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Twins, Rockies meet in matchup of surprising division leaders
Colorado Rockies

Twins, Rockies meet in matchup of surprising division leaders

Published May. 16, 2017 3:38 p.m. ET

It's a big week for two of the league's most surprising teams.

The Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies meet as the leaders of their respective divisions (the American League Central and the National League West, respectively) just a year after finishing in the cellar.

The Twins are the league's most-improved team by winning percentage, boasting a .559 after finishing last season at just .364.

They enter Tuesday's games leading their division by half a game.

The Rockies have improved from .463 to .615, a figure that ranks third in the league, and have a two-game lead in their own division.




























Team Win% Increase
Twins .195
Astros .173
Rockies .152
Diamondbacks .124
Yankees .110



 

And while those divisional stakes should make the series interesting, there should be plenty of home runs to go around, too.

This series features the top-two slugging leadoff hitters in the league over the last three seasons in Charlie Blackmon and Brian Dozier.

Blackmon and Dozier lead the league in home runs by a leadoff hitter during that span.
































Player Home Runs
Charlie Blackmon 73
Brian Dozier 67
Matt Carpenter 50
Curtis Granderson 49
Mookie Betts 45
Ian Kinsler 45



 

Meanwhile, Miguel Sano and Mark Reynolds have provided plenty of power as well, and rank among the league's top slugging infielders by OPS (slugging percentage plus on-base percentage).







































Player Team OPS
Ryan Zimmerman Nationals 1.222
Freddie Freeman Braves 1.191
Eric Thames Brewers 1.128
Miguel Sano Twins 1.106
Paul Goldschmidt Diamondbacks 1.040
Mark Reynolds Rockies 1.028



 

Statistics courtesy of STATS LLC


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