A Brief Look at the Elizabethton Roster

The Elizabethton Twins roster was finally posted today, and I just finished going through the organizational rankings making note of players now listed as playing there. Now, I'm going to briefly go through the names on the roster to let you know who I'm particularly interested in seeing play.

Catchers
The Elizabethton roster revealed some new information for me, as 2008 eighth round draft pick Jeff Lanning was listed. I hadn't seen his signing reported anywhere, so that was an interesting development. Lanning, who had a very good 2008 season with the University of New Orleans, should get the bulk of the playing time in Elizabethton (although maybe not -- he didn't play on opening night). He'll be joined by 2007 pick Daniel Rams, who was taken in the 2nd round a year ago. Rams hit just .258 in 97 AB's with the GCL Twins a year ago, but remember that he was adjusting from the high school game. This year should put him in a better light. Third stringer Alexander Soto hit .273 in 66 AB's for the GCL Twins a year ago, but I don't expect him to get a lot of playing time with Lanning and Rams in front of him.

Infielders
There are a number of very exciting players in the Elizabethton infield. I'm particularly intrigued by first baseman Rene Leveret, who hit .307 with an 862 OPS and 8 homers in 244 AB's for Elizabethton last year. The Twins must not have been convinced that he was for real, since those excellent numbers didn't earn him a promotion. I'm curious to see if he can put together another solid season in 2008 to prove he's for real. He's joined at 1st base by Jonathan Waltenbury, a 7th round pick from 2006 who was unexceptional last year in the GCL (.244/713/123 AB's), and, if he recovers from yet another injury, by Henry Sanchez. Sanchez was a first round selection back in 2005, but he's been a complete bust -- he's largely been unable to stay healthy, and even when he is on the field he's been unable to perform. I'd be willing to bet that we're in the end stage of his professional baseball career.

Up the middle, the most interesting name is Nick Papasan, who played well in limited action for the GCL Twins a year ago after he returned from injury. The Texan has been talked up incessantly by many of his fans from his high school days, so this will be his chance to live up to that hype. He's joined by Aussie James Beresford, Venezuelan Jeanfred Brito, and Puerto Rican Eric Santiago. Beresford and Brito both played well in the GCL a year ago, while Santiago struggled in Elizabethton and earned a return engagement.

At third base, the Twins will see what Juan Richardson can do after a solid 2007 season in the GCL, where he hit .317 with a 765 OPS. He'll be joined by former Golden Gopher Nathan Hanson, who was taken by the Twins in the 28th round of this years draft. As with Lanning, Hanson was a surprise to me because I didn't know he had signed.

Outfielders
There's a short crew in the outfield, with only four currently assigned to the team. Recent draft picks Evan Bigley (10th round out of Dallas Baptist University) and Michael Harrington (13th round out of the College of Charleston) appear to be similar players -- both are 6' tall and around 200 pounds, although Bigley hits from the right side and Harrington comes from the left. Both also have a bit of pop, so we'll how that translates with the wood bats. They are joined by 2007 draft picks Angel Morales (3rd Round) and Andrew Schmiesing (11th Round) who both played in the GCL a year ago. Morales, making the adjustment from high school, hit just .256 a year ago. Schmiesing, meanwhile, was coming out of St. Olaf college and had no trouble at the lowest professional level, hitting .321 in 109 AB's.

Pitchers
Starting rotations are usually a bit fluid in the short season teams, so I'm not going to split the guys up here. I'm also not going to comment on all of them. Two 2008 draft picks, Daniel Osterbrock (7th round - University of Cincinnati) and David Coulon (15th round - University of Arizona) have been assigned to Elizabethton, although Coulon appears to be on some sort of "reassignment" right now, so I'm not sure when, or if, he'll actually pitch for the team this year.

Other interesting names include recent Beloit pitchers Daniel Berlind and Bradley Tippett, who were sent down after struggling a bit so far this year (although neither of them was terrible). I'm also very excited to see Venezuelan Danny Rondon (1.14 ERA in 23.2 innings for the GCL a year ago), lefty Australian Jarrad Eacott (2.28 ERA in 27.2 innings for the GCL Twins in 2007), and Arkansan Lee Martin (18th round pick in 2007 who put up a 3.21 ERA in 14.0 innings in the GCL in 2007). Finally, because he's a Minnesotan who did well in 2007 (and because he's got a fun name), I'm curious to see how Mark Hamburger (1.20 ERA in 15.0 innings with the GCL in 2007) performs as well. No disrespect intended for any of the guys not mentioned, but these are the names I'm going to follow most closely in 2008 (unless someone gives me a reason to do otherwise!).

