Week in Review: Miranda Mania

[Nick Nelson]

It was an extremely eventful week for the Minnesota Twins, who lost Royce Lewis to another significant injury and saw top prospect Brooks Lee burst onto the scene in his stead. But somehow José Miranda's historical hitting clinic managed to overshadow it all.

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 7/1 through Sun, 7/7
***
Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 51-39)
Run Differential Last Week: +10 (Overall: +51)
Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (6.0 GB) 

Last Week's Game Results:

Game 85 | MIN 5, DET 3: Lewis Delivers Big Hit But Gets Hurt
Game 86 | DET 9, MIN 2: Festa Struggles Again, Lee Debuts
Game 87 | MIN 12, DET 3: Blowout Ends Early Under Rainfall
Game 88 | HOU 13, MIN 12: Comeback Falls Short in Shootout
Game 89 | MIN 9, HOU 3: Miranda Makes MLB History in Big Win
Game 90 | MIN 3, HOU 2: Vázquez Walks It Off to Clinch Series

IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN NOW FIND IT IN PODCAST FORM. GET THE LATEST EPISODE HERE. ALSO AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY.

NEWS & NOTES

In a classic "monkey's paw" moment, Twins fans got their wish to see red-hot top prospect Brooks Lee reach the big-league stage ... at the expense of Royce Lewis. A right adductor strain suffered on Tuesday will likely sideline the Lewis for at least a month, with the Twins saying they'll re-evaluate him after the All-Star break. This is his fourth trip to the injured list since returning from his second ACL recovery last May, all of them for different soft-tissue strains: oblique, hamstring, quad, groin. Huge bummer, obviously. 

But the silver lining is real: Lee is now in the majors, and has wasted no time flashing his hitting talents on the big stage. In his MLB debut on Wednesday night, Lee notched a pair of hits, both singles back up the middle. The newcomer kept it rolling into the weekend, as we'll soon cover.

Lee was not alone in joining the Twins roster after tearing up Triple-A. Matt Wallner finally got his return ticket on Sunday, recalled from St. Paul to replace Austin Martin, who landed on the injured list with an oblique strain. It's a well deserved promotion for Wallner, who had slashed .342/.417/.727 (1.144 OPS) with 12 home runs in 29 games since the start of June. The way he's been able to cut down on the strikeouts has been most convincing within this prodigious power showing. Wallner showcased his improved approach right away on Sunday, drawing a 10-pitch walk in his first AB back then rifling a 117-MPH single in his second.

As Lee and Wallner made their way from St. Paul to Minneapolis, David Festa headed the opposite direction. The right-hander was sent back down to the minors on Friday following a rough introduction to the big leagues, and replaced temporarily on the roster by Josh Winder. It's expected that the team will activate Chris Paddack from the injured list to start on Monday after missing the minimum 15 days with his arm fatigue issue.

On the bullpen depth front, Diego Castillo and Matt Bowman rejoined the organization on minor-league deals; noteworthy since both appeared for the Twins earlier this season. Zack Weiss moved to Ft. Myers on his rehab assignment.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Twins offense continues to churn out runs, with the luxury of Lee as a reinforcement almost entirely negating the massive loss of Lewis. Lee collected at least one hit in each of his first five major-league games and is batting .476 with six RBIs. He hit his first home run on Saturday night after launching seven in 20 games at Triple-A. 

Despite his dazzling debut, Lee couldn't quite steal the show from José Miranda, who set an expansion-era MLB record by notching hits in 12 straight at-bats, going 5-for-5 on Thursday and 4-for-4 on Friday. For the week, Miranda was 14-for-20 with four doubles and a homer. "Locked in" doesn't begin to describe it; the 26-year-old has struck out twice in his past 44 plate appearances. He's a bit short of qualifying for the batting title, but if he weren't, Miranda's .331 average would rank second in the majors behind Steven Kwan.

 

Miranda led the charge this past week for a lineup that is thriving top to bottom. I can't stop marveling at the quality and depth. Even with Lewis unavailable, the Twins can plug in Miranda's scorching bat at the heart of the order alongside Carlos Correa, who homered twice and drove in five runs last week, and not miss a beat. Correa was named as the Twins' All-Star representative on Sunday.

Byron Buxton, who typically finds himself sixth or seventh in the lineup, went 8-for-18 with a home run and three doubles last week. He's got his OPS up above .800, among the league leaders in center field. Even the catchers have been heating up at the plate – Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez combined to go 10-for-23 with two doubles and three homers, with Vázquez delivering a stunning walk-off blast on Sunday.

You add in Lee and Wallner, who are currently slotting in near the bottom of the order, and there's just no relief for opposing pitchers. We're seeing that play out in the results. The Twins scored 12 runs in back-to-back games, including one that was shortened to seven innings by rain. For the week they batted .344, tallying 15 doubles and nine homers while scoring 43 runs in six contests. The Twins had a solid showing against arguably the league's top pitcher in Tarik Skubal (3 ER in 6 IP) and they absolutely torched Josh Hader and the Astros staff at Target Field. 

