MLB Season Preview: Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins



Last Season's Standings: In the 2006 baseball season, the Minnesota Twins went 96-66, including 6-4 in their final ten games to finish first in the AL Central. However, the effort was all for naught, as the Twins were swept in three straight by the Oakland A's in the ALDS.

In: RP Randy Chaote (prev. team: Arizona Diamondbacks); 3B Jeff Cirillo (prev. team: Milwaukee Brewers); CF Torii Hunter; C Matthew LeCroy (prev. team: Washington Nationals); SP Ramon Ortiz (prev. team: Washington Nationals); RP Mike Venafro (prev. team: Colorado Rockies); LF Rondell White; RP Jesse Crain; RF Michael Cuddyer; C Joe Mauer; 3B Nick Punto; 1B Justin Morneau; RP Juan Rincon; LF Lew Ford; SP Sidney Ponson; 1B Ken Harvey; RP Carmen Cali

Out: RP Willie Eyre (new team: Texas Rangers); SP Brad Radke (retired); RP Mike Smith (new team: St. Louis Cardinals); LF Shannon Stewart (new team: Oakland A's)

Starting Pitching: The Minnesota Twins are without two key starters from their rotation this season whom they will greatly miss in Brad Radke (retired) and last season's rookie phenom Francisco Lariano (out for the year with Tommy John surgery). Their ace Johan Santana should be his usual Cy-Young-like self if heathy. He went 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA over 34 starts while racking up an impressive 245 strikeouts, walking just 47 and opposition hitters hit just .216 against him. He has good command and a blazing fastball. Santana fiercly attacks when he gets head in the count. His command is constantly improving. His glaring weaknesses are few, but he could use a little more stamina to finish what he starts more often. Righty Carlos Silva will follow him in the rotation. He went 11-15 with a bad 5.94 ERA while allowing a horrible 38 balls to leave the park over 36 appearances, 31 of those being starts. He's a quality groundball pitcher who has a tough sinker. He thrives with runners in scoring position and other shaky situations. Occasionally, he's a little too fine with his location, to the point where he becomes predictable and hittable. He needs to pitch beyond the sixth inning more often. Righty free agent signing Ramon Ortiz will be the third starter. He went 11-16 with a 5.56 ERA in 33 starts in 2006. His diminutive frame is misleading, as Ortiz can generate some serious velocity on the mound. He's also a bulldog on the mound, who'll throw any pitch in any situation with a "come and get me" attitude. He continually has trouble with left-handed hitters and the longball is often what beats him (31 balls left the park when he was on the mound). Though he can eat up innings, he throws too many pitches on his way into the late frames. A second free agent signing in Sidney Ponson will be the fourth starter. He was 4-4 with a 5.24 ERA in 16 starts last season. He's really learned to work his fastball with his slider and disappearing curveball, while not letting it affect his control. On top of that, he can finish what he started. As a fifth starter, the Twins will run out rookie Boof Bonser, who went 7-6 in 18 starts and will be entering his first full season in the majors. Bonser is a hefty righty who pitches in the low-90's, but does a good job of changing speeds. He has a strong curveball and can work himself out of jams. He's prone to allowing the longball (18 balls sailed over the fence on him last season). His weight can be a problem. Bonser had difficulty staying focused in the past and he's done a good job of improving his once-worrisome command.

