On The Warpath: Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are currently tied with the Houston Astros for the most wins in the MLB this season. In the AL, the Yankees are close behind, and over in the NL, the Dodgers are close, and a handful of teams are in the neighborhood of five games behind. But overall, the Twins are in a very good place, and their odds for the rest of the season are looking quite good. The way things are going in Minnesota, the Twins are on pace to keep winning a ton of games.

But I’m here to tell you that they’re going to win even more games than you thought.

DINGERS FOR DAYS

The Twins hit their 100th home run of the season on Friday, off the bat of Miguel Sano. That was his fifth home run in just seven days. They also hit their 99th and 101st homers of the year in that game, from Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler, but it’s that 100 that’s particularly notable.

You see, Sano’s dinger made the Twins only the second team to hit 100 or more home runs in the first 50 games of a season. The first team to do so was the 1999 Mariners, who managed to get their total up to 102 in their 50th game.

It’s a fun stat, and it’s definitely something to be proud of, but what does it actually mean for the Twins this year? Well, let’s try to put it into perspective. The third Twin’s homer of the night, and the 101st of their season, was off the bat of Max Kepler. Coincidentally, last year, the Twin’s 101st homer of the season also came off the bat of Max Kepler. In their 98th game of the season.

That’s not just a fun coincidence, the Twins have virtually doubled the pace at which they’re hitting home runs. You might remember how the Yankees set a single-season home run record last year with an impressive 267 dingers? Well, at this clip, the Twins are on pace to hit 327.

EASY ROAD AHEAD

Of course, there are a million factors at play that could contribute to a team’s stellar start. And just as many that could lead to a collapse. If a team lucks out with an incredibly easy schedule early on, they might jump out to an impressive start. But usually, the gods of chance and randomness enter the scene, and those lopsided starts even out.

But the Twins have just over 110 games left for the season. Only 23 of those games will be played against teams that are over .500 as of this weekend. That makes for some seriously favorable odds for the Twins for most of the rest of the season.

So if you need a sure thing at any point this year, there’s a good change you can look to the Twins. But on the other hand, keep an eye on those 23 potentially unfavorable matchups. They could turn into opportunities to take the Twins down a peg, and cash in on some underdog action.