Twins Predictions: Keys to Success

Written by: Seth Stohs on 5th April 2009

Twins Predictions: Keys to Success | read this item

Opening Day is upon us! Finally. Today, the writers of the Twins page of BaseballDigest.com will be making predictions on the 2009 Minnesota Twins season. We will be predicting the Twins record, how the AL Central standings will look at the end of the season, and three keys to the 2009 Minnesota Twins season. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Minnesota Twins

Seth Stohs –

Twins – 89-73

Indians – 86-76

Royals – 82-80

Tigers – 74-88

White Sox – 72-90

Three Keys to Success:

1) Starting pitchers get more outs. The bullpen struggled in 2008 after the injury of Pat Neshek. They were so frequently overused. Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson (wisely) were conservative with their starting pitchers. However, in 2009, those young pitchers need to be able to get two or three more outs every time they pitch. Going one extra inning per game will really help the bullpen remain strong.

2) Mauer or Morales? For the Twins to be able to contend, Mauer needs to come back as quickly as possible. If he is out for more than a month, it will be much more difficult for the team to win.

3) The Next Step. The young starters need to progress in their 2009 seasons. Likewise, the young hitters in the lineup need to avoid sophomore slumps an take the next step in their career, hopefully in a positive direction. Young players like Alexi Casilla, Denard Span, Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez need to continue to get better.

Parker Hageman –

Twins – 87-76

Indians – 83-79

Royals – 81-81

Tigers – 79-83

White Sox – 75-87

Three Keys to Success:

1) Jesse Crain embraces the role of set-up man. Crain showed that he still had his velocity in the mid-90s and threw a solid 8 1/3 innings in September while striking out eight and walking three with a 1.08 ERA, for the most part he has carried that into his spring where he worked 10 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and just one walk. He’s the linchpin between the rest of the bullpen and Joe Nathan.

2) The 2009 Denard Span is the guy from 2008, not the one from this spring. In 2008, Span produced an on-base percentage of .387 and provide the Twins will solid front-of-the-order production. This spring, Span has managed to rack up just 14 hits in 84 at-bats with 10 walks leading to a .258 OBP. The Twins hope this is a small sample-sized fluke and not a trend as they are relying on him to lead-off for the entire season.

3) Sacroiliac joint injuries heal quickly without lingering implications. There are positive reports emerging from the Twins camp that Joe Mauer is on the road to recovery, hitting off a tee and catching from 90 feet, but you never really know what might re-trigger the inflammed lower back area. Squatting for extended periods of time just might do that. The 15-day DL stint to open the season better be for that duration only or the Twins will have a giant hole in the order, void of a batter that was on base nearly 40% of the time in 2008.

Josh Johnson –

I predict the Twins to go 90-72 this season. I certainly see an improvement from this season compared to last season and although I expect the rest of the division to be improved as well, I still think the Twins are the team to beat.

The division will go as follows:

Minnesota Twins

Cleveland Indians

Chicago White Sox

Kansas City Royals

Detroit Tigers

The keys to success for the Twins in 2009 are to stay healthy and to not be afraid to pull the plug on a player sooner rather than later. The Twins still have a few players that could easily regress this season and although the Twins show loyalty to their players, they really have a shot to do something pretty substantial this season in their last year playing in the Metrodome and I just hope they’re not afraid to cut dead bait early.

Nick Nelson –

Twins record: 90-72

AL Central

1. Indians

2. Twins

3. Tigers

4. Royals

5. White Sox

Keys to success:

1. Health – the Twins need Mauer and their starting rotation to stay on the field

2. Avoiding regression – if Span, Breslow and Casilla and others take big steps backwards, there could be trouble

3. Internal bullpen improvement – the Twins need big things from Crain and Guerrier

John Meyer –

The Twins will win the AL Central title in the final season at the Metrodome with a club record of 91-71. A competitive AL Central all season will finish as so: Minnesota, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit.

Keys to Twins Success

1) Health of starting rotation – The Twins are blessed with a deep young starting rotation, but they must remain healthy. Presumably all 5 of the starters will take a step forward being the foundation of a winning club, but if one or two arms go down I don’t believe the Twins have the resources to retool.

2) Production of Outfielders – The outfield presents the area of most potential and question marks on the Twins club. It’ll be a challenge for Ron Gardenhire to find everyone enough at bats, but look for Denard Span, Delmon Young, and Carlos Gomez to emerge as the productive, athletic core by mid-June.

3) Presence of Joe Mauer – It doesn’t really matter if he never hits homeruns or doesn’t win anymore batting titles, but he must be in the lineup and behind the plate for the Twins to have success. Let’s hope his back issues are resolved and he has a healthy 2009.

Alex Halsted –

Twins Record: 90-72

AL Central Standings:

1. Minnesota

2. Cleveland

3. Chicago

4. Kansas City

5. Detroit

Again it is now your turn. Make your predictions. Leave your choices in the comments today, and we can always revisit them later in the season.

JimCrikket says:

April 6, 2009 at 12:23 am

I think Cleveland is still the team to beat, but I’m going to go in to the season optimistic:

Minnesota
Cleveland
Kansas City
Detroit
Chicago

Twins go 93-69
Twins Morning Doinks : Baseball Digest says:

April 6, 2009 at 7:07 am

[...] [...]