Minnesota Twins

So, you think you know what's going to happen in the AL Central? Let's find out.

Every year Vegas takes bets on how teams will do over a full year. This represents an unbelievable opportunity for someone who iss super confident in their baseball statistics, because it eliminates the "sample size" excuse.

So have at it. We'll start on the south side of Chicago.
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On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins minor leaguers report to the Twins minor league complex in Ft. Myers. Soon after, the players will have their first full-squad workouts. In between, the players will have to run a mile, and the pitchers will also need to do a shuttle run. After a few days of workouts, the players will start playing some intra-squad games. Eventually they’ll start getting into some games against other teams, and then in early April, most of the players will be put on a roster and head to their Opening Day destinations.

Starting today, I will start looking at the Twins organizational depth chart, starting with the outfielders. We will consider which players are in line for roster spots with the Twins and each of their minor league affiliates. I’ll try to project which players will start the season with the various teams. ...

While center field is still in flux, it is fairly clear at this point how the Twins envision their starting lineup coming together at the start of the season. Chris Parmelee will be taking over for Ben Revere in right, and Ron Gardenhire has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to see Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon take the reigns in the middle infield. All other positions will be occupied by players reprising their roles from 2012.

There is less certainty when it comes to the composition of the bench. When I projected the Opening Day roster in my spring training preview, I guessed that the Twins would follow the typical Gardy formula: short bench (resulting from a seven-man bullpen) populated by a third catcher and a bunch of defensive specialists who can pinch-run.
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Earlier this week a post went up on ESPN's Sweetspot Blog about the importance of one player to the future of baseball in Europe. Mariners infielder Alex Liddi has only played 53 games in the major leagues but he is the first player born and raised in Italy. He has hit .224/.278/.397 during that stretch which aren't exactly eye-popping numbers. Still the article said, "If baseball is going to grow in Europe, it's going to be because of people like him."

There are other important players with European heritage. Heck, the Twins already have one Hall of Fame player, Bert Blyleven, that was born across the pond. He spent most of his youth in California so it wasn't exactly like he grew up over seas.
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As they try to rebuild their shattered starting pitching corps, the Twins are relying on Kyle Gibson to become a fixture in the rotation. Whereas the rest of the organization’s top pitching prospects are widely considered to be at least a year or two away, Gibson is ready now.

After being sidetracked by Tommy John surgery, he’s returned throwing harder than ever and – much like in his first big-league camp in 2011 – he is impressing coaches and onlookers with his poise and polish. He is a beacon of hope for the future that the Twins can present to fans now; a bridge to what they hope will be a revamped young rotation that returns them to relevance.

Considering his importance to their short-term and long-term plans, Gibson will obviously need to be handled carefully. From a physical standpoint, the Twins are addressing that by limiting his inning total for this season. But what about from a financial standpoint? The decisions made this spring, and later in the summer, will have a considerable bearing on when he'll be in line for free agency.
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In 1965, the first year of the MLB draft, the Twins had the ninth overall selection. They used it on a talented shortstop from the University of Arizona, Eddie Leon. But Leon didn't sign with the Twins, instead going back to Arizona and earning All-American honors in 1966. The following year, he was selected third overall by the Chicago Cubs in the June secondary draft, but once again failed to sign and went back to school. Like he did in 1966, he once again earned All-American honors.

Finally, in 1967, Leon was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the June secondary draft and at the age of 20 reported to the Double-A Pawtucket Indians in the Eastern League. When asked why he declined to sign his first times through the draft, ...