Neal: No reason to be skeptical of the Twins’ optimism at camp

Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis are all healthy and happy.

Matt Wallner is trying on life as a leadoff hitter to see how it fits.

We’ve learned that reliever Justin Topa is a baseball card collector.

Hitters are taking batting practice on the field. Not only that, but they are also working on using the whole field. What a concept.

Every reliever seems to be throwing 95 mph and above with nasty complementary pitches.

Not only is Lewis signing autographs, but he’s also asking fans for theirs.

About a quarter of the spring training schedule has been played and there’s been zero drama in Twins camp. No injuries. No griping.

Their happy vibes can be felt through the interwebs all the way to the Twin Cities, which was hit by a snowstorm that appeared out of nowhere.

Down in sun-splashed Fort Myers, Fla., the Twins are chugging toward Opening Day. As I chug toward Florida for a week to chronicle preparations for the 65th season of Twins baseball, I have no reason to be skeptical of the optimism at camp.

On Thursday, they will play their ninth game of the Grapefruit League schedule. Plenty of time for players to win or lose a job.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about a Twins roster good enough to win a division title. But I will look for tangible proof of this over the next week. Here’s what I’m looking forward to seeing:

A year ago, I sounded the alarm about rotation depth. I was right. Now, it is the rock of the team.

Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan have had spurts in which they have been among the top 25 starters in the game.

Simeon Woods Richardson was thrown into the deep end early last season and held his own. Developmental paths vary from player to player, it will be worth watching how Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews apply the experience they gained a year ago. Chris Paddack should be viewed as a wild card in terms of how effective he will be.

The manager wants his team to get off to a better start offensively. Except for a 10-game spurt in late April, the Twins had one of the worst offenses in baseball into mid-June. Baldelli wants his hitters ready to swing the sticks from the start. He also has to be careful with his three righthanded hitters who all missed chunks of the 2024 season. How will he make sure they are prepared while keeping their recent injury histories in mind?

Someone is going to be upset at the end of camp. The signing of Ty France, who apparently is going to play a lot at first base, raises the stakes for Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien and Austin Martin. Willi Castro is an everyday multi-positional player but shouldn’t be needed in the outfield as much. He should see more time at second, where Lee and Julien have their best chances to play. Martin will have to earn his reserve role, too.

You know me. I’m the Pick to Click guy. And Miranda is my leading candidate. I have not forgotten that 23-game run last season during which he hit .463. He is entering his age-27 season and has just over 1,000 plate appearances under his belt. He might have to yield starts at first to France while serving more as the designated hitter. This should be the year his talent turns into consistent production, and I’ll be looking for signs of that during camp.

Can Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano and his snapdragon of a curveball find a place among the Twins relief corps? Behind closer Jhoan Duran, there is set-up ace Griffin Jax and rising righthander Cole Sands. A healthy Brock Stewart adds another high-caliber arm. Jorge Alcala remains very talented while somewhat erratic. Danny Coulombe will be the lefty. Louis Varland adds more power. We’ll wait and see if Topa’s right shoulder tightness is a major or minor concern. And Michael Tonkin is in camp as well but looks to be on the outside. The group has earned its ranking as one of baseball’s best heading into the season.