The Minnesota Twins are set to play the Texas Rangers for the final series of the season this weekend at Target Field. The series will have major playoff implications, as the Rangers are tied with the Houston Astros for the best record in the American League West at 79-80. The Astros, currently in the middle of a four-game series against the Athletics, have the tiebreaker over the Rangers because of their head-to-head record, meaning Texas must finish with a better record than Houston to win the AL West. Neither the Rangers nor the Astros can make the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
The fact that the Twins, eliminated from postseason contention last weekend, can play spoiler in the final series of the season is fun. However, while this goes against the very nature of being a fan, Minnesota fans should root for the Twins to lose all three games this weekend.
I'm not saying this because we all want the Rangers to make the playoffs. Although if you're like most MLB fans, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to see the Astros, known cheaters (even if most of the players from the 2017 team are now gone), miss the playoffs. Back to the main point: Twins fans should root for Minnesota to get swept so the club's draft lottery odds improve.
The Twins entered Thursday with a 15.7% chance to earn a top-6 pick in the 2027 MLB Draft, according to Tankathon. They also have a 1.62% chance to earn the No. 1 overall pick.
Every team that misses the playoffs is entered into a lottery for the top six picks in the draft. However, because of anti-tanking rules, the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates aren't eligible to earn a top-6 pick. For the teams eligible to earn a top-6 pick, the ones with the worst records have better odds, which is why the Twins would be better off losing their final three games of the season.
Game 1 of the upcoming three-game series between the Twins and Rangers at Target Field is scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m. CDT on Friday. Right-hander Joe Ryan (6-10, 3.83 ERA, 151 SO) is slated to start for Minnesota. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (11-10, 3.86 ERA, 196 SO) is expected to start for Texas. Fans can watch the series opener on Twins.TV.
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