30-year old righty swinging Michael Cuddyer and 25-year old lefty swinging Denard Span are still in a battle for the starting job. Cuddyer played in 71 games for the Twins last season in which he was 62 for 249 (.249 avg, .699 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 36 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Cuddyer has played in 690 games in his major league career to date and he has a .268 batting average with a .785 OPS so the Twins expect better numbers out of him in 2009. Cuddyer played in 58 games in RF last season for the Twins making only 1 error while showing above average range.

25-year old lefty swinging Denard Span took over for Cuddyer when he was injured last season and he didn’t look back. Span played in 93 games for the Twins last season and he was 102 for 347 (.294 avg, .819 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 6 homers, 47 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Span made 3 errors in RF last season while showing outstanding range for the Twins.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

23-year old righty swinging outfielder Carlos Gomez will patrol center field on most days for the Twins. He played in 153 games for the Twins last season and he was 149 for 577 (.258 avg, .656 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 7 homers, 59 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Gomez made 8 errors in 151 games for the Twins last season in CF while showing outstanding range. Gomez also has a very strong arm throwing out 9 baserunners. Gomez was a little bit raw last season so look for improvement out of him in 2009.

Denard Span will also get some P.T. in CF this season. He played in 19 games in CF last season for the Twins making only 1 error while showing above average range.

25-year old lefty swinging Jason Pridie played in 10 games for the Twins last season and he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg, .200 OPS) with 3 runs scored. He also played in 138 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 151 for 559 (.270 avg, .740 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 13 homers, 61 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

30-year old righty swinging veteran Luis Matos will likely start the season in AAA for the Twins. He played in 112 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 98 for 392 (.250 avg, .675 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 4 homers, 34 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B

It appears that 23-year old righty swinging Delmon Young has retained his starting LF job for 2009. He played in 152 games for the Twins last season and he was 167 for 575 (.290 avg, .741 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 10 homers, 69 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Young made 8 errors in 151 games in LF last season for the Twins while showing above average range. Look for Young to rebound in 2009 and be the player the Twins thought they were getting when they made the big trade last season with the Rays.

25-year old lefty swinging Denard Span will be Young’s backup in LF and he’s a better defender but he doesn’t have Young’s upside as a hitter.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B

The Twins have placed 25-year old lefty swinging catcher Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation of the sacroiliac joint in his back. Mauer played in 146 games for the Twins last season and he was 176 for 536 (.328 avg, .864 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 9 homers and 85 RBIs. Mauer has played in 561 games in his 5-year career with the Twins going 653 for 2,059 (.325 avg, .856 OPS) with 325 runs scored, 44 homers, 301 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Mauer will likely miss around one month of action. Mike Redmond and Jose Morales will replace Mauer in the lineup until he’s ready to return to action.

The Twins have placed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Baker on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder stiffness. Baker pitched in 28 games (all starts) last season for the Twins and he was 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Baker has pitched in 78 games (76 starts) in four seasons with the Twins in which he is 28-24 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. 34-year old righty starting pitcher R.A. Dickey will replace Baker in the starting rotation to open the season. He pitched in 32 games (14 starts) for the Mariners last season in which he was 5-8 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Dickey has now pitched in 109 games (47 starts) in his major league career and he is 21-27 with 2 saves, a 5.57 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Baker should only miss one or two starts at the beginning of the season.