[11:55 a.m.] Welcome one and all to the 2010 (2009?) Northern League Dispersal Draft, coming at you live from the cozy RailCats offices in downtown Gary, Indiana.  We're waiting on new Fielders skipper Fran Riordan to unveil his list of names, and when he does you'll be the first to know.

Here's how we're going to work this.  You keep hitting refresh and we'll keep firing picks and information at you.  Have questions about the process?  We'll do our best to answer - send e-mails to aviano@railcatsbaseball.com.

Enjoy, we'll be back with a little preview and the picks shortly!

[12:02 p.m.] Just a little background on the dispersal draft.  Each of the six 2009 Northern League teams protected 11 players from their final roster, an even half of the active players for most clubs.  Lake County will choose exactly two players from each of the six teams and then hold their rights for 2010 in the Northern League. 

It does not mean those players will all be under contract for the 2010 season in Lake County.  As our fine beat reporter Hillary Smith documented in The Times this week (http://bit.ly/PCZYj) sometimes those players will be used as "trade bait," they may choose not to report/retire, or they just plain won't make the team out of spring training.  So while today you'll see some players who will end up on the Fielders first roster, it would be shocking if all 12 were on the field in mid-May.

[12:08 p.m.] One more piece of info before we get started.  For the sake of full disclosure, these picks aren't actually made in any "order" so don't read too much into when or where a guy gets picked.  It's essentially 12 names all taken at once.

[12:10 p.m.]
And we're off!

The Lake County Fielders have selected Garry Bakker (RHP) of the Fargo--Moorhead RedHawks.

So the first man picked is a guy with a Northern League ring from last season.  A high school All-American, Bakker pitched at North Carolina and then in the White Sox farm system (primarily).  Bakker was a little erratic the last two years in the NL, but he throws hard and has great stuff - his cutter is one of the best pitches in the league.

[12:13 p.m.]

11 more to go.

Next up, Lake County selects former Joliet catcher Christian Lopez.

Not a guy who saw much of the league last season, signing late in the year with the JackHammers after a lengthy affiliated career.  Lopez didn't hit a ton in his 20 games in Joliet (.235/.309/.278) but my recollection of him was as an above-average defensive catcher.  Lopez was a fairly high draft pick (sixht round) of the Rays in 2003.

[12:17 p.m.]

So far, one pitcher and one catcher.  Not a bad starting battery for opening night.

Next up comes a pick from the 2008 champs as the Fielders draft promising young infielder Jeff Helps.

Helps was really tough out and a pesky hitter at the bottom of a Kansas City order that was otherwise mostly filled with mashers.  Helps was a backup early in the season, but after an injury to Mark Minicozzi he became the T-Bones starting shortstop and stayed that way even after Minicozzi returned (making his trade to Winnipeg possible).  Helps played three seasons at Central Michigan and hit .253 for the T-Bones last year.

[12:22 p.m.]

Making the rounds through all six teams, let's take a visit north of the border where the Fielders take first baseman Cody Ehlers.

Highly regarded entering the season, Ehlers battled injury a bit in his first year in the Northern League with a bad back, but still managed to play in 86 regular season games and produce to the tune of six home runs and 41 RBI.  Ehlers is even better, however, defensively where he's probably the best first baseman in the league with his glove.

[12:25 p.m.]

Now it's the RailCats turn to get bit, and somewhat surprisingly the Fielders will draft another catcher.  Lake County has chosen two-year 'Cats backstop Anthony Esquer.

A midseason signing during 2008, Esquer is an excellent defensive catcher with what's likely the best throwing arm in the league.  A former Reds farmhand, Esquer had a career season offensively in 2008 when he his .318 in 39 regular season games.  He came back to earth a bit in 2009, but still had a fine year, batting .275 and once again leading the league in throwing out baserunners. 

He will be missed around these parts.

[12:28 p.m.]

With this pick there's now one man gone from each team.

The Fielders pluck Schaumburg outfielder/reliever Jeff Dunbar from the Flyers.

The ultimate in versatility, Dunbar came out of the gates on a tear and had an outstanding first half of the season offensively and finished batted .286 with six home runs.  First a catcher, then a pitcher and now a super-utility man, Dunbar hasn't ever found a position in his three-year pro career, but he's got an excellent bat and his ability to work out of the bullpen is a manager's dream in terms of roster flexibility.

[12:31 p.m.]

That's it for Round One.  Let's go in reverse order for round two, shall we?

