MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins

2010 Record: 94-68
Offense:
1. CF Denard Span. Team highs in 2010: 10 triples, 26 SBs
2. 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka. .429 OBP, .911 OPS in Japan in '10
3. C Joe Mauer. .406 SLG at home last season; .524 on road
4. 1B Justin Morneau. Averaged 30 HRs, 118 RBIs from '06-09
5. RF Michael Cuddyer. 32 HRs in 650 PA in '09, 14 in 675 in '10
6. DH Jim Thome. 25 HRs led team in '10, but 59 RBIs were 5th
7. LF Delmon Young. .335 AVG, 81 RBIs before Aug.; .240, 31 after
8. 3B Danny Valencia. .979 OPS at home in '10; .658 on road
9. SS Alexi Casilla. .301 AVG as No. 2 hitter in '10; .238 in 9 hole

I like the line up but there are a ton of questions surrounding it to be honest. 1. Will Justin Morneau ever recover from the concussion he had mid season last year. 2. Can Mr. Roboto's game transfer to the MLB, we have only seen a couple of offensive foreign imports succeed in the MLB, can Robot be one of them? 3. Will Jim Thome be as effective as he was last year?

That's a lot to take. If Delmon Young can progress from last years break out they should be in good shape.

Rotation:
1. RHP Carl Pavano. Led rotation with 17 Ws, 221 IP, 1.19 ERA in 2010
2. LHP Francisco Liriano. Career highs in '10: 14 Ws, 191 2/3 IP, 201 K's
3. RHP Brian Duensing. 7-2, 3.05 ERA in 13 starts last season
4. RHP Nick Blackburn. 4.03 ERA, 1.37 WHIP in '09; 5.42, 1.45 in '10
5. RHP Scott Baker. 8-3, 3.86 ERA at home in '10; 4-6, 5.14 on road
CL: Joe Nathan

I like this line up a lot I just believe the White Sox and the Tigers have a better rotation then the Twins. I think Carl Pavano's 17 wins last year was luck, he could easily go 8-14 with a 5 era and wouldn't be surprised at all. The only saving grace is Fransisco Liriano who looked finally back from his Tommy John surgery, if he can be as or more dominant then he was last year, they should have someone to build off of. I don't get the rest of their pitchers, they are all junk pitchers who somehow get the job done.

Overall:
The Twins will be overtaken this year and most likely drop to third in the division. The pitching staff/ bullpen worries me too much. Also, who knows if they will get Morneau back and healthy too.


85-77