Minnesota Twins: 5 goals for the team to complete before the postseason
Win the American League Central division
The Minnesota Twins have tried to put breathing room in between themselves and the Cleveland Indians since the Indians brought themselves even for the division lead on August 9th. The Twins have pulled away again with a 3 1/2 game lead, but the series against Cleveland starting Friday offers the best chance to widen the gap.
With Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios projected as two of the starters going against the Indians this weekend, even a 2-1 series win gives Minnesota a five game lead and puts Cleveland in a tough position going forward. Cleveland has six games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals, two teams fighting for a Wild Card berth, that could cause them to drop even further back of the Twins.
Even if the Twins fail to win the final series against the Indians (Cleveland leads the season series 9-7), the Twins can take advantage of thirteen games against the bottom of the AL Central barrel (all teams with sub-.500 records). It would take a true slump for Minnesota to miss out on winning the Central for the first time since 2010.
Prediction: With the Twins’ magic number sitting at 13, Minnesota will beat Cleveland twice and then lock up the division by the time the team heads to Detroit on September 24th.
Win 100 games
While this goal isn’t as important as some of the other ones on this list, this would just be a fun one to see. The Minnesota Twins haven’t won 100 or more games since 1965, when they won 102 and lost in the World Series. Throughout this season, this has been a very achievable goal, but it’s getting down to the wire and the team still hasn’t gotten there yet.
Bottom line, the team is now at 89 wins and need just 11 more to hit the century mark. The Bomba Squad has 16 games remaining, and get to play 13 of those games against three of the worst teams in baseball in the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and all-time bad Detroit Tigers. This is not a tough group of teams, and if the Twins can play the way they have all year they will
Minnesota just has to go 11-5 to reach the 100 win mark. It won’t be easy, but the team has a winning percentage of over 60% so far this season, meaning that this last push would take the relatively typical pace for the group. The Twins should make the marker and complete the second best record in team history.
Prediction: The Minnesota Twins will eventually hit the 100 win mark, but likely won’t make it there until the final series of the year in Kansas City.
The Twins need to get healthy
To say that the Minnesota Twins are a little beat up this season would be a drastic understatement. Miguel Sano, Jake Cave, Max Kepler are all listed as Day-to-Day, and Sam Dyson and Marwin Gonzalez are day-to-day, but likely out until closer to the end of the month.
Sano and Kepler are crucial to the success of the team, while Cave, Gonzalez, and Dyson are key role players for the team.
The team desperately needs to get these players healthy and keep them that way. If that means the team has to rest certain players more against the lower quality teams, then that needs to be what happens. The team has simply been injured too often, and with Byron Buxton now done for the year, it is very important to protect the depth this lineup boasts.
Prediction: Marwin Gonzalez comes back right before the playoffs start and Sam Dyson finally is healthy, but at least one Twin heads to the injured list at the worst time.
Get the pitching staff ready for the playoffs
Though Jose Berrios looked like a true ace we’ve been missing last Tuesday, it’s hard to be sure if the performance was just a one-time outing or if he is back for real. The Minnesota Twins need Berrios to be his front-of-the-rotation self and to likely start two games in the playoffs, something that would be tough for him to do if he plays like he has most of the second half.
In addition to Berrios, the Twins need to see the best versions of Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, and Martin Perez the rest of the way. In the playoffs, pitchers don’t typically go more than five or six innings, so one of Gibson or Perez will have to be an elite innings eater (this is where Michael Pineda will REALLY be missed). The team also needs to decide on a fifth starter for the rest of they way, and if the opener continues to work, who follows them.
Finally, the Twins need to decide who makes the bullpen rotation for the playoffs. Sending out the wrong player at the wrong time could destroy even the best teams, so the Twins need to figure out who they will trot out in the back half of playoff ball games. Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers should be the closer and setup man, but who takes the ball in front of them? Ryne Harper, Trevor May, and Sergio Romo have been good, but are they October ready?
Prediction: Berrios finds his form and looks to be himself again, and Kyle Gibson sets himself up as the third starter, but the bullpen order remains unsolved.
Finalize the postseason roster
The Twins postseason roster is pretty much set on offense, with Mitch Garver and Jason Castro making it behind the plate, C.J. Cron, Ehire Adrianza, Jorge Polanco, Sano, Luis Arraez, and Jonathan Schoop making it in the infield. Nelson Cruz will make it as a designated hitter while, Kepler, Cave, Eddie Rosario, and Marwin Gonzalez will all make the team as outfielders.
Pitching becomes a lot harder. With Pineda done for the year, that means the Twins have Berrios, Odorizzi, Gibson, and Perez as their four starters. The team is also surely bringing Rogers, Duffey, Dyson, Romo, and May with, but the last spots aren’t decided. This is where figuring out the bullpen order comes in handy.
I think Zach Littell and Lewis Thorpe make the roster as well, as Littell has been fantastic and Thorpe has been way better than his ERA says (his expected ERA is only 2.63). Thorpe also makes the cut as a lefty who can throw multiple innings. With one more spot available, I think the Twins bring another reliever and either Brusdar Graterol, Trevor Hildenberger or Cody Stasak make the roster because of the Buxton exception.