormel not reaching a hot dog agreement, and the Twins signing on with Schweigert. Interestingly, at old Metropolitan Stadium, they sold Schweigert hot dogs.

• We sat down to each down the third base line. We watched infield practice. Twins president Dave St. Peter was presented a Gophers jersey by coach John Anderson and Athletic Director Joel Maturi. Following the national anthem, former Gopher and Twins player Terry Steinbach threw out the ceremonial first pitch, twice.
• I watched the entire game, but I can’t tell you much of who did what and such. I didn’t know too many of the names of players and really was just enjoying watching baseball from various sections.
• After an inning down the left field foul line, we went out to the left field, lower level bleachers. They are actually bleacher seats which is very cool. Although you can’t see the huge scoreboard from this section, I noticed that on the right field wall scoreboard, they can run replays in some sort of technology that was very impressive to me!
• I decided to use the facilities and my brother stayed in the bleachers. In the few times I was in various restrooms throughout the day, I heard one complaint and it is the only complaint that I have heard about the whole stadium. The paper towels have to be pulled out. They do not come out automatically. Oh boy, huh?! If that’s the only thing people are disappointed about at Target Field, then the Twins and the developers did everything great!
• I got out of the bathroom and called my brother to tell him that I was just going to watch the half-inning from center field, behind the bullpens. While standing there, I got to see the first home run in Target Field history, a no-doubter by Louisiana Tech’s catcher Clint Ewing. I watched it land a row in front of where I had been sitting, next to my brother. He said if I would have been there, it would have been right at me. The person that did catch it was mocked for not “Throw(ing) it back!” but someone came to the person and discussed what it would take to get the ball.
• The Powerball Pavillion is pretty cool. It’s in right center field and it is covered. It’s a great view of the game and there are plasma flat screen TVs showing the game on it. This is true around much of the lower level where there is space. They air the MLB Network before the game as well.
• We went up by the Paul and Minnie sign and watched from there which again are great seats, better than the upper deck in the Metrodome.
• We went up to the third deck in left centerfield, in front of the scoreboard, and again, could watch the game clearly. In fact, to summarize how great the seating is, we went to what we assumed to be the worst place to watch a game from, highest seats in the highest level down the left field foul line. Although the wind is a bit stronger and swirling the higher you get, the game can be seen very well.
• 

  Target Field from 3rd Level

  We walked over to a spot that I will spend at least five games during the 2010 season, Row 1 of section 308. It is in a location very similar to Section 220 of the Metrodome. It is higher, but closer to the foul line, if that makes sense.

• At one point around the 7^th inning, the PA announcer said something like, “Fans, we do not yet have the official attendance number yet, but I can tell you one thing for sure. You are part of the largest crowd  to see a game at Target Field!” The crowd erupted.
• Remember when I mentioned above that we had heard that only 25,000 fans would be allowed through the turn stiles. An inning or so later, it was announced that over 36,000 people were in attendance. That is a good thing for a few reasons.
  • Target Field was packed. I was concerned that, if just 25,000 fans were there, and a sellout would be 40% more (just under 40,000), the concourses would be just as tight as the small ones at the Metrodome were. However, that is likely not the case. When the Twins are playing, there will likely be less walking around and more just staying in your seats. In Year 1, people will walk, but not all people will walk the way they did today. My point basically is that as tough as it was to move around today, it shouldn’t get any busier than it was. Target Field held up just fine, and should continue to do so even when the place is completely full.
  • I thought some of the ‘grill’ concession stands were a little slow. Could be training of employees. Could just be that they are grilling fresh so it does take a little while.
  • Finally, I will end with a question that my brother asked later in the game. It initially made me laugh, and then it made me think. So, I’ll pass it along for your thoughts. While sitting in the third deck, just looking around, he noted three birds fly overhead. He asked, “I wonder how many people will get pooped on by birds this year?” Seems funny, but when you think about it, it just has to happen, right?  

