One Thing the Twins' Roster is Missing

As I scanned down the list of position players on the Twins' 25 man roster, and saw names like Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Denard Span as starters, and guys like Luke Hughes and Sean Burroughs off the bench, something came to mind: there shouldn't be an awful hitter on this team in 2012.

If you've followed the Twins for the past several seasons, there is always at least one hitter that can barely hit his weight, yet makes his way onto the 25 man roster, and eventually onto the field, to the chagrin of most fans. Last year, it was Drew Butera, who batted .167. Tsuyoshi Nishioka wasn't much better, hitting .226. Much to my pleasure, neither player made the Twins' roster to begin 2012. Perhaps there is hope for each. Nishioka has been playing pretty well in the AAA games, and maybe coach Tom Brunansky can help Butera at the plate?



It seems like there is no room on the
Twins' roster for the Matt Tolberts
of the world.

 Even going back to past seasons, there is always at least one guy that struggles mightily at the plate -- that we knew full well would struggle -- and yet he made the team. Matt Tolbert, for instance, batted .232, .240 and .198 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. His "value" was that he could play many positions, but it certainly didn't outweigh his shortcomings at the plate. How about Jason Repko, our former fourth outfielder? He hit .228 and .226 in 2010 and 2011 with the Twins. A good defensive player, yes, but I'd much rather have Ben Revere's skill set as a backup outfielder. And let's not forget Nick Punto. In fairness, he compiled a couple decent offensive seasons in Minnesota (batting .290 in 2006 and .284 in 2008). Those seasons, however, were sandwiched between seasons like 2007, where he played in 150 games and batted .210, or 2010, his final season in Minnesota, where he hit .239. Punto, however, played great defense at a few different positions, so he didn't have to hit .300 to have value. Going back a little further, there was Brian Buscher. He had one decent season (2008) in a part-time role, but hit .235 in 2009, his last year as a Twin.

The 2012 roster just feels a little different. Sure, it's possible that any one of the position players could have a Tolbert-esque season. That's the nature of baseball, and that's why the Yankees or Red Sox or Phillies don't win the World Series every season. But if I was a gambler, I'd bet that our offense will be pretty decent. Trevor Plouffe might be the biggest risk. He hit .238/.305/.392 in 81 games last season, but has looked pretty good this spring. It's a make or break year for him, as he is out of options, so I expect that he will want to produce well this season. Ben Revere may never become a great player, but it's tough to imagine him not improving at all from last season, where he compiled a .267/.310/.309 line in what was really his rookie campaign. Australian Luke Hughes, who hit .223 last season, has had a monster spring. As of a few days ago, he was leading the team in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. Some might think Spring Training stats are meaningless, but I don't. He was hitting the cover off the ball, and I bet it's going to translate into more success in 2012. Like Revere, it's tough to imagine Hughes not improving those 2011 stats.

Perhaps the largest unknown quantity on this roster is Sean Burroughs. The fact that he made this team as a non-roster invitee -- especially when you factor in his personal story -- is pretty impressive. Burroughs played last year in 78 games -- his first MLB action since 2006 -- and is a .273 lifetime hitter in just over 1,800 plate appearances. He'll be in a bench role in Minnesota, and I'm sure that's fine with him. Burroughs is hitting .324 this spring. Perhaps it's doubtful he could compile that kind of average off the bench in his first season in the big leagues since 2006, but I'm guessing that he will be better than the .225 hitters that we are accustomed to seeing as off-the-bench infield help.

In the end, at least from the offensive standpoint, I think the Twins are primed to have 13 decent hitters. Some will progress, some will regress and some will have typical seasons. It's nice to think, though, that there is no "guaranteed out" in the lineup or on the bench. Perhaps the concern, then, is to what extent the Twins sacrificed defense in favor of offense. Though we laughed at Punto sometimes when he batted, he was excellent defensively. Can Burroughs or Hughes turn into a great defensive specialist? Or, at the very least, can the Twins' position players make the routine plays this season to keep the team in games?

Final Thoughts on Ben Revere

Watching the top of the 9th inning of the Twins-Yankees game yesterday afternoon, I saw the crowd of over 40,000 rise to their feet and cheer. Say what you will about Yankees' fans, but they do know their baseball history and they have a respect for the game. I assumed that some sort of graphic had flashed on the scoreboard noting that Ben Revere had passed Luis Rivas for the most stolen bases by a Twins rookie, and that the crowd just had responded accordingly. I was wrong. It turned out that some Rivera fellow had something else going on yesterday, and the fans were applauding that.

Seriously, however, it was impressive that Revere passed the formerly-speedy Luis Rivas for this title. As NoDak Twins Fan noted today, Rivas played in 153 games and stole 31 bases, while Revere equalled -- then immediately surpassed -- that number in only 107 games. So where exactly do we go with Revere for next year? Should he get half a season in AAA to work on hitting, drawing walks and his throwing arm (assuming Span and others are healthy)? Should he be a 4th outfielder? Just a pinch runner and defensive replacement?

If you read this blog with any degree of regularity, then it's of no surprise to you that I think Ben Revere eventually will be better than just a 4th outfielder. Sure, his .257/.306/.292 line is not where it needs to be for him to hit leadoff, or even for him to be a productive offensive player on a team that should be competing for the playoffs every year. But it is a start, and there is room for improvement. I have not been overly impressed with Revere's bunting ability. He could easily add 10 or 15 points to his batting average, and to his on-base percentage, by becoming a more proficient bunter. Even when unsuccessful in their attempt for a clean base hit, good bunters also force errors by forcing infielders to make uncomfortable plays and quick throws. Could Revere, only 23, be taught to hit the ball a little harder to the gaps and down the line? I'm sure. Could he pick up something by playing alongside a healthy Denard Span, who has learned to become a good leadoff hitter by taking long at-bats and walking at a decent rate? I'm sure.

We know Revere's other weakness is his throwing arm. I have no idea whether that can be improved upon, or whether it will always be that bad. If his offensive skills can increase, however, the arm becomes comparatively less of a liability, especially if Revere plays left field, assuming, again, that Span is healthy in 2012. In any event, Revere right now is a better option for the Twins than Jason Repko. Repko's 2011 line is .226/.270/.286. Even though Repko has 2 home runs, his slugging percentage is still lower than Revere's. And Repko, though not slow, does not possess Revere's great speed. If the choice next year is between Repko and Revere for the 4th outfielder position, hands down it must go to Revere. He is still a prospect with the tools, and time, to become a better player. What we've seen from Repko is what we will get for the rest of his career: there are no other tools to teach Jason Repko. Why spend more money for Repko when you get a better player (minus the arm) in Revere?

I'd like to see the Twins spend some money in the free agent market this winter. Middle infield (surprise!), the starting rotation, and the bullpen all need to be addressed. A 2012 outfield with Revere playing left field and Span in center will not be the most offensively productive outfield in MLB, but it will track down baseballs at an alarming rate. Having Revere for just over $400,000 will free up other money that could keep one of either Cuddyer or Kubel, or that could be used to replace one of those players. Revere is an option as a starting outfielder in 2012, and at the very least, is a must as a 4th outfielder next year. It will be interesting to see the direction in which the front office goes this winter.