April Review

Twins' Record: 9-17

4th in AL Central by 9 games

Hey, it could have been worse - according to the Pythagorean W-L, the Twins should actually be 7-19!

This was a historical bad opening month for them. They set a franchise record for April losses, and finished at the bottom of the league standings in R, HR, SLG, OPS and ERA. As a team, they've hit .233/.291/.322 - worse than the career averages of Nick Punto. As a team. Only 2 players have BA over .250, and just 3 have OBP over .300 and SLG% over .350. Only 3 players have double-digit BB%. Michael Cuddyer leads them in HR with 3. A team that was supposed to be emphasizing speed has just 11 SB, and no player has more than 2. No hitting + no walking + no power + no aggressive baserunning = no scoring.

Half the rotation has generated more poor starts than good. The bullpen did pretty well for the 1st couple of weeks, but then suffered meltdown after meltdown. In a remarkable surprise, the only reliever with significant appearances who's been consistently reliable is Glen Perkins. Twins pitchers have suffered from a higher than average BABIP, but they've also hurt themselves by walking 91 batters in 26 games, placing them 10th in the AL in a category in which Gardy's teams have always been among the best in the league.

Shoddy defense has also hurt the Twins, though not in the way we might have expected. The outfielders generally had a pretty good month, with Denard Span, Jason Kubel and Delmon Young all rating positively on most of the metrics. The infielders grade out as roughly average or poor, though. For the month, the defense committed 17 E, leading to 16 unearned runs, ranking them 8th and 12th in the AL in those respective categories.

To be fair, there have been a slew of injuries, including several which struck positions at which the Twins had particularly poor depth. Joe Mauer's start wasn't nearly to his standard, but his replacements haven't hit half as well as he was doing. Tsuyoshi Nishioka didn't last 6 games before breaking his leg; his loss has invited increased ABs from Matt Tolbert and rookie Luke Hughes. Kevin Slowey went on the DL after just 3 appearances, opening a revolving door for mediocre relievers to be rushed to the Major League 'pen.

And it's been an especially difficult schedule to this point, with just 10 home games. Half of the opponents faced so far finished last season with winning records. That, plus some ill-timed blown saves, kept the Twins from winning their 1st 6 series, but at least they were usually in the games. Just when things seemed to be looking up, they staggered into May on a miserable losing streak, which included a 3-game sweep in which they were outscored 29-6. It was their worst start since they opened the 2006 season at 9-16.

The similarities to 2006 go beyond the W-L record. Through 25 games, that team was hitting .251/.309/.366, with virtually the same number of BB, HBP, SF, SH, GIDP, Net SB and XBH - albeit twice as many HR. That power difference, plus a better BABIP, helped them to score 17 more runs in one fewer game. But their pitching was even worse, with a 6.35 ERA and a staggering 37 HR allowed in 214 IP. That team also staggered into May on a miserable losing streak, which included a 3-game sweep in which they were outscored 33-1!

The 2006 Twins rebounded to win at least 15 games in every subsequent month of the season, eventually earning the division title. They were trailing the Tigers, who would make the postseason as the wild card, by 8 games, and were also behind the previous season's World Series Champs, the White Sox. The 2011 Twins are 9 games out of 1st place in the AL Central, but they trail the Indians and Royals, and like the 2001 Twins and the 2003 Royals, neither one of those teams is likely to sustain their hot starts to a playoff spot. The true contenders are the Tigers, who lead the Twins by just 2.5 games, and the Sox, who are tied with the Twins in the cellar.

This Twins team can definitely bounce back. The schedule is going to get easier, although we won't stat to see that for a couple weeks yet. But more importantly, this is a talented team. Hardly anybody is performing remotely close to their established standards. They're all slumping deeply, horribly, together. Anybody can beat a team that's going through that. Eventually, though, they'll all get hot together. And when they do, no one will be able to stop them.

