Four Names the Twins Could Consider to Replace David Popkins as Hitting Coach

[Nick Nelson]

The Minnesota Twins announced on Tuesday that David Popkins will not return as hitting coach in 2025. Here are a few names worth watching as they begin the process of finding his replacement.

Image courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins hired David Popkins as hitting coach after the 2021 season. At the time, he was as a 31-year-old with no experience coaching above Single-A. It's possible, and maybe even likely, that whomever the team hires as his replacement will be similarly obscure to most fans, so in a way it feels pointless to speculate about his potential successor.

But then again, we've got a long offseason ahead of us. And the decision on how to move forward with this role is worthy of some discussion, given that it's very possibly the most significant leadership change we'll see made by the Twins as a result of the embarrassing collapse that took place over the past six weeks of the Twins season. 

The offense played a leading role in this collapse, and so Popkins takes the fall (along with assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon). For a third time in five years, the Twins are on the hunt for a new hitting coach--hopefully one who will oversee a more self-actualizing and less slump-prone offensive unit in the years ahead.

Sizing up the current coaching landscape, here are a few names worth thinking about as the front office starts its search.

Hensley Meulens
The Curaçao native has been around the game for a long time, with a diverse track record that includes time spent playing the major leagues, Nippon Professional Baseball the KBO League. He's nearly landed manager jobs multiple times over the years, including interviewing for the Twins job that eventually went to Rocco Baldelli.

In his most recent stops, Meulens served as assistant hitting coach for the Yankees in 2022 before graduating to the head hitting coach job in Colorado, which he's held for the past two years. The Rockies haven't been good offensively during that span, but it's hard to say whether that has anything to do with Meulens.

Coming to Minnesota would be a lateral move, role-wise, but he might welcome the chance to join a team with contention aspirations, plus some interesting young hitting talent. If the Twins are looking to swing the opposite direction of the inexperienced young Popkins, the 57-year-old Meulens would make a lot of sense.

Johnny Washington
Named by FanGraphs as an up-and-comer in a recent piece highlighting potential managerial candidates, Washington just wrapped up his first year as hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels. Previously he was assistant hitting coach for the Cubs, and before that, a hitting coach for the KBO League's Hanwha Eagles. Clearly multiple teams like what they're seeing in the way he works with hitters.

"Some of [the Cubs'] best hitters over the past couple of years have credited Washington with helping to improve their games," wrote Sam Blum in an article for The Athletic last December after the Halos hired Washington.

As with Meulens, coming to the Twins would represent a lateral move for Washington, but a chance to escape from a cellar-dwelling organization and perhaps make his name with some visible successes. One thing that seems clear is that any incoming hitting coach will have a chance to look really good if a few of Minnesota's talented young hitters can rebound.

One interesting thing to note about Washington is that he was originally hired as a coach by the Dodgers, and in 2014 was a coach for the same Great Lakes Loons team that Popkins was hired from by the Twins.

Dillon Lawson
Lawson was hitting coach for the Yankees up until they let him go midway through last season, as their offense struggled to get going in the first half. At the time, I wrote about the parallels between Lawson and Popkins: both hired by their respective teams around the same time, young, with no experience playing or coaching in the major leagues. Both were also students of analytics, espousing similar philosophies.

If the Twins feel that they were on the right track fundamentally with the Popkins hire, but maybe he was just wasn't exactly the right guy, then Lawson could be someone of interest as an alternative of the same ilk. He's currently a hitting coordinator in the Red Sox system and might jump at the opportunity to step back into a top big-league job.

Nelson Cruz
After retiring last offseason, Cruz was named in May as a consultant to MLB in a new role as Special Advisor for Baseball Operations. I hope he's enjoying the gig. But if he wants to get back into the game at the ground level, he'd be an interesting fit as hitting coach for the Twins, for whom he was a cherished fixture and leader from 2019 through half of 2021. 

He obviously lacks formal coaching experience, so freshly removed from his playing days, but Cruz has the advantage of a peer-like presence, able to connect with players in unique ways. He famously had a mentor-like vibe during his seasons with the Twins. Notably, Cruz was well known for the way he maintained and managed his body, enabling him to keep producing at an elite level into his 40s. For a lineup that roundly ran out of gas and broke down late in the 2024 season, it's easy to see how that particular quality might be appealing.

Let's here your thoughts and ideas! Do any of these names appeal to you? Is there anyone else out there you'd like to see the Twins pursue in their search for a new hitting coach?

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[CRF]

Whatever guy has the least price tag, is the guy they'll hire. Credentials won't matter...money does.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Cruz was such a presence for the Twins. Not sure he's the answer though. Twins need to get this one right and I'd prefer someone with coaching experience. You don't have to look too hard to find the last time they made an unproven coaching commodity the job - it was Popkins. Admittedly, I think Cruz has forgotten more about hitting than Popkins will ever know - but the inexperience factor looms large to me.

[bean5302]

LOL, it's all the hitting coach's fault. The job will go to whatever coach wants to move their career on and up into MLB and is willing to work as scapegoat for owners, mangers and executives making bad decisions.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Oh, Lawson...

