Predicting Playing Time for 2006
One of the toughest things about trying to predict a team's performance before the season starts is figuring out how many games each player is going to play. Obviously, there will be injuries, and while we don't know exactly who is going to get injured, we do know which players are injury risks. In addition to injuries, we have to try to get in the mind of one Ron Gardenhire to figure out which players he'll pencil in the lineup and which players he'll keep on the bench.
With all of that in mind, I'm too curious to wait until the season starts to get an idea of how good the offense will be this season. So, with that ultimate goal in mind, here are my current best guesses at playing time for this season. If you see anything you think could be improved, or that I've overlooked, let me know, as I plan on following this up with a post on how the offense will look given these playing time estimates.
Estimates by position:
Last First Pos Games
Mauer Joe C 135
Redmond Mike C 27
Morneau Justin 1B 125
Cuddyer Mike 1B 22
Jones Garrett 1B 15
Castillo Luis 2B 140
Punto Nick 2B 22
Bartlett Jason SS 130
Castro Juan SS 27
Punto Nick SS 5
Batista Tony 3B 120
Punto Nick 3B 15
Castro Juan 3B 15
Cuddyer Mike 3B 12
Stewart Shannon LF 120
Ford Lew LF 42
Hunter Torii CF 130
Ford Lew CF 32
Cuddyer Mike RF 90
Ford Lew RF 42
Kubel Jason RF 30
White Rondell DH 125
Sierra Ruben DH 15
Ford Lew DH 22
Estimates by player:
Last First Games
Castillo Luis 140
Ford Lew 138
Mauer Joe 135
Bartlett Jason 130
Hunter Torii 130
Morneau Justin 125
White Rondell 125
Cuddyer Mike 124
Batista Tony 120
Stewart Shannon 120
Punto Nick 42
Castro Juan 42
Kubel Jason 30
Redmond Mike 27
Jones Garrett 15
Sierra Ruben 15
