We have a pretty good idea of what the Twins, Guardians and White Sox will look like when the season starts in a couple of weeks. Of course, aside from a last second trade by Minnesota, we had a pretty good idea of what the teams would look like then, as well, and I'm not sure how many people expected the Guards to take down the division easily, or the White Sox to be so hapless.
Cleveland executed because of the success of players that few thought would come through for them. Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan were two of the top three in WAR for Cleveland, despite having only been in town for a couple seasons. Kwan was a rookie last season, while Gimenez came to Cleveland with Amed Rosario as part of the Francisco Lindor trade two offseasons ago. Rosario, by the way, was the #4 player on the roster in WAR, per Baseball reference.
A lot of the projections for Cleveland saw Jose Ramirez and not much else. The early jolt from Kwan and the steady success of Gimenez and Rosario made Cleveland better than it seemed like they would be, and put them over the top. On paper going into the season, Cleveland was slightly less than their top competition in the 2nd, but their x factor in rookies and break out players ended up being the overwhelming difference in the race.
I don't think it is too much of a reach to believe that this will be the case in 2023 as well. The margins for difference, particularly if the Twins can stay much healthier and the Guardians break out players sustain their success, aren't great. If the Twins and Guardians are down, the White Sox will have a shot at the division as well, given how badly the players they were leaning on performed under Tony La Russa.
The Twins filled their roster with depth. The starting rotation looks sturdier than it did last year. Generally, the floor looks higher for the Twins, behind the apex players in the lineup, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. There are many potential impacts lurking in the background, ready to add a bit more height to the Twins' ceiling, and getting a breakout somewhere on the roster will be critical to Minnesota's postseason chances.
There are, of course, the players that have been in town for a while that haven't really reached the level that they were promised to. What can Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach or even Jose Miranda do when given the wheel for a full season, with another year of growth behind them? How much better would one feel about the bullpen if Jovani Moran or Jorge Alcala become established?
But it isn't just the young players we've already gotten to know that are primed to push Minnesota over the edge in 2023. Edouard Julien throughout camp and the World Baseball Classic has the Twins wondering how to incorporate his offense into the offense sooner rather than later. Matt Wallner has had a taste of the majors and will step in as needed. Don't forget -- and how could you -- the top prospect in the organization, Brooks Lee, who after a strong professional debut and time in spring training, may be fast tracked to the Majors as well. The Twins would love for Royce Lewis, the former top prospect, to be able to regain a little bit of the magic he showed before getting injured last summer before the end of the season.
There are opportunities for the Twins to overshoot the expectations many pundits have laid out for them. It was those opportunities, those bonus surprises that carried Cleveland to the crown in 2022. It could happen for the Twins in 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment