Rankings are the best, an internet staple. Mostly when David Letterman did them on "Late Night" as Top 10 Lists ("from the home office in...").
Sometimes when MLB does Top 10 lists through the prism of MLB Network's "The Shredder," they make it easy for fans to get upset. "The Top 10 Drag Bunters RIGHT NOW," and the like. Fans notice someone getting missed, or disrespected, and it just makes you go "huh?"
Although it's nice they named their algorithm (research staff, whatever) after the nickname of Twins' All-Piranha infielder Nick Punto.
It's like how Baseball Prospectus named its projection formula after Royals infielder Bill Pecota.
Anyway, a recent list compiled by Mike Petriello and Will Leitch, who might or might not have filtered it through The Shredder, ranks the likely World Series winner in Major League Baseball from 1-30. The Twins just missed the top 10, which is probably fair given how they finished with an 82-80 record in 2024, missing the top three in the AL Central (and missing the playoffs).
The good news, if you believe in the list, is they ranked the Twins 11th — and first in the AL Central. Back to the playoffs, baby! The iffy news is that the Detroit Tigers are right behind them at No. 12, which almost makes it seem like they flipped a coin.
And, well, Petriello writes:
"It's right about here that I get a little less confident and a little more 'flip a coin.' Having done that, I land on a Twins team that disappointed in 2024 and didn’t do a whole lot to change that this winter, meaning that for yet another season, we're left hoping this is the one when Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis all stay healthy at the same time."
Hey, where have we heard all of that before? It's possibly, or exactly, what Twins fans also think of the Twins. Sounds like the MLB.com guys have the Twins in a realistic context. It is also very possible that, if most things go well for the Twins, they would do even better than the 11th-best record/chance of winning the World Series.
Let's look closer at this top 10. The Los Angeles Dodgers, you might not believe, are ranked No. 1. After the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, the Texas Rangers are the top-ranked American League team at No. 5. Petriello again writes:
"Are the Dodgers a wildly talented outfit of superstars so loaded that they’ve now surpassed 'merely being a baseball team' and become some sort of internationally known conglomerate? Well, yes."
The Baltimore Orioles (No. 6), Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs round out the top 10.
Despite the rankers being fair about the Twins not doing much this offseason to get better (just use it for more bulletin-board material, Ty France), it's questionable to have some of these teams ahead of Minnesota anyway. Mostly the Cubs at No. 10, but the Red Sox at No. 7 are highly suspect.
You wanna talk about "prove it?"
They have a lot to show the world. And the Yankees, while they did make some key additions, lost an entire Juan Soto.
The Twins should be no lower than No. 9. Then again, it's perfectly OK for anyone to sleep on the Twins. No matter what the pundits say, they've got to get back to being the best team in the division before worrying about overtaking the rest of the American League. It's also fair to say there might not be a lot of daylight between the Twins and the rest of the Central.
Here's what Leitch said about the Tigers, whom it seems he likes more than Petriello does:
"Man, I wish they would have gotten Alex Bregman. That’s the sort of move that signals serious intent, the ole Jayson Werth-to-the-Nats signing — the one that lets everybody know you’re not messing around. Alas, the Tigers will instead be hoping for Jace Jung to break through at third… and probably still feeling a bat or two short."
Sorry about that coin flip, Will. As for the rest of the AL Central, they rank Cleveland No. 18 and Kansas City No. 19, with the Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners (???) ahead of the AL Central field in the playoff hunt. Sounds like someone is putting the Central back in its place.
The White Sox were picked last, as perhaps everyone suspected.
Do you think they put the Twins in the right place? First place in the AL Central, among the playoff field — Twins fans would have taken that in a second a season ago. Do they take it now?