The Minnesota Twins are turning some heads so far this season, after their awful season last year where they finished dead last with a 59-103 record. Although it is early in the grueling 162 game schedule that spans from April to September and that is not counting the postseason, the Twins are off to a 13-11 start and they are just half of a game back from the division leading White Sox. If the Twins are able to sustain the level of play they are at right now, it is not hard to imagine them making their way into the postseason picture.

The Twins’ have had a well-known Achilles’ Heel over the past few season as they have not reached the postseason since 2010, and that has been their pitching. Whether it has been the starting pitching or the bullpen both have been atrocious at times. However this year it has been different as the team is ranked as the 8th best pitching staff according to ESPN.com. A key part of the current resurgence has been starting pitcher Ervin Santana. Santana has remained dialed in since the end of 2016 and has jumped out to a 5-0 record and a .66 ERA. Lately when Santana is on the mound you have a genuine feeling that the Twins have a good shot to win the ballgame and that is something they have lacked for a long time.

The progression of prospects Miguel Sanó and Byron Buxton have also been vital to the teams success. After the Twins crashed and burned on the failed experiment of putting Sanó who is a third basemen in the outfield. Sanó was not as agile as most teams would like their outfielders to be and was obviously very raw at the position at times. It has been speculated that frustration stemming from the position change caused a drop off in his offensive production as well. Sanó however has been absolutely locked in at the plate as of late, so far he has hit 8 home runs and 27 RBI and has a .317 batting average. Byron Buxton started the season off slow but appears to be turning a corner with his development as he has improved his plate discipline and has been starting to hit the ball to the opposite field.

On June 12th the Minnesota Twins will kick off the 2017 MLB Draft where they hold the number 1 overall pick and will look to add a vital piece to this baseball puzzle on their journey to bring the state of Minnesota it’s first championship since the last time the team won the World Series in 1991. If the Twins can put together a solid draft and if new general manager Thad Levine can make good decisions the team may be in postseason contention in the not so distant future. But only time will tell how the team is going to progress.