Opening Day is right around the corner and the Twins play their first game in St. Louis and will face (maybe/possibly/probably?) old friend Sonny Gray. The Twins will counter with their ace, Pablo Lopez. The Twins will be without Royce Lewis after he strained his hamstring running out a ground ball.
With the news that Lewis will start the year on the injured list, that opens a roster spot for someone else. Brooks Lee or Jose Miranda will likely see time at third base with Lewis being out. In looking at who may make the Opening Day roster, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the lineup falls out. I went with this lineup because Rocco likes to alternate left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters in the lineup.
You could also see Miranda at third base, Lee at second base, or Edouard Julien at second base or designated hitter.
Here is my prediction for the Opening Day lineup, not just for the Twins, but for the Cardinals as well.
Twins
1. Matt Wallner RF
2. Carlos Correa SS
3. Byron Buxton CF
4. Trevor Larnach LF
5. Jose Miranda DH
6. Willi Castro 2B
7. Ryan Jeffers C
8. Brooks Lee 3B
9. Ty France 1B
Starting pitcher: Pablo Lopez
Cardinals
1. Masyn Winn SS
2. Lars Nootbaar CF
3. Willson Contreras 1B
4. Brendan Donovan LF
5. Nolan Arenado 3B
6. Alec Burleson DH
7. Ivan Herrera C
8. Jordan Walker RF
9. Nolan Gorman 2B
Starting pitcher: Sonny Gray
Now is time to see if the rubber hits the road on the Wallner-for-leadoff campaign. He's batted first for much of spring training, with a mix-and-match of Edouard Julien and even a bit of Byron Buxton and Harrison Bader.
As we've noted before, Wallner might not be a conventional choice to hit leadoff — but he still may be the team's best option.
Beyond that, it'll be worth monitoring how well the bottom of the order hits for the Twins early on. Having France bat ninth could be an enormous luxury (if it happens) based on how he's hit this spring, but there are enough question marks down there that it'll be something watched closely in the first few weeks of the season.
Opening Day will be a fun and eventful day, and it will be fun to see if the Twins can avoid an ending to the season like they had in 2024. With Opening Day right around the corner, get ready for lots more Twins news!