Predicting how many wins the Minnesota Twins will take home in 2020

We break down the Minnesota Twins schedule and predict how many wins the team will earn over the shortened season.

Though we don’t know the order of the games that the Minnesota Twins will play in this shortened 2020 season, we do know who they will be playing and for how many games:

With an exact number of games against each team known, we can predict how well the Twins will do against each of these teams as well as how they’ll do overall. Now that we’ve gone over that, let’s get started with the games against the National League Central.

Minnesota Twins vs. the NL Central

Projected Record against the Chicago Cubs: 2-2

The Cubs are looking to rebound from a disappointing season in 2019 where they only scraped together 84 wins. They should be much better this year, with a healthy bullpen and rotation combined with a lineup led by Javier Baez, this is still a formidable squad.

On the flip side, the Twins themselves are a formidable opponent for the Cubs, and because the Twins didn’t play the Cubs last season, I expect the Twins and Cubs to battle it out during their four game series, eventually splitting the games.

Projected Record against the Milwaukee Brewers: 3-1

The Twins and Brewers split their series two games to two in 2019, but the Brewers lost two key contributors in Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal. Despite this, the team is still solid and features the best player the Twins will face in Christian Yelich.

I think those departures give the Twins a new advantage, giving them one more win in their battles against the Brewers, helping Minnesota steal a series victory.

Projected Record against the St. Louis Cardinals: 2-2

The Cardinals are a similar team to the Cubs, a team that is solid all the way around and didn’t play the Twins in 2019. They are led by an ace in starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and have a very strong rotation, good bullpen, and decent lineup.

With that in mind, I don’t know that the Twins will take this series, but I do think they’ll split this one as well, especially with the Cardinals being the toughest opponent Minnesota will face in 2020.

Projected Record against the Pittsburgh Pirates: 4-0

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a rebuilding team with next to no pitching and a lineup with several major holes in the infield. Bryan Reynolds and Josh Bell are both stars for the team, and they have several reliable players, but the overall skill of the team is lacking.

The Minnesota Twins didn’t play Pittsburgh in 2019, and I think the team was actually better last year (when they lost 93 games) than they will be in 2020. If the Twins lose a game to this Pirates team, one of Twins’ starters had a really bad outing.

Projected Record against the Cincinnati Reds: 3-1

The Reds are a team that are almost impossible to get a read on. They have a star in Eugenio Suarez, an excellent ace in Luis Castillo, and great accompanying pieces in Nicholas Castellanos, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray and more.

They had almost all of those pieces last year and still only won 75 games. If the team can put it all together in 2020, they can be really good, but that’s a big if. I think the Twins win three of these four and take care of the Reds.

Final Minnesota Twins Record vs. the NL Central 14-6

If the Twins manage to win 70% of their games against the NL Central, they will have set themselves up well for a spot in the playoffs. Again, that NL Central group doesn’t look tough at all, so if the Twins play to their potential, this could be a realistic outcome.

Minnesota Twins vs. the AL Central

Projected Record against the Chicago White Sox: 6-4

I am significantly higher on the Chicago White Sox than most people, so I think they’ll be a really tough team to beat. The additions of Yasmani Grandal and Dallas Kuechel, coupled with steps forward from all of their top prospects/young stars could make the White Sox the toughest team in the AL Central (outside of the Twins, of course).

The Twins did go 13-6 against the White Sox in 2019, so the possibility that they go 7-3 in 2020 is also realistic, but I do think that the Twins won’t win every game they should. This helps make a 6-4 mark more likely.

Projected Record against the Detroit Tigers: 7-3

The Minnesota Twins went 14-5 against the Detroit Tigers last year, winning 72.5 percent of their games against the rival Tigers, the worst team in baseball. The Tigers got better in the offseason, so I think predicting the Twins to win 70% of their games against the Tigers this year seems right.

Jonthan Schoop and C.J. Cron will help the roster out, and some of their top pitching prospects should arrive later in the year. That being said, this team isn’t a threat to the Twins in any way and will give the team a good chunk of wins.

Projected Record against the Cleveland Indians: 5-5

The Twins actually had a losing record against the Indians last year, going just 9-10 against them over the 2019 season. That being said, the Indians lost Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and more since the beginning of 2019.

They still have Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez in the lineup and Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger in the rotation, so this is still a formidable team. I’m hopeful I’m wrong, but I think they’ll be the Twins’ kryptonite again in 2020.

Projected Record against the Kansas City Royals: 7-3

The Twins were 14-5 against the Royals in 2019, proving they bullied their fellow divisional teams (outside of the Indians). The Royals are getting their All-Star catcher Salvador Perez back, who is a Twins killer.

That won’t matter, and the Twins should easily take care of business against a team that is nowhere near as good as the team that won a World Series just five years ago. Perez shouldn’t be taken lightly, but this team is unimpressive.

Final Minnesota Twins Record vs. the AL Central 25-15

This is a pretty realistic number for the Twins. The team won 65% of their games against the AL Central in 2019, and this number would set them at 62.5%. I definitely don’t think the Twins will take a step backward in 2020, but with only 60 games, there isn’t much room to go forwards.

Minnesota Twins Total Record Projection: 39-21

This win percentage would put them with a better winning percentage than last year (65% vs. 62.3%) and would almost assuredly give them a spot in the American League Divisional Series. This is a good record, and I’m sure both the Minnesota Twins and their fans would be happy with this mark.