Analyzing José Miranda’s Improved Swing

[Cody Christie]

Offseason changes to José Miranda's swing might be the biggest reason for his improved results. Let’s dive in.

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

José Miranda has been considered a strong hitter since the Twins drafted him in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of high school. Minnesota left him unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft following the 2020 season, but thankfully, no teams pounced at the opportunity to add him. His 2021 season put him on the prospect map as he hit .344/.401/.572 (.973) with 32 doubles and 30 home runs between Double- and Triple-A. Miranda had proven he could hit in the upper minors, but now he needed to transition that success to the big leagues. 

Miranda inserted himself into the team’s long-term plans during his rookie season. In 125 games, he hit .268/.325/.426 (.751) with 25 doubles, 15 home runs, and a 114 OPS+. Minnesota hoped he’d take the next step during his sophomore season, but a shoulder injury impacted him on both sides of the ball. Miranda posted a 57 OPS+ in 40 games with 24 strikeouts and seven extra-base hits. He had surgery on his shoulder in October and hoped that some swing adjustments could replicate his 2022 numbers. So, let’s look into Miranda’s approach at the plate and what he changed from last year to this year.

 

2023 Season: 40 G, .211/.263/.303 (.566), 4 2B, 3 HR, 24 K, 9 BB, 57 OPS+, -0.2 WAR
Last season, Miranda’s swing included extra movement, with his hands moving north and south as part of his load. This extraneous movement made it difficult for him to catch up to high pitches in the zone. Against fastballs, he struck out 16 times in 87 at-bats while being limited to a .310 SLG. His extra movement also caused him to be on top of the ball more regularly. During his rookie season, he topped the ball 29.4% of the time, which jumped to 40.7% last season. Some of his struggles last season were likely due to compensating for his shoulder injury, but it still gave Miranda a chance to analyze his swing and make changes.

2024 Season: 71 G, .324/.364/.529 (.894), 20 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 35 K, 14 BB, 150 OPS+, 2.3 WAR
The Twins sent Miranda to Triple-A to begin the season because there wasn’t a spot on the Opening Day roster. He reached base multiple times in four of his first seven games before multiple big-league injuries opened a spot for him. Miranda worked to limit the movement of his hands during his load so there is less north-to-south motion, which allows him to get into his swing quicker and catch up to pitches. He’s slugging over .500 against every pitch type, including a 210-point jump in slugging versus fastballs. His Topped% has decreased to 29.1%, slightly better than his rookie season and better than the league average. 

Since rejoining the Twins, he’s made keeping his bat out of the lineup challenging. Willi Castro (2.9 fWAR) and Carlos Correa (2.7 fWAR) are the only Twins with a higher fWAR than Miranda’s 2.1 total. His total might be even higher, but he’s provided negative value on defense.

Yesterday, he tied the MLB record by hitting safely in twelve straight at-bats. His 151 wRC+ is the highest on the team, and he has had the lowest K% among qualified Twins hitters since he was recalled. Minnesota’s offense has been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, and it’s tough to imagine where the lineup would be without Miranda’s improved swing. 

---

What stands out about his approach in 2024? What’s Miranda’s long-term role with the Twins? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

View full article

[Doctor Gast]

I knew Miranda was a good hitter & wanted him to be part of the team when he broke camp. But unfortunately he was blocked. He's a strong player just starting his offseason conditioning 1 month before spring training & has quickly recovered. He has surpassed all my expectations & then some. Congratulations, Jose! on your record. Wish you many good years with the Twins.

[CRF]

I don't know what he did, and I don't care what he did...just don't take him out of the lineup!

[arby58]

As the article notes, Miranda is still a defensive liability. Primary DH or 'removed for a late inning defensive replacement' are probably in his future. That said, you sure aren't going to keep his bat out of the lineup. I recall the year before last Correa saying he was the best hitter on the team. May prove to be true.

[DJL44]

Great to see him come back stronger after shoulder surgery. Some players don't.

[Eris]

It is nice to see productivity and success (and records) from players who are not striking out a lot. There was a TD  article about a week ago on this. 

[TopGunn#22]

He seems much more patient and locked in to what is a strike and what isn't.  He also isn't trying to do "too much."  He's not swinging for the fences, trying to lift the ball for a superior launch angle.  He's taking the outside pitch the opposite way, he's turning on middle-in pitches with a vengeance.  

