This number appears to be an insult to the Twins as the Royals have the same number. Don’t think the Twins are just going to fold up the tent because Johan Santana is not in town. They still have an awesome bullpen and adding Delmon Young will negate the loss of Torii Hunter’s offense. Take the over with confidence.

The Twins will only have one starting pitcher (Livan Hernandez) over the age of 26 when the season begins. 33-year old righty Livan Hernandez will be the workhorse for the Twins in 2008 as he routinely works late into ball games. He started 33 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Twins will probably want Hernandez to pound the strike zone more so the defense better be on their toes when he’s pitching.

24-year old lefty Francisco Liriano will likely make 2-3 starts in the minors before jumping into the Twins’ rotation. He did not pitch last season due to Tommy John surgery. But he was awesome in 2006 for the Twins. He pitched in 28 games (16 starts) that season and he was 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He also whiffed 144 batters in 121 innings that year.

26-year old righty Boof Bonser has the stuff to succeed at the major league level but he must concentrate the whole game. He breezed at times early in games last year but seemed to have a bad inning that wrecked all of the good that he did. He pitched in 31 games (30 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He needs to quit nibbling and attack the strike zone with his stuff.

26-year old righty Scott Baker turned his season around late last year. He pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 9-9 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. If Baker keeps the ball down he will likely be effective this season.

24-year old righty Kevin Slowey has a nice upside. He pitched in 13 games (11 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Slowey was dominating in the minor leagues as he pitched in 20 games in AAA-ball last season and he compiled a 10-5 record with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

26-year old Nick Blackburn will have a couple of weeks to show what he can do until Francisco Liriano is ready to return. Blackburn pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. He also pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in the minors last season and he was 10-4 with a 2.36 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.

25-year old righty Philip Humber was part of the Johan Santana trade and he will get an opportunity to pitch for the Twins at some point in 2008. He pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Mets last season and he was 0-0 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He also started in 25 games in AAA last season and he was 11-9 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

22-year old righty Andy Swarzak is the top pitching prospect that the Twins have. He pitched in 18 games (17 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 5-4 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

29-year old righty swinging Mike Cuddyer is just a solid all-around baseball player. He played in 144 games for the Twins last season and he was 151 for 547 (.276 avg, .789 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 16 homers and 81 RBIs. Cuddyer also is a solid defender as he made 4 errors in 140 games in RF for the Twins last season while showing average range. His arm is what separates him from a lot of RFs in the major leagues as he had an amazing 19 assists last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

Craig Monroe, Carlos Gomez, Jason Pridie and Denard Span will battle for the starting CF job in spring training. 31-year old righty swinging Craig Monroe might have a slight edge right now. He played in 122 games for the Cubs & Tigers last season and he was 86 for 392 (.219 avg, .638 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 12 homers and 59 RBIs. It will be interesting to see how Monroe handles CF defensively. He played in 102 games in LF for the Cubs & Tigers last season and he made 3 errors while showing average range there.

22-year old righty swinging Carlos Gomez was one of the prize prospects that the Twins received from the Mets for Johan Santana over the winter. Gomez played in 58 games for the Mets last season and he was 29 for 125 (.232 avg, .592 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Gomez played in 27 games in LF for the Mets last season he made 1 error there while showing outstanding range. He also played in 41 games in A+AAA ball last season and he was 42 for 153 (.275 avg) with 25 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. The Twins should just give Gomez the job if he shows anything in spring training.

24-year old lefty swinging Jason Pridie played in 134 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 159 for 524 (.303 avg) with 89 runs scored, 14 homers, 66 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. He might get a legit shot in spring training to win the starting job in CF for the 2008 season.

24-year old lefty swinging Denard Span played in 139 games in AAA ball last season and he was 130 for 487 (.267 avg, .678 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 55 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He is a long shot to make the Twins out of spring training.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D

22-year old righty swinging Delmon Young was brought in over the off-season to boost the Twins’ offense. He played in 162 games last season for the Devil Rays and he was 186 for 645 (.288 avg, .724 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 13 homers, 93 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Young played in 133 games in RF for the Devil Rays last season and he made 4 errors while showing outstanding range. He also had 16 assists which shows what kind of arm he has. Look for Young to improve on his 2007 numbers with the Twins this season.

Craig Monroe made 3 errors in 102 games in LF for the Tigers last season while showing average range and he would likely get some P.T. in left field if he can’t win the starting job in CF.

27-year old lefty swinging Garret Jones could also work his way into a reserve role for the Twins. He played in 31 games for the Twins last season and he was 16 for 77 (.208 avg, .600 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Jones played in 107 games in AAA last season and he was 112 for 400 (.280 avg, .807 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 13 homers and 70 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+