Is There Reason For Hope? Any Hope?

It has been 190 days since the 2014 Minnesota Twins came to an end with a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The team spent more than six weeks down in Ft. Myers for spring training, preparing for the real thing. That starts today, ironically right where last season ended, in Detroit, against the Tigers.

The Twins hitters will get to face lefty David Price, a tough task, to be certain.

Opening Day means different things to different people. Through much of the past decade, Opening Day for Twins fans meant hope that the team might advance to the playoffs and maybe it would be the year when the Twins would win their third World Series title. In recent years, it has meant hope that the Twins would show improvement. For some, Opening Day simply means hope that some minor leaguers will get an opportunity with the big league. For those minor leaguers, there is hope that they will get to reach for and achieve a dream of a lifetime.

There is a word that you read several times in the previous paragraph, hope. As the saying goes, “Hope springs eternal.”

It isn’t a coincidence that the start of the baseball season comes with the start of spring. The grass is starting to turn green. There is new life. There is reborn optimism. On a deeper level, it’s quite appropriate that the start of the 2015 season is in line with Easter, the holiday which provides many with a renewed hope.

The Twins were dealt a gut punch last Friday when MLB announce that Ervin Santana will miss the season’s first 80 games due to his suspension for testing positive for a PED.

For many Twins fans, that hope we talk about vanished. There’s no question, it is a blow to the Twins. Ervin Santana has been a solid big league starter for a decade. Those 15-16 starts that he will not make will now be started by Mike Pelfrey, or possible Trevor May at some point. Either way, it is a big step down in the short term.

No question, it hurts.

But it’s still Opening Day. Weird things happen in baseball. That’s why they play the games, right? No one expected the Twins to do anything in 1987, and they certainly weren’t expected to go from worst-to-first in 1991. Much of last decade, they were not preseason picks to win the AL Central.

This year, most prognosticators tell us that the Twins will again finish in fifth place in the five-team American League Central division. Frankly, it’s what my prediction is, and it’s probably the most likely scenario.

My hope continues to be in the phrase, “You just never know.”

My hope is that Phil Hughes will remain a solid starter in 2015. Maybe he won’t be a top 10 starter in baseball, but he will solidify himself as a solid starter.

My hope is that Kyle Gibson will take the lessons from his 2014 season and instead of being really good in about half of his starts, maybe he’ll be really good in three-quarters of his starts. Maybe his strikeout rate does increase and he continues to get ground balls at a strong rate. There’s reason for optimism with Gibson.

My hope is that Torii Hunter can show that us 39 year olds can still be productive members of society. In my case, being almost a month older than Hunter, I hope to maintain my energy for my daily life. I’m not quite the athlete that Mr. Hunter is. For Hunter, he certainly has lost a step or three from when he last patrolled ground in the outfield for the Twins, but he’ll still make the plays he gets to, throw to the right bases and yes, lead his teammates. Offensively, I think we’d all be happy if he duplicates the numbers he put up in Detroit a season ago. And, I believe that is possible.

My hope is that Joe Mauer is fully recovered from his 2013 concussion. The numbers he put up after returning from the oblique injury last summer indicate that he’s got a lot more in the tank. His work with Tom Brunansky this spring on pulling the ball might mean more hits and driving the ball to more areas of the field. I have little concern that Mauer will be better in 2015 than he was in 2014. How much better? Well, that’s why they play the games.

My hope is that Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas will avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. I was surprised by their productivity in the big leagues in their 2014 rookie seasons. I don’t expect great numbers, but again, it would be wonderful if they both proved to be guys the team can count on for the next five to ten years.

My hope is that guys like Tommy Milone and Mike Pelfrey can put up numbers. They won’t put up sub-3.00 ERAs. They're not going to strike out a batter an inning. However, can they give the Twins an opportunity to win the games that they start. Maybe that means the Twins are competing. Possibly it means that they could be trade candidates in June and July.

My hope if that Ricky Nolasco is significantly better than he was in 2014. I have little concern that he will be much better. His long-time track record indicates he'll be solid.

My hope is that the bullpen isn’t terrible. A huge part of that being possible would be the starting pitching being able to go seven innings pretty consistently. There was a much better chance of that with Santana in the rotation, but it remains a goal nevertheless. The hope is that Glen Perkins remains healthy after last year’s scare. Casey Fien has proven himself two straight years, and Brian Duensing’s track record has been solid. The hope is that Tim Stauffer pitches like he has for the Padres the last two years, not like he did in spring training. The hope is that JR Graham continues to pump 96 mph fastballs and get hitters out.

My hope is in Oswaldo Arcia being able to make more contact and put up competitive at bats more frequently against left-handers. If he makes more contact, he has an elite power that could be huge for the Twins lineup.

My hope is that Brian Dozier takes another step forward in 2015. My hope is that he can raise his batting average by 20 to 30 points without it affecting his on-base skills or his power production.

My hope is that Kurt Suzuki gets more time off throughout the season so that he can perform like he did in last season’s first half.

My hope is that Paul Molitor doesn’t over-think things and keeps things simple.

My biggest hope is that the top prospects in the minor leagues are much healthier than they were in 2014. I personally hope that we will get to see Trevor May and Alex Meyer by June. I hope that we get to see Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano by July. In August, I want to see Nick Burdi and Jake Reed. I want to see Jorge Polanco, Adam Brett Walker, Max Kepler, Travis Harrison, Levi Michael, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, JT Chargois and Zack Jones in September. We may even see Byron Buxton and JO Berrios in 2015!

The Twins have worked hard in recent years to develop one of baseball’s best minor league organizations. It’s fun to read about them (and you’ll be able to get daily minor league reports here at Twins Daily throughout the season again), but it’s also time to start seeing more and more of them with the big league club. I hope we get to see that in 2015 so that we can be really excited on Opening Day 2016.

The offseason is complete. Spring training is complete. For the next six months, we will be able to watch Twins regular season games nearly every day. And, hopefully for most of the season, we will be able to have some hope. Most likely, two or three players will get hurt or disappoint. Just as likely, a couple of players will take big steps forward in their carees. Who will those players be? That's why they play the games.

And now, it’s time to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGdzxktan4