ALL DECADE TWINS

Ah my beloved Twins!! Yes, the Brewers are my top team, and I realize that technically the Brewers-Twins rivalry was (kind of?) fierce/important back in the day.... but I only remember the Brewers as an NL team, so the Twins have always been my AL squad. Thanks to the 2019 season, they're going to have an All Decade team capable of competing in the AL Central (they'd be in GREAT shape for a 00s Decade season). Get ready for a team FULL of power, albeit with a watered down rotation, and one that'll be super interesting in its quest to outscore teams. Enjoy!

A couple of my all-time favorite Twins players who just missed the cut!

LINEUP: Welcome to the most powerful lineup of the All Decade squads! I'll be honest, I took a big liberty here by making Nelson Cruz a corner outfielder with -2 fielding... but I think it's fair. The Twins only had five players worth 500 points or more the entire decade and, unfortunately, all five of them were playing for three spots. Since it was unprecedented in this experiment to keep out 40% of a team's superstars, I moved Nellie to the OF with a severe/fair (I think) defensive penalty.

Now to the actual lineup, which I believe is the BEST one in the All Decade squads (yes, even over Boston and the Yankees)! The biggest weakness is lack of speed, so the leadoff man is speed B Jorge Polanco. However, Jorge's bringing A LOT of extra base hits to the leadoff spot, which should put him in a good position for the BANGERS coming behind him. In the prime #2 spot is MVP Joe Mauer, who's still probably the best catcher card of the decade! As an OB 11, on at 3, with plenty of pop thanks to how many charts he'll get, Mauer is going to be putting up numbers. He's supported by TWO 50 HR power-level hitters in Nelson Cruz and Mitch Garver.... aka the card with the best new claim to the top catcher spot. He'll be DHing for this team thanks to his subpar arm (which, consequently, should make him a draft steal). In the fifth spot is 40 HR power-level Jim Thome (another of my favorite Twins)..... and then 50 HR power Miguel Sano brings a POWERFUL OB 8 card to the six spot. Yeesh, a 50 HR guy hitting sixth! But they're not done!! Rounding it out is Josh Willingham (OB 9, HR at 17), Kepler (OB 8, HR at 16), and Dozier (OB 8, HR at 16). Seriously, there's no space in this lineup for a pitcher to slip up without being at severe risk of surrendering a HR blast..... honestly, three or four charts could lead to 6 or 7 runs for this power lineup! It's going to be fun seeing them go up against the Indians and Tigers rotation, as well as the Royals epic bullpen!

ROTATION: Move over San Diego, we've got a new contender for worst rotation. Despite an absolute MONSTER lineup, the Twins couldn't quite get the aces to go along with it. Phil Hughes and Ervin Santana lead the way with unspectacular yet servicable Tier 3, Control 4 cards. Then comes a risky Control 3, Tier 3 card in Kyle Gibson... but if he's rolling well, the Twins will be in okay shape. Definitely going to be up and down for them though. Finally.... the first Tier 4 starter on an All Decade team. Jose Berrios is a Control 4, on at 16 pitcher -- but no doubles, right?? We've seen those guys do amazing things (looking at you, Matt!).

BULLPEN: The Twins sadly *just missed* the super dominate Joe Nathan cards from 2006 thru 2008, but he's still leading this bullpen with a strong closer card. Following Nathan is a collection of Tier 2 guys, giving the Twins plenty of dependable, strong arms. Unfortunately, the lack of Control 6 guys really hampers their ability to push guys multiple innings, but I think there's enough here to come into the game in the fourth inning and finish it out from time to time... They needed this depth to support their "woeful" rotation, and I think it's enough to get the job done!

Overall, the Twins are going to have to win through slugging (very on-brand with the Baldelli's bashing boys)! Coming in at a respectable 6910 points, the Twins are actually the most expensive team in the AL Central so far! The AL Central may really struggle in the inter-divisional play, I'm definitely concerned for them. Back to the Twins -- in really unprecedented fashion, I'm pretty sure the Twins have the *best* overall lineup so far and the *worst* rotation. Will they get in too many holes or bash their way to a division title? I think the super solid bullpen points their destiny more towards a playoff run than largescale loss, but it'll be fun to play out! Through 24 teams, here's the standings:

1.   Dodgers              8010 points
2.   Yankees              7920 points
3.   Red Sox              7770 points
4.   Nationals            7670 points
5.   Astros                 7420 points
6.   Reds                    7220 points
7.   Phillies                7200 points
8.   Blue Jays            7140 points
9.   Rockies               7090 points
10.   Rangers              7070 points
11.   Rays                    7060 points
12.   Cubs                    7000 points
13.   Twins                  6910 points
14.   Indians               6880 points
15.   (T14) Mariners  6880 points
16.   Orioles                6830 points
17.   Giants                 6800 points
18.   Braves                 6790 points
19.   Marlins               6750 points
20.   Tigers                  6710 points
21.   (T20) Cardinals 6710 points
22.   Athletics             6670 points
23.   Royals                 6570 points
24.   Padres                 6510 points