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| Miguel Sano, #1 prospect in the organization, hit 28 homers in 2012 |
The Twins need a lot of help, and their rotation is a mess. It is honestly one of the worst I've seen in a long time, and GM Terry Ryan has stated that upgrading it will be his main concern this off-season. The rotation is led by Scott Diamond, who actually had a pretty good 2012 season. However he is a ground ball pitcher and I do not see him as an ace. The rest of the rotation consists of Samuel Deduno, Esmerling Vasquez, and P.J. Walters. Those three pitchers are horrible and should not have a job next season. An interesting name to talk about is Liam Hendricks, who has been given several opportunities to prove himself at the major league level. Hendricks put up nice numbers in the minor leagues but struggled in 2012 posting a 5.59 ERA in 16 starts. He is also not a strikeout pitcher, so if he does figure himself out he will probably be a #4 or #5 pitcher at best. Finally there is Carl Pavano, who is as good as gone once he hits free agency when the World Series is over. Now, lets look on the bright side, the Twins have SOME pitching prospects. #7 prospect in the organization Adrian Salcedo had a rough 2012 year, but has nice upside and is still young. Minnesota also has a few other pitching prospects that could be a few years away from making an impact at the major league level, such as Jose Berrios, Hudson Boyd, B.J. Hermsen, Madison Boer, Kyle Gibson, Matthew Summers, and Alex Wimmers. Unfortunately for the Twins, most of those players had rough 2012 seasons, so it looks like Minnesota will have to spend big on the free agent market if they want to compete again.
At the moment, the offense isn't really that bad. One problem with Minnesota has always been keeping their top players like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span healthy. If they are all in the lineup, they are a force to be reckoned with. A few years ago, if you asked me if the Twins would be willing to trade Joe Mauer and rebuild, I would have thought you were crazy because first of all they had just signed him to a mega deal worth over $150 million and he was going to be a cornerstone player for them. However, after a strong 2012 season his value is very high and the catching market is weak, meaning that a team would be willing to overpay for Mauer. I personally don't think that they should trade Mauer, unless they are getting some sort of amazing pitching prospect in return. At DH there is Ryan Doumit, who actually recently signed an extension with the club. Minnesota clearly likes what Doumit brings to the table, and if Mauer were to get traded this winter, Doumit would probably slide in and take his spot as the everyday catcher. Justin Morneau was/is also a trade candidate. I honestly thought that the Twins were going to trade him this summer when his value was high, but they stuck with him and he will probably stay with the Twins for the foreseeable future. However, I am very high on prospect Chris Parmelee and I hope that he gets a shot at the everyday first base gig. At second base Jamey Carroll is clearly not the long-term answer. Alexi Casilla has been decent during his brief tenure with the Twins, but will probably get non-tendered this off-season. This is when Minnesota could either sign a free agent or rely on a home-grown player to slide in and fill this spot. The Twins are very high on top prospect Eddie Rosario, and his stats look very impressive. I figure that he is at least two years away from being ready for the big leagues, but I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be a star. At shortstop we have Pedro Florimon, who is, in my opinion, a bench player at best despite his young age (25.) He really can't hit, and his defense is about average. I am really intrigued by Brian Dozier though. Dozier really didn't hit well during his stint with the Twins in 2012, but is slightly above average when it comes to defense, and I think that the organization wants to see more of him. Unfortunately for the Twins, they really don't have any big shortstop prospects. Niko Goodrum is a somewhat coveted shortstop in the organization, but struggled in 2012 and is years away from making a serious impact. At shortstop there is Trevor Plouffe, who before this season started I would have said that he was a bust. However he put together a solid 2012 season, hitting 24 homers in 119 games. He really started to live up to the hype, and I'm excited to see what he can do with a full season under his belt. If he ends up being a flop again, the Twins could give prospect Travis Harrison a shot. Harrison, a former first round pick, has only one season of minor league ball under his belt so he has a long way to go before reaching the big leagues. Now, on positive note, the Twins' outfield situation is looking very strong for the next few years. I have a feeling that they are going to keep Josh Willingham, especially because he is under contract for the next two years. Willingham is an underrated slugger who can complement Mauer and Morneau in the lineup. Next is Denard Span, who I believe will ultimately be traded this winter. That way they can slide Ben Revere to center field where his natural position is and put #1 prospect Miguel Sano in right field. Sano has very nice upside and will probably develop into a solid player. Luckily for Minnesota if he doesn't work out they will have plenty of other options, most notably Byron Buxton (2012 first round pick), Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Joe Benson, Angel Morales, and Max Kepler.
The bullpen also needs to be addressed this off-season. The Matt Capps experiment has epic-ally failed, considering that the man cannot stay healthy. I like Glen Perkins' stuff, but I don't think that a left handed closer is a good idea. I really like Jared Burton and his arsenal of pitches, and after a strong 2012 campaign I believe that he is ready for a bigger role on the team. There will be a lot of names out there for Terry Ryan to sign this winter, but finding a long-term closer will definitely be a tough task.
Overall, the Twins are currently in pretty bad shape. As I mentioned earlier their rotation is horrific, and it is not getting better any soon. Their prospects are years away from being ready for the show, so if they want to have a good 2013 campaign, perhaps they should consider signing free agents along the lines of Anibal Sanchez, Edwin Jackson, or Chris Young. As for the offense, its future will pretty much be hindered by whether Ryan decides to ship Mauer, Morneau or Span out of town this winter. The outfield is looking very good for the year's to come, but perhaps trading one of those stud outfield prospects would make sense in order to acquire some pitching. And finally the bullpen is going to need some work as well. They need to decide whether they are going to stick with Perkins as their closer, and also need to sign some low risk options to see if they pan out. I don't expect Minnesota to have a fire sale this winter, and they shouldn't, but expect to see them making some moves, because having another 90+ loss season in 2013 while being not sure where the future is heading would definitely not be good.
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