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Miguel Sano being hurt for the entire was a definite early downer to begin the spring. This team still has many young new core players, and have finally listed Kyle Gibson as a Starter in the Rotation in the #5 slot.
Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks and Byron Buxton may also provide a big splash to the franchise that is needed for many years moving forward.
You add in 3B Trevor Plouffe and SS/2B Brian Dozier possibly earning spots for the long-term, and the majority of their lineup with be made up from players from their early to mid – 20′s.
The year starts with Joe Mauer moving over to 1st, the departure of longtime veteran Justin Morneau, and 2 former players are trying to resurrect their careers with Minnesota.
Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett are both back in the Twin Cities trying to make the squad.
The franchise struggling for the last 3 years is to be expected after the club won 6 out of the previous 9 AL Central Titles.’
The Twins are doing the right thing in overhauling the whole roster, become younger and build up through the Minor League organization.
The team Starting Pitching Staff is 80% compromised of Free Agent Signings the club has made over the last few years.
Phil Hughes, Mike Pelfrey, Ricky Nolasco and Kevin Correia all have inked deals for this team.
The aforementioned Kyle Gibson has finally arrived on this team.
The Bullpen is the same story. While Glen Perkins and Anthony Swarzak as the exceptions, most of the Relief Core was also signed via Free Agency, or acquired through waivers or the rule 5 Draft.
With 3 consecutive years with the club not reaching 70 Wins, you have to wonder if Manager Ron Gardenhire can make it through another year with a 4th in a row.
Yes his contract runs through the 2015 year, however teams generally do that so that their voice is stronger with the talent.
Skippers on the last year of their deals, are often referred to as “Lame Duck Managers.”
The Offense – Starting Defensive positions
Bringing back Jason Kubel for the DH slot is a nice move. He was one of the underrated Minny players when this team was winning AL Central Divisions.
It may be a stop gap measure, but he is one of those good organization guys that will also be good for the younger players, as he grew up playing the ‘Twins Way.’
The bench is young with experience and could struggle. Another transition year is what it will be.
Josh Willingham is probably somewhere in the middle between his 2012 and 2013 campaigns. i think he can hit about 25 HRs and drive in about 80+ Runs this year.
A contending team will be willing to trade assets to acquire him late in the year. His contract would only call for about half of his potentially $8 MIL for 2014 (last year of his deal.)
Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia are another year older, and should be better in 2014, however if they suffer a sophomore slump, they will turn into suspect really quick.
Arcia, to his credit, had 14 HRs and a .734 OPS for his 97 GP, however he must improve on his .253 BA and .304 BA.
He could smack 20 HRs and bat around .275 in 2014.
Hicks had a bad 1st campaign in the MLB. He hit for a 3 Slash of .192/.259/.338. A good year for the young CF, would be to hit for a better average – and possibly approach being a 20/20 guy.
Lineup (No particular order)
1B: Joe Mauer
C: Kurt Suzuki
3B: Trevor Plouffe
Plouffe should hit 20 HRs, and crack about 50 total Extra Base Hits if he can play a full year at the hot corner.
SS: Pedro Florimon
Great wizzard defender. Has to work on his BA and plate discipline. At 24, he joins many others in the core as around the same age.
2B: Brian Dozier
With 18 HRs and 66 RBI in 2013, this guy has some power out of the 2B position. He may be another batter who can hit the 20 HR plateau.
LF: Josh Willingham
CF: Aaron Hicks
RF: Oswaldo Arcia
DH: Jason Kubel
Bench:
Alex Presley OF, Chris Colabello 1B/DH, Utility Eduardo Escobar, Josmil Pinto, Chris Herrmann
2013 Free Agents Nolasco and Hughes, join 2012 signings of Pelfrey and Correia in a mixed mash unit of Twins Pitching.
These guys are needed to provide as many Innings as possible to stave off the youngsters from throwing too many innings.
If any of them are able to hold their head above .500 for the year, I would be surprised.
None of these men represent what you want on playoffs teams for Starters, however they are capable of being #3 or #4 pitchers if they perform well.
The only guy who might have some extreme upside is Phil Hughes – who has to put his New York Days behind him, and it will surprise people to learn he is just 27 Years old.
This guy has all of the looks of a dominant pitcher, and he is the author of a 16 game and 18 game victory seasons in 2010 and 2012.
At worst, should he fail in during his tenure in the contract, Hughes also has a past as a great arm as a reliever, featuring a 2.06 ERA and a WHIP of 0.971 in 50 Appearances/56.2 IP.
Rotation:
1. Ricky Nolasco
2. Kevin Correia
3. Mike Pelfrey
4. Phil Hughes
5. Kyle Gibson
The Relievers on the Twins didn’t fare too bad in 2013, with awesome jobs done by Glen Perkins and Cale Thielbar (1.76 ERA and a 0.826 WHIP in 46 IP.
Other good work was done by Long man, Swarzak, who lugged 98 IP and a nice 2.91 ERA in 48 Games Played.
Long-term starting veterans Deduno, Duensing and Diamond may see more work of the of the Bullpen – and could work and swingmen between the Relief Core and Starting Rotation.
Relievers
Glen Perkins
Anthony Swarzak
Samuel Deduno
With all of the uncertainty, with mounting injuries to their young core prospects, I don’t think the club will improve much (if at all in 2014).
I project this club to win between 66 – 69 games. Trade Correia, Suzuki and Willingham for younger players in July.
Also do not fire Ron Gardenhire. He didn’t turn stupid overnight, and was part of the coaching staff, mentoring the millennium core of players to 6 division titles in 9 years once he took over as manager.
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Tagged: 1965 World Series, 1987 WORLD SERIES, 1991 World Series, 1B Chris Colabello, 3B: Trevor Plouffe, @MLBreports on twitter, al central, C Eric Fryer, C Joe Mauer, C/DH Ryan Doumit, CF Alex Presley, chris sale, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, CL Glen Perkins, INF Brian Dozier, INF Eduardo Escobar, james shields, jason bartlett, jason kubel, johan santana, OF Aaron Hicks, OF Clete Thomas, OF Josh Willingham, of Oswaldo Arcia, phil hughes, RF Chris Parmelee, ricky nolasco, ron gardenhire, RP Ryan Pressly, RP: Anthony Swarzak, RP: Casey Fien, RP: Jared Burton, RP: Josh Roenicke, SP Kevin Correia, SP Kyle Gibson, SP Liam Hendriks, SP Mike Pelfrey, SP Sam Deduno, SP Vance Worley, SP: Andrew Albers, SP: Brian Duensing, SP: Cole De Vries, SP: Scott Diamond, SS Pedro Florimon, target field, tom kelly, UT Chris Herrmann, UT Darin Mastroianni, washington senators
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