Get Expert Player Predictions for Royals vs Twins – August 10, 2025

Kansas City Royals logo

Kansas City Royals

@
Minnesota Twins logo

Minnesota Twins

-120O/U: 9.5
(-110/-110)
+100

The Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals continue their series at Target Field on August 10, 2025. After a competitive matchup yesterday, the Royals emerged victorious, adding to the Twins’ struggles this season. The Twins currently sit at 55-61, having an underwhelming year, while the Royals are slightly better at 58-59, managing an average season overall.

On the mound, the Twins will send out Jose Urena, who has struggled this year, ranking as the 301st best starting pitcher in MLB according to advanced-stat Power Rankings. Urena’s ERA stands at 5.24, and his projected metrics indicate he could allow an average of 2.8 earned runs over 4.5 innings pitched today. His inability to generate strikeouts, with a 13.1% strikeout rate, could be a significant factor as he faces a Royals offense that is the 2nd least strikeout-prone in MLB.

For the Royals, Ryan Bergert takes the hill, coming off a solid outing with an impressive 2.83 ERA this season. However, projections suggest he may also face challenges, as he is expected to allow 2.7 earned runs over 4.5 innings. While Bergert’s control issues—an 11.8% walk rate—could be exploited by the Twins’ lineup, the Twins’ offense ranks only 14th in the league, indicating a lack of punch.

Both teams have average to below-average offensive rankings, but the Twins have a slight edge, especially with an implied team total of 4.64 runs compared to the Royals’ 4.86. As the series continues, both Urena and Bergert will need to step up to help their teams improve their standings. The game total is set at 9.5 runs, hinting at a potentially high-scoring affair.

Kansas City Royals Insights

  • Ryan Bergert – Over/Under Pitching Outs
    Compared to the average hurler, Ryan Bergert has been given a shorter leash than the typical pitcher this year, recording an -10.5 fewer adjusted pitches each game.
    Explain: Pitchers with a shorter leash are more likely to get pulled earlier in games and record fewer outs.
  • Mike Yastrzemski – Over/Under Total Bases
    Mike Yastrzemski will probably have an advantage against every reliever throughout the game, since the bullpen of the Minnesota Twins has just 1 same-handed RP.
    Explain: Hitters perform worse against pitchers of the same handedness (i.e. righty-vs-righty), and being able to avoid those matchups against the bullpen boosts performance and creates hidden edge.
  • Kansas City Royals batters jointly place 26th- in MLB for power this year when assessing with their 7.5% Barrel%.
    Explain: Barrel% measures how often a player hits the ball at the optimal exit velocity and launch angle and is a terrific measure of underlying power.

Minnesota Twins Insights

  • Jose Urena – Over/Under Strikeouts
    Jose Urena will have the handedness advantage over 6 opposing bats in this matchup.
    Explain: Right-handed pitchers perform better against right-handed hitters (and the same for lefties). Having this advantage against a lot of opposing hitters can have a huge impact on whether a pitcher will perform well or struggle on any given day.
  • Royce Lewis – Over/Under Total Bases
    Royce Lewis has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .294 rate is quite a bit lower than his .341 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.
    Explain: xwOBA uses highly advanced Statcast data to measure a player’s overall hitting ability more accurately than actual wOBA can.
  • Kody Clemens – Over/Under Total Bases
    Kody Clemens hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 91st percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league’s 10th-deepest CF fences today.
    Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.