2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft

The Major League Baseball draft never gets the attention that the other major sports yet. With the NFL and NBA drafts, you will see players that will make an immediate impact on their teams. In baseball, a drafted players may not make the club for another few years.

This year's draft is a little different with the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State. However, from this year's draft, I will be following Kyle Gibson from the University of Missouri.



The Twins drafted Kyle Gibson in the first round of the draft on Tuesday. MLB.com describes Gibson in this way.

Gibson certainly looked the part of a top college starter in the early part of the season. He has three pitches he can throw for strikes in any count and he shows a lot of poise and a competitive streak on the mound. Scouts love his size at 6-foot-6, though some might worry he's a little too thin. Most look at his combination of stuff, command and mound presence and see a sure-fire first-round pick.

LaValle E. Neall III from the Star Tribune also writes more in-depth about Kyle Gibson.

To be honest, I had no idea who Kyle Gibson was until he was drafted. Unlike the other sports, there is little reporting and speculation about who a team will draft. Also unlike other sports, there are 50 rounds of players and most of them will never make never set foot on Target Field. Who knows if Gibson will even make it this far.

Here is a run down of the Twins recent first round picks (including compensation and supplemental picks) and where they are now.

2008 - Aaron Hicks - Rookie League GCL Twins CF
2008 - Carlos Gutierrez - Class Double-A New Britian Rock Cats SP
2008 - Shooter Hunt - Class A Beloit Snappers SP
2007 - Ben Revere - Class A-Advanced Fort Myers Miracle CF
2006 - Chris Parmalee - Class A-Advanced Fort Myers Miracle RF
2005 - Matt Garza - Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher and ALCS MVP
2005 - Hank Sanchez - Class A Beloit Snappers DH
2004 - Trevor Plouffe - Class Triple-A Rochester Red Wings shortstop
2004 - Glen Perkins - Twins starting pitcher
2004 - Stephen Waldrop - Class A-Advanced Fort Myers Miracle RP
2004 - Matt Fox - Class Double-A New Britian Rock Cats SP
2004 - Jay Rainville - Class Double-A New Britian Rock Cats SP
2003 - Matt Moses - Class Double-A New Britian Rock Cats LF
2002 - Denard Span - Twins starting outfielder
2001 - Joe Mauer - Twins All-Star catcher and AL batting champ

From a baseball card point of view, we could see Kyle Gibson in this year's Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects... and, hopefully, not in Razor.

Four in the Outfield

With my blog, I also wanted to write, not just about baseball cards, but about the team. This post will be a first in a number of season previews. Though, the preview will not be about where I think the Twins will stand in the Central Division after Game 162 (because we all know I'm going to say they will be first), but just some of the aspects about the team.

First, we have four starting outfielders where there is room only for three: Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Gomez, Denard Span and Delmon Young. Cuddyer is coming back from injuries that caused him to miss most of last season. Gomez at first surprised opposing teams with his quickness off of bunt hits and his range in the outfield, but was figured out when teams figured out he would swing at every bad pitch. Span, who started last year in Rochester, but was called up after Cuddyer's injury and secured a spot on the Twins roster. Young, the former #1 pick traded from Tampa Bay, disappointed in the field and at the plate early in the season, but established himself later on. There has been talk of simply rotating all four equally throughout the season, but I'm not sure any player, or fan, wants to see a rotating outfield.

I am most anxious to see how Delmon Young will bounce back from his first season in a Twins uniform. Part of the reason was because I was at one of the games in 2007 when the Twins played the Devil Rays. The Twins won that game 12-5, but Young was a beast in that game. He hit 2 for 4 with a double. But, from right field, he has a cannon for an arm making triples into doubles and doubles into singles. During this series, Young his .294 with a HR and 2 RBI. Young was third in the American League in outfield assists in 2006; Michael Cuddyer was first.

After, Young was traded to the Twins, he became the starting left fielder. Despite the slow start at the plate and a number of blunders in left, Young ended the season with a .290 average and lead the Twins outfield with 11 assists.

However, I'm hoping comments made by manager, Ron Gardenhire, in the offseason has lit a fire under him. Young is having a hot spring and it's looking like he is ready to earn a starting outfield spot.

Michael Cuddyer, of course, is coming back from injuries and is looking to get back into form. Some fans and sports writers have suggested moving him back to third to clear up the outfield, but I don't know how you can see how well he plays in right and how horrible he was at third in 2005 and say that with a straight face. However, since his breakout 2006 season in which he drove in for than 100 runs, we haven't seen that production in 2007 or 2008. I really like Cuddyer, I even had an autographed Michael Cuddyer baseball, and I would like to see him get back to his form.

Carlos Gomez was exciting to watch at the start of last year with the Torii-esque plays in the outfield and those bunt hits that would catch pitchers by surprised. However, teams started to figure him out and found out he chased about every bad pitch. Still, he has a lot of upside. If he can get past the mental lapses in center, Gomez can become a Gold Glove outfielder. If he can start watching his pitches, he can become one the leagues best lead-off hitters. There's also talk that he has home run power to harness. Gomez is also off to a hot spring hitting .313.

Denard Span, the Twins #1 pick in 2002, was called up to the big leagues in 2008 after the injury to Cuddyer and showed that he deserved a starting spot in the outfield. While he played right field and center field last year, he has been playing some in the left field this spring. However, Span has been pretty cold at the bat hitting only .111. Did we see the best of Span last year or is this only a minor slump?

However, the outfield turns out, I'm hoping all four can improve from last year.