The Twins surprised many observers last year who picked them to finish near the bottom of the league in wins. Instead, the plucky Twins won 83 games, causing skipper Paul Molitor to finish third in "Manager of the Year" voting. This year, Minnesota will have some of the most exciting young players in the game on their roster. Whether or not they contend again depends in part on how quickly those players develop.
The young Twins lineup is now led by 22-year old slugger Miguel Sano. Sano came up in July last year, and in the second-half, he was ninth in the American League in home runs with 16.