Ugly grades follow. I'm only going to mention hitters with at least 29 PA (to give Nishioka a break) and pitchers with at least 8 IP (your relief is palpable, Jeff Manship!):

Getting It Done

Jason Kubel - On a team where just about everybody's OPS is under .700, his is over .900. He's holding his own vs. LHP. And he's actually been an asset in the OF so far. The Twins' April MVP.

Denard Span - He took about 10 days off from drawing BB in the middle of the month, and I'd like to see a few more XBH, but he's otherwise delivered. His defense in CF has been superb. Why he's not running more, I have no idea.

Brian Duensing - He's averaged nearly 7 IP/GS, and is pacing the staff in ERA, BB/9 and HR/9. Throw out his 1st 3 batters faced in NYC, and he looks even better.

Scott Baker - 3 magnificent starts in a row in which he looked like the poor man's Ace we saw in 2008. Leading the starters in K/9 and WHIP.

Glen Perkins - I couldn't be more surprised that he's the one member of the bullpen who hasn't struggled. He's been a little lucky on balls in play, but he's limited BB and kept the ball in the yard.

So Far, So Good

Matt Capps - 1 too many HR allowed to the Rays, but otherwise a solid start. Props for being the only Twins pitcher not to issue a BB this month.

Need To Pick It Up

Joe Mauer - Apparently he wasn't fit when the season opened. That's probably because he wasn't ready for spring training when it was time to report. If he's over his sickness, he needs to get down to Fort Myers and start catching, even if it's just for a few innings at a time at first. His "replacements" are absolutely killing the team.

Justin Morneau - He seems to have put his concussion symptoms behind him. Now he's just got to get back into the flow of playing again.

Michael Cuddyer - Another slow starter who didn't get his reps in during spring training. I'm disappointed in his power numbers, yet he's leading the team in HR. Ugh.

Delmon Young - Skipped half of spring training, hit the crap out of the ball when he finally got into Grapefruit League games, then abruptly stopped hitting once the regular season started. On the DL trying to get loose.

Jim Thome - Injuries to other players have forced him into way more games than he should be playing, especially vs. LHP. The discipline is still there. Now we need to see the power.

Danny Valencia - At no point in his professional baseball career has he posted a full-season BABIP lower than .310. This month it was at .225. His BB rate is excellent. He'll be fine.

Alexi Casilla - However bad you thought he was, he's not this bad. I hope he gets another couple of weeks to warm up. The tools are still there for him to be decent if he can just get out of his own way.

Drew Butera - The average NL pitcher hits better than him. He would have to be the best catch-and-throw guy ever to justify his pathetic hitting. But he's not.

Luke Hughes - A guy who really should just be playing against LHP has been forced into some fairly regular duty. Still better than...

Matt Tolbert - The only Twins hitter who has yet to draw a BB. A "scrappy" guy who has yet to steal a base. Not a great player, but he can do better than this.

Jason Repko - I like the BB rate. 24 PA in 26 games seems reasonable. For what he is, these aren't terrible numbers, but he's capable of better.

Francisco Liriano - What's your freakin' problem? Just throw the ball the way you did last year! Jeez...

Carl Pavano - Too many BB, not enough K, too many HR.

Nick Blackburn - If he can't keep the ball in the park, he's screwed. 1.6 HR/9 this month.

Jose Mijares - 7 BB in 8 IP isn't going to work, no matter how well everything else is going.

Joe Nathan - His demotion from the Closer job was probably the most depressing thing about this month. It had to be done - he simply didn't have his velocity or command. His last few appearances have been pretty good (2.2 IP, H, IBB, HBP, 4 K), so he may be on the upswing.

Dusty Hughes - Note: if somebody isn't good enough to stay on the Royals' roster, you probably shouldn't want him, either.

April Review

Twins Record: 15-8

1st in AL Central by 1.5 games

What a start. Thanks to a strong series of offseason pickups, most serious Twins fans were pretty excited about the potential of this team. So far, it's been justified. The Twins found a way to win their first 6 series of the season, jumping out to the 3rd best record in the AL.

