After a disastrous 2021 season that saw them finish last in the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins are now the best team in their division with a solid 35-27 record.
They have a three-game advantage over the Cleveland Guardians and a six-game cushion over the preseason favorites to take the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox.
Part of what makes the Twins dangerous is the fact that they can compete with the elite of the American League, and they have shown that this year.
“Ryan Jeffers, on the #MNTwins performance against TOR, NYY, TB: ‘I think we showed that when we get into a playoff series with these guys, we’ve got more than enough to beat them in a three-game, five-game series. … We’ve shown that, and we’re down a lot of our pitching,'” MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park tweeted, quoting the Twins’ catcher.
Ryan Jeffers, on the #MNTwins performance against TOR, NYY, TB:
"I think we showed that when we get into a playoff series with these guys, we've got more than enough to beat them in a three-game, five-game series. … We've shown that, and we're down a lot of our pitching."
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 12, 2022
The Twins Showed They Can Compete With The Best Teams In The American League
Indeed, several members of the Twins rotation are currently out, so they did more than OK against the cream of the crop in the junior circuit: the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Tampa Bay Rays.
In June, Minnesota won a three-game series against the Blue Jays, lost a three-game set against the Yankees, 2-1, and won another series against the Rays.
Overall, they went 5-4 in those games, showing they can, indeed, win some games against top competition.
As long as Byron Buxton is healthy, the Twins will have a fighting chance.
When Joe Ryan, Josh Winder, and other injured pitchers return, they will also have more pitching depth.
Overall, the Twins are a dangerous team and could be very hard to knock out in a playoff series.
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