Twins pitching was not as overpowering as the hitting last week, but there were some commendable performances, including Bailey Ober's fourth straight gem on Thursday: 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 K. Ober is throwing as well as we've ever seen him, with a 35-to-5 K/BB ratio and 1.65 ERA over 27 ⅓ innings in his past four starts, which have featured his three highest swinging-strike totals of the season. He set a career high with 22 whiffs on Thursday.

 

The bullpen was largely very good, with relievers answering the call over and over again. Cole Sands appears to have rounded back into his strong early-season form, striking out five over three scoreless innings last week. He's gone seven appearances straight without allowing an earned run, and has a 9-to-1 K/BB ratio in that timeframe. Josh Staumont was reaching triple digits with his fastball on Sunday, as he logged his 18th appearance of the season while maintaining a 0.00 ERA. He's been just a huge find by this front office.

Sands and Staumont combined with Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Jorge Alcalá, and Caleb Thielbar to collectively allow zero runs on six hits in 13 ⅔ innings across Minnesota's six games.

It's all clicking for the Twins right now. They have won five series in a row and seven of their past eight. Wednesday's 9-2 loss against Detroit was the only game in the last calendar month that Minnesota has lost by more than one run. Their performance this past weekend against a red-hot Astros team, which had won 12 of 14 coming in, was perhaps the most impressive showing of the season so far, and an emphatic counterargument against the knock that they can't step it up against quality competition.

LOWLIGHTS

While a majority of relievers contributed clean outings last week, the blemishes in Minnesota's bullpen performance were noticeable. Kody Funderburk was knocked around for five earned runs in three innings across two appearances, yielding a pair of homers and widening the team's deficits in losing efforts on Wednesday and Friday. His ERA is up to 5.97 on the season.

Winder also got roughed up on Friday night, surrendering four runs (three earned) on five hits in two innings of work in his 2024 major-league debut. I can't imagine the Twins will be inclined to stick with Winder much longer, given that he hasn't shown much ability to be effective or stay healthy for multiple years now. He'll presumably head back to the minors when the Twins activate Paddack on Monday, and I'd guess his 40-man roster spot is very much at risk as Weiss and Brock Stewart work their way back from the 60-day IL.

In a week where Brooks Lee made the initial transition from minors to majors look easy, Festa reminded us that in most cases, that's far from true. He was clobbered by the Tigers on Wednesday night, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits including three homers in five innings. Festa was cruising along until the third inning when everything fell apart, as Detroit broke the game open on a grand slam. 

Not the smoothest start to Festa's MLB career, of course, but from my view it wasn't the most concerning debut either. Looking past all the hard contact and the 10.50 ERA in two starts, he did show the ability to attack the zone and miss some bats. He knows what he needs to work on back in Triple-A.

 

Pablo López's clunker on Friday night falls into the same category for me: disappointing, but not overly concerning. He did allow six earned runs in five innings in a loss to the Astros, but all eight hits he gave up were singles, many of which happened to string together. 

I get that the results are what they are – his ERA is back up over five as we approach the All-Star break – but if López is throwing heat, keeping the ball in the park and missing bats I'm not worried. He's still a No. 1 starter I'd be fairly confident matching up against any opponent. To bolster that confidence, though, it would be nice to see Pablo get into a sustained groove while eliminating these hiccups that seem to invariably come along every few starts.

TRENDING STORYLINE

For a second time in 10 days on Sunday, Correa appeared to dodge a bullet after a scary-looking HBP knocked him out of the game. X-rays on his hand came back negative, and the shortstop declared after the game that he'll be in the lineup on Monday. Far be it from me to question this: when the same events played out the previous week, Correa did indeed return the next day, and he hit a home run. 

 

But I can't help wondering if it wouldn't make sense to give him a respite, even if he avoided a serious injury here. The upcoming All-Star break would essentially provide an opportunity to give Correa two weeks off while only missing six games. He has now taken two painful fastballs to the hand/wrist in a span of two weeks, and generally speaking, it couldn't hurt to get him off his feet for a little bit at the midpoint of the season. 

It goes without saying that having Correa at full strength for the stretch run and into October is critical, so I'm on board with almost any precaution designed to protect his longevity, especially with Lee and Miranda playing the way they are on the left side. 

