10 Predictions for the 2013 Minnesota Twins
By Chris Holm
Happy New Year everyone! And with 2013 about to get under way, why not throw out a few predictions on record for the Twins for the coming year. As a kid, I always sat down and wrote out predicted statistics for all the Twins players I expected to make the team. I’ll probably do that in a future post, near the end of spring training. For now, I’ll be making some more general predictions.
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.