Fantasy baseball: 2020 Minnesota Twins fantasy preview
By Mike Marteny
2020 Minnesota Twins projected starting lineup:
Max Kepler, RF (.252, 36 HR, 90 RBI, 1 SB in 524 AB)
Jorge Polanco, SS (.295, 22 HR, 79 RBI, 4 SB in 631 AB)
Nelson Cruz, DH (.311, 41 HR, 108 RBI, 0 SB in 454 AB)
Josh Donaldson, 3B (.259, 37 HR, 94 RBI, 4 SB in 549 AB with ATL)
Eddie Rosario, LF (.276, 32 HR, 109 RBI, 3 SB in 562 AB)
Miguel Sano, 1B (.247, 34 HR, 79 RBI, 0 SB in 380 AB)
Mitch Garver, C (.273, 31 HR, 67 RBI, 0 SB in 311 AB)
Luis Arraez, 2B (.334, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 2 SB in 326 AB)
Byron Buxton, CF (.262, 10 HR, 46 RBI, 14 SB in 271 AB)
The Twins set a major league record for home runs in a season last year. That kind of came out of nowhere. Me being a Twins fan, I expect a regression, most notably from 40-year-old Nelson Cruz. He’s still a strong pick, but he’s only eligible at the UTIL slot in most leagues. He is essentially David Ortiz over the last three years of Ortiz’s career. He’s a good pick, but where do you draft him since he takes away a valuable lineup slot and can’t be put anywhere else?
Kepler isn’t your normal leadoff hitter. The average is lower and the power is higher. Kepler is a solid pick for your third outfielder. I would expect closer to dozen homers than 20 in 60 games though. Rosario is a better bet, but Kepler will likely score more runs.
Polanco and Arraez are great guys to help your average, but they wont do much else. Polanco will likely have single-digit homers over 200 at-bats, but 50 runs is still a distinct possibility. That makes him a strong MI option in the middle of your draft.
Donaldson isn’t done yet. He played out his one year in Atlanta to prove that he could still hit and cashed it in with a suddenly veteran Twins squad. He’s an upgrade offensively and defensively over Sano. This is especially important now since Sano contracted the coronavirus and may not be ready for Opening Day.
It’s good to pay attention to trends in a truncated season. One of the most glaring I’ve seen so far is Mitch Garver’s one homer per ten at-bats over half a season last year. He provides great power at a position that lacks it after the top two or three. Garver may be the most likely on this team to hit 20 homers this year. And you can get him much cheaper than Sanchez.
Buxton has disappointed me a lot over his five years. Last year he really cut down on the strikeouts and hit for a decent average. He could post double digit homers and steals, and he will find his way onto some of my teams to fill out my outfield. He’s only 26. I still believe!
Prospects to watch:
The coronavirus outbreak is a bad thing for Royce Lewis and Alex Kiriloff. Both looked to make their debuts in September or earlier this year, but now that seems unlikely. Lewis is blocked by Polanco, but Kiriloff has a chance if Sano can’t handle first base. Marwin Gonzalez wont hold him off for long. Kiriloff has nice power and is worth a look if he takes the job at 1B every day.
Nick Gordon can take over at 2B if Arraez falters this year. Arraez was mostly considered a stop-gap last year. Gordon can hit better than his brother Dee and his speed is just as good. He’s worth a look if he takes the 2B job.