Preseason Preview Day 10: Minnesota Twins & Chicago Cubs
Minnesota Twins
As I work through all these previews, I am starting to realize how much of a mess the American League is going to be, mainly because of teams like the Minnesota Twins. It feels like the NL is super top heavy, while the AL has the Yankees at the top, then about 8-10 teams bunched in the middle. The Minnesota Twins are another one of these teams that year in and year out always seems to be in the mix, at least for a good portion of the season. Unfortunately, 2024 was not their year as they faced some serious struggles down the stretch that costed them that final wild card spot.
With some notable names headlining the starting rotation like Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack and Joe Ryan, they also feature some young and promising young pitchers, specifically David Festa who showed he was ready to become a mainstay in this rotation for the next few years. Mike Tonkin, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Cole Sands, Griffin Jax and flamethrower Jhoan Duran headline a pretty steady bullpen for these Twins.
The lineup is where this team is going to butter their bread or eat crow. While equipped with some pretty big names, they have a roster full of position players who LOVE the injured list. It starts with Byron Buxton and trickles down to Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis. Their 3 best offensive players are seemingly locks to miss 40-50+ games a year, and any reasonable fan would not necessarily expect much winning when your best players are not on the field. Recently adding Harrison Bader, the outfield is shaping up to be a strong suit of this team, with young Matt Wallner ready to have a monster season off his solid 2024 campaign.
With Draftkings putting the Twinnies at 84.5 wins, I am a bit torn. I am going to have to just take the over because if they can stay healthy, I think that they have one of the more high-ceiling offenses in the American League, not to mention that while improved, the AL Central is, well, the AL Central.
Chicago Cubs
Here is one of the teams I am most excited to watch in 2025, the Chicago Cubs. I say this, because they have added a player that I have been touting for YEARS as one of the best overall players in baseball, only to be laughed at by folks that hear me mention it.
The Cubbies traded for 5-tool right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros - yes, this is who I was referencing above. Kyle Tucker, when healthy, has as many tools in his shed as anyone in baseball right now. While the slug and offensive numbers are going to stand out to most, Tucker can swipe you 30 bags and play gold glove defense in the corners. With Tucker, the Cubs now have a formidable offense, although they offloaded Cody Bellinger who was their most productive player over the past few years. The lineup will feature Tucker, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson, with role players like Pete Crow-Armstrong and sterling glover Nico Hoerner in there to round out the offense.
From a rotational/pitching staff perspective, the Cubs also made some additions to help reinforce the club. In recent weeks, they have added a postseason door slammer in Ryan Pressly, as well as Ryan Brasier who was acquired from the Dodgers and is coming off a career year. The Dodgers just had too many all stars to keep him and needed to get him off their roster. The rotation will look a lot like it did in 2024, with Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon, with new addition Matthew Boyd likely slotting in as their 5.
Similar to the Twins, the Cubs win total is currently set at 85.5 per Draftkings. I am high on these Cubs, and will be taking the over. When you start to look around the NL Central, there is not really a team that screams division winner, so it would not surprise me if the Cubs go out and win 92 games and take the Central back - this would also be great for baseball.
