Minnesota Twins 2020 Season Preview
This is going to be an interesting season for the Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball as a whole. The ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic has forced Major League Baseball into a shortened 2020 season. The number of games played is not the only adjustment that Major League Baseball will be making this season. Rosters were already going to look different this year, switching from a 25-man roster to a 26-man roster. Additionally, due to the pandemic, teams will be allowed to carry 30 players.
With that being said, let’s take a look at who the Minnesota Twins will carry this season.
Catchers – There may be another catcher in the mix at some point this year. However, after Garver’s breakout year in 2019, the Twins will be perfectly fine starting out to the season with Mitch Garver and Alex Avila.
Infielders – You can pencil in Miguel Sano at first base. Sano has been one of the most powerful bats in the AL in the last few years. The middle of the infield will likely consist of Luis Alvarez at second base and Jorge Polanco at SS. Both were consistent performers for the Twins last season and will be looking to continue that in 2020. At the hot corner will be new acquisition and former AL MVP, Josh Donaldson. Donaldson will bring a big bat and a much needed veteran presence to a very young team. Rounding out the infield will likely be utility players Marwin Gonzalez, Willians Astudillo and Ehire Adrianza.
Outfielders – Although he will primarily be the DH,the biggest no-brainer on the roster is outfielder, Nelson Cruz. Rounding out the rest of the outfield will be Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton. The Twins will be comfortable with these three being the only three true outfielders on the roster.
Starting pitching – You can pencil in Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kenta Maeda and Homer Baily. However, it starts to get more complicated after that. With Michael Pineda suspended and Rich Hill injured, there is a lot of ambiguity when it comes to the 5th starting pitcher. The competition has been described as a free for all pitch off between Devin Smeltzer, Lewis Thorpe, Randy Dobnak and Jhoulys Chacin. It is difficult to predict who will win the spot and it will be interesting to watch leading up to opening day.
Relief Pitching – The Twins bullpen should be a sure thing as long as everyone can remain healthy. Their bullpen will likely consist of Tyler Clippard, Tyler Duffey, Zack Littell, Trevor May, Taylor Rodgers, Sergio Romo, Matt Wisler and Devin Smeltzer.
Minnesota Twins Fantasy Outlook
The Twins have a solid mix of good veteran players and young emerging stars. This makes them a team that is worth taking a look at from a fantasy perspective. We want to focus on two of the Twin’s established stars, Nelson Cruz (OF/DH) and Jose Berrios (SP).
Nelson Cruz – Cruz is coming off of a 2019 season where he missed some time due to a left wrist injury. However, Cruz was dominant down the stretch. He batted .322 with 34 HRs and 86 RBI over his last 326 at-bats of the 2019 season. Cruz has been one of the most consistent sluggers of the decade. In fact, he has hit .285 and notched 244 HRs and 630 RBIs over the past 6 years. There are a few non-statistical factors that make Cruz a promising fantasy player leading up to the 2020 season. He is coming off of an injury which may cause him to fall in some drafts, giving you good value. Additionally, veteran players who know the drill are likely to get out to a hot start in a shortened pre-season.
Jose Berrios – Berrios started of strong in 2019, posting a 2.80 ERA and 133 strikeouts in his first 22 starts. However, when August came around, Berrios began to struggle and that struggle went on until the end of the season. Berrios let up two runs or fewer in only three of his last ten starts. Berrios showed glimpses of his potential in the early half of last year. In a shortened season, he has tremendous fantasy upside as a SP2 or high-end SP3.
Minnesota Twins OVER 34.5 games
After taking a look at the Minnesota Twins schedule, I believe that the Twins will surpass their projected win total of 34.5 games. I will also be following my friends at Zone Coverage who provide a ton of Twins coverage throughout the season.
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