The Twins can be competitive in the AL Central if they answer this one question.
The Minnesota Twins are set to begin their 2026 MLB season on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles. The game also marks the end of what many considered to be a disappointing offseason for Minnesota. After finishing fourth in the American League Central division last season, Minnesota saw the fifth-place Chicago White Sox improve their roster while the Twins did very little to improve their own.
As for the rest of the division, the defending back-to-back AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians made some marginal moves but have exciting young talent coming up, the Detroit Tigers added Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and other pieces, while the Kansas City Royals made some nice moves to their lineup and pitching staff. Amid all this, Minnesota didn’t stand pat, but there were not any significant improvements made either.
This means the Twins will be banking on some internal development and bounce-back seasons in order to remain competitive in the Central division. The one question they must answer: Can the top players on this current roster reach their peak form?
There is no better candidate for this than infielder Royce Lewis. A former first overall pick out of JSerra High School, Lewis has had an up-and-down MLB career. When healthy, there have been flashes of the stardom that made him the top draft choice. But that health has been very infrequent, and even when he was on the field last season, he was not productive, posting just an 83 OPS+. He will begin this season batting 8th for manager Derek Shelton.
As for Lewis himself, the question he must answer this season is not only can he stay healthy, but can he get back to his previous star form. If he can, he has the type of talent that can help carry an offense. Paired with a healthy Byron Buxton, the Twins would have a very potent star duo.
But injuries have been problematic for both players, and the Twins do not have the type of depth in their lineup currently to sustain any extended absences or poor production from those two. Buxton looks to be healthy and good to go, having played in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA, although he did not record a hit.
For Lewis, he will have to show that he still has that star-level player in him. It starts with the health, but after his poor numbers last season, the questions now go beyond that.