They're among the league leaders in scoring, though the offense has struggled with RISP and several starters have poor BAs. They've made up for it by hitting 22 HR in 23 games and drawing a million walks. Well, 112 - 10% more than the next most patient team. Put that many guys on base, and you're bound to score your share of runs, even without the big hit. Those hits will come, and if the Twins can maintain their fantastic plate discipline, they're bound to score even more in future months.

They're among the league leaders in pitching. As usual, they are issuing by far the fewest walks. This contributes to the league's 3rd best WHIP. They're doing a good job of stranding the baserunners they allow. And, for once, they're keeping the ball in the yard, allowing fewer HR/9 than 9 other AL teams. Francisco Liriano hasn't allowed a HR in 29 IP, and 6 relievers have also avoided the long ball.

They're among the league leaders in defense. They've committed only 4 errors (one of which was a missed call by the umpires), resulting in just 3 unearned runs. They are enjoying favorable ratings from RZR and UZR. New acquisitions JJ Hardy and Orlando Hudson have improved the up-the-middle defense, while the slimmed down Delmon Young is covering a lot more ground in LF.

As the struggling members of the Twins' lineup and pitching staff regress toward their normal production, things should get even better. The Twins will get a chance to measure themselves against the Yankees in the coming weeks. It looks like this team should give them a better fight than last year's team did.

This month was relatively short, so I'll look at hitters with at least 25 PA and pitchers who threw 10 or more IP and/or made at least 5 appearances.

Getting It Done

Justin Morneau - Once again on pace for about 35 HR and 120 RBI. What really sets Morneau apart this month is his fantastic 14/21 K/BB ratio, pushing his OBP to nearly .500.

Joe Mauer - Just the 1 HR so far, making last year's total look a bit fluky. However, 8 2B and 1 3B, plus his typical 8/10 K/BB ratio bring him in at .345/.406/.500, which is still plenty awesome.

Jim Thome - I wondered how much he'd be used this year, but he's clearly got plenty left in the tank. He's got a .989 OPS with 4 HR in just over 50 PA. It's going to be hard to keep him on the bench if he keeps hitting like that.

Orlando Hudson - What a great addition to the the top of the lineup. He's followed Denard Span in each game, reaching base nearly 39% of the time and scoring 16 R.

Michael Cuddyer - .309/.346/.479 with 3 HR and a team leading 18 RBI, and he'd have had a couple more HR earlier this week if he'd hit his dead-CF bombs in any other park than Comerica.

Francisco Liriano - He was wild in his first start in Chicago - but even that was a QS. Since then he's thrown 23 straight scoreless innings with a 24/5 K/BB ratio and 0 HR allowed. What we saw in the DWL and Spring Training was legit.

Matt Guerrier - With a pedestrian 4/4 K/BB ratio in 12.1 IP, you wouldn't expect a reliever to be this effective. But Guerrier allowed just 1 ER in April, and it was not a HR. Even better, he's usually pretty efficient.

Jon Rauch - 7/8 in save opportunities, and the one save he blew didn't cost the Twins a win. Joe Nathan would probably have a better WHIP and K/9, but the bottom line couldn't be much better.

Carl Pavano - I thought he'd prove to be the Twins' 4th best starter, but this month he was #2. His outstanding 22/3 K/BB ratio in 31.1 IP is one of the reasons he's consistently pitched deeper into games than Scott Baker or Kevin Slowey.

Brian Duensing - Back in a bullpen role, Duensing has picked up right where he left off last year. In 10 IP, he's allowed just 2 ER on 8 H and 3 BB with 6 K, and he hasn't given up a HR.

Alex Burnett - I figured he'd just get a couple of mop-up opportunities before taking his rightful place in AAA, but an early injury to Jose Mijares opened the door for him to stick around. So far he's made the most of it, posting a 3.12 ERA and 11/3 K/BB ratio in 8.2 IP.

