Justin Haley

Defense has been key for the Twins turnaround this season. Fans saw a key error from Jorge Polanco on Friday night which caused Jose Berrios to throw 30 extra pitches. This meant he was pulled after collecting only five outs. Pitchers rely on the defense behind them and it can be tough when defenders can't make the play.

Errors ran rampant for multiple Twins affiliates on Friday. Which clubs would be able to avoid these defensive woes? Read on to find out...

Paul Molitor wasn't thrilled to be handed a 13-man pitching staff and three-man bench on Opening Day. Despite the team's success in these first seven games, he isn't feeling much better about it now.

The manager has already been hamstrung on multiple occasions, including the end of a Tuesday loss which left him sounding a little exasperated.

Something needs to change soon. That means the Twins have a tough decision to make.

The Twins put together a bullpen game, started by Rule 5 pick Justin Haley. Niko Goodrum’s three-run, second-inning homer tied it at three. After that, the Twins took advantage of some miscues but also ran the bases aggressively on the way to a 9-4 win over the Rays.

The team had won eight straight spring games before both sides of a split-double header lost on Sunday afternoon. If the Twins can win on Wednesday when the Cardinals come to town, it could be called another streak.

The Twins won't be putting their best twenty five players on the Opening Day roster. That's never quite how it happens. Instead, much of how the final few roster spots are decided comes down to how the players fit into specific roles or whether or not a guy can be sent down to the minors without risk of losing him.

The Rule 5 Draft, one of the most obscure and convoluted things in all of sports, can give players what equates to a golden ticket into the big leagues. The Twins ended up with Justin Haley once the dust settled on this year's draft (it's a long story), meaning they get to keep him just so long as he's on the 25-man roster (or the DL). Haley comes over from the Red Sox, where he put up very similar 2016 numbers to another recent Twins acquisition.

Player A: 3.14 ERA, 1.121 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, opponents hit .241/.286/.366

Player B: 3.01 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, opponents hit .225/.291/.345

Player A is Adalberto Mejia, Player B is Haley. Mejia is the better prospect because he's two years younger, but Haley's probably a better bet to be of use to the Twins in 2017. Also, one big advantage to a Rule 5 draftee is development gets tossed out the window. The Twins wouldn't want to use Mejia as a long reliever because it would derail his development as a starting pitcher. With Haley, they can't send him to the minors for further seasoning as a starter. It's now or never.

It's that time of year. With spring training bearing down upon us, we're going to prep you for the upcoming season with a series of profiles highlighting the top prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization.

Today, our choices for 20 through 16. On Friday, 15 through 11. Then we'll count down one by one over the next two weeks, leading right up to the start of Grapefruit League play.

Twins officials have been insistent throughout the offseason that they wished to bolster the bullpen by acquiring a veteran reliever. On Friday they got their guy, signing 36-year-old righty Matt Belisle to a one-year, $2.05 million deal.

Let's take a look at how this addition alters the bullpen landscape, and who figures to be the odd man out.