The Twins are a Scary Team
Postseason baseball has a common theme for the Minnesota Twins in the last 16 years. They battle it out in the division, make the postseason, and then lose. In fact, the Twins have lost 15 games in a row in the postseason, which is a MLB record, and is approaching the 1975-79 Chicago Blackhawks record of 16 playoff losses in-a-row.
Growing up a Twins fan, or just a Minnesota fan in general, I am used to getting my hopes up just to see a massive collapse. The Twins have been no different.It seems to be a cyclical process of making the postseason, matching up with the Yankees, getting swept, and then repeating a year or two later. Maybe this is just the optimistic outlook of a success-starved fan, but I do truly believe that this year is different. Here is why:
An Extremely Prolific Offense
2020 Starters:
C: Mitch Garver
1B: Miguel Sano
2B: Luis Arraez
SS: Jorge Polanco
3B: Josh Donaldson
LF: Eddie Rosario
CF: Byron Buxton
RF: Max Kepler
DH: Nelson Cruz
Bench:
IF: Marwin Gonzalez
IF: Ehire Adrianza
C: Ryan Jeffers
OF: Jake Cave
This team is going to score runs, and a lot of them at that.
If you look at the starting 9, there is no “sure out” in this lineup and each guy can really swing the bat! When healthy, which has been a big “if” this year, is a championship lineup. During the season, the Twins started out on a hot streak, taking 8 out of their first 10, and looked to be one of Major League Baseball’s power houses.
As the season continued, injuries continued to pile up, and the Twins found themselves approaching a .500 record while in third place in the AL Central. The team needed life, which they received in September, surging back to the top of the AL standings riding a wave of momentum, retaking the division crown in the last week of the season. They now look poised to make some noise in the postseason after securing the 3-seed and home-field advantage in the first round before moving to the LA neutral site.
The long ball has been huge for this team all season, blasting 91 throughout the year.Hitting the ball far hasn’t been the issue, but instead having runners on base when they do so has.; The team has batted a league average .243 throughout the year, which looks to rebound with the resurgence of the high contact second baseman Luis Arraez coming back into the fold. If the tantalizing Byron Buxton can continue his hot September into October, Nelson Cruz returns back to his first half MVP form, along with contributions from the rest of the stacked roster, who knows what this team’s ceiling could be.
The Pitching Staff is Actually Pretty Good
Starters:
Jake Odorizzi (IL)
Bullpen:
Tyler Duffy
When you think about the strengths of the Twins, you probably think about the offense. While I would agree with you, their starting pitching really isn’t too far behind.
Headed by the newly acquired ace in Kenta Maeda, the Twins starters have been solid. Maeda has posted a 2.70 ERA with a 6-1 record in 66.2 innings pitched. Coming off his best year combined with the most playoff experience on the team, Maeda will give Minnesota a fighter’s chance each night he is on the mound.
Aside from Maeda, the Twins will be hoping to get good outings from the extremely talented Jose Berrios. Most Twins fans would agree that Berrios is the most talented pitcher on the roster, and if he can put it together he could be lights out and would be a huge asset in the Twins postseason success. Berrios’s 5-4 record with 4.00 ERA in 2020 doesn’t do him justice as his stuff is nothing short of the best in the league when he is on his game.
In order for the Twins to have the success they desire going forward they will need the 2-0 Michael Pineda to continue pitching well, Rich Hill’s postseason experience, Randy Dobnak, and Jake Odorizzi to come off the IL and return to his 2019 first-half dominant form.
The Twins bullpen is another fairly strong point. Matt Wisler has been nothing short of great this season with a 1.09 ERA through 24.2 innings, and Tyler Duffy hasn’t been far behind posting a 1.88 ERA in 24.0 IP.The Twins have relied on Wisler and Duffy all season in high-stress situations, and they have come through immensely and are key assets.
Aside from those top bullpen arms, Trevor May has shown bright spots at times, Sergio Romo, Tyler Clippard, rookie Jorge Alcala, and Caleb Thielbar have been decent hovering around a 3 ERA apiece. Closer Taylor Rogers has had a rough year with a 4.05 ERA and a 2-4 record, Minnesota hopes he can move forward from his rough regular season and go back to his dominant self in the postseason. If the bullpen can keep the Twins in the games throughout the postseason, they will be in good shape to set up the offense to win the game, which is what Minnesota is built to do.
Byron Buxton
The Twins are two entirely different teams with and without the often-injured Byron Buxton.
When he is on the field, he makes a difference.Every ball that is hit in the general direction of center field, Buxton will run down. Whether it is making diving catches in the gap, robbing homeruns, throwing people out with his cannon arm, or just gliding over to a routine ball and taking charge of the defense, the platinum glove award winning Buxton changes the Twins roster.
He is a jolt of energy and momentum like no other, and that’s not even including what he does at the plate, where he’s come a long way
The 2012 number 2 overall pick was a work in progress when drafted, and continued to be until he broke out in 2019, just before becoming injured again.; Finally in 2020, Buxton has proved his worth to the team by tallying 13 homeruns and 27 RBIs while hitting a much improved .254 through 130 plate appearances. This is all Minnesota needs from Buxton, a decent bat who hits for some power and hits for a decent average. The way I see it, the Twins go as Buxton goes and if he can continue to get better and better, he could become a future AL MVP.
-Alexander Wolfe
