Kep Ladder

 2021 is shaping up to be a huge year for the Chicago White Sox, and possibly a strong year for the Cleveland Indians. So what is left for the two-time AL Central champs, the Minnesota Twins? Well, it's honestly up to how much of their 2019 mojo they're willing to recreate. 

To be honest, we still, for the most part, have the bulk of the 2019-era Twins team with us. Buxton, Sano, Cruz, Kepler, Berrios- all there. The only big pieces who have left are Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi and Eddie Rosario. And yet this team has rebounded in wild ways.

First of all, the Twins are one of those teams that retool and regroup even before a major piece needs to be filled. Getting Josh Donaldson and Andrelton Simmons wasn't because of vacancies, they were brought in as upgrades. They just augment the homegrown core, consisting of Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler. Another intriguing part of this team is that there is no real big cheese, they all sort of trade off being the major power player. Last year it was Byron Buxton, the year before it was Mitch Garver. I think it could be Max Kepler this season. Every year since he came up he's been slowly building in power, becoming more and more of a versatile player, and while last year was a step backward, he's prime for improvement this year.

The only place that worries me with this Twins team, and where the other AL Central contenders have a leg up, is the rotation. It is a rather old rotation, aside from Berrios and Maeda- Randy Dobnak is an older up-and-comer, and Matt Shoemaker, J.A. Happ and Michael Pineda are now all eyeing rotation spots. The mid-2010s rotations may not have all been pristine, but at least they were full of young homegrown guys. Here, the young homegrown guys don't seem to have much of a place in the rotation, which is odd.

So while the lineup still seems to be strong, and the team still seems to be good, there's a lot I'm unsure about, especially matching up with a rising Sox team. I'm not saying the dynasty is over, but the Twins better be thinking about the next few years with this crew, or the extension of this crew. 

Coming Tomorrow- One of the few scoundrel types still in St. Louis finally left for another NL Central team. I wonder how that'll work out for him.