Five predictions for the 2017 Twins

fIt has been a long winter without baseball. The Vikings had a pretty bad year, with Teddy and then, well, all of the losses. I tried to pick up the Timberwolves as a team to root for, which could be going better. With spring training literally just around the corner, I’m excited.

While we still have hope, here are 5 of my predictions for the 2017 Minnesota Twins:

1. Byron Buxton is the leadoff hitter by May. My first prediction is our extremely talented center fielder figures things out at the plate and cements himself at the top of the lineup by May. He ended his 2016 campaign on a high note, hitting .287/.357/.653 with 9 HR in September.
2. Joe Mauer finally hits .300 again. This is kinda half a prediction and half a sincere hope. I think this might be the year that luck, ability, and health come together for Joe.
3. The Twins are not “eliminated” in July. Last year the Twins were 25-53 on July 1st, effectively meaning their season was, for all intents and purposes (like making the playoffs), over. This year I think we’ll be at least sniffing .500.
4. Brian Dozier will not be traded. This prediction comes as a consequence of the last one. If the Twins are around .500 at the trade deadline, I don’t think they’ll trade Brian. You’ve probably noticed these are optimistic predictions.
5. Jose Berrios has a good bounceback year. This might be considered cheating, because of how bad last year was for Jose. Still, I predict he makes strides this year on the path to staff ace.

My bonus sixth prediction is the Twins win 77 games, which I would be fairly happy with.

What’s your crazy, or not so crazy, prediction for the Twins this year?