Fantasy Baseball: 2015 Minnesota Twins Fantasy Outlook

Mar 13, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Kennys Vargas (19) hits a solo home run during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The regular season is right around the corner. That means that my favorite Opening Day tradition will happen again this year: our Opening Day draft. Here is the last team for those of you that draft on Opening Day as well!

The reason that I chose the Twins last is twofold. One, they don’t have a lot of players that are likely to be fantasy relevant this year anyway. Two, it is the team I cheer for. It has been a lean 23 years for the most part, but they have a lot of talent coming up. We will cover some of those guys as well.

2015 Minnesota Twins Projected Starting Lineup:

C: Kurt Suzuki (.288, 3HR, 61RBI, 0SB)
1B: Joe Mauer (.277, 4HR, 55RBI, 3SB in 120 games)
2B: Brian Dozier (.242, 23HR, 71RBI, 21SB)
SS: Danny Santana (.319, 7HR, 40RBI, 20SB in 101 games)
3B: Trevor Plouffe (.258, 14HR, 80RBI, 2SB)
LF: Oswaldo Arcia (.231, 20HR, 57RBI, 1SB)
CF: Jordan Schafer (.238, 1HR, 15RBI, 30SB in 104 games with Braves/Twins)
RF: Torii Hunter (.286, 17HR, 83RBI, 4SB with Detroit)
DH: Kennys Vargas (.274, 9HR, 38RBI, 0SB in 53 games)

Josmil Pinto‘s lingering concussion issues had him missing most of the spring. He will start the season in the minors, but could be back up soon because of his power. Suzuki will be in no danger of losing his job though. He is a good defensive catcher, and is a very capable hitter. He doesn’t have the power that he once had, but he can still be useful in fantasy leagues if he is hitting .288 and driving in runs. For now, he is mostly just for deeper leagues, but those of you in standard leagues should pick him up if your primary catcher goes down. He won’t hurt you in the interim.

Mauer posted the worst season of his career last year, and you can’t blame it on the rigors of catching this time since he played mostly first base. This spring, the concussion woes seemed to be behind him, and he looks like he could get back on track. He is not going to hit 20 homers or drive in 100 runs, but he should get back to hitting over .300. He may have a place on your standard league bench to help your average, but his usefulness is mostly limited to leagues of 12 or more teams at this point.

Dozier posted a 20/20 season last year, but his average is still going to hurt you. Most people don’t seem all that concerned since he hit .298 in his minor league career, but that drop in average could be where his power comes from. I like Dozier, but I don’t think he will score 112 runs again unless this lineup fulfills their potential. He may be being a little overdrafted at 68th overall, but 20 of anything is hard to come by at second base, let alone 20 of each.

Santana’s speed may ultimately land him in the leadoff role. He doesn’t have a lot of power, but he has more than most who steal 40 bases. He is an absolute steal in the 19th round, and could hit ten homers to go with at least 30 stolen bases.

Plouffe likely has at least one more year of starting at third base thanks to Miguel Sano missing all of the 2013 season. There is an outside shot that Sano will make it up to the bigs before September, but the Twins aren’t going to rush him. There is also ongoing concern that he can’t stick at third base defensively. He may wind up in right field, which won’t be a big deal since Hunter is only signed for one year.

Plouffe probably won’t help out much in standard leagues, but he could be a gem in deeper ones. He has 20 homer power and hits for a good enough average not to bring your team down. Third base is not deep, so he could be a good CI guy in any league.

Arcia has clubbed 34 home runs in 200 major league games. Everyone is hoping his average comes around. He was a career .314 hitter in the minors. He is a great source of power in the middle rounds, and is a prime candidate for a breakout season. We know the power is real. When the average comes with it, he will be a huge asset in fantasy. That could happen as soon as this year. I targeted him in most of my drafts.

The Twins likely don’t have any long-term plans for Jordan Schafer, but he should be able to help you in deeper leagues. Byron Buxton could be up before September is he overcomes the injury-riddled 2014 season and plays like everyone knows he can. In the meantime though, Schafer’s speed can be an big asset. It is worth noting that he hit .285 in 41 games with the Twins and stole 15 bases in that time. Make sure to keep an eye on him in standard leagues. If he hits and runs like that again, he is worth a bench slot.

After seven years, the prodigal son has returned home. Hunter was a key to the Twins’ surge in the late 2000’s before fleeing for sun and money in L.A. He doesn’t have 30 homer power anymore and he isn’t going to steal 20 bases anytime soon, but he is still a good hitter, and can help your team in leagues of 12 or more teams.

Vargas could hit 30 homers over a full season as soon as this year. That’s what his stats project to from last year after his August call up. He is huge with tons of power and won’t be 25 until August. He may still have some growing pains this year, but he is going to have far more highs than lows. I would even consider him in standard leagues even though he was rarely drafted there. His power is going to help you in any league, and he has proven that he can hit major league pitching.

Next: How Does The Rotation Look?

Mar 17, 2015; Sarasota, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Phil Hughes (45) throws a pitch in the second inning of the spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

2015 Minnesota Twins Projected Starting Rotation:

Phil Hughes (16-10, 3.52 ERA, 186K)
Ervin Santana (14-10, 3.95 ERA, 179K with Atlanta)
Ricky Nolasco (6-12, 5.38 ERA, 115K)
Kyle Gibson (13-12, 4.47 ERA, 107K)
Tom Milone (6-4, 4.19 ERA, 75K in 21 starts with A’s/Twins)
Mike Pelfrey (0-3, 7.99 ERA, 10K in five starts)
Glen Perkins (4-3, 3.65 ERA, 66K, 34/41 saves)

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Hughes finally had a good year in the majors last year. It is easy to forget that he is only 28 since he made his debut at age 20 with the Yankees, and has been regarded as a bust since. The move to Minneapolis did him good, so there is a good chance that he can duplicate the numbers from last year. He isn’t going to put up eye-popping numbers, but he could be a nice addition to the back of your standard league rotation.

Santana will serve an 80 game suspension, which is not good for a team that was thin in the rotation anyway. The Twins have lots of help ready in their deep farm system, and we could see a few of them start to trickle through by the end of April with Santana gone and Nolasco and Pelfrey having dreadful 2014 seasons. Alex Meyer will likely be the first called upon, but don’t count out Jose Berrios. You know, the guy that started the Futures game at Target Field last year. He is still just 20 years old, but he is dominating in the minors. There is a good chance that he gets a taste of the big leagues later this summer.

Trevor May is another guy that could make the rotation. He struggled mightily last year in his call up, but if he can limit the walks, he could be an asset in deeper leagues. Meyer and Berrios should be on watch lists right now, but none of them should be rostered.

Gibson had a strong minor league career, but that has yet to translate into major league success. He is not going to strike out many, which limits his value in fantasy, especially when his ERA is still high. I would avoid him for now, but he could become an asset in deep leagues if he brings the ERA down.

The Twins basically got Milone for free last year. They got Sam Fuld off of waivers from Oakland, then traded him back to the team that waived him for Milone. The A’s don’t need Milone, but he has the potential to be a big fantasy asset. He struck out quite a few guys in the minors, and has some success with the A’s in 2012 and 2013. He is worth taking a chance on in deep leagues.

Perkins had a trying season last year after a terrific 2013 campaign. He is not in the top tier of closers, and the fact that he plays for a bad team is going to limit save opportunities. This leaves him near the bottom of the second tier of closers for now.

We hope you enjoyed our team by team fantasy breakdown! Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR throughout the season for add/drops in any kind of league and how trades will impact the players involved.

Next: The Top Ten Third Basemen in Fantasy

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