Minnesota Twins: Wild spring training predictions and grades

The Minnesota Twins have a destination spring training location for any baseball fan. Sunny Fort Myers, Fla., hosts both the Boston Red Sox and the Twins each March. There are usually games every day, making it a spring trading paradise.

Let’s look at how the three key Twins players look this spring.

Minnesota Twins: Joey Gallo as Comeback Player of the Year

Joey Gallo is now the left fielder in Minnesota after the Twins acquired him as a bargain free agent. Gallo struggled mightily with the New York Yankees, hitting an atrocious .159 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He continued to struggle the second half of the season in Los Angeles, averaging an anemic .162 in 117 at-bats. However, it’s a new season with new rules, and the Twins are thinking ahead.

The shift is gone. No longer can infielders stack themselves to one side against strong pull hitters. Gallo is just that kind of hitter and should see a significant increase in productivity this season. It’s already hitting as a prevalent point this spring and winning over Twins fans.

This spring, Gallo has already jumped his average by almost 100 points to .240 and a homer in 25 at-bats. Gallo did this even with opposing teams pulling their left fielder in a shift loophole.

Gallo is proving the Twins right this spring. If he can stay healthy and focused, minimize his strikeouts, and find some extra pop in Minnesota’s hitter-friendly park, he could be a real contender for MLB’s comeback player of the year. Grading his spring performance, Gallo scores an optimistic B-plus.

Minnesota Twins: A top tier closer in waiting

A sound can be heard radiating in Hammond Stadium. This familiar sound grabs the attention of any old-school baseball scout, a sound I haven’t heard in a spring training game since Roy Oswalt’s first spring appearance for the Houston Astros. There is a pop coming from the Twins bullpen, and it is none other than Jorge Alcala.

After losing Alcala to microscopic debridement surgery after just two innings in 2022, he looks to be 100 percent this spring. Pitching 6.0 innings in six appearances, he has whiffed 11 hitters. He is pitching a 2.72 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP. At 27 years old, completely healthy, and lighting up the radar gun, it would not be surprising to see him moved from setup to a closer role. Spring training performance grade for Jorge Alcala: A.

Minnesota Twins: Carlos Correa could make case for MVP

With Correa, the Twins pulled off a free agency miracle or a franchise-dooming offseason move. After a year in Minnesota, Correa opted out of his contract this offseason and signed with the San Francisco Giants and then the New York Mets before questions about an old injury popped up and negated both of those deals. Finally, the Twins resigned him to a questionable six-year, $200 million contract.

Now he is back and having a mediocre spring. Correa was slated to play in the World Baseball Classic, but opted out to be with his wife for their first child. A lot is going on with Correa at the moment, and he is appropriately distracted as it shows in his spring performance. In just 11 at-bats, he is still hitting his usual .274, but with no runs, RBI, stolen bases, or home runs. I don’t think it indicates what to expect from Correa, but his spring trading grade is a C-minus.

Will the Minnesota Twins contend in the AL Central?

If Correa can put together an MVP campaign, Gallo plays like a comeback player of the year, and Alcala evolves into a dominant closer, the Twins could be right there with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians battling for a postseason spot out of the AL Central.