DRS Preview

Red Division: Elko, Lonsdale, Montgomery, Webster.

Elko: The returning state champs return a loaded squad headed by the best group of pitchers in the DRS. Brian Muell, Josh Roiger, Rob Brick, Andrew Lyke, Glen Parker and Jeremey Chaln give the Express 6 quality arms that should equal a ton of W's. Muell and Roiger are both capable of shutting down any team in the DRS, and should give hitters fit all season long. A lineup that features Justin Bailey, Ash Larsen, Nick Davis, Josh Thom, and Nick Judkins should put up plenty of runs to win the Red Division crown.

Lonsdale: Division champs a year ago, Lonsdale returns most of their roster from last season. Losing Chad Hoffman is going to hurt an already slim pitching staff, but they still feature perennial DRS ace Mike Jirik, as well as Phil Tisdel, Derek Christenson, and up and comer Zac Sirek. Depth should be a concern, but Jirik should still win plenty of games. Scoring runs might also be a problem for Lonsdale this season, because outside of Chad and Brian Vosejpka, their lineup struggles to feature many talented bats. Tom Popp is still a capable bat and good team guy, but they look to be a team in search of young talented bats.

Montgomery: It looks to be a down year for the Mallards, in terms of talent and number of players. It has been rumored that they struggled to find enough players to field a team this year, and their website doesn't even have an up to date player roster. Preview pending for now.

Webster: The Webster Sox struggled last season, and with holes in their lineup and pitching staff, things aren't looking the greatest for this season either. They have some quality players in Jay Chaln, Brett Hoffman, and Nate Nielson, but overall depth will ultimately be their down fall.

Projected Order of Finish:
1. Elko
2. Lonsdale
3. Montgomery
4. Webster



White Divison: St. Benedict, New Prague, Shakopee, St. Patrick

St. Benedict: After being a very competitive team in 2008, the Saints look to take another step forward to winning the White Division. The losses of Joe Lucas and Brad Lawson could prove to be detrimental to the pitching staff and lineup. Lucas and Lawson were quality arms and bats for the Saints in 08, and if they look to compete a high level this season they are going to need Steve Weiers to log quite a few innings.

New Prague: The O's are a very young team again, and much like last year are going to rely on Dan Novak and Dan Meger to eat up the bulk of the innings on the mound. Their lineup looks identical to last season's, featuring Dan Shetka, Dusty Steinhoff, Ross Skluzacek, Aaron Shetka and Steve Olson. They should be a solid defensive team overall, and they should challenge for the division crown.

Shakopee: Greg Sayuk, Matt Grieble, Ben Lazzari, Scott Greening and Nick Randall figure to throw the bulk of the innings for the Coyotes, and they should remain competitive throughout the 2009 season.

St. Patrick: The 5th place finishers from 2008 look to get back to the State Tournament once again in 2009. The defections of Derek Bergstrom and Luke Hunzel leave a few open spots on the Irish roster, but the roles abandoned by those 2 will be filled by new addition Seth Ambroz, and the return of Craig Boser at 3b. Replacing Bergstrom on the hill won't be an easy task, but with State Tournament team selection Bill Dunker anchoring the staff, don't expect a large drop off in wins for 2009. Josh Simon, Dom DeLuca, Jake Malz and Seth Ambroz will bide for the innings left by Bergstrom on the mound, with the possibility of Matt Pexa seeing some time as well. The lineup will still be intact with Mike Goldsmith, Josh Simon, and Matt Pexa providing the bulk of the offense on a team that features a very deep lineup.

Projected Order of Finish:
1. St. Patrick
2. New Prague
3. St. Benedict
4. Shakopee

Blue Division: Prior Lake, Vesili, Union Hill, New Market
For what figures to be the toughest division in the DRS this season, the Blue Division features 4 teams capable of winning the division crown.

Prior Lake: Without a online roster to speak of, it is difficult for me to list the players who should contribute this summer. Having said that, PL still has Jake Schmidt, the man who is universally known for loving tennis ball sized Copenhagen snuffs while carving up DRS lineups. Schmidt gives the Mudcats a legitimate #1 pitcher, and he should win plenty of games this summer.

Vesili: A solid group from a year ago, the Warriors figure to be one of the most improved teams in the league this season. Joe Friedges and Luke Giesen figure to log the most innings, but the addition of Matt Perkinson gives them another quality arm to rely on. The lineup has some question marks, but Justin Novak and Eric Steinhoff figure to be their offensive stars for the season.

Union Hill: Falling 1 game short of the state tournament last season, the Bulldogs were left with a bitter taste in their mouth watching their arch nemesis(The Irish of course) make a deep run into the state tourney. Losing Rick Bell and Matt Sticha will make a return trip to regions very difficult this year. They still have quality arms in Matt Beckius and Brad Weiers, but with losing 2 guys who logged over 140innings last year, finding replacement arms could prove to be difficult. UH should still score runs with relative ease. Jesse Bastyr, Tony Kubes, Dan Smith, Eric Bisek, Kyle Johnson and the return of DRS legend Pat Russo gives the Bulldogs a solid group of mashers.

New Market: A complete overhaul of the Muskies roster has left them with a much improved squad compared to last year's group. Derek Begstrom was their biggest get, as he was a dominant pitcher for the Irish in the 2008 season. Pairing him with Kyle Bergstrom gives the Muskies a formidable group of pitchers that should win plenty of games this summer.

Projected Order of Finish:
1. Prior Lake
2. New Market
3. Union Hill
4. Vesili