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This looks like the most compelling home series the Twins have played in five years. Is it the worst possible time to play the Tigers, or the best? On the one hand, the Tigers offense is clicking, they’ve won four of their last five series, and they’re 7-2 already this season versus Twins, the team they need to catch if they want to return to the postseason. On the other hand, the Tigers are barely above .500, they just lost their star player, their pitching has been abysmal, and a losing series (or, god forbid, a sweep) could make them re-evaluate their status at the trade deadline.The Tigers' road to their fifth straight divisional Central Division championship has been bumpy. After averaging 92 wins per year for the last four years, the Tigers have been struggling to clear .500. Their offense has been their savior; ranking third in the American League in runs scored. However, a lot of that was fueled by Miguel Cabrera and his 1.034 OPS, and he’s not going to be around for this series – or for this month. Cabrera has a Grade 3 calf strain and is expected to be sidelined for six weeks, meaning the Tigers won’t have him back until mid-August, two weeks after the trade deadline. However, his absence hasn’t significantly slowed down the potent Tigers lineup. In the five games he’s been out, they’ve still averaged more than seven runs per game. Manager Brad Ausmus can still write high-powered names in the lineup, like J.D. Martinez (24 HR), Yoenis Cespedes (800+ OPS) and Viktor Martinez, who has a 1.111 OPS since Cabrera was put on the disabled list. The Tigers enter today’s game 2.5 games behind the Twins, meaning a series win would put them right back in the mix for the Wild Card race. On the other hand, a series loss would put them back down to .500 and 4.5 games back. If they fall much further, the Tigers are going to need to make a tough decision. That’s because a few of their best players - starting pitcher David Price, closer Joakim Soria, and Cespedes - will become free agents at the end of the year. As General Manager Dave Dombrowski found out this summer with Max Scherzer, losing players like that for nothing can really hurt the future of a team. He’ll need to at least entertain the idea of swapping those players for players that can help them in 2016, when perhaps pitcher Justin Verlander (6.75 ERA) returns to form and Cabrera is again healthy. For those reasons, it’s hard to know for which team this is a bigger series. But make no mistake – it’s big. Let’s look at the pitching matchups. Thursday – 7:10 – David Price (8-2, 2.54) vs Mike Pelfrey (5-5, 3.94) Mike Pelfrey might be looking forward to a restful All-Star break more than most; he’s had three bad starts of his last five. Price, meanwhile, has a 1.90 ERA since June 1. The Tigers have a great opportunity to reassert their season-long dominance in the first game of this series. Friday – 7:10 – Justin Verlander (0-2, 6.75) vs Ervin Santana (0-0, 2.25) Both teams’ destinies are tied closely to these two starters who have been out most of the season. Verlander missed time with a triceps strain and had been inconsistent in his four starts since. Santana faced an 80-game suspension for PED use but was dominant in his first start last Sunday. Saturday – 3:05 – TBA, but probably Alfredo Simon (8-5, 4.18) vs. Phil Hughes (7-6, 4.19) Those stats couldn’t be much closer for these two, but the expectations couldn’t be much further apart. Hughes is supposed to be the Twins workhorse, and has been with 111.2 IP, but a slow start and WAY too many home runs have hurt his overall numbers. Simon has been hanging on to the Tigers’ back of the rotation for well over a year. Sunday – 1:10 – TBA, but probably Shane Greene (4-6, 5.82 ERA) vs. Kyle Gibson (7-6, 3.04) Greene is in the minors, but looks to be the likely callup. He was in Detroit’s rotation until he was demoted to Toledo in the beginning of June. Gibson has looked increasingly dominant each month of the season; his K/9 rate by month: April – 2.4, May – 5.4, June – 8.2, July – 9.0. Click here to view the article

In the last few days, we reviewed and made predictions about the 2015 seasons of the Twins infielders. Today, we will be posting our projections and rankings of the Twins outfielders. Oswaldo Arcia is moving over to left field and his ability to take a step forward in his career is one of the keys to the Twins 2015 season.MINNESOTA TWINS – OSWALDO ARCIA Oswaldo Arcia sped through the Twins minor league system and made his major league debut at age 21 in early 2013. He hit 17 doubles and 14 home runs in that rookie season in just 97 games. In 2014, he played in just 103 games. He hit .231/.300/.452 (.752) with 16 doubles, 20 home runs and 57 RBI. So, what are those things that will determine whether or not Oswaldo Arcia can take a step forward in his career in 2015? He will need to make more contact. He struck out 127 times in 410 plate appearances. He’ll need to be able to control the strike zone better as he walked just 31 times. He hit right-handed pitching to the tune of an .848 OPS. However, against southpaws, he hit just .198/.261/.313 (.574). Of course, defense will also be a struggle for Arcia. He won’t have a ton of range, but more important, will he be able to take better routes than he did in right field last year? If he can show better plate discipline and make more contact, Arcia has all the potential in the world. He has 30-homer potential and will be able to drive in a lot of runs. If he doesn’t make a couple of adjustments, we could see Eddie Rosario getting his first opportunity with the Twins. Our Twins Daily writers made their predictions: Seth – .255/.312/.485 (.797) with 23 doubles and 27 HR. Nick – .265/.325/.515 (.840) with 25 doubles and 35 HR Parker – .250/.310/.470 (.780) with 20 doubles and 25 HR John – ..220/.290/.400 (.690) with 15 doubles and 12 HR AL CENTRAL LEFT FIELDERS Opponent – Player – 2015 Age – 2014 Statistics Chicago – Melky Cabrera – 30 - .301/.351/.458 (.808) with 35 doubles, 16-HR Cleveland – Michael Brantley – 28 - .327/.385/.506 (.890) with 45 doubles, 20-HR Detroit – Yoenis Cespedes – 29 - .260/.301/.450 (.751) with 36 doubles, 22-HR Kansas City – Alex Gordon – 31 - .266/.351/.432 (.783) with 34 doubles, 19-HR AL CENTRAL LEFT FIELD RANKINGS #1 – Alex Gordon – Kansas City #2 – Michael Brantley – Cleveland #3 – Melky Cabrera – Chicago #4 – Yoenis Cespedes – Detroit #5 – Oswaldo Arcia – Minnesota NOW IT’S YOUR TURN Give it a little thought and then go to the comments section below and post two things. First, make your statistical projection for Oswaldo Arcia in 2015. Second, how would you rank the AL Central left fielders? Then discuss your thoughts with the rest of the Twins Daily community. Check back throughout this next week as we’ll do these same things for each of the positions. PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS, PROJECTIONS AND RANKINGS Kurt Suzuki Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Trevor Plouffe Danny Santana Click here to view the article