No thank you.

The knock on the Yankees' offense - sitting back and waiting for the homerun - way too many strikeouts. And that's with a line-up that's deeper and more talented than what the Twins' have. The philosophy is too similar to what we've seen.

[nicksaviking]

Other than saying, 'Well he coached player X and HE turned out pretty good', I don't have the faintest idea how you evaluate a hitting coach without being able to drill down into the minutia about mechanics and plate approaches.

I will say, as much as I'd love Nelson Cruz to be around the club again, I'm always skeptical about hitting or pitching coaches that were all time greats. You can't teach a skill that you were singularly blessed with. Michael Jordan can't teach you how to dunk from the free throw line, Bob Dylan can't teach you to write lyrics like him and Freddie Mercury can't teach you how to hit his high notes.

[palmspringstwinsfan]

Hire the hitting coach from St Paul. 

[USAFChief]

32 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Oh, Lawson...

No thank you.

The knock on the Yankees' offense - sitting back and waiting for the homerun - way too many strikeouts. And that's with a line-up that's deeper and more talented than what the Twins' have. The philosophy is too similar to what we've seen.

Concur.

Let's not hire another Popkins, but with a different name

 

[Jocko87]

Two openings, Nelly as an assistant and an experienced guy who likes data as the head guy.

I love the idea of Nelly working attack plans with these young guys.  No telling if he could translate what he did, but not many hitters controlled an at bat like Nelly. 

The angle of your elbow plane doesn't matter if you are sitting sweeper and get a fastball.

[gman]

Unfortunately you have to convince many fans that there is something besides homeruns to basebal, then fans watching the games can convince ownership that there is something besides homeruns that they'll watch. Then IF ownership doesn't put such a big emphasis on homeruns or nothing maybe the offense can move forward.

Last spring Correa had several long discussions with Louis Arreaz about hitting and he took off.  Before he hurt his foot of course. Maybe we could hire Arreaz back as a player coach when he is next available. Besides Correa, he helped several players on the team  and he works with multiple players in the offseason.

[Teflon]

The Twins should consider options with Driveline-like coaching and analytical skills. I was always impressed with their out-of-the-box thinking when they hired Wes Johnson from the college ranks at Arkansas.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

Let me preface this by saying, I LOVE Nelson Cruz....he was one of my favorite Twins and I loved watching him swing the bat.  That being said, he was caught using steroids and to his credit admitted the mistake.  I just don't see the Twins, with their conservative approach, hiring a hitting coach with that in his past.  

[Rod Carews Birthday]

5 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Two openings, Nelly as an assistant and an experienced guy who likes data as the head guy.

I love the idea of Nelly working attack plans with these young guys.  No telling if he could translate what he did, but not many hitters controlled an at bat like Nelly. 

The angle of your elbow plane doesn't matter if you are sitting sweeper and get a fastball.

I think this would be an ideal scenario.  I like the idea of Nelly being around the team and working with the players.  I’m just not sure he is ready to be the head guy, which probably entail much more than that.  As an assistant coach, he would be mostly working with players without the need to push the pencil that being the head guy entails.  The question is whether Cruz thinks it’s a better gig than the one he has now and whether he would rather work with players directly.  He could also be (indirectly) another assistant trainer/fitness guy.  

I have to admit that most of the successful hitting coaches aren’t guys I’ve ever even heard of, so I don’t think this is a hire that will make me thrilled or disgusted. This is a difficult one on which to speculate.  

[Whitey333]

I never understood the Popkins hiring in the first place.  How can you hire someone that has never gone through what major league players have?  How can a major league hitter take seriously someone that's never been there?

[Cory Engelhardt]

Of coaches that have Twins ties, why not Torii Hunter?

[Employee No. 4210]

1 hour ago, palmspringstwinsfan said:

Hire the hitting coach from St Paul. 

Shawn Schlechter would be a great option. He has a fan in Brooks Lee, and likes of Buxton and Kepler have approved of his approach to assisting them on their rehab stints. The one knock is he's only been in Triple-A one season as a hitting coach... but he hasn't spent long in either Wichita nor Ft. Myers either, so maybe this is just how his career trajectory is designed to be!

[Brock Beauchamp]

My vote goes to this guy

[Blyleven2011]

You see the ball , you hit the ball ...

Adjust your swing to make contact for singles , doubles and triples , the homeruns  will come without trying ...

We are not a Homerun hitting team without a slugger capable of 40 plus honers a season  ...

Hit the ball and make it exciting baseball again  ...

They better get it right this time because I'm tired of them being wrong alot ...

[Blyleven2011]

14 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Does anybody think Mauer would return to the game and be a great hitting coach?  I hear Nicksaviking's comment about players with natural talent not being good coaches, but Mauer knows so much about hitting, hitting to all fields and hitting with 2 strikes that if he could get even 1/2 of what he knows across it may be beneficial.  Since our hitters seem to start out with a strike or two, Joe may help them there being he was so good hitting with 2 strikes and always seemed to take the first strike.  It won't happen as he is happy being a stay at home Dad, but I've love to see it nevertheless.

