Joe Mauer

Unlike football or basketball, baseball’s annual player draft is not designed to change the team that year.

They hold the draft in the middle of the season (June) instead of during the off-season because the teams do not expect any player they draft to have an immediate impact. In fact teams usually have to wait years before they see what type of players their draft picks turn out to be.

As baseball fans and sabermetric gurus, we all believe that we can predict how a player will perform year in and year out. We spend hours of our precious time watching video and looking up stats. We know who is real and who isn't.

The AL Central needed 103 games before it was determined the past two years.  In 2008, the White Sox won the one game playoff with a stellar outing from John Danks. Last year, the Twins beat the Tigers to win the AL Central and pull off an amazing run to win the AL Central.

I'm not sure if we will a see a three-peat of one-game playoffs but I am sure that we will see another amazing race that will come down to the wire in 2010. The AL Central is a very exciting division and it shouldn't disappoint this year. 

Projected Rankings

Now that Johnny Damon is a Tiger, every major free agent in the majors has been inked to a deal.

There was much activity this offseason: Roy Halladay became a Philly, Cliff Lee a Mariner, Jason Bay a Met, and Matt Holliday was given a deal that will haunt the Cardinals for years to come. 

All eyes are now on spring training and the 2010 MLB season, which promises to be a wild ride.

But let's take a look into the crystal ball for a moment, let's take a look at next year's offseason.

This offseason the Minnesota Twins were not only beleaguered with the task of making several key roster moves in hopes of finding the right fit for the 2010 season, but with another critical move for their franchise as well—to outdoor baseball. In Minnesota, and even around the MLB community, the  exhilaration and restlessness for opening day is like never before. 

But have the Twins stepped up to the task and made the right key moves to ensure that their opening season won't be washed into the Mississippi Rivers? 

Mortified:

The 2009 season saw many players break out of mediocrity in America's Pastime, but only a select few of them can be expected to continue their newfound success into 2010.

You can ask Ryan Ludwick or Geovany Soto: at any rate, players that put together a career year without any moderate success before hand can be expected to see a drop in their statistics.

In this article I have identified the top breakout players of 2009 and analyzed whether or not they can be expected to follow it up with a big season this year.

Mark Reynolds

The Minnesota Twins have spent the offseason making some roster moves that have fans anxiously awaiting the 2010 baseball season. 

As if a new stadium weren't enough to peak the interest of the Twins-faithful, the Minnesota franchise has brought in talent in all areas of the field. 

The first acquisition was JJ Hardy, an everyday infielder that gives the Twins some options at shortstop. Gone is Carlos Gomez in the deal to acquire Hardy after the center fielder struggled to make a name for himself after coming to Minnesota from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade. 

Did the Twins just execute a "perfect" offseason? 

JJ Hardy. Carl Pavano. Clay Condrey. Jim Thome. Orlando Hudson. (Joe Mauer?) Talk about a study in a wise allocation of resources. 

After the 2009 regular season, the Twins had several clear and crucial needs, most notably their nearly empty infield. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were the only two guaranteed starters, while Nick Punto’s versatility would allow him to start at any one of the 2B/SS/3B holes in the Minnesota infield.

If you want to know why Minnesotans, myself included, get a little defensive when people talk about Joe Mauer leaving for, well, anywhere else, it comes from something beyond the "favorite son" notion. Mauer's been a story in Minnesota for much longer than the six years he's been with the Twins.