Earliest MLB Power Rankings Lukewarm on Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are just over a week from Opening Day. They are 9-12-3 in Grapefruit League play, as manager Rocco Baldelli works to set up the 2025 roster for the Twins’ 3-game series starting March 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Unfortunately, Rocco Baldelli’s group was dealt a blow on Sunday when starting third baseman Royce Lewis pulled his hamstring. He will now miss Opening Day, and who knows how long after that, the latest in a long string of injury blows that threaten to derail a young superstar’s career.

Still, the Minnesota Twins play in a below-average division that they have been projected to win for most of the offseason. With the Major League Baseball regular season just over the horizon, that remains the case. But initial MLB power rankings provide insight into what it really means to be the best team in a light division.

Minnesota Twins ranked No. 16 in premature MLB power rankings

The Athletic released their first MLB power rankings of the season this week, where they placed the Minnesota Twins tied for 16th overall out of 30 teams. While their initial ranking comes in just below the league median, it was above all other teams in the AL Central (see below).

T-16. Minnesota Twins

Playoff odds: 62 percent

[The Twins] enter 2025 with a familiar roster and two familiar concerns: Can Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis (who strained his hamstring on Sunday) stay healthy? And will ownership invest more anytime soon? The Twins have some star power, a solid pitching staff and several exciting youngsters on the rise, but the clock is ticking.

Stephen Nesbitt (The Athletic)

Because if Ty France returns to anything near his All-Star form from 2022, then nobody is going to miss Santana or his defense. Of course, it’s just spring training, but clearly France is feeling good, as he is slashing .469/.514/.813 in 12 games played down in Florida.

Realistically the Minnesota Twins offense will go as Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis do. Unfortunately, that three-legged stool is already broken, after Lewis’ injury. But Brooks Lee can step up in his absence and be a quick, legitimate fix, if he can live up to the top 15 prospect status he once garnered.

Related: Minnesota Twins Set Starting Rotation, Announce Third Round of Roster Cuts

The bullpen is projected to be one of the best in baseball, but they too have been dealing with more injuries, of late. Then, there’s the starting rotation, which has a ton of young talent, but needs its own big three of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober to prove itself one of the best 1-2-3 punches baseball.

MLB Power Rankings – American League Central

The Minnesota Twins aren’t the only AL Central team The Athletic doesn’t have a lot of faith in, entering 2025. This, despite the Central garnering three playoff spots in the American League last postseason (Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit). The Twins and Tigers are tied for 16th, with the Royals and Guardians right behind them. Of course, the White Sox remain the worst team in baseball.

Arguably the most notable reality is where the Guardians sit. After winning the division last season, they come in as the worst among competition AL Central teams. Despite starting a bit lower, it’s also the Royals that possess legitimate postseason odds.

Detroit’s strength should be the rotation with reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, and big free agent acquisition Jack Flaherty. The lineup has plenty of questions though, and Alex Bregman going to Boston was big. Kansas City has lots of high-upside talent and it’s understandable why they would be thought highly of.

Related: Minnesota Twins Superstar Suffers Spring Training Injury

Obviously, the season hasn’t started yet, so these power rankings are more for fan fodder than they are for real projections. Especially in the game of baseball, it is impossible to determine what teams will have everything go right in the future, and which will not.

What a team looks like on paper rarely translates to the exact same thing on the field. These are humans, who deal with good days, bad days and injuries, which Twins fans know all too well.

Expect these rankings to shuffle quickly. Minnesota doesn’t play Cleveland until late April while they have multiple series against the White Sox and a four-game road tilt against Kansas City early on.