The Minnesota Twins are in pretty bad shape…in the short-term. Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe had great years last season,
Denard Span and Ben Revere are no longer on the team and their outfield replacements don’t replace their speed and the defensive outputs. Aaron Hicks could proven me wrong, but the jump from Double-A to the Majors is a lot to ask of him this season.
Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the Minnesota Twins.
2012 Win/Loss Record: 66-96
Key Additions: P Rich Harden, P Vance Worley, P Mike Pelfrey, P Kevin Correia, P Alex Meyer, P Rafael Perez, P Scott Elarton, P Josh Roenicke, OF Brandon Boggs, 1B Jeff Clement
Key Losses: SS Alexi Casilla, OF Denard Span, P Matt Capps, P Carl Pavano, P Jeff Gray, OF Ben Revere, 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, P Lester Oliveros
Interleague Schedule: NL East + Milwaukee Brewers
Projected Starters: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Jamey Carroll, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Chris Parmelee, Ryan Doumit
Projected Starting Rotation: Vance Worley, Brian Duensing, Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Liam Hendricks
Closer: Glen Perkins
Fantasy Sleeper: 3B Miguel Sano/OF Aaron Hicks – While gathering information to pick a sleeper on the Minnesota Twins, I hit a roadblock. Hicks and Sano are the only two prospects who may appear on the Twins this season. Hicks has the ability to hit low double-digit power with the speed to steal 30+ bases. If you’re looking for a prospect to stash, Miguel Sano is a good choice. He’s the Twins #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He’s 20 years old and had a line of .258/28/100 in single-A last season. The Twins are in a situation to let a young player cut their teeth in the pros. If Sano moves up Double-A fast, you could see him after the All-Star break. At the very least, he’s the starting third baseman in 2014. If you’re in a prospects league, he should be one of the top 15-20. Brian Buxton, the other Twins prospect who garnered a #1 ranking by other scouts, but isn’t expected to be MLB-ready until late 2014 or 2015.
Team Analysis: As the AL Central improves, the Twins are faced with a tall task to be competitive in 2013. Joe Mauer looks like he’s a .315/10/80 guy and not the 2009 version where he hit 28 homers. Justin Morneau hasn’t been the same since his began battling concussion issues. If they perform like it’s 2009, this team might actually win 70 games. Unfortunately, the Twins are a 100-loss team. The pitching staff does have a few rays of hope. They obtained Alex Meyer in a trade with the Nationals for Denard Span. He’s not ready yet, but adding Kevin Correia and Vance Worley helps bridge the gap until Meyer possibly leads this rotation. The Twins are bad this season, but with the prospects they have in their farm system, the mediocrity may not last for long.
Sportsbook.ag’s 2013 Wins Over/Under Line: 67.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2013 Projected Win/Loss Record: 59-103 (5th in AL Central)