Max Kepler - 2014

[iTwins]

Max returned to the Miracle lineup on Tuesday and promptly went 2 for 3, with a walk. On Wednesday's win, he went 1 for 4, but plated two RBI. In Thursday's loss, he finished 1 for 4 once again and manged to tab two RBI (of the Miracle's three runs).

 

With Byron Buxton playing CF for the Miracle (for now) Max has shifted back towards RF - his more natural position.

[iTwins]

Max has been posting better numbers since returning at the beginning of the month and has been an improved hitter for much of the second half of the season. Since the middle of July, Max is hitting .370/.443/.500/ and has seen his strikeout rate reduce slightly as well.

That's been nice to see as the Twins prospect had struggled for much of the first half of the season and looked to not be progressing as much as the team (and Twins fans) had hoped. Injuries have held back Max a bit, slowing his production and growth each time he started to get on a hot streak. It was beginning to look like Max would need to return to Fort Myers to start 2015, but his late season turn around could put him back on pace to move to New Britain in 2015. (Although starting the year in Fort Myers wouldn't be a bad thing as he's missed a good deal of time this season and could use a chance to really succeed at this level before moving on).

For the season, Max is now hitting:

 

                                                                                                                           
Year   Age AgeDif        Tm   Lg Lev Aff  G  PA  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2014    21   -1.6 FortMyers FLOR  A+ MIN 80 320 282 39 71 14  5  3  46  4  1 29 52 .252 .330 .369 .699 104   3   5  2  2   0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/11/2014.

[aastyer]

Thank you for the updates.  I plan to travel to Bradenton on the 20th and 27th of August to see the Miracle play in person.  I hope Max is healthy and in the line up those nights.  It is good to see he is back and hitting well. 

[iTwins]

Max Kepler continued his red hot second half by going 3 for 4 with a triple and an RBI last night against the St. Lucie Mets. Kepler also added a walk to his totals. Max is now hitting .253/.335/.374 for 2014, but those numbers are rising fast. Over the last 10 games, Max is hitting .351 with 4 RBI, 3 BB and 6 strikeouts. 

[aastyer]

I saw Max play tonight in Bradenton.  I got a chance to talk to him too.  He is a very nice guy.  His thumb still is dinged up.  However, he did hit a HR and draw a BB tonight. 

[aastyer]

I wish I would have seen Kep's Grand Slam in Bradenton last night....

[iTwins]

Max has been red hot since coming back from his most recent DL stint. He tallied his 17th double during Saturday's 7-3 Miracle loss and knocked in a (reportedly) beautiful grand slam during Thursday 5-2 Miracle win. (The homer came in the top of the 9th, if there's bonus points for dramatics, Max earned them here).

 

As has been the case all season with the Miracle, there's not much in the way of video to show Max's slam, but firsthand Twitter reports said it looked nice...so, take that for what it's worth, I suppose.

 

Max also made a nice outfield assit during Friday's game, nailing a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double.

 

For the season, he's hitting .260/.333/.391 but those numbers are held down by his very slow start. Since returning in July, he's simply been one of the best hitters on the Miracle roster.

[iTwins]

The Twins annoucned today that Max will be playing in the Arizona Fall League after the minor league season ends.

 

The move makes a lot of sense for the young outfielder. Max has missed large portions of the season due to various injuries but is just now "hitting his stride" and playing at (or as close as he's been to) full health. The AFL will give Max a chance to make up for some lost at bats from earlier this year.

[aastyer]

_{I hope to go see Max play one last time tonight down in Bradenton.  Thank you for the updates.  I am glad to see he will play AFL again.} 

[jokin]

_{I hope to go see Max play one last time tonight down in Bradenton.  Thank you for the updates.  I am glad to see he will play AFL again.} 

 

 

Send back a report if you have the chance,aastyer. 

[aastyer]

I did attend the 27 Aug 14 game in Bradenton.  Max did not get a hit that night.  On a positive note, he did hit a foul ball to me.  He also signed it for me after the game too.  Unfortunately, I could not attend Game 1 of the FSL playoffs when the Miracle beat the marauders in Bradenton.  I will not be able to see any of the Daytona-Ft Myers FSL League Championship Series either. 

[iTwins]

I did attend the 27 Aug 14 game in Bradenton.  Max did not get a hit that night.  On a positive note, he did hit a foul ball to me.  He also signed it for me after the game too.  Unfortunately, I could not attend Game 1 of the FSL playoffs when the Miracle beat the marauders in Bradenton.  I will not be able to see any of the Daytona-Ft Myers FSL League Championship Series either. 

 

Thanks for the update! (Nice job snagging a Kepler foul ball too!)

[iTwins]

Max and the Miracle (free band name to anyone interested) finished off their season by winning the FSL Championship last night. Max didn't have the greatest championship series, finishing 2-16 without driving in a run. The prior series against Bradenton was much better, as Max finished 4 for 7 in two games.

 

After a slow start to the season, Max really caught fire in the last two months. For the season, he finished with a slash line of .264/.333/.393 with 5 home runs, 59 RBI and 62 strike outs. His power numbers did drop off a bit, but with the injuries Max battled on and off all season, the overall numbers aren't too alarming.

Even better - Max decreased his K% in 2014 while his BB% remained relatively unchanged.

 

It will be interesting to see what the Twins decide to do with Max entering the next season. He will play in the Arizona Fall League - which should help him make up for lost at bats from earlier this year. A strong performance in the AFL could dictate a promotion to AA. However, the Twins could certainly be justified in wanting to see Max play strong for a majority of a season, thereby leaving him in Fort Myers. Either way, Max finished the year strong and should still be considering amongst the upper echelon of Twins prospects.

[jokin]

 

 

After a slow start to the season, Max really caught fire in the last two months. For the season, he finished with a slash line of .264/.333/.393 with 5 home runs, 59 RBI and 62 strike outs. His power numbers did drop off a bit, but with the injuries Max battled on and off all season, the overall numbers aren't too alarming.

Even better - Max decreased his K% in 2014 while his BB% remained relatively unchanged.

 

It will be interesting to see what the Twins decide to do with Max entering the next season. He will play in the Arizona Fall League - which should help him make up for lost at bats from earlier this year. A strong performance in the AFL could dictate a promotion to AA. However, the Twins could certainly be justified in wanting to see Max play strong for a majority of a season, thereby leaving him in Fort Myers. 

 

It was really a tale of two seasons for Kepler at Ft Myers.  Perhaps he was (finally) free of injuries, perhaps he altered his approach at the plate, or perhaps he's finally maturing, or maybe all three, as the contrast in these numbers is stark:

 

April 1-July 11:    K% 22.5%  OPS .622 ISO .099  wRC+ 80

 

July 13-Sep 8:     K% 11.0%  OPS .835 ISO .142 wRC+ 140

 

Max is on the (roster) clock,  I'd really like to think that July 13 was the jump off point to the acceleration phase in his career trajectory.  I hope that both he and the club have the sense of urgency to build on these last 2 months and produce a very solid offseason, starting with the AFL, and looking to not be left behind the rest of the Miracle championship crew going into 2015.