May 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) and catcher Christian Vazquez (8) celebrate their teams win against the Baltimore Orioles after the game at Target Field. Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Twins make big jump in power rankings, playoff odds after winning streak

Originally posted on Minnesota Twins on SI
By Will Ragatz | Last updated May 19, 2025 3:54 PM ET

Coming into this season, if someone said the Twins would be 26-21 heading into this week's big homestand against Cleveland and Kansas City, that would've basically aligned with expectations. It's just the path they took to get here that was unusual. After a miserable 7-15 start, Minnesota has won 19 of its last 25 games, including an incredible 13-game winning streak that was snapped on Sunday.

They're now right back in the mix in the AL Central, half a game up on their next two opponents and five games back of the surprisingly-excellent Tigers.

MLB.com

As a result of their recent streak, the Twins have risen quite a bit in national power rankings. CBS Sports and MLB.com have them at No. 9, FOX Sports has them at No. 10, and USA Today has them at No. 11. Bleacher Report has them all the way up at No. 6. That's a huge jump from when they were understandably down near the bottom of the rankings during their slow start.

The streak also had a huge impact on the Twins' playoff odds. On April 21, when the Twins were 7-15 after getting swept in Atlanta, Fangraphs gave them a 28 percent chance to make the postseason. That rose a bit, then fell back to 29 percent when they lost four in a row spanning the end of April and the start of May. The 13 straight wins brought those odds all the way up to nearly 69 percent, and they're currently at 66.5 percent after Sunday's loss in Milwaukee. Not losing for two full weeks is a pretty good way to turn around a season.

The Twins' pitching has led the way all season long, and especially during this resurgence. Their starters have been outstanding and their bullpen has been lights out. That may need to continue, given that Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa joined Matt Wallner on the IL recently. The Twins need guys like Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, and Ryan Jeffers to carry their shorthanded offense while the top three hitters in their opening day lineup remain sidelined.

The pursuit of a new winning streak begins at Target Field against the Guardians on Monday night.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Twins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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