Elizabethton Twins Preview

Tonight, the Elizabethton Twins (High Rookie affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) kick off the 2007 Appalachian League season against the Kingsport Mets. The team roster is now available, and I have a few thoughts on the players that have been assigned to Elizabethton to start things off. Without further ado, here's a trip through the 2007 E-Twins roster (with my organizational ranking of the player in parentheses behind the player's name):

Catchers
1.) Greg Yersich - (7-C)
2.) Rodolfo Palacios - (9-C)
3.) Benjamin Petsch - (NR-C)

The big surprise here is Yersich, who started the season with the Beloit Snappers but played so terribly (he was hitting just .168 with a .406 OPS in 119 AB's for the Snappers) that he's been relegated back to Elizabethton to try to find his stride. Palacios played with the GCL Twins in 2006, and hit .279 with a 694 OPS in 37 games, so it was fairly clear that he was going to earn a promotion to Elizabethton this season. Finally, Petsch was just drafted a week and a half ago by the Twins in the 19th round out of Belmont University. His experience made it fairly clear that he would start his professional career with the E-Twins, and he should be pretty polished right out of the box.

Infielders
1.) Starling de los Santos - (12-SS)
2.) Matthew Lawman - (11-2B)
3.) Rene Leveret - (NR-1B)
4.) Deibinson Romero - (8-3B)
5.) Henry Sanchez - (9-1B)
6.) Eric Santiago - (8-SS)

The most interesting name on this list, although it's not unexpected, is Henry Sanchez. Drafted in the 1st round back in 2005, Sanchez has failed to impress at every juncture so far, and is probably entering a make-or-break year. Erik Lis, who was drafted behind Sanchez, has already made his way up to Ft. Myers -- but Sanchez has yet to hit above .229 at any professional level (and that was with the GCL Twins in 2005). Hopefully he's figured things out after a spring in Extended Spring Training.

Deibinson Romero is another interesting player to watch. He had an excellent first season in the organization, hitting .313/825 in 50 games for the GCL Twins last season. I suspect that those numbers would ordinarily have earned him a promotion directly to Beloit for this season if the Snappers didn't have an already crowded corner-infield situation. Another solid performance this year, however, will build some significant buzz for Romero.

Another interesting figure on this squad is Rene Leveret, who basically graduated out of the Dominican Summer League (sort of a low-low rookie league) with a solid 2006 performance that saw him hit .331 with a 936 OPS and 7 HR's in 254 AB's. Honestly, he wasn't even on my radar screen, so I'll be interested in seeing how he performs.

Outfielders
1.) Wesley Connor - (25-OF)
2.) Mark Dolenc - (28-OF)
3.) Ozzie Lewis - (NR-OF)
4.) Rene Tosoni - (14-3B)

I'll start with Tosoni, since you'll notice he's on my 3B ranking. Tosoni was a 2005 draft pick of the Twins who was never assigned to play anywhere last year. I assume that there was an injury situation, but I never saw anything official on that front so I can't be sure. The fact that he's being listed as an outfielder may be an indication of how the Twins intend to use him this summer -- but it also may mean nothing. Chris Parmelee was, I believe, originally listed as a 1B for Beloit to start the season, and he's spent the vast majority of his time in the outfield. We'll have to watch to see where Tosoni gets his playing time.

Ozzie Lewis was the Twins 21st round draft pick this season out of Fresno State University, and his college experience makes it unsurprising that he would be assigned to Elizabethton to start his professional career.

Wes Connor is a native of the Netherlands who struggled with Elizabethton last season, and so gets a return pass. Mark Dolenc, meanwhile, was selected in the 15th round last season out of Minnesota State-Mankato, and played pretty poorly in the GCL. Nonetheless, he earned the promotion to Elizabethton for this season, likely on the strength of his past college experience.

Pitchers
1.) Omar Alcala - (36-SP)
2.) Michael Allen - (38-SP)
3.) David Bromberg - (32-SP)
4.) Jose Castillo - (27-SP)
5.) Steven Hirschfeld - (NR-RP)
6.) Daniel Latham - (NR-RP)
7.) Curtis Leavitt - (39-SP)
8.) Henry Reyes - (NR-RP)
9.) Michael Rogers - (NR-RP)
10.) Anthony Slama - (NR-RP)
11.) Spencer Steedley - (NR-1B)
12.) Bradley Tippett - (45-RP)
13.) Ludovicus Van Mil - (31-SP)
14.) Matthew Williams - (41-RP)

First, it should be noted that at the Rookie League level, concepts like "starters" and "relievers" can often be rather flexible, and a lot of guys get some starts and some relief appearances. As a result, I'm not going to make any attempt at figuring out which of these guys will really be "starters" this year for the E-Twins.

Next, you probably noticed that Spencer Steedley is on my first baseman ranking page. That's because he was listed as a 1B on the Twins draft page, but Baseball America has him down as a OF/LHP. The fact that he's showing up as a pitcher on the roster probably indicates that that's where the Twins intend to use him. He was drafted by the Twins in the 25th round this year out of UNC-Charlotte.

Other interesting names? How about Ludovicus Van Mil, the 7'1" Dutchman? He broke in with the GCL Twins last season, putting up a 3.30 ERA in 43.2 innings to earn himself a promotion to Elizabethton. Also of interest are the first-timers -- guys like Anthony Slama, a 2006 pick who signed with the Twins just before the deadline, and like Steven Hirschfeld and Daniel Latham, who were drafted in the 9th and 15th rounds respectively out of San Diego State and Tulane Universities.

Finally, I'm very curious about two of the names on this list -- I've never heard of Henry Reyes or Michael Rogers, so when I get a chance I'll have to do a little bit of digging.