Alex Meyer (pictured) is one of the Twins top pitching prospects who could be in the Twins rotation as early as mid season this year.
First, let's talk about what we will enjoy watching this season and that will be the offense, of course barring no major injuries. We are going to be very good 3-8 and if Hicks keeps this up will be very good at the top spot as well. We also have another good hitter who should join the lineup in Arcia. A look at the lineup this year:
1. Hicks CF- Has been fantastic this Spring and has all the potential to be a great leadoff guy.
2. Dozier 2B- Was good initially lasts season and hit a wall, been solid this Spring and if he can stay that way he will be very good in the 2 hole for us.
3. Mauer C- Best pure hitter in baseball, should contend for his 4th batting title.
4. Willingham LF- If he can repeat last season, wow what a 7 million dollar steal would he be.
5. Morneau 1B- If he is truly back like it seems he could have another MVP like season.
6. Doumit DH- Had fantastic year for us last year and I see no signs of him regressing.
7. Plouffe 3B- If he can up his average and hit those homers again, he will be the best 7 hitter in baseball.
8. Parmelee RF- If he can hit like he did when he came up in 2011 and not in 2012 he could hit 20 homers and around 300 making him move up in this lineup and giving us a great 8 hitter.
9. Florimon SS- Great defensively, if he can even just hit for average will become much more valuable.
We have the potential to be a very potent offense, and score a ton of runs this season. So sit back and enjoy it because our rotation will probably give up even more than we score making for an ugly season. But it should look better by season's end and give us more promise going into 2014, where both our offense and pitching will be much improved.
Now an outlook on why Twins fans need to just be patient with the pitching.
The Twins starting rotation to begin this year is laughable and should end up being almost as bad as our historically bad staff as last season. However, by the end of the year the rotation could have a much younger, and better outlook for 2014 and beyond. A look at what the rotations could look like:
Start of 2013:
1. Worley- Solid starting pitcher who has struggled this Spring but is more of a 4 or 5 starter than a 1.
2. Pelfrey- Coming off Tommy John and is still waiting to entirely regain velocity but should be another just solid starter made for the back of the rotation.
3. Correia- Struggled horribly this Spring and the worst pitcher of the group who somehow got 2 year 10 million from the Twins. Hopefully Terry Ryan is ready to cut bait with him because I don't think he'll last through July in the AL.
4. DeVries- By far our best pitcher this Spring and he was okay in his time here last season and should be another solid fill in.
5. Hendriks- Great minor league numbers, but has been terrible in his time in the majors.
End of 2013:
1. Diamond- Will start the season on the DL and probably struggle initially but will get better as the season goes on and show why he was our best pitcher last season.
2. Gibson- a former first round pick will start the season in Triple-A only because he needed some more time to regain his control coming off Tommy John.
3. Meyer- Prospect from Span trade who is going to be our future ace. He will start in the minors and once he polishes himself and his changeup he will be up in Minneapolis starting games.
4. May- Prospect from the Revere trade who is a strikeout machine and just needs a little more polishing before becoming a top of the rotation guy.
5. Worley- Moving back in the rotation will help Worley and he will be one of the best number 5 starters in baseball.
With the starting pitching it will probably be gruesome early, but there will be promise by the end of the season that will give us a better taste in our mouth come opening day of 2014.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
1. Hicks CF- Has been fantastic this Spring and has all the potential to be a great leadoff guy.
2. Dozier 2B- Was good initially lasts season and hit a wall, been solid this Spring and if he can stay that way he will be very good in the 2 hole for us.
3. Mauer C- Best pure hitter in baseball, should contend for his 4th batting title.
4. Willingham LF- If he can repeat last season, wow what a 7 million dollar steal would he be.
5. Morneau 1B- If he is truly back like it seems he could have another MVP like season.
6. Doumit DH- Had fantastic year for us last year and I see no signs of him regressing.
7. Plouffe 3B- If he can up his average and hit those homers again, he will be the best 7 hitter in baseball.
8. Parmelee RF- If he can hit like he did when he came up in 2011 and not in 2012 he could hit 20 homers and around 300 making him move up in this lineup and giving us a great 8 hitter.
9. Florimon SS- Great defensively, if he can even just hit for average will become much more valuable.
We have the potential to be a very potent offense, and score a ton of runs this season. So sit back and enjoy it because our rotation will probably give up even more than we score making for an ugly season. But it should look better by season's end and give us more promise going into 2014, where both our offense and pitching will be much improved.
Now an outlook on why Twins fans need to just be patient with the pitching.
The Twins starting rotation to begin this year is laughable and should end up being almost as bad as our historically bad staff as last season. However, by the end of the year the rotation could have a much younger, and better outlook for 2014 and beyond. A look at what the rotations could look like:
Start of 2013:
1. Worley- Solid starting pitcher who has struggled this Spring but is more of a 4 or 5 starter than a 1.
2. Pelfrey- Coming off Tommy John and is still waiting to entirely regain velocity but should be another just solid starter made for the back of the rotation.
3. Correia- Struggled horribly this Spring and the worst pitcher of the group who somehow got 2 year 10 million from the Twins. Hopefully Terry Ryan is ready to cut bait with him because I don't think he'll last through July in the AL.
4. DeVries- By far our best pitcher this Spring and he was okay in his time here last season and should be another solid fill in.
5. Hendriks- Great minor league numbers, but has been terrible in his time in the majors.
End of 2013:
1. Diamond- Will start the season on the DL and probably struggle initially but will get better as the season goes on and show why he was our best pitcher last season.
2. Gibson- a former first round pick will start the season in Triple-A only because he needed some more time to regain his control coming off Tommy John.
3. Meyer- Prospect from Span trade who is going to be our future ace. He will start in the minors and once he polishes himself and his changeup he will be up in Minneapolis starting games.
4. May- Prospect from the Revere trade who is a strikeout machine and just needs a little more polishing before becoming a top of the rotation guy.
5. Worley- Moving back in the rotation will help Worley and he will be one of the best number 5 starters in baseball.
With the starting pitching it will probably be gruesome early, but there will be promise by the end of the season that will give us a better taste in our mouth come opening day of 2014.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987