The Minnesota Twins were in position to fight for the top spot in the AL Central last year as late as early September.
Then, because of several key injuries and a general slump, the team collapsed monumentally in the last month and finished third in the standings, missing the playoffs.
The 2023 Twins look much, much better and could potentially challenge the Cleveland Guardians for the top spot again.
However, they have a few players that could go either way: they may dominate and guide the Twins, or they might fail miserably and doom them once again.
Pitcher Kenta Maeda and slugger Joey Gallo are certainly two of them.
Maeda lost a sizable portion of 2021 and all of the 2022 campaign while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Gallo, on the other hand, struggled with the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, particularly with the former.
If they are both healthy and in-form, they could represent the difference between missing the postseason and winning the Central.
Here, both of them are in action in the Twins’ camp.
Gallo won the battle this time, as he sent a ball over the left field fence for a home run.
Joey Gallo drives one the opposite way off the fence against Kenta Maeda in live batting practice. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/OJ7jSx5ykN
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) February 19, 2023
Maeda has a 3.87 career ERA, while Gallo owns a career .469 slugging percentage and 177 homers.
They both carry serious bounce-back potential.
They just need to be healthy, especially Maeda.
With almost two years to recover, his rehab is pretty much completed.
He could be a nice middle-of-the-rotation stalwart.
Gallo is who he is, but a bit more contact could put him in star territory.
They are both complementary pieces, but really important ones.
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