Twins off to Hot Start

Coming into this season, many experts believed the Minnesota Twins would be bottom feeders in the league and finish last in the AL Central division.

Things looked even more bleak when the Twins biggest off-season acquisition, starting pitcher Ervin Santana, was suspended for 80 games for P.E.D. use. After a 1-6 start to the year, in which they were outscored 16-44, it appeared that the Twins may not even live up to their already low expectations.

Since April 13th, however, the Twins have completely turned themselves around and are having an incredible first half. The Twins are currently 2nd in the AL Central, which is arguably the best division in baseball, and are 29-19 two months through the season.

The Twins haven't had stars carry them to this point either. Joe Mauer hasn't been playing up to his standard, only hitting .275 with one home run. Brian Dozier has also been inconsistent, hitting just .247 in the first two months, but has been hot in the month of May with seven home runs in the last 30 days. Instead its been guys that weren't expected to lead the way for Minnesota this season.

The 39-year-old Torii Hunter was brought back to Minnesota to finish his career in Minnesota and is one of the best feel good stories of the season. Hunter hasn't showed his age this season, however. Hunter is hitting .280, with seven home runs and 30 RBI's. Rookie, Eddie Rosario, has been great since being called up. In his first 17 games in the majors, Rosario is hitting .302, and crushed a home run on the first pitch he saw in the MLB.

The Twins are not yet getting the credit they deserve this season. In the first reveled All-Star voting polls, the Twins didn't have one player in the top five in any position. If the Twins keep up their winning ways, they won't be flying under the radar for much longer.