Twins Draft Picks Rounds 5-16

Here are the guys the Twins picked in Rounds 5 through 16 with my comments:

5th — Tobias Streich, C West Virginia.  His 2009 OPS was .854, which doesn’t impress me.  I assume that the Twins choose him for his glove work.

6th — Chris Herrmann, C Miami.  His 2009 OPS was .986.  He was taken in the 10th round last year by the Orioles, so I assume he was a senior this year, although he does not turn 22 until November.  He can also play 3B.  I have to assume that he is not as good a defensive catcher as Streich.

7th — Bradley Stillings, RHP Kent State.  Has a good arm; not currently a good pitcher.

8th — Brian Dozier, SS Southern Mississippi.  Despite putting up three solid seasons through 2008, he was not drafted last year and went back to Southern Miss for his senior year.  He played well but apparently missed about 40% of the season with an injury.

9th — Nick Lockwood, SS (HS) Lutz, Florida.  Note that Lockwood is the first high school player taken by the Twins in the ‘09 Draft.

10th — Blake Dean, OF LSU.  He had a great year in ‘08, hitting 20 HRs and compiling an 1.097 OPS.  He fell off a bit this year, hitting only 15 HRs and his OPS down to 1.023.  Nevertheless, looks like a pretty good hitter to be left until the 10th round.

11th — Ronnie Richardson, OF (HS) Eagle Lake, Florida.  Note that an awful lot of drafted players come out of Florida and California.

12th — Tony Davis, LHP Florida.  He’s a relief pitcher.  After two brutal years his first two college seasons, he blossomed this year as the Gators’ primary set-up man, going 5-0 and posting a 2.25 ERA.  In 44 innings, he allowed 29 hits, 18 BBs and had 37 K’s.  Looks like a good pick for Round 12.

13th — Clarence Davis, SS (HS) Smyra, Georgia.  Note that of players drafted out of high school, the vast majority are shortstops and centerfielders.  At the high school level, the best position players on the team usually play SS or CF.

14th — Matthew Tone, LHP SUNY Cortland.  SUNY Cortland is a Division III power, having played in the Division III playoffs (54 schools make it) for 17 consecutive seasons.  Tone had a fine 2009, going 8-0 with a 3.07 ERA while walking 32 and striking out 84 in 67.1 innings.  He didn’t pitch for SUNY Cortland in ‘08; presumably he was pitching at a junior college.

15th — Steven Liddle, OF Vanderbilt.  He red-shirted his first year at Vandy, so he was a 21 year old sophmore in ‘09.  He had a 1.o15 OPS this year.  Another good pick for this late in the draft.

16th — Dakota Watts, RHP CSU Stanislaus.  For those of you who don’t know California, this state college is in or just outside of Modesto.  The team mostly plays second-tier state schools in and around California.  Watts had a solid ‘09 season with an 8-4 record and a 3.65 ERA.  He also had 33 BB’s and 68 K’s in 67.1 IP.  He also appears to have come from a junior college.