Joe Mauer

NOTE: THIS SLIDESHOW DOES NOT PREDICT TRADES AND FREE AGENT SIGNEES.

The Minnesota Twins have lots of good prospects, and although they are not doing too well now, they will be able to filter these young stars into the majors in the future. The Twins have turned from a "homegrown" team (where players who were in your farm system are now on the team) to a team with more free agents.

The home plate collision is one of the most jarring moments in all of sports, as you see the type of hits you expect on the gridiron in the tamer arena of the baseball diamond.

No collision is more memorable than when Pete Rose collided with Ray Fosse in the last play of the 1970 All-Star game, but there have been some big ones over the years.

So here are the 20 players playing today that I would least like to find myself in a collision with at home plate.

It's the $184 million question.

Well, for the Twins, it's more like the $184 million gamble.

So far for Minnesota Twins fans, the 2011 season seems to be a cross between April Fools Day and Groundhog's Day—I'm referring to the Bill Murray movie where he relives the same day over and over.

After Joe Mauer's injury occurred this past week, many fantasy owners were left scrambling to fill their roster with a replacement while they wait for their superstar to heal. It is always hard to replace the production of superstar caliber player like Mauer, but with the right replacement the damage can be limited. Here are the adds you should make if you now have a hole at the catcher position:

This is NOT a list of the two greatest hitters for each team. This is a list of the greatest individual seasons for two hitters on each team. 

Steroids are ignored. Barry Bonds is on this list. So is Alex Rodriguez (twice, actually, and not with the Yankees). Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, and other known or assumed users are here. 

Listed by division, not ranked by greatness. 

Over the past nine years, the Minnesota Twins have dominated the American League Central. They have won six division titles in that span (seven if you count their tie for first in 2008), since Ron Gardenhire was named manager. Although they have not necessarily had the most talent, they play hard—and they scrap for every win possible.

The Minnesota Twins are doing a poor job of protecting the investment they made in catcher Joe Mauer. 

The eight-year, $184 million extension Mauer signed with the Twins last season places him fourth among the highest-paid position players in Major League Baseball.  

    While the New York Yankees surprised no one by taking a three-game series from the Minnesota Twins in their trip to the Empire State, there are certain observations that should instill both optimism and pessimism for the Twins as the season trudges through its first weeks.

For the Minnesota Twins, 2011 is a brand new season. So far it's looking too much like how 2010 finished. 

The Twins finished off the regular season by losing three of four games against the Toronto Blue Jays. In that series, the Blue Jays hit 10 home runs and outscored the Twins 25 to 11.

Fast forward to Opening Day 2011—same two teams, different venue, same result.