What's wrong with Jose Miranda? How long is his leash?

[ZachB]

We've got a glimpse last year of what Jose Miranda can be, a guy that seems to put the ball in play a lot with hard contact, a high level run producer in the middle of the order with 30 HR potential. This year we've seen a much different version of him. So far he's actually been a liability in the middle of the order with 7 GIDP already. He chased a lot last year, and seems to be doing the same this year, except with less hard contact to show for it. His swing looks geared to line drive contact over the fly ball oriented contact we see a lot these days, not the worst thing, but when he's not going good it's proven to be problematic in the middle of the order. He's never gonna be an above average defender, so offense is imperative to keeping him valuable, one way or another he's young and the ship must be righted.

 

He's young, penciled in to be a cornerstone of this team and start all year long, for the time being it seems that might not be the case. With Farmer only a week or so away, it wouldn't be surprising to see him lose playing time if he's still not coming around. I personally think a AAA stint could do wonders for Miranda, confidence can be everything in baseball, and I can't imagine the poor results he's had so far this year has been good for his, would be nice to see him get a chance to reset in St Paul. Not sure Willi Castro survives the return of Farmer in the coming week, but is it crazy to think that if he does, it will be Miranda going down when Royce Lewis is healthy again, hopefully at the end of the month?

[wsnydes]

A lot of it likely has to do with opposing teams getting a book on him.  They've learned how to get him out.  He didn't finish last season all that strongly either.

I'm not sure a AAA stint would be helpful.  It might help reset his brain, but I think he probably needs to learn at the MLB level against MLB pitching at this point.  

[Cory Engelhardt]

I still really like the potential of his bat, but he has been scuffling an awful lot to start this season. I'm starting to think that Lewis's arm and athleticism would look really great at 3b in a month or so, but I don't know what that means for Miranda. He does need to start hitting at some point, and with that hopefully chasing less pitches outside of the strike zone.

[ZachB]

1 minute ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I still really like the potential of his bat, but he has been scuffling an awful lot to start this season. I'm starting to think that Lewis's arm and athleticism would look really great at 3b in a month or so, but I don't know what that means for Miranda. He does need to start hitting at some point, and with that hopefully chasing less pitches outside of the strike zone.

Yeah I don't think Miranda survives at 3B barring a trade. Scouts have said they assume both Royce and Brooks Lee have the potential to be elite type defensive 3B a the big league level. Seeing that they're also the two best hit tool prospects in our system, that would require some big numbers from Miranda to survive.

[JHelley4]

Miranda has crazy potential and has been bad this year, but he will stay in the MLB. THere is no good reason to send him back down besides confidence. At this point all he needs is more MLB reps.

[Cory Engelhardt]

7 minutes ago, ZachB said:

Yeah I don't think Miranda survives at 3B barring a trade. Scouts have said they assume both Royce and Brooks Lee have the potential to be elite type defensive 3B a the big league level. Seeing that they're also the two best hit tool prospects in our system, that would require some big numbers from Miranda to survive.

I do think this team looks an awful lot different in August than it is currently constructed. Interesting to see how the pieces fit. It's always possible that Miranda is dealt too, but who knows. I hope he can start hitting.

[wsnydes]

6 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I do think this team looks an awful lot different in August than it is currently constructed. Interesting to see how the pieces fit. It's always possible that Miranda is dealt too, but who knows. I hope he can start hitting.

If they're going to deal him, I sure hopes that he starts hitting.  I'd hate to sell low on a guy like him regardless of who is waiting behind him.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Just now, wsnydes said:

If they're going to deal him, I sure hopes that he starts hitting.  I'd hate to sell low on a guy like him regardless of who is waiting behind him.

I don't see anyone being traded at a low point like him. But maybe he becomes the 1b/dh on this team who can occasionally fill in at 3b. 

I do think Kirilloff and Lewis, and maybe even Lee, are all up at some point this year. That's outside of injuries that are bound to occur, and potential trades. The group as a whole has to start finding consistent offense some how.

[gunnarthor]

I think Miranda's upside is a bit limited but I think he can be a 2-3 WAR player on a solid team. I'd let him play for now but Brooks Lee looks like the legit future third baseman so Miranda might become expendable. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

I think Miranda's upside is a bit limited but I think he can be a 2-3 WAR player on a solid team. I'd let him play for now but Brooks Lee looks like the legit future third baseman so Miranda might become expendable. 

I generally agree with this. Miranda has some nice upside with the bat but it's always going to dragged down by the glove.

Teams need 2-3 win players, that's fine if he ends up in the "pretty good everyday player" category. But between Lewis and Lee, I think a better option will present itself in the next 12-18 months.

[wsnydes]

11 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I don't see anyone being traded at a low point like him. But maybe he becomes the 1b/dh on this team who can occasionally fill in at 3b. 

I do think Kirilloff and Lewis, and maybe even Lee, are all up at some point this year. That's outside of injuries that are bound to occur, and potential trades. The group as a whole has to start finding consistent offense some how.

Barring trades or injury, I don't really see a lot of changes to the roster regulars.  I think Kirilloff will eventually do enough damage in AAA to get called up and take over 1B.  That likely pushes Larnach, Kepler or even Gallo out.  

I'm not worried about Lee so much.  They can afford to be more patient with him unless he's just destroying the minor leagues.  I think Lewis is a bigger wild card since he's already had a taste.  That all depends on how he comes back from his knee injury though.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, gunnarthor said:

I think Miranda's upside is a bit limited but I think he can be a 2-3 WAR player on a solid team. I'd let him play for now but Brooks Lee looks like the legit future third baseman so Miranda might become expendable. 