That means the Schaumburg Flyers are up again and joining Dunbar in Lake County will be another relief pitcher, right-hander Kris Jiggits.

Jiggits looked raw in 2009 but has a live arm and racked up a whopping 65 strikeouts in 53.2 innings.  His ERA was a little high (5.87) and so was his average against (.309) but he sure looked like a guy with a good upside.  In fact, that seems like a bit of a trend so far for Fran Riordan and what's shaping up to be a pretty young Fielders squad.

[12:34 p.m.]

Round two time for the RailCats and from where we sit, another stunner.

Joining his teammate in Lake County will be yet another catcher, Brett Wallace.

So the Fielders now have three catchers, including both halves of the RailCats catching duo.  Well, Greg Tagert always said that he would take the 'Cats two catchers over just about anyone else in the league, and I guess the Fielders agree.  A fan favorite, Wallace is leaving the RailCats after three seasons in Northwest Indiana.  A difficult pill for the 'Cats to swallow, as they're now in the market for some catching help.  Wallace is a terrific teammate and a fine player, who improved leaps and bounds during his RailCats career.

[12:38 p.m.]

Just four more picks to go, and we wind back to the Winnipeg Goldeyes for part-time closer Chris Homer.

Homer was (I think) the last of the Winnipeg closers last year after Matt Davis fell on hard times, and now Davis (traded to Joliet to complete Vince Harrison deal) and Homer are both gone.  Homer is not of the mold of some of Riordan's other picks, as he's a saavy veteran who's pitched in 240 games in a seven-year career.  Homer had a 4.83 ERA last season but his splits (29 hits, 17 walks in 31.2 innings) were solid.

[12:40 p.m.]

So fans in Winnipeg, Gary and Schaumburg rest easy, no more of your favorites are leaving.  As for everyone else ...

Let's go to the Kansas City T-Bones and a strong pick as Lake County adds right-hander Dustin Bolton.

From a bunch of young guys to now a pair of experienced hurlers, Bolton had a much better year than his numbers would indicate and was great against the RailCats (including in the playoffs).  A "kitchen sink" righty who "battles" (how's that for cliche!), Bolton made 17 starts and won seven times for Kansas City in 2009 despite 46 strikeouts in 113.1 innings.

[12:43 p.m.]

Still a little stunned here in RailCats land where the 'Cats have gone from the best catching situation in the league to a non-existent catching situation.

Anyways, here comes another RailCat (former RailCat, at least) as Lake County takes Joliet reliever Chad Blackwell.

There's no chance Blackwell would have been unprotected in 2007 when he was utterly untouchable before the RailCats sold him to the Toronto Blue Jays, but Blackwell had an uneven 2009.  The Florida native was in Double-A to start the season with the Angels and had a 4.61 ERA with the 'Hammers in a whopping 52 relief appearances.  Blackwell doesn't look like much but when he's on, he's absolutely filthy.

[12:46 p.m.]

Alright folks here we go, last man taken by the Lake County Fielders.

We go back to the defending champs for this pick and it's another promising youngster, Matt Mossey.

Sure Mossey wasn't the out-of-nowhere reliever who carried Fargo to the championship (still haven't gotten over Jeremy Hauer), but he was pretty good himself for Doug Simunic.  One of many former NDSU Bison(ses?) who've played with the RedHawks, Mossey also pitched in the Big Ten at Iowa before starting his pro career.  An innings eater, Mossey was (like a lot of guys on this list) up and down last year, but made 32 appearances and nine starts for Fargo.  Oh, and he played third base in one game against the RailCats this year.

[12:50 p.m.]

Let's recap before we sign off for the day.  Here's the Fielders total haul:

PITCHERS (6)
Garry Bakker, RH [FM]
Kris Jiggits, RH [SHM]
Chris Homer, RH [WPG]
Dustin Bolton, RH [KCT]
Chad Blackwell, RH [JOL]
Matt Mossey, RH [FM]

CATCHERS (3)
Christian Lopez [JOL]
Anthony Esquer [GAR]
Brett Wallace [GAR]

INFIELDERS (2)
Jeff Helps [KCT]
Cody Ehlers [WPG]

UTILITY (1)
Jeff Dunbar [SHM]

So Fran Riordan, who has an excellent track record in the Frontier League, goes pitching heavy to make his first Northern League signings with seven different potential arms.  The three catchers also a bit surprising, but don't forget what we said above about using these players to trade and get other pieces, there's no way all three start the season with the Fielders.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by and e-mailing in.  We'll see you at the ballpark in 2010!