I touched on this in Monday’s question, but let’s get more direct. I want to know where you truly think the Twins stand among the worst division in baseball. I’ll once again reference you to FanGraphs’ playoffs odds page, which is updated after games and transactions.
Here’s my ranking:
- Tigers
- Royals
- Twins
- Guardians
- White Sox
If we’re using groups or tiers, I would say that the Tigers are clearly a group on their own, especially after signing Framber Valdez. The Royals probably have a good gap between themselves and the Twins as long as their starters can be healthier than they were in 2025. Then the Twins and Guardians are in a “if they get 1 or 2 players to breakout” group. I put Minnesota above Cleveland simply because the Twins’ main weakness is the bullpen, which is much easier to fix or find new, reliable players, whereas the Guardians need to find 3-4 bats that can be above-average behind Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Also similar to the Twins, they have a few former top prospects that have yet to establish themselves (George Valera, Chase DeLauter, CJ Kayfus), so it’s definitely possible they somehow win the division yet again.
I also, briefly, want to give a shoutout to the White Sox who have gone from historically terrible to a dark horse division contender within two years. GM Chris Getz has nailed several big trades over the past two years, bringing in current or future mid-lineup bats like Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel, and Braden Montgomery. They have some work to do on the pitching side, but they have a solid base and a clear path toward the future, which is much more than what they could say when Getz took over baseball ops.
So, what’s your AL Central ranking? Is this the Tigers’ division to lose, or are you higher on the Royals than I am?