Have you been to Target Field yet? If so, what are your observations? If you would like, you can e-mail me, or feel free to leave your comments here.

Roster Projections: Beloit Snappers

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Before we jump into my Beloit Snappers (Twins Low-A affiliate) roster projection, here are a couple of quick updates:

• Last night was one of my favorite episodes of The Show.

1. The first guest was Twins prospect Trayvone Johnson. This was one of my favorite interviews that I’ve done. The 2009 draft pick was selected as a catcher, but he has been moved to the mound. He was drafted out of high school, and explained why he had not played organized baseball for three years before the Twins drafted him last June. He is just a really good guy and I was very happy with the interview.
2. Next, JJ Stankevitz from the White Sox Examiner came on and we talked about the White Sox. We spent time talking about their starting rotation. I also asked for his thoughts on Gordon Beckham and how his name keeps popping up in rumors about Adrian Gonzalez. I asked for his thoughts on Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, Paul Konerko, AJ Pierzynski, Bobby Jenks and more.  
3. Finally, Twins 17-year-old outfield prospect Max Kepler spent about 15 minutes answering questions. He is currently sidelined by some tendonitis in his shoulder, but talked about how his first spring training is going. We talked about his early baseball days in Germany and the reasons he signed with the Twins. He corrected me on some German pronunciations. It was a lot of fun.  So be sure to listen to The Show.
4. We also noted that the planned time for The Show throughout the season will be 9 p.m. central time on Sunday nights. I think it’s a good time. Generally, the Twins will play Sunday afternoon games (with a couple of exceptions). They will have ended a weekend series and will be about to start a new series. Hopefully that will mean more major league and minor league interviews can be done. Although I am working on adding other guests, Pat Neshek has already confirmed that he will be on The Show. 

• On another note, I will join Phil Mackey on am1500 (currently still KSTP, but will become ESPN Twin Cities on April 12^th) following the Twins game on Sunday. I will be in studio at 4:00. That should be a lot of fun, so tune in if you are in the Metro. If not, you can listen live online.
• I will be at Target Field on Saturday afternoon, hopefully watching the Gophers play Louisiana Tech. I say “Hopefully” because only the first 25,000 will be able to get into the stadium. But I’ll get in… I hope!
• Finally, I just wanted to mention that the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook is now available through Amazon.com, so get your copy here. 

 

The Beloit Snappers’ season also begins on April 8^th with a road series at Cedar Rapids. Starting on April 11^th, the Snappers begin their home schedule with games against Peoria. The Snappers will be again managed this year by Nelson Prada. Tommy Watkins begins his full-time coaching career as the Snappers hitting coach.

So here are my thoughts on the 2010 Opening Day roster of the Beloit Snappers:

The Hitters

	Beloit
C	Tobias Streich
1B	Michael Gonzales
2B	Derek McCallum
3B	Anderson Hidalgo
SS	Brian Dozier
LF	Chris Herrmann ( C)
CF	Aaron Hicks
RF	Steve Liddle
DH	Josmil Pinto
Bu C	Buddy Munroe
Bu IF	Matt Gaski
Bu OF	Reggie Williams
Bench	Jonathan Goncalves
DL	(Dan Rohlfing)
	(Adan Severino)

Analysis: The Twins have some quality catching depth in these low levels. In fact, yesterday I pushed Danny Rams up to Ft. Myers, in part, due to the number of catchers that could (or should) be in Beloit. Tobias Streich was the best defensive catcher in the 2009 draft, so he should be here. Buddy Munroe was drafted last year as well and is another defensive catcher. Josmil Pinto has a very strong arm, but he is not known for his defense. However, he has a tremendous bat. Chris Herrmann was drafted as a catcher last year, but he played only outfield in 2009. He moved to catcher in Instructional league, but with his bat, he needs to be in Beloit and needs to be in the lineup. I think that Aaron Hicks will go back to Beloit for at least six weeks. Steve Liddle signed quite late last year, but he’s an advanced hitter, from Vanderbilt, and should play here. The infield has some quality prospects as well. Michael Gonzales is a large man, but he can hit. He had a strong run last year for a few weeks at Elizabethton. Former Gopher standout Derek McCallum will be the primary second baseman. Fellow 2009 draftee Brian Dozier will play a lot at shortstop. Anderson Hidalgo will be at 3B. Reggie Williams is likely to play a lot, but he is a tremendous athlete and should be able to play the infield and outfield positions and be in the lineup most days. Matt Gaski is about the glove. Jonathan Goncalves is another solid athlete who will get plenty of playing time in the outfield. Its’ hard to find a place for Dan Rohlfing even after he was moved to the outfield from behind the plate last year. Also, Adan Severino was hurt most of 2009, so this will be a big year for him.    

