The Twins are playing incredible baseball right now, but with three other teams in the AL Central also on hot streaks, they're still struggling to gain ground in the division standings. In fact, it wasn't until the Twins' fifth win of their current eight-game win streak that they actually ended up getting a game closer to the Tigers for first place in the division.
Are the Twins in the best division in the American League?
Detroit had its five-game win streak snapped on Saturday on the road against the Rangers. The Tigers currently have the best record in the American League this year at 26-15. They have looked like the real deal throughout the first 41 games of the season; they have a deep lineup, a stacked rotation, and the best bullpen in the AL this year with an ERA of 2.72. The Tigers' starting staff has been really impressive this season, led by Tarik Skubal, who looks to be the best pitcher on the planet right now. He has a 2.08 ERA on the season, and in his last five starts, he's pitched a total of 31 innings, given up just 4 runs, and struck out 44. The Tigers have the highest playoff probability in the Central Division based on FanGraphs playoff odds, at 85.3%.
The Kansas City Royals have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last few weeks. On April 19th, Kansas City had just lost their 6th straight game and had a record of 8-14. Since then, they've won 16 of their last 20 games and have a record of 24-18, which is tied with the Guardians for the first wild card spot in the American League.
Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr is having another great season; his 2.6 bWAR is currently the third-best in all of baseball. Kansas City is also enjoying a breakout season from their third baseman, Maikel Garcia. The 25-year-old is hitting .306 with an OPS of .845. He's also got 10 stolen bases and has been very good defensively with a +3 outs above average.
Other than Garcia and Witt, the Royals' offense has struggled. They are currently 26th in all of baseball in team OPS at .659. The strength of this Royals ballclub is its pitching. They have a very impressive rotation. Ragans, Lugo, Wacha, Bubic and Lorenzen are all off to good starts. Kansas City has the second-best team ERA in the game at 2.99.
The defending champs in the Central are the Cleveland Guardians. They are another team in this division that has a record above .500, as they currently sit at 23-17. Cleveland is the only team in the Central other than the White Sox with a negative run differential at -17. The Guardians are a club that's had a ton of success in close games. They have a record of 8-2 in games decided by one run this season, which is tied for the best mark in baseball. FanGraphs playoff odds currently like Cleveland the least out of the four contenders in the division; their odds are just 42.4% despite being a full 2 games up for the last wild card spot at the moment.
With four of the five teams in the American League Central looking like legitimate playoff contenders, the final four and a half months of the season should be fun to watch. No team from the division has won the American League pennant since the Guardians did it in 2016, but that drought could realistically end this year, as four of the eight teams in the American League that currently have postseason odds over 40% reside in the Central division.