My best guess on the next "Core 6": Byron Buxton, who I think we re-sign next offseason for 5 years, $100 million, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis, Jhoan Duran, and Jordan Balazovic. I also thought long and hard about putting Luis Arraez in here because of how much I love his bat at the top of the lineup.
While re-signing Buxton presents a huge risk because of his injury history, his potential is too high for us to give up on; we play so much better when he is manning CF. Kirilloff looks like he'll be the Twins 1B for the next decade or so, with Larnach taking over RF. I am curious to see where Lewis ends up long term, is he an infielder or an outfielder? I'm extremely excited about this next phase of arms coming up through the system, Duran and Balazovic are the top two, but there is genuine depth within our organization's pitching depth with Canterino, Winder, Sands, Enlow, etc.
I am sure that there will be a few surprises/breakouts, maybe someone like Sabato or Wallner will breakout in a big way. I still believe that this current version has enough talent to contend. Even after having watched these first two months of the season, if we could start the season over right now, I would still bet on the Twins making the playoffs.
I'm curious to hear thoughts from the rest of you! Comments, critiques?