TwinsCentric: 10 shocking on-pace numbers

The Minnesota Twins are heading into the All-Star break hot, with three straight victories against the Tigers putting them on pace to finish at 89 wins.

Here are 10 noteworthy on-pace projections for members of the team with a little over half the season in the books:

1. Glen Perkins is on pace for 51 saves. Joe Nathan set the franchise record when he notched 47 back in 2009.

2. Brian Dozier is on pace for 35 home runs, 87 extra-base hits and 122 runs scored. All incredible numbers. Only three Twins have ever scored 120 or more runs in a season: Chuck Knoblauch (1996), Rod Carew ('77) and Zoilo Versalles ('65). Tony Oliva currently holds the franchise record for extra-base hits with 84, set in 1964. It's worth noting that Dozier had 18 homers at the break last year and finished with 23.

3. Phil Hughes is on pace to allow 245 hits and 40 home runs. Only Bert Blyleven and Brad Radke have given up 40 homers as Twins. That's not necessarily the worst sign, because both those guys were pretty good. And despite leading the league in both hits and homers allowed, Hughes has still been fairly effective (especially lately). That is, in no small part, because…

4. Phil Hughes is on pace to allow 20 walks. That would equate to 36 total over the span of two seasons. To say he is in control would be a putting it lightly.

5. Kyle Gibson is on pace to throw 207 innings. At 27, he would be the youngest Twins pitcher to eclipse 200 innings since Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn both did so in 2009.

7. Joe Mauer is on pace to make 658 plate appearances. It would set a career high, so the shift to first base is at least having its desired effect in terms of keeping him on the field. He's also on pace for 106 strikeouts, which would be the first triple-digit K season in his 12-year career.

8. Torii Hunter is on pace for 25 home runs. He hasn't hit 20 since 2011, and hasn't hit 25 since his last year with the Twins in 2007. It's been a heck of a first half for Hunter, who turns 40 next week.

9. Blaine Boyer is on pace to make 76 relief appearances. It'd be the most for a Twins pitcher since Matt Guerrier was called upon 79 times back in 2009. Boyer has been one of the most oft-used bullpen arms in the league, tying for the AL lead with 42. Prior to this season, he had appeared in 37 major-league games over the past four years.

10. The Twins are on pace to get caught stealing 55 times. They haven't been pinched that many times since 2002. Interesting, in that Paul Molitor is viewed as a base-running guru.

~~~