AL Central leader: Minnesota Twins
If we’re looking at the Twins as an honest playoff team, their problem is pitching in general. The starting rotation ranks 14th in ERA (4.30) and their bullpen ERA (5.14) is only marginally better than Washington’s.
But that’s not the real problem in Minnesota.
No, the problem is that while the Twins have some good, young talent, they don’t have the firepower to hang with the Indians for four more months. Minnesota might have the better team in future years, but in 2017, Cleveland has a better roster. The Twins have had a good start to the year, but they’ve failed to gain any real separation on the Indians.
That’s really the problem for Minnesota. The Twins couldn’t take advantage of the Indians when Corey Kluber was hurt. The struggles of Danny Santana haven’t been enough for the Twins to keep Cleveland off of their heels, either.
Minnesota can’t just fix this problem with a good move or two. While the Twins currently have the better record, their run differential (-19) is significantly worse than the Indians’ (+26). Sure, another starter and at least one more reliever would help the cause. But ultimately, Cleveland just has the better team — and it’s not that close.
The Indians have had a lackluster start but sit only one game behind Minnesota in the American League Central standings. If the Twins had a lead of four or five, we could view them more credibly as a playoff threat. But as things stand now, it’s hard to shake the feeling that they’re just placeholders.