Wednesday June 9, 2004
TWINS DRAFT - DAY 2
Good morning! The Twins completed their 2004 draft and then went out and won a late inning game against the Mets.
The Dickie Thon Fan Forum has a great string of thoughts on the Twins picks.
Twins Chatter did an excellent two-part look at what the Twins have done in the draft in recent years as well as which players may have been available for them with their picks.
Baseball America has so much information regarding the draft, prospects and more. But they have also been running an on-going blog of events and thoughts from the draft.
So, check out those sites for some great information. Below, I will show who the Twins took, and then some general thoughts on Day One of the Twins draft.
If you have any questions or comments on anything, please feel free to e-mail me. Have a great day!
Well, the 2004 MLB Draft is complete. 50 rounds and 1,498 picks. The Twins made 54 selections, and they certainly seemed to know what they were going for. I think that Plouffe will be a great pick. He could be a very solid SS, but if that doesn't work, he could be a dominating pitcher too. Then, they grabbed a LOT of pitching. That trend continued in day two as they took both lefties and righties, both college pitchers and high school throwers. They picked plenty of position players too. The thin is that with so many high draft picks that will sign for big bonuses, they may not sign a lot of the day 2 draftees. However, they grabbed players to fill out their Rookie League rosters in Elizabethton and Ft. Myers.
So, can any of these players contribute to the Twins in the future? Sure. I bet the Twins would be happy if more than five or six of these guys would have futures with the big league club. Some will never sign. Some won't advance past rookie ball, and others will fade away in the upper levels of the minor leagues. But, you just never know. Below this year's draft picks, I will post the Twins 40 man rosters along with where and when they were drafted. There are plenty of first rounders, but there are some low draft picks and free agents also.
Here is who the Twins took:
1 - 20th overall - Trevor Plouffe - Crespi Carmeste HS (Northridge, CA) - SS
1 - 22nd overall - Glen Perkins - U. of Minnesota - LHP
1 - 25th overall - Steven Waldrop - Farragut HS (Knoxville, TN) - RHP
1S - 35th overall - Matthew Fox - U. of Central Florida - RHP
1S - 39th overall - Jay Rainville - Bishop Hendrickson HS (Pawtucket, RI) - RHP
2 - 61st overall - Anthony Swarzak - Nova HS (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - RHP
3 - 91st overall - Eduardo Morlan - Miami Coral Park HS - RHP
4 - 121st overall - Mark Robinson - Mountain View HS (El Monte, CA) - RF
5 - 151st overall - Jeffrey Schoenbachler - Reno HS - LHP
6 - 181st overall - Patrick Bryant - Pensacola Catholic HS (Gulf Breeze, FL) - RHP
7 - 211th overall - John Williams - Middle Tennessee St. - LHP
8 - 241st overall - Jim Sawatski - U of Arkansas - LHP
9 - 271st overall - Jonathon Martinez - U of New Orleans - RHP
10 - 301st overall - Jeremy Pickrel - Illinois St. - LF
11 - 331st overall - Kyle Aselton - Oregon St - LHP
12 - 361st overall - Shane Boyd - U of Kentucky - RHP
13 - 391st overall - Walter Patton - Lincoln Land (Ill) CC - RHP
14 - 421st overall - Javier Sanchez - Notre Dame - C
15 - 451st overall - Juan Portes - Malden, MA - SS
16 - 481st overall - Christopher Tolbert - U of Mississippi - SS
17 - 511th overall - Eammon Portice - Ft. Lauderdale HS - RHP
18 - 541st overall - Josh Rose - Mariner HS (Cape Coral, FL) - RHP
19 - 571st overall - Tate Casey - Longview HS (Texas) - RHP
20 - 601st overall - Timothy Lahey - Princeton - C
21 - 631st overall - Joseph Abellera - Hopkins HS (Minnetonka, MN) - 3B