Ron Mahay - Signed too late to break camp with the Twins, Mahay has still made a big impact in just a couple of weeks. He hasn't allowed an ER in 6.2 IP with a superb 8/1 K/BB ratio.

So Far, So Good

Denard Span - The first of a quartet of hitters who don't appear, at first glance, to be performing well. Span is hitting just .211, but his career best K and BB rates give him an outstanding .128 IsoD and a still decent .339 OBP. His .244 BABIP so far is well below his career norm and is bound to turn around. 6/7 SB, and the one time he was caught he wasn't actually tagged out.

Jason Kubel - He's hitting just .219, but he's nearly doubled his BB rate from the past few seasons for a .352 OBP. His line drive rate is as good as ever. Too many strikeouts, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be anything wrong here.

Delmon Young - 7 BB are more than half the number he drew in all of 2009. He's also radically cut his K, while posting the best IsoP since his September call-up in 2006. His .208 BABIP is .120 lower than his well-established average of the past 3 seasons. And compare:

April 2008: .255/.298/.306, 0 HR

April 2009: .241/.276/.315, 1 HR

April 2010: .222/.292/.381, 2 HR

That's progress, even with the poor BABIP.

JJ Hardy - He's hitting just .220/.281/.366, but his K% and Iso are both heading in the direction of his All-Star caliber years of 2007 and 2008. His BABIP of .231 is .045 lower than his career mark, despite a healthy 20.6% line drive rate. He's batting 8th, he's playing flawless SS - I'm content.

Nick Punto - He only got to play 9 games before going on the DL, but his .709 OPS so far suggests we might be getting the "good" Nick Punto this year. Only one BB in 26 AB, though.

Kevin Slowey - A 3.77 ERA is nice, but the WHIP is at 1.50, he's walked way more guys than we're used to from him, and he's averaging fewer than 6 IP/GS. I'll take it, but he can do better.

Pat Neshek - He's been used very sparingly, but largely appears to have recovered his old effectiveness. His last appearance against the Tigers, in which he allowed a BB and HBP to the 2 batters he faced, was his only lousy game.

Need To Pick It Up

Brendan Harris - Like Span, Kubel, et al., Harris is proving useful enough despite a .200 BA thanks to an 8/7 K/BB ratio, good for a .327 OBP. Unlike those other guys, he's not established enough to get away with a .638 OPS - if he wants to stay in the lineup, he's going to have to hit more than that.

Nick Blackburn - His 1st start was effective even though he walked a career-high 4. His 2nd start was OK - he allowed 3 HR but kept the team in it into the 8th inning. The last 2 starts he's been smacked all over the park, leaving before the 6th inning.

Jesse Crain - The 1.27 WHIP is OK. The 9/2 K/BB ratio in 11 IP is nice. He hasn't left too many guys on base, though, because 7 of the 12 H he's allowed have gone for extra bases.

Scott Baker - He was jittery on opening night, allowing 4 ER on 5 H and 3 BB in 4.2 IP. Then we got 2 very good starts. He was pretty unlucky against the Indians on the 22nd. But he stunk on the 28th, letting a 5-run lead slip away. Also averaging fewer than 6 IP/GS.

Jose Mijares - A couple of solo HR on opening night, and way too many baserunners after that. I guess he wasn't healthy - perhaps related to his poor conditioning?

April Review

Twins Record: 11-11
4th in AL Central, 1 game out of 1st

First, the bad news: The Twins finished April 11th in the AL in scoring and OBP, 12th in SLG% and HR, and only 9th in SB. They are 10th in the league in BAA, ERA, OPS against and runs allowed, 11th in K and HR allowed, and 13th in SB allowed. Twins catchers threw out only 1 base stealer all month. In all of MLB, only the Nationals and Orioles have a worse run differential.

