**Official 2015 Minnesota Twins Thread**

[TTMMaster19]

I'd thought I would officially open this thread for discussion. As a MN citizen and Twins die-hard, I'm excited about Molitor as our new manager. I'm hoping for drastic improvements and changes! What do you guys think? Chime in and maybe we could have some discussion on this- Free Agent Targets, Pitching Rotation for next year- what do we think? Twins playoffs once again?

[PejaD]

Probably a re-build year. Top position player prospects (Sano, Buxton, Gordon) will probably spend the year below AAA. The good pitching prospects (Berrios, Stewart) are not ready yet and the likely Rooks (Meyer, May) are pretty mediocre. The question is are they going to be on track to compete for a title in 2017 à la the Cubbies.
I am excited to see who they hire as the Pitching and Bullpen Coaches.

[Twinsfan33]

As long as razorsharp and Joe Sour don't spoil this I'm in!

[Hollywood42]

The Twins are going to be better than people expect. Yes, we won't be really good again until (and if) our prospects (Buxton, Sano, Meyer, Berrios, etc) make it to the bigs and can play how people expect them to. But, that doesn't mean we can't be an average team this year. We really aren't missing many parts. Because I'm a huge Twins fan and love analyzing them, here's a breakdown position by position of what I think:

Rotation:
1. Ricky Nolasco- He will be much improved. He is a much better pitcher than what he showed last year. He'll turn the corner, win 15-20 games, and start earning the money we signed him for
2. Phil Hughes- If he can repeat last year's great season (and there's no real reason why he shouldn't be able to in pitcher-friendly Target Field), he'll easily give us somewhere between 17-23 wins and continue to give us good production
Hughes may become our #1 pitcher, with Nolasco sliding down to #2. Wouldn't be surprised to see that happen, but ideally Nolasco is much improved and he and Hughes will be able to go 1-2 either way
3. Kyle Gibson- He's already shown he is capable of being a great pitcher, now he just needs to string together bunches of good starts. We was around 12-12 last year, but if he can get a little more consistent, he should be able to win us 15 games
4. Trevor May- He's got some work to do, but 2015 should be a good step forward. I'm not predicting a ton of wins, but hopefully he'll get rid of the innings where he gives up 3+ runs and give us 8-12 wins
5. I'm not entirely sure who will go here. Projections online are saying it will be Mike Pelfrey, but I honestly would like him to not start for us. Ever again. Sorry, I'm sure he's a good guy, but he has never contributed much to our team. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts in the rotation though, maybe gets bumped out somewhere along the way for Alex Meyer

Bullpen- We need a little bit of work here, but the starting rotation is what is going to make or break this team. I don't expect a whole lot of changes in the bullpen, which is alright with me

Closer- Glen Perkins- Honestly, he regressed a little bit last year. Still had a good number of saves, but he was letting a lot of runners on base and making games a lot less comfortable-feeling than they should have been. Hopefully he can return to his 2012 form and be a dominant closer again

In the field:

