The final AL team to clinch a playoff spot came from the AL Central. While they were the last of the bunch, the Minnesota Twins are hoping to prove to a lot of people that their season was no fluke.
I have to give credit to fellow EH Sports team member Nick Bowins for calling this one even before the season got going. This team came into this season with very little expectations and blew those expectations sky high. With a combination of a powerful lineup and great pitching, the Twins have made themselves a legitimate contender this season.
It was an all in approach for the Twins, with everyone playing their own role on this team. Eight of the nine starters finished the season with 20 or more homers, and six players finished with 75+ RBI. If anything stands out to me on this team, it's the surprising line of veteran DH Nelson Cruz.
Cruz, a 39 year old out of the Dominican Republic, continued to turn back the clock this season. He managed to tally a .311/.391/.639 slash line, and approached his career highs in home runs and RBI with 41 and 108 respectively. He may not have been the most valuable player on this team, but he was one incredible story on a team that was full of them.
The real key to this team's success was their pitching staff. While the starters were only a little above average, they were lead by two studs in Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi. Both players had an ERA under 3.70, while combining for 373 strikeouts. The Twins may not have the deepest rotation in the post season, but they have quite the one-two punch with these two.
The bullpen, on the other hand, was lights out all year long. They have three players with an ERA under 3.00 and lead the entire AL in saves.The three headed monster of Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey are poised to help the Twins look like the 2018 Milwaukee Brewers for however long their playoff run lasts.
Projected lineup
*Take this with a grain of salt as the Twins haven't used the same lineup all month
1. Luis Arraez, 2B
2. Jorge Polanco, SS
3. Miguel Sano, 3B
4. Nelson Cruz, DH
5. Mitch Garver, C
6. C.J Cron, 1B
7. Max Kepler, CF
8. Eddie Roasrio, LF
9. Jake Cave, RF
Bench
Willians Astudillo, Jason Castro, Marwin Gonzalez, Lamonte Wade Jr., Johnathon Schoop, Ehire Adrianza
Starting Rotation
1. Jose Berrios
2. Jake Odorizzi
3. Kyle Gibson
4. Martin Perez
Bullpen
Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, Sergio Romo, Sam Dyson, Cody Stashak,
What do they have to do to win?
If the Twins are going to win the World Series, they're probably going to have to do it the Kansas City Royals way. The Rotation isn't that frightening, but the bullpen can eat up a ton of innings. If they couple that with the ability to slug the ball with every player in the lineup, they may have a chance to surprise some people.