Twins Daily Hitter of the Month - July 2023

[Cody Schoenmann]

The Twins were able to perform at an above-average level offensively in July. With a mix of both veteran and young players performing at high levels, which hitters stood out the most?

July was a story of ups and downs for the Twins offensively. Starting the month sluggishly until eventually picking up the pace after the All-Star Game, the Twins hit .256/.335/.454 (.789) with an above-average wRC+ of 118 in 931 total plate appearances in July. 

Despite an overall encouraging month from the offense, the Twins still struggled in critical aspects of the game, most notably possessing a strikeout rate of 27.7%, five percentage points higher than the league average for July. 

Although the Twins had high strikeout rates yet again, they were able to counteract their high strikeout percentage with an Isolated Power (ISO) rate of .198, twenty points higher than the league average, and a BB% of 9.0%, 0.6 points higher than the league average.

The Twins will be a team that attempts to balance their high strikeout rates with high power and walk rates. When it doesn't work, it is miserable to watch. But when it does work, it is quite the sight to see, as shown in the Athletics and Mariners series after the All-Star Break. 

Overall, the Twins had an impressive month of hitting, and here are the players who led the charge.

Honorable Mention: Kyle Farmer - .302/.367/.528 (.895), 60 PA, 16 H, 2 HR, 146 wRC+
We are starting the "Twins Hitter of the Month - July 2023" list with a bang in utility player extraordinaire Kyle Farmer. 

Farmer talked the talk during the players-only meeting in Atlanta, and he was finally able to walk the walk during July. 

Farmer often found himself on the right side of luck, evidenced by generating a BABIP of .378 throughout July. Despite getting lucky outcomes, Farmer was able to slice the ball around the field, taking advantage of ground balls that found their way out of the infield and occasionally hitting doubles hits in the opposite field gap. 

Despite not displaying much power, "Farm Dawg" put the ball in play with solid contact, something this Twins team has needed all season.

Overall, Farmer had a very impressive July, and hopefully, he will be able to provide the same sense of stability and productivity over the final stretch of the regular season.

#4: Alex Kirilloff - .270/.329/.527 (.856), 82 PA, 20 H, 4 HR, 133 wRC+
If you were to ask me who the Twins Hitter of the Month for July would be on July 24, I would have said it's a toss-up between Kirilloff and Julien. Kirilloff and Julien had just come off incredible post-All-Star Game series against the Athletics and Mariners, and Alex Kirilloff had just earned the honor of AL Player of the Week, hitting .345/.394/.793 (1.187) and hitting three home runs, two doubles, one triple, and generating three walks over that week's long stretch. 

Unfortunately, between the week of July 23-July 29, Kirilloff hit only .182/.217/.273 (.490) with four hits, zero home runs, two doubles, and a wRC+ of 32 over 23 plate appearances.

Kirilloff's high level of performance fell off a cliff quickly, and the reason for that was likely due to Kirilloff sustaining a shoulder injury, which eventually placed him on the 10-day IL on July 30.

Overall, Kirilloff had a solid month, and if he hadn't sustained the shoulder injury that likely caused a steep decline in his performance, he would have been higher on this list. 

#3: Max Kepler - .291/.340/.500 (.840), 94 PA, 25 H, 4 HR, 131 wRC+
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "And those who were seen enjoying Kepler's performance in July were thought to be insane by those who chose to remember April through June."

I think that is how the quote went. It could have had more to do with dancing and music. Who's to say?

Anyways, Max Kepler had an incredible July and, dare I say, looked somewhat like the player we all fell in love with in 2019 for a decent stretch of time.

Consistently good at-bats, clutch hits, and a revived sense of power helped Kepler construct an impressive month of July, which he desperately needed.  

Kepler's highlight of the month was going 11-for-29 (.379 AVG) over seven games against the Seattle Mariners, stretching from July 17-20 and July 24-26.

As we advance through the Twins' last 50 or so games, Kepler will have to confront the expectations of being a key contributor on a division title-seeking team. Will he be able to step up to the occasion finally? We shall see. 

#2: Ryan Jeffers - .368/.455/.526 (.981), 45 PA, 14 H, 2 HR, 180 wRC+
Despite Mitch Garver's breakout 2019 season, the Twins have been in flux at catcher since Joe Mauer converted to first base full-time in 2014. It has been a rocky road, but it feels like the Twins have finally found a trustworthy catching duo of Christian Vázquez and Jeffers, with Jeffers being the standout. 

Jeffers continued his incredible 2023 campaign with a great month of July.

Having a 50/50 split with Vázquez, Ryan Jeffers could not put together a large sample size like other hitters on this list, but he performed incredibly well with the opportunities he was given.

Mixing timely hitting with the ability to hit the ball all over the field with power, Jeffers looked like a nearly fully actualized version of the player who made his debut for the Twins in 2020. 

In 2023, Jeffers has been a rare commodity: a catcher who can hit well. If he continues to put up numbers relatively close to his performance in July, Jeffers could eventually start getting discussed in the same light as fellow American League catchers Jonah Heim and Adley Rutschman.

Jeffers had an incredible offensive month, leading to him finishing second place in Twins Hitter of the Month for July 2023.

Winner: Edouard Julien - .369/.461/.723 (1.184), 76 PA, 24 H, 6 HR, 225 wRC+
From Corey Koskie to Justin Morneau to now Edouard Julien, the Twins are great at finding left-handed Canadiens who can hit. 

