How Legit are the Twins?

Yeah, I think it's about time we really ask ourselves this, because it's gonna help in a few months.

The Twins have the third-highest record in the AL, and it's higher than two division leaders' records in the NL. They are on pace for some serious home run damage, as evidenced by the fact that pretty much their entire team, save maybe for Luis Arraez, is capable of hitting a crap-ton of home runs. The biggest catalyst of this might be Nelson Cruz, who was on pace for some comparatively human numbers before going on an ABSOLUTE TEAR last week, hitting two 3-home-run games in the span of a week, and booting his season number to 32, which is...pretty characteristic for Cruz.

And then you have Mitch Garver. According to BR dot com, he's their backup, but just because Jason Castro technically has more starts doesn't mean he's the main catcher in Minneapolis. Garver is playing like a pro, with 21 home runs, 47 RBIs, and a .275 average. In the wake of Joe Mauer's absence, he could be the next franchise catcher, even though he's not a five-tool athlete like Mauer. He's just really damn good, and his momentum is helping to make the Twins even more of a threat.

But you still get starters like Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez whose ERA is rising above 4, and another injury for Michael Pineda. I mean, nobody's divebombing games yet, but rising ERAs is slightly concerning. They have brought Devin Smeltzer into the rotation full time, which is an incredibly smart idea, as Smeltzer is DEFINITELY capable of 6+ innings of work, and he's already got 21 strikeouts in 3 starts. Plus, the bullpen is seeming pretty complete again with the addition of Sergio Romo.

But the problems really come when you compare the Twins to the Astros and Yankees. They are both operating on 'you can't be serious' roster logic right now. I do think the Twins' pitching is better than the Yankees' right now, at least starting, but putting the Twins' home-run hitting against the Yankees' could be very dangerous.

I do think the Twins have a shot to do some damage this October, but I don't know how long it'll last.

Coming Tonight (?): Pitched for my team for 10 years. Went to go compete. Still one of the best pitchers in the game.