Max Kepler had a couple of AB's a couple games ago where he just pushed the outside pitch into left-center field.  He picked up clutch RBI's on each hit.  If I didn't know better (and I don't) I'd swear the Twins have made a subtle change to their overall approach.

We're now seeing the Miranda that we all expected/hoped for after he had terrorized AAA pitching in St. Paul.  His first year was promising.  His second year was terrible, maybe due to health issues.  But this year he's a #3, #4, #5 hitter in a potent lineup.  A bat like that MUST stay in the lineup, defense be damned.  He should get the majority of his AB's as a DH but still fill in occasionally at 3B and 1B. 

Santana has played too well this season to give up AB's to Miranda, but starting in 2025, if Santana is a one-year rental, Miranda should be the primary 1B/DH.  Next year will truly be make or break for Kirilloff unless he's traded at the deadline or during the winter.  It pains me to say that, but the guy with the "Will Clarkesque" swing is running out of chances.  With Brooks Lee up now, and with Correa and Royce Lewis, SS, 3B and 2B are covered for the most part.

That leaves Miranda, Kirilloff and Julien to battle for 1B/DH.  Julien can fill in at 2B, Kirilloff in LF/RF and Miranda at 3B when not playing 1B or DH'ing.  That's SOLID flexibility, and I haven't even mentioned Castro.  Depending on the continued development of guys like Larnach, Wallner, Kirilloff and E-Rod, Castro could be starting in LF a LOT in the future.  This is a GREAT problem to have going forward.   

 

[FlyingFinn]

It does seem like the small crowd of "Miranda can't play defense and thus shouldn't be on the Twins" fans has gone silent.

[bean5302]

Miranda reminds me quite a bit of Luis Arraez at this point. Suspect defense, poor runner, great hit tool. Trades some elevated K rate for more power, but a lot of Miranda's hits look like Arraez's hits. Looping soft liners to the short outfield.

I don't think Miranda will be long term defensive liability at 1B if he was an every day starter there.

[Mydaughterhastwins]

Let's review!  Get rid of Catro.  Get rid of Kepler.  Get rid of Santana.  Get rid of Miranda. Even Correa was catching grief.  Seems they've all worked it out to some degree.  Now it's say goodbye to Kirilloff and Julien and Wallner.  Patience please.  I mean we have been extraordinary patient with Buck and now things are looking promising.  Maybe we can spread out the patience a little.

[bean5302]

Basically, Miranda eliminated a lot of noise.

Miranda's pre-swing last year:
1) Hands at eye level
2) Hands drop straight down to beneath shoulder
3) Hands arc half circle lower to higher back behind shoulder to prepare for swing.
4) Swing

Miranda's pre-swing this year.
1) Hands shoulder at shoulder height.
2) Hands and shoulder cock back slightly
3) Swing

[Karbo]

It looks as if the hitting philosophy is starting to change for the Twins. For the last 5 years or so it seemed like they were trying so hard to lift the ball over the fences. The last couple of months they seem to try more line drives, hitting the ball hard where its pitched. IMO, the results speak for themselves.

[1985Fan]

4 hours ago, CRF said:

I don't know what he did, and I don't care what he did...just don't take him out of the lineup!

Of course Rocco has Miranda on the bench today! Explain why the hottest hitter in baseball at age 26 needs a day off? He can’t DH a couple days in a row?! Pinch hitting for Miranda the other night was also a brilliant move. The manager should go manage another team please. His lineups, pinch hitting, and bullpen moves are frustrating (putting it politely) to watch. 

[Seth Stohs]

Pretty impressive that @Peter Labuza pretty much called Miranda's streak... or at least noted the swing changes a couple of weeks ago, just before the streak started.  

https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/jose-miranda-swing-rate-approach-video/

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

6 hours ago, Karbo said:

It looks as if the hitting philosophy is starting to change for the Twins. For the last 5 years or so it seemed like they were trying so hard to lift the ball over the fences. The last couple of months they seem to try more line drives, hitting the ball hard where its pitched. IMO, the results speak for themselves.

Their philosophy has always been to hit hard line drives. That's what "analytics" preaches, and its the same strategy that's been preached since Ted Williams' time.

The results are definitely better, the philosophy is the same. 

[arby58]

11 hours ago, Eris said:

It is nice to see productivity and success (and records) from players who are not striking out a lot. There was a TD  article about a week ago on this. 