C- Kurt Suzuki- I'm a little bit surprised that he signed a 2-year extension earlier, but I am very pleased! Suzuki was easily our most clutch hitter last year. Hopefully he will be able to repeat that. Either way though, he is very good defensively. If he struggles at the plate, maybe we will see him start to split time with Josmil Pinto and start coaching him on how to take over at catcher. But Kurt signing an extension tells me that the Twins want him to be our guy for another year or two, and I'm confident in his abilities to produce
1b- Joe Mauer- I'll be the first of likely many in this thread to say it, but Mauer needs to stay healthy. I don't have a huge issue with him like a bunch of other fans seem to, but he does needs to stay healthy. I'm expecting his bat to return this year and for him to once again contend for a batting title *if he can stay healthy*. Best case scenario- He stays healthy, hits over .300, and shuts up the haters. Worst case scenario- He gets injured often again, his bat continues to struggle, and people complain about him even more
2b- Brian Dozier- Dozier is one of my top two guys I am happiest with on our team right now. Last year was a huge step for him, and I expect him to pick up right where he left off- Another 20+ home run year, another year of fantastic defensive work, another year of being one of the brightest spots on our team
SS- Danny Santana- Santana is the other guy I am happiest with on our current roster. I honestly think he should have been one of the 3 finalists for ROY, and I believe he would have gotten a lot more attention if not for Jose Abreu. But this kid is impressive- He gave us a solid leadoff hitter that we desperately needed, and he's versatile- He played more in center field last year, but I see him shifting back to his natural shortstop position in the next few years. I'll talk more about "who goes where" later on in this post, but I think Santana will continue to be a young stud on this team for the years to come
3b- Trevor Plouffe- Not going to lie, this guy surprised me last year. He played really well, solid in the field and starting producing at the plate too. If he can continue to play at a high level, he may cause some problems when Miguel Sano is ready for the bigs. Heading into last year, I saw him as pretty much just a placeholder for Sano. But, if he can put together another solid year, he'll make a case for himself to keep the starting job. Either way, it will be awhile before Sano is ready, but hopefully Plouffe can put together another good year
LF- Honestly, I don't think we have an everyday left fielder yet. Aaron Hicks is a great defender, but he is more suited for center field (see below), and his bat needs to be much improved if he wants to be in the everyday lineup. Chris Parmelee is another option. He had a pretty good year last year, but I don't see him fitting in very well into the long term future as anything more then a bench/utility player. Eduardo Nunez is another guy that can play outfield, but he's someone I don't see being with the Twins for a whole lot longer once Buxton makes it up to the big leagues. Left field is one of my question marks heading into the year
CF- Jordan Schafer- As I mentioned, Aaron Hicks is more well suited for center field than left field. But I see Schafer getting the nod over Hicks in center. Schafer is absolutely blazing fast. He doesn't hit for power or average, but once he gets on base, he is almost a sure bet to steal second. Obviously, everyone is waiting for Buxton to be ready for the pros, and then center will likely be his job. But I can still see Schafer in our lineup (left field?) near the bottom of the order, giving us some incredible speed on the bases
RF- Oswaldo Arcia- I think right field is the most certain I am about the outfield heading into this year. Arcia is our everyday right fielder, and I think he will be for our future too. He's shown he can hit for power (20+ HRs last year, I believe?), but I would like to see him bring up his average and be able to get a bunch of doubles too. He's not an elite defender and doesn't have anything more than average speed, but he is our right fielder

DH- Kennys Vargas- Man, can this guy mash. He had a great number of bombs last year, and he didn't even play a full season. I'll really looking forward to seeing how many he'll be able to hit this year. He doesn't hit for average, but that's not his role. It'll be great to have an everyday power hitting DH in the Twins lineup once again. If Mauer needs a day off from 1b, Vargas and Mauer can swap positions for the day, as the Twins did fairly often last year. But Vargas is best suited to DH at this point, and I think that's how the Twins will use him for the majority of this year

Utility- Eduardo Escobar- Heading into last year, this was another guy I didn't see being with our team for a whole lot longer. But last year really changed my mind. This guy was a doubles machine in the tops in the AL for doubles all year long. He's solid in the infield as well. He'll be the guy the Twins turn to when Dozier or Santana need a day off in the middle of the infield. Furthermore, I can see him playing shortstop more consistently too (see a couple paragraphs down!). Escobar is a great utility guy that I hope the Twins will hang onto

Bench- Chris Parmelee- Parmelee, can, should, and will see some starts in the outfield. If he hits well, he can be our everyday left fielder while Schafter covers center field and Danny Santana gets MLB experience at short. A lot will depend on his hitting though. If he has a cold bat, I doubt he sees much playing time. On the other hand, if he can hit as well as he did last year, I can see him starting a bunch in left, DHing some, and playing first every now and then

Bench- Eduardo Nunez- I don't see Nunez being with the team much longer. He's a solid infielder, but doesn't bring a whole lot to the plate with his bat. Especially if the Twins use Santana at short more this year, Nunez will see a lesser role with the team. I think he will get some starts this year, but not play a major role, and I wouldn't be surprised if he parts ways with the Twins after this year or next

[B]Who goes where-[B] As I mentioned, we have a couple of question marks. Namely, left field. One solution I see is, much like they did last year, to use Danny Santana mostly in center field instead of shortstop. Let Eduardo Escobar play short so we can get his doubles bat into the lineup. Then, Schafer shifts over from center field to left field. There's a good looking lineup. However, in anticipation of Buxton taking over center field sometime soonish(?), I think the Twins would like to give Santana more time at shortstop. This makes sense, but doesn't allow out best lineup to be put out (With Santana in center and Escobar at short). It will be interesting to see how the Twins will handle that situation. Santana needs to play SS to get accustomed to the position in the MLB, but that leaves an awkward situation with Escobar sitting and a question mark in left field. That being said, I'm predicting that the Twins will at least start the year with Santana playing center field, Escobar at short, and Jordan Schafer in left. We'll see how they decide to take care of it though

