The Minnesota Twins have certainly been a pleasant surprise to their fans thus far, but it seems as though the season is catching up to them. A team that was hotter than a firecracker during the month of May is now seeing a sink back down to earth. While it would be exciting to see this team break out of their funk and stay in the race for the pennant down the stretch, I have difficulties in foreseeing it happening, and for several reasons. Furthermore, I have a few concerns for the organization for the foreseeable future after this season, of which I will share with you.

The first legitimate concern I have is the lack of top-tier starting pitching. Entering the year, Phil Hughes was supposed to be the ace. That has not been the case. He has struggled, in particular with the long ball, and even if he was putting up numbers that resembled last year, the reality is that he is not a front-end starter, like a David Price or a Felix Hernandez. Kyle Gibson has been effective and much more consistent than last season, Trevor May has been pitching much better as of late, he looks as though he could stick around, and Mike Pelfrey has been a very pleasant surprise. Pelfrey has probably emerged as the best pitcher on the staff right now. On a bright note, we will be seeing Ervin Santana very soon. He will certainly be able to give the rotation a boost if all goes well, but he too is not a front-end starting pitcher. If the Twins are actually serious about contending this year and for years to come, they need an ace, a legitimate ace.

Another area of concern I have is catcher. Kurt Suzuki has regressed considerably and the backup options are not comforting. Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer are not guys you want in your big-league lineup. Obviously, the Twins would like Josmil Pinto on the roster, but the defensive concerns and injuries have kept him rotting in AAA. The Twins do not really have any options for a catcher of the future close to the big leagues right now. So if they want a legitimate everyday catcher, they will need to look outside the organization for him.

Joe Mauer has been awful. There is no way to sugar coat that. There is no place for a first baseman with 2 home runs and hitting in the .250s. Right now, we could put Vargas or Sano at first base and the production would likely be higher. Mauer is still a respected hitter who might break out of the funk he's been in, but he needs to start producing more in the extra-base hits department. The only saving grace for Joe's season right now is that he has excelled with runners in scoring position. Other than that, his performance is subpar and should not be tolerated any longer.

Second Base can be left alone. Brian Dozier has emerged as one of the best second baseman in the league. He will probably be snubbed of an All-Star appearance by bigger names such as Cano and Pedroia as well as Royals fans voting in one of the worst second baseman in the game, one Omar Infante, but as far as I am concerned, Dozier is an All-Star and he can hold down second base for years to come.

Shortstop is a concern for right now, as Santana has struggled and our current options are light-hitting Escobar and Nunez, but the future looks bright at that position with Jorge Polanco almost ready and Nick Gordon a few years away. I would not be opposed to calling up Polanco right now and giving him a chance to handle shortstop.

Third base is not a concern. Trevor Plouffe, though scuffling now, has been very solid over there and the best option might be to extend him in a couple of years and keep him over there. Sano may not be a viable option at third base, so he may need to move anyway, as his minor league numbers at the position are astoundingly bad.

The outfield will be fine. Rosario, Buxton, and any combination of Hunter, Hicks, maybe even Arcia will fortify a solid outfield.

The bullpen however is a huge concern. They have been shaky at times. Perkins is one of the best closers in the game and Boyer and Fien are good set-up men, but guys like Duensing, Thompson, and Tonkin are questionable and if the Twins are serious about this season they should probably look for an upgrade or two here.

I don't think the Twins will make the postseason. Chances are they will play mediocre baseball the rest of the way and maybe end up with about 75-80 wins before it's all said and done.

With that, I am excited to see guys like Sano, Buxton, Polanco, and Berrios all up in the majors contributing in the near future. Guys, the losing is going to end soon. Go Twins!