2009 NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft today I will be giving my thoughts on all the picks in the first round. Enjoy

1. Detroit Lions- Mathew Stafford QB Georgia

My Take: I think its a solid pick because the Lions need a QB and he has a strong arm and I think he will be very good.

Last NFL Mock Draft of the 2009 NFL DRAFT

1. Detroit Lions- Mathew Stafford QB Georgia
2. St. Louis Rams- Jason Smith OT Baylor
3. Kansas City Chiefs- Aaron Curry LB Wake Forest
4. Seattle Seahawks- Mark Sanchez QB USC
5. Cleveland Browns- B.J. Raji DT Boston College
6. Cincinnati Bengals- Eugene Monroe OT Virginia
7. Oakland Raiders- Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri
8. Jacksonville Jaguars- Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech.
9. Green Bay Packers- Andre Smith OT Alabama
10. San Francisco 49ers- Michael Oher OT Ole Miss
11. Buffalo Bills- Brian Orakpo DE Texas
12. Denver Broncos- Tyson Jackson DE LSU
13. Washington Redskins- Aaron Maybin DE Penn St
14. New Orleans Saints- Chris Wells RB Ohio State
15. Houston Texans- Malcolm Jenkins S Ohio State
16. San Diego Chargers- Robert Ayers DE Tennessee
17. New York Jets- Josh Freeman QB Kansas State
18. Denver Broncos- Knowshaun Moreno RB Georgia
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Everette Brown DE Penn St.
20. Detroit Lions- Peria Jerry DT Ole Miss
21. Philadelphia Eagles- Percy Harvin WR Florida
22. Minnesota Vikings- Eben Britton OT Arizona
23. New England Patriots- Brian Cushing LB USC
24. Atlanta Falcons- Rey Maualuga LB USC
25. Miami Dolphins- Vontae Davis CB Illinois
26. Baltimore Ravens- Clay Mathews LB USC
27. Indianapolis Colts- Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland
28. Buffalo Bills- Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma St
29. New York Giants- Hakeem Nicks WR North Carolina
30. Tennessee Titans- Larry English DE N. Illinois
31. Arizona Cardinals- Ziggy Wood OT Missouri
32. Pittsburgh Steelers- Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest.

The Return of a Phenom

There was some talk this spring that Deibinson Romero had lost his top prospect status. Romero a year ago was known as a top Twins prospect before last year. Deibinson Romero is only 22 years old so he is very young for his level. The Twins signed Romero as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2004.

• In his first season with the GCL Twins he hit .313 with 4 homeruns and 38 rbi's in 50 games at the age of 19. He struggled a little defensively with 13 errors.
• In his second season Romero started the 2007 season in Elizabethton at the age of 20 he hit .316 with 9 homeruns and 52 rbi's in only 66 games. He then was promoted to Beloit to finish the season.
• In his Third season Romero start the 2008 season in Beloit at the age of 21. All I can say is it was a struggle as he struggled with injuries all season long only playing in 40 games. He hit .268 with 3hr and 18 rbi's. I think you need to forget that season and look at his past seasons.

I think Deibinson Romero is a prospect that many people are forgetting about and that is unfortunate because a year ago everybody was wondering who was going to be the better player between Valencia and Romero. Deibinson got off to a good start last night for Fort Myers going 3-5 with an rbi. His defense is a work in progress but it has gotten a little better every year. I really look for him to have a bounceback year this year and reestablish himself as a top prospect for the Twins. He won't be 23 until August so he is very young for his level and I believe in 2 years he will be challenging Danny Valencia for the starting 3rd basemen for the Twins.

The Twins farm system

I know this is a small sample size with the minor league season just getting underway but I have made a few observations so far.

