2010 Players to Watch: Mat-Su Miners

The Mat-Su Miners contingent in the 2010 Colony Days
Parade in Palmer, Alaska

The Mat-Su Miners were the last team in the league to release the names of their 2010 roster, which left us all scratching our heads when I was writing up watch lists for all the teams. When I wrote up the 2010 season preview, I kind of assumed that the Miners would be a team to beat based simply on the fact that they've won more games over the past three years than any other team in the league, and it would be a pretty dramatic fall for them to drop below .500 this year. So far on the young season they haven't disappointed in the winning department (although we still have a lot of games left to play).

So before we get too deep into the year, let's take a look at some of the more intriguing names on the team. The Miners will be led in 2010 by a plethora of talented pitchers, many of whom are also two-way players who can handle the bat pretty well to boot. I've picked a handful of players who I think will be interesting to follow throughout the season. The names on this list are not necessarily the "best" players on the team, but rather those who I feel have an interesting combination of talent, potential, interesting background stories, and/or previous performance to make them worth watching. There's also a "peripheral vision" list, with some guys who also roused my curiosity but maybe I didn't have enough info on to write a whole paragraph. Here's the list:

Players to Watch

RHP Robert Benincasa
Florida State
Freshman - 6'1" 180lb

Benincasa is our "already been drafted relatively high" pick for the Miners. As a high schooler he was drafted during the 33rd round by Toronto, which is pretty high for a prep non-uber prospect. High enough that a lot of people thought he would sign. Word has it that he was also on the radar of several other teams. He'll be untouchable for a couple more seasons as a DI freshman, but if he can make the most of his college career -- not to mention in front of the scouts up here in AK -- he'll be a pretty nice draft prospect for 2012 and/or 2013.


OF Pablo Bermudez
Florida International
Sophomore - 5'11" 190lb

Bermudez was ranked by Baseball America is the #8 prospect in the Valley League last year, which is another respected wood-bat summer league. But, how does that stack up to the Alaska League? We'll have to find out if this kid's for real, or what. He's got significant speed which makes him a threat on the basepaths as well as in the outfield, and though he's not really tall he's got a solid build on him.

RHP Joaquin Hinojosa
Texas A&M
Junior - 5'11" 180lb

Hinojosa has had a good reason to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder for the past few years. Originally recruited to play for Texas Tech, they told him to spend a year in JuCo before they could bring him onboard; after the year was complete, they went back on their offer and left him in the lurch. Hinojosa played another year of junior college before getting his shot at DI with Texas A&M where he started 40 games and put up decent numbers this year. Wouldn't it be a great story if Hinojosa had a break-out season in AK, got picked up to go pro, and went on to be a big time player? I don't know if that's in the cards but I'd love to see him rub all the naysayers' noses in it.


RHP Ben Koenigsfeld
Army
Junior - 6'1" 205lb

Koenigsfeld was considered a big-time prospect in high school before signing on with Army to play college ball. He's a two-way player that can also cover the outfield and handle the bat pretty well, so he'll be a valuable part of the Miners' roster. The College Baseball Blog ranked him in their top 100 at #86, and he's won numerous academic awards, proving that he's got the smarts and dedication to go far in this game.

OF Tyler Ruch
Central Missouri
Junior - 5'10" 170lb

Tyler Ruch is another "human interest" story. He very well could have been done with baseball had he not gone for a Hail Mary pass and had some serious back surgery not long ago. He's fought hard to recover and stay in the game, and now playing summer ball up in AK will be a real stress test to see if he can hold up to the rigors of a pro-style season. Can he hang? We'll find out.

Peripheral Vision

Here are a few more guys to watch out for. I've got a little blurb to indicate why they interest me; I might not have had enough info to write a whole paragraph on for these guys but they still might turn out to have an interesting season.

Jon Hughes -- very good in Hamptons League last year
Geoffrey Davenport -- has experience in Texas League, started a few for Arkansas this year, pitched pretty well
Scott Sitz -- held opponents to a .210 average as a freshman reliever/spot starter, came through in several big games
Andy Mee -- FAU Male athlete of the year and two-year JUCO team MVP
Kirk Jewasko -- Second team DII All-American