Minnesota Twins: Is Danny Valencia Ready to Have a Breakout Season?

One of the biggest holes in the Minnesota Twins organization over the past several years has been at third base. There have been many prospects who have come and gone since the team lost Corey Koskie to the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the 2005 season.

However, none of them have shown as much promise as the Twins' current third baseman, Danny Valencia.

It may sound preposterous to put it that way, but think of whom the Twins have thrown out at the hot corner since Koskie's departure. Tony Batista, Terry Tiffee, Brian Buscher, Mike Lamb, Nick Punto and many others have tried to give the Twins production from third and have failed.

Two years ago, Valencia made his Major League debut and went on to have a solid rookie season, batting .311 with seven home runs and 40 runs batted in. Valencia even finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, spurring hope that he could become a fixture at third base.

Valencia couldn't follow up in 2011, as he had a hard time getting out of the gate. Valencia batted .236 during the first half of '11, but still was able to put up the power numbers with 10 home runs and 46 RBI.

Things sped up for Valencia toward the second half of the season, and he performed well during spring training. Those were seen as more promising signs that Valencia could have a breakout season in 2012.

The Twins would love to see this because, as I've mentioned, they've tried almost everything at third base over the past seven seasons. However, Twins fans would like to see this as well, as Valencia seems to be one of the team's most popular players because of his personality.

For Valencia to do this, he'll have to shore up some of his weaknesses. Valencia has been seen as a potential offensive third baseman for the Twins. Valencia was one of the top run producers for the Twins in 2011 (72 RBI) and had several clutch hits when the Twins needed them.

However, Valencia's problems have been dragging his bad at-bats out to the field. The most recent example of this came in the Twins' 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on April 7.

Valencia had grounded into two double plays during his first two at-bats and then could not field a double down the left field line, allowing a pair of runs to score. The end result was Valencia earning himself a seat on the bench in favor of Sean Burroughs for the matinee the next day.

If Valencia wants to have a breakout season, the key will be his composure. Too many times we've seen Valencia grip the bat a little bit too tightly and wind up making a mental mistake.

Valencia is still young and learning the game, but the strides have to come at some point to not only cement himself in the Twins lineup, but to also have a season that would put him on the map in 2012.