Team MVP: Joe Mauer
Mauer simply cannot stay healthy. I don’t know if it will take a lot more DH time or some time at 1B/3B to spell him from having to catch, but he likely won’t last the full season behind the plate. The “Well played, Mauer,” punchline has turned into “Please play, Mauer,” amongst baseball fans, especially those in Minnesota and those who own him in fantasy. The decline is a mix of having the insane 2009 season in recent memory and health problems. He was never going to match the power production in 2009, and now that he is oft-injured, the other production has declined steadily. Mauer slugged .368 in 2011 with a .081 ISO, compared to a .471 career average in slugging and .148 ISO. Mauer was on track to be a surefire hall of fame player only a couple of years ago, and now he is fighting to stay in the lineup (not due to talent, but due to health). If he can play even 130 games this season, I think he could crack double digit home runs and hit over .300… he is still a supreme talent. It would be refreshing to see him being an incredibly tough out again, as we didn’t get that luxury from Mauer in 2011.
Team Cy Young: Scott Baker
Always been a fan of Scott Baker. To a fault, almost, through his injuries and not great ERAs. He was injured in 2011, but for the time he pitched, it was the best year of his career. He posted career bests of 8.22 Ks/9, 3.14 ERA, and a 3.61 xFIP. I can’t put any faith in Franisco Liriano at this point, as much as I fully wanted to for awhile, and Baker is overlooked and actually pretty darn good.
Fresh face with impact: Josh Willingham
First of all, he is THE slugging in this lineup as of opening day. Until Justin Morneau proves he has anything left, and maybe even if he does, Willingham is their best power hitter. He hit 29 home runs last year while playing in Oakland (15 of which were at home), a rather overlooked feat. He will hit 25 homers in Minnesota this year, and probably get hurt and miss some time. Whenever Morneau struggles or goes down, Willingham will be hitting cleanup behind Mauer. And whenever Mauer is hurt, who knows what the hell will happen?
Impact Prospect: Levi Michael
He was the Twins’ 2011 first round pick, but I think he may be closer to the majors than Miguel Sano is in the Twins’ system. Michael is still young, 21 throughout this season, despite having a great career at North Carolina. He left high school and skipped his senior baseball season to enroll early at North Carolina, then proceeded to tear the ACC up throughout his career. He is versatile, playing 2B, 3B, and SS in college, and basically a good contact switch-hitter, with power for a lot of doubles and speed for 20 steals. He has always screamed ‘Brian Roberts’ to me when I see him play, and I think his skillset and pedigree has him closer to the majors than a lot of Twins position prospects.
Biggest sleeper or breakout candidate: Liam Hendricks
Although a prospect, I put Hendricks here because he is one injury away from being in the Twins’ rotation. He doesn’t throw hard, but will look to induce ground balls and command the strike zone, even though he doesn’t post high strikeout numbers. The Twins probably planned to have Kyle Gibson as next-in-line, but after Gibson required Tommy John, Hendricks got a short stint last season and I think he will see time in the rotation again this year.
Biggest Concern: Health of Mauer/Morneau
Their health issues are well-documented, and downright fishy/scary when you consider Mauer’s inability to regain health and Morneau’s concussion scare being an ongoing thing. These former AL MVPs here, and a short time ago had the entire twins organization firmly planted on their back to be carried. We see how much the Twins struggle without their production, and if that is the case again this year, it will be another long season (and a long Mauer contract) for Minnesota.
Projected Lineup:
CF – Denard Span
2B – Alexi Casilla
C – Joe Mauer
1B – Justin Morneau
RF – Josh Willingham
DH – Ryan Doumit
3B – Danny Valencia
LF – Ben Revere
SS – Jamey Carroll
thecleanupspot 