Pitching remains the big question mark for the future of this franchise in the next ten years. The Twins have yet to really see what they got out of their run on high velocity college relievers (some of whom are being converted to starters) from last year’s draft. New pickups, Alex Meyer has been impressive and Trevor May has shown signs at AA. Kyle Gibson has been inconsistent but has shown flashes of dominance at AAA. Berrios may be the crown jewel pitcher in the system but is very young still. With significantly less pitching depth in the minors, the Twins will need to do a good job of developing the talent they do have or go back to the free agency / trade / draft wells to continue to restock what had been a very bare pitching cupboard. Still it’s hard to imagine this current group not improving the Twins’ pitching significantly.

Sano, Buxton, and Arcia look like future stars. Rosario looks like a guy who’s going to hit. If he can stick at second base, he could be an All Star. Berrios and Meyer could develop into front of rotation starting pitchers. Hicks should be a solid Major League outfielder with good on base skills and decent power/speed combination. At the very least it’s going to be an exciting couple of years watching these guys develop and hoping for another class of guys to lead a franchise resurgence like the early 80′s and early 2000′s groups did. This group probably has more raw talent than both those groups.

So how long until we start seeing these guys? Here’s my predictions for a few:

2013 – Gibson (June), Meyer, May (September)

2014 – Rosario, Sano (September)

2015 – Buxton (June), Berrios (September)

2016 – Kepler

March 7, 2013; Clearwater, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks (63) is congratulated by manager Ron Gardenhire (35) after he hit a solo home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Networks Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Rhett Bollinger reported last night that Aaron Hicks has won the Twins center field competition and will begin the season as the team’s leadoff hitter.

The spring began with a three-man competition between Hicks, Joe Benson and Darin Mastroianni for the starting center field job. Benson struggled and was cut last week. Mastroianni has put up comparable–and in some ways arguably better– numbers compared to Hicks.

Hicks posted a .304/.359/.607 triple slash line for a .967 OPS coming into last night’s game. He also had 15 strikeouts to six walks. Mastroianni posted a .364/.421/.515 line for .936 OPS with five strikeouts to three walks. Hicks stole three bases, Mastroianni seven. Three of Hicks’ team-leading four home runs came in one game.

Beyond a straight-up stat line comparison, a couple of other factors may have played into this decision. Brandon Boggs has been less-than-stellar in vying for the fourth outfielder spot, and Mastroianni will presumably return to that role in 2013. Brian Dozier has recently improved his hitting and plate discipline, perhaps giving the Twins confidence that they can place two young hitters at the top of the batting order.

It was never really in doubt that Hicks was the heir apparent in center field after a very strong 2012 in AA New Britain, but there were questions whether or not the Twins would start him in AAA to begin the season. His plus-plus arm and defense are expected to play exceptionally well in Target Field, but he’ll have to show plate discipline closer to his minor league track record than the numbers he put up this spring.

I’m fully confident at this point that Hicks is the real deal; his defense and ability to draw walks should allow him to succeed at the MLB level even if he struggles out of the gate hitting against better-than-AA pitchers. Recent history has shown, however, that successful Twins center fielders have had ups and downs–both in performance and between AAA and the Twins–before settling into consistent production.

Regardless, Hicks has the all-around game to potentially be the Twins most dynamic center fielder since Kirby Puckett, and his track record suggest he is the type of pure leadoff hitter this team has sorely lacked. I, for one, just got a whole hell of a lot more excited for the game I’m going to in just over a week.

If you liked reading this, tweet it: traffic helps pay my bills. You can follow me here, and like us on Facebook here.

March 7, 2013; Clearwater, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks (63) runs around the bases after he hit a solo home tun during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Networks Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Today I was able to watch a Twins game for the first time since the end of the 2012 season. It was just a split squad Spring game. Two of the Twins’ biggest stars in Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are away representing their countries in the World Baseball Classic.

But I made time to watch the game for one reason: All the hype and reports surrounding the play of a certain center fielder. And I was very pleased with what I saw.

The name is Hicks. Aaron Hicks.

It certainly feels the 23 year old prospect is making a Bond-esque entrance to 2013. Just overall badass.

Hicks started his big day with a lead-off, wind driven shot off Cliff Lee. He followed with a 2nd homer in the 5th and a 3rd in the 7th. He then added a single in the 8th, bringing in the tying and go ahead runs for the Twins. Here’s a video of his day.

Yes, 2 of his 3 homeruns were helped by the wind, but he still hit the ball hard. He finished at 4 for 5 with 6 RBI, 4 runs scored, and showed some speed with a stolen base. Sounds like a heck of a Fantasy stat line, doesn’t it?

What’s even more amazing? 5 of his last 7 hits have gone over the fence. Now, it is not to be assumed this will translate into major success once the regular season starts. Example? Don’t forget Luke Hughes from last year’s spring training – he went on a tear with 6 homeruns and 20 RBI. Not even three weeks into the season, he was DFA’d by the Twins after being incredibly unproductive. Granted, Hicks is much better  than Hughes.

He’s as locked in as ever right now, and really seems determined to head north with the team at the end of the month.  It is definitely becoming clear that Hicks is the frontrunner in to win the starting center field job.

The Twins could still hold him in Rochester to push back his arbitration clock, but I really don’t see it happening at this point. Not with this level of effort and play.

I hope all Twins fans are excited to watch him. I sure as heck know I am.