Friday, February 6, 2008

Roster Preview

2009 Rochester Red Wings

Hey everyone! Here are just a couple of quick notes before starting our new posting:

 

Yesterday I presented my thoughts on the 2009 Minnesota Twins roster. Today, I will try to project how the AAA Rochester Red Wings roster will be comprised. Again, I occasionally hear people ask me why I do this and who cares, but the Twins always have several AAA players come up and contribute to the Twins. So I do think it is important to try to figure out who will be at each level. Please remember that these rosters are simply my opinions. I have been following the Twins minor league system for several years and tried to figure out patterns and such. So at worst, it’s a relatively educated guess.

 

A couple of quick notes before proceeding:

·         Joe Christensen’s news that Joe Crede is actually looking for at least $7 million would make it more and more unlikely that the Twins would get him, and that’s fine.

·         Secondly, I verified with someone with the Twins that Jose Mijares does indeed have another option year. That makes me feel even better about the likelihood that he will head to Rochester to start the season.   

 

2009 ROCHESTER RED WINGS

Starting Pitchers

Brian Duensing

Kevin Mulvey

Anthony Swarzak

R.A. Dickey

Yohan Pino

2009 is a big year for Brian Duensing. He will be in his third season with the Red Wings, and his second wasn’t as good as his first. With his successful bullpen sting at the Olympics, you have to think that he could be an option in that role for the Twins too. I think that Kevin Mulvey would be the first pitcher called up to the Twins if there were an injury. He had a very good first full AAA season last year. Anthony Swarzak is a big question mark. Did he turn a corner last year when he moved up to Rochester, or was his horrible AA performance for the first four months of 2008 more of an indicator? Clearly he needed to be pushed. Hopefully that isn’t a trend. R.A. Dickey will likely start for the Red Wings, but for the Twins he may be more of a long relief option. I’m not sure why he thought the Twins would be a good option for him with all of their depth, but he is a solid AAA performer. Yohan Pino comes into training camp healthy this year. He typically starts seasons in the bullpen and eventually becomes a starter. He is ready for a full season of starting. Also, he’s been around long enough that they have to see what he can do.   

Closer

Jose Mijares

Since Mijares can go back to the minor leagues to start the season, I think it is wise to do so. He had a great ten games with the Twins in September, but although I think he will be a major part of the Twins bullpen for years to come, I think the best thing for his career is for him to spend a month or two at AAA since he hasn’t had any success at the level to this point in his career. Now we all believe that he can retain that 8th inning role for the Twins, so the best way to prepare him for that would be to put him into the closer’s role.

Relief Pitcher

Rob Delaney

Mike Gosling

Bobby Korecky

Armando Gabino

Ben Julianel

Tim Lahey

This group is probably the most difficult for me to determine. The incumbent closer is Bobby Korecky. With it looking less likely that the Twins will add Joe Crede, it makes most sense for me that the Twins take Korecky off of their 40 man roster. I can’t imagine another team claiming him, so I do think he will come back to the Twins knowing that if he performs, he will be given opportunity again. Rob Delaney and Ben Julianel both performed great in 2008 at New Britain, and both appear ready for AAA. Of course, Delaney only spent a half-season with the Rockcats but pitched far better than Mijares did. Both should be with the Red Wings. And both will likely have opportunities to close. Armando Gabino was added to the 40 man roster last fall, and he has had two good seasons at New Britain. Again, he is ready for this challenge. Tim Lahey throws hard and is becoming more and more of a pitcher over time. He did fairly well in the Arizona Fall League, so I think the Twins will stand by him. I thought that Mike Gosling might be a contender for the 5th starter spot, and maybe he will be. But he has pitched primarily out of the bullpen the last two or three years, so I think he’ll do well in the bullpen. He had a 3.67 ERA, and struck out about a batter an inning in AAA in 2008. Are three lefties in the bullpen too much? Not at all. Sean Henn is also in this picture, but he will have to prove that he can throw strikes to make this roster.   

Starting Lineup

Steve Tolleson 2B

Alejandro Machado DH

Jason Pridie CF

Luis Matos RF

Dustin Martin LF

Brock Peterson 1B

Trevor Plouffe SS

Matt Macri 3B

Drew Butera C

This lineup is a combination of prospects and guys who simply have earned the opportunity to play AAA ball. There is a good mix of veterans and young players. And for the most part, there are a lot of players that could fit a role on the big league team. Steve Tolleson is probably the best leadoff option. He has good speed and on-base skills. I think that his Arizona Fall League performance shows that he is ready for AAA. I have him at 2B, but he could play SS as well. Alejandro Machado missed all of 2007 and the first half of 2008, but when he did come back he was the team’s best hitter. He has shown a good ability to get on base and hit gaps. As we have mentioned, if he can throw the ball across the diamond, he would certainly be a candidate for the big league roster. Jason Pridie came on strong in 2008 backing up his International League performance with Durham in 2007. I would like to see Riccardo Ingram work with Pridie on taking walks and putting the ball in play, the way he did with Alexi Casilla and Denard Span. Talent-wise, Pridie is on that same level, if not even more due to more power. Luis Matos is the veteran outfielder of this team, a replacement for Darnell McDonald. But Matos certainly still has more potential to help at the big league level than McDonald did. Like Tolleson, I think that Dustin Martin showed enough in the Arizona Fall League to show he’s ready for AAA. After two years at New Britain, Brock Peterson is ready for this AAA opportunity. The former 49th round pick can already call his career a success, but he also has to prove that he can make the adjustment to better pitching.  

Reserves

 

Jose Morales

Backup Catcher

Tommy Watkins

2B, 3B, SS, OF

Joe Gaetti

DH, OF

Luke Hughes

2B, 3B, OF

Eli Whiteside is another former

Now, the Red Wings are able to keep just 24 playe.

Any thoughts?  Send me an e-mail, or let's talk about it in the Comments here.

 

 

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