1. The Twins will finish in last place for a third consecutive year. They will likely be a bit better than the last two years, but as Cleveland and KC have made moves to improve in 2013, the Twins have mainly focused on setting up for 2014 and beyond.

2. The Twins will NOT lose 90+ games for a third year in a row, but it will take a good September to prevent it.

3.  Brian Dozier will win the 2B job and bat leadoff. He’ll lead the team in stolen bases and score over 100 runs.

4. Joe Mauer will win his fourth batting title. He was close this year and being one more year separated from injury and spending more time away from catching is a good recipe for another .330+ batting average season.

5. Justin Morneau will lead the Twins in homeruns and RBI. Willingham overachieved last year, and Morneau is back on the upswing.

6. Joe Benson will win the CF job out of spring training. It will be partly because he plays well, partly because the Twins want to push back Hicks’ arbitration clock, and partly because they like Mastrioanni better as a fourth outfielder, and mostly because it’s time to see if Benson has a future with the team.

7. Liam Hendriks will lead the team in wins and strikeouts.

8. Alex Meyer and Trevor May will both make their Major League debuts during the season. Meyer will be needed when injuries and ineffectiveness again hit the starting staff by August. May will be a September callup.

9. The Twins will lead the AL Central in homeruns allowed AND hit. You heard it hear first.

10. Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson will resign at the end of the season (to avoid being fired)

So there you have it. Do you have any predictions of your own? If so, post them in the comments and we can compare this time next year.

As difficult as it is to wait for tomorrow, I want to get one thing out of the way today. Last year I joined the staff of Puckett’s Pond several days into the season, so I was a few days late with my AL Central predictions. Sadly, the extra time did nothing to improve the accuracy of my picks. Even though the Twins were already 1-3 by then, I still picked them to finish first place. They did not finish first place. On the plus side, I did accurately predict that the Tigers would make it to the ALCS and that two AL Central pitchers would throw no-hitters (Justin Verlander and Francisco Liriano both accomplished the feat).

So let’s see if I do any better this year.

Verlander and the Tigers will win the Central this year, but they won't be as good as last year. Photo byDerick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

First Place: Detroit Tigers (90-72)

Like everyone else on Planet Earth, I think the Tigers are going to win the Central. However, I do not think they will be as good as they were in 2011. Justin Verlander was amazing last year, putting up by far the best season of his career. His 2011 ERA (2.40) was more than a run lower than his career total (3.54). Not only does that underscore how incredible his season was; it also indicates that he’ll have a tough time repeating that performance. Throw in the fact that he pitched a career-high 271 innings counting the playoffs, and Verlander is due for a return to earth. He’ll still win 18 to 20 games, but he won’t carry the staff quite like he did in 2011.

Prince Fielder could be a game-changer, but so could the injury to Victor Martinez. Fortunately for Detroit, there is very little competition in this division, and they should walk away with the AL Central crown, barring significant injury troubles.

Second Place: Kansas City Royals (83-79)

The Royals have been a team on the rise for a long time. Years of stratospherically high draft picks have given them a robust core of young stars-in-the-making, but they still finish under .500 every season. This year might be the year that changes. Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer made promising debuts in 2011, and they have nowhere to go but up. Billy Butler seems like a grizzled veteran on this roster, but he’s only 25, so his best years might be ahead of him too. Believe it or not, the youngsters did a pretty good job of hitting for Kansas City in 2011. They finished fifth in the league in OBP and SLG, and fourth in batting average.

If the Royals only knew how to pitch, they could be a pretty decent team. They did bring in Jonathan Sanchez to help with that aspect of their game. Sanchez had a 3.07 ERA and struck out over 200 batters in 2010. If he approaches that level in 2012, the Royals could stay in contention far longer than they are used to doing.

Third Place: Minnesota Twins (81-81)

Last year I thought the Twins were a 95 win team. Turns out they were not. I do not think the Twins are likely to win 95 games this year, no matter how rosy and optimistic I try to be. That said, this team is not nearly as horrible as all the pundits seem to think they are.

There are a lot of unknowns for the Twins this year: Scott Baker‘s elbow, Francisco Liriano actual talent level, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau‘s health, Chris Parmelee‘s ability to repeat his September performance, Jamey Carroll‘s ability to age gracefully, and pretty much everything to do with the bullpen. For the Twins to compete for a division title, nearly every one of these unknowns would have to turn out positive. That probably won’t happen. On the other hand, nearly everything would have to go wrong for them to lose 90 plus games again. I swear that can’t happen two years in a row. The more likely scenario is that about half of these things will go right and half will go wrong, which makes the Twins about a .500 team.

Realistically, if the Twins finish around .500 and in the process develop a couple of promising young players, 2012 will be a positive season for them.

Fourth Place: Cleveland Indians (78-84)

Like the Royals, the Indians are a team that always seems to be getting better. But this year might be a slight step back for Cleveland. They won’t surprise anyone like they did last year, and they have not done enough to improve themselves in order to climb into the realm of the contenders. Their bullpen is excellent, and they have some interesting young hitters led by Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana (the catcher, not the guitarist). On the mound, Derek Lowe is not going to solve their starting pitching problems. Ubaldo Jimenez might, but his performance late last year after jumping to the AL was not encouraging.

Minnesota, Cleveland, and Kansas City are probably interchangeable in the standings. All have talent, but all have serious flaws as well. They should all hover around the .500 mark this season.

Fifth Place: Chicago White Sox (65-97)

The Sox were a below average team in 2011, then they lost Mark Buehrle and Carlos Quentin, their best pitcher and second-best hitter, respectively. They also lost a lot of personality when Ozzie Guillen left for Florida – though many would argue that isn’t a bad thing. Also, as any Twins fan can attest, it’s hard to take any team seriously when they have Phil Humber in the rotation.