The Pitchers

Beloit SP Liam Hendriks SP Tom Stuifbergen SP Edgar Ibarra SP Miguel Munoz SP Brad Stillings     CL Zach See 8L Nelvin Fuentes 8R Dakota Watts BP Matt Tone BP Kane Holbrooks BP Ben Tootle BP Tony Davis       (Matt Bashore)   (Shooter Hunt)   (Brian Kirwan)

Analysis: This gets a little bit tricky here. There are still a lot of good pitching prospects, but here are my thoughts. Liam Hendriks missed all of 2008 and last year started with Elizabethton before moving up to Beloit. I think he starts here again, but he could move up quickly. Tom Stuifbergen just knows how to pitch. He’s still very young, but he will do well. He was E-town’s top pitcher last season. However, toward the end of the year, Edgar Ibarra certainly put himself into consideration as well. Miguel Munoz is up and down, but he is probably the hardest thrower and working on other pitches. Brad Stillings was selected in 2009 and started with E-Town. He came up to Beloit but pitched out of the bullpen, so I would suspect that he will be a starter here to start the season at least.

Zach See signed as an undrafted free agent last year and pitched very well, good strikeout numbers. The three lefties that I have on this roster are all capable of dominating. Nelvin Fuentes also missed all of 2008. He pitched well in 2009, especially for Puerto Rico in the World Cup. Matt Tone and Tony Davis were both drafted in 2009. Tone dominated Appy League hitters. At one point, he went over 15 innings without giving up a hit, and over 18 innings without allowing a run. Tony Davis played for a couple of teams, but he ended the season on the New Britain playoff roster. Ben Tootle, when healthy, can approach 100 mph with his fastball. That’s how you get drafted in the third round. Hopefully he is fully healthy and strong in 2010. Dakota Watts was drafted in 2009 as well and played for three affiliates. Kane Holbrooks was a college All-American last year and the Twins got him after the 20^th round. He had always started but feels that he is probably better suited for relief work.

If Matt Bashore is healthy, he will definitely be starting somewhere, maybe even in Ft. Myers. It’s hard to tell what the Twins will do with Shooter Hunt. And Brian Kirwan will be back after missing all of 2009 with shoulder surgery.

So, who isn’t here? Who did I not put on a full-season roster?

Those top three pitchers at the GCL last year will probably all have a chance to pitch for Beloit at some point this season. On Tuesday night’s podcast, Adam Foster said that Adrian Salcedo was turning eyes. The 18 year old was hitting 93 mph with a sharp curveball and a very good changeup. BJ Hermsen also put up silly numbers last year in the GCL. Blayne Weller often gets overlooked because of those first two, but his numbers are right on par. All three could be with the Snappers by June, and if any of them go to Elizabethton, I would consider them favorites for Appy League Pitcher of the Year. Michael Tonkin is likely going to E-town, and I think that Martire Garcia may repeat at E-Town. Relief Pitcher Andrei Lobanov had an incredible 2009 in the GCL as well (1 BB, 35 K in 22 IP!), but I think he will go to E-Town too.

The young’ns (Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler) will all likely play for the GCL Twins. Sano and Polanco may go to the Dominican Summer League and play during Extended Spring Training.

