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(AP Photo)

Season Record: 8-9

Up Next: Cleveland Indians (6:05 CT, 4/25)

1. Bottom of the Rotation

So much for being the number four and five starters, Glen Perkins and Nick Blackburn thus far have turned in some of the best performances for the Minnesota Twins this season. While the bottom of the rotation has provided the spark early on, the top two pitchers, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano, have been flat out poor and put the team in an early hole game after game.

Blackburn was good as a rookie last season, and coming into this season, the main question was if he could do it again. There have been a few mixed performances so far as he's allowed four runs twice, three runs once, and now one run in his most recent start. In each outing, Blackburn has been solid up until or right around the middle of the game, the fifth inning. 

Finally the rightly was able to climb past the fifth inning bump and make it into the late game with seven strong innings of work. Overall Blackburn allowed just six hits and the one run in the outing to give the Twins only their second road victory of the season. Now the question will be, can he provide the same performances at the bottom of the rotation as the season progresses.

2. Becoming a Star

Denard Span isn't a flashy player; he doesn't go out and try to steal the show with monstrous homeruns. Instead, the young outfielder plays solid defense, works the count at the plate, and remains kept to himself. So far this season Span has played in each game but one, and it's due in large part because he has been the most consistent outfielder in the mix of Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young.

Even when Span has a hitless game at the plate, it seems as though he is still contributing. The way he works the count each time he bats provides the rest of the lineup a chance to see what the pitcher has to throw their way, and it also often puts him on base with a walk. Through sixteen games, Span has hit .323 with a great .408 on-base percentage that places him at the top of the leader board in the American League.

Eventually Span will quit roaming the outfield and become either the primary player in left, right or center. For now however, having a guy capable of being one of the top leadoff men in the league play somewhere every night, is definitely a plus.

3. Mijares will be Key

After arriving at camp overweight, Jose Mijares went from being a near lock to make the bullpen to an easy candidate to be cut. The young lefty took the demotion as motivation and let everybody know that he'd head to triple-A, work on his mechanics and weight issues, and arrive back in Minneapolis in June.

An injury to reliever Jesse Crain however has allowed Mijares to return to the majors only two weeks into the season, and more than a month before he promised. Thus far the results for Mijares have been good; he's allowed just one hit in two innings against two of the better hitting lineups in the league, Boston and Cleveland. 

While the bullpen has struggled, and been far to inconsistent to rely on, Mijares might be exactly what the team needs. He has thrown around 93 MPH, and between last September and this past week, Mijares has made several hitters look silly at the plate. Hopefully his performances from last season will carry over and the Twins can have some stability as they work to hand the ball to closer Joe Nathan in the ninth.