Correa clearly wants to play, this coming week and next week at the All-Star Game. I'm guessing the Twins are inclined to oblige him, so it may be a moot point in this case. But I guess my broader point is that this has the looks of a playoff-bound team, with enough quality depth to plan smartly for what's ahead. I'd like to see them making future-conscious decisions with an eye toward the postseason, even if that means a non-essential IL stint for Correa, or giving Paddack a bit of extra time off beyond the minimum, or taking the conservative route in bringing Lewis back from his latest injury. The Twins can afford to play things somewhat safe.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Twins close out their first-half schedule with a road trip that will take them through Chicago and San Francisco ahead of the All-Star break. Minnesota is 7-0 against the White Sox so far this year and the Giants have been under .500 since May. The Twins starter for Monday and Sunday is yet to be officially be announced, but it's assumed Paddack will return to take back that spot in the rotation. 

MONDAY, JULY 8: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – TBD v. RHP Chris Flexen
TUESDAY, JULY 9: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Erick Fedde
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – RHP Pablo Lopez v. RHP Drew Thorpe
FRIDAY, JULY 12: TWINS @ GIANTS – RHP Joe Ryan v. LHP Kyle Harrison
SATURDAY, JULY 13: TWINS @ GIANTS – RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Hayden Birdsong
SUNDAY, JULY 14: TWINS @ GIANTS – TBD v. LHP Blake Snell

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[USAFChief]

I don't agree with the idea the Twins are in any position to needlessly rest players.

If Correa isn't healthy, fine. Sit him or IL him. If he IS healthy, he plays. 

[stringer bell]

The Twins stand at 51-39 at the 90 game mark. Last year after 90 games, they were 45-45.

[mark sills]

Twins looking like a real contender. Think only need a few more relief pitchers and one great pitcher to make a serious run

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

The boys are really hitting now! Since June 1 the offense ranks:

1st in wOBA (.360), xwOBA (.350) and OPS (.848)

3rd in Barrels (78), Exit Velocity (90.4 mph), K rate (13.1%) and ground ball rate (39%)

6th in hard hit rate (42.8%)

7th in line drive rate (20.7%) and fly ball rate (40.3%)

9th in bat speed (71.9 mph), barrel rate (9.5%) and pull rate (41.7%)

10th in Whiff rate (22.3%)

Hit the ball hard, keep it off the ground, pull flyballs, don't whiff. Fairly simple analytical approach, can't argue with the efficacy. 

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

Staumont hitting 100 was very impressive today. Looks like he's really found something, and while the results have been pretty lucky for him so far (.136 BABIP), the slider has been a weapon so far and the more velo he gets on his fastball the better everything will play. 

Thielbar had a nice bounceback week, I thought he pitched well to back up the results. 

Winder looked pretty good in his first inning of work, but at this point he's got too much to prove to only be good for 1-inning at a time. 

Buxton, per Fangraphs, has already provided more value than his salary this year.

Nice to get some production from Jeffers and Vazquez this week. Definitely contributed to a few of the wins in this series-winning streak. 

What more can be said about Jose Miranda? Oh, did anyone know his cousin is Lin-Manuel Miranda! The guy who wrote Hamilton!

[Peter]

Fantastic way to end winning week!!! Just keep winning series and finish first half strong!!! Go Twins!!!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

A very  eventful week for Minnesota. So much  going on, mostly very positive. But those darn Guardians keep winning. I hope the Twins keep the petal to the metal.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

Fantastic way to end winning week!!! Just keep winning series and finish first half strong!!! Go Twins!!!

I’m glad you survived another one-run game. They were due to win one!

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I don't agree with the idea the Twins are in any position to needlessly rest players.

If Correa isn't healthy, fine. Sit him or IL him. If he IS healthy, he plays. 

There’s that category that used to be referred to as “nicked”, which would describe several players—right now Correa and Miranda and probably Larnach. Maybe more rest (or time) would be helpful for a couple of guys, especially with a five-day All-Star break. 

[Doctor Wu]

8 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Thanks for the summary Nick.  I look forward to these each week and you do an excellent job.

The Twins are playing very entertaining baseball this year.  Love the offense.  Keep it up boys!

I agree. A most excellent summary, covering all the hits and misses ... and thankfully a lot more hits this week. Keep it coming!

[h2oface]

11 hours ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

What more can be said about Jose Miranda? Oh, did anyone know his cousin is Lin-Manuel Miranda! The guy who wrote Hamilton!

How is life in a vacuum? 😇

[Doctor Gast]

Great job again Nick. I think it funny that the 2 games we lost was against HOU's BP game & DET's Montero which I thought would turn into a BP game but Montero surprised us & went 6+ innings. I advocated bringing up Varland to be available in long relief to help in case Festa needed to be bailed out, which he did & our BP blew up. I feel that there were so many ways we should have won that HOU heart-breaking game. One was having Varland available in long relief when Lopez was laboring instead of Winder & Funderburk.

"Even the catchers have been heating up at the plate – Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez combined to go 10-for-23 with two doubles and three homers, with Vázquez delivering a stunning walk-off blast on Sunday."     I think it interesting that 2 of the 3 HRs were hit by Vazquez & Vazquez has out-hit Jeffers in the last month & a half or so including Jeffers recent rally.