ELIZABETHTON

It’s impossible to project the Elizabethton or GCL Twins rosters because they will also contain players drafted in the 2010 draft. The college draftees will mainly play in E-Town. But just to try to send a reminder of some of the other players in the Twins system, here are some Elizabethton “projections.”

	Elizabethton
C	Jhonatan Arias
1B	Kennys Vargas
2B	Daniel Santana
3B	Rory Rhodes
SS	Jairo Perez
LF	Matej Hejma
CF	Oswaldo Arcia
RF	Daniel Ortiz
DH	Wang-Wei Lin
Bu C	Nick Freitas
Bu IF	Hyeon-rok Choi
Bu OF	Brian Bistagne
Bench	Fred Hanvi
	Elizabethton
SP	Martire Garcia
SP	BJ Hermsen
SP	Adrian Salcedo
SP	Blayne Weller
SP	Michael Tonkin
CL	Andrei Lobanov
8L	Jose Gonzalez
8R	Jan Rehacek
BP	Peter Kennelly
BP	Jhon Garcia
BP	Jean Mijares
BP	Eliecer Cardenas
BP	Trayvone Johnson

I hope everyone has enjoyed this series of Roster Projections. Of course, I don’t have any inside information into these rosters, so they are just what they are, projections. I like to think that they may be fairly close, but we shall see in less than two weeks.            

If you would like, you can e-mail me, or feel free to leave your comments here.

Roster Projection: Ft. Myers Miracle

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Before we jump into my Ft. Myers (Twins Hi-A affiliate) roster projection, here are a couple of quick notes on some upcoming podcasts:

• On Wednesday, I was on This Call to the Bullpen, a Kranepool Society podcast. I talked about Mauer, Nathan, Target Field, and much, much more.  
• Then later on Wednesday night, the Twins Geek and I will joined Fanatic Jack and Topper Anton on Jack’s Twins Talk show.  We discussed/argued the Twins bullpen, the backup catcher spot and much more.
• There will be an episode of The Show on Thursday night at a special time of 8:00 p.m. The show is already filled with guests.

1. I will be joined by Twins prospect Trayvone Johnson. The 2009 draft pick was selected as a catcher, but he has been moved to the mound.
2. Next, JJ Stankevitz from the White Sox Examiner site will come in to talk about the team most of us believe will be the Twins primary competitor in the AL Central.
3. Finally, Twins 17-year-old outfield prospect Max Kepler will join us for the last part of the show. Listeners to the show have been asking for me to try to get Kepler on the show and it finally appears to work.
4. During The Show, we will also announce the regularly scheduled night and time for The Show throughout the 2010 season. So be sure to take in that show.

• Finally, I just wanted to mention that the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook is now available through Amazon.com, so check that out here. 

The Ft. Myers Miracle’s season also begins on April 8^th with a road game at Bradenton. The following night, the two teams will play in Ft. Myers. The Miracle will be managed this year by Jake Mauer, who has managed the GCL Twins in Ft. Myers the last couple of years, after spending a couple of seasons in the Twins farm system.

So here are my thoughts on the 2010 Opening Day roster of the Ft. Myers Miracle:

The Hitters 

	Ft. Myers
C	Danny Rams
1B	Jonathan Waltenbury
2B	Drew Thompson
3B	Deibinson Romero
SS	James Beresford
LF	Evan Bigley
CF	Joe Benson
RF	Angel Morales
DH	Michael Harrington
Bu C	Jair Fernandez
Bu IF	Ramon Santana
Bu OF	Dominic de la Osa
Bench	Nick Romero
DL	(Paul Kelly?)
	(Nathan Hanson)

