Three playoff contenders that mirror Cardinals teams of the past
By Curt Bishop

Minnesota Twins
The Twins aren't necessarily an overpowering team, but I could see them being an underdog this coming October. The AL Central is perhaps the weakest division in all of baseball, and the Twins are very clearly the best out of a bad bunch.
They have quality starting pitching with guys such as Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez, and Joe Ryan. Because they are not necessarily a powerhouse, they give off similar vibes to the 2006 Cardinals. That team was stacked on paper but won only 83 games during the regular season. Somehow, that was good enough to win the NL Central.
Like the Twins, the '06 Cardinals had a powerful lineup and a solid pitching staff carried them to the World Series. The Twins could potentially be this year's Cinderella story.