Say hello to your 2019 AL Central champs, the Minnesota Twins
We're entering a new, unknown era of Twins baseball.
That's right: The Indians' era of Central dominance is over, and, in the short window before the White Sox rise with a full bouquet of young talent, 2019 is the year for those two weird dudes who are perpetually shaking hands:
I get it -- the Twins may not appear to be the team to dominate the division when you first look at them. After a surprising 2017, the team followed up by stumbling to 78 wins as everything that could go wrong did.
Fortunately for the Twins, there are already signs that things are looking up for 2019. The team snagged
With a bit more of that kind of luck next year, this is a team with more in common with the 2017 version.
And that brings us to the most critical factor for the 2019 Twins: Buxton is going to have his breakout.
I know we've been saying this for what feels like a generation. While he missed most of last year and didn't hit well when he did make it onto the field, the talent is there. We all know it's there. We've seen it in fits and starts:
This year will be the season that the prophecies are fulfilled.
I've seen the games where he gets it, where Buxton laces liners all over the field and robs batters of the same with explosive, lightning-quick legs that close gaps that should never be closed. The tools are there, and if he can put it together, he's the Minnesota
Who else can do this with such regularity?
Meanwhile, the reigning division champion Indians should be wary of their own luck.
Last season, the Indians received MVP Award-level performances from Jose Ramirez and
Players don't usually manage to post those kinds of performances back-to-back. There will be slumps, nagging injuries and freakish runs of batted ball luck -- all of which the Indians avoided in 2018.
Subtract current free agent
Even if Cleveland doesn't decline that far, a slight step backward could open the door to a challenger. With an emerging ace in