Twins Greater Than Sum of Parts

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down each of the playoff teams from a scouting perspective.

When you are faced with a team like the Twins, much of what makes them so difficult to match up against is that they leave you wondering just exactly why they are so good at winning ballgames. Their pitching does not match up with the league's elite clubs and their offense is not explosive, especially after losing Justin Morneau. But, somehow a combination of the little things adds up to one very tough team.

The Twins are an offense built on little ball, moving runners and using their home turf to their advantage, so an important factor to slowing them down will be attacking them aggressively and forcing them to beat you.

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If you plan on helping this offense out by falling behind in the count or walking batters, that's when they'll do their damage. They rely on seizing any small opportunity and making the most of it. Rick Porcello had the right idea against them early on in Tuesday's game, making them swing early in the count and continuing to be aggressive. Minnesota will go after pitches early in the count and also isn't all that prone to the strikeout, so how aggressive the Yankee staff is will be interesting to follow.

Matchups To Watch

The Twins have a number of pitchers, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, that rely on their good fastballs. As we know, the New York Yankees are loaded with hitters that know what to do with fastballs over the plate. Arguably the Twins' ace, Scott Baker likes to pound the fastball and follow up with the slider. This typically is an unfavorable arsenal to go at the Yankee lineup with. Baker was very aggressive and a little careless at times with his fastball command against the Tigers in his last start, but had enough hop to get away with some mistakes. Against a fresh and lethal Yankee lineup, it will be interesting to see how the Twins' 15-game winner alters his strategy.

Another matchup to monitor is how Joe Nathan handles the New York lineup. He's had his share of problems with the Yankees in his career, and had one especially poor outing against them earlier in the season. The Yankees seem to read the ball well out of his hand, so Nathan will need to be very fine with his fastball command and be able to mix the breaking ball perhaps more than he typically does.

X-Factors

Joe Mauer: In comparison with the rest of the playoff field, the Twins don't have a lineup that jumps out at you, but right in the middle of it is one name of which everyone is going to be fearful. In terms of pure swing mechanics, approach, bat speed, balance and all of the things a scout looks for, Mauer may be the most complete hitter in the game. Some hitters you worry about performing well in the playoffs, but the way his swing is constructed, it's very difficult for him to have any prolonged struggles.

• Scouting Perspective: What Mauer is able to do at the plate is really a rare feat. He's able to do what he does, and hit over .360 primarily because of his short, quick swing plus a trust in his mechanics. Hitters like to talk about trusting their mechanics or letting their mechanics take over and Mauer does this with the best of them. You will not catch him guessing on a breaking ball or cheating on a fastball. He trusts his bat speed to stay back on the off-speed pitch and still be able to react with lightning quickness to the fastball inside. The hitter that can cover all zones and all speeds is the definition of special. If you are the opposition, there is no right way to get him out; the pitches to him just need to be even more precisely located.

Michael Cuddyer: How much Joe Mauer gets to hit in big situations in the playoffs is going to depend heavily on one of the few other powerful threats in the Minnesota lineup, Cuddyer. He is a dangerous mistake hitter, rarely missing the hanging breaking ball and he's going into the playoffs very hot.

• Scouting Perspective: As mentioned, Cuddyer is an excellent mistake hitter as he proved down the stretch. He hunts for the pitch on the inner half and can pull the ball with authority. Very much an overlooked outstanding hitter in this league, you can bet the playoff teams are preparing for him heavily and will likely go at him with a steady diet of fastballs down and away. He's a career .212 hitter against Yankee ace CC Sabathia, most likely because of his fastball/changeup combination down and away.

Carl Pavano: It may be a Yankee fan's worst nightmare, but with Pavano likely set to pitch Game 4 in this first-round series he has a chance to play a key role for Minnesota. Pavano has brought a veteran presence to the Twins' staff that they desperately need. He may not be dominant, but he's been a steady factor down the stretch. Even his numbers don't look all that pretty but he seems to be able to keep his offense in the game just enough to allow them to win. And, it's easy to forget that really not so long ago, before all of his New York drama, that Pavano was a superb big-league pitcher with playoff experience. His stuff is not overpowering at this stage in his career, but he's got the experience to be just dangerous enough in the postseason.

• Scouting Perspective: Pavano has three pitches that he's comfortable throwing in any count, including a slider and a changeup. He hovers around 90-91 mph with the fastball, but knows how to pitch backwards and get big groundball outs. The New York Yankees'have a tendency to have some problems with crafty guys who can change speeds, so no one should expect Pavano to simply take a beating.

Frankie Piliere spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.