Ranking the 9 Opponents the Minnesota Twins face in 2020

Minnesota Twins Competitor No. 3: Chicago Cubs

Key Players: 3B Kris Bryant, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Javier Baez, SP Jon Lester

The Cubs team that won the World Series in 2016 looks a little different four years later, but most of the key players are still here. Bryant and Rizzo are the heart of the lineup, Baez is the flashy superstar, and the rotation still looks pretty good.

Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, and Lester form a great rotation. The bullpen should get healthy and bounce back. Same with the outfield. There are high hopes for their new manager. I expect this team to bounce back in a big way and match up well with the Twins.

Minnesota Twins Competitor No. 2: Milwaukee Brewers

Key Players: OF Christian Yelich, 2B Keston Hiura, RP Josh Hader, SP Brandon Woodruff

The Brewers have the best player of any team in either central division in Christian Yelich. Yelich, the 2018 MVP, had an even better season in 2019 before an injury ended his season early. If Yelich is healthy, the Brewers are always tough to beat.

It’s not just Yeli though. Hiura burst onto the scene in 2019 and may have had a shot at rookie of the year had he played a full season in the majors. Hader has a case for being the best reliever in the MLB, and that rotation is at least five pitchers deep.

The Brewers depth and superstar player make them one of the toughest outs for the Twins to deal with in 2020. They just don’t quite make it over the top.

Minnesota Twins Competitor No. 1: St. Louis Cardinals

Key Players: 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Kolten Wong, SP Jack Flaherty, SS Paul DeJong

The Cardinals are easily the most complete team the Minnesota Twins will face this season. The only team on this list that made it to the ALCS and won their division last year, the Cards have a fantastic infield and rotation and an outfield primed for a bounce-back year.

Goldschmidt, Wong, Yadier Molina, and DeJong are all reliable producers, and the rotation has an ace in Jack Flaherty and the bullpen is deep. This team matches up well with the Twins and will be the toughest out come the regular season.