Julien, aka "le beau jumeau," had one of the most remarkable offensive months in Twins rookie history, earning him the honors of "Twins Hitter of the Month."

Congratulations to Julien and his family. The streets of beautiful Quebec City will be overflowed tonight in celebration, and rightfully so. 

In all seriousness, Julien had a remarkable month, highlighted by his remarkably absurd post-All-Star Game stretch where he hit .632/.682/1.000 (1.682) while generating a wRC+ of 366 over 22 plate appearances against the Athletics and Mariners. 

Julien's performance understandably quieted down after the Mariners series, but he was still an above-average hitter over the last week and a half of July. 

Julien's performance in July deservedly earned him a seemingly permanent spot on the roster. Going forward, Julien will have to continue to hit at a high rate if he wants to remain a fixture in the Twins lineup, as his defense at second base is below replacement level. 

Nonetheless, Edouard Julien had an incredible month in July and rightfully earned the honor Twins Hitter of the Month title.

Do you agree with our choice for Twins Hitter of the Month list for July 2023? Did I leave any Twins hitters out? Comment below.

 

View full article

[Patzky]

All these guys (and Solano and Occasionally MAT) seem to be the ones who come through in the most needy of situations. I have to say that pinch hitting Solano for Gallo last night was an unexpected burst of inspiration by Rocco that paid 😀 off nicely but barely by inches.

 

Has anyone else noticed that on the rare occasions when the Twins have a big inning it's almost always prefaced by a clutch hit by Taylor? Whether it's his speed or his bottom of the order spot, he's capable of being a sparkplug.

[JD-TWINS]

Jeffers is maybe the most impressive based on expectations. Clutch at moments as well.

Kepler has finally come alive - 94 AB’s is a reasonable sample size & he hit .291…….that’s huge if he can just stay above .250 for the next 2-3 months!

Julien - Kirilloff - Farmer are all doing what they do. Julien, obviously on the HOT side, impressive for sure.

If Buxton gets rolling (7 hits since last Friday - over 4 games - 5 doubles) this group can play with play-off teams. Again, just hit .250 for a couple months - way better then .150 of the recent past!

Lewis is a big missing piece. As much time as Polanco is getting at 3B I’m wondering if Lewis may not come back in an OF role??

[Cody Schoenmann]

2 hours ago, Patzky said:

All these guys (and Solano and Occasionally MAT) seem to be the ones who come through in the most needy of situations. I have to say that pinch hitting Solano for Gallo last night was an unexpected burst of inspiration by Rocco that paid 😀 off nicely but barely by inches.

 

Has anyone else noticed that on the rare occasions when the Twins have a big inning it's almost always prefaced by a clutch hit by Taylor? Whether it's his speed or his bottom of the order spot, he's capable of being a sparkplug.

I would include Farmer in this mix as well. A lot of the utility and role player-types have performed very well for the Twins this season. 

[umterp23]

Nice heater Jeffers is on, currently riding a 9 game hitting streak which I believe is career best.  Funny how over a year ago, many wondered why we shipped out soft hitting Rortvedt to Yankees and kept Jeffers.  Nice to know we held on to Jeffers and are be rewarded with watching his steady climb of improvement.  Rort has been on IL 4 times with Yankees and hitting .125 in limited sample size.

[Mike Sixel]

Julien has been amazing. Wish Jeffers played more. .

[LA Vikes Fan]

Interesting that Castro is not in the lineup two days in a row, I understand playing MAT, Kepler and Wallner in the OF, but I wonder is Castro has ever played 1B. Might be an improvement over Gallo in the field, definitely an improvement at the plate. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Wow!  This is the first time in a couple of months that we are witnessing actual good hitting by the hitters on the Twins!  There are some very impressive numbers in the mix right now.  Keep it up.  Take the pressure off of the pitchers. 

[Beast]

Julien might be the team MVP at this point, even though he’s spent half the season in the minors and can’t play defense.  Dude’s got a .908 OPS, 150 OPS+, and 2.0 oWAR in about 200 PAs.  Extrapolate that WAR out over a full seasons worth of PAs, and we’re talking about a damn good hitter.

For reference, Nelson Cruz had a 4.3 oWAR in 521 plate appearances in 2019, and he finished 9th in MVP voting.  If Julien kept up his pace, he’d register over 5.1 oWAR in 520 PAs.   More perspective, that’s more than Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, Trea Turner, George Springer, Vlad Jr., etc. in 2022.  Luis Arraez had 3.8 oWAR in 2022.

All very loosely calculated based on ESPN stuff, but holy cow.  

[rv78]

WOW, the 5 guys mentioned in this article are guys that had good batting averages. That just boggles the mind when we have a FO that thinks of defense and power over anything else. I've been advocating for hitters that can HIT for years while the FO continues to look the other way and even trades away their best hitter. It doesn't pay to save a run or two with great defense if those same guys can't hit enough to score more runs than your opponent. The only way this team wins another Championship is if/when they have a lineup of guys that can hit for average, not just solo homeruns and play defense. Julien, Kirilloff, Lewis, Jeffers, offer some hope for the future. Now if the crappy veterans on the team would just get out of the way it can happen sooner rather than later.

[Blyleven2011]

I agree that Julien had a good month of production  and hope he can keep producing at the rate he is going ...

I would have had kiriloff  second though over Jeffers  due to  Jeffers only had 45 plate appearances even though kiriloff  slowed due to injury  , kiriloff shows good production when healthy  ...

Keep it going Twins  , the pressure is off for the division title as Cleveland and others in the central were  sellers ...