What about Paul Molitor , hitting coach and running the bases instructor   , we need help there as well and we could kill 2 birds with 1 stone ...

Oh , you answered your own question  , he is a stay at home dad ...

[mikelink45]

Who knows??? What does this coach do?  And does he need an assistant? 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Oct. 2: In addition to Popkins, the Twins announced that assistant hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez and Derek Shoman will not return to the staff next season. Infield coach/assistant bench coach Tony Diaz also will not return to next year’s staff. The rest of the group is expected to return.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

So, is Watkins safe? Or have they just not made an announcement yet? 

[Brandon27]

Twins drop the ball letting james Rowson go to take a job with the marlins 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

My vote goes to this guy

Hamilton "The Great Hambino" Porter.  Gets my vote!
The other team has no answer for his vicious verbal barbs

[bjorks]

Denny Hocking and Nelson Lirano anyone? They're going to be the cheapest. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, Teflon said:

The Twins should consider options with Driveline-like coaching and analytical skills. I was always impressed with their out-of-the-box thinking when they hired Wes Johnson from the college ranks at Arkansas.

Oh yes... Please hire an analytics driven hitting coach.  The comments on this website might start the internet on fire.

[DJL44]

The entire Marlins coaching staff is available. John Mabry has a decent reputation as a hitting coach.

[Parker Hageman]

Cody Stavenhagen wrote a great piece at The Athletic on the state of hitting coaches back in 2023. 

The trend has been to hire younger coaches to relate to the players more. The Braves' hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has been in his role for 10 years now, which is a huge anomaly considering how volitile the role is:

Quote

“We always say, ‘the better your players, the better hitting coach you got,'” [Braves hitting coach Kevin] Seitzer said. “A hitting coach comes alongside to help and support, encourage, prepare, and then hopefully we’ve got a button or two to push when guys are scuffling to get them going again. But it’s hard because you’ve got all kinds of players from different backgrounds, different makeups, different tendencies, mentally, emotionally, mechanically. There’s so much that goes into it.”

{clip} 

Seitzer is the first to admit his job today is much different from when he started after the 2014 season. “It’s changed big time,” he said. “It would be with so many exclamation points it’s not even funny.”

When the Braves’ front office first began presenting Seitzer with bundles of new information — specifics on attack angles and exit velocities just scratching the surface — Seitzer was skeptical.

“It was scary,” he said. “It was, ‘Oh my gosh, I already take hours to prepare, now it’s gonna take more hours to process additional information.'”

But Braves staffers, Seitzer said, kept preaching patience. “They kept saying, ‘No, no, no,'” he said. “‘It’s gonna cut the time you need to prepare.'”

Seitzer tried to take in the data with an open mind. He listened to the direction of his bosses and embraced the advance reports sent his way.

When the Braves added players midseason this year, Seitzer said that the support he had from the front office allowed him to help players make quick adjustments once they came into the team:

Quote

“It’s challenging, but it’s just kind of part of what you do,” Seitzer said. “We’ve got guys upstairs (R&D department) who have the ability to do breakdowns of swings from when they were good versus not. I watch at-bats, I watch swings, watch their extra-base hits, just to get a feel for what they’re doing when they’re good, and what things look like recently. When they come in midseason, you don’t have time to mess around.”

It makes me wonder if the Twins' front office was able to give Popkins, et al the same support as the Braves did for Seitzer. Did they feel that they equipped their hitting staff with the right information handing into games/series that should be sufficient game planning? 

 

If the Twins can say that they provided all the information that coaches needed and more, and the staff struggled to communicate it effectively, then it makes sense to move on and not just because players underperformed.

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, Brandon27 said:

Twins drop the ball letting james Rowson go to take a job with the marlins 

That wasn’t a lateral move. The Marlins hired him as bench coach. I suppose the Twins could have retained him by promoting him to bench coach and firing Shelton but they still would need to hire a hitting coach at that point. They probably land on Hernandez as they did then. I don’t see a dropped ball. Coaches from successful teams leave organizations for promotions routinely.

4 hours ago, Nick Nelson said:

Coming to Minnesota would be a lateral move

It doesn’t seem likely that the Twins would be able to hire a hitting coach employed by another team. Do lateral moves happen often? If the coach is successful why would the team let him go? If the team is OK with letting him go then why wouldn’t they do that in the first place?

[nicksaviking]

10 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Does anybody think Mauer would return to the game and be a great hitting coach?  I hear Nicksaviking's comment about players with natural talent not being good coaches, but Mauer knows so much about hitting, hitting to all fields and hitting with 2 strikes that if he could get even 1/2 of what he knows across it may be beneficial.  Since our hitters seem to start out with a strike or two, Joe may help them there being he was so good hitting with 2 strikes and always seemed to take the first strike.  It won't happen as he is happy being a stay at home Dad, but I've love to see it nevertheless.

Joe Mauer only knew one way to hit, and he refused to change it even after teams started pitching and fielding to stop him. I actually think he'd make a really poor hitting coach. Can't have a whole team of singles hitters.