• The Twins have a lot of good prospects in the system but the way these teams are put together I just don't see any good teams like we had last year with Fort Myers and Elizabethton. Rochester has some good players but I don't see the role players that every team needs to be a winning team. Look at the bullpen its primarily all left handers. Also you won't know from day to day what the lineup is going to be because you have so many people of the same skill level and who are basically utility players not type A prospects.
• In New Britain I am not liking how that team is put together. Like Matt Moses are they going to give him a chance if not just release him then. I did not see the point to bring both Rene Tosoni and Juan Portes up to New Britain. They do not have a lot of hitting and it will be worse when Danny Valencia moves up to Rochester. I am not very high on Jay Rainville at all he is getting shelled again tonight. I know some people are high on him but I just don't see it he had a bad year last year and not a good start to the season this year.
• The Jeff Manship ship needs to slow down because he is struggling against AA hitters. Last year after his promotion he was not real good at New Britain and the people that wanted him to go to Rochester need to settle down and let him figure it out before we start annointing him as a future Twin.
• The Twins had a rough game today against the Mariners. Glen Perkins was awesome today only giving up 5 hits and 1 run in 8 great innings. The problem is they could not hit and the Twins have had their games like this the last couple years. The Twins take their 2-2 record to Chicago to take on the White Sox. RA Dickey gets the start tommorrow night against Jose Contreras. Gametime is at 7:11 in Chicago

Top 50 prospects and teams

Thought I would update everyone on where the players on my top 50 prospect list will be starting their 2009 season.

1. Aaron Hicks- Elizabethton Twins
2. Ben Revere- Fort Myers Miracle
3. Wilson Ramos- New Britain Rockcats
4. Danny Valencia- New Britain Rockcats
5. Angel Morales- Beloit Snappers
6. Deolis Guerra- Fort Myers Miracle
7. Kevin Mulvey- Rochester Red Wings
8. Carlos Guitteriez- Fort Myers Miracle
9. Shooter Hunt- Beloit Snappers
10. Jeff Manship- New Britain Rock Cats
11. Trevor Plouffe- Rochester Red Wings
12. Dustin Martin- Rochester Red Wings
13. Chris Parmalee- Fort Myers Miracle
14. Luke Hughes- Rochester Red Wings
15. Rene Tosoni- New Britain Rock Cats
16. Anthony Swarzak- Rochester Red Wings
17. Tyler Robertson- Fort Myers Miracle
18. Joe Benson- Fort Myers Miracle
19. Deibinson Romero- Fort Myers Miracle
20. Mike Mccardell- Fort Myers Miracle
21. Jose Mijares- Rochester Red Wings
22. David Winfree- Rochester Red Wings
23. Rob Delaney- New Britain Rock Cats
24. Anthony Slama- New Britain Rock Cats
25. David Bromberg- Fort Myers Miracle
26. Erik Lis- New Britain Rock Cats
27. Alex Burnett- Fort Myers Miracle
28. Jason Pridie- Rochester Red Wings
29. Dan Osterbock- Beloit Snappers
30. Brian Dinkelman- New Britain Rock Cats
31. Brian Duensing- Twins
32. Steve Tolleson- New Britain Rock Cats
33. Steve Singelton- Fort Myers Miracle
34. Daniel Ortiz- Elizabethton Twins
35. Cole Devries- New Britain Rock Cats
36. Jay Rainville- New Britain Rock Cats
37. Juan Portes- New Britain Rock Cats
38. Yohan Pino- New Britain Rock Cats
39. Jon Waltenbury- Beloit Snappers
40. Brock Peterson- Rochester Red Wings
41. Evan Bigley- Beloit Snappers
42. Alex Soto- Beloit Snappers
43. Steven Hirschfeld- Fort Myers Miracle
44. Philip Humber- Twins
45. Mitre Garcia- Elizabethton Twins
46. Edward Ovalle- Fort Myers Miracle
47. Ryan Mullins- New Britain Rock Cats
48. Tyler Ladendorf- Elizabethton Twins
49. Santos Arias- Fort Myers Miracle
50. Zack Ward- New Britain Miracle

Beloit Snappers

Im still waiting to get word on the roster for the Fort Myers Miracle but I was able to get ahold of the Beloit roster and it is very interesting. There is no Aaron Hicks on the roster. That was expected and I expect him to be manning centerfield for Etown. Here is the roster.