Only 5 Twins hitters have BA higher than .241. Only 6 have SLG% higher than .333. There has been precious little hitting with RISP. Only 6 pitchers have ERAs lower than 5.40, and 3 of them have combined for 16.1 IP. The starters are averaging fewer than 6 IP/GS.

But hey, look on the bright side: They still issue the fewest walks in the league. Their 8 errors are tied for fewest in the league, resulting in a league-low 3 unearned runs. As disappointing as their team hitting line of .262/.328/.386 with 0.73 HR/game and 4.23 R/game is, it's actually an improvement over last April's .258/.302/.361 with 0.54 HR/game and 3.81 R/game. And you will recall that the offense put it together quite well as the season went on.

Best of all, the Twins have managed to stay at .500 despite their shoddy play, within 1 good series of taking over 1st place in the division, all without the help of their most important player, Joe Mauer. He'll be back on Friday, and his .400+ OBP is going to look real nice after Denard Span and in front of Justin Morneau. The starting pitching is on an upswing, and the cold members of the offense are almost certain to get it going before too long.

It's sort of miraculous that the Twins are as well-positioned as they are. We can thank the 2 improbable Metrodome comebacks: 5 straight batters reached after 2 were out in the bottom of the 9th against Seattle closer Brandon Morrow, and 7 scored in the bottom of the 8th against the Angels, culminating in Jason Kubel's cycle-clinching grand slam that turned a 9-4 deficit into an 11-9 victory. The Twins had no business winning either of those games, and if they hadn't, their record would be 9-13, only 1 game ahead of Cleveland.

So cheer up, Twins fans. It only gets better from here.

It was a short month, so my cutoffs for qualifying for grades will be 20 PA for hitters and 5.0 IP for pitchers.

Getting It Done
Denard Span - I had my doubts after his icy cold spring training, but when the bell went off on opening day he picked up right where his terrific rookie campaign left off, reaching base about 39% of the time, picking up 5 SB to lead the team, and playing good defense at all three OF positions.

Justin Morneau - Does his .318/.365/.557 line remind you of anything? How about the .321/.375/.559 line he put up in his MVP year of 2006. Easily on pace for 30+ HR after his disappointing 23 last year. Needs to take more walks and/or strike out less, but otherwise doing his thing.

Jason Kubel - At last, a good start for Kubel. He's nearly matched Morneau offensively, and has earned the opportunity to face more LHP. He's not hitting them particularly well (.250/.294/.313 in 16 AB), but neither is anyone else on the team right now. This could be the start of the breakout season that makes the contract he signed over the offseason look like a steal.

Jose Morales - The defense hasn't been good, as Morales has made 2 of the team's 8 errors, allowed a couple of PB, and thrown out only 1 attempted base stealer. But you could hardly have asked for more from him offensively - his .349/.391/.419 isn't a very big step down from what Mauer would have done, and he's had to assume more playing time as Mike Redmond deals with nagging injuries.

Brendan Harris - I'll be the first one to admit that Harris isn't the same fielder as Nick Punto or Alexi Casilla. But he's just about the only guy we have hitting lefties right now, and he's hit RHP even better. As Casilla struggles, Gardy needs to find ways to get Harris more AB.

Glen Perkins - Raise your hand if you thought Perkins would be the Twins' best starter this month. Extra credit if you guessed he would have 1.56 points of ERA and 0.37 points of WHIP on the next best starter. Lack of run support has cost him in the win column, but those 8 IP starts have been the salvation of a shaky bullpen. The pitching MVP of April.

So Far, So Good
Nick Punto - Like most of the Twins' switch-hitters, Punto's poor splits vs. LHP have dragged his overall line way down. The .228 BA isn't too far away from the disaster of 2007. But his 11/9 K/BB rate has enabled him to get his OBP up to .343. That's productive enough for a #9 hitting SS, especially if he only makes 1 error in 19 games.

