The Twins had a rough season last year, but there are reasons for optimism for the 2012 season. They brought up young talent from their farm system; they also signed talented players to fill in missing spots in their roster.

Despite having a rough year health wise, there were some high points of the season. Danny Valencia showed his ability to play third base on a regular basis. He played in 154 games, hitting 15 homeruns. At the end of last year, we saw some young minor league players take the field for the Twins and perform at a high level. One of them was Chris Parmelee, a first basemen and outfielder. He was able to hit .355 with 4 home runs in only 72 at-bats: pretty impressive stats for a rookie. If the young players on the Twins have solid seasons, Minnesota baseball could have a promising future.

Minnesota also signed many veteran players for this season. Josh Willingham signed with the Twins in December, adding more depth to the out-field. With 8 years of experience, he has started this year batting around .400 and is among the league leaders in home runs so far. Other veteran players also signed this offseason include: catcher Ryan Doumit, short stop Jamie Carroll, and pitchers Jared Burton, Matt Maloney, and Jeff Gray. These players are not all-stars, but they all add something new to the roster. Josh Willingham is the starting left fielder, and Carroll fills the hole at short stop. Ryan Doumit can catch, be a designated hitter, and play in the out-field. All of the new pitchers were added to help improve the weak bullpen from 2011. These additions to the team give the Twins a better chance of bouncing back from last year.