Minnesota Twins

After three consecutive division crowns, the Twin dropped to third last year with an 83-79 record. Is this a sign that the power is shifting or can Minnesota get back on track?

Pitching

Johan Santana is the best pitcher in baseball. His fastball and changeup are both dominating pitches and he uses them to dominate anyone they care to put in front of him. He’ll lead the league in strikeouts and his WHIP should stay comfortably below 1.000.

Kyle Lohse continues to disappoint as he uses his considerable talents to be a very average pitcher but Carlos Silva had a breakout year mainly thanks to some amazing control which saw him walk just 9 batters in 188 1/3 innings (must be a typo). Between Silva and Brad Radke hitters really have to earn their way on base. Radke’s 23 walks in 200 2/3 might not be as good as Silva’s but its still fairly awesome.

Joe Nathan has emerged as one of the best closers in baseball and with Jesse Crain and Juan Rincon handling the set-up work the late innings should be safe. The only problem in the pen is the lack of an lefty with experience in the bigs.

Defence

Strong defensive play has been one of the reasons for the sustained success of the Twins in recent years and the acquisition of Luis Castillo is very much in line with that. He’s had problems with leg injuries the last two years and it awaits to be seen what effect playing home games on the Metrodome carpet will have on his body.

Jason Bartlett could be better at short but he’s a steady performer but Tony Batista at third can be erratic so things are less than secure on the left side.

Torii Hunter had his season ended by a broken ankle and those sort of injuries are hard enough to get healed properly, let alone when you have to play on Astroturf too. If he is fully healthy and able to run hard on it then he should once again provide stellar D in the Twins outfield.

Is this the year we see Joe Mauer bring it all together? He always seems to be carrying a knock but he managed to don the armour 116 times last year which is promising. Hopefully he can put in another full year and we should see just what everyone is so excited about.

Offence

I remember when Shannon Stewart stole 51 bases one year and he still has good speed but for some reason doesn’t seem to run anymore. He’s a great disciplined hitter who still gets on base regularly at the top of the order.

The real barometer for success for the Twins this year will be Justin Morneau who had 22 homeruns last year. The club see him as being the big power threat in the order and he has the talent to hit a lot more than 22 a year. Improving the .239 average will go a long way towards him realising his potential.

Joe Mauer continued to develop with the bat displaying a great approach at the plate and combining a .294 average with a .372 OBP. He’s still just 23 and the more at bats he gets the more regularly he’ll hit homeruns. His potential is boundless and he could breakout any time.

Rookie Watch

Francisco Liriano is like a primordial version of Johan Santana as he has all the same tools but not quite the polish. He has a rapid fastball that can get into the high-90’s and complements it well with a great change-up and slider but has had a tendency to try to be too fine at times but working alongside Santana should help him immensely.

Jason Kubel was pencilled in to be the clubs right fielder last year until he picked up a nasty knee injury in the AFL. Kubel has been likened to Brian Giles in terms of his patient approach and ability to use all fields with good pop and he also offers the Twins something their outfield has lacked for a while and that’s a true right field arm.

Management

Terry Ryan and his staff might be the best front office in baseball. Never blessed with much money they have put together a farm system that continually seems to produce big contributors and every now and then they’ll acquire a quality player like Shannon Stewart.

Ron Grudenhire preaches fundamentals and is a staunch preacher of the organisations philosophy of fundamentals and strong defence and does a great job of getting his players to buy into that philosophy.

Outlook

The Twins were undoubtedly disappointing last year and many of the things that held them back last year are still there. They need their stars to stay healthy and to play to the level expected because life in the Central is tough these days and even Santana can’t win games by himself.