Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster
March 28, 2003
Opening Day for the 2003 season is just about here. Personally, I think Opening Day should be declared a national holiday and all workers should have the day off to watch their favorite team. Opening Day is a day for optimism. All fans can hold to the thought that their team will end the season as World Champions (well, not all teams). Let the games begin!!
Minnesota Twins Opening Day 25 man roster
Catchers
Starter- A.J. Pierzynski
Back-ups- Tom Prince and Matthew LeCroy
Pierzynski should have a chance to drive in 70 runs this year if the middle of the order improves from last year. LeCroy could catch enough games to become eligible at catcher, so watch that closely.
Infield
Starters- Doug Mientkiewicz, Luis Rivas, Cristian Guzman, and Corey Koskie
Back-ups- Denny Hocking and Chris Gomez
The Twins infield needs to step it up offensively. All four starters had subpar years in 2002. The Twins need offense from Koskie at third and for Guzman and Rivas to each steal 25-30 bases. Koskie’s back has been acting up lately, so watch for Michael Cuddyer to play some third base early in the season. Mientkiewicz is on the hot seat this year. He becomes arbitration eligible at the end of the year, and with the Twins having Justin Morneau at triple A, Mientkiewicz better produce.
Outfield
Starters- Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer
Back-ups- Bobby Kielty and Dustan Mohr
The Twins need Jones to match his 2002 season. This spring Jones has been the best Twins hitter, so maybe it will happen. Hunter hit only .250 with runners in scoring position last year. He needs to improve that dramatically this year. If he does, Hunter could collect 120 RBI’s. Cuddyer was starting to swing the bat better as Spring Training wore on. If he falters, watch for Bobby Kielty to get more playing time.
Starting Rotation
Brad Radke, Joe Mays, Rick Reed, Kyle Lohse, and Kenny Rogers
The starting rotation was hammered with injuries last year. For the Twins to be successful in 2003, they will need these five guys to stay healthy. Radke has looked sharp this spring, and Rogers pitched great in his first spring start versus the Reds. The key for Reed is to not allow so many home runs. Lohse won 13 games as a rookie, and the Twins are hoping he steps up his game to win 15-17. The depth of the Twins starting rotation could be the deciding factor in holding off the White Sox for the Central Division title.
Bullpen
Eddie Guardado, J.C. Romero, Johan Santana, LaTroy Hawkins, Tony Fiore, and Mike Fetters
The bullpen was the key to the Twins success in 2002. If these 6 pitchers can match or even come close to repeating 2002 success, it will once again be the strength of the team. Having Santana in the bullpen gives the Twins 3 very difficult lefties, and also gives the team a guy who can pitch 3 or 4 innings and keep the team in the game.
Points of Information
1-Manager Ron Gardenhire could not be more impressed with what C Joe Mauer did this spring. When Mauer was eventually send to the minor league camp, Gardenhire mentioned that if Pieryzynksi went down, he would have no problems having Mauer as his catcher.
2-Rick Reed and Brad Radke both were impressed with the way Mauer calls a game.