This

[stringer bell]

I'm going to make a roster prediction here: Jose Miranda will not be on the Twins active roster by the end of May. Two things--his performance has been below expectations by a lot, including a current funk where he's striking out more, usually chasing, and seldom making solid contact and he was replaced late in the game for base running and defense in a close game. By itself, I wouldn't make much of running for Miranda in the late innings, but he also made a two-hop throw on a grounder to deep third, but not close to the foul line. I think the shoulder that bothered him in the spring is still an issue.

[tony&rodney]

Miranda is trying too hard to be "The Guy". He has to take high fastballs even if he gets called out on strikes a few times. Baseball is a tough game and failure is routine in the sport. If Miranda can keep the pitchers in the strike zone and just move the line, as opposed to trying too hard to make a big play, he will be fine. Of course, this too is difficult. I can see Jose making an adjustment soon.

[weitz41]

I'm not really sure what to think of Miranda so far this season. Hopefully just a sophomore slump and he'll play his way out of it. Just so many moving pieces..Farmers rehab, Lewis getting closer as well..Casto isn't exactly playing better the Miranda. Buxton as a fulltime DH..Salano getting the RH 1st base starts. Crowded roster for a struggling player, just ask Larnach..

I don't think a trade that includes him is very likely. Long term that seems like a bad move. Then throw in next season will probably see no Gallo, Kepler and possibly Polanco.

My guess is when Farmer is ready, he gets a taxi ride across town.

[dxpavelka]

Wouldn't be the first guy to peak as a rookie.  Paging Danny Santana. 

[jorgenswest]

Lewis will go through rough times and the same conversation will be had about him. Lee will too. I think Miranda is worthy of investing 1500 at bats. If they want to send him down for a time when Farmer is ready that might help him reset but he really has proven himself at AAA. He needs time to work through this struggle.

[wabene]

The voice of reason ^^

[John Belinski]

I agree that he is swinging at too many bad pitches, but so are several other hitters. I have watched several batters swing at 3 or 4 pitches well out of the strike zone. Batters striking out when not even one pitch was in the strike zone. The Twins manager or hitting coach needs to do a better job with helping the batters. The word is going to get out about the Twins swinging at bad pitches so they will see fewer pitches to hit. In today's world information like this will certainly hurt the Twins if they continue to swing at bad pitches. The Twins have several hitters that no pitcher should ever throw a pitch in the strike zone. If I can see that problem then other teams will certainly have their pitchers throw fewer pitches in strike zone.

[stringer bell]

4 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Wouldn't be the first guy to peak as a rookie.  Paging Danny Santana. 

Or to stay at third base ( and go back a few more years) Danny Valencia. 

[CRF]

I'm sure this is an over simplification, but he needs to look at some video of his swing. A lot of the time, he looks like he's swinging an ax out there, instead of a level on plane swing. It's like he's trying to chop down on the pitch, not square it up. He's never going to win a gold glove at 3rd, but it does kind of look like his arm/shoulder may still be bothering him. 

[ashbury]

56 minutes ago, CRF said:

I'm sure this is an over simplification, but he needs to look at some video of his swing. A lot of the time, he looks like he's swinging an ax out there, instead of a level on plane swing. It's like he's trying to chop down on the pitch, not square it up.

He's launched 3 out of the park in the last 10 days.  OPS in that very small sample is up to an acceptable .769.  Maybe he's already looked at some video and made an adjustment, and some singles will start to fall in too?

[lecroy24fan]

He's getting sent down before the homestand starts Tuesday.

[USAFChief]

He may or may not have a shoulder issue--I haven't seen any evidence--but that's not the primary defensive issue. 

It's the frying pan he wears on his left hand.

Coupled with a dead bat, I don't know how long they can keep sending him out there. 

[dxpavelka]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Or to stay at third base ( and go back a few more years) Danny Valencia. 

Marty Cordova comes to mind as well, although he had a monster year 2.

 

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

He may or may not have a shoulder issue--I haven't seen any evidence--but that's not the primary defensive issue. 

It's the frying pan he wears on his left hand.

Coupled with a dead bat, I don't know how long they can keep sending him out there. 

He would be passable at 3rd if he was hitting a bunch. He's going to have issues staying there when both Lewis and Lee could be better on both sides of the ball.

Speaking of Cuddyer, what's the chance Miranda could play a functional left field? A young RH outfield bat fits this roster much better.

[h2oface]

I know what it is. His admiration of Correa, and letting Correa have such a large an infulence on him. He was fine before at the plate. I mean, to emulate Correa seems to mean that you suck at hitting to start the season.

[Dave Borton]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:28 AM, JHelley4 said:

Miranda has crazy potential ... At this point all he needs is more MLB reps.

Ah, but where to put him to get those reps?

Brutal at 3B (career .950 IMSM). Farmer returning. Lewis right behind him. Kirilloff on 1B. Buxton tying up DH.

[Carnegie]

He is like Sano was in left field, Nope this will not work. Below average glove and average arm. Nope that will not work at 3rd.. He was acceptable because of his bat, now that's seems unacceptable. I think it's the gold necklace. Never a good sign with a player who has proved very little.

[Brock Beauchamp]

14 hours ago, USAFChief said:

He may or may not have a shoulder issue--I haven't seen any evidence--but that's not the primary defensive issue. 

It's the frying pan he wears on his left hand.

Coupled with a dead bat, I don't know how long they can keep sending him out there. 

I haven’t been able to watch a ton of Twins baseball this week but what I’ve seen, Miranda has made some really ugly throws. I agree he also has a brick on his left hand but if feels like his shoulder is affecting his throws, too.