22 - 661st overall - Vincent Scarduzio - Jupiter (Florida) Community HS - LHP
23 - 691st overall - Timothy Arnold - Fallbrook HS (California) - LHP
24 - 721st overall - Garrett White - San Jacinto (Texas) Col North - LHP
25 - 751st overall - Joseph Welsh - Grand Rapids (Michigan) CC - LHP
26 - 781st overall - Deacon Burns - Northern St. U (South Dakota) - CF
27 - 811th overall - Landon Burt - San Diego St - CF
28 - 841st overall - Aaron Craig - Rochester Century HS (Minnesota) - RHP
29 - 871st overall - Ricky Prady - Sebastian River HS (Florida) - CF
30 - 901st overall - Daniel Berg - Texarkana CC - 3B
31 - 931st overall - Jason Laird - Henry County HS (Hampton, GA) - RHP
32 - 961st overall - Nolan Mulligan - Broward CC (Florida)- RHP
33 - 991st overall - Sean Kalmen - Katella HS (Anaheim, CA) - RHP
34 - 1021st overall - Rene Tosoni - Terry Fox Secondary (Port Coquitlam, BC) - 3B
35 - 1051st overall - Jeffrey Mousseri - Arizona St. - RHP
36 - 1081st overall - John Thies - Meramec CC (Missouri) - LHP
37 - 1111th overall - Gregory D'Oleo - Ramon Vila Mayo HS (Puerto Rico) - LHP
38 - 1141st overall - Joshua Land - Okaloosa Walton CC (Florida) - CF
39 - 1171st overall - Danny Santiesteban - West Palm Beach CC - RF
40 - 1201st overall - Justin Otto - Chandler HS (Oklahoma) - RHP
41 - 1231st overall - Eric Sweeney - Mt Carmel HS (San Diego, CA) - RHP
42 - 1260th overall - Gregory Schilling - Broward JC (Florida) - LHP
43 - 1289th overall - Robbie Hebert - Nicholls St - RHP
44 - 1318th overall - Earl Joiner - Haines City HS (Florida) - CF
45 - 1347th overall - Lance Lofton - Connally HS (Waco, TX) - 3B
46 - 1376th overall - Matthew Rizzotti - Archbishop Molloy HS (Jamaica, NY) - 1B
47 - 1405th overall - Chris Petrie - Lake City CC (Florida) - RF
48 - 1433rd overall - Ryne Nelson - Dickonson HS (Texas) - RHP
49 - 1461st overall - Nicholas Bleau - Gulf Coast CC (Florida) - LHP
50 - 1489th overall - Taylor Cameron - Cypress Col (California) - RHP
It will be fun to try to keep track of some of these guys, first as they sign or don't sign, this year in Rookie Leagues, but also as they advance in their careers.
1st Round - Boof Bonser (Giants, 2000), Seth Greisinger (Tigers, 1996), Terry Mulholland (Giants, 1989), Matthew LeCroy (Twins, 1997), Joe Mauer (Twins, 2001), Michael Cuddyer (Twins, 1997), BJ Garbe (Twins, 1999), Torii Hunter (Twins, 1993), Shannon Stewart (Blue Jays, 1992)
2nd Round - JD Durbin (Twins, 2000), Rob Bowen (Twins, 1999), Jacque Jones (Twins, 1996), Michael Restovich (Twins, 1997)
3rd Round - Colby Miller (Twins, 2000), Justin Morneau (Twins, 1999)
5th Round - Doug Mientkiewicz (Twins, 1995), Michael Ryan (Twins, 1996)
6th Round - Aaron Fultz (Giants, 1992), Joe Mays (Mariners, 1994), Joe Nathan (Giants, 1995), Brian Wolfe (Twins, 1999)
8th Round - Brad Radke (Twins, 1991)
10th Round - Matt Guerrier (White Sox, 1999)
12th Round - Lew Ford (Red Sox, 1999), Jason Kubel (Twins, 2000)
13th Round - Jason Bartlett (Padres, 2001)
18th Round - Joe Roa (Braves, 1989)
21st Round - JC Romero (Twins, 1997), Nick Punto (Phillies, 1998)
26th Round - Corey Koskie (Twins, 1994), Terry Tiffee (Twins, 1999)
29th Round - Kyle Lohse (Cubs, 1996)
Free Agent - Grant Balfour (Twins, Australia, 1997), Juan Rincon (Twins, Venezuela, 1996), Johan Santana (Astros, Venezuela, 1995), Carlos Silva (Phillies, Venezuela, 1996), Henry Blanco (Dodgers, Venezuela, 1989), Cristian Guzman (Yankees, Dominican Republic, 1994), Alex Prieto (Royals, Venezuela, 1992), Luis Rivas (Twins, Venezuela, 1995), Jose Offerman (Dodgers, Dominican Republic, 1986)
So, as you can see, there are some good players found in later rounds sometimes, and sometimes there are first round flops (Ryan Mills, Adam Johnson, etc.). So, who knows how these guys will turn out.
