Predicting The Minnesota Twins' 2016 Record Going Into Spring Training

Under first-year manager Paul Molitor, most would agree that the Minnesota Twins outperformed expectations in 2015, posting an 83-79 record and finishing in second place in the AL Central. It wasn’t quite good enough to make the postseason, but the Twins were still one of the American League’s greatest stories.

Over the offseason, the Twins lost an important leader in Torii Hunter, who decided to retire, but they added a huge bat, signing Korean slugger Byung-ho Park to a reported four-year, $12 million deal. Park slashed an eye-popping .343/.436/.714 with 53 homers and 146 RBIs for the Nexen Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization last season, and he and Miguel Sano could potentially provide a ton of power for the Twins.

The Twins’ lineup will also feature a few other solid bats in Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer. Of course, Mauer may no longer be the hitter he once was, but he is still an important part of the team. Eduardo Escobar and Eddie Rosario each impressed last season, and it should be fun to see if Byron Buxton can break out this year as well.

It will be quite interesting to keep an eye on the Twins’ starting rotation this year, too. After having a great year in 2014, Phil Hughes went only 11-9 with a 4.40 ERA (94 ERA+) and a 1.29 WHIP while surrendering a tied-for-AL worst 29 homers last year. However, Ervin Santana held his own over 17 starts after returning from an 80-game PED suspension, and Kyle Gibson had a 2.5 fWAR through 194.2 innings. If Hughes can bounce back, the top three spots in the Twins’ rotation could be quite solid.

Some might also like to see Trevor May in the starting rotation, but the bullpen may in fact be the better place for him right now. If everyone can stay healthy, May, Casey Fien, Kevin Jepsen and closer Glen Perkins could be the start of a good bullpen.

Right now, there is plenty of reason to believe that the Twins could build on a great 2015 campaign. However, there are still unanswered questions when it comes to their pitching, young players are going to have to play a key role and it will be interesting to see how Sano does in the outfield.

The AL Central could end up being quite a battle as well. Of course, the Twins could very well outperform expectations once again, but don’t be surprised to see them take a slight step back and go 80-82 either.