The Minnesota Twins

The Twins made some excellent additions this off season, mostly in their pitching rotation. They added several new starting pitchers, but they are one of the weakest hitting teams in the Major Leagues.

One new player is Kurt Suzuki and will take over as prima
ry catcher with the move of Joe Mauer to first base. Jason Kubel will be on the Twins in 2014 and be a primary designated hitter. Also there are several young players that will find their spot in the lineup for the Twins in 2014. Here is how the lineup may look for the Twins.

1.  L. Alex Presley          CF 92 OPS+
2. R. Brian Dozier           2B 100 OPS+
3. L. Joe Mauer              1B 144 OPS+
4. R. Josh Willingham     LF 98 OPS+
5. L. Jason Kubel           DH 69 OPS+
6. R. Trevor Plouffe        3B  94 OPS+
7. L. Oswaldo Arcia        RF102 OPS+
8. S. Pedro Florimon        SS 70 OPS+
9. R. Kurt Suzuki             C  73 OPS+

Joe Mauer will have great hair at first
base from now on. 

The pitching rotation for the Twins took a significant increase over the off season with the additions of Rickey Nolasco and Phil Hughes. They may not be the strongest of pitchers but certainly a good pair to add to a big ball park and to a team in a rebuilding phase. Here is how the rotation may stack up for the Twins in 2014.

1. R. Rickey Nolasco 101 ERA+
2. R. Kevin Correia 97 ERA+
3. R. Phil Hughes 78 ERA+
4. R. Mike Pelfrey  78 ERA+
5. R. Vance Worley 56 ERA+

The Twins actually have on of the better closers in the game in Glen Perkins. Other than Perkins the Twins don't have much of a significant bullpen. They have decent guys like Casey Fein and Jared Burton who put together a decent season. Also in the pen are starters Scott Diamond and Samual Deduno, along with relievers Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak, who may put together a good 2014 season.

A Different View

Buster Posey looking all heroic and stuff. 

There is only player on the field who faces in the opposite direction from the rest. He is covered head to toe in equipment and is undoubtedly the most athletic on the team. I am talking about the catcher; foul tips to the mask, throwing out runners from a crouch, cat like reflexes, calling a game, and of course hitting at the plate. You need to be dedicated to be a catcher, and be ready to take a beating. Here I will discuss some of the best catchers in the league and why they are so.

We have to start off with reining National Leag

ue MVP and two time World Series Champion, Buster Posey. The 26 year old back stop had a masterful year at the plate in 2012. He hit for a .336 batting average to lead the league and had an astounding 171 OPS+. Posey caught 114 games last season, nearly one-fourth  of the season and caught 30% of base stealers. Although defensive metrics are still vague, Posey had a 0.5 defensive WAR last year. Defensively Posey is right near average, but offensively he is the best there is at the position. Buster Posey's 9 year $164 MM contract is definitely a bargain for the Giants.

Beware: do not run. 

From the 2011 World Series Champions, Yadier Molina is without a doubt the best defensive catcher in baseball. In 2012 Molina guided his St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs via the second Wild Card. For the first year in his career Molina was a strong offensive threat. He had a .315/.373/.501 slash-line which equates to a 137 OPS+. Molina played 136 out of his 138 games at the catcher's position last season, that takes extreme durability. He threw out an amazing 48% of base runners and had an outrageously high 2.6 defensive WAR. Molina's value at the catcher's position is so great that nearly 33% of his total value as a player is due to his defense.

Well played Mauer. 

Once a MVP and once a gold glove award winning catcher, Joe Mauer is no longer the catcher he was in his glory days. In 2012 he played only 74 of his 147 games as the catcher for his Minnesota Twins. Mauer still has his offensive success but not to the extent of the 28 home runs he hit in 2009. Since 2009 Mauer has not hit more than 10 home runs in a season, but he still drives in runs. In 2012 he had a .319/.416/.466 slash-line, playing in a cavern for a stadium that translates to a 140 OPS+. The downside to Joe Mauer is his defense. In 2012 he threw out just 14% of base runners. That could be due to the pitchers not holding runners well, but his -0.9 defensive WAR is another indication of decreasing defensive ability. That means he is below average defensively. I don't know if I would want to pay Mauers salary for him to not hit home runs and to be the designated hitter.

You're Hot and You're Cold

It's cold in the Twin Cities and it's hot in the Valley of the Sun. The Minnesota Twins and the Arizona Diamond Backs most likely won't finish in first place this season, but they are making progress for success in future seasons.

Mr. Minneapolis, Joe Mauer 

The Twins caught lightning in a bottle in 2012 with Josh Willingham's success and they are hoping he will repeat his success. This Twin's lineup is dependent on power with the departure of two speed threats in Ben Revere and Denard Span. I would play Mauer at first base for two out of five games, catch two out of five games and be the DH for one out of five games between the catching days.  This would allow him to be in more games without the wear on his body. Mauer, Morneau, and Doumit will rotate between catcher, first base, and DH. Obviously Morneau won't play catcher.