A couple of guys I don't know what will happen to-
Jorge Polanco- A SS, but not if Danny Santana plays more short than center. Polanco could still struggle to get playing time if Santana is in center and Escobar continues to hit well. I would like to see Polanco get playing time and be a part of the Twins future, I'm just not sure how it will happen
Pedro Florimon- I like Florimon. But he's so frustrating. He's a wizard with his glove, but he has never seemed like he can do anything at the plate. I don't think he'll have a place on our team for the long run, especially with Santana, Escobar, and Polanco competing for time at short. Maybe Florimon learns to play on the right side of the infield, or the corner outfield slots and becomes a utility guy like Escobar. But unless he shows things with his bat that he never has shown before, I don't see how he does much of anything with the Twins
Chris Herrmann- Typing this is kinda tough, and he is a big PC guy of mine. But I'm not sure how he'll get playing time with the Twins. He's mainly a catcher, but the Twins (and everyone else) seem to think that Pinto is the catcher of the future, and not Herrmann. He provides some nice flexibility, as he can play outfield too, but honestly he doesn't bring enough to the table yet to get consistent playing time. I'm hoping that he takes a lot of strides forward and eventually overtakes Pinto as the future catcher, but I'm not sure if that will happen. Right now, it looks like he will struggle to see playing time


Projected opening day lineup:

1. Danny Santana (CF)
2. Brian Dozier (2b)
3. Joe Mauer (1b)
4. Kennys Vargs (DH)
5. Oswaldo Arcia (RF)
6. Trevor Plouffe (3b)
7. Kurt Suzuki (C)
8. Eduardo Escobar (SS)
9. Jordan Schafer (LF)


Best case scenario- Nolasco, Gibson, and May all improve from last season and increase their win counts, Hughes pitches just as well as last year or better. Santana, Dozier, Suzuki and Vargas have repeat performances from last year, and Mauer's bat returns as he completes for a batting title once again. Poluffe has another strong year, Escobar continues to hit well, and the Twins push more runs across than they did last year. The Twins win 75-85 games
Worst case scenario- Nolasco and May struggle all year, Hughes regresses from last year. Santana and Suzuki have lesser years than last year, and Mauer struggles at the plate and is oft-injured. The Twins again lose 90-100 games

[Hollywood42]

Something weird happened when I posted above and it doubled posted- Carry on!

[TTMMaster19]

BUMP the Twinkies up

[oldgoldy97]

90+ losses once again. That's how I see it.

[yrocks2001]

Twins will find a stop gap in the outfield like Torii Hunter to fill in while Rosario/Buxton work their way up. I don't see Parmelee as being a contributor on this team. He's got a nice arm in the outfield and plays the RF wall very well but he just doesnt' move all that well and is not the type of athlete you need playing in the OF especially with Arcia who doesn't cover much ground. I like what Schafer did last year but he seems like more of a 4th OF who can pinch run and come in for Arcia late in games. I know Molitor has said he wants Santana back at SS but with Escobar, a better defender, on the bench and not much OF depth it wouldn't surprise me to see Santana back in the OF.

Tommy Milone will have every opportunity to be the 5th starter and Pelfrey if healthy will compete out of the pen for a spot. Hopefully with the shorter outings he can crank his fastball up a couple mph.

Projected Lineup
CF- Danny Santana
2B- Brian Dozier
1B- Joe Mauer
RF- Oswaldo Arcia
DH- Kennys Vargas
3B- Trevor Plouffe
C- Kurt Suzuki
SS- Eduardo Escobar
LF- Jordan Schafer/Free Agent

Rotation
Opening Day Starter- Phil Hughes
P- Kyle Gibson
P- Ricky Nolasco
P- Tommy Milone
P- Trevor May will be on a short leash with Alex Meyer overtaking him

RP- Caleb Theilbar
RP- Casey Fien
RP- Alex Meyer
RP- Anthony Swarzak
RP- Mike Pelfrey (who are we kidding he will be hurt)
CL- Glen Perkins

I expect to see Duensing and/or Swarzak dealt at some point this offseason.

Either way there is a lot of time until the season starts to figure these things out and get the right pieces in place.

[Hollywood42]

yrocks- I totally forgot about Milone in my post above. He should definitely be in the starting rotation. I agree that Pelfrey will complete for a starting job if he is healthy, but why? He has never brought anything to the table for us. Yet, we seem to give him a shot again and again.

