The Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins got caught in an exciting duel for the top spot of the AL Central division last year come early September.
Little did we know that the Guardians would go on to win 92 games and the Twins would completely collapse and finish 78-84, a whopping 14 games behind Cleveland.
A lot of things went right for the Guardians last campaign, but they are one of the most evident up-and-comers in baseball and are capable of putting together a similar performance this year.
In fact, oddsmakers are setting the over/under for their wins total at 87.5 wins.
Oddsmakers release MLB season-win totals for the 2023 season. #Guardians OVER/UNDER set at 87.5 wins.
(via @BetMGM)
(H/T @JoeOstrowski)— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) January 31, 2023
These are reasonable odds, given the fact that every team in the division should be a bit better in 2023, perhaps with the exception of the Detroit Tigers.
The ones making the odds also have to consider the Twins’ vast improvement since the offseason began.
We don’t know who will win the AL Central this upcoming campaign, but we do know that Minnesota should be way better, especially if Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are healthy.
But Cleveland is also very, very good.
They managed to put together a strong rotation led by Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie, and their lineup could be sneaky good, too.
They added power hitters Mike Zunino and Josh Bell to a core that already had Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, and other talented players.
And their bullpen is lights out, led by Emmanuel Clase but deep in other options.
In the end, the Guards should be able to clear that win projection.
NEXT: Guardians Honor Their Most Famous Fan
