With preseason warm-ups a few days away, it’s going to be interesting to see what players from last season come back to Keyspan.

Here are a few of my picks, based solely on what I’ve heard from fellow writers, the stats and my own feelings.

Brandon Kawal- Got a tip on Friday that Kawal isn’t producing as much as the organization would like him to at Savannah. He’s also only gotten into three games this season there and I have no idea why. I haven’t heard anything about an injury, but my source was pretty confident we’d be seeing some more of him at Keyspan Park this season. Hitting over .300 and making an appearance in the NYPL All-Star game last year, Kawal would definitely bolster the Brooklyn outfield if he came back.

Jefferies Tatford- He just didn’t get enough playing time last season and I think because of that, he should get a chance to start more this season. However, if Kingsport standout Cesar Cordido gets another shot in Brooklyn this season after a cup of coffee last year, Tatford may again find himself as the backup.

Michael Parker- He got some playing time in Kingsport before sitting on the bench in Brooklyn during the playoff run; a logical choice to see this at Keyspan this season.

Joseph Leaper- He looked great before getting injured last year, so I think we’ll definitely see him get a few starts in Brooklyn before they move him up the organizational ladder.

Dan McDonald- This one may be a bit of wild card, but after Eddie Kunz and Brant Rustich arrived on the scene, I feel McDonald didn’t get the playing time he should have. Considering that, he might start the season in Brooklyn.

Lastly, I thought this was pretty interesting. Brooklyn’s second baseman from last season, Micah Schilling, is currently listed on the Cyclones roster on milb.com with a few other players. I’ve already discussed in previous entries how well he played last season and how his time is running out. Why not give him a shot at a higher level and see how he does?

On another note:

On Friday, a bunch of the beat writers played the Cyclones administrative staff in a friendly game of hardball at Keyspan Park for charity. While they were stuck playing baseball for 24 hours, we got away with playing one and we couldn’t even take them down. Despite that, we raised $1,000 for charity while the event in total rose close to $15,000.

Lastly, this beat writer has yet to be retired in a charity game, going 1-1 with a double and a walk. Last season, I was 2-2 for two doubles and a walk. So when you guys come to this blog throughout the season, remember that I am not only your source for Cyclones info, I am the best damn ballplayer in the press box, well as far as the writers are concerned ha-ha.

Photos by Daniel Wos and Ron Hatcher