3 Twins Second Half Storylines to Follow

Trade Deadline Deals

The next few weeks are shaping up to quite possibly being the craziest trade deadline in franchise history. Minnesota was supposed to be a contending team and many players are on contracts that expire in the next two years. This means the Twins are open for business with names up for grabs like Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson, Jose Berrios, and Taylor Rogers.

Some national outlets have identified the Twins as having the highest quantity of players available and quite possibly some of the best players on the market. Berrios is the team’s most valuable trade target as he has one more year of team control. Nearly every player will be available and some players with multiple years of team control might end up being dealt like Kenta Maeda or Max Kepler.

Play the Young Guns

Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach have been inserted into the everyday line-up with better-than-expected results. While other team’s top prospects have struggled, Minnesota’s dynamic duo has put up better than average offensive numbers as part of one of the better offenses in the American League. Both players are part of the long-term plan so they will continue to get plenty of opportunities, but they aren’t the only rookies to keep an eye on.

Next year’s Twins starting rotation has plenty of openings and the club needs to see what they have in some of their young arms. Bailey Ober has made eight starts with some mixed results. Other pitching prospects like Josh Winder and Jordan Balazovic have a chance to make the debuts in the second half. On the position player side, Jose Miranda and Brent Rooker have been hitting well in the upper levels of the minors. Both players can be inserted into the everyday line-up if Donaldson and Cruz are dealt.

Division Spoiler

Minnesota has won back-to-back division titles and was expected to be in contention for a third, but now the Twins can play spoiler to the other contenders. Chicago has jumped out to an eight-game lead in the division even with injuries to multiple key players. Cleveland is the lone team in striking distance, but both Cleveland and Chicago have plenty of games remaining against the teams at the bottom of the division.

The AL Central is clearly Chicago’s division to lose at this point. Cleveland has flaws and there are no guarantees they will be able to go out and fix those flaws at the trade deadline. So far this season, Minnesota hasn’t put up much of a fight against Chicago as the Twins have only managed two wins in 10 opportunities. This was supposed to be a two-team battle until the end of the year, but the Twins haven’t lived up to their end of the bargain. This doesn’t mean they can’t be a thorn in Chicago’s side during the second half.

What storylines will you follow in the season’s second half? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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