Although most pundits predict a poor 2013 season for the Minnesota Twins, the team has quietly accumulated depth and respectability in most regards, and could be a surprise contender in the American League Central.
The starting pitching staff was terrible in 2012, but has added Vance Worley, Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey, to go along with Scott Diamond and at least one of a stew of last years holdovers, headed by Liam Hendriks and Cole DeVries. Unlike last season, the team has plenty of pitchers to choose from if their veterans falter, and it seems like SOMEBODY out of ten or so major league-ready starters will have a break-out season.
The offense is not a problem, with a killer row middle-of-the-lineup in Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit. The key here will be getting solid years out of right fielder, Chris Parmalee, and third-baseman, Trevor Plouffe. Both players should be ready to step up if they are to become quality regular players.
The middle infield consists of defensive whiz, Pedro Florimon at shortstop and line-drive hitting, Brian Dozier, at second base. Jamey Carroll and Eduardo Escobar provide good defense for spot starts or the late innings. The Twins have lacked consistent infield defense over the past two years, and this year’s more experienced squad should be much improved, and should improve the overall pitching numbers.
The bullpen should be one of the best in baseball, although it was fairly solid last year. If fact, 26-year-old Alex Burnett was recently let go, which is a sign of healthy times. Burnett had been with the team for three seasons and posted a respectable 3.52 ERA in 2012, but was simply not good enough to crack the 40-man roster with so many new additions this year, such as Josh Roenicke and promising Rule V pick, Ryan Pressly.
All in all, expect the Twins to fair much better than expected. They should be at least a .500 team with an outside shot at a Wild Card.
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