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Minnesota Twins Finally See Another Jump in the MLB Power Rankings

By Jordan Ison

Apr 22, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Jason Castro (21) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. The Tigers won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Jason Castro (21) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. The Tigers won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite the disastrous end of the week for the Minnesota Twins, the ESPN Power Rankings for this week have them much higher than a week ago.

The Minnesota Twins had a quietly mediocre week in the first week of May. Even so, the ESPN Power Rankings showed the Twins a bit of love. After going 3-3 in two series against the Athletics and the Red Sox, the Twins are placed 15th in this week’s MLB Power Rankings.

The beginning of the week started off really well for Minnesota. Two wins over the Athletics in strong fashion looked great for the Twins’ resume. Hitting-wise, they looked red hot and the pitching was solid as well. They lost game 3 against the Athletics, though, after a strikeout by Miguel Sano with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

The series against the Red Sox looked nice at the beginning as well. Minnesota won the first game 4-3 after a walk-off home-run by the aged veteran, Joe Mauer.

After a nice game one, the Minnesota Twins’ pitching rotation and bullpen imploded. They gave up 28 runs over two games, losing games 2 and 3 by scores of 11-1 and 17-6.

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A week ago the Twins were sitting at 23 in the power rankings. Even with the 3-3 week, they showed a lot of hopeful signs in the two latest series. In the wins, the Twins looked very strong and the bats looked incredible. The pitching, while not perfect, had some solid moments.

The reason for the jump in the rankings has to be the potential Minnesota showed over this week. Despite two horrendous pitching performances on Saturday and Sunday, there a lot of positives that can be taken from the first week in May.

First of all, the Twins improved their slugging percentage with some great shows of power. For example, the Twins mustered 10 home-runs in the 3 game series against the Athletics alone.

The ability to hit with runners in scoring position was on display as well. This is something the Minnesota Twins vitally struggled with in April, so improving on this is a must. We saw signs that improvement in this category is on it’s way.

Next: The Dominance of Ervin Santana May be Over

After a less-than-stellar 2016 campaign, sitting at 15 in the power rankings after nearly 30 games is solid. The Twins have the White Sox and the Indians this upcoming week as they try to continue to move up in the power rankings.

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