Thread: Who plays CF to start the season?

Span to WAS, Revere to PHI. Who do you got as the regular CF to start the season? Who bats 1 and 2?

I hope they give the CF gig to Hicks and ledt him sink or swim.

At this point, I'm asking myself: who is left wanting outfielders?

Texas isn't going to go more than 4 yrs for Hamilton. The Twins could deal Willingham to TX and take the Rangers out of the picture.

The buyers for Bourn, last rumor I read anyway, were Phili and Seattle. Would the M's take Mastroianni?

That would soak up two buyers, and put the Twins in a position to make lowball offers to Bourn and Hamilton.

Jason Martinez‏@mlbdepthcharts RT @BenGoesslingPP Terry Ryan said Darin Mastroianni, Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks will all get chances to compete for #MNTwins' CF job.

I'm sure you mean Twins could deal Willingham not Hamilton. That would be interesting. I'm sure the Braves, Mariners, Yankees and Rangers as well as a few others could all be involved if the Twins were serious about trading him.

I think its wide open. Sounds like its Benson or HIcks if ready if not Mastronni will man it until one of the two is ready.

Would anyone freak out over a Carroll-Mauer-Willingham-Morneau top of the order?

Originally Posted by crapforks

Would anyone freak out over a Carroll-Mauer-Willingham-Morneau top of the order?

I wouldn't. That's a decent top of the order, though it's definitely lacking speed.

I'd put the odds at:
Hicks: 50%
Mastro: 40%
Benson:10%

It's Hicks job to lose.

I bet on Benson, with Hicks being the higher level prospect, they will want him in AAA for a bit. But, Ryan may be a new man after all.

Darin Mastro's minor league numbers are very nice, and he played well last year for the Twins in limited reps after basically making the jump from AA ball in 2011. The guy might be a better basestealer than Revere. I don't want them to rush Hicks and I'm affraid Benson might be ruined for good. I'd like to see them sign a vetran left-handed batter like Ryan Sweeney who batted .286, .293, .294 in his first three season with Oakland in regular playing time. Above average defensive outfielder who could split time with Mastro in CF until Hicks is completely ready. Nyjer Morgan, Rick Ankiel and Endy Chavez are three other guys that are out there.

Originally Posted by TwinsFanInPhilly

Jason Martinez‏@mlbdepthcharts RT @BenGoesslingPP Terry Ryan said Darin Mastroianni, Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks will all get chances to compete for #MNTwins' CF job.

Ah, yes, the whole compete thing. Hey guys, if you really wanna win, make sure you do the worst...

I'd go with Mastro to start the season... Hicks and Arcia up after the Arb clock thing assuming they keep progressing in the right direction and its a whole new ball game after that.

Originally Posted by mudcat14

I hope they give the CF gig to Hicks and ledt him sink or swim.

I think you give Hicks a couple of months in AAA, get yourself a 7th year of team control, then let him sink or swim.

Originally Posted by snepp

Originally Posted by mudcat14

I hope they give the CF gig to Hicks and ledt him sink or swim.

I think you give Hicks a couple of months in AAA, get yourself a 7th year of team control, then let him sink or swim.

This.

I'd be more concerned about who bats 1-2 in the lineup. Parker had a great write up a few months back about how much better Mauer hits when he has a guy on 1B. If the Twins can't come up with a couple of decent OPS guys for those spots he could see a dip in production. Moving him to the 2 hole doesn't fix the problem unles the 9 hitter can get on base too.

Originally Posted by snepp

Originally Posted by mudcat14

I hope they give the CF gig to Hicks and ledt him sink or swim.

I think you give Hicks a couple of months in AAA, get yourself a 7th year of team control, then let him sink or swim.

I hope we're not going to be that brutal about the situation. We've coddled the guy for half a decade now, I'm not willing to let him sink if he struggles. He hasn't always had the smoothest transitions between levels, I'm fully prepared to see him bounce up and down between AAA and the majors no matter when he gets the call. He should have a long leash too as Arcia isn't a centerfielder. If Benson doesn't rebound, we're then left wating for Roberts, Buxton maybe Kepler and none of them have played above Low A.

2013 likely will be ugly regardless, no need to rush things now that there is finally a clear picture of the future.

They could still go outside the organization for someone. That's what I expect they'll do, at least as insurance against the young guys struggling and against Mastroianni being overmatched as a starter. I don't see them paying big for a high-end player but maybe taking someone from the shallow end of the free agent pool.

Would Andres Torres make sense? He was a decent starting CF (and leadoff hitter) a couple years ago, and he's kind of old but he could be in competition for the starting CF gig and at least fall into a 4th OF role if he didn't win the job. With poor defenders in the corners, I think they're going to want a reliable backup OF; he'll be playing a lot.

If Benson is healthy I'd give it to him, he is at that point where I don't know if AAA does him any good, if he is struggling by the middle of May, then he goes down, but I think he needs a sink or swim moment. Whereas Hicks I think can benefit from AAA much more. I'm still betting Mastro gets it at least for April.

I think it's a two horse race between Benson and Mastroianni. Hicks will have his time, but not this soon.

I'm thrilled at the notion of Hicks playing CF for the Twins. And I'm actually hoping that it is Benson to start the season.

Mainly because if Benson looks good enough to get the job it hopefully means he has the potential to still be a good player, and we can safely trade away both Willingham and Morneau at the deadline and roll with an outfield of a then-decent Benson, along with Hicks and Arcia. I love Mastroianni as the 4th outfielder, and I have doubts he's a full-time player.

Is Arcia a LF or RF? I don't honestly know. And how good is his defense?