What could the Minnesota Twins lineup look like in 2018?

5. LF Eddie Rosario

In 2017, Eddie Rosario was one of many great stories for the Twins. After a couple of up and down years with Minnesota, the 26-year-old showed there’s plenty more to his game than what we saw over his first two seasons.

Specifically, the free-swinging slugger produced a career-high 27 home runs, showing he has a higher power ceiling than most had thought. In the process, he drove in a career-high 78 runs, while also producing a career-high .290 average. As a result, he proved he could be a big-time hitter in the middle of the lineup.

Yet, most impressively, he showed a better eye at the plate. After walking only 27 times in 214 games in the last two years, he walked 35 times in 151 games in 2017. While this still isn’t a great walk total, it marked a noticeable improvement from the previous two seasons. Not to mention, he struck out at a lower rate than the past two seasons as well.

Overall, Rosario is deserving of the five spot in the lineup. After hitting 17 long balls after the All-Star break last season, there’s reason to believe he could produce at least 30 home runs next season. Along with Sano and Dozier, they’d make up a lethal 3-4-5 punch that could produce many runs for the Twins in 2018.