Behind Enemy Lines: Kicking off the 2015 season with Twinkie Town

The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins kicked off the 2015 season yesterday at Comerica Park, but they will see plenty more of each other throughout the year. The Tigers are hoping that they can do better than last year's 9-10 record against the Twins, who finished in last place in the AL Central. Meanwhile, the Twins are currently sitting on one of the top farm systems in baseball, and seem poised to break into true contenders within the next few years.

In order to get better acquainted with the 2015 Twins, we spoke with Jesse Lund of Twinkie Town, SB Nation's excellent Minnesota Twins community. Jesse was kind enough to break away from his research on Stanozolol and answer some questions for us about the upcoming season.

1. The Twins had a relatively quiet offseason, and their biggest move didn't even have an impact on the 40-man roster. The Twins hired Hall of Famer Paul Molitor -- baseball's latest young manager with little experience -- to replace Ron Gardenhire, who was fired at the end of last season. Do you think the managerial change will have a positive or negative effect on the Twins in 2015? Where on the scouting vs. sabermetrics spectrum does Molitor fit?

Molitor is a year older than Gardenhire, but it's surprising to me, too. Gardy was always such an old-school guy and he looks like Santa Claus, whereas Molitor's playing days really don't seem that distant.

Regarding the change, I just think that something had to give. The Twins are a notoriously slow-moving and loyal organization, and while things are generally moving in the right direction you can't lose 92+ games four years on the trot and not have repercussions. I feel like more of the blame should have been laid at the feet of General Manager Terry Ryan than Gardenhire, but it is what it is and it was probably time for Gardy to go anyway. He'll get another job somewhere, probably in 2016.

Molitor does lean more towards the sabermetrics side of things than did Gardy, so he's naturally a bit more open to certain ideas - defensive shifts, platoons, that kind of thing. But he's also big on scouting and detail. There are stories of how he sits in the dugout and calls the opposing pitcher's pitch sequence, and his work with players on reading pitchers while they're on the bases or, one defense, understanding the tendencies of the opposing batters, speaks to his belief in attention to detail.

One of the biggest things that Molitor can control this year is simply attitude in the clubhouse. It's not that Gardy ran a loose ship or didn't know what he was doing, but change for change's sake - especially for a franchise that makes changes as rarely as Minnesota does - has been an effective way of changing the attitude in a locker room that was just tired of losing.

I'm interested to see how his philosophies play out on the field and to see how he does things differently than Gardenhire, but before any of that happens it's just been good to have change.

2. The Twins boast one of the deepest and most talented farm systems in the major leagues, yet have received a fraction of the media attention that the Chicago Cubs have. Is this just because of their respective media markets? How excited are Twins fans about Byron Buxton and company? Which prospect will have the biggest impact at the major league level in 2015?

Injuries that kept Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano more or less out of commission in 2014 may have something to do with it. But the Cubs do have a pretty damned impressive line of position player prospects coming up. If I were a Cubs fan I wouldn't be too happy about Kris Bryant starting the year in Triple-A, either.

Twins fans are excited for the half dozen or so prospects to debut this season, but they're also tired of waiting. Buxton and Sano could have debuted last year, and we've been hearing about Sano since he signed in 2009. Bad drafts in the mid to late 2000s had left the organization with a dearth of talent to supplant the aging core of the successful Twins teams of that decade, and so as the Major League team bottomed out these last four years there has been - outside of Brian Dozier - very little talent to infuse into a struggling club. Watching your team lose 90+ games while hearing "the future is bright" can only hold fans over for so long, and so there's definitely a desire to end the waiting game.

The six guys who could debut this season are Eddie Rosario, Alex Meyer, Jose Berrios, Nick Burdi, and then Buxton and Sano. My bet for the player to have the biggest impact would be Rosario. He's the closest to being Major League ready and could be available relatively early if center field is the black hole it probably will be. An outfielder by trade the Twins did attempt to convert him to a second baseman, but Dozier's unexpected development means Rosario was shifted back to his natural position. He has the speed and glove to play center field and his bat plays better there, but because of Buxton his long term outlook sees him as a corner outfielder. In years past he's been dubbed as the most natural hitter in the system; he's athletic and is above average at least with every tool. A 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse (see: pot) messed with him last year, but his performance in the Arizona Fall League and throughout spring training seems to have restored the organization's faith in him.

3. Joe Mauer didn't play one inning at catcher in 2014, yet had the worst offensive season of his career. Is there any concern of him wearing down after all those years behind the plate, or was there another reason for his struggles last season? Should we expect him to bounce back in 2015?

