by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (5/14/2013) Having gone 23 for 63 (.365) over his previous 16 games, Justin Morneau's season batting average is up to .296 -- an encouraging sign after the Twins first baseman hit a combined .254 in his previous two seasons.
But he has only one home run during that stretch and only two all season. It's not like he was going Adam Dunn on the world in 2011 and 2012. His power numbers weren't where Fantasy owners were used to seeing them either. So even though he appears to be hitting better, we're all still left to wonder just what he's capable of doing.
My best guess is that, hot as he is, he's still not much better than the fringe mixed-leaguer we saw last year. He obviously has some power. We saw him hit 19 home runs last year. If he can combine those with his current batting average, yeah, he'll be pretty good. But seeing as he was a .270 hitter even during some of his pre-concussion years, I'm not sure assessing him at the peak of a hot streak is especially wise.
Justin Morneau collects three hits
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com (5/14/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau collected three hits Monday against the White Sox.
Morneau hit two doubles in the game, and added a single. Morneau scored one run, and drove in four. He's hitting .296/.340/.415 in 135 at-bats this year.
Usual suspects pacing Twins' offense
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/13/2013) The Twins have had one of the AL's top offenses in May and it's no surprise the usual suspects are leading the charge. Catcher Joe Mauer rides an 11-game hitting streak into Monday's game against the White Sox, while Justin Morneau has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games.
Mauer is batting .444 (20 for 45) with five RBI, eight walks, 10 doubles and 11 runs during his hitting streak, and Morneau is batting .339 (21 for 62) with one home run, four doubles, 10 runs and 15 RBI in his last 16 games.
"Joe had his little cold stretch we probably won't see again this year, but is back on fire. And Justin has been staying on the ball really good and putting some really nice swings on it," manager Ron Gardenhire said, per MLB.com. "We know we can score some runs and our offense is starting to click a little bit, and that's fun to watch."
Justin Morneau drives in three runs
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (5/9/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau had two of Minnesota's 20 hits during a 15-8 win at Boston Wednesday.
Morneau's ground-rule double in the first inning off Allen Webster scored the game's first run. He added a sacrifice fly in the second and another in the ninth for three RBI in the game.
Morneau went 2 for 4 with a run scored and is batting .267. He's gone 2 for 4 in two straight games and is working a four-game hitting streak. Morneau has seven RBI in his last four and 21 on the year.
Justin Morneau racking up runs
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (5/3/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau crossed home plate for the fifth time in six games Friday against the Indians, going 1 for 3 with one run, one RBI and one walk. He had only scored six runs through his first 18 games but nearly doubled that total over his last six.
Morneau is hitting .263/.317/.389 with two home runs, 11 runs and a team-high 14 RBI in 104 plate appearances.
Justin Morneau hits second homer
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/28/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau hit his second home run in Sunday's series finale against the Rangers. He took starter Alexi Ogando deep for a two-run bomb in the sixth inning and finished 2 for 4 in the 5-0 win.
Morneau is batting .263 with 11 RBI.
Justin Morneau collects two hits in loss
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (4/26/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau posted his fifth multi-hit game of the year Friday, going 2 for 4 with a double in his team's 4-3 loss to the Rangers. The two-hit day could signal a turnaround for Morneau, who went 2 for 20 in his previous five games.
Justin Morneau can't keep streak going
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/20/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau saw his five-game hitting streak end Saturday against the White Sox. He went 0 for 4 with a walk and left six men on base in the 2-1 win.
Morneau had gone 7 for 22 (.318) with a homer and four RBI during his streak. He is batting .268 through 14 games.
Justin Morneau breaks up no-no
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (4/13/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau broke up a no-hit bid from Mets' starter Matt Harvey with a home run Saturday afternoon.
Morneau broke the no-hitter in the seventh inning with a solo shot off the right field pole. It was his first home run of the season. The 31-year-old finished 1 for 4 with an RBI in a 4-2 defeat.
Morneau is batting .286/.348/.429 through 42 at-bats.
Justin Morneau comes through late for Twins
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (4/6/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau made his presence felt late in Saturday's contest against the Orioles.
Morneau drove in the go-ahead run on a single off closer Jim Johnson in the ninth inning. He went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 6-5 victory. Morneau is the first Twins player to rack up three hits in a game this season.
The 31-year-old is hitting .389/.500/.444 through the first five games of the season.
Justin Morneau doubles to prove health
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/1/2013) A healthy Justin Morneau doubled off Justin Verlander on Monday. The Twins first baseman hit cleanup and went 1 for 4 with a walk in the opener.