Analysis: If Danny Rams begins the 2010 season in Beloit, it would probably be for the best, but with the catching situation and the higher levels and the depth of catchers at Beloit, he may begin at Ft. Myers. Fellow non-roster invite to Spring Training, Jair Fernandez will likely spend the summer with the Miracle. Jonathan Waltenbury had a disappointing offensive season in Beloit in 2009, and I would anticipate seeing Nick Romero and Nate Hanson playing quite a bit of first base, Hanson against lefties. Hanson and Nick Romero can play around the infield and back up any of the other infielders. It will be good to see what Drew Thompson can do with a full, normal offseason. Deibinson Romero came off of the 40 man roster after a disappointing 2009 season, so I expect him to remain with the Miracle. James Beresford is definitely worth watching at shortstop. Joe Benson and Angel Morales are both high-ceiling prospects. Evan Bigley and Michael Harrington are just good hitters, both should hit a lot of doubles. I put Harrington as the DH because I think they’ll get his bat in the lineup and he will play a lot in the outfield too. Dominic de la Osa was shifted to the outfield from second base during the offseason. Yesterday I mentioned that I thought Rene Tosoni would move from New Britain to Rochester and Joe Benson would be promoted to New Britain. I anticipate that happening six to eight weeks into the season, and at that time, I would project Aaron Hicks to move up to Ft. Myers.   

The Pitchers 

	Ft. Myers
SP	Kyle Gibson
SP	Bobby Lanigan
SP	Brad Tippett
SP	Dan Osterbrock
SP	Michael Tarsi
CL	Billy Bullock
8L	Matt Williams
8R	Steve Blevins
BP	Bruce Pugh
BP	Kyle Carr
BP	Dan Berlind
BP	Michael Allen
	(Blake Martin)
	(Thom Wright)

Analysis: Apparently Kyle Gibson has been impressive already this spring, and the team’s top 2009 pick has a chance to move quickly. I expect him to start at Ft. Myers, spend a couple of months there and then move up to New Britain. There’s even an outside chance he gets to Rochester. Lefty Michael Tarsi missed some time at the start of last season but did adequately. I expect him to spend much of the season here. Bobby Lanigan finished 2009 in Ft. Myers’ bullpen, but I assume he will return to the role of a starter. Dan Osterbrock was disappointed with his 2009 season with the Snappers, but I anticipate him pitching better in 2010 with the Miracle. Finally, Brad Tippett is a guy every Twins fan should know out. He has impeccable control, but he knows how to pitch. I think he’s got a chance to be good. 

Billy Bullock became a closer last year at the University of Florida. He did well in his pro debut, and people are very excited about him. This is also a very strong bullpen. Matt Williams is from Australia and has always done well in the bullpen throughout his career. Steve Blevins had a good year in 2009 in the Snappers bullpen with the exception of struggles against one team. I really expect him to do well in 2010. Bruce Pugh is a guy that several of us have called a sleeper. It will be interesting to see whether he is starting or if he’s going to pitch out of the bullpen. I think this will be another case where he’ll start in the Miracle bullpen and by midseason, he’ll be starting. Kyle Carr needs to be healthy, but the lefty has put up terrific strikeout numbers when healthy. Dan Berlind needs to show something in 2009. It’s also possibly the last chance for Michael Allen, or Blake Martin or Thom Wright.

If you would like, you can e-mail me, or feel free to leave your comments here.

Roster Projections: New Britain Rock Cats

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net - 

Before we jump into my Twins AA New Britain projection, here are a couple of quick notes on some upcoming podcasts:

• Last night, I hosted an episode of the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. I’ll was by:

1.  
   1.  Baseball Daily Digest’s Joe Hamrahi who was at the Joe Mauer press conference on Monday night. We talked about his trip to Ft. Myers, and what he hopes to do while there, but much of the discussion was on the Mauer press conference and the contract, of course.  
   2. Scott Povolny, owner of Twins Train came on for a bit to talk about some of his Twins trips and a few other Twins topics. I am seriously trying to pick a Twins Train trip. They’re providing trips to Chicago, Kansas City, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Detroit, all-inclusive, at very reasonable rates. I asked last week, but where have you gone? Where should I go? I’ve been to Milwaukee, but that’s it.  
   3. Finally, Adam Foster from Project Prospect joined us. He too was in Ft. Myers and spent a lot of time watching Aaron Hicks and other Twins prospects. Read more about his Digital Prospect Guide, something that is absolutely remarkable and ahead of its time! If you would like to learn more about the Digital Prospect Guide, you can e-mail Adam and he can send you the Digital Guide of their Top 10 Prospects. Oh, and if you buy a copy of the Digital Prospect Guide, he’ll send you video of your favorite Twins prospect that he took today. He got a lot of Aaron Hicks, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Adrian Salcedo (who he said was throwing 93 with a plus changeup and a good curveball with mechanics that looked very good) and more.

