There is no question the Twins are going to be in a much better position heading into spring training in 2016 than they were coming into this season, after firing manager Ron Gardenhire and coming off four consecutive 90-loss seasons.
There was a lot of uncertainty for the Twins, including how new manager Paul Molitor would perform in his first year. By the end of the season, only Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki still would be regularly contributing from their Opening Day lineup, and a bunch of prospects changed the course of the season and the Twins' future.
The biggest plus for next season is the Twins will get a full season from rookie sensation Miguel Sano, who coming into spring training this year still was a question mark after missing all of 2014 because of Tommy John elbow surgery.
Sano went to Class AA Chattanooga to start the year and hit .274 with 15 home runs, 18 doubles, 48 RBI and 55 runs scored. After he was called up to the Twins on July 2, Sano hit .269 with a .530 slugging percentage, 18 home runs, 17 doubles, 46 runs scored and 52 RBI. Sano is by far the best power prospect the Twins have had since Justin Morneau, and next year Sano will be with the team from Game 1.
Then you have left fielder Eddie Rosario, who hadn't taken a major league at-bat until May 6 but then proceeded to have a great rookie season by hitting .267 with a .459 slugging percentage and leading all of baseball in triples with 15. Rosario, like Sano, struck out a lot, but he also displayed a tremendous arm and led the team with 16 outfield assists.
Center fielder Aaron Hicks hit only .247 in his first 28 games and was sent down to Class AAA Rochester, but after being called up, Hicks finally showed the promise that made him a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in 2008. He hit .256 for the season with a career-high .398 slugging percentage.
The Twins also seem to finally have solved their shortstop dilemma with Eduardo Escobar. His .445 slugging percentage was the highest of any American League shortstop with at least 400 at-bats. Over the past two years, Escobar has combined to hit .268 with 18 home runs, 66 doubles, 100 runs scored and 95 RBI. He will be the Twins' starting shortstop next season.
Then there is the case of Hunter, who outperformed expectations offensively by finishing second on the team in RBI (81), tied for second in home runs (22) and fourth in hits (125) and runs scored (67). Hunter hit only .240, and there's no question he needed a break in the middle of the season when even he admitted he badly slumped.