2014 Minnesota Twins

I have no confidence in the Minnesota Twins having any better season then they have had the last three years. I think the starting pitching is improved and the bullpen remains solid, but the team lacks hitting will hurt it more than the improved starting pitching will help it. I do feel though there are some things worth watching this season which if they turn out positively could lead to better things for the Twins and their fans in the future.

Oswaldo Arica and Aaron Hicks are highly touted prospects who have taken different routes to the majors. Arica was not a prospect from the get go, but has put up great numbers at each minor league level he played at. Arica had decent numbers in his first year in the majors, and is being counted on to provide power in the middle of the Twins lineup this year. Hicks was a prospect from the get go, but has never really justified his high prospect ranking with great minor league seasons. Hicks struggled mightily last season as a rookie, but the Twins need him to secure the center field job while batting lead off this season. Arica, a favorite of mine, is under no threat of replacement, but Hicks has to be looking over his shoulder as mega prospect Byron Buxton is not that far away from taking over the center field job.

Phil Hughes could be a very good starting pitcher for the Twins. Once top prospect Alex Meyer gets here, Meyer, Ricky Nolasco, Hughes, and Kyle Gibson could be the anchors for a good pitching staff for the next 3-5 years. Hughes has the ability to be the #2 starter behind the highly talented Meyer. Having meet Hughes at Twinsfest, I like him and have decided I am making him one of my favorite players on the Twins. Meyer is a favorite of mine as well in part because how many professional baseball players spend their off-season as a substitute teacher as Meyer did this off-season? I think not many.

Brian Dozier is another nice guy, and I want to root for his success. If Dozier can improve his offense and keep up his elite defensive play, the Twins will have something they have not had since Chuck Knoblauch after the 1997 season - stability at 2^nd base.

Josmil Pinto is another guy I want to root for. With Joe Mauer now at 1^st base, we need a catcher who not only can defend, but hit. Pinto is the best option, though I believe the Twins will start the season with veteran Kurt Suzuki as the starter.

Minor leaguers Byron Buxton, Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano, Kohl Stewart, Danny Santana, Michael Tonkin, Kennys Vargas, Trevor May, Eddie Rosario, Felix Jorge, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Joe Berrios, Lewis Thrope, and Fernando Romero have star potential. How many will actually make it to the majors and become stars? No one can know for sure, but for the sake of the Twins and their fans hope a good number make it.

As it is the Twins will be lucky to develop enough players to make the team a contender for the division title in 2016. For now it is more the same for the Twins and their fans. Still I look forward to seeing players like Arcia, Hicks, Hughes, Meyer, Dozier, and Pinto develop hopefully into better player; so here’s to a great 2014 Twins baseball season!

Look to 2014 While Reviewing 2013

Here is an early look at 2014 Minnesota Twins while reviewing 2013 season.

 

Catcher – Joe Mauer continues to show himself as a future Hall of Famer, but  concussion issues could force him to move to 1^st soon. Youngster Josmil Pinto (age 24) has showed himself as the likey catcher of the future. Chris Herrmann meanwhile has not had the best of years, but his versatility (he can play in the OF and 1^st as well) could help him make the team as the 3^rd catcher. Veteran Ryan Doumit entered the year as Mauer’s primary backup, but his offense is down, and his defense has never been good. Doumit has one more year on his contract, but likely will be traded in the off-season.

1^st Base – Upon trading Justin Morneau, the Twins are now in a time of uncertainty at 1^st. In house candidates Chris Colabello and Chris Parmelle have been unimpressive. Trevor Plouffe might find his way over here as might Joe Mauer. For now the position is unsettled.

2^nd Base – Brian Dozier is one of the few bright spots for the Twins this year. He looks to have secured the starting job here for the next few years with his great defensive play and solid offense. Dozier is also a class human being who represents the Twins well when dealing with fans.

SS – Pedro Florimon is great defensively, but sub par offensively. Daniel Santana is equally talented on the defensive side, and better hitter. Santana (age 22) will be starting 2014 at Triple A, but likely will find his way up to the Twins in 2014, and could displace Florimon by 2015.

3^rd Base - Miguel Sano is the #3 minor league prospect in all of baseball. He is considered to have 30-40 HR a season power, and is already being hailed and the next great power hitter in baseball. Sano will be 21 next year, and the pressure from fans on the Twins to bring him up to Minnesota will be unrelenting. By the end of the 2014 Sano, barring injury, will be the starting 3^rd basemen for the Twins. Current starter Trevor Plouffe has been disappointing on both offense and defense. Plouffe could be traded, released, or moved to 1^st base. Whatever happens to him, his time at 3^rd is short.

RF – Oswald Arcia (age 22) was hailed as one of the Twins top prospects, and upon promotion to the Twins he showed himself to be a potential star player. Arcia has great power to all fields, and seems to a player the Twins can have in the middle of the batting order. Arcia’s defense needs work, but he has been forced to play left field when right field is his more natural position. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that both Sano and Arica could hit 30 HR’s a year of the Twins while hitting 4^th and 5^th in the batting order.