• On Wednesday, I will be on This Call to the Bullpen, a Kranepool Society podcast. I’ll be one of two guests. The other will be James Hirsch who is the author of Willie Mays: The Life The Legend. The show will begin at 4:00 central time.
• Then later on Wednesday night, the Twins Geek and I will join Fanatic Jack and Topper Anton on Jack’s Twins Talk show.  That show begins at 9:00 central time.
• There will be an episode of The Show on Thursday night at a special time of 8:00 p.m. The show is already filled with guests.

1. I will be joined by Twins prospect Trayvone Johnson. The 2009 draft pick was selected as a catcher, but he has been moved to the mound.
2. Next, JJ Stankevitz from the White Sox Examiner site will come in to talk about the team most of us believe will be the Twins primary competitor in the AL Central.
3. Finally, Twins 17-year-old outfield prospect Max Kepler will join us for the last part of the show. Listeners to the show have been asking for me to try to get Kepler on the show and it finally appears to work.
4. During The Show, we will also announce the regularly scheduled night and time for The Show throughout the 2010 season. So be sure to take in that show.

• Finally, I just wanted to mention that the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook is now available through Amazon.com, so check that out here.  

The Twins open their season on April 5^th. Like the Rochester Red Wings, the Rock Cats season begins on April 8^th with a four game home stand against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. They will be managed this year by Jeff Smith, who managed the Ft. Myers Miracle a year ago.

So here are my thoughts on the 2010 Opening Day roster of the New Britain Rockcats:

The Hitters 

	New Britain
C	Alexander Soto
1B	Chris Parmelee (RF/DH)
2B	Steve Singleton
3B	Whit Robbins (1B)
SS	Estarlin de Los Santos
LF	Juan Portes (3B)
CF	Ben Revere
RF	Rene Tosoni
DH	Rene Leveret
Bu C	Allan de San Miguel
Bu IF	Yancarlos Ortiz
Bu OF	Mark Dolenc
Bench	Chris Cates
DL	(Yangervis Solarte)

Analysis: Again, the effects of the catching situation at the big league level trickle down throughout the system. When Danny Lehmann comes back to New Britain, he will play. Until then, I think that the combination of Alexander Soto and Allan de San Miguel can do a solid job. Soto has some power. De San Miguel knows how to get on base and run a pitching staff. We know that Ben Revere will be in centerfield. If I’m right and Rene Tosoni is in AA, he will be in right field and bat third. Chris Parmelee will probably bat fifth, but he will spend time at 1B, RF and DH. Whit Robbins is tremendous defensively at 1B. He hasn’t played much at 3B since his pro debut. I actually anticipate Juan Portes spending a lot of time at 3B. Portes will play some in left field again, but when he is in the infield, Mark Dolenc will get plenty of time in the outfield. Rene Leveret can hit. That’s about it, but he’ll get some time too. I think that Steve Singleton and Estarlin de Los Santos will get the majority of playing time up the middle, but I would think that Singleton will also play 3B and SS and de Los Santos will play some 2B. Likewise, I expect Yancarlos Ortiz and Chris Cates to get plenty of playing time because pitchers love having those two behind them.  I think there are some players that are definitely worth watching at this level. I think Singleton, Revere and Tosoni are all guys that are close to big-league-ready and we may see them if something negative happens at the big league level. Side notes – I fully expect Tosoni to only get a couple of months in AA before being promoted to AAA. At that time, I expect that Joe Benson will come up to play right field for the Rock Cats.

