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This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster for the Minnesota Twins and their fanbase. They learned they would be without their ace, Pablo Lopez, for the year after he suffered a significant UCL tear in February that required surgery.
Now, most teams would collapse after losing their ace, but Minnesota was able to keep things under control. Joe Ryan stepped up as the team's newest ace, and Bailey Ober was doing well but was recently placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.
It's been a year of injuries, which has really been tough for this team to stay in front of, and it's not just pitching. The team is desperately missing Ryan Jeffers, who went down with a severe left wrist sprain on May 19.
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Twins fall hard in latest power rankings after a disastrous week
This past week was a really tough week for Minnesota. They couldn't get much of anything going in their series against the Chicago White Sox or the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They could only muster one win against the White Sox while getting swept by the Pirates.
With a 1-6 week, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter had no choice but to bump the Twins down from No. 13 to No. 22 in his latest power rankings.
"A 10-4 stretch of games had the Twins trending up in a major way, but they crashed back to earth and were outscored 52-27 by the White Sox and Pirates during a 1-6 week. In an extreme closer-by-committee bullpen, their 15 saves this year have come from 11 different pitchers."
On top of the injuries, Minnesota still doesn't have a clear vision for its bullpen. They haven't locked in on one closer, which doesn't help a team in the long run.
It's much easier for a relief pitcher to know his role before the game even starts, rather than a group of bullpen arms wondering if this is the game where they will get to shut the door in the ninth.
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