C- Alex Soto
1b- Jon Waltenbury
2b- James Beresfeld
SS- Ramon Santana
3b- Nick Romero
Lf- Evan Bigley
Cf- Angel Morales
Rf- Michael Harrington
Dh-Hank Sanchez

Bench
Eli Tintor
Dominic De la osa
Adan Severino
Nate Hansen

Pitching
1. Shooter Hunt
2. Dan Osterbock
3. Brad Tippett
4. Henry Reyes
5. Bobby Lanigan

Relievers
Closer- Danny Hernandez
Michael Allen
Steve Blevins
Danny Rondon
Joe Testa
Thomas Wrights

DL
Brian Kirwan
Michael Tarsi
Blake Matin
Curtis Leavitt

Let me know what you think

New Britain Rock Cats

The Roster for the New Britain Rock Cats has been revealed and it is very easy not to argue with it. The thing that I took from it is if your going to beat the Rockcats you better get a lead after 7 innings because with both Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama on the roster look out. Without further adeiu here you go.

C- Wilson Ramos
1b- Whit Robbins
2b- Brian Dinkelman
SS- Yancarlos Ortiz
3b- Danny Valencia
Lf- Juan Portes
Cf- Brandon Roberts
Rf- Rene Tosoni
Dh- Erik Lis

Bench
Steve Tolleson
Allan De San Miguel(Jeff Christy will replace him when Joe Mauer returns to the Twins.)
Joe Gaetti
Matt Moses
Toby Gardenhire

Pitchers
1. Jeff Manship
2. Jay Rainville
3. Ryan Mullins
4. Cole Devries
5. Matt Fox

Bullpen
Closer- Rob Delaney
Anthony Slama
Jose Lugo
Zach Ward
Frank Mata
Yohan Pino

Everyone let me know what you think.

Rochester Red Wings

The 2009 Rochester Red Wings roster has been revealed and I guess the thing that surprises me is no Rob Delaney. I thought he would make it but I guess they are being cautious with him. I don't think it will be very long till you see him up with the Red Wings.
C- Drew Butera
1st- Brock Peterson
2nd- Matt Tolbert
SS- Trevor Plouffe
3b- Luke Hughes
Lf- Dustin Martin
Cf- Jason Pridie
Rf- David Winfree
Dh- Justin Huber

Reserves
Jeff Christy
Alejandro Machado
Matt Macri
Tommy Watkins

Pitching- Here is my projected starting 5 for the first week or so until Scott Baker comes off the DL.
1. Kevin Mulvey
2. Anthony Swarzak
3. Jason Jones
4. Mike Gosling
5. Bobby Keppel
6* Ben Hendrickson will be in the rotation when he comes back from the DL. The starting 5 when he comes back and Baker goes back to the Twins will be Mulvey, Swarzak, Jones, Hendrickson, and Duensing or Dickey.


Bullpen
Closer: Jose Mijares
Armando Gabino
Ben Julianel
Tim Lahey
Carmen Pignatiello
Sean Henn
Reid Santos

What does everyone think about the Rochester roster

2009 Minnesota Twins

With the cut of Matt Tolbert today and with Scott Baker going to the disabled list this is your opening day Minnesota Twins. I see Dickey if he pitches good in Chicago staying as a reliever with Duensing going down but without any furth adieu here is the Minnesota Twins 2009 opening day roster.
C- Mike Redmond
1st- Justin Mourneau
2b- Alexi Casilla
ss- Nick Punto
3b- Joe Crede
Lf- Delmon Young
Cf- Carlos Gomez
Rf- Michael Cuddyer
Dh- Jason Kubel

Bench
Denard Span
Brian Buscher
Brendan Harris
Jose Morales

Pitchers
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Nick Blackburn
3. Kevin Slowey
4. Glen Perkins
5. RA Dickey

Bullpen
Closer- Joe Nathan
Jesse Crain
Craig Breslow
Luis Ayala
Matt Guerrier
Philip Humber
Brian Duensing

• Today, the Twins had their final spring road game in Bradenton against the Pirates and it ended up in a tie 4-4.
• Kevin Slowey pitched his last start of the spring and was good as always going 5 innings and only giving up a run on 3 hits. His Spring ERA was an awesome 2.02. I really look forward to his season this year because I think he is in for a jump in wins and lower his era by a run.
• The Twins were led by Brian Buscher who went 2-3 with a 3run homerun that put the Twins ahead. Michael Cuddyer also had 2 hits to pace the Twins.
• Tommorrow the Twins host the Pirates in the final spring training game of the year as the Twins try to get to 20 wins for the spring. Glen Perkins will get the start for the Twins in Fort Myers. Gametime will be at 12:05.