Interesting thought with Meyer starting in the bullpen. Not sure if that'll happen though. To me, if Meyer is going to play in the pros this year, it will be either him or May that gets a starting slot, while the other pitches from the bullpen. If Milone is having a bad year, maybe he shifts to the pen and both Meyer and May start. Otherwise, I see May more suited to pitch in the bullpen and Meyer start for us. We'll have to wait and see what happens though

[PejaD]

Hughes/Nolasco/Milone/Gibson/cheap FA for the rotation. I think May coul be more effective in a relief role. Meyer has had an injury and control issues, but lots of potential with velocity and tall frame. Given this, I would rather groom him to be a future Wade Davis than shove him into the rotation.

[mcgoo2]

I love the optimism with Nolasco but, I just don't see it. I like how the team is coming together but, they aren't there yet. Probably below .500.

[Hollywood42]

He is a much better pitcher than he showed last year. Look at his past Win-Loss record:

2008: 15-8
2009: 13-8
2010: 13-9
2011: 10-12
2012: 12-13
2013: 13-11

Then he comes to MN and throws a 6-12 season. Obviously his 2011-2013 seasons weren't as good as his 2008-2010 seasons, which might suggest a decline, but going from 13-11 to 6-12 is a huge dropoff. There's no reason why he should drop of that drastically in one year. He may be on a decline, but he should be improved from last year. He's 31, so it's not like he's getting too old yet.

But yes, I agree with you that our team is coming together, but they need a few more years. I can see them improving on their record from last year, but they'll need a lot of guys to play really well to make a run at .500 overall

Originally Posted by mcgoo2

I love the optimism with Nolasco but, I just don't see it. I like how the team is coming together but, they aren't there yet. Probably below .500.

[clarkzac]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

He is a much better pitcher than he showed lat year. Look at his past Win-Loss record:

2008: 15-8
2009: 13-8
2010: 13-9
2011: 10-12
2012: 12-13
2013: 13-11

Then he comes to MN and throws a 6-12 season. Obviously his 2011-2013 seasons weren't as good as his 2008-2010 seasons, which might suggest a decline, but going from 13-11 to 6-12 is a huge dropoff. There's no reason why he should drop of that drastically in one year. He may be on a decline, but he should be improved from last year. He's 31, so it's not like he's getting too old yet.

But yes, I agree with you that our team is coming together, but they need a few more years. I can see them improving on their record from last year, but they'll need a lot of guys to play really well to make a run at .500 overall

Win loss record doesn't show how good a pitcher is. Granted, ERA isn't the best to look at either, but it shows much more than a win-loss record does. For example, in 2009 he was 13-9, but he had a 5.06 ERA. In total, he has only had 2 seasons with an ERA below 4. I'm a Twins fan, but from day one I was not pleased with his signing. I thought it was too much for him. I was one of the few people too that thought Phil Hughes was a good signing when others were saying it was too much.

[mcgoo2]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

He is a much better pitcher than he showed last year. Look at his past Win-Loss record:

2008: 15-8
2009: 13-8
2010: 13-9
2011: 10-12
2012: 12-13
2013: 13-11

Then he comes to MN and throws a 6-12 season. Obviously his 2011-2013 seasons weren't as good as his 2008-2010 seasons, which might suggest a decline, but going from 13-11 to 6-12 is a huge dropoff. There's no reason why he should drop of that drastically in one year. He may be on a decline, but he should be improved from last year. He's 31, so it's not like he's getting too old yet.

But yes, I agree with you that our team is coming together, but they need a few more years. I can see them improving on their record from last year, but they'll need a lot of guys to play really well to make a run at .500 overall

His BABIP was a little high in this past year so I can see him moving back towards the mean but, that was about the only positive takeaway from Nolasco in 2014. The strikeout, walk and homerun rates were all the second worst he's posted in his career. His ERA was the worst he's ever posted. Considering he's theoretically pitching to contact more and plays in the giant confines of Target Field, it's pretty concerning.

[Hollywood42]

Right, but I'm saying that last year he was suddenly a lot less effective all around in comparison to his past years. There doesn't seem to be any real reason for that, so I'm hoping we see him bounce back a bit. Regardless of how he has played or will play, you have to give the Twins credit for finally going out and spending some more on big free agents to address a dire need for the team

Originally Posted by clarkzac

Win loss record doesn't show how good a pitcher is. Granted, ERA isn't the best to look at either, but it shows much more than a win-loss record does. For example, in 2009 he was 13-9, but he had a 5.06 ERA. In total, he has only had 2 seasons with an ERA below 4. I'm a Twins fan, but from day one I was not pleased with his signing. I thought it was too much for him. I was one of the few people too that thought Phil Hughes was a good signing when others were saying it was too much.