Any thoughts on the Twins or other picks?? E-mail me.
In basketball, coaches and players will frequently say that it isn't who starts, but who is in the game at the end. Well, Luis Rivas was brought up from his rehab stint in Rochester and started at second base. Fortunately, Ron Gardenhire went to Michael Cuddyer in the bottom of the 9th, and after a long AB, Cuddyer got enough of a pitch to hit it up the middle. Cuddyer beat the throw from Ty Wigginton. Jacque Jones started the play at second base, but continued around third base toward home. The throw from first to home bounce and the catcher, Vance Wilson, was unable to catch it, allowing Jones to score safely. Cuddyer was credited with the RBI infield single (seems questionable, but it has to be done).
Anyway, I have told a few people that I wish I would have been smart enough to call Ron Gardenhire's Sunday morning talk show and say:
Good morning, Mr. Gardenhire. I think that it is very obvious that Michael Cuddyer is better both offensively and defensively than Luis Rivas and has earned the starting second base position. Do you think that Luis Rivas can be a viable backup at short stop?
I know we'd get that typical Gardy response, but I think the question should be asked.
Anyway, Brad Radke continues to be remarkable yet get no run support. Last night, he left the game after 7 innings with a 1-0 deficit. He had given up just one run on five hits and two walks. He even struck out seven. Fortunately a Joe Mauer fielder's choice tied the game in the bottom of the 7th so Radke could not take the loss. Juan Rincon came in and was incredible for two innings. He didn't give up a hit or a walk and struck out two. The Vulture improves to 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA on the year following the Twins 9th inning run.
Cristian Guzman went 2-3 with a walk for the Twins. Oh, Luis Rivas was 0-3.
Tonight the same two teams play again. Johan Santana (2-4, 5.50, 1.44, .281) will face Steve Trachsel (5-4, 3.38, 1.33, .252) in the middle game of the series.
Any questions or comments on the Twins, send me an e-mail. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the State of the Twins. Maybe next week, it'll have to be a discussion question.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
ROCHESTER REDWINGS
Redwings 6, Columbus 2 - David Gassner was back to his winning ways. Last night, he went 8 innings and gave up one run on four hits (no walks). He struck out three. Jesse Crain struck out the side (with a Jeff Dearddorff homer mixed in) in the 9th. Terry Tiffee led by going 2-3 with a double and a walk. His average is now up to .302. Seven of the Redwings nine starters had one hit. Tiffee had two, while Josh Rabe had an O-fer.
NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS
Rockcats 1, Binghamton 5 - Scott Baker finally suffered a AA defeat. He gave up five runs (3 earned) on five hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out three. He is now 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA. Jon Pridie came in in relief and gave up just one hit in three innings. 1B Garrett Jones went 2-4 with a double.
FORT MYERS MIRACLE
Miracle 7, Sarasota 3 - The Miracle got some run support for an over-used pitching staff. Marcus Moseley started and went 3 innings. He gave up a run on four hits and a walk. Kevin Cameron got the win pitching the fourth and fifth innings. He gave up a run on two hits. Justin Olson finished up the final two frames and gave up a run on two hits and a walk. 3B Michael Sandoval went 2-3 with a double and two RBI. C Jose Morales went 2-3 wit ha double and two RBI... also.
Miracle 2, Sarasota 5 - Game two was not as good for the Miracle. 1B Danny Matienzo went 2-3 with the lone two RBI. The team had just three other hits in Game 2. Matt Yeatman gave up five runs (3 earned) on five hits and three walks. He did strike out six. Erik Lohse came in and pitched two perfect innings before Jannio Gutierrez pitched a perfect 7th.
THE SWING OF THE QUAD CITIES
Swing 3, Wisconsin 8 - Adam Harben got hit pretty hard. In 6 1/3 innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk. He also struck out six. Julio DePaula had his first bad outing of the year. It shouldn't be surprising since he pitches pretty much every day. He got just one out and gave up four hits and two walks for six runs. He did strike out that one batter! Billy Mauer gave up a hit and two walk in the final 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two. The Swing managed just six hits. 1B Dusty Gomon's double was the lone extra-base hit
Any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, e-mail me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
**Please head over to The View from The Bleachers and vote in The World Series of Blogs! They have included SethSpeaks in the AL Central contenders.
__________________________________________________________________________
That is it for me for today. Have yourself a wonderful Wednesday!! As always, if you have any questions or comments on anything, please e-mail me.