So far, the AL Central is, by far, the worst division in MLB.
The leaders, the Minnesota Twins, have an 8-8 record to open 2022.
They are trying to avoid a similar fate to the 2021 season, in which everything clicked for them in the early going and then they suffered an ugly collapse.
“#MNTwins moved into 1st place in the AL Central at 8-8. They haven’t been 1st since 4/12/21 when they were 5-4. After a 5-2 start in 2021, the Twins went 68-87 and that included a 29-28 finish. They were 6-10 through 16 games last season on their way to a 9-15 April,” Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweeted.
#MNTwins moved into 1st place in the AL Central at 8-8. They haven’t been 1st since 4/12/21 when they were 5-4.
After a 5-2 start in 2021, the Twins went 68-87 and that included a 29-28 finish.
They were 6-10 through 16 games last season on their way to a 9-15 April.— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) April 25, 2022
2021 Was Very Rough For Minnesota
They opened the 2021 campaign with a 5-2 record, but then slid dramatically, lost their best 2020 starter to a long-term injury (Kenta Maeda), and lost their best player, Byron Buxton, for a significant amount of time.
Amid other injuries, underperformance from several stars, and some really bad luck, they slumped through the first half and decided to sell some assets, most notably starter Jose Berrios and some relievers.
They played some youngsters a lot in 2021, especially in the second half, and they were able to finish with a 29-28 record.
That’s progress.
This year, they brought in a star shortstop in Carlos Correa, some pitching in Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy, Chris Paddack, and Chris Archer, and are giving chances to their young players.
The most important development, however, is that Buxton is fully healthy after a knee scare a couple of weeks ago.
They may not be as good as the Chicago White Sox, but in a best-case scenario, Minnesota could potentially fight for a Wild Card spot.
From that point on, anything could happen.
