Minnesota's Opening Day Roster

The Bats

After a relatively successful season, very little has changed in Minnesota’s lineup from last season.

LINEUP VS RHP+DH # B Name Pos AVG HR RBI SB 1 L Bob Brown 1B .294 2 5 0 2 L Luis Rodríguez 2B .385 1 7 0 3 L Larry White RF .423 3 7 0 4 L Peter Blanchard DH .130 1 3 0 5 L Harley Fisher CF .192 0 4 2 6 L Kevin Tolbert LF .278 2 4 0 7 S Alan Hurt 3B .240 2 4 1 8 R Sam Harper SS .200 0 0 0 9 R Bodil Larsen C .222 0 0 0

LINEUP VS LHP+DH # B Name Pos AVG HR RBI SB 1 R Bodil Larsen C .222 0 0 0 2 L Bob Brown 1B .294 2 5 0 3 L Larry White RF .423 3 7 0 4 R Eric McSwan DH .000 0 1 0 5 L Harley Fisher CF .192 0 4 2 6 R Sam Harper SS .200 0 0 0 7 L Tony Parker LF .250 0 0 0 8 S Alan Hurt 3B .240 2 4 1 9 L Luis Rodríguez 2B .385 1 7 0

To the starting hitters, the biggest change was the addition of Eric McSwan, whose RHB will be a regular in the lineup vs. LHP.   Acquired from Mile High, McSwan was mainly a salary dump for the Mustangs and came along with RHP Scott Wilson for OF Floyd Cross.   The Minnesota front office hopes he’ll return closely to former numbers in their more hitter friendly park.

Beyond that, Larry White gets the opening day starting spot in RF.   He had over 300 ABs last season after getting the call-up whne Kevin Tolbert was injured and played regularly even after Tolbert’s return, so this is more of a cosmetic change than an actual change.  He replaces the spot that Tim Duncan and, after the trade, Tom Klein, held.   

The Arms:

PITCHING STAFF

Role	T	Pitcher	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter	R	Evan Warner	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	0.50	Out
Starter	L	Franklin Cox	1	1	1	0	0	6.14	1.50	Rested
Starter	R	James Phillips	1	1	1	0	0	3.86	1.14	Rested
Starter	R	Chris Wine	1	1	0	0	0	7.20	1.40	Slightly Tired
Starter	R	Joe Myers	1	1	0	0	0	3.68	1.36	Tired
Middle Reliever	R	Steve Johnson	3	0	0	1	1	3.38	1.13	Rested
Middle Reliever	R	Keiji Jouon	1	1	1	0	0	0.00	0.72	Totally Exhausted
Middle Reliever	R	J.J. Harrison	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.50	Rested
Specialist	L	Ken Hubert	2	0	0	0	0	4.91	0.82	Rested
Closer	R	Roy Cole	4	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.88	Rested
Closer	R	Dennis Stanford	3	0	1	1	0	5.40	1.20	Rested

The pitching staff, from starter to bullpen is mostly the same as well, though Jim Brady has departed and Jim Phillips will have his spot from the start this season and Chris Wine starts the season in the rotation after his “incident” last season.   Look for RHP Scott Wilson to be the first replacement for an injured or stumbling pitcher.

Players to watch:

Peter Blanchard is in the last year of his contract.   He’s asking for a lot but is still young and an excellent hitter despite his declining ratings.   It will largely be up to his performance and continued trend this season, along with what he’s asking for for next year.

Roy Cole is also closing out a contract and has looked incredibly solid in spring training.  It’s tough to know if Minnesota will keep the aging closer, especially with two young hurlers in the minors.

Minnesota Announces Team Awards

Best Glove:   2B Luis “Patches” Rodriguez.   Producing one of the highest zone ratings of any defensive player (16.6) in league and far and beyond the rest of the team, he was an easy selection.  While other defensive stats don’t tell much, Rodriguez had 518 assists, almost more than any other position combined on the team and that was just in 137 games.  That number of assists showcases an ability to make a play on anything anywhere in his vicinity.    He was a close second for team MVP as he managed a 6.0 WAR, the highest on the team.

Best Arm:  RP Dennis Stanford.   The life of a pitcher in the RCL is tough, and while starters typically provide more overall value, the most reliable pitcher was Dennis “Condor” Stanford.   His 2.22 ERA over 85 IP went along with a 3.03 FIP.   On a team where the pen struggled down the stretch, Stanford was a rock, striking out 81 and walking just 29.   He finished with more wins (7) and fewer losses (3) than any other reliever on the team except one, and that was in spite of taking on the opposing teams best hitters and coming in situations with the game on the line.

Best Bat/Rookie/MVP:  1B Bob Brown.  On a team full of hitters who had good seasons, Brown stood out, in the running for the batting title until the last week of the season.  Given the difficult job of taking over 1st base for one of the leagues’s most noted hitters, Peter Blanchard (who, by the way , is younger than Brown), Brown kept pace with the younger veteran and hit .359/.398/.544.    Brown hit 33 HR and knocked in a 107 RBIs, most of which were from the leadoff spot.  It’s not the ideal spot for a player like that, but in the Berserkers’ lineup, chalk full of power hitters, he was forced to.  Brown added extra value for being almost as successful against LHP (.365/.391/.482) and it was this fact that earned him the triple title.    Brown looks like a favorite for overall Rookie of the Year.