PROJECTED STARTER
Danny Valencia, .246 BA, 15 HRs, 72 RBIs in 2011
After an impressive rookie campaign in which Valencia batted .311 with 40 RBIs in 85 games in 2010, his offensive numbers regressed last season. His batting average dropped nearly 70 points, and his on-base percentage fell more than 50 points from the previous year. Still, some of Valencia's offensive numbers in 2011 were impressive.
His 15 homers were second on the Twins, behind only Michael Cuddyer's 20. Valencia's 154 games played led an injury-plagued Minnesota team. He was one of just a few every-day position players to avoid the disabled list last season, something Valencia took pride in.
Offensively, Valencia has been working on driving the ball to the opposite field. According to baseball-reference.com, just 12 of Valencia's 139 hits in 2011 were to the opposite field. Fifty of his hits were pulled to left, while 77 were up the middle.
"Danny has been working at it. He's been on the extra field taking extra swings, doing things in the cages," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He's told himself he's going to use the whole field and drive the ball. When he starts looking around and tries to hit the ball where they ain't is when he starts to get in trouble. But when he gets the barrel out on the ball he can drive it with anybody."
So far this spring, Valencia has a team-high three home runs through Wednesday, along with seven RBIs in 13 games. He's batting .308 (12-for-39) and slugging .615. He has also improved his ability to hit to the opposite field.
"It makes it all the more worthwhile, that's for sure," Valencia said of his success driving the ball this spring. "It makes you feel like you're not out there taking 100 swings and getting blisters all over your hands for nothing. It's not so much the results I'm looking for, but the comfort in the batter's box and the feeling of my swing being short and direct to the ball."
PROJECTED BACKUPS
Luke Hughes, .223 BA, 7 HRs, 30 RBIs in 2011 (96 games); Sean Burroughs, .273 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBIs in 2011 (78 games with Arizona)
Hughes continues to swing a good bat this spring, as he hit his second homer of the spring in Wednesday's game against Detroit -- a deep blast to left field. Through Wednesday, Hughes is batting .286 with six RBIs this spring. If he continues to swing well, it'll be hard for the Twins to leave Hughes off the 25-man roster as a utility infielder.
Hughes played first, second and third base for Minnesota in 2011, although just 12 games came at third base. In his minor-league career, however, Hughes has spent more time at third base (278 games) than any other position.
Burroughs is an interesting case. He was out of baseball for four years after dealing with substance abuse, but made his return to the game last season with the Diamondbacks. The Twins signed him this offseason, and he's still fighting to earn a spot on the 25-man roster. Burroughs spent nearly his entire six-year career at third base, and has made a handful of nice plays at third this spring.
"He's always been a good defender," Gardenhire said of Burroughs. "He's always made the plays."
Hughes' versatility could give him the edge over Burroughs as far as which player might make the Opening Day roster, but either could potentially serve as a backup to Valencia at third base.
OTHER AL CENTRAL STARTERS
Miguel Cabrera (Tigers); Jack Hannahan (Indians); Brent Morel (White Sox); Mike Moustakas (Royals)
Cabrera is easily the best hitter of this group. The nine-year veteran has hit 30 or more homers in each of the past five seasons. Last year, he hit 30 homers, drove in 105 runs and led the league in batting average (.344) and doubles (48). But after several years as the Tigers' first baseman, Cabrera moved back over to third base to accommodate his new teammate, first baseman Prince Fielder.
Cabrera hasn't played third base in a game since 2008, but did so just 14 times that year. Throughout his career, he's spent 385 games at third base. He had a mishap in the field earlier this week, however, as he was hit in the face by a ground ball after it took a bad hop on the infield dirt. The incident resulted in a fracture below his right eye, but the Tigers expect him to be ready for Opening Day.
Moustakas was one of several Royals prospects to make his major league debut last season. In 89 games with Kansas City, Moustakas batted .263, hit five homers and drove in 30 runs. Hannahan, a St. Paul, Minn., native, played in 110 games for Cleveland last year, driving in 40 runs while batting .250. Last year was Morel's first full season in the majors, and he hit .245 with 10 homers in 126 games for Chicago.
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