Michael Cuddyer

Professional sports are full of underrated guys who never see the credit that they deserve.

We have seen it year in and year out, in every sport. But to me, baseball is the leading sport for guys who are underrated, and never receive credit.

Here's my list of the top 10 underrated players in the major leagues today, the non pitcher addition. The guys I have on this list deserve more than enough credit for their stellar play over their careers, and in the young 2009 season.

You may not agree with some of my choices, and that's fine.

Success on the baseball diamond has its own timetable.

Witness Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's occasional on-again, off-again experiment batting Joe Mauer in the two-hole.

The recent move has kick-started the Twins' offense, enabling them to halt a six-game slide that had many of the players questioning their choice of profession.

The Twins produced a 20-1 victory Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. Mauer, hitting second in the batting order for the first time this season, contributed a pair of doubles and a grand slam for six RBI.

The "Good" Outfield Problem

Five outfielders for four positions: Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel. Here is a brief run-down of each and what their playing time should look like:

Those comparisons to great hitters of recent yore have long since died down. Suddenly, Delmon Young was just another talented, but struggling outfielder who had his current employers wondering if he would ever develop into something special.

It's still much too early to ascertain whether Young, the first pick in the 2003 amateur draft, will turn into an offensive presence like Albert Belle, a hitter to whom he's most often compared. But Young, after a slow start in 2009, is definitely showing signs of life.

It looked like all it took to rejuvenate the Minnesota Twins offense was a whiff of U.S. Cellular Field.

This perception was a wrong number, as the Twins dropped an 8-0 decision to the White Sox Saturday afternoon. 

All indications were that Brad Penny simply needed not to implode in his final spring training outing Thursday against Minnesota in order to secure the final rotation spot on the Red Sox. He did not disappoint, allowing three runs in five innings in the Sox's 7-3 loss.

Michael Cuddyer did most of the damage, driving in all three runs on a triple and a double. Penny struck out three and walked none, facing 19 batters and exiting with the game tied.