The Minnesota Twins finished the first half in 4th place in the A.L. Central with a 41-48 record, which has them 6.5 games behind the Tigers. They are also 13 games behind the Yankees for the Wild Card in the A.L. The Twins ended the first half with a surge to get back into the division race. They have been decimated by injury this season, so maybe the health of the team will improve in the second half of the year. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact in the first half of the 2011 season:

Team MVP: 29-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Baker has given the Twins a chance to win every time he takes the hill. Baker started 17 games in the first half of 2011 and he was 7-5 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has only given up 100 hits in his first 110 2/3 innings with 104 whiffs, which shows how effective he has been. He also has been pounding the strike zone as he has only walked 30 batters this year. Baker missed his last start due to elbow soreness so the Twins better be careful with him.

Biggest Surprise: 28-year old lefty reliever Glen Perkins has seemed to have added 7-8 mph to his fastball this season, which is his first year as a full-time reliever. The results have been awesome for the Twins so far this year. Perkins has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 0-1 with 2 saves, a 1.87 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He only has given up 28 hits while whiffing 36 batters in his first 33 2/3 innings as he has been a dominating reliever for the Twins so far this year.

Biggest Disappointment: 26-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka was supposed to add some zip to the middle infield offense for the Twins but it hasn’t worked out so far. He was injured while playing 2B earlier this year when his leg was broken by a takeout slide. After his rehab, the Twins shifted him back to his natural SS spot, but his offense has still been non-existent so far this year. He has played in 29 games for the Twins so far this year and he is 22 for 97 (.227 avg, .567 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Twins need him to start picking up the pace with the bat in the second half of the 2011 season.

The Twins got a narrow win yesterday to preserve a lost weekend. The Blue Jays outscored the Twins 22-8 this weekend as they were running up to the plate. The Blue Jays nailed 7 homers in the three games against the Twins. The Twins are a very bad matchup for a team like the Blue Jays who have a lot of hackers with power in the lineup. The Twins throw more strikes than probably every team in the league and the Jays had the green light which was a recipe for disaster. The Twins also didn’t hit much as they hit a combined .198 with a .530 OPS and that’s nowhere near good enough to get the job done.

The Minnesota Twins are likely glad that the All-Star Break is here. The Twins are now 46-42 on the season which has them in 3rd place in the A.L. Central, 3.5 games behind the White Sox. Still the Twins have had a lot of surprises but only a couple of disappointments in the first half and here’s a closer look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 24-year old outfielder Delmon Young was a huge disappointment in his first two years with the Twins. That has not been the case this year though. Young has played in 81 games for the Twins this year and he is 85 of 279 (.305 avg, .842 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 10 homers, 58 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 34-year old righty starter Carl Pavano was re-signed over the winter and he’s pitching the best ball of his career this year for the Twins. Pavano has started 18 games for the Twins this season and he is 10-6 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Francisco Liriano has bounced all the way back for the Twins this season after missing a lot of time the last couple of years due to injury. Liriano has started 17 games for the Twins this year and he is 6-7 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Twins didn’t panic when Joe Nathan got injured this spring as they knew they still had Jon Rauch. Rauch has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Twins this year and he is 2-1 with 20 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. 27-year old Brian Duensing was a starter in the playoffs last season for the Twins but he was moved to the pen for 2010 and he has been awesome in that role. Duensing pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Twins this year and he is 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only allowed 26 hits in 39 innings so far this year for the Twins.

Disappointments: 28-year old righty starting pitcher Nick Blackburn has without a doubt been the biggest disappointment for the Twins this year. He has started 17 games for the Twins this season and he is 7-7 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Blackburn has been pitching B.P. all season long as he has allowed 134 hits (19 homers) in only 97 innings this year. 29-year old infielder Brendan Harris has been so awful in 2010 for the Twins that he’s in AAA now. Harris has played in 43 games for the Twins this year and he is 17 of 108 (.157 avg, .446 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. It’s up to Harris to excel in AAA if he wants another chance with the Twins. Lastly, 27-year old lefty swinging catcher Joe Mauer has lost his power stroke. He has played in 77 games for the Twins this season and he is 85 of 290 (.293 avg, .792 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 4 homers and 35 RBIs.

The Twins are sitting atop the A.L. Central with a 9-4 record which has them 1.5 games ahead of the Tigers. The Twins have outscored the opposition 69-47 this season as they are hitting the ball well and pitching great as a team. That should not change at all this week with the Indians coming to Minnesota for three games and then they travel to K.C. this coming weekend for three games against the Royals. It should be another good week for the Twins.

The Twins got out of the first week of the year with a 5-2 record outscoring their opponents 32-21. The Twins are getting good hitting and solid pitching which is a pretty good recipe for success. They open Target Field this week with a 3-game series against the Red Sox starting today and then the Royals come in for a 3 gamer this coming up weekend. Despite getting off to such a good start, the Twins are still 1/2 a game behind the Tigers in the A.L. Central.