Minnesota Twins: Team preview and prediction for 2020 season

The Minnesota Twins Lineup

To close it out, let’s get into the Twinkies’ lineup because I’m very excited to see what this group does now that it’s retained Nelly Cruz and brought on Josh Donaldson. This group was already high-powered, but now the bar has been significantly raised in my humble opinion.

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Yes, this is a home run-centric group, but at the same time, they struck out the sixth-fewest times in 2019. That’s a really good sign since when we typically see home run lineups, they usually come with a balance of heavy strikeout numbers. Can they keep that up in 2020? Hopefully.

But everyone from Nelly Cruz to Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, and even Mitch Garver can hit upwards of 30 home runs. I’d be hard-pressed not to also mention Jorge Polanco who hit 20+ homers a year ago and Luis Arraez who hit .334 in 366 plate appearances in 2019.

I would also be hard-pressed not to mention another three big home run threats that are anxiously awaiting a shot at the big league, and all three are having very good Springs. Those guys are Alex Kiriloff, Trevor Larnach, and Brent Rooker. These are 20+ home run guys with extremely bright futures that could very well be realized in 2020. In Kiriloff’s case, I would say he has a very good shot to make the Opening Day roster as the starting right fielder if Byron Buxton is still nursing an injury. This Twins lineup is one to definitely keep an eye on because I think we’ll be seeing it in the upper echelons of offense this season yet again.

So where do the Twins finish? I’m going to say they step up to the plate and prove they can be consistent. I had the Twins finishing 97-65 and winning the AL Central before the Coronavirus outbreak. Now, I’m not sure what the win total will be, but I still feel fairly confident they’ll take the Central even with an abbreviated schedule.

I also still like their chances very much to go to the World Series. I think the Rays are a little better with their pitching, but I don’t believe it’s crazy to think this is the second-best team in the American League. If they run up against an Astros team in the postseason, I actually would favor them over Houston with how the two rosters match up right now. 2020 is going to be a big year for the Twins.