After going from worst to (almost) first last season, the Minnesota Twins are hoping to continue their march towards a World Series title.
To say last year was an overperformance by the Minnesota Twins is to be very vague about how things went. The Twins went from one of the worst teams in baseball to the spunky small ball club we all grew to love and admire in the mid-2000s. We even saw them lose in the playoffs to the New York Yankees — balance has been restored.
But the Twins are trying to change fortune. Rather than simply relive the past, Minnesota put together perhaps the best offseason in the bigs in an effort to make a World Series push. Fresh arms for the pitching platoon — Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn — should take the rotation to the heights fans have been hoping for. Returning stars like Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and Miguel Sano look to improve on strong showings last year and make Minnesota’s lineup one to be feared.
The Twins have never been flashy, but the days of them being stale seem to be over. It’s a long season, but the Twins seem poised to make a run at a World Series and for once in a long time have the talent to make it happen.
Best Case Scenario
Getting both Ervin Santana and Phil Hughes healthy is going to be key, but if that happens the Twins could have one of baseball’s best rotations. It’s been a long journey to this point, as Minnesota seems to have been stuck in pitching purgatory since basically 2002.
The last consistent starters the Twins have boasted were Carl Pavano, Johan Santana, and then you have to go all the way back to Brad Radke. Let it be said that the only thing Minnesota’s pitching has been consistent at over the years is mediocrity — and that’s when it was good.
If the rotation can truly be bolstered by Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi, then that will only help the budding lineup get better. Byron Buxton is looking like a superstar, Brian Dozier is likely playing for his next big contract, and new addition Logan Morrison feels like the kind of bat that has been missing since Josh Willingham left.
A dream scenario would see the Seattle Mariners edge either the Red Sox or Yankees from the Wild Card, pitting Minnesota against them. Obviously, the best case scenario for the Twins would be winning the AL Central, which would at least buy them a few games to try and take control of a series rather than face a single game elimination.
Worst Case Scenario
Whenever the Twins have made moves to shore up the pitching rotation, it’s never worked. While Santana and Hughes have been great of late, it took a while for either to really settle in and neither have a long enough track record of success to fill fans with much confidence.
If Odorizzi and Lynn flame out, it’s going to sink the Twins in a bad way. The lineup is different with Logan Morrison but it’s not infinitely better. All of Minnesota’s success hinges on if the new pitching additions can live up to the hype. Worst case is one or both of them don’t deliver and Minnesota is stuck in a rut. It won’t be the type of meltdown that drags them back to the depths, but it’s realistic to believe the Twins would struggle against an improved White Sox team with nothing to lose, and a Tigers team managed by a motivated Ron Gardenhire. That’s not even considering how much they’d struggle against the Yankees, Cubs, and Astros — some of the toughest competition on the schedule.
Minnesota’s floor isn’t the worst record in baseball. This won’t be a 100-loss season unless everyone decides to stop playing in May. However, expectations were high after last year’s finish and the offseason additions have raised the bar.
Team MVP
Byron Buxton – OF
Go back through the history of the Twins, and they’re only good when there’s a franchise player leading the charge. Whether it was Harmon Killebrew in the 60s, to Kirby Puckett in the 90s, and Joe Mauer in the 2000s — Minnesota is useless without a star. Other teams can make due with a platoon of quality players and the Twins once were known as mostly-anonymous ‘Piranhas’, but they’ve never been consistently good without a leader. Buxton has all the makings of being the next Twins great, from his highlight reel speed to his improving offense. He’s young enough that the future can be built around him and this year could (and likely will) be his true breakout as a national face of the game.
Prediction
If things unfold as we’re hoping, then Minnesota should finish no worse than the second Wild Card. From there it’s a little murky, as another matchup with the Yankees is just as daunting as a one-and-done with the Red Sox. Expect the Twins to compete for the AL Central crown, and at the very least return to the playoffs again this season.