CF Byron Buxton
1B Joe Mauer
2B Brian Dozier
RF/DH Miguel Sano
3B Trevor Plouffe
LF Eddie Rosario
DH/RF Oswaldo Arcia
SS Eduardo Escobar
C John Ryan Murhpy
The biggest omission here is likely Byung-Ho Park, who is projected by most to be the everyday DH for the Twins this year. More than likely he will be but I'm not going to hand him the job before he's ever had an at-bat in this hemisphere. Giving him a month or two in AAA seems like a smart thing to me even though it probably won't happen.
Why is Buxton my lead-off hitter? Well, he's batted there for the majority of his minor league career and the Twins really don't have another good option. Relax, he's not Aaron Hicks. He'll do fine. If Buxton isn't ready Danny Santanna can probably get the job done offensively but the defense takes a huge hit.
Why bat Mauer ahead of Dozier? Umm, because Mauer is better at getting on base and Dozier hits for more power...this seems like a no-brainer to me. This probably won't happen either but it makes complete sense in my head.
Why do I like Arcia? Well, 36 home runs in 781 at-bats is a pretty decent start. In a full season that's 27 home runs with a .243/.305/.437 batting line. On top of that he's out of options and it would be nice to see what the Twins have before they give up on him and Boston signs him to a one-year minimum salary contract (see David Ortiz, 2003). Kennys Vargas and Carlos Quentin will also be in the competition for the DH along with Park.
Starting Rotation:
- Ervin Santana
- Phil Hughes
- Kyle Gibson
- Ricky Nolasco
- Tyler Duffey
Ervin Santana was lights out over his last seven starts to lower his ERA from 6.05 to 4.00. I'm chalking the rough start to a little rust and I do believe that Santana will be the Twins best starter until Jose Berrios shows up. But if I was doing predictions I'd say both Hughes and Gibson have better chances to be the opening day starter.
Duffey is probably a better pitcher than Nolasco but I prefer to have Duffey has my fifth starter just to limit his innings a little in his first full season in the majors. He was solid in his rookie debut but he still has a lot to learn. Tommy Milone has a decent chance to steal a rotation spot but if he does end up in the bullpen I'd prefer to leave him there and call up Berrios when the Twins need a replacement in-season.
Feel free to criticize anything I've said here, but remember, these are not predictions, just what I would do if I were in charge.
