Delmon Young

For those of you who don't know, Delmon is my guy. For some reason I am not willing to give up on him. I know he has underachieved with the Twins, and that may be an understatement, but give him a chance. He is still only 24 years old and still has more raw talent than most MLB players. His problem has not been talent, but a work ethic. I don't know this from any inside sources, but you can tell from whispers you hear. His own brother told us 3 years ago that he has all the talent in the world but needs to focus on using it. Dmitri was the same way, according to his own words, but without the talent Delmon has. I think the most showing stats are the way his seasons have progressed. He has started off poorly the last two seasons and has finished great. In 2009 he finished with 9 HR and 33 RBI while hitting over .300 in from August 1st on in just short of 200 at bats. Projecting that over a season at that pace he would hit close to 30 HR and finish with about 100 RBI, which is what we expected him to eventually hit. Unfortunately he finished with 12 HR and 60 RBI hitting .284, only getting a little over 400 at bats because of his inconsistency to start the year.

In 2008 he finished with a .290 average and 10 HR to go with 69 RBI....in 575 at bats. Not good. Especially considering he had 8 HR and 41 of his RBI while hitting .300 in July, Aug and September.

I think he finishes so strong because he is able to get in the swing of things as the season goes on. During the off season he is doing something wrong. Maybe he hasn't worked hard enough, maybe he hasn't had the attitude, and maybe he just doesn't know what he needs to do. This off season I think he dedicated himself a little more though. He came into the season looking good and with what seemed like a better attitude. He seemed to be having more fun. That is why this year is the year he will break out. I don't know if he will become the .300 30 100 guy we all want him to be, but look for him to make the next big step by getting over 20 HR and over 80 RBI. It might not be what everyone wants, but its a big step up. Remember, he turns 25 at the end of the season. Justin Morneau hit 22 HR and had 79 RBI in 2005 when he was the same age Delmon is now. Ryan Howard was a rookie in 2005, at the age of 26. Most players don't break into the league and do anything until their mid 20's.

You heard it here, Delmon is going to be a big factor this year. Expect him to hit .295 with 21 HR and 85 RBI. Expect the Twins to win.