Twins contention for MLB postseason called an 'accident' by ESPN analyst

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The Minnesota Twins are coming out of the MLB All-Star break with a 48-49 record. They have a legitimate chance to make the postseason this year.

Currently, they're just 3.0 games out of the AL Central lead, and tied with the Seattle Mariners for the third and final Wild Card spot in the AL. Despite coming into the year as a projected bottom-of-the-league team, they're contenders.

ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle, in projecting just a 33.3% chance that this Twins team will make the postseason, also noted how the Twins being contenders this year is "more or less an accident."

Twins being contenders called an 'accident' by ESPN analyst

"The Twins' tepid contention is more or less an accident, a by-product of an overachieving group of hitters putting up numbers in the mediocre landscape of this year's AL," Doolittle writes.

While Doolittle did note that the Twins have "gotten gradually better" as the season rolled along, calling their contention an "accident" is a brutal analysis.

But, considering the vibes of this team coming into the year, it might not be too far from the truth. The ownership situation had fans upset, the lackluster offseason didn't really spark excitement, and there were plenty of in-house players who needed to play better.

The Twins not only got off to a good start, but they've stayed within striking distance of a postseason spot, and that's even with Byron Buxton's injury and an extended absence from Ryan Jeffers.

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Coming out of the All-Star break, the Twins' pitching staff ranks 24th with a 4.62 ERA. But their offense ranks eighth with a .738 OPS.

Thanks to Buxton, Jeffers, Kody Clemens, Trevor Larnach, Brooks Lee, Ryan Kreidler, Josh Bell, and even Royce Lewis, the Twins offense has been one of the best in baseball this season.

While this brutal analysis might have some truth to it, to call the Twins' contention an "accident" when they had Buxton and Joe Ryan, along with a few other quality veterans on the roster, might be a stretch too far.

It might've been optimistic to believe this Twins team could contend for a postseason spot, but there was enough individual talent and potential that this outcome halfway through the year shouldn't be a total surprise.