As the Twins climb to unexpected heights, unexpected challenges await

There is an awful high amount of questions for a team that has spent so much time controlling its own destiny this year, but it is to be expected because so much of the Minnesota season has been a shocking scene to witness. On paper, the Twins have done very little to inspire much confidence in their returns thus far.

It is hard to argue that fact when simply looking at the peripheral numbers, which have the Twins as carrying the fewest wins of any division leader in either league. Likewise, they are seven games below .500 at home and own the fourth worst run differential in the American League. Those are not the type of figures that bode well for long-term success on the year, nor do they do anything to inspire immediate confidence in where the Twins place in the standings.

Much of this is due to there being so many head-scratching performances coming from some unlikely contributors. It is safe to say that nobody saw Ervin Santana becoming one of the top pitchers in the American League again at age 34. Yet here he is, owner of three complete-game victories and sitting in the AL top three in wins, ERA, innings pitched and WHIP.

Likewise, 32-year-old Brandon Kintzler has excelled as a closer, converting 17 of 20 opportunities.

The Twins' offense is not posting the eye-popping power numbers that the Yankees or Astros are producing — nor is it stocked with the name recognition of the Orioles, Red Sox or Mariners — but make no mistake about it, this is where the true difference and potential lie for this club’s destiny on the year.

Dozier has continued to be the multi-skilled conduit the team works off of, and the growth of Miguel Sano into one of the most dangerous hitters in the AL is making a massive difference. The hulking Dominican third baseman has improved his on-base percentage by 70 points and is hitting over .400 for balls he puts in play. As a result, he is third in the AL in RBI hitting behind Dozier and also driving himself in at impressive rate as well, as he currently is on pace to surpass 40 home runs on the year.

While the full realization of Sano’s potential along with some unexpected life within the pitching staff are nice and necessary, there is still a drastically uneven allocation of responsibility on the Twins roster. Outside of Sano, only Joe Mauer is hitting as high as .280 on the year, while Santana as accounted for 40 percent of the Twins' quality starts by himself. Putting things lightly, their success model, which is built on the shoulders of few and counting on some extremely favorable outliers to remain consistent, is a ship that is taking on water fast.

Despite the All-Star-worthy performances from Santana and Kintzler, as well as the exciting development of rookie Jose Berrios, the Twins' staff as a whole ranks last in the AL in ERA and is in the bottom third of ERA against. This is highlighted by the struggles of Kyle Gibson (6.79) and Adalberto Mejia (5.75). Even a pair of Twins hurlers currently on the DL, Phil Hughes and Hector Santiago, carried ERAs north of 5.00 on the year.

History has proved that leaning on an imbalance in production long term is not a smart way to go about maintaining a successful ball club; ask the Colorado Rockies about that. It certainly will not hold water against the team that is hottest on the Twins' heels, a team they have a potentially corner-turning series against this weekend, the Cleveland Indians.

Despite playing the role of pursuer for much of the year, the Indians have owned the head-to-head pairings with the Twins this year, going 4-2 with three of those victories coming consecutively during an April series in Minnesota, where this weekend’s tilt will be held as well.

The truth of the matter is that that Twins have been in the right place at the right time. It is a perplexing place the Twins find themselves in, having rarely been a supremely talented team at any point in the year, but they have been better than simply being "good enough" as well. However, they have made the most of small and disadvantageous situations, which has played to their benefit. The Twins have won nearly 70 percent of their one-run games this year, going 9-4 in such contests. Likewise, they have offset their disappointing play at home by being 20-9 on the road, an away mark only bested by the Houston Astros this year.

Still, the year has presented the Twins with an unforeseen challenge and a phenomenal opportunity. Hopes spring eternal in the spring, and occasionally a team can seize the opportunity to realize them in a more complete manner than they could have anticipated. Such as the scenario for these upstart Twins, who have been able to rapidly move past their days as cellar inhabitants to have a legitimate chance to steal a division that took advantage of them just a year ago.

This is the crossroads where we find the year’s most illogically successful team now, with the most substantial test of the young season in plain sight. Can the upstarts pick up the pace and turn their rebuild into a start of a legit pennant chase? Or do they sink into having another uphill fight ahead of them and fall back into the pack of their mediocre division?

The AL Central looks to be party to rebuilders in Kansas City and Chicago, coupled with a potential seller in Detroit. That leaves the Twins and Indians as the most determined competitors for the division title, something Minnesota has already proved that ut can obtain if the team can stay the course.

Springing a surprise is one thing; maintaining the advantage gained from it is a completely different challenge. Meeting that mark can be made easy, however, starting by winning at home. This weekend would be a fine time for the Twins to prove their detractors wrong and shaking some confidence out of the Indians as well.

The opportunity is nigh; it is simply a matter of digging down and finding the will to make it real.