Morneau, who declared himself 100 percent healthy prior to the game, also struck out in the performance. He had missed the final three games of spring training due to lower-back stiffness.
Justin Morneau declares himself healthy
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/1/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who missed the final three spring games with lower-back stiffness, said Monday his back is fine and he's healthy entering the season opener against Detroit, reports MLB.com. Morneau was penciled in as the team's cleanup hitter Monday.
Justin Morneau declared ready for opener
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (3/30/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau took "four or five" at-bats on a practice field Saturday as he continues to work his way back from lower-back stiffness, according to MLB.com. Morneau, who missed the final three Cactus League games, was declared ready for opening day, according to general manager Terry Ryan.
"He's fine," Ryan said. "He just did that to make sure. I watched him swing and he didn't have any problems."
Morneau hit .267 with three homers and 11 RBI in 15 games this spring. He also earned some more at-bats playing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
"He's had plenty of at-bats, he's played in the World [Baseball Classic] games," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's done it all this spring."
Justin Morneau expected to be ready for opener
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (3/29/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was held out of Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox due to mild, lower-back stiffness. General manager Terry Ryan believes he will be ready for the start of the regular season at home against the Tigers on Monday.
"His back is OK," Ryan told MLB.com. "He's healthy."
Morneau is unlikely to play in Saturday's final tune-up against the Red Sox.
"I don't know," Ryan said. "It depends on how he feels."
Justin Morneau scratched with back tightness
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (3/28/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was a late scratch from Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox with mild back tightness, according to the Star Tribune. Chris Parmelee will take his place at first. Morneau is listed as day-to-day.
Justin Morneau worth the gamble
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (3/24/2013) I think the Fantasy owners who are willing to gamble on Twins first baseman Justin Morneau on Draft Day will be rewarded in 2013.
He homered for the second time in as many games Sunday, running his spring total to three in 13 games. He also has 11 RBI and is batting .282 (11 for 39). And let's not forget what he did in his limited time with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. Morneau hit .636 (7 for 11) with three doubles, three RBI and four runs in three games.
Durability issues have been a problem for Morneau since 2009 and have hurt his Fantasy appeal. Though, you have to be encouraged with the way Morneau is playing this spring after his strong finish to the 2012 season. Morneau hit .296 with a .356 OBP and .800 OPS in his last 78 games. The only thing lacking was his power numbers (nine home runs and 14 doubles in that span), which is obviously a key category for Fantasy first basemen.
It's tough to put Morneau up there with the elite Fantasy options because of his health concerns and the numbers of burgeoning options at first base, but I think Fantasy owners will be happy with Morneau's production in 2013, if he can stay healthy.
Morneau finds rhythm at plate
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (2/28/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who rarely played on back-to-back days last spring while recovering from post-concussion symptoms, played for the fifth consecutive game Thursday against the Orioles and went 2 for 3 with a two-run double. Morneau plans on representing Canada in the World Baseball Classic. "I usually don't worry too much about what I do during spring training, but it's so nice to be able to go out there and play and not worrying about restrictions or limits," said Morneau, who hit .267 with 19 home runs and 77 RBI last season. "My body feels good. I've had a pretty good routine going. I've been able to do everything I've wanted to do. It's pretty refreshing and nice to come in here and not worry about not being able to do certain things."
Morneau shining before departure
by Bill Passonno | CBSSports.com (2/25/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau went 1 for 2 with a three-run double in the fourth inning during Minnesota's 5-4 win over Pittsburgh in Grapefruit League action Monday. Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP award winner, will leave the Twins at the end of the week to join Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic. "We're trying to get him five innings a game," manager Ron Gardenhire said of preparing Morneau for the tournament. "We're getting there. We'll get him some more at bats. He's feeling really good. He's been through all the drills."
Morneau's wrist feeling fine
by Nando Di Fino | Senior Fantasy Writer (2/15/2013) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau told MLB.com that his surgically repaired wrist, which bothered him throughout the 2012 season, is fully healed. "I've been swinging and everything has been good so far," Morneau said. "Hopefully it's something that's in the past and just move on and play and not have to worry about that kind of stuff."
Morneau looking to add stength
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (12/28/2012) Twins first baseman Justin Morneau told ESPN 1500 AM in Minnesota that he is "miles ahead" of where he was during last offseason. Morneau was shut down early in October due to general soreness and is feeling better, as he continues to prepare for the World Baseball Classic in early March. "I'm feeling good, feeling strong, building strength instead of just doing rehab like I've done the last two winters -- not recovering from surgery, but actually building toward the goal of getting strong and being ready for spring training and being ready early for that World Baseball Classic," said Morneau.
