2008 Minnesota Twins Picks & Predictions
May 22, 2008
With Torii Hunter and Johan Santana out, how bad will things get for the Twins? Find out in Dave Price’s 2008 Minnesota Twins predictions and season preview.
Pitching
Two seasons ago the Twins boasted one of the best starting rotations in the American League with southpaws Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano leading the way. Soriano will now be pitching for the Mets and Liriano will be trying to bounce back from Tommy John surgery. To make matters worse, the Twins dealt away top pitching prospect Matt Garza to Tampa Bay. Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey, and Scott Baker aren’t exactly big ticket pitchers. It looks like it’s going to be one of the roughest seasons the Twins have had for a while.
The pen is good enough to bail out the starters, but will likely suffer as the season drags on from over use. Joe Nathan is one of the best closers in baseball. He put together a 37-save season in 2007. Pat Neshek and Matt Guerrier are the most reliable middle relievers.
Offense
Torii Hunter isn’t going to be a huge hit offensively with Delmon Young coming in, but the big question is if the Twins gave up too much to get him. They sent their top pitching prospect Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett to Tampa Bay to do the deal. They could afford to part with Bartlett, but not having Garza is a tough loss. Young hit .288 with 13 homeruns and 93 RBIs in Tampa last season. Justin Morneau is Minnesota’s nig money man. He has 31 homeruns and 111 RBIs last season, but the Twins will benefit even more if he gets back to using the whole field and drawing more walks. Michael Cuddyer is the next best RBI producer. The rightfielder drove in 81 runs last season.
Defense
Adam Everett is an upgrade at short. Scouts call him an elite fielder. Mike Lamb will likely play third as the Twins look for more power out of the position. Expect Nick Punto to spot him when the situation calls for better defense. Righfield and leftfield are set with Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young respectively, but Torii Hunter has left big shoes to fill in center. They certainly won’t be replaced this season and the Twins may never have a better one after being spoiled with Kirby Puckett and Hunter. One could make a strong case that Joe Mauer was the best catcher in the game in 2006 when he won the batting title and set a new franchise standard for fielding the position. The Twins are concerned about his health as being 6’5’’ is not the best physical makeup for crouching pitch after pitch. Twins may need to consider moving him to a new position less taxing on his knees.
The Twins have been the best team in the AL Central with four titles since 2002, but those days look to be over for a while. The starting rotation has taken a huge hit with the loss of Santana and Garza. The offense is still solid, but we all know that it takes solid pitching to win a lot of games. Still, Kansas City should keep Minnesota out of the gutter.
Dave Price will make your 2008 MLB betting season one you’ll never forget. You can expect more MLB winners from Dave than any other capper on the planet this season. Sign up for a long term package and let your bookmaker have it from Opening Day through the World Series.
Odds to win AL Central: 12/1
Odds to win AL Pennant: 30/1
Odds to win World Series: 50/1
AL Central
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