Camden wrote:1. Buxton - CF
2. Santana - SS
3. Vargas - DH
4. Sano - 3B
5. Mauer - 1B
6. Dozier - 2B
7. Suzuki - C (if he's around)
8. Plouffe - LF
9. Arcia - RF
Good luck to the rest of the league.
Not a bad prediction for opening day 2016 (I don't see Buxton and Sano starting in 2015 having lost this season), and that's a lineup with enormous potential. Mauer will only be 33, and still will be a threat to hit .300, and might even be flashing a little more power if he continues to swing at the first pitch occasionally. Suzuki will only be 32 and doesn't show any signs of aging...I'm stunned when I see how fast he still is on the base paths. And I think Arcia is going to figure things out and fill in with Vargas and Sano in the middle of the lineup.
I like Plouffe, but I don't know if he will ever hit enough to justify a corner outfield position, and of course we don't know if he is an outfielder defensively. Jordan Schafer is an option, but only against RHP...his speed is sensational, and he might look good in the lineup in the 9 hole with Buxton and Santana following him. There wouldn't be a faster trio in all of baseball. But I think it's more likely the Pohlads go out and buy a left fielder who can win them a championship. Bob and Jim are not as cheap as their old man, and really want another World Series, so I think they will go all in if they can sniff it. One more veteran would provide a great mix of vets and youngsters.
Who knows what the pitching will look like, but Hughes, Gibson, Meyer, Milone and Berrios are my best guess. Something is wrong with Nolasco, and frankly, he has never been great. And Trevor May might turn out to be a AAAA pitcher. But if Berrios isn't ready yet, one of those could be the 5th starter, or the Pohlads could go out and get another starter. And I think by then Nick Burdi's 102 MPH fastballs will be closing games instead of Perkins.
If all prospects continue to progress, this club should contend into the 2020's, as Kohl Stewart, Jose Berrios, Stephan Gonsalves, Lewis Thorpe and Kyle Gibson could be the starters for a long time.