Clearly this is a rebuilding team. Given their notoriously weak farm system, that rebuild could take a long time.

What does the future hold for Twins Prospects in 2012?

Earlier this week I put together my predictions for the AL Central and Beyond, but today I’ll be taking a look down into the Twins farm system trying to prognosticate and give you my choices for who to watch this year in MiLB.

Every year Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) asks a few members of the Twins blog-o-sphere for their minor league predictions/projections and this year I was lucky enough to be asked to provide my two cents.  This post will cover both pitchers and hitters from all levels of the Twins farm system.  If, when you get to the end, you’re scratching your head trying to figure out who the heck these guys are, I encourage you to go out and get yourself a copy of Seth’s Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2012.

Breakout Hitter (Upper Levels) – Tsuyoshi Nishioka.  I know I’m going to take some heat for this prediction, but I think a trip to AAA will pay huge dividends for the Twins Japanese import.  While many think that Nishi will find his way back to Japan by the season’s end, the demotion to AAA will give Nishi a chance to learn the American flavor of the game and get the instruction he needs to use the skills he acquired in Japan to become a productive hitter in MLB.  With Brian Dozier coming off a great spring and a fantastic 2011, even a breakout season for Nishioka in AAA may not be enough to get him back in the Twins lineup this season.

Breakout Hitter (Lower Levels) - Levi Michael. Levi signed late and will be making his professional debut with the Miracle this season and as a fairly polished college player should perform well hitting for high average for the Ft Myers Miracle.  He should find himself working his way up through the Twins system finishing the season in AA New Britain before the dust settles on 2012.

Breakout Hitter (in Extended Spring Training (EST)) - Niko Goodrum. Nko will repeat EST for a second season, but if he can build off of late season success from 2011, Niko Goodrum is a name that die hard Twins fans will be talking about all season long.  Goodrum is also a twitter fanatic, @nikogoodrumTC, and like fellow tweeter Ben Revere (@BenRevere9) he looks like he’s having fun out on the field. He’s still pretty raw, but look for Goodrum to make big strides at the plate this year.

Breakout Pitcher (Upper Levels) - Tyler Robertson. Robertson will be back in Rochester for the first time since getting moved to the bullpen at the beginning of 2011.  He made on start for the Red Wings in 2010, but in 2011 he was sent back to AA and moved to the bullpen. Although Robertson doesn’t have any pitch that is outstanding, he commands all of his pitches well and I look forward to the lefty taking big steps forward in his second full season working out of the pen.  If he pitches well and the Twins bullpen has issues, which seems to be a giveN. Robertson has an outside chance to get a call up to Minnesota.

Breakout Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Madison Boer. Boer is a hometown kid from Eden Prairie, MN and will be given a chance to start in Beloit this season and with a solid defense behind him and an offense that will impress Boer should put up some eye-popping numbers in his first full season in Beloit.

Breakout Pitcher (in EST) - Hudson Boyd. Boyd was drafted out of HS last season and signed late so he’ll make his professional debut this season in EST. As a high school pitcher he is a raw talent, but he throws hard and has good control. If he can stay healthy and keep his weight under control he should put up good numbers in 2012.

Best Hitter (Upper Levels) – Brian Dozier was impressive last year splitting time between Ft Myers and New Britain. After an impressive spring I look to Dozier to continue to tear things up in Rochester. If there is any disarray with the Twins middle infield, Dozier will be the first guy up to fill the open slot.

Best Hitter (Lower Levels) - Miguel Sano or Eddie Rosario are both great bets to be the best hitter in the lower levels of the Twins organization. Both are moving up to Beloit this season and it’s a coin flip as to which will be the best hitter for the Snappers this season after monster seasons in Elizabethon in 2011.  I look for Sano to continue to develop his power tool, although he may get off to a slow start playing in colder weather of the Midwest League.

Best Hitter (in EST) - Max Kepler is back in EST for a second year after coming off a 2011 where he hit .262/.347/.366.  Look for Kepler to settle in early and build off his season ending six game hit streak in 2011.  Kepler should continue to get stronger and should develop power as he progresses through the Twins system.

Best Pitcher (Upper Levels) – Alex Wimmers who moves up to AA New Britain this year after a season at Ft. Myers hopes to build off of the late season success from 2011. Wimmers who started 2011 by walking six batters is hoping that his control issues from last season remain in the past. Wimmers only pitched 40.2 innings in A+ last season in addition to the added competition of AA, Wimmers will need to log a bunch of innings.  If Wimmers can get back to his 2010 form it’s not unreasonable to expect him to move up to AAA by the end of the season.

Best Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Adrian Salcedo. Salcedo was outstanding last year and although he’s moving up from Beloit to Ft Myers this season I look for him to continue to be a shining star in the lower levels of the Twins organization. Unlike most “classic” Twins style pitchers Salcedo is not a pitch to contact control guy, and while his control is above average, he also misses a lot of bats, striking out 281 while only giving up 56 walks since singing late in 2007.

Best Pitcher (in EST) – Steven Evans was drafted in the 13th round last year, signed quickly and put up eye popping numbers after he reported to Elizabethon. Coming back for a full season Evans will continue to impress against hitters in the Appy League. Already with an impressive arsenal of pitches, 2012 should be a successful season for the young lefty.

Who do you expect to see perform this season in the minors?  Leave your comments below.

To see which players some of the other bloggers chose check out Seth Stohs’s posts over on Twins Daily, for the offensive side head over here and for the pitchers click here.
__________________
Check out Puckett’s Pond on Facebook
Follow @BaseballPirate on Twitter