5 bold predictions for the 2022 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins will open the 2022 season against the Seattle Mariners Friday with a bunch of news arms and bats in the lineup.
After Thursday's trade for Chris Paddack, 13 of the 28 players on the Opening Day roster weren't on the team last season. Eight of those players were acquired after the MLB lockout ended March 12.
At a minimum, the roster shake-up has created some buzz and hope, which leads us to five bold predictions for the 2022 Minnesota Twins.
1. Jhoan Duran will become the closer by the end of the year
The most stunning part of the Paddack trade was that the Twins gave up Taylor Rogers. Rogers is coming off his first All-Star appearance but while he was great, he wasn't irreplaceable.
The Twins have several candidates to replace Rogers but the most intriguing could be rookie Jhoan Duran. With a fastball that has reached triple-digits, Duran recorded 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings during his last full season in 2019 (Class AA). The Athletic's Eno Saris also found that he had the best stuff of any pitcher in spring training...in all of baseball.
Spring Training Stuff+ #s are in! Top 10 (min 40 pitches, you really want 300-400 pitches sample)
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) April 3, 2022
1) Jhoan Duran (149 S+)
2) Clarke Schmidt
3) Josh Winder
4) Gerrit Cole (113 pitches)
5) Jordan Sheffield
6) Jordan Hicks
7) Lucas Luetge
8) deGrom
9) Heath Holder
10) Bailey Falter!
Duran only made five appearances last season thanks to elbow issues. But while veterans could get the first crack to close out games, Duran has the stuff to become a stopper in the bullpen.
2. The Twins will deal for one more pitcher by the trade deadline
The Twins come into this season with an improved rotation. But it might not be a finished product.
Sonny Gray is a lock for the top spot but Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober have made a combined 25 career starts. Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy are reclamation projects and Paddack had a 5.07 ERA last season.
Minnesota was reportedly involved in talks with the Athletics for Frankie Montas but those rumors have gone silent. The Twins could have more options on the trade market as teams fall out of contention during the season. Whoever they trade for, it's a good bet that if the Twins are contending they will be aggressive in finding an arm that help down the stretch and in the playoffs.
3. The Twins will have a top-5 offense
Remember how much fun the Bomba Squad was? OK, there's a fat chance the Twins break their own record of 307 home runs in 2019, but there's a decent chance they have one of the best lineups in baseball.
The addition of Carlos Correa should pay off both at the plate and in the field. Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshella are a pair of former Yankees that should add some punch. Then there's the current core of Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff and Miguel Sano.
Top to bottom it's a lineup loaded with potential.
4. Byron Buxton will be a top-5 MVP candidate
One of the biggest questions heading is what will happen if Buxton stays healthy for an entire season. The odds may be against it but if we speak it into existence, this could be the year we find out.
Buxton is coming off a year in which he set career-highs in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and home runs. This all happened in the span of 63 games before injuries derailed his surge.
If Buxton can play somewhere near his career-high of 140 games in 2017, it should result in some incredible offensive numbers. With DraftKings listing his MVP odds at +3500, it's not a crazy idea to think he could win the award.
5. The Twins will end their streak of 18 straight playoff losses
Did you know that the Twins have lost 18 straight playoff games? Of course you did. Did you know that the Twins haven't won a playoff series since the Rally Monkey was a thing? Yep? Alrighty then.
The Twins have the longest playoff losing streak in the history of North American sports. In a game like baseball, the Twins have a great chance of just lucking into a victory, but it hasn't happened since Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was 4 years old.
The good news is this is a team with plenty of postseason experience. Correa has played in more postseason games than the Twins have since moving to Minnesota in 1961. Joe Smith, Emilio Pagan, Sanchez and Urshella have also experienced playoff success.
With six playoff teams, there's a good chance the Twins find their way to the postseason. This is the year the streak ends.