Joe Nathan - The line is pretty good: 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 7 IP with 7 K. The problem is, 2 of the 5 H he allowed have been HR, one of which cost him a save earlier this week. When he gets more use, I expect his HR/9 numbers to head back toward his career averages.

Nick Blackburn - This is Nick Blackburn: his ERA and WHIP are almost identical to his totals from last year. His K/9 is down, but he's only allowed 1 HR in 31.1 IP. Best of all, his IP/start is up over 6, thanks to Gardy's increased confidence in his starters (or decreased confidence in the bullpen).

Kevin Slowey - I hold Slowey to a pretty high standard, so I almost didn't stick him in this category. Ultimately, I decided that his last 2 starts (1.00 WHIP, 1 HR, 12 K in 15 IP) cancel out his first 2 starts (2.00 WHIP, 4 HR, 7 K in 11.1 IP). The tipping point was the fact that he got the team into the 6th inning even when he was struggling.

Jesse Crain - Overall, it's not a good line for Crain, but almost all of the ugliness (3 BB and 4 ER) came in that final, grueling outing vs. the Angels. His remaining appearances were very effective, and I expect him to resume his role as the primary RH middle reliever once he comes off the DL.

Matt Guerrier - Like Crain, almost all of the damage (4 ER, 4 H, HR) came in one lousy appearance against the Blue Jays. In his other 8 appearances, he's allowed only 2 ER on 5 H and 2 BB with 7 K in 9.1 IP. That'll work.

Need To Pick It Up
Alexi Casilla - Even if you take away his 1 for 23 vs. LHP, Casilla is only hitting .239/.300/.304. On the bright side, he's made every play but one in the field, he's 2/2 in SB, and he was hitting just about this badly for Rochester last spring before he was called up. He should lose some playing time to Harris, particularly vs. LHP, but it would be tough not to improve on his start.

Michael Cuddyer - It seems like a lot of his early AB went like this: take a strike, swing through an offspeed pitch, then do what you can behind in the count. He's basically corrected his K/BB rate with 7 BB over his last 4 games, so maybe that's a sign that he's starting to see the ball better.

Joe Crede - The defense and the IsoP are as advertised, but he's supposed to hit a little better than .212, isn't he?

Delmon Young - Incredibly, he's hitting even worse than he did last April. At least he's not playing every day.

Carlos Gomez - What I said about Young applies here as well.

Brian Buscher - Not doing much hitting, though he's drawn some big walks and HBP.

Mike Redmond - He's having a hard time physically. Tough to be an old catcher.

Scott Baker - I'm going to assume that he's on his way to figuring himself out. The first 2 starts were appalling.

Francisco Liriano - Not pitching nearly as poorly as Baker, but still well below his ability. He's showing some signs of straightening things out as well.

Luis Ayala - Seems to be giving up a run or two every other time he takes the mound.

R.A. Dickey - Home runs, walks, and the score gets worse and worse. Almost certainly heading to Rochester when Crain comes off the DL.

April Review

Twins Record: 13-14
(2nd in AL Central by 1.5 games)

With the first of six months of the season in the books, the Twins find themselves on pace to finish the season about where they were last year: 78-84. This is certainly within the range that most folks were projecting prior to the season. What's been surprising is how well the Twins' young pitching staff has performed. With the exception of Francisco Liriano (who was simply not ready to return to the big leagues following Tommy John surgery) and the quickly injured Kevin Slowey, the Twins' young pitchers have combined for quality starts in 11 of 17 outings, with an average of just over 6 IP, a 3.88 ERA, and 1.27 WHIP. They are reassuring the team that their presence in the rotation will not be overly taxing to the bullpen, and Slowey's return next week should only enhance the success of the group.

The bullpen did not fare well early on, costing the Twins a couple of games they were leading after 7 innings. Most of the veterans in that group seem to be settling in, so I expect that situation to go better for the rest of the season.

