Minnesota Twins vs AL Central: Third Base

How do the Minnesota Twins compare to their AL Central competition at Third Base?

With a number of strong third basemen in the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins find themselves lucky enough to have one of the good ones.

But how exactly does Trevor Plouffe rank when compared to the likes of Mike Moustakas and Todd Frazier?

Plouffe was the talk of trade rumors all winter long as the belief was Miguel Sano would be the everyday third baseman moving forward.

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However, the Twins decided it would be wiser to hold onto Plouffe and keep his 22 home runs and 86 RBIs from last season.

With expectations higher for the Twins than they have been in years, Plouffe finds himself as one of the key contributors for the upcoming season as well as someone who will no doubt be subject to ongoing trade talks.

Minnesota Twins 2015 Recap

Plouffe entered last season as the incumbent at third base and perhaps one of the most consistent offensive weapons the Twins featured.

His overall performance last season was very solid as he had career highs in RBIs (86), runs (74) and hits (140). Plouffe’s batting average of .244 was along the lines of his career average (.245) but perhaps his biggest success was how well he played defensively.

Plouffe had taken big strides to improve his defense and it showed as he committed the fewest amount of errors since 2011 (11 at third base, one at first base) and put up a .972 fielding percentage at third base.

The strides Plouffe took last season both offensively and defensively were key elements to the Twins’ success. Moving forward, Plouffe along with the likes Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Kurt Suzuki will be looked on as everyday leaders for the Twins, especially with Torii Hunter’s retirement this past offseason.

So while Plouffe probably won’t the be the Twins’ MVP, he will be among the more valuable players that come to the park this season.

Next: The Rest of the AL Central