Minnesota Twins' Hitting Stronger Than It Looks

A quick look at the numbers for Minnesota's batting order would suggest an inept offense. After all, Justin Morneau's 23 homers led the team, Jason Kubel was second with 20, and Delmon Young hit all of 10 home runs to finish third on the team in that category.

I understand these are pretty pathetic totals, and therefore I understand that most baseball minds might scoff at the lineup. What those people must realize is that the Twins finished fourth in the majors in runs scored at 5.086 per game. If that isn't enough to validate Minnesota as a dangerous lineup in 2009, a look at each individual hitter should do the trick. (A side-note: As much as I would love to have Joe Crede or Adrian Beltre in this lineup, I'm going to take a realistic look at it and discount them because they are asking for more than the league-minimum salary.)

1) Denard Span, CF: Span, who was drafted in 2002 as a center fielder, earns the job because he was wonderfully consistent last season while Carlos Gomez played like Rickey Henderson some days and a 10-year-old on other days. 

In the 81 games from June 30, when he reclaimed a starting job, to the end of the year, Span hit .297, had a .395 OBP, and put up 66 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, and 45 RBI.

While it will be a tall order to repeat that production, Span is a first-round talent who will only benefit from more experience against Major League pitching. If Span plays at this level for 162 games, that's a .297 average, an OBP of .395, 132 runs scored, 90 RBI, and 30 steals. Those aren't lead-off-hitter numbers, those are MVP numbers!

2) Alexi Casilla, 2B: Casilla, in 98 games last year, scored 58 runs and 50 RBI while playing solid, consistent defense at second base.

In 162 games, those numbers would translate to 96 runs and 83 RBI. Casilla's past problems with impressing management were always more geared toward bone-headed defensive plays, never his ability at the plate.

Now that he has eliminated these doubts defensively, he will again be given the opportunity to do what he did last season.

3) Joe Mauer, C: While injuries are a concern, Mauer is one of the most fundamentally sound hitter in the majors today. He won his second A.L. Batting Title in three years, scored 98 runs, and drove in 85 despite hitting just nine home runs.

If anyone is expecting a slump, remember that he has a better eye than QuesTec, he hits lasers to all fields, and hit .361 against left-handed pitching. 

It seems like every time Mauer has the opportunity to drive in a run or start a rally late in a game, he comes through. As a catcher, he has earned the trust and respect of the entire Twins pitching staff and threw out 36 percent of base-runners. Call me biased, but to me Mauer is the most valuable player in the A.L.

4) Michael Cuddyer, RF: Cuddyer is a pretty lame cleanup hitter, but he is the best right-handed power bat the Twins have on hand. He had a mediocre 2007 and an injury-riddled 2008, but this is the same 100-RBI producer from the 2006 season. His injuries were mostly freak injuries involving his hands.

5) Justin Morneau, 1B: The MVP runner-up, like Mauer, has very few flaws in his game. His power numbers will surely come up from 23, and he hit .284 against lefties and .300 overall. The fact that he drove in 129 runs last year despite hitting only 23 homers is a true indicator that he is a fantastic situational hitter. He had 49 2-out RBI last season.

6) Delmon Young, LF: The center-piece of the trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, Young has been scrutinized for not matching the production of Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett.

What people don't understand is that Young was a one of the key contributors to Minnesota's playoff run in 2008. After a rough first two months, Young hit .305 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI from June to September.

With a whole year under his belt, I expect Young to explode into the blistering talent that he is, joining the ranks of other first-overall picks such as Chipper Jones and Josh Hamilton.

7) Jason Kubel, DH: If nothing else, Kubel is the one long-ball threat in the lineup besides Morneau. As effective as the Twins have been playing small-ball this decade, a power hitter is still much more than welcome.

His homers seem to come at the best possible times for the Twins, most notably a three-run shot on July 31 to give the Twins a 6-4 lead over the White Sox that would turn into a 10-6 victory.

8) Brian Buscher, 3B: Buscher is not a bad hitter, especially for someone hitting eighth, but he is a left-handed hitter who has shown little power. He drove in 47 runs in less than half a season, but hit only four home runs and batted a measly .205 against left-handed pitching.

If the Twins fail to find a free agent to fill in, Buscher is a good, not great, option at the hot corner.

9) Brendan Harris/Nick Punto, SS: This boils down to one thing, which is offense vs. defense.

Punto must have led the league in Web Gems, but possesses no power at the plate and had one of the worst hitting seasons in Major League history in 2007.

Harris, who is average on defense and hit 19 batting points lower than Punto last season, remains the better hitter for his ability to hit the gaps and to avoid performing at a historically futile level.

Bench: Gomez coming off the bench means the Twins have the best pinch-runner in baseball besides Juan Pierre and also have a guy who can push the three starting outfielders to perform.

Mike Redmond is an amazing opposite-field hitter who can fill in for Mauer on occasion. Either Punto or Harris can produce. Matt Tolbert is fast and talented.