Wednesday, April 1st

The Twins are closing in on their 25 man roster as they made 3 cuts yesterday 2 of them were expected and one that took me off guard.

• Jose Morales beat out Drew Butera for the backup catchers job for a few weeks until Joe Mauer gets healthy. I have to admit I had that wrong I was pretty sure that they would go with Butera because of his strong defense and ability calling a game. However, Morales got it because he is a superior hitter and has improved behind the plate. Being that he has spent the last couple years in AAA he is probably better able to hit major league pitching. It is a short term thing because the Twins are adament that Mauer will be playing sometime in April so im happy for Morales to get the chance with the Twins.
• In an expected move Jose Mijares was sent to AAA. As much as it was expected I am sure it was a blow for the Twins because there was a lot expected out of Mijares this year after letting Dennys Reyes go after last season. He did not allow them to keep him this spring because first he showed up at camp out of shape and then had a 9.90era this spring. This move does not guarantee that Brian Duensing is going to make the team all it means is Jose Mijares won't. With RA Dickey and Philip Humber still in camp there is a chance they could go with Dickey and Humber with Craig Breslow as the only left handed pitcher in the bullpen.
• As expected Alejandro Machado was reassigned to minor league camp and is expected to come off the bench for Rochester. Jeff Christy was told he will be cut but stay in camp until Saturday to help with catching the pitchers.
• According to Lavelle E. Neal the Twins are looking at trades to settle their roster problems. He said it is possible that either Brenden Harris or Philip Humber could be traded or both. I really hope that doesn't happen because as much as I like Matt Tolbert I would really be disappointed if they got rid of Brenden Harris because you really don't know if Joe Credes back is going to hold up on the turf. I know everyone says bring up Luke Hughes or Danny Valencia. I would not bring up Valencia because why rush him let him spend the year in between New Britain and Rochester and be ready for next year. As for Hughes has anyone seen his defense it is horrible almost as bad as Brian Buscher's so I would not be too happy with that platoon. Humber on the other hand if they believe that RA Dickey gives them a better arm in the bullpen then I would try to get something for him before I would release him.
• Yesterday, the Twins got 19 hits and a good outing by Nick Blackburn to get a nice 12-8 win.
• Nick Blackburn made his final start of the spring going 5 innings and only gave up 2 runs. He appears ready to pitch next Friday night in Chicago.
• Joe Testa had the line of the spring and not in a good way. Testa was brought up for the day because of the cuts the Twins have been making. Testa faced 7 batters and gave up 3 hits and walked 3 while only retired 1 batter. At the end he gave up 5 runs for an era of 135. That is not a line he won't soon forget and im sure his teammates with the Miracle won't let him forget it. Im sure when he makes it with the Twins he will remember his first outing with Twins.
• The Twins are a little nickedup so they had quite an outfield yesterday. Delmon Young has a sore shoulder and didn't play. Carlos Gomez had to take his pregnent wife to the doctor so he wasn't there. Michael Cuddyer had to go to the Twin Cities for a follow up appointment on his surgically repaired finger. So the outfield consisted of Jason Kubel in left, Denard Span in Center, and former first round pick Chris Parmalee in right.
• Matt Moses was very impressive in his start yesterday going 3-5 with an rbi. That was huge because hopefully that will be the start of a big season for Matt because he is in danger of being released if he doesn't have a good year. Im really pulling for him because he has alot of talent and a former 1st round pick in 2003.
• The Twins are getting close to the end with only 4 spring games left. Today, the Twins take on the Pirates in Fort Myers at 12:05. RA Dickey gets the start today as he tries to solidify a roster spot with the Twins. It should be interesting if he comes out and has a good outing. The good news is only 5 more days until the opener.