Minnesota Twins 2012: Who Is Going to Start Where?

The Minnesota Twins roster is going to see some major changes this upcoming season with the fact that they now have a vacancy in right field and at designated hitter.  How are they going to fill those holes?  And more importantly, what are the other positions going to look like this year on opening day?  Let's take a look at who will be filling what position, starting with the catcher.

At Catcher

Joe Mauer will be the Minnesota Twins catcher as long as he remains healthy.  There has been plenty of talk about him becoming a first basemen, third basemen or even an outfielder.  The simple truth is that as long as he can stay healthy, he will be behind the plate for the Twins.  Will he see some time at first base this year? Absolutely.  He will also see some time in right field this year, but don't think Mauer will be moving out from behind the dish full time anytime in the near future.

First Base

The Minnesota Twins need Justin Morneau at first base.  Hopefully he can finally recover from the concussion he sustained on July 7th, 2010.  If he can, Twins fans will be more than happy to have his bat back in the lineup.  If he can't, well that makes things much more interesting.

Second Base

This year Luke Hughes has his best shot at becoming a full time player for the Twins.  The position he will be at is second base.  He has above average defense there and brings some pop into the lineup.  This spot will be a hard fought battle though, with three legitimate contenders for it in Alexi Casilla and Tsuyohsi Nishioka both getting good hard looks. 

Casilla has almost certainly worn out his chances to have a starting spot with the Twins, so the only two really competing are Nishioka and Hughes.  I think given who else will be in the lineup on a day-to-day basis means that Hughes will get the spot since his ability to hit for some power will be needed.

Third Base

Danny Valencia had a down year last season, if you can really call it that because there isn't a very big body of work to compare it to.  He had a huge rookie year that could have been a fluke, so this year will go a long way in defining the player Valencia really is.  But make no mistake about it, as long as Valencia is in a Twins uniform, third base will be his.

Shortstop

Jamey Carroll is going to be the Twins starting shortstop this year.  There is no question about it.  He brings a career .278 average and a low strikeout count to a team that has been in need of a solid offensive shortstop.  His defense may not be great, but he is more than competent with the leather to get the job done.

Left Field

With how big Target Field plays, having the speed of young Ben Revere covering left field will be a very welcome sight for Twins fans after watching Delmon Young bumble his way around out there for most of the last two seasons. 

This is also a guy that, if he can raise his on base percent a little further, fits the bill perfectly for Twins baseball.  Get on base, steal a base and get knocked in by a single.  The defense is there and the bat seems to be coming around.

Center Field

Last year, Denard Span only had 311 plate appearances and bounced on and off the disabled list for most of the season.  All the reports this year are that he is healthy and ready to be the lead off hitter that the Twins need.  Hopefully he can regain his form from 2009 when his line read .311/.392/.415.  Given how good he is defensively, an offensive season like that could put him in the conversation as an American League All-Star.

Right Field

Josh Willingham is going to be charged with taking over the position of one of the Twins most beloved players in recent memory, Michael Cuddyer.  Last season Willingham hit 29 home runs in the cavernous Oakland Coliseum, so clearly the kid has some pop in his bat.  And while he only hit .246 doing it, he did have an on base percentage of .332.  That is a fairly solid number. 

Hopefully he can cut down on his strikeouts this year, as he whiffed and took a seat on the bench 150 times in 563 plate appearances.

Designated Hitter

Ryan Doumit is going to start the season as the Twins designated hitter.  This is almost certainly a good thing considering the fact that he has never played more than 124 games in a season. 

Given the fact that he won't need to man a position very often, the possibility of what he can do with the bat seems to be very high.  His career splits are .271/.334/.442, and if he hopes to keep his bat in the lineup he will most certainly need to improve upon that.  Coming out of camp though, the job will be his to lose.