Offensively, the Twins are last in the league in OBP, and near the bottom in OPS and HR. Only Mauer and Morneau have drawn more than 6 walks. Only Morneau and Kubel have hit more than one home run. On the plus side, the Twins are leading the league in SB (thanks mainly to Gomez and Young). There are signs that some of the hitters are beginning to warm up - they'll have to if the team is to improve in May.

And now, evaluations for players who have had at least 12 ABs or 8 IP:

Getting It Done

Justin Morneau
I'd like to see the average a little higher than .268, but he's earning his money by leading the team with 6 HR, 22 RBI, 11 BB, 48 TB, .495 SLG% and .840 OPS. He has yet to make an error at first base. We'll see if Cuddyer and Kubel can keep him protected.

Brendan Harris
He's settled into the #2 spot. He's struck out too many times (22), but his other numbers are about where I was hoping to see them (.287/.337/.389).

Matt Tolbert
He started out the season scorching hot, and has settled into a .700 OPS through 50 ABs. He's also stolen 3 bases in 4 attempts, and has made just 1 error in 59 total chances at three IF positions. The last man to make the team has earned his spot so far.

Nick Blackburn
And how about the last pitcher to make the team? We thought he'd maybe just keep Liriano's spot warm for a couple of starts, but he's ended up leading the starters with 38.1 IP and a 3.52 ERA through 6 starts. Maybe Baseball America knew what they were talking about after all...

Boof Bonser
Boof is right behind Blackburn with 36 IP and a 3.75 ERA. His 5 quality starts should give everyone confidence that he has the stamina to pitch deep into games now. He's managed to win 2 games despite receiving just 10 runs of support in his 6 April starts - show Boof some love, Offense!

Joe Nathan
Another guy earning his big contract extension, Nathan is 9/9 in save opportunities with a 0.82 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 9.00 K/9. Can't ask for much more than that.

Dennys Reyes
It was crucial that several of the Twins' bullpen members revert to their 2006 form this season, and Reyes has delivered. He has yet to allow an earned run in 12 appearances.

So Far, So Good

Joe Mauer
Mauer is leading the team in average and OBP - no surprise there. But he has yet to hit a homer, and hasn't shown as much gap power as I expected from his spring training ABs. 3 of his 7 XBH have come in the last week, as well as 4 of his 9 BB, so he's heading in the right direction.

Michael Cuddyer
Obviously, Cuddyer hasn't had much of a chance to make an impact this year thanks to a 3 week DL stint. He's done pretty well in the 10 games he's played, batting .297/.350/.405, but with just 1 HR, 1 double, and 2 BB. I hope we'll see more of those in the coming weeks.

Nick Punto
Punto has been doing about as well as I'd hoped so far: his average of .256 is a nice middle-ground between his excellent 2006 and atrocious 2007. He's put up a decent .326 OBP with 3 SB from the #9 spot with only 1 E in 55 TC from 4 positions. He'll likely return to the very spare use he was receiving early on now that Everett is coming off the DL.

Craig Monroe
Monroe has delivered as advertised so far this year with a .255/.300/.426 line almost identical to his career numbers (.256/.303/.446). Surpisingly, he's hit far better vs. RHP - I don't expect that to continue - and has generally had very good ABs (4.2 pitches/PA). He hasn't taken ABs from Kubel, and filled in competently when Gomez was out for a couple games last weekend.

Denard Span
Span delivered about league-average BA (.258) and OBP (.324) in limited time, mostly playing out of position in RF. He was 3/3 in SB attempts. Not bad for his first taste of the big leagues.

Pat Neshek
Neshek had two ghastly appearances on the first road trip in which he allowed 5 ER on 6 H in 1.2 IP and cost the Twins 2 games. In his 11 other appearances, he's gone 10.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3BB, 11 K. He'll be OK.

Scott Baker
Plagued by poor health througout the spring, Baker has been effective when he's been able to take the hill. 6 HR in 30 IP is a lot, but they all came with the bases empty vs. the Tigers and White Sox - they're going to hit their homers, so it's great that he was able to keep the damage minimal.