Bullpen: Closer Joe Nathan, who went 7-0 while saving 36 games in 38 opportunities with a great 1.58 ERA over 68.1 innings over 64 appearances while racking up 95 strikeouts. His fastball can get up in the mid-90's, and at 6-4, he is certainly a presence on the mound. He mixes in a tight curveball, a change, and has learned to throw the cutter successfully against right-handers. A former shortstop, he can play the field as good as anyone. Nathan is finally improving against lefties. He doesn't throw inside to them enough and this has dire consequences. Setting him up in the eighth will be superb reliever Juan Rincon, who went 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 75 appearances last season. Rincon owns a low-90's fastball and a nice, biting curve. He gets the job done in tight situations and can take the mound on consecutive days. His command is still rough, and he needs some work on his change-up. Rincon tends to weaken after 30 pitches. Jesse Crain, one of two Canadians on this team will be a second setup option, coming into the ball game either in the seventh or eighth innings. He went 4-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 68 games played in 2006. His slider just isn't fair to hitters and his nasty heater sits in the mid-90's. He gets out in front and throws strikes. His change-up is merely mediocre and he has struggled with runners in scoring position. Middle reliever Matt Guerrier missed 2 months of the season in '06 to a fractured thumb on his throwing hand, but he was still 1-0 with a 3.36 ERA in the 39 games he did get into. He has a nice, low-90's sinker and a good slider, changing speeds and throwing with good command. He works well on little rest as a reliever. Left-handed hitters see him (and hit him) far too well. Guerrier doesn't have quality pitches beyond the sinker and slider. Likely entering his first full season in the bigs is righty sidewinder Pat Neshek, who went 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 37 innings over 32 appearances last season while punching out 53 batters and holding opposing hitters to a paltry .176 average. Neshek uses a funky, sidearm delivery to deceive hitters as a hot, darting fastball rockets to the plate. Right-handed hitters make very little contact off him. Left-handed hitters see him a little better. He starts to wear down a bit after 20 pitches or so. Finally, the lefty specialist coming out of the 'pen will be Dennys Reyes, who went 5-0 with a fantastic 0.89 ERA in 66 appearances while holding the opposing hitters to a miniscule .197 average. He's got a nice cutter and he can keep hitters off balance by changing speeds with it and adding a sweeping overhand curveball. As a result, he's able to keep the hits down and the ball out of the bleachers. Reyes at 6-3, 245 pounds, is way too big for his own good. It keeps him from having any kind of endurance and he can't lug his giant frame off the mound quick enough to get to come-backers. On top of that, he walks batters like he has an incentive clause for giving free passes (he walked just 15 batters in 2006).

Designated Hitter: The primary DH and likely to bat 7th int he line-up and to play between 115-125 games if healthy is Jason Kubel, who hit .241 with 8 HR, 26 RBI and 45 strikeouts in 73 games played in 2006. Kubel has shown great plate discipline at the plate and a quick swing that generates occasional power. He's a good low-ball hitter. Kubel has mediocre speed on the bases and in the outfield and tends to hit much better in night games. Backing him up will be utility man Jeff Cirillo, who hit .319 with 3 HR and 23 RBI last season. Cirillo is a line-drive hitter who is deadly with 2 strikes on him and cranks out doubles without breaking a sweat. With runners in scoring position, he's phenomenol. Hw's always a bunt threat and doesn't do a thing wrong at the hot corner. He doesn't have the kind of home run power you'd like to see from a third baseman. Also, he's taken a step back in the patience department.

Catcher: Last season's batting Champ Joe Mauer will bat 3rd and play up to 140 games if healthy. Mauer was a big part of the Twins regular season success last season batting an impressive .347 with 13 HR and 84 RBI while getting on base 42.9% of the time in '06. Mauer has tremendous poise, both at the plate and behind it. He's thought of as a game-breaker who can hit a key home run here and there and drive home runners at will. Mauer is disciplined at the plate and has an amazing arm. The one area where he can show some improvement is in handling pitchers. Backing him up for the third consecutive season will be rock-solid-career back-up Mike Redmond, who batted .341 while driving in 23 runs last season. Behind the plate, Redmond calls a good game and has a quick, strong, accurate arm. At the plate, he's an excellent contact hitter, putting the ball in play and rarely striking out (struck out just 18 times in 2006). The only really strong part of his body is his right arm; his legs barely get him to first base and his swing generates no power whatsoever. He has trouble against righties and in the clutch.

First Baseman: Last season's AL MVP and proud Canadian Justin Morneau will get the bulk of the games at first base if healthy (155+ if healthy) and will bat 5th in the batting order. Morneau had a career year last year, hitting .321 with 34 HR, 130 RBI, 37 doubles, he scored 97 times and got on base 37.5% of the time. Morneau has a quick, sweet swing with the ability to hit for both power and average. He turns up his game when he sees runners in scoring position. He is a slow runner who struggles when facing a southpaw (though he's made great strides) and isn't completely comfortable on defense. Cirillo will back him up.

