This, That, and the Other

The Minnesota Twins are off to a hot start, opening the 2010 season 5-2 on their road trip before heading home for the first regular season game at Target Field.  It’s tough to say what has people in Minneapolis more excited, the potential of the team, whose lineup looks to be as potent on the field as it appeared to be on paper entering spring training, or the opening of the new outdoor ballpark. To quote Bill Smith, the Twins GM, it’s a bit of a perfect storm.

Players by Postion

C: Joe Mauer

Fresh off signing an 8 year, 184 million dollar contract, the St. Paul native had a ho-hum Spring, batting a cool .400.  Mauer, who turns 27 on April 19th, already has 3 batting titles and is the reigning American League MVP.  In addition to winning the batting title and the MVP award, he also became the first player to lead his league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage since George Brett did it in 1980.  If Mauer manages to win the batting title again in 2010 he will be the first player to win 3 straight since Tony Gwyn won 4 in a row from 1994-1997.  Assuming Mauer stays healthy, there’s no reason to believe he won’t have another stellar year.

1B: Justin Morneau

Morneau missed the end of the 2009 season due to a stress fracture in his back and had a tough Spring training.  However, his Spring struggles don’t seem to have carried over into the regular season.  Morneau is batting .360 with 2 home runs through the first 7 games.

2B: Orlando Hudson

One of the Twins surprising off-season additions, the Twins proved they were serious about opening the season with as few holes as possible by signing Hudson.  He had decent Spring and has gotten off to a bit of a slow start thus far. However, his defensive ability and unbridled work ethic should prove invaluable to a Twins team that prides themself on defense.

SS: J.J. Hardy

Hardy came to the Twins via trade for Carlos Gomez in the offseason. He is coming off his worst season as a pro. However, Hardy looks solid both in the field and at the plate so far. It’s certainly a plus when your 8 hitter can come up in the middle to late innings and hit a home run to extend a lead, something Hardy has done twice already. It’s also nice to have something to show for trading Johan Santana – Gomez was 4-5 in his first game with Milwaukee, but is just 1-16 since.

3B: Nick Punto/Brendan Harris

Punto was manager Ron Gardenhire’s choice to start the season opener at 3rd, despite hitting .233 during the Spring versus Harris’ .326 average. However, I tend not to put a great deal of stock in Spring statistics since they’re not necessarily indicative of success during the regular season. Harris has more power than Punto, but neither have proven to be very consistent at the plate. Both play solid defense, with the edge going to Punto. Not knowing anything about the Twins clubhouse, I estimate that Punto brings other intangibles to the table as well. We will see how this shakes out, but for now Punto will be getting more playing time than Harris, and with the way the rest of the lineup is shaping up, it may not matter.

LF: Delmon Young

Young shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to bring back the speed element of his game. He still bears a slight resemblance to Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act, but he appears to be more patient at the plate. If he could steal a few more bases than he has in the past and be a bit more productive at the plate, Young would provide a great deal of value to an already potent lineup. It’s also a contract year for him, which may add some motivation.

CF: Denard Span

Span, also the recipient of a contract extension this past offseason, has proven to be a very quality leadoff hitter. He is not as fast as Carlos Gomez and consequently won’t be able to catch every ball that Gomez would have, but his patience at the plate and better average will make up for that. Span was already playing more than Gomez in center field last year and should respond well now that he officially has the job full-time.

RF: Michael Cuddyer

Cuddyer is the longest tenured member of the Twins lineup and stepped up in a big way at the end of the Twins 2009 playoff push. Batting behind Justin Morneau, Cuddyer will need to have another decent year at the plate for pitchers to challenge Morneau. Cuddyer has one of the best arms in the major league amongst right fielders and should continue to be successful this year if he stays healthy.

DH: Jason Kubel/Jim Thome

Kubel is coming off his best season as a pro, posting career highs in every major offensive category. He should get the bulk of the playing time at DH over Thome, another one of the Twins big offseason acquisitions. Thome, long considered one of the nicest players in Major League Baseball, should prove to be a valuable asset to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire both in the clubhouse and as a pinch hitter. It has been longer than I can remember since the Twins had a viable home run threat to pinch hit late in games, and Thome gives the Twins this option.

Pitchers

Starting Rotation:
Scott Baker
Nick Blackburn
Carl Pavano
Kevin Slowey
Francisco Liriano

I expect the Twins rotation to be very good this year, if they stay healthy. Scott Baker was named the Twins opening day starter, a designation that may not mean much with this rotation. Nick Blackburn has been a model of consistency the past two years. He pitched in 33 games, had records of 11-11 and posted ERA’s of 4.05 and 4.03 in 2008 and 2009. Carl Pavano, a midseason pickup for the Twins last year, has been the veteran anchor that this young rotation needs. He pitched very well down the stretch last season and gets the exciting call as the pitcher on opening day of Target Field. Kevin Slowey, who had a 10-3 record before getting injured and missing the duration of the season. I liken Slowey’s pitching style to that of Brad Radke and look for him bounce back from injury. Francisco Liriano could make a huge impact as the Twins fifth starter. Liriano had Tommy John surgery in 2006 after being the best pitcher in baseball for the first four months of the season and hasn’t been the same since. Liriano was apparently impressive in Winter ball and has looked sharp so far. I just hope Liriano’s elbow isn’t suffering from his recent success. If not, he should bolster the back of the Twins rotation quite well.

Bull Pen:
Alex Burnett
Brian Duensing
Jose Mijares
Pat Neshek
Jesse Crain
Matt Guerier
John Rauch

The Twins bullpen took a hit in Spring Training when Joe Nathan was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. Ron Gardenhire originally said the team would use a closer by committee approach, but this did not last long. In an effort to define bullpen roles early, Gardenhire named John Rauch his closer prior to the Twins exhibition games versus the St. Louis Cardinals. Rauch had 4 saves on the Twins 7 game road trip, but got hit hard a few times. At 6′ 11″ tall, he is the tallest person ever to play Major League Baseball, and donning a large neck tattoo, he certainly fits the bill of the imposing closer. He looks to be the solution for now, but may not be the Twins answer at closer all year.