2011 Minnesota Twins Predictions
The Minnesota Twins followed up their 2009 division title with another one in 2010. In fact, the Twins have rattled off six AL Central championships in the last nine years. Their divisional dominance, however, is starting to be overshadowed by their 12 straight postseason defeats. One more postseason loss, and the Twins match the Boston Red Sox for the most consecutive playoff losses in major league history.
Another Central title certainly appears to be in the cards, but the question remains if Minnesota has enough pitching to do damage in October.
Pitching: The Twins haven’t had a true ace since Johan Santana, but they are hoping southpaw Francisco Liriano can transform into a true No. 1 this season. He rebounded from a forgettable 2009 to go 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA last year.
The Twins are also hoping that fellow lefty Brian Duensing and righty Carl Pavano can duplicate their 2010 success. Duensing went 10-3 with a 2.62 ERA and Pavano went 18-11 with a 3.75 ERA.
Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn are both coming off arthroscopic elbow surgery, which means Kevin Slowey and Kyle Gibson could move into the rotation at some point.
Twins fans will be happy to see four-time All-Star Joe Nathan back on the mound. He had 47 saves and a 2.10 ERA in 2009 before blowing out his elbow last March. It remains to be seen, however, if he will be as good as he was prior to surgery. If not, Matt Capps has the ability to do a solid job in the ninth.
Lineup: Catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau are two of the best in the game at their respective positions. Mauer, however, is coming off a down year by his 2009 AL MVP standards. Expect a bounce back season from the three-time batting champ. Morneau appeared to be on his way to another MVP award before his season was cut short with a concussion injury. He hit .345 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in 81 games.
Denard Span, Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel give the Twins some nice outfield options. Young especially shined out of this group in 2010. The left fielder hit .298 with 21 round trippers and 112 RBIs. Span is the Twins’ biggest threat on the bases, swiping 26 bags in 30 attempts a season ago. Cuddyer, who filled in nicely at first for Morneau, will likely return to right. His home runs dropped from 32 to 14 last season, but he still drove in 81 runs. Kubel can play either corner outfield spot or DH. He hit 21 bombs and drove in a total of 92 runs last season.
Jim Thome, who signed a one-year deal and led the Twins with 25 home runs in 2010, will get some whacks in the DH hole.
Shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka, second baseman Alexi Casilla and third baseman Danny Valencia round out the lineup as the projected infield starters.
Prediction – 1st Place AL Central: While Minnesota didn’t add any big names to its average starting pitching rotation, it still has enough pieces to bring home a seventh division title in a decade. Minnesota’s postseason struggles figure to continue, however, against teams with better staffs. Baseball odds makers have listed the Twins at +150 to win the AL Central.
