Minnesota Twins: 5 Players That Could Lead a Youth Movement

In the wake of Jared Weaver's no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins on May 2, it's clear that the Twins need to make a change of some sort.

When a team is struggling, the knee-jerk reaction by most fans is to fire the manager. The problem in this situation is that if the Twins decide to do that, they'll be kicking out a regime that's had sustained success for a decade. At this point, such a move seems like overkill.

The solution that seems to make the most sense is to go with a personnel overhaul. While the Twins can't get rid of some of the bad contracts they doled out in the Bill Smith era (Nick Blackburn makes $4.75 million in 2012 and $5.5 million in 2013), they can use the next best thing: the bench.

Although it may sting to have several high-priced veterans on the Twins' bench, this is what Terry Ryan did back in the early 2000s to set up the previous success that has lead to six division championships.

Putting some of the younger players out on the field every day will help the team in the long run and maybe set up something greater down the road, like when the Twins let Torii Hunter, Corey Koskie and Jacque Jones learn in the major leagues.

Anthony Slama

The Twins' bullpen hasn't had many leads to hold during their 6-17 start, but the bullpen still could use some help as it hasn't been sharp.

The main seventh-inning reliever for the Twins is Jared Burton, who has posted a solid 2.70 ERA in 11 appearances in 2012. However, Burton comes with concerns of a shoulder injury that has limited his appearances since 2009 (10 previous appearances in 2010 and 11 combined for Cincinnati).

As the game goes deeper, the Twins appear to need more help. Glen Perkins has suffered a series of injuries and has struggled to get people out. Entering Friday night's game against the Seattle Mariners, Perkins has posted a 5.79 ERA in 10 appearances.

Then there's Matt Capps. Capps is perfect in save opportunities, but he hasn't shown anything that will make Twins fans forget how awful he was in 2012. In nine appearances, he has huffed and puffed to a clean 5.00 ERA.

So there is a need for bullpen help, and Anthony Slama may be the guy Minnesota needs moving forward. Slama has put up great numbers in the minor leagues (2.44 ERA in four seasons at Triple-A Rochester) and has the ability to miss bats and pick up the occasional strikeout (14.3 K/9 ratio at Triple-A this season).

Slama has been at the major league level twice over the past two seasons but has only made seven appearances for the Twins. With the Twins looking for bullpen help, it couldn't hurt to give Slama an opportunity.

Scott Diamond

The Twins not only need help in the bullpen, but they could also use it in the starting rotation. The Twins are the worst starting staff in baseball, posting an average 7.35 ERA among their five starters.

While the rotation's real problem is that it's throwing out virtually the same pitcher game in and game out, there is nobody that is ready that fits that description in the Twins' minor league system.

Still, the Twins have to stop ramming Nick Blackburn and Francisco Liriano down Twins fans' throats. That could open the door for Scott Diamond.

Diamond isn't overpowering, but the Twins saw enough after selecting him in the Rule 5 draft to trade with the Braves to keep him on the roster. So far, he hasn't disappointed in 2012, going 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA in five starts at Triple-A Rochester.

It's not the best the Twins can do to fix the rotation, but with several pitchers struggling to reach the fifth inning, it could be time to see if the Twins (Oh, don't do it, Chris...) have a diamond in the rough (no pun intended...ugh).

Brian Dozier

Minnesota may be a little gun-shy about calling up its 2011 Minor League Hitter of the Year after its Minor League Pitcher of the Year (Liam Hendriks) has struggled in 2012, but putting Dozier at shortstop could signal the first of many moves to open the new era of Twins baseball.

Even though Jamey Carroll has been doing an admirable job holding down shortstop for the Twins with his play in the field, he's hitting just .200 on the season, and manager Ron Gardenhire recently moved him down in the order in favor of Alexi Casilla.

The Twins would benefit more from putting Dozier into their lineup and seeing if he can provide a spark. Dozier is currently hitting .283 with one home run and 11 RBI at Triple-A Rochester, and he played well in spring training.

While spring-training success usually doesn't mean regular-season success, Dozier looked like he belonged in the big leagues. Putting him at shortstop would be a better long-term solution for the Twins than staying with the 38-year-old Carroll.

Ben Revere

The Twins have found themselves to be in a sticky situation when it comes to the development of Ben Revere. In a perfect world, they would love to have Revere be their left fielder with Josh Willingham becoming the designated hitter.

But then Justin Morneau was relegated to DH duty, and Revere now finds himself at Triple-A Rochester.

From what Revere has shown recently, many people have dubbed him to be the Twins' "fourth outfielder of the future." To that I say that the Twins just need to find a place where he can play and keep him there.

One option is for the Twins to slide Denard Span from center field over to right field. Span may not want to play right field, but that's too bad. The culture of comfort needs to end in the Twins' clubhouse and replacing Span with an outfielder that can make more plays and has better range would be an upgrade.

The one obstacle Revere faces is his approach at the plate. He is blessed with amazing speed, but you can't steal first base. The Twins wanted Revere to improve at getting on base, and so far at Triple-A Rochester, he's shown the same struggles, failing to draw a walk in nine games.

If Revere can turn it around, being the fourth outfielder for the Twins wouldn't be so bad. Especially when Clete "Swing and Miss" Thomas currently holds that position.

Trevor Plouffe

If the Twins aren't going to bring Ben Revere back to the majors, they need to give Trevor Plouffe a shot in right field.

At the beginning of the season, it was a fantasy that Plouffe would be competing against Ryan Doumit and Ben Revere for playing time in right field. So far, Plouffe has beaten both Doumit and Revere out for that spot but still finds himself platooning with strikeout king, Clete Thomas.

The Twins moved Plouffe to the outfield to not only help ease the loss of Michael Cuddyer but to also free him from his awful performance at shortstop during the 2011 season.

The Twins were hoping that Plouffe would benefit from the move in the same way that Royals' outfielder Alex Gordon benefited by moving from third base to the outfield.

If the Twins want to find out what Plouffe can do, they must give him more at-bats. Entering Friday, the Twins have played him in 14 of their 23 games, but he needs to be an everyday player in order to succeed.

If the Twins can get anything similar to Plouffe's monster 2011 at Triple-A Rochester (.313 average, 15 home runs and 33 RBI), they'll have another weapon to an offense that desperately needs it.