Originally Posted by mcgoo2

His BABIP was a little high in this past year so I can see him moving back towards the mean but, that was about the only positive takeaway from Nolasco in 2014. The strikeout, walk and homerun rates were all the second worst he's posted in his career. His ERA was the worst he's ever posted. Considering he's theoretically pitching to contact more and plays in the giant confines of Target Field, it's pretty concerning.

[yrocks2001]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

yrocks- I totally forgot about Milone in my post above. He should definitely be in the starting rotation. I agree that Pelfrey will complete for a starting job if he is healthy, but why? He has never brought anything to the table for us. Yet, we seem to give him a shot again and again.

Interesting thought with Meyer starting in the bullpen. Not sure if that'll happen though. To me, if Meyer is going to play in the pros this year, it will be either him or May that gets a starting slot, while the other pitches from the bullpen. If Milone is having a bad year, maybe he shifts to the pen and both Meyer and May start. Otherwise, I see May more suited to pitch in the bullpen and Meyer start for us. We'll have to wait and see what happens though

Twins I believe brought Johan Santana and Liriano up using them in the bullpen first before they worked their way into the rotation. Meyer is getting too old to stay in AAA and the Twins need to figure out what they have in him. Hopefully with the new pitching coach the Twins can get a little more out of Nolasco, May, Gibson, and Meyer and they can all show improvement.

[Hollywood42]

Personal plug here- Twins fans, or baseball fans in general- I very recently started a new blog and would love to get some followers! A link is below. I'll be posting mostly about baseball, but there will probably be some card talk in there and some other sports posts as well. But for the most part, I will be discussing/analyzing baseball games, seasons, plays, trades, etc. Lots of it will probably be related to the Twins, as that is by far my favorite team. If that at all sounds interesting to you, I'd appreciate it if you would give it a look! I only have one post so far, which is an intro post, but I plan on beginning the baseball discussions very soon- Maybe this afternoon, but maybe tonight or tomorrow as well. Thanks guys!

Dugout Discussions

[TTMMaster19]

Twins bump... Will the Twins sign the Korean pitcher?

[Hollywood42]

From the little that I've heard about him, he would be a good sign as long as we don't overpay him. Sounds like he wouldn't be an ace, but a solid 2 or 3 starter. If he does sign, our longer term rotation would be just about set-

-Phil Hughes
-Kyle Gibson
-Korean guy (too lazy to look up his name again right now)
-Ricky Nolasco
-Trevor May or Alex Meyer

Doesn't look like a half bad rotation. That being said, I would love to see the Twins find a pitcher (free agency, prospect, I don't care where from) that evolves into a true #1 ace, someone that could be the #1 on any team (unless the team has a guy like Kershaw- That's just not realistic). We haven't had that since the Johan Santana era

Originally Posted by TTMMaster19

Twins bump... Will the Twins sign the Korean pitcher?

[Twinsfan33]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

From the little that I've heard about him, he would be a good sign as long as we don't overpay him. Sounds like he wouldn't be an ace, but a solid 2 or 3 starter. If he does sign, our longer term rotation would be just about set-

-Phil Hughes
-Kyle Gibson
-Korean guy (too lazy to look up his name again right now)
-Ricky Nolasco
-Trevor May or Alex Meyer

Doesn't look like a half bad rotation. That being said, I would love to see the Twins find a pitcher (free agency, prospect, I don't care where from) that evolves into a true #1 ace, someone that could be the #1 on any team (unless the team has a guy like Kershaw- That's just not realistic). We haven't had that since the Johan Santana era

I'm not to worried about building a true #1 ace. I think Stewart, Berrios, Thorpe, Meyer could turn into a #1 or #2. My guess would be Stewart.

[mnvikingstwins]

Looks like Rangers got Yang. Our last Asian prospect didn't pan out at all with Nishi, so probably safe to not take another risk.

[Hollywood42]

Yeah, we have a lot of solid prospects that have the potential, I just hope some of them will pan out. It just seems like forever since we have had a true #1 ace. I can see Stewart eventually becoming our #1

Originally Posted by Twinsfan33

I'm not to worried about building a true #1 ace. I think Stewart, Berrios, Thorpe, Meyer could turn into a #1 or #2. My guess would be Stewart.

[TTMMaster19]

Twins BUmP

[yrocks2001]

Looks like Swarzak was outrighted today

[yrocks2001]

Also Joe Vavra back as bench coach. Terrible choice in my opinion.