Jesse Crain
Like Neshek, Crain had a bad time in Detroit, giving up 3 ER on 2 H and 1 BB and costing the Twins a win. Other than that, he's allowed just 2 ER on 5 H and 2 BB with 7 K in 7.1 IP. His velocity and the sharpness of his breaking stuff is remarkable considering the shoulder injuries from which he's recovering. Hopefully he can contribute even more as the season goes along.

Brian Bass
Bass has gotten a lot of work in long relief this month (17.1 IP), and has been competent for the most part. He got beat up on the last road trip (5 ER on 11 H and 3 BB in 6 IP), but has otherwise been solid in situations where the Twins needed somebody to eat up some innings - particularly for a rookie.

Livan Hernandez
I can hardly believe I'm putting Livan in this category, but his nearly 6 IP/start, 5.05 ERA and 1.46 WHIP are about the best that could be expected of him. However luckily, he's managed to keep the Twins in 5 of the 6 games he's started.

Need to Pick It Up

Delmon Young
Because he was brought in to replace Torii Hunter's pop in the middle of the order, Young's 0 HR and .314 SLG% have to be rated a disappointment. However, he's been very good in the field, throwing out 4 baserunners and routinely holding opponents to singles on balls hit into the corner. His 6 SB in 7 tries are second on the team, so he's got 3 of the 5 tools working. And in his last 8 games, he's 10 for 30 with 3 BB for a .394 OBP. Hopefully the power is coming soon.

Carlos Gomez
Ah, Gomez. Though he's on pace to set a team record for SB, he has walked just twice for a .279 OBP. He is often a spark, but his erratic play is just as often a liability. Physically ready for the Majors; mentally barely out of high school.

Jason Kubel
Kubel is getting every chance to prove himself an everyday player, but hasn't quite made the most of it. His 4 HR, 16 RBI and .144 IsoP are second only to Morneau, but his BA and OBP are far lower than I would have expected. Too many strikeouts (20), not enough walks (3), too many useless 1-pitch ABs (2 for 16 when he puts the first pitch in play). He needs to chill out.

Mike Lamb
Another of the many new Twins who got off to a terrible start this season, Lamb was hitting just .145 through his first 16 games. Over his last 7, though, he's hit .333, so he may be loosening up. Still waiting for his first HR.

Adam Everett
Nobody expected Everett to hit well, but .185/.214/.222 is beyond awful. On top of that, his defense hasn't been as good as advertised (3 E in 9 games). Hopefully it can all be attributed to his bad shoulder, and now that it's healed, the real Adam Everett will appear (such as he is).

Mike Redmond
With all the off-days this month, Redmond barely averaged a start per week, so his 2 for 13 start is no real reason for concern. With only 2 off-days between now and mid-June, he'll get much more regular time, and plenty of opportunities to show that he's the same steady backup he's been for the past 3 seasons.

Matt Guerrier
Guerrier didn't have a great spring, and it carried into the first couple weeks of the season. He got away with some wildness against the Angels and Royals, but the White Sox and Tigers made him pay, tagging him for 6 ER on 6 H and 2 BB in 2.2 IP. Since then, he's settled down, allowing 1 ER on 7 H and 2 BB in 8.2 IP. Keep that going.

Juan Rincon
Like most of the bullpen, Rincon got knicked early on, but since his first appearance vs. the Angels, he's allowed 3 ER on 7 H and 2 BB (1 intentional) with 9 K in 9.1 IP. He's allowed 2 solo HR in that span, which is a bit of a concern (when he was lights-out from 2003-2006 he kept the ball in the yard), but otherwise he's on the right track.

Francisco Liriano
Simply not ready to return to the Majors.

Considering that most of the team has underperformed to some extent, the Twins are very fortunate to still be in the mix of the division race. Hopefully their play will improve along with their rivals' in May.