The Minnesota Twins like to have their pitchers throw a lot of strikes. The problem with that last year was that batters were digging in and swinging hard early in counts, and the Twins’ pitchers got hit pretty hard for the most part. The Twins are hoping for improvement out of the starting rotation in 2012. Here is a look at the starting rotation as of today:

#1: Carl Pavano: 36-year old righty Carl Pavano is mis-cast as the ace of the staff. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Twins last year and he was 9-13 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Pavano has now pitched in 77 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Twins and he is 31-28 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 291 games (273 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 106-102 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Pavano is an innings eater, but he’s not an ace.

#2: Scott Baker: 30-year old righty Scott Baker is the Twins’ best starting pitcher, when healthy. Baker pitched in 23 games (21 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has now pitched in 163 games (159 starts) in his first seven years with the Twins and he is 63-48 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Twins need Baker to stay healthy the whole way in 2012 if they are going to try to get out of the cellar.

#3: Francisco Liriano: 28-year old lefty Francisco Liriano is maddenly inconsistent. He can throw a no-hitter one night and five days later give up 7 runs in the first inning. He pitched in 26 games (24 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 9-10 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Liriano has now pitched in 134 games (113 starts) in his first six years with the Twins and he is 47-42 with 1 save, a 4.19 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Twins hope that Liriano brings his A-game a lot more in 2012.

#4: Jason Marquis: 33-year old righty Jason Marquis will likely be the #4 starter for the Twins. He’s a lot style wise like Carl Pavano as he is an innings eater when healthy. Marquis pitched in 23 games (all starts) for the Nationals & D-Backs last year and he was 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has now pitched in 326 games (267 starts) in his first 12 years in the show and he is 104-98 with 1 save, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.

#5: Nick Blackburn: 29-year old righty Nick Blackburn is going to have to beat out lefty Brian Duensing and righty Andy Swarzak if he wants to win the #5 job in the starting rotation. Blackburn pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Twins last year and he was 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has now pitched in 126 games (118 starts) inn his first five years with the Twins and he is 39-46 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Blackburn is a control freak that doesn’t miss a lot of bats. He has given up 860 hits (94 homers) in his first 720 innings of his major league career, and that’s not good.

Brian Duensing: 28-year old lefty Brian Duensing will battle Blackburn and Swarzak for the #5 job in the starting rotation this spring. The Twins might want to use him in the pen in 2012 as he has been a decent reliever so far in his career. Duensing pitched in 32 games (28 starts) last year for the Twins and he was 9-14 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has now pitched in 109 games (50 starts) in his first three years with the Twins and he is 24-19 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.

Andy Swarzak: 26-year old righty Andy Swarzak is another Twins’ pitcher who pounds the strike zone. He pitched in 27 games (11 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 4-7 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Swarzak has now pitched in 39 games (23 starts) in his first two years with the Twins and he is 7-14 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Swarzak will likely pitch out of the bullpen if he doesn’t win a job as a starter this spring.

Matt Maloney: 28-year old lefty Matt Maloney is a live longshot to make the Twins’ starting rotation. He pitched in 8 games (2 starts) for the Reds last year and he was 0-3 with a 9.16 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP. Maloney also pitched in 15 games (14 starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball last year for the Reds and he was 7-1 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 22 games (11 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-9 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Maloney never really got a fair shot with the Reds.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2012: C-

The Twins have signed 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Luke French to a minor league deal. French pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 9-9 with a 6.27 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. French last pitched in the majors in 2010 with the Mariners. He has now pitched in 31 games (25 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 9-12 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. French will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Twins.

The Twins have signed 29-year old righty reliever Brad Thompson to a minor league deal. He didn’t pitch last season, by choice. He last pitched in the majors in 2010 with the Royals. Thompson has now pitched in 201 games (32 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 21-21 with 1 save, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Thompson will get a shot to win a job in the Twins’ pen this spring.

The Twins wanted to spread their free agent dollars around and net as many good players as they could get. They seem to achieved their goal. Here is a look at the new guys for 2012 so far:

In the field: The Twins went out and signed three new players for the starting lineup in 2012. DH/C Ryan Doumit, SS Jamey Carroll and LF Josh Willingham. Willingham and Doumit should be able to replace the power lost when Jason Kubel (Diamdondbacks) and Michael Cuddyer (Rockies) decided to leave the Twins over the winter. Jamey Carroll is a hard nosed gamer who should hit for a high average for the Twins in 2012. Catcher J.R. Towles and 3B Sean Burroughs have been brought in on minor league deals and they will compete for bench spots this spring.

On the mound - The Twins inked veteran righty Jason Marquis to join the rotation for 2012 and he’s a decent pitcher. The Twins also claimed lefty starter/reliever Matt Maloney off waivers from the Reds and they signed righty reliever Joel Zumaya. Maloney and Zumaya both have nice upsides if they can stay healthy.

Overall: I think the Twins have made some nice upgrades, but it’s still going to be hard for them to get out of the basement in the A.L. Central.

The Vikings have signed 27-year old righty reliever Joel Zumaya to a minor league deal. Zumaya did not pitch at all last season due to injury. The Twins liked what they saw in his recent workouts, so they are giving him a chance to revive his promising major league career in 2011. Zumaya last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Tigers. Zumaya has now pitched in 171 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 13-12 with 5 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has only given up 169 hits in his first 209 2/3 innings of his major league career while also whiffing 210 batters as he has nasty stuff. Zumaya would be even more dominating if he threw more strikes as he has walked 114 batters so far in his major league career. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Twins.