Kepler's Season

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Max Kepler certainly isn't a favorite player of mine. Perhaps the reason for this is he seems to have the swing and the athleticism to be a .300 hitter, Gold Glove winner with 25-30 home runs a year. Somehow, that has never come to pass. As a matter of fact, Max had only had one very good year (2019) and was only average to below average every other year (COVID year excluded as SSS). 

Kepler has missed time with two leg injuries and might not have enough plate appearances to qualify for rate stats, but he is the Twins top hitting regular. His batting average stands at .251 and his OPS is at .805 with an OPS+ of 117, rivaling 2019 when his OPS+ was 123. Max leads the club in homers and is second in RBI. He's improved his hitting against left handed pitching (.703 OPS) and continues to be a good defensive outfielder. 

There was a thread on TD about a month ago discussing Kepler and picking up the club option for 2024. Kepler's performance in the last six weeks has moved me from a hard "no" to a probable yes.