5 Predictions Sure to Go Right for the 2024 Twins

Baseball fans made it through the long winter months, and now, each team is beginning a journey toward October. As a friendly reminder, enjoy the upcoming regular season. Nothing is guaranteed in baseball, and only one fan base will be happy when the season concludes. Appreciating the regular season ride is essential. Fail to do so, and being a fan can be a miserable experience. That said, here are five bold predictions to track in the upcoming season. 

Pablo López leads the AL in strikeouts and innings pitched
Last season, López finished three strikeouts behind Kevin Gausman for the league lead, but the Toronto ace is starting the year a half-step behind, after injury slowed his spring ramp-up. There has been plenty of hype surrounding López this spring, with many national outlets picking him as the AL Cy Young favorite, so that’s not exactly a bold prediction. Many of the top five finishers for last year’s Cy Young are hurt to begin the year, which should help López’s chances if he can stay healthy. 

Byron Buxton plays over 100 games
There has only been one season in which Buxton has crossed the century mark in games played, which was 2017, when he played 140 of them. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged 88.5 games played, while dealing with multiple injuries. Buxton and the Twins are confident that his latest knee procedure has made him truly healthy for the first time in quite a while. He has shown an ability to provide tremendous value to the Twins even when he plays fewer than 100 games.

Edouard Julien finishes top three in BB%
Julien had a very patient approach at the plate last season and posted a 15.7 BB%, ranking in the 98th percentile. At some points in the season, he was almost too patient; he’d watch a good pitch go past him for strike three. His 14.3 Chase% was the best in the game. Look for umpires to start recognizing how good his eye is at the plate and giving him a few more borderline calls. 

Griffin Jax leads the AL in WPA
Jax and Brock Stewart are likely to fill in at closer for the Twins while Jhoan Durán is sidelined with an oblique injury. However, the Twins will use Stewart as the primary closer and have Jax as the fireman who can be used in any situation. Last season, Jax saw some issues with BABIP, which can point to bad luck with balls dropping in behind him. Despite some struggles, he posted career-best marks in exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. Jax will put that bad luck behind him and will be a weapon out of the bullpen for the entire season. 

Minnesota finishes as the No. 2 seed in the AL
Last season, the Twins won the AL Central and finished as the AL’s third seed. In the last month, there was an outside chance for the team to surpass the AL West leader for the second seed and a first-round bye. Many projection systems point to the Twins winning the Central again, but finishing well behind the lesser of the other two division champs. In other words, the computers expect the same arrangement as last year. The AL West is going to beat up on each other again, though, which allows the Twins to win 90+ games and earn the second seed. 

Which bold prediction is most likely to come true? What other predictions do you have? Leave a comment and start the discussion.