The Minnesota Twins' Top 10 Spring Training Storylines

10. The Great Outdoors: Brand-new Target Field will host the Twins' highly anticipated return to outdoor baseball on April 2^nd against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. The date is undoubtedly circled on every Minnesotans' calendar, inspiring an increase in local Farmer's Almanac sales and a constant spring training buzz surrounding the match-up of reigning league MVPs.

9. Players on the Horizon: Recognizing potential Twins' future stars will obviously be a Fort Myers focal-point. ESPN's "Top 100 Prospects List" includes RHP Aaron Hicks at #19, C Wilson Ramos at #42, RHP Kyle Gibson at #89, and SS Miguel Sano at #97 overall.

8. New Injury Report: Keep a watchful eye on promising young catcher Jose Morales and last year's "glue-guy" Nick Punto, who underwent wrist surgery this off-season.

7. Old Injury Report: In addition, the return to health of starting pitchers Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey will likely influence the season's starting rotation.

6. Liriano or Liability: One of baseball's best before undergoing Tommy John surgery, Liriano's continued struggle to return to form has been beyond frustrating. Will this be the year the pitcher becomes dominant once again? An elite lefty would do wonders for the Twins.

5. New Twin #1: One of the decade's greatest sluggers, Jim Thome, joins the Twins and Spring Training will likely indicate the extent to how the Twins' lineup will accommodate the former Twins' rival. Thome should enhance the chemistry of an already tight-knit Twins' clubhouse.

4. Mount Morneau: The Twins' magical run in 2009 amazingly occurred without the services of former MVP, Justin Morneau. A great spring should work wonders to enable Morneau's transition back to Gold Glove defense at 1st and the Canadien's usual batting box brilliance.

3. New Twin #2: TwinsNation eagerly awaits the arrival of former Brewers shortstop, JJ Hardy. If the Twins' signed the Hardy of the 2007 and 2008 seasons and not last year's version, their claim as most dominant division lineup may be validated.

2. Pitching Positioning: The Twins' ultimate success will be determined by the extent of stability and improvement from the club's starting staff. Intense competition throughout Spring Training will answer the myriad of questions surrounding the young staff. Pavano, Blackburn, Baker, Slowey, and Duensing are the clubhouse favorites to secure spots in the 5-man rotation.

1. Mauer Hour: Until the Twins' lock down the homegrown MVP for the foreseeable future, the media frenzy in Fort Myers will be relentless as fans hold their collective breath. Recent reports are encouraging and the sake of everyone's sanity, hopefully the signing will occur sooner rather than later.