Second Baseman: The speedy Luis Castillo will leadoff and play between135 and 155 games if healthy. He missed a week to a sprained ankle and a sprained knee. Castillo hit 296, scored 84 times, stole 25 bases and was on base 35.8% of the time. He also hit 3 HR and drove in 49 runs last season. His quick speed and great feet give him phenomenol range and the ability to steal bases, sparking the offense near the top of the order. He has the arm of a shortstop at second base. At the plate, he can lay down a quality bunt and drive the ball consistently from both sides of the plate. He has the power of a small little-leaguer and when he's up with runners on, he's scared into weak grounders and pop-ups. Cirillo and fellow utility infielder Luis Rodriguez will back him up. Rodriguez hit .235 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 2006.

Shortstop: Starting at shortstop, batting ninth and playing between 125 and 135 games if healthy will be first-full-year player Jason Bartlett, who hit .306 with 2 home runs, 32 RBI, 18 doubles and a 33.6 on-base percentage. Bartlett consistently puts the ball in play and knows how to lay off bad pitches. He's got good wheels. He doesn't have a whole lot of power and is merely average with the glove at shortstop. Cirillo and Rodriguez will provide the back-up.

Third Baseman: At the hot corner will be Nick Punto, who hit .290 while scoring 73 runs, stealing 17 bases and getting on base 35.2% of the time. He hit one home run and drove in 45 runs. A small but athletic player, Punto puts his all into everything he does on the field. He's a great "small ball" player, bunting, running, and putting the ball in play. He's been known to play so hard he hurts himself. As a switch hitter, he's merely mediocre from the left side. Cirillo and Rodriguez will back him up.

Left Fielder: With Lew Ford on the sidelines for up to a month after arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the aging Rondell White is pencilled in to start the season as the everyday left fielder. He'll bat eighth and play around 100 games if healthy. White hit .246 with 7 HR and 38 RBI last season. White is a free swinger who hits solid line drives that occasionally find their way into the bleachers and he absolutely terrorizes lefties. Despite his constant injuries, he still has decent range in left and he's a steady fielder. The one part of his defensive game that isn't up to par is his throwing arm. As well, he could use a little more patience at the plate because the way he's been going, it seems the only way he'd take a walk is if he fell asleep at the plate and the pitcher was having a particularly bad day (walked just 11 times in 2006). Ford will be the primary back-up when he returns. He hit .226 with 4 HR and 18 RBI last season. Ford plays hard, enablig him to rise above his pure skills. He's got good plate discipline, decent power and quick feet. He's got few glaring flaws at the plate, he just doesn't have any one tool that truly shines. His outfield arm won't quite scare anyone. A third option as back-up is Jason Tyner, who is entering his first full season in the majors. He hit .312 while driving in 18 runs in 2006. He has blazing speed and good base-running skills. He has an impeccable ability to make contact, rarely striking out (18 times in 2006) and consistently putting the ball in play. The left-handed hitter can hit southpaws quite well. Tyner has homered once in seven pro seasons. He would benefit as a leadoff man by learning to lay off more pitches out of the strike zone. He often falls behind early in the count. A fourth and final option as left field back-up is Kubel.

Center Fielder: All-star Torii Hunter will be the everyday center fielder batting 6th and playing between 145 and 155 games if healthy. Hunter batted .278 with 31 HR and 98 RBI in 2006 while getting on base 33.6% of the time. He has good speed and surprising power for a center fielder. He's nearly peerless in the outfield, with a great arm and incredible range, great at climbing the fence to rob home runs. He has to work on his patience at the plate and his ability to hit the breaking ball. Inside heat is his nemesis. Tyner will provide the back-up.

Right Fielder: Finally, batting cleanup and playing between 145 and 155 games if healthy will be Michael Cuddyer, who hit .284 with 24 HR and 109 RBI, 24 doubles and got on base 36.2% of the time last season. His swing is quick and short in the Paul Molitor mold, only with more power. He has the discipline to take his share of walks (walked 62 times last season) and runs the bases well. Though he has decent speed, he's not a good base-stealer. He's been shifted from shortstop to third to first to the outfield and back to third and to the outfield again and has his troubles everywhere. His back-up will be Kubel.

Season Prediction: The Twins ultimate demise will be the loss of the 2 starters. As a result, the Twins will finish fourth in the AL Central.