Minnesota Twins Need to Lose More Games
The Minnesota Twins have just three games left for the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season. Their playoff hopes went out to pasture months ago. On Thursday, they bested the Texas Rangers to win their first series during the month of September.
With 90 losses now on the ledger, and vacation plans booked, there is no benefit to winning games anymore. In fact, it would be more beneficial for the MN Twins to lose as many games as possible during this weekend’s season finale.
Draft lottery odds taking shape for MN Twins
Major League Baseball instituted the MLB Draft Lottery as part of the new CBA established in 2022. The first lottery took place in 2023, and the Minnesota Twins immediately benefitted, jumping up about 10 spots, from the mid-teens all the way to fifth, where they selected top prospect, Walker Jenkins.
Heading into Friday’s night’s action, the Twins have the third-best odds to land the top overall pick, but they can increase their position by finishing with a worse record than the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have the same 69-90 record. Doing so would give them a 5.6% better chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in 2026.
| Rank | Team | Record | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 58-101 | 27.73% |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 69-90 | 22.27% |
| 3 | Minnesota Twins | 69-90 | 16.81% |
| 4 | Athletics | 75-84 | 9.24% |
| 5 | Atlanta Braves | 75-84 | 6.55% |
| 6 | Baltimore Orioles | 75-84 | 4.54% |
The Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels are all ineligible for the top pick, due to rules in place that do not allow teams to get a top-six in consecutive drafts.
Minnesota’s opponent this weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies, hold the second-best record in all of baseball, at 94-65. They need a sweep, plus lots of help (Brewers get swept), to gain the No. 1 overall seed in the National League, but the possibility means they will be trying hard for a win, at least on Friday night.
Is tanking even worth thinking about for the Twins?
Pittsburgh is on the road against the Atlanta Braves, who may be motivated to improve their own MLB Draft Lottery position, but do not have a chance at the postseason. Ultimately, tanking can largely prove fruitless with the MLB Amateur Draft. It’s not like the NFL or NBA, where top talents make an impact immediately.
Last season the Twins picked 16th overall and went with college shortstop Marek Houston. He finished the season with High-A Cedar Rapids. The 2024 pick, at 21st overall, was Kaelen Culpepper. He was just named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year.
Kaelen Culpepper (@Twins' 2024 first-rounder) in 20 Double-A @WindSurgeICT contests after this two-run homer:
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 23, 2025
• .361 AVG
• .984 OPS
• 1+ hit in 17 G pic.twitter.com/CaKMwggys9
With that being said, all of the Minnesota Twins’ most exciting prospects in recent memory were indeed top 10 picks, including Royce Lewis, Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee.
If you go a bit further back, the same can be said about Byron Buxton and Joe Mauer. If there is anything, outside of winning big league games, that can get this fanbase going, it’s top prospects. And at this point, losing doesn’t really hurt anything.
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