Surging Twins Win AL Central Crown

The Minnesota Twins in a topsy-turvy, injury plagued season, clinched the American Central Division Title today. This came by the virtue of their 8-6 win over the Angels tonight at Target Field. In a season full of angst and some bright moments, the Twins and their fans can take a momentary sigh of relief.

The fact that the Twins prevailed in the division is not necessarily a surprise. But how the season transpired caused numerous anxiety and tension for everyone involved with the team. Conventional wisdom said that the Twins and the Cleveland Guardians would battle for the division title with Chicago as a wild card. It didn’t work out quite like that but more on that later.

Twins Rotation Looked Strong

When the season started, the strengths of the Twins looked like their starting rotation and a trio of high-performing veteran run-producers. The rotation of Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Tyler Mahle, and Kenta Maeda looked on to paper like it would be the teams strongest starting staff in many years. And for the most part, it worked out that way.

Sonny Gray was better than advertised and he competently wore the banner of ace of the staff all season. He is considered a candidate for the AL Cy Young Award even though his won-lost record is only 8-7.  His win total is low because of the lack of run support that he received from the Twins offense, especially in the first half of the season. Again, more on that later.

Joe Ryan has been a quality starter, except for the month or so when he was pitching with an undisclosed groin injury. This led to a stint on the injured list (IL) and a scolding by manager Rocco Baldelli. And Pablo Lopez looks like the future ace of the staff despite a case of occasional home run-itis.

Injuries to the Starting Staff

Tyler Mahle again was sidelined with a sore shoulder and his days as a Twins might be over. Thankfully, Bailey Ober came up from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints and filled the role of a middle of the rotation starter quite admirably. And Kenta Maeda has missed significant parts of the season due to his own arm issues. He looks strong and ready to go now but the pitching of Dallas Keuchel helped ease the absence of Maeda.

Twins Offensive Stars Struggle

Now for those veteran run producers. Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and Jorge Polanco were supposed to be the offensive stars for the Twins and also the clubhouse leaders. The leadership they provided, but their offensive output has been a disappointment. Buxton was slotted in as the full-time DH due to some lingering injuries and he never looked comfortable in that role. He struggled at the plate all season, and he has had several stints on the ir list.

Correa’s offensive production has also been lacking. Dealing with a series of nagging injuries all season, he never looked comfortable in the batter’s box from day one. He is currently on the IL list with plantar fasciitis. He is expected back for the playoffs. And Polanco started the season on the IL and was activated on June 1. Then on June 10, he spent another month and a half on the injured list with a hamstring strain. But in the last two weeks, he has looked like the free-swinging Jorge Polanco of old. Just in time.

Rookies to the Rescue

The offensive stars of this team all started the year with the Triple-A Saints. Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, and Edouard Julien have assumed the reins of offensive stalwarts of the team. Lewis’ five grand slam home runs have been well documented. Wallner has given them another power bat in the middle of the lineup. And Julien softens the blow from the loss of Luis Arreaz. He looks to be a fixture in the Twins lineup for the foreseeable future.

Also, Max Kepler and Ryan Jeffers have rebounded from their struggles to support the slugging rookies. It was assumed all along that the bullpen would have their struggles and they have. It was disappointing that Twins did not make any moves at the trade deadline to bolster this unit.

How Did we Get Here?

As for the quest for the division title, no team in the AL Central looked assertive enough in the season’s first half to grab the ring. The Royals as expected faded from the picture early on. The White Sox, due to injuries and down years by some of their stars also quietly went into the night.

The Tigers made some noise in the first half of the season, and they also have been quite adroit at defeating the Twins head-to-head in 2023. But their offensive woes have contributed to their current non-contending status.

Only Cleveland kept pace with the Twins during the first four months of the season, but they eventually dropped back due to several causes. First their ace, Shane Bieber went on the IL with an elbow injury, and he has been inactive for half of the season. Second, the Guardians offense never got untracked this season save for the bats of Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor.

Cleveland Fades and the Twins Look Ahead

And finally, Cleveland surprisedly went the rebuilding route at the trade deadline swapping their shortstop Amed Rosario and starting pitcher Aaron Civale. These moves, coupled with the Twins improved play effectively ended any chance that the Guardians had for the title.

So, there you have it. A short synopsis of the Twins path to the division title. With their quality starting pitching, they will be a formidable opponent come playoff time. And with Buxton, Correa, Brock Stewart and hopefully Lewis returning from the injured list, this may be the Twins best chance at a long playoff run in quite some time.