Brandon

The big debate is the pitching staff so I'll start with the CF debate and go with Hicks and Mastroianni. If the Twins weren't trying to say the job is Hicks to loose then I would go with Benson and Mastro while Hicks lets his clock go in the minors the first 2 months. next is the 25th spot. Butera, Colabello, or Benson in this trifecta i see Benson comming north to continue to push in CF and RF with Parmelee. The Twins will want someone who can come in and play the corner OF spots for defense with pop at the end of games. and pinch hit too. Though good arguements could be made for the other 2 and I would not be disappointed in any of the 3 comming north. Starting pitching. This is hard cause I feel like we are stuck with Correia in the rotation even though he hasnt shown yet that he deserves it this spring. I would like the rotation to start out with Worely, Dedunno, Devries, [Hendriks (2nd most likely to be sent down after Walters)/ Walters (who could be in pen but is also not on roster or out of options) and Corriea or Pelfry for the last 2 spots]. (Diamond and Pelfry start on the DL unless Pelfry shows better command and results by the end of spring training. the spot is his to loose at this point but he has struggled with command issues. He may need to go on a rehab assignment and stay in extended spring training for a few weeks to work on command.) The first month of the season is shaping up to be tryouts for the rotation. I think Correia should be the fall back option if these other guys show they do not belong. Especially Dedunno, though Dedunno and DeVries appear to be ahead of Hendriks at this point. I am not sure what to think of Walters though I suspect he could end up the in the pen as a long man replacing Swarzak. Bullpen Perkins, Burton, Deunsing, Fien, Wood, Roenicke, Pressly, Walters, I wonder if the Twins will open with 4 starters and 8 relievers to start the season so Wood, Roenicke, Pressly, and Walters can see which one goes down when Diamond comes up. Walters is the odd man out in both the rotation and bullpen IMO. As he is not on the roster and Dedunno appears to be in the lead for the rotation between Walters and Dedunno.

I don't think its because he thinks Buston is not as good but that there is a higher percent chance that they will have an impact at the major league level at this stage of their developments.

If he lowers his walk rate to around 4 per 9 then he could be this generations Dave Stewart. He didn't have much success until his late 20's then out of know where won 20 games a year 4 years in a row. While I won't expect 20 wins a year, Dedunno could put together 3-7 years of 12-15 wins as a starter. I think a pitcher like him makes the rest of the rotation better because of the way he pitches is a different look then the other starters.

The Twins could part with 1 of them should the need or opportunity to promote presents itself.

I think the head case label came from being dominant until giving up a hit then all of a sudden 3 runs would score. Maybe he couldn't pitch well from the stretch. or maybe it was mental. Hard to know from where i sit. But I would have preferred Liriano to Corriea for what its worth.

Appel is from Houston and will likely get drafted by Houston. Who else do you see Houston taking? They are going to take the hometown guy all things being equal. I think another reason he wasnt taken by Houston last year was that maybe Appel told them he wanted to finish college and Houston knew they were not going to be good last year and were going to get a top pick this year.

My only complaint is signing corriea to that 2nd year. I would have preferred the Twins spend more money and sign a better pitcher in that instance. I do think Pelfry is a capable 3 or 4 starter also another Middle IF and bench bat (though we may have a decent in house option here) Could have made this a .500 team. That would be better to watch.

Unless all of the pitchers we are putting out there right now work out and we wont need Harden, we should plan on him continuing his career and continuing it here....I just assumed the Twins would want to keep him for next season and the best way to handle him is to let him start in the minors and build up arm strength anafter 5-10 starts you can start seeing where he is likely to fit in and how his body is handling starting and make the decision at that point when there is more information available. If I had to make the decision now I would just put him in the pen and make him a set up guy.

The whole rotation is an if then rotaion of scenarios. If Diamond is healty he will start If Pelfry is healthy he will start If Corriea can be effective he will continue to start and will be a default starter to open the season unlessor until he proves otherwise. If Gibson starts the season at AAA he will eventually make the team this year at some point or he will start the season with the team and be shut down. If Harden can start he will be up around the all star break and take a spot (Corrieas?) If Hendricks can hold it together he can start if not he'll be back at AAA a lot faster then last year as we have more options this year. I could keep going but i will make this prediction that the 6th and 7th starters will make 30 starts this season. I see DeVries getting 10-20 starts and 20-30 long relief appearances this year.

Whitesox are an 83-87 win team. They have a deep enough rotation that they will be a winning team despite being themselves.

Becomming a top set up / closer would be the best thing for him for career longevety. but he may be happier as a starter and this last surgery could be what he needed to get back on track. I think he should start the season starting at AAA and decide from there after about 10 starts.

So the rotation is shaping up to be... Worley Diamond Gibson with Corriea, DeVries, and Hendriks fighting for the last 2 spots and Dedunno available in case. I thought DeVries put up Tewksbury like numbers last year and has the same velocity as Marcum and Tewksbury. The other knock on DeVries other than the homeruns is that he didn't pitch deep into games. He was a 5-6 inning pitcher. But I think he could be a servicable #5 starter.

Thome > Butera. so I would make the move. I suspect this year a third string catcher will get at most 50 innings behind the plate this year. Thome brings a nice bat to the bench and insurance in case of injury to one of several players as Doumit can be redeployed to LF,RF, 1B, and C and Thome take over the DH and not lose much offensively. That would leave 3b as the only offensive downgrade in case of injury as Mastroinni or Hicks can take over for the other in CF, and SS and 2b are already a whole. Colabello can get some time at AAA and be ready in case Thome shows he is done.