The team as a whole is not striking out a lot. They are 21st of 30 MLB teams in number of strike outs and 10 of 15 in the AL.

[arby58]

7 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

Of course Rocco has Miranda on the bench today! Explain why the hottest hitter in baseball at age 26 needs a day off? He can’t DH a couple days in a row?! Pinch hitting for Miranda the other night was also a brilliant move. The manager should go manage another team please. His lineups, pinch hitting, and bullpen moves are frustrating (putting it politely) to watch. 

You're joking, right? The pinch hitter (Martin) singled and scored on Correa's grand slam. The manager's 'lineups, pinch hitting and bullpen moves' have them 12 games over .500. 

[1985Fan]

25 minutes ago, arby58 said:

You're joking, right? The pinch hitter (Martin) singled and scored on Correa's grand slam. The manager's 'lineups, pinch hitting and bullpen moves' have them 12 games over .500. 

You’re going to defend pinch hitting for the hottest hitter on the team, and turns out in baseball?! Go ahead and explain why that was a logical move. Explain the logic of Miranda out of the lineup today. Then tell me why no other manager in the league pinch hits for their starters in the 5th and 6th innings. Today, Margot PH for Wallner in the 6th against their LHRP. Houston followed with two RHRP afterwards. So Baldelli  benched Wallner bat for Margot. Wallner could have hit against the two RHRP in later innings. 

 

 

 

 

[1985Fan]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

You're joking, right? The pinch hitter (Martin) singled and scored on Correa's grand slam. The manager's 'lineups, pinch hitting and bullpen moves' have them 12 games over .500. 

The PH, Martin, was apparently injured. He went on the IL today with an oblique injury, retroactive to June 6th. Baldelli PH an inferior RH bat for Miranda..

The other PH in that game, Margot, struck out twice in the 9th inning. In a one run game. Nice moves that clearly help the team win games. I’ll wait for your examples of all the PH moves that have won games and put the team 12 games over .500. 

[JD-TWINS]

16 minutes ago, 1985Fan said:

The PH, Martin, was apparently injured. He went on the IL today with an oblique injury, retroactive to June 6th. Baldelli PH an inferior RH bat for Miranda..

The other PH in that game, Margot, struck out twice in the 9th inning. In a one run game. Nice moves that clearly help the team win games. I’ll wait for your examples of all the PH moves that have won games and put the team 12 games over .500. 

Poor yourself a cool drink……the comment on MLB the next morning was they pulled Miranda after 10 hits in a row in a blowout so he wouldn’t get plunked. ……oddly enough, his first AB in Saturday he did get hit. Don’t really think it was intentional but the pitch “in” was meant to be IN.

Martin got an AB in a game where the Team was getting torched…..he got on & scored. Seems like a deep dive above to just complain.

[1985Fan]

10 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Poor yourself a cool drink……the comment on MLB the next morning was they pulled Miranda after 10 hits in a row in a blowout so he wouldn’t get plunked. ……oddly enough, his first AB in Saturday he did get hit. Don’t really think it was intentional but the pitch “in” was meant to be IN.

Martin got an AB in a game where the Team was getting torched…..he got on & scored. Seems like a deep dive above to just complain.

They lost by one run. His ph moves do not work and his explanations are dumb. I’ve never heard any manager pull their best hitter to avoid getting plunked. If you buy that story, that’s on you. He threw in the towel on a game he shouldn’t have. 

[wabene]

5 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

They lost by one run. His ph moves do not work and his explanations are dumb. I’ve never heard any manager pull their best hitter to avoid getting plunked. If you buy that story, that’s on you. He threw in the towel on a game he shouldn’t have. 

Interesting thread on why Rocco should be fired, oh wait I mean Miranda's swing

[arby58]

11 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

You’re going to defend pinch hitting for the hottest hitter on the team, and turns out in baseball?! Go ahead and explain why that was a logical move. Explain the logic of Miranda out of the lineup today. Then tell me why no other manager in the league pinch hits for their starters in the 5th and 6th innings. Today, Margot PH for Wallner in the 6th against their LHRP. Houston followed with two RHRP afterwards. So Baldelli  benched Wallner bat for Margot. Wallner could have hit against the two RHRP in later innings. 

You only raised the issue of pinch hitting for Miranda. You seriously second guess the manager for a pinch hit that resulted in a positive outcome? 

Some people are never satisfied.