Welcome to the first of what will be a series of projections of Twins players, one-by-one, as the start of the 2008 season approaches. I'll be starting with pitchers and then move on to the hitters. Expect 1 or 2 to be released each day for the next couple weeks.

First, let's take a looks at Scott Baker's 2008 ZiPS projection and see how he faired the past two seasons.

Baker is perhaps the definition of how the Twins have changed from 2007 to 2008. In 2007 Baker didn't make the active roster out of spring training and toiled in the minors for nearly two months. He was finally called up on May 19th to replace Sideney Ponson and threw a gem in Milwaukee, nearly going a complete game before allowing a home run in the ninth inning. Fast forward 1 year and he's the leading candidate to be the opening day starter against the Angels on March 31st.

Baker pitched his best after the all-star break when he posted a 3.44 ERA and a 6-6 record compared to his 5.71 ERA in the first half of the season. I often criticized the Twins for jerking him around and not giving him an adequate chance to settle in at the major league level. In 2007, Baker got an extended chance to prove that he should be a starter at the big-league level—and he did just that.

He's certainly not an ace, but he projects to be a quality #3 or #4 starter for the Twins—that is once they're able to find solid #1 and #2 starters.