1. R. Mastroianni CF 90 OPS+
2. R. Carrol 2B          86 OPS+
3. L. Mauer C            141 OPS+
4. R. Willingham LF   144 OPS+
5. L. Morneau 1B       113 OPS+
6. R. Plouffe 3B          107 OPS+
7. S. Doumit DH        114 OPS+
8. S. Florimon SS       61 OPS+
9. S. Hicks RF            Not enough MLB statistics

The Twins are making major strides to improve their pitching rotation, signing pitchers and trading for them. It still isn't likely for any one of these guys to win a CyYoung award or lead a category in anything, but they are good enough to do well.

1. R. Kevin Correia 4.21 ERA
2. R. Vance Worley 4.20 ERA
3. L. Scott Diamond 3.54 ERA
4. R. Mike Pelfrey 4.74 ERA in 2011
5. L. Brian Duensing 5.12 ERA

The closer's job in the bullpen is up for grabs, but there are few nice pieces in the pen for the Twins. Glen Perkins posted a 2.56 ERA, Jared Burton posted a 2.18 ERA, Josh Roenicke posted a 3.25 ERA and Alex Burnett posted a 3.52 ERA. They should compete for the role of the closer, but whoever wins should won't be closing many games.

I project 67 wins for the Twins in 2013

Miguel Montero 

The Diamond Backs traded undoubtedly their best player in Justin Upton. In the trade they acquired Martin Prado to play third base. The D-Backs also signed outfielder Cody Ross, and Cliff Pennington. The Diamond Backs are trying to make a team of gritty players who play hard and are a good club house presence.

1. L. Eaton CF          111 OPS+
2. R. Prado 3B          114 OPS+
3. L. Montero C        120 OPS+
4. R. Goldschmidt 1B 123 OPS+
5. L. Kubel LF           117 OPS+
6. R. Ross RF            113 OPS+
7. R. Hill 2B               131 OPS+
8. S. Pennington SS    64 OPS+

The Diamond Backs also have some very good starting pitchers in the rotation. Although they traded away phenom Trevor Bauer they are still pretty good. They signed underrated pitcher of the year, Brandon McCarthy, and acquired Randell Delgado in the Upton trade. Also in the rotation was rookie of the year runner up, Wade Miley.

1. R. Ian Kennedy 4.02 ERA
2. R. Brandon McCarthy 3.24 ERA
3. L. Wade Miley  3.33 ERA
4. R. Randall Delgado  4.37 ERA
5. L. Patrick Corbin 4.54 ERA

The bullpen for the D-Backs has the addition of former closer, Heath Bell, but he will act as a setup man to current closer JJ Putz. Putz pitched to a 2.82 ERA in 2012 with 32 saves for the D-Backs while Bell had a terrible season with the Marlins in 2012. Brad Ziegler is also in the bullpen with a 2.49 ERA in 2012 along with lefties Matt Reynolds and Tony Sipp who didn't fare so well in ERA this passed season.

I project 84 wins for the Diamond Backs in 2013

The Minnesota Twins

The Twins finished 63-99 for the 2011 season. Opening their new stadium, Target Field, The Twins didn't live up to their expectations. Continuously hit by injuries to their big stars, Morneau and Mauer, The Twins were left with a sub par team.

The ticket to success for The Twins in 2012 will be to keep Joe Mauer healthy. He had reoccurring injuries throughout the 2011 season allowing him to play only 82 games. Joe Mauer can't catch everyday, or 5 times a week. He may need to learn another position. Right field may be good spot for him. You want your best hitter to get a lot at bats with many people on base and Mauer can't do that if hes sitting out every other game or injured.

Morneau has only played 150 games over the past 2 seasons. Which is an average of 75 a year. If he can play a full season and hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBI's The Twins may have a slight chance of keeping up with The Tigers. But the Twins should start rebuilding or start finding possible substitutions for frequently injured players.

The Twins have some pitching problems as well. Their projected starting rotation for 2012 is as follows: Liriano, Pavano, Baker, Blackburn, Duensing.  The problem here is that only one of these pitchers pitched 200 innings in 2011. If you guessed Carl Pavano, your right. How Pavano managed to not get injured is beyond me. Seeing how The Twins have a bullpen without Joe Nathan and assorted other relievers, pitching may be a problem against the now deadly American League.  If they don't have pitchers that pitch a lot of innings and not so good relievers, the team will fall apart.

Although the 2012 season may not look bright for The Twins they still have young stars Danny Valencia and Ben Revere. These 2 guys are quite promising and may help The Twins win a division in the future, but not anytime soon.