The Minnesota Twins have their work cut out for them as they prepare for the first round of the MLB playoffs. They will have a difficult road in front of them, no matter how it works out.

There are locked into the No. 3 seed in the American League playoffs, meaning they will play the No. 6 seed when the playoffs start next week. The Twins will play at home in the best of three series, and that's a good thing. However, if the standings remain as they stand on Thursday, they will face the Houston Astros, the defending World Series champions.

That's the most difficult matchup, but they could also face the Toronto Blue Jays or the Seattle Mariners, depending on how the final weekend of the season plays out.

In addition to the competition, the Twins have their own history to overcome. They have lost a record  18 postseason games in a row.

Astros have postseason pedigree

The Astros have not been at their best down the stretch. It appeared they would be fighting for the division title at the start of September, but instead they are fighting for a Wild Card spot as they are 11-14 in September. This does not mean the Astros won't be in a position to turn it on once the postseason starts, but it would also be wrong to assume that this year's version of the team will be the dominant team that won the World Series last year.

The Twins would certainly have a chance, and those chances would be that much better if Royce Lewis is recovered from the Grade 1 hamstring strain that has sidelined him. Lewis set a team record by hitting 4 grand slams this season, and he has 5 of them in his 70-game career. The 4 grand slams this season have come over an 18-game span, and no player has ever come close to that mark.

Lewis passed Don Mattingly who belted 4 bases-loaded home runs in 39 games in 1987 for the Yankees, and that had been the record for the most grand slams in the shortest period.

If Lewis is in the lineup against the Astros at anything close to full strength, that will be excellent news for manager Rocco Baldelli.

The Astros will come at the Twins with Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker leading the way, and any one of those players could take over a three-game series at any point.

The Twins won the season series from the Astros by a 4-2 margin, but those meetings took place early in the season.

Mariners and Blue Jays would be less intimidating

The Mariners were one of the hottest teams in the American League when August concluded, but September has been something of a disaster. After losing 2 of 3 games to the Astros prior to the final series of the season against the Rangers, the Mariners are 9-16 in September.

If the Twins are playing the Mariners in the first round, the top priority will be containing dynamic centerfielder Julio Rodriguez, who is slashing .280/.339/.490 with 31 home runs and 102 runs batted in.

In addition to Rodriguez, the Mariners will offer plenty of power with Cal Raleigh, who has belted 30 home runs and 75 RBI, Teoscar Hernandez, 26 home runs and 93 RBI and Eugenio Suarez, with 21 home runs and 94 RBI.

The Mariners also have solid pitching in Luis Castillo (194.1 innings, 3.20 ERA), Logan Gilbert (184.2 innings, 3.75 ERA) and George Kirby (184.2 innings, 3.46 ERA).

The Blue Jays are 14-10 in September, but they close the season by hosting the Yankees Thursday and the final three games against the Rays. If the Blue Jays emerge, they have 8 players with double-digit home run totals, and are led by Vladimir Guerrero (26 home runs), George Springer (21 home runs) and Bo Bichette (20 home runs).

Starters Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi and Hyun Jin Ryu could cause problems for the Twins lineup.

The Twins dropped the season series to the Mariners by a 4-3 margin and they split the 6-game series with the Blue Jays.

Rangers to follow in AL Division Series

If the Twins survive the first round, they would meet the No. 2 seed Texas Rangers in the Division Series, assuming they hold off the Astros.

The Rangers have a solid hitting team led by Adolis Garcia (38 home runs), Corey Seager (33 home runs) and Marcus Semien (29 home runs).

After a brutal stretch in August, the Rangers have put together a 14-11 record in September. The Twins own a 5-2 head-to-head edge on the Rangers this season.

Should the Twins get past the Rangers, the Orioles or the Rays would be their likely opponents in the ALCS. Both are powerful teams, and while the Twins would be underdogs against either, it is a problem that Baldelli would like to have on his plate.