2010 Projected Roster: Toledo Mud Hens

Each day this week (through Thursday), I will post my 2010 projected rosters for the Detroit Tigers and their full-season minor league affiliates, along with some commentary.  Of course, this is all mere speculation on my part; it is mostly an exercise intended to enhance my knowledge (and hopefully the reader's) of the Tigers' prospects and farm system.  In doing this, I have been heavily reliant on both baseball-reference and Matt Wallace's Take 75 North (which you should subscribe to, if you don't already), as well as demondeaconsbaseball's previous depth chart posts.  (Don't forget to vote in the poll at the end!)

2010 Toledo Mud Hens projected roster:

C           Robinzon Diaz

1B         Ryan Strieby

2B         Don Kelly

3B         Brent Dlugach

SS         Cale Iorg

RF         Brennan Boesch

CF         Casper Wells

LF          Wilkin Ramirez

DH         Jeff Larish

C           Mike Rabelo

IF           Will Rhymes

IF/OF     Kory Casto

OF         Jeff Frazier

SP        Armando Galarraga

SP        Alfredo Figaro

SP        Eddie Bonine

SP        Scot Drucker

SP        Brooks Brown

CL        Cody Satterwhite

SU        Daniel Schlereth

SU        Zach Simons

RP        Casey Fien

RP        Brad Thomas

RP        Josh Rainwater

RP        Jay Sborz

Unemployed: Ryan Roberson, Ruddy Lugo, Enrique Gonzalez

Commentary after the jump:

The Lineup: B+

Wow, this lineup looks pretty intimidating by AAA standards, especially compared to some of the fodder they trotted out last year.  Strieby, Wells, Boesch, Ramirez, and Larish are all legitimate power threats, and both Dlugach and Kelly have had pretty significant success in Toledo.  If the Tigers try to get Strieby some time in left field, so much the better, but I doubt that he'll stick.  Diaz should be adequate at the plate but will probably be a step down from Dusty Ryan last year.  The only reason Cale Iorg would be promoted is because Audy Ciriaco will be starting at short at AA Erie and Gustavo Nunez will be at A+ Lakeland, and there is no reason to inhibit either of their developments because Iorg continues to disappoint.  Another possibility would be that either Iorg or Ciriaco switch positions.

The Bench: C

Probably a typical AAA bench, full of minor league flotsam and organizational soldiers.  Nothing to see here.

The Starters: C+

Not a whole lot to be excited about here either.  Galarraga, Figaro, and Bonine should probably pick out some good driving tunes and start gassing up their cars, as they will probably be on I-75 before too long, shuttling back and forth between the Tigers and Mud Hens as soon as Bonderman, Robertson, and Willis (inevitably) go down to injury.  Drucker spent some time in the AFL, but is probably nothing more than a place-holder.  Brown, who was brought over from Arizona for James Skelton, is also just back-of-the-rotation fodder.

The Bullpen: A

Talk about a powerhouse bullpen.  This should be one of the best and most exciting pens in the International League.  Schlereth, Satterwhite, Simons, and Fien should each be guaranteed a spot, and Thomas will almost certainly join them if he doesn't make the Tigers.  The Tigers went through the effort of protecting Sborz this winter, and he excelled in limited innings in Erie last year, so I'm pretty confident he has a spot.  Rainwater didn't do too well upon promotion to Toledo last year, but I'd be a little surprised if he was sent back to Erie, unless the Tigers have someone else they really need to fit into the Hens' pen.

Conclusion:

This is a much more exciting Mud Hens team than last year's.  The lineup should score plenty of runs, especially if Strieby stays healthy.  The bullpen should provide plenty of reason to hang around in the later innings.  In fact, I'm almost as excited for the Hens' season as I am for the Tigers', but mostly because I'll get to see the Hens play my local Durham Bulls.  (If any North Carolinian BYB readers would like to meet for a Hens-Bulls game, let me know!)

Bonus poll:

I'm having a lot of trouble deciding which rotation Casey Crosby and Andy Oliver will find themselves in this season.  Will the Tigers be aggressive and give them the Erie challenge?  Will they play it conservative and let them begin in Lakeland with a mid-season call up?  Help me decide!