Minnesota Twins: Checking in on the MLB the Show 20 League

We check in on how Trevor May is doing as the Minnesota Twins representative in the MLB the Show 20 players’ league.

With major league baseball still suspended due to COVID-19, the MLB set up a tournament for fans to watch, partnering with the video game MLB The Show 20 to make it happen. Each MLB team has one player in the league (the Minnesota Twins have Trevor May), and the teams play each other to see who is best.

So far, each team has played somewhere from twelve to sixteen games, with some teams like Blake Snell‘s Tampa Bay Rays performing well, while others like Cole Tucker’s Pittsburgh Pirates not doing as well in the games.

The top eight teams make the playoffs, and tie breakers are decided by most runs scored, than fewest runs allowed, than a coin flip. With less than six games left before the playoffs, I wanted to check in on how May and his Minnesota Twins were doing in the race for the playoffs.

The Minnesota Twins (controlled by May), are 7-5, sitting in eleventh place and just on the outside looking in. They are six games out of first, but just one game back of that eighth seed. Unfortunately, if it comes to tie breakers, they could be in trouble as he is fifteenth in runs scored (he is third best in runs allowed though).

Luckily for the Twins and May, they have an easier schedule the rest of the way. Here are his last five opponents with their records attached:

• at Jesus Luzardo (OAK): 6-6
• vs. Luke Jackson (ATL): 5-7
• at Niko Goodrum (DET): 5-10
• vs. Rhys Hoskins (PHI): 9-6
• vs. Cole Tucker (PIT): 2-10

Three of his last five games come at Target Field and four out of five games come against opponents that are .500 or below. Their combined winning percentage is just .409. If May goes 4-1 against these teams, or even 3-2, he will greatly improve his chances at the playoffs.

If you’re wondering how the Minnesota Twins’ stats are looking, here’s the rundown for the batters:

• C: Mitch Garver-.353 BA, 2 Runs, 1 RBI
• 1B: Miguel Sano-.556 BA, 7 Runs, 3 HR, 5 RBI
• 2B: Marwin Gonzalez-.571 BA, 3 Runs, 4 RBI
• SS: Jorge Polanco-.455 BA, 7 Runs, 3 HR, 8 RBI
• 3B: Josh Donaldson-.250 BA, 2 Runs, 2 RBI
• LF: Eddie Rosario-.333 BA, 2 Runs, 1 HR, 5 RBI
• CF: Byron Buxton-.250 BA, 3 Runs
• RF: Max Kepler-.588 BA, 5 Runs, 3 HR, 8 RBI
• DH: Nelson Cruz-.250 BA, 3 Runs, 1 HR, 1 RBI

And for the pitchers, the stats were harder to figure out, but Kenta Maeda leads the team in strikeouts with six and wins with three over three games, Sergio Romo has pitched in six games and hasn’t given up a run, while Taylor Rogers has three saves.

It’s fun to watch May play as the Minnesota Twins when we are unable to watch the real team play. I’ll be watching closely down the stretch, as electronic baseball is still way better than no baseball. If you want to watch as well, you can check out Trevor May’s Twitch stream here or check out the Sporting News article about the league to learn more.