Minnesota Twins Continue to Fall in Latest Power Rankings

Apr 30, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario (20), right fielder Max Kepler (26) and center fielder Byron Buxton (25) celebrate after the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Minnesota won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario (20), right fielder Max Kepler (26) and center fielder Byron Buxton (25) celebrate after the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Minnesota won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Despite a solid 4-1 week, the Minnesota Twins continue to fall back in the most recent ESPN Power Rankings heading into May.

The Minnesota Twins have cooled off after a red-hot start to the 2017 campaign. Despite their recent struggles, the Twins had a great week last week. As a result, they were rewarded with their great play by a 4-1 record on the week.

The hot bats got the Twins rolling in their latest series against the Kansas City Royals. Minnesota scored 13 runs in those two games. It was an very impressive series for Miguel Sano, who went 5 for 9 with two home-runs and 9 RBI’s.

The first series of the week was against the Texas Rangers. After a 2-0 start to the series, the pitching had a horrible outing and consequently the Rangers handed the Twins their only loss of the week in embarrassing fashion, 14-3.

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Even though the Minnesota Twins had a great week record-wise, the ESPN Power Rankings didn’t show them any love. Instead of moving up after a strong week, the Twins dropped from number 20 last week to number 23 this week.

The disrespect for the Twins in these power rankings is real. They sit at 12-11, and are the only team above .500 to be ranked under number 20. What will the Twins have to do to gain the committee’s respect?

It’s a simple answer. The Minnesota Twins need to be more consistent. Even with a strong week, the Twins have shown no reason that this will keep up. After a 5-1 start to the season, the Twins lost 7 out of their next 9 games.

The power rankings committee at ESPN doesn’t look too highly on streaky teams, and that is proven in the case of the Twins. While things are looking better for Minnesota, they need to pull together a string of good weeks before expecting to move up.

Next: Sano Leads Twins in Sweep of Royals

Despite the lack of respect by the ESPN Power Rankings, Twins’ fans have a glimmer of hope. The bats look great and the pitching looks solid. Finally, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton seem to have hit their stride. Hopefully they can keep this up in the upcoming week against the A’s and Red Sox.