Top 5 Minnesota Twins Keepers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide 2009

While preparing for your upcoming fantasy baseball keeper league, I am sure you are thinking about what players you would like to draft, and which ones are going to help your team in the long run. There are many players that fit that criteria, many of which are actually members of the Minnesota Twins.

#1 Minnesota Twins Keeper - Justin Morneau - Fantasy Baseball 2009

Justin Morneau, the Twins power-hitting first baseman, is someone you should definitely draft to your fantasy team. The 2008 Home Run Derby Champion hit .300 with 23 home runs and 129 RBI's, which was third in the majors, last season. He also accumulated 187 hits, 47 of which were doubles. He is at the heart of the Twins line-up, and look for his 2009 season to be just as good as the one he had last year.

#2 Minnesota Twins Keeper - Joe Mauer - Fantasy Baseball 2009

Sometimes fantasy owners struggle to find a catcher who can swing the stick, but don't look past Joe Mauer to fill this void. In 2008, he hit .328 with 9 home runs and 85 RBI's (career best), and he only struck out 50 times when compared to the 84 walks that he drew. He also tallied 178 hits, in which 31 of them were doubles. Mauer is still young, and last season he played more games than he ever had before in a single season.

#3 Minnesota Twins Keeper - Francisco Liriano - Fantasy Baseball 2009

Francisco Liriano went from being the dominant pitcher on the Twins in 2006, to being in the minor leagues. However, he was still just as dominant last year in the minors, as he was in the majors, which caused controversy as to why he wasn't being promoted. Now Liriano's time has come, as he is projected as being a top starter in the Twins rotation for the 2009 season. Liriano gets a lot of strikeouts and records a lot of victories, and there is no reason why he shouldn't continue his winning ways with the Twins this season.

#4 Minnesota Twins Keeper - Joe Nathan - Fantasy Baseball 2009

Joe Nathan, the Twins closer, is a very solid candidate to fill the reliever spot in your line-up. He was successful in closing 39 of 45 games, while striking out 74 batters in 67.2 innings last year. His strikeout total was remarkable, considering the fact that he only walked 18 batters. Also, he recorded a career low, 1.33 ERA, which shows that he can attack the zone and get hitters out early. He can definitely pad your stats in categories such as ERA and strikeouts, so he is worth a spot on your fantasy team.

#5 Minnesota Twins Keeper - Delmon Young - Fantasy Baseball 2009

Although Delmon Young's stats were down a bit from 2007, he still put together a good year in 2008. He hit .290 with 10 HR's and 69 RBI's, while collecting 167 hits and stealing 14 bases. He is not a power hitter, but when it comes to just putting the bat on the ball, Young is the answer. He can hit the ball to all parts of the field, and he definitely has the potential to leg out a double or triple. Hopefully 2009 will be more reminiscent of the season in had in 2007, where he had 93 RBI's and 186 hits.

Source: www.mlb.com