Mauer had lingering issues related to his concussion, but I think there are obviously concerns about aging as well. As great of a talent as he has been, nobody stays young forever. The question is whether his performance last year was more the result of post-concussion issues or declining abilities. I'm obviously biased, but considering he's just one year removed from .324/.404/.476 campaign I'm willing to give him the benefit of a doubt.

The Twins did score the seventh-most runs in baseball last season; the third-most after the All-Star break. Having Mauer rebound would go a long way towards another 700+ run offense. They need him. He'll be better this year, but I'm as curious as you are to see just how good he can still be.

4. Phil Hughes was a revelation last season, allowing a 3.52 ERA and 2.65 FIP in 209 2/3 innings. His 11.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the highest in major league history. We can't expect that statistical oddity to continue, but will he be an All-Star caliber pitcher again?

He should be able to maintain his status as a solid pitcher in perhaps the second tier. His underlying metrics gave reason to believe that 2014's season wasn't all smoke and mirrors, and as I've stated elsewhere the re-introduction of his cut fastball had a hand in his success. Will he continue to be a dark horse candidate for Cy Young? No. But he should continue to be a very good pitcher, and for the record I'm a big fan of his extension.

5. Danny Santana was a thorn in the Tigers' side from the minute he was called up to the majors in 2014. He never showed up on any top prospect lists, but hit .319/.353/.472 in 430 plate appearances. Was all of this due to a .405 BABIP, or is Santana better than the scouts thought?

It's all BABIP if you ask me. Santana has a good glove and a good arm, but while hit hit tool is perhaps average he's far too aggressive in his approach at the plate. As the book on him expands I think you'll see pitchers attack him differently, and I'm not sure how Santana will adapt. He acts like he's allergic to taking a walk and he's either have to be Ichiro in his prime or the luckiest guy in the league (2014 wasn't far off in that regard) to continue to be as successful at the plate.

Coming up through the minors we'd always pegged Santana as a utility player who would at times hit for a decent batting average. It was a lot of fun watching him last year, but it's going to take another year or two of solid success before I change my long-term outlook for him.

6. Are Twins fans afraid of Justin Verlander anymore?

Who?

Kidding. Interesting question, though. Even when the Twins were good and Verlander was at his best I'm not sure they were ever afraid of him. As a fan it was just considered a better game. "We have Verlander on Thursday - definitely have to watch that one." Because you just knew that the Twins would need to bring their A-Game. So maybe "afraid" isn't the right word...but there has always been a great deal of respect.

Even now, if Verlander isn't as good as he used to be, teams would be wise to pay him respect. It may not exactly be apples-to-apples, but you could almost think of him in the same way as people might think about Joe Mauer. He may not be Joe Mauer anymore, and he may not be Justin Verlander anymore, but it's not like they aren't good players. There's still more than enough left in both of their tanks to embarass anyone who might decide to take them for granted.

7. The Twins haven't gotten much love this offseason, and just about everyone expects them to finish in last place. However, we've heard the same story before only to see them rattle off 90 wins and win the Central. Where will the Twins finish in 2015? If the Twins and Cubs play in the World Series in the next five years, do you promise to keep their 100-plus year drought alive?

I'm not sure there's enough talent on the team now to make an improvement over last year's club. I think I'd pegged Minnesota for 77 wins prior to the Ervin Santana suspension -- a proverbial kick in the balls -- and now they're probably closer to a 74 or 75-win team. And people will probably peg me as optimistic for that.

In the AL Central the Twins will be hard-pressed to not finish in last place. The Tigers are the class of the division until they're dethroned by another contender, and I've put Detroit down for 89 wins. Cleveland will be very good, too, and I've predicted 88 wins for them. I really don't like what Kansas City did over the winter and could finish around .500, and for Chicago it all depends on if three or four guys not named Jose Abreu decide to contribute some offense. I have friends who have taken me to task for being so down on the White Sox, but I just don't buy their offense.

So, yes. Twins in fifth place for 2015, although it will be a far more entertaining season once the front office gives up the damned ghost and starts giving playing time to those prospects I mentioned earlier. The sooner the better, because Mike Pelfrey, Jordan Schafer, most of the bench and most of that bullpen aren't anything but seat warmers. It's time for the front office to turn the damned page.

As for the Cubs - Minnesota actually has more than a handful of pretty good pitching prospects, so I like our chances!

★★★

Once again, a big thank you to Jesse and the rest of the Twinkie Town staff for answering our questions. Be sure to check out Twinkie Town for all of the latest Twins news and analysis all season long!