Minnesota Twins: 4 Takeaways after the Twins’ First 25 Games

The Minnesota Twins have now played 25 games in 2022, so with a rather large sample size, we can safely start making some observations about the team, the players, and their chances to compete in the division as well as the American League.

The team is 15-10, buoyed by a 11-2 stretch after starting the season 4-8. They’ve won their past three series (including two against teams that 93+ games last year) and they’re looking to make it four straight against the Orioles later today.

They currently hold a 3.5 game lead in the division and head into the month ahead with just one team over .500 until June 3rd. With all that in mind, this felt like a good time to stop and consider what we’ve learned so far.

We break down four things we’ve learned from the Minnesota Twins through 25 games.

For this, we won’t focus on the overly obvious things that we knew before the season began. Everyone knew the team was set at shortstop after Carlos Correa was signed. Instead, we’ll focus on some of the more surprising developments of the year, starting with the bullpen.

Takeaway No. 1: The Minnesota Twins bullpen is very capable of a playoff run.

Going into the season, the Twins’ starting pitching was the biggest concern for this team (more on that later), but the bullpen seemed like it would be a major problem. In reality it’s been one of the team’s biggest strengths.

This pen has nearly everything. Joe Smith has been an absolute wizard, getting the Twins out of every jam he gets put in with a sparkling 0.00 ERA. Jhoan Duran is a devastating weapon with some of the best analytic numbers in baseball. Griffin Jax, Danny Coulombe, and Cody Stashak have all been stellar options.

Emilio Pagan has been shaky, but his ERA has stayed low, and Caleb Thielbar appear to be due for some positive regression. It hasn’t all been perfect, as Tyler Duffey has looked rough and Jorge Alcala and Jhon Romero have been hurt, but this bullpen looks extremely deep.

If Duran can continue to emerge and wrestle the closing role away from Emilio Pagan, this bullpen will go from a very good group to a truly elite one. With only Joe Smith and Tyler Duffey as free agents after 2022, it could stay that way for a while.