The Pitchers 

	New Britain
SP	Mike McCardell
SP	Deolis Guerra
SP	David Bromberg
SP	Carlos Gutierrez
SP	Tyler Robertson
CL	Alex Burnett
8L	Spencer Steedley
8R	Blair Erickson
BP	Joe Testa
BP	Cole Devries
BP	Steve Hirschfeld
BP	Santos Arias
	(Henry Arias)
	(Loek Van Mil – DL)

Analysis: There is some serious talent in this pitching staff. Mike McCardell pitched pretty well upon his promotion to AA last year. After a couple of AFL outings, he went home and had some bone chips removed from his right elbow. Deolis Guerra had a couple of very good performances, and he could really take a step forward in 2010. David Bromberg has quickly and consistently improved his standing in the Twins farm system. Can he lead the Eastern League in strikeouts in 2010 (as he led the Florida State League in 2009, and the Midwest League – and all minor league baseball – in 2008, and the Appalachian League in 2008)?  Tyler Robertson is ready for the chance to move up to New Britain. His four pitches and strong baseball IQ will be put to the test. The big question becomes how long Carlos Gutierrez is a starter. We know that he will begin the season as a starter to build arm strength, but primarily to work on secondary pitches. I really believe that at some point, he could be the closer for the Minnesota Twins.

Until then, Alex Burnett will likely get the majority of Save opportunities for the Rock Cats. We learned how good he can be in 2009 when he was moved to the bullpen. Spencer Steedley did a nice job after his promotion to AA last year. He got off to a slow start in the Arizona Fall League but came on quickly. The lefty can pitch, but has enough pop to surprise hitters when a fastball gets past them. Cole Devries likely returns to New Britain. He may get another shot as a starter, or he could move to the bullpen and work long relief. Similarly, I think that Steve Hirschfeld and Santos Arias will start the season in the Rock Cats bullpen. However, at Ft. Myers last year, they moved into the starting rotation and the two were probably the Miracle’s top pitchers down the stretch, along with Bromberg. Knowing how the Twins typically work, I almost expect that Joe Testa starts the season back with Ft. Myers. He was just so good, that I would really like to see him pushed to AA. Blair Erickson may get pushed to AA just because he’s now old enough that they need to see what he can do. I hope that Loek Van Mil can be healthy and see what he can do with that 95-97 mph fastball. Henry Arias is a guy that needs to move up to AA. He throws very hard, and he could be a Fake DL, injury replacement type in the bullpen.  

If you would like, you can e-mail me, or feel free to leave your comments here.

Upcoming Twins Podcast/Radio Shows

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

• Tonight, I will be hosting an episode of the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. I’ll be joined by Baseball Daily Digest’s Joe Hamrahi who was at the Joe Mauer press conference on Monday night. Scott Povolny, owner of Twins Train came on for a bit to talk about some of his Twins trips and a few other Twins topics. Finally, Adam Foster from Project Prospect joined us. He too was in Ft. Myers and spent a lot of time watching Aaron Hicks and other Twins prospects. Read more about his Digital Prospect Guide, something that is absolutely remarkable and ahead of its time!
• On Wednesday night, the Twins Geek and I will join Fanatic Jack and Topper Anton on Jack’s Twins Talk show.  
• There will be an episode of The Show on Thursday night at a special time of 8:00 p.m. The show is already filled with guests. I will be joined by Twins prospect Trayvone Johnson. The 2009 draft pick was selected as a catcher, but he has been moved to the mound. Next, JJ Stankevitz from the White Sox Examiner site will come in to talk about the team most of us believe will be the Twins primary competitor in the AL Central. Finally, Twins 17-year-old outfield prospect Max Kepler will join us for the last part of the show. Listeners to the show have been asking for me to try to get Kepler on the show and it finally appears to work. During that show, we will also announce the regularly scheduled night and time for The Show throughout the season. So be sure to take in that show.