Willingham, Morneau, and Doumit will all miss between 3-8 games as long as they are healthy. Mauer will likely miss 15-20 if healthy thats 20-30 games Thome will have a chance to DH. If one player gets hurt there is some more time too. Also Thome did have a higher OPS then Doumit so he could take a few of his ABs too. There is no reason the Twins couldn't sign Thome to have him start 30-50 games at DH and PH in another 40-60. That would give him 180-250 plate appearances and it would make fans happy. If Thome shows his age then we can bring up Colabello. But i think the fans want to see Thome back and the front office owes us that after such a crappy offseason for 2013 season.

Ok so here's what we have, DH Doumit C Mauer 1b Morneau LF Willingham RF Parmelee All of these guys will need days off during the year. Yes they can get a breather at DH but i doubt any of these guys gets 162 games at their respective positions. Also Some one needs to hit for our dynamic MI Duo late in the games. that can easily be taken up by a player who can handle getting 150-250 plate appearances off the bench. If Thome gets 30-40 starts at DH and another 40-60 pinch hitting appearances I don't think that will affect anyones development as we dont really have anyone proven who can do that. Thome may well prove to be done in which case he would be cut after 30-50 plate appearances. Attendance is going to lag and I would rather watch him hit than Butera if given a choice. Not to mention if a player gets hurt the Twins won't have to rush Arcia or they can be able to put whoever they bring up in better situations. There is mostly only upside to this signing so why not. We will not keep him long if he is done.

Just to reiterate thats 150-200 plate apprearances if he is producing. why not sign him?

On one side of the fence the Twins chose to rebuild and are not fielding a highly competetive team or a team that could compete if everything and i mean everything broke right. The Twins are likely to lose 200,000+ in ticket sales this year to an increasingly disgruntled fan base as we go through the rebuilding process. They could recoup some of that in having Thome around. There could be a Jim Thome as Paul Bunyon bobblehead if that hasnt been done yet and also if his last few games can draw crowds. Plus it would be fun to have him around and having an extra hitting coach around. all for what 500k to 1000k and 150-200 plate appearances?

I think the fans would rather see Thome back with the Twins. If they are going to lose this year it would be nice if they had some name player the average fan would want to come out and see. also he would only be a bench player and get maybe 150-200 plate appearances if he is still productive less if not. but he should still be good for at least a couple more HRs. and put some fans in the stands. If this team was set up to win now i might feel differently.

Good article. I would like to see Meyer and May up with the Twins as soon as possible to get acclimated to the majors. I was wondering if Pressly makes the top 10 over Meyer as he has the potential to make the team this year and is a rookie.

Looks like April is shaping up to be an extended tryout for the rotation. With Diamond missing a few weeks in April. Everyone is saying Pelfry will be ready to go in April. Swarzak being out will give someone else like Dedunno or Walters another shot too. So as spring training is set to begin the rotation appears to be. Worely (assuming he is ready to go after his surgury) Pelfry Corriea Hendriks Devries (IMO) with Gibson starting out in the pen or extended spring training where its warmer. Gibson is kind of a wild card in that i can see the Twins doing those things to protect him but i can also see him starting the season in the rotation too depending on how who pitches like what during spring training. If Pelfry or Worely need a few weeks as well to start the season then the rotation will get real interesting. Hopefully Deunsing stays in the pen this year if someone else falls out i can see him being added back into the mix.

I am going with 72-76 wins this season.

I would feel beeter if they signed Theriot to a minor league deal. My biggest concern is that Florimon is not goint to work out at SS so having someone to fill in would be a good idea. I think Dozier could be successful. But i am not convinced. Carroll can only play one of the 2 positions. As for Carroll, I hope his option vests. He is solid enough so as not to be wasting money. the Twins have the money to burn. I was hoping the Twins would have signed one MI to a contract (Sanchez, Johnson Theriot, Izturas, to name a few) so only one of Dozier/ Florimon is exposed at a time. Let Florimon show he can play up here before bringing Dozier back.

Lets see here a Saunders signing leaves the potential rotation at: Diamond Worely Pelfry Saunders Corriea Hendricks Gibson Dedunno DeVries and Harden (who will likely be in the pen) No one said Corriea has to be in the starting rotation all year. Also he could be traded in July. Injuries occur and you can never have too much pitching. I say sign him for a 1 or 2 year deal. I don't think the 3rd year is prudent. I also think Saunders will have trade value with the extra year come next offseason.

The Twins do have 4 potential 25-30 hr bats in the lineup this year. Mauer batting in front of all of them and Doumit somewhere in there too. As long as either Mastroianni or Hicks and one of the MI can get on base at a reasonable clip the offense should score enough. the defense will likely let a few more hits in RF but thats about it. Maybe Plouffe improves enough to offset that some. I believe we will have at lease 3 decent starters out of the bunch now if 2 more are atleast .500 record then we can compete. the bullpen will be likely average or slightly above. IMO there are more ifs than certainty on paper but that doesn't mean the talent isn't there to compete this year.

The spring training battles appear to be: 1. Hendricks Dedunno DeVries and Gibson for the 5th spot in rotation likely winner in order IMO. 2. Last spot in bullpen Robertson, Pressly, Harden, Slama, Reonicke and a bunch of others. Robertson probably has the inside track but i doubt by much. Fien has a spot but a horrible spring could cost him same with Swarzak...again IMO 3. Carroll vs Dozier at 2B coin flip the other will be on the bench so this one is inconsequential. 4. Hicks vs Mastroianni in CF with Benson going for backup OF and that will be decided by Hicks