The Minnesota Twins have hung around in the American League playoff race but will need more consistency down the stretch to capitalize.
SportsGrid will follow the AL Central closely over the final month of the MLB season and offer a weekly update from the FanDuel Sportsbook, which has plenty of betting implications for how things finish out in the three-headed AL Central race. Not only will we be looking toward their upcoming series but also tracking their divisional, league, and World Series odds along the way.
This week in Twins action will see them continue a four-game series with the New York Yankees after losing Game 1 yesterday, followed by a pivotal three-game set with the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend.
Minnesota Twins to Win AL Central (+240) (Last week: +200)The Minnesota Twins have been in and out of first place in the AL Central. Entering action on Tuesday, they trail the division-leading Cleveland Guardians by just one game, which saw them cut their deficit by half a game over the last week. Even though they’ve trimmed the Guardians division lead over that stretch, the Twins have seen their odds to win the AL Central fall from +200 to +240. What’s interesting about this is that it likely has more to do with the Chicago White Sox hot play of late, which has escalated things to an actual three-horse division race.
Even with mediocre expectations this year, the Twins have stayed in the race for the division crown and deserve full marks for doing so. The Twins were able to salvage the third game of their weekend series with the White Sox, but more questions were raised in that matchup which has kept the South Side in the race. It’s difficult to be bullish about the Twins entering a tough week. With the Wild Card likely out of reach, the division is going to be the only way one of these three clubs make the postseason, and this week should be very telling as to what the future has in store for this Minnesota team.
Minnesota Twins to Win American League (+4800) (Last week: +2400)With a lot of uncertainty surrounding teams in the American League, it’s not a stretch to see the winner of the AL Central making noise in the postseason. Minnesota currently owns the eighth-best odds to win the AL at +4800, which equates to their odds being precisely double what they were last week at this time of +2400. The White Sox were able to jump them over that span, and there hasn’t been much confidence that the Twins will be the team who comes out on top in the AL Central, which has likely led to their price continuing to fall with their odds to win the pennant.
Oddsmakers likely want you to buy into this high Twins’ price to win the American League at +4800. However, there’s still not a lot of incentive to look toward this number. Where instead, you should consider one of the Wild Card teams who own better and more realistic value.
Minnesota Twins to Win World Series (+12000) (Last week: +5000)When looking towards World Series odds, it’s important to remember that you don’t always have to focus your attention on the top teams. The team that gets hottest at the most critical time of year is typically the one hoisting the banner when all is said and done. If you can find a team that boasts a rotation with quality pitching and a lineup that provides timely hitting, you can likely make a case that they warrant consideration for their World Series odds.
As we noted last week, that doesn’t appear to be the case with what the Twins offer this season. There isn’t a great combination of pitching and consistent hitting, which checks out with their World Series odds trending downwards over the past seven days, falling from a lowly +5000 to a far-fetched +12000. Last week when we were looking towards their price, the Twins’ World Series odds had actually been bet down, but that isn’t the case anymore, and you can certainly see why with how they performed in the three-game weekend set with the White Sox.