 

[USAFChief]

35 minutes ago, h2oface said:

How is life in a vacuum? 😇

Possible your sarcasmeter is on the fritz.

[USAFChief]

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

There’s that category that used to be referred to as “nicked”, which would describe several players—right now Correa and Miranda and probably Larnach. Maybe more rest (or time) would be helpful for a couple of guys, especially with a five-day All-Star break. 

If Correa and/or Miranda are "nicked," I hope everyone gets nicked.

I'm more of a black and white guy. If Correa is hurt, don't play him. If he's not, he's in the lineup.

November is for rest.

[Doctor Gast]

Like I've said from the beginning we have a great core (counter to what many have thought), a line-up that can really hit! Young players that are ready to really set the field on fire once given enough regular playing time. Not to mention Lewis or Larnach, Lee was born MLB-ready & hit the ground running. Miranda has played enough to start to rake but when Lewis comes back he'll play less & he deserves to play much more. Martin has played fine but he has been played sporadically & bats against RHP only. He needs to play more regularly for him to really get the feel of MLB. Wallner is locked & loaded & has shown surprising fielding talent. Kiriloff was mashing until OF had the best of him. Julien can rake once straighten out. Then we have Keirsey, who is long over-due to get his chance at MLB & Severino are mashing at AAA. I'm dying to see how they do.

Some say that these guys aren't ready to play regularly & we needed Farmer, Margot & Santana but I beg to differ. these guys are ready to turn the MLB on its ear. Dump these guys & finally let these young guys loose.

We were fortunate that Desclavani didn't stay limping around the mound blocking us to see how good SWR is, that Varland isn't ready for SP, he's needed in the BP & Festa a chance to get his feet wet & light a fire under him.

[chpettit19]

If Correa, or any player, needs more than 5 days of a break for whatever they're dealing with physically, like let's say 10 days maybe, they should go on the IL. If not, they should play 6 games in the next 7 days and enjoy their 5 day break to recover.

The Twins have Thursday off. Then next Monday through Friday off. Then the following Thursday off. And the Thursday after that. They're still 6 back in the division. And they don't want to end up in a wild card series against the 2nd place team in the east whether it be New York or Baltimore. Winning the division and hosting the last wild card team (or getting a bye?) is a far better situation and they shouldn't be taking their foot off the gas at any point.

[MMMordabito]

Miranda named AL Player of the Week

[RpR]

42 minutes ago, MMMordabito said:

Miranda named AL Player of the Week

Well deserved. I hope misfortune does not come his way.

[bean5302]

7 hours ago, h2oface said:

How is life in a vacuum? 😇

short lived, LOL

[bean5302]

Jose Miranda just continues to tear it up, and here's the kicker. Miranda's production was greater than his expected metrics early on, but just like Royce Lewis last year, that hasn't continued to be the case. As the year has worn on, Miranda's results are much more in line with actual production. The numbers he's putting up right now, and as of recent, have not been smoke and mirrors.

Since 6/1
Exit Velocity 91.6mph (87%)
Barrel Rate 10.4% (73%)
Hard Hit Rate 45.8% (77%)

Over his last 100 PA, he owns a .424 xwOBA (.457 actual).

It's fun to watch!

[rv78]

Funny how Miranda and Woods-Richardson weren't good enough to make the opening day roster. Once again the FO overdid themselves by bringing in an injured Desclafani and gave a couple of roster spots to less than deserving veterans like Santana and Margot. Larnach looks to have found his stroke, Lee looks to be the real deal and hopefully Wallner returns with a bang as well. I said it before and I've been saying it for a long time........ let the youngsters play. Quit wasting money on aging or subpar veterans that hold no future value for this club.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, rv78 said:

Funny how Miranda and Woods-Richardson weren't good enough to make the opening day roster. Once again the FO overdid themselves by bringing in an injured Desclafani and gave a couple of roster spots to less than deserving veterans like Santana and Margot. Larnach looks to have found his stroke, Lee looks to be the real deal and hopefully Wallner returns with a bang as well. I said it before and I've been saying it for a long time........ let the youngsters play. Quit wasting money on aging or subpar veterans that hold no future value for this club.

anybody who predicted Woods-Richardson would be a successful starter this year would have been laughed at. He's a totally different pitcher than last year. He's added almost 5mph to his pitches out of the blue. That's nearly unheard of. I think everybody can agree Desclafani wasn't the guy we were looking for.

Miranda not making opening day was a real disappointment to me. I felt like he deserved the roster spot, and I'm glad to see him showing his skills to all the doubters and haters out there. He had a ton of them after last year.

[jimbo92107]

Imagine Jose Miranda going 2 for 5, and thinking there must be something wrong with his approach...