The hype for the upcoming Twins season is real and with opening day roughly two weeks away, ESPN recognized five Twins on their top 100 players list for the 2020 season which was released on Tuesday.
The list was created by a group of 40 MLB writers, contributors, analysts and insiders who were asked to rank their top 200 players in Major League Baseball. The votes were cut down and when the dust settled, the following Twins made the list.
- 3B Josh Donaldson (No. 38)
- DH Nelson Cruz (No. 67)
- SP Jose Berrios (No. 75)
- C Mitch Garver (No. 89)
- OF Max Kepler (No. 91)
Among the interesting things to note is that the two highest-ranked players at the top weren’t even on the Twins’ roster two years ago in Donaldson and Cruz. Meanwhile, the group of Berrios, Garver, and Kepler represent a young core that broke out in 2019 and could take another step forward in 2020.
The Twins also have another wave of young talent including Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton who could wind up on this list next season if everything goes in their way (which many would assume would bring the first prolonged postseason run for the Twins in nearly two decades).
Minnesota’s five players on ESPN’s rankings tied for third among all MLB teams with the Cubs, Mets, Nationals and Padres.
The Houston Cheats led all teams with eight representatives, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees were second with seven players each making the list.
