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Minnesota Twins April 2016 Preview

By Paul Overbee

Sep 19, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Taylor Featherston (8) slides past the tag of Minnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) and scores on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Taylor Featherston (8) slides past the tag of Minnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) and scores on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 23, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Shane Robinson (21) at bat during the eighth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Shane Robinson (21) at bat during the eighth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

A quick preview of the Minnesota Twins April schedule gives hope for those who wish to see the team improve on their 2015 performance.

More from Puckett's Pond

With Spring Training finally underway, nearly every team has a sense of optimism entering the 2016 season. Teams will pit players against each other to see who deserves spots on their Opening Day Rosters, and fans will finally have some of their off-season questions answered. For the Minnesota Twins, some small story lines have already begun to surface out of Fort Myers: Joe Mauer candidly discussed how his concussion history has hurt his ability to perform, Miguel Sano started taking some fly balls as he trains for an outfield role, and Byung Ho Park has just begun his adjustment to baseball in America.

Though these story-lines bring with them warm thoughts of summer and a reminder as to why we love the game of baseball, it is vital to not lose sight of what brings all these players together: to win baseball games in the regular season.

In 2015, the Twins failed to hit the ground running when the season began, and those early season troubles may have prevented them from getting to the wild card game. To begin the season, Minnesota lost four of their first five games. In their first 24.1 innings, they were unable to score a single run against the Detroit Tigers. The team ultimately failed to finish the month of April above .500, starting an uphill battle for the rest of the season. The team hopes to have a stronger April in 2016, and one factor that will affect whether this is possible is the opponents the Twins will face. By looking at Minnesota’s early schedule, it is easy to see a way where they outperform their April of 2015. What follows is a quick preview of the teams the Twins will have to defeat and a series by series prediction of whether they could hit the ground running in 2016.

Next: Week One of April

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