>>3. Joe Mauer - C
>do you think joe-joe-joey-shabadoo will still be behind the
>plate in 2016? given his current splits, i wonder if moving
>him to 1B/DH in the next few years would be the more likely
>scenario.

Not really, but he's actually catching more frequently so far in 2013 than he did in 2012 and he's back to throwing out 30-40% of runners. Since catching is kind of the one thing he's actually explicitly passionate about, I think the deciding factor will be if he still wants to.

>>4. Miguel MEJOR - 3B
>him staying at 3B really makes this lineup WAAAYYY more sexy.

Defensive reports out of Ft. Myers are positive so far. His errors are way down and his plus arm means he's making some plays that scouts are actually noticing. His size might end up being the deciding factor, but this says good things about his willingness to work at the position and the Twins' ability to teach him.

>>5. Oswaldo Arcia - LF
>>7. Aaron Hicks - RF
>hicks in RF due to defensive abilities? i assume that is the
>reasoning, but want to be sure. i remember reading somewhere
>that arcia's arm, while not hicksian, can play in RF.

That is accurate. Arcia can definitely throw like a RFer, just probably not as much as Hicks. If it were up to me, the decision would actually put Hicks in LF because there's more space to patrol there. But Gardenhire hasn't seemed to use that as a basis for decision yet, so I don't really expect him to.

There's also a non-zero possibility that Hicks is the better centerfielder than Buxton in 2016 too. He'll only be 26 and one of the few nitpicks on Buxton (which basically amounts to "he's 19") is that he's still learning his routes as a professional centerfielder.

>>Exciting stuff.
>but i want 2016 NOW! (c) veruca salt