2013 probably won't be a playoff year for the Twins and they will probably won't even be over 500 but there will be certain things to watch and certain players to follow. So before I make my predictions for every division and who I think will win it all, I will go over my predictions and things to look forward to with the Twins.
The biggest thing that will draw fans to games will be the offense. This team will score a ton of runs especially if the guys after our first 4 hitters in Hicks, Mauer, Willingham and Morneau show up and hit on a consistent basis.
Twins likely lineup:
1. Hicks CF
2. Mauer C
3. Willingham LF
4. Morneau 1B
5. Doumit DH
6. Plouffe 3B
7. Parmelee RF
8. Dozier 2B
9. Florimon SS
If 5 through 9 hit well this team could score 750 to 800 runs and teams that score that much are usually a 500 team when they don't have pitching.
Predictions:
Joe Mauer will win his 4th batting title and hit 15 plus home runs. He has been on fire this Spring and nearly won his 4th title last year. I think he hits more homers this season thanks to new hitting coach Tom Brunansky.
Aaron Hicks will win AL Rookie of the Year. He won't have to hit a ton of home runs to do so either. He just needs to do what he did in Spring and that is take good at bats and keep his high on base percentage and steal some bases and he will be the Rookie of the Year.
Justin Morneau will return to his MVP form and sign an extension with the Twins. He has seemed to return to form this Spring and if he hits around 300 with 20 plus home runs there is no reason the trade him unless we are blown away with tons of great pitching prospects. He is only 31 and plenty of good hitters have played well into their late 30s especially at first base/designated hitter and if Morneau is back there is no reason to think he won't. They could give him an extension during the season like they did with Doumit last year and keep him here for a long time. Especially with the fact that first basemen in waiting Chris Parmelee has yet to live up to his potential.
We will see starting pitching prospects Alex Meyer, Trevor May and Kyle Gibson before season's end. Gibson should be up by June at the latest, he just needed a little more time to regain his control coming back from Tommy John Surgery. May and Meyer may end up just being September call ups, but with how bad the pitching staff is going to be there is no reason to at least show case these guys to Twins fans as something to look forward to seeing in the future. I won't be surprised if both are up before September because they both are power pitching strike out guys, something the Twins need more of.
What to watch for:
Other than Hicks the young players to watch for possible break out seasons:
Trevor Plouffe 3B showed us in June last season when he led the majors in every power hitting category for that month, why he was a 1st round pick of the Twins. He has raw power and if he can figure out how to hit for average as well and play better defense he could be at third base for a long time for the Twins. He is also out of options so he can't be sent back down to the minors without other teams getting him so this really is a make or break year for him.
Chris Parmelee RF needs to step up and play to his potential of what we saw when he was a September call up in 2011. He hit 4 home runs and had a bunch of extra base hits. He needs to do that consistently to keep his job. The Twins have tons of young outfielders just about ready to take over at the major league level and if he doesn't perform we could see him sent back to the minors or even traded. Make or break year for him as well.
2B Brian Dozier and SS Pedro Florimon have similar challenges ahead of them this season. Both need to play good defense up the middle and both need to become consistent hitters to help the team. They don't need hit 300 and hit tons of home runs but if they could hit 250 or better and have an on base percentage of 320 or better they could mainstays up the middle for a long time here. With no real prospects ready at either position until late 2014 or early 2015 they both have time to settle in and dont necessarily have make or break seasons.
The Twins probably won't make a run this year, but there will be tons of reasons to still watch them. Mauer and Morneau should both have great seasons and are always fun to watch when they do. Hicks should be the CF for the next 5 years or longer and will show us why. Plus we should get to see plenty of our high prospects and what the future can hold for the Twins. We have one of the best farm systems in baseball and starting this season we should get to see why and it should be fun to watch them grow as players. 2013 may not be fun winning wise, but it will be a huge year in the development of our young and upcoming players and if all goes well the Twins will be better then expected this season and will be better set up to start contending again in 2014.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
The biggest thing that will draw fans to games will be the offense. This team will score a ton of runs especially if the guys after our first 4 hitters in Hicks, Mauer, Willingham and Morneau show up and hit on a consistent basis.
Twins likely lineup:
1. Hicks CF
2. Mauer C
3. Willingham LF
4. Morneau 1B
5. Doumit DH
6. Plouffe 3B
7. Parmelee RF
8. Dozier 2B
9. Florimon SS
If 5 through 9 hit well this team could score 750 to 800 runs and teams that score that much are usually a 500 team when they don't have pitching.
Predictions:
Joe Mauer will win his 4th batting title and hit 15 plus home runs. He has been on fire this Spring and nearly won his 4th title last year. I think he hits more homers this season thanks to new hitting coach Tom Brunansky.
Aaron Hicks will win AL Rookie of the Year. He won't have to hit a ton of home runs to do so either. He just needs to do what he did in Spring and that is take good at bats and keep his high on base percentage and steal some bases and he will be the Rookie of the Year.
Justin Morneau will return to his MVP form and sign an extension with the Twins. He has seemed to return to form this Spring and if he hits around 300 with 20 plus home runs there is no reason the trade him unless we are blown away with tons of great pitching prospects. He is only 31 and plenty of good hitters have played well into their late 30s especially at first base/designated hitter and if Morneau is back there is no reason to think he won't. They could give him an extension during the season like they did with Doumit last year and keep him here for a long time. Especially with the fact that first basemen in waiting Chris Parmelee has yet to live up to his potential.
We will see starting pitching prospects Alex Meyer, Trevor May and Kyle Gibson before season's end. Gibson should be up by June at the latest, he just needed a little more time to regain his control coming back from Tommy John Surgery. May and Meyer may end up just being September call ups, but with how bad the pitching staff is going to be there is no reason to at least show case these guys to Twins fans as something to look forward to seeing in the future. I won't be surprised if both are up before September because they both are power pitching strike out guys, something the Twins need more of.
What to watch for:
Other than Hicks the young players to watch for possible break out seasons:
Trevor Plouffe 3B showed us in June last season when he led the majors in every power hitting category for that month, why he was a 1st round pick of the Twins. He has raw power and if he can figure out how to hit for average as well and play better defense he could be at third base for a long time for the Twins. He is also out of options so he can't be sent back down to the minors without other teams getting him so this really is a make or break year for him.
Chris Parmelee RF needs to step up and play to his potential of what we saw when he was a September call up in 2011. He hit 4 home runs and had a bunch of extra base hits. He needs to do that consistently to keep his job. The Twins have tons of young outfielders just about ready to take over at the major league level and if he doesn't perform we could see him sent back to the minors or even traded. Make or break year for him as well.
2B Brian Dozier and SS Pedro Florimon have similar challenges ahead of them this season. Both need to play good defense up the middle and both need to become consistent hitters to help the team. They don't need hit 300 and hit tons of home runs but if they could hit 250 or better and have an on base percentage of 320 or better they could mainstays up the middle for a long time here. With no real prospects ready at either position until late 2014 or early 2015 they both have time to settle in and dont necessarily have make or break seasons.
The Twins probably won't make a run this year, but there will be tons of reasons to still watch them. Mauer and Morneau should both have great seasons and are always fun to watch when they do. Hicks should be the CF for the next 5 years or longer and will show us why. Plus we should get to see plenty of our high prospects and what the future can hold for the Twins. We have one of the best farm systems in baseball and starting this season we should get to see why and it should be fun to watch them grow as players. 2013 may not be fun winning wise, but it will be a huge year in the development of our young and upcoming players and if all goes well the Twins will be better then expected this season and will be better set up to start contending again in 2014.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987