The Minnesota Twins have been stuck in a three team battle atop the American League Central all season long. With the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox running right alongside them, the Twins have never had a firm grip on a playoff spot this season, and that will most likely continue throughout September.
As of right now, the Guardians currently have the top spot in the Central to themselves, but they don't have much of a cushion. The Twins are just a game behind them, while the White Sox are just two games out of first place. The division is still very much up for grabs, and it will be interesting to see who ends up coming out on top when all is said and done.
When you look at each of these teams, you can't help but feel like the Twins will somehow find a way to win the division. With that in mind, let's take a look at three reasons Minnesota will end up winning the division and sending their rivals home for an early offseason.
3. Their lineup is very deep
The strength of the Twins this season has been their lineup. They have a lot of strong hitters that have been powering Minnesota to wins as their pitching staff tries to get things figured out. For the most part, the lineup has kept this team afloat in the playoff race.
This was how it was expected to be heading into the season. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton have led the way, even though Buxton is struggling to hit for average and is currently on the injured list. Jose Miranda, Nick Gordon, and Gio Urshela have all been solid, and are part of what makes this lineup so consistent. Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler have been a bit inconsistent, but they have still delivered throughout the season.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the lineup has been Luis Arraez, who is currently leading the American League in batting average with a strong .318 average. Arraez has always been a good contact hitter, but he's never been able to do it over a full season. With guys like Buxton and Polanco hopefully not having very long stints on the injured list, the hope is that the lineup will continue to hold down the fort as the regular season comes to a close.
2. Help is on the way
Piggybacking off that, there is some help that is on the way for the Twins. Their injured list has been a bit crowded throughout the season, and that's certainly the case right now. The good news is that some of these guys will be making their returns to the field shortly.
Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey recently noted that there are a couple of players closing in on a return to the field. He mentioned outfielder Trevor Larnach and pitchers Josh Winder, Bailey Ober, and Randy Dobnak are all going to be playing for the Twins again sooner rather than later. Of course, the Twins also got trade deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle back already, which was a huge help for the starting rotation.
Getting Ober and Dobnak back would be a great help when it comes to solidifying the back of the rotation and the front of the bullpen. Larnach would also shore up an already strong lineup, and given Buxton's injury, getting him back sooner rather than later would be huge. If the Twins can hold on until these guys get back, they could be in a great position to overtake the Guardians.
1. They still play the Guardians eight times
Of course, the easiest way to make up ground on the Guardians is to beat them yourselves. Luckily for the Twins, they still play Cleveland eight more times before the season ends. These games will play a huge role in determining who will come out on top in the division.
The reason these games are so important is because whoever ends up winning the division will probably be the only team in the AL Central to earn a playoff spot. Neither the Twins nor White Sox are particularly close to earning a wild card spot right now, which only adds to the intrigue surrounding this playoff race.
The Twins control their fate this season. If they make the playoffs, it will most likely be because they post a winning record against the Guardians in their final eight games against them. It doesn't really matter what has happened earlier on in the season, because Minnesota's season is still ahead of them. If they can make up some ground over Cleveland in these final eight games, chances are they will earn a playoff berth.
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