CF – Highly regarded prospect Aaron Hicks (age 23) was given the starting CF job after the Twins traded away starter Denard Span and backup Ben Revere. Hicks had a terrible offensive year with the Twins, and upon being demoted to the minors, he got hurt and his offensive struggles continued. Hicks is a great defensive player, but he needs to hit at least .250 with some power to stick with the Twins.

Alex Presley, Darin Mastroianni, and Clete Thomas were given chances to take the starting job, with only Presley showing any signs of life. Presley will likely start in 2014, but the #1 prospect in all of minor league baseball one Bryon Buxton (age 19) is looming. Buxton has been hailed as the next Mike Trout (high praise indeed), and the Twins are already telling fans he is the team’s next mega-star. By the end of 2014 fans will be demanding to see him in Minnesota.

LF – Josh Willingham is owed $7 million dollars next year, so he is likely back in LF after and injury riddled and mostly unsuccessful 2013. Willingham can still hit HR’s, and draw some walks, but he will never hit for average, and he is a terrible fielder. If Willingham is traded, Eddie Rosario (age 21) could get a job. Hailed as a top prospect, Rosario has been playing mostly 2^nd base where he has shown himself to be a good hitter and solid fielder. Rosario has played some outfield, and could find himself in LF for the Twins in 2014.

Starting Pitching – The Twins 2013 starting rotation is the worse in all of baseball. Kevin Correia is owed $5 million next year, so he will likely be back. Andrew Albers, Samuel Deduno, Vance Worley, Scott Diamond, Kyle Gibson will get chances with Gibson and Deduno having the best chances of making the starting rotation along side Correia.

Top pitching prospects Alex Meyer (age 23) and Trevor May (age 23) will also get chances. Meyer has a high 90’s fastball, and is viewed as #1 starter which the Twins have not had since Johan Santana was traded prior to the 2008 season. Other top Twins prospects Felix Jorge (age 19), Kohl Stewart (age 18), and Jose Berrios (age 19) are a few years away.

The Twins will likely try to sign some starting pitching via the free agent market, but the Twins have never been willing spenders in free agency. If they were, I would look into Phil Hughes, Dan Harren, Matt Garza, Scott Feldman, and maybe Josh Johnson.

Trades are another possibly, but the Twins have only Willingham, Doumit, and Plouffe available and they won’t bring much back. The Twins could trade some prospects, but Buxton, Sano, and Arcia are too valuable to trade. Rosario, Hicks, and Daniel Santana are probably the prospects who could get traded, but they may not be enough to bring in the need top-flight starting pitching.

I hope I am wrong, but my guess is the starting pitching staff will not be noticeably better till youngster Meyer, May, Jorge, Stewart, and Berrios get to the majors which may happen in 2015-2016.

Bullpen – Closer Glen Perkins has had an All-Star year, and it set for next year. Jared Burton, Caleb Theilbar, Casey Fien, Anthony Swarzak, Brain Duensing, Ryan Pressley and prospects Michael Tonkin, A. J. Achter, and Zack Jones give the Twins plenty of options for an area that was a strong area in 2013.

Just Like 1982

In 1982 four of the best prospects in baseball - 1^st baseman Kent Hrbek, 3^rd basemen Gary Gaetti, right fielder Tom Brunansky, and starting pitcher Fran Viola - played their rookie season for the Minnesota Twins. The players had varying levels of success and the team lost 102 games, but the seeds for future successful Twins teams were sown.

When another star prospect – Kirby Puckett - joined them in 1984, the Twins had the foundation that would bring them a World Series title in 1987. Brunansky is now considered to be amongst the top 30 Twins of all-time while Gaetti and Viola among the top 20, and Puckett and Hrbek among the top 10. Puckett is a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Hrbek, Gaetti, and Viola are members along with Puckett in the Twins Hall of Fame.

31 years later the Twins have, are, and will be summoning some of the best prospects in baseball just as they did in 1982. Right fielder Oswaldo Arcia, starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and center fielder Aaron Hicks are already here, with 3^rd baseman Miguel Sano, 2^nd baseman Eddie Rosario, and starting pitchers Alex Meyer and Trevor May expected in 2014. While center fielder Bryon Buxton and starting pitcher Jose Berrios expected in 2015.

Buxton and Sano are already being hailed as Hall of Fame talents. Arcia and Rosario are expected to be All-Stars. Meyer and Gibson are supposed to be top of the rotation starters with Berrios and May being solid pitchers. If Joe Mauer can stay healthy and productive, a Twins lineup of Buxton, Mauer, Arcia, Sano, Rosario, Hicks, and others could make this a Twins team which could be amongst the greatest Twins teams of all-time. Of course history is filled with failed “can’t miss” prospects, so time will tell.

What can’t be missed with this new wave of young Twins players is the excitement they have generated. Certified autographs of Buxton and Sano are going for well over $100 a piece, and demand for items tied to them is in great demand. Meanwhile this year I gone to separate free public autograph signings with Glen Perkins, Chris Parmelee, Josh Willingham, and Pedro Florimon, and was able to go through the line multiple times. That use to not to be the case as Twins players use to draw huge crowds. Fans are not excited about the current players; they want to see the good, young prospects, and soon they shall.

Just like in 1982, the Twins are sowing the seeds of future success. We can only hope this time it will turn out as well as it did then.