Minnesota Twins Hitters of the Month - May 2025

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins flipped the momentum of their 2025 campaign in May, by going 18-8. Interestingly enough, their run production barely ticked up, from 4.0 to 4.2 runs per game compared to the first month of the season. May featured the amazing 13-game winning streak, plus several walk-off winners and comebacks, showing glimpses of the late-game offense that fueled the 2024 Twins' early success (and was almost completely absent in March and April). Team OPS rose, along with a reduction in strikeout percentage, leading one to believe that the new hitting philosophy was beginning to take root across the lineup. Granted, there are some players who couldn't be hitting worse if they tried (see key 2023-24 hopefuls Edouard Julien's rough start to May and subsequent demotion, and Royce Lewis's .430 OPS). Ty France came back to Earth, while not imploding completely, and Matt Wallner missed the entire month with an injury.

With multiple members of the Twins lineup struggling in May, how in the world did they find their way to 18 wins? Look no further than these four bats, who kept the offense alive just enough and at the right moments to (hopefully) save the season.

Honorable Mention: Carlos Correa .313/.352/.522/.874, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 11 R, 21 H, 4 BB
After a horrendously slow start, Correa began to regain his swing early in May, and was perhaps the hottest Twins hitter in the last week of the month after returning from his concussion IL stint. In a small sample size (67 AB), Correa managed to make consistent hard contact and saw the OPS climb as a result. His signature swing came in extra innings in the Twins' lone victory in Seattle, but he also got the Twins back into some games that eventually ended in losses. Since one never can tell how a game will go until it's all said and done, Correa's improved at-bats from the first inning to extras helped to make the Twins' winning May a possibility. His glove also can't be overlooked as a function of his offensive value, as he continues to save runs on the defensive side. That adds to his value.

#3: Trevor Larnach .269/.309/.462/.771, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 13 R, 21 H, 4 BB
Larnach stays in the third spot in our monthly awards lineup, due to his consistency both in availability and results. Larnach outpaced the other players on this list by 40 at-bats in May (104 total), and his numbers didn't climb from month to month, but they didn't decrease, either (except for runs, which are beyond his control, and a whopping 10 fewer walks). As the final weekend of the month proved, Larnach found a way to hit the ball hard when the game was on the line, and more often than not, that helped lead the Twins to victory. A case could have been made for Harrison Bader to remain on the list, but Larnach delivered more runs and RBIs in May, and since the game's outcome most relies on those two metrics Trevor gets the nod.

#2: Byron Buxton .317/.382/.567/.949, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 2 SB, 13 R, 19 H, 7 BB
The magic carpet ride of 117 plate appearances in March/April came to a literal crashing halt in May, with Buxton's collision with Correa limiting him to 60 plate appearances in May. On the positive side, Buxton's production held steady both before and after the incident, with stolen bases taking the steepest dip. As evidenced in the Seattle series, when Buxton is healthy and in the lineup, he is an offensive weapon that has the ability to change games. As evidenced in the offensive drought of the prior week, when Buxton is absent the Twins lack ways of making up for that absence. All signs from Buxton's return point to him operating on all cylinders in June. So expect plenty more of the Buck Truck!

May Hitter of the Month: Kody Clemens .279/.362/.623/.985, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, 17 H, 6 BB
When the Twins acquired Kody Clemens in late April in the wake of Luke Keaschall's injury, most Twins fans were more curious about Clemen's pedigree than his potential for actual production with the club. Clemens came to Minnesota batting .000 for the Phillies in only four at-bats. He started his tenure with the Twins going 2-for-12, but that "2" was a loud number. On May 3 at Fenway Park, Clemens launched the game-winning homer and started a string of success that is quickly gaining legend status amongst the Twins faithful.

Due to injuries and demotions, Clemens found himself roaming the outfield and infield at a full-time frequency starting with the Baltimore series in mid-May, and the victories at the end of the streak draw a direct correlation to Kody. His bat cooled down in the Tampa heat and stayed cold into the last game of the month in Seattle, so it will be interesting to see if Clemens can make the adjustments necessary now that there is a book on how to pitch him. Buxton's return also potentially limits Clemens' opportunity for playing time, but as he got a look at first base recently, his left-handed bat will seemingly find its way into the Twins lineup as long as this level of production can be sustained. Twins fans are definitely hoping that these beautiful swings weren't just mirages as the season progresses.

What do you think, Twins Daily faithful? Who would get your award for Twins Hitter of the Month in May 2025? Do you think Clemens has was it takes to stay in the lineup come July? Leave your own rankings below.

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[mnfireman]

Congrats to those players for having great months, but on the flip side, of players with 70 PA in May, Royce Lewis ranked 230/232 with a wRC+ of 14 due to a slash line of .130/.200/.203 (.403 OPS (231/232)). I think we need to see his name in the transactions log...

[LambchoP]

Lewis needs a minor league trip. If he can find his swing and get right, it would be a HUGE boost for the lineup in the second half. I also think Keaschal will be a key player. Will be interesting to see how Rocco gets Keaschal, Lee, Clemens and everyone else the daily at bats they need. You don't want these young guys that are a big part of the teams future sitting on the bench getting sporadic playing time....

[DJL44]

Kody Clemens has a shot at MLB player of the month of May.

[Craig Arko]

Clemens has been a real boost absolutely.

How about we don’t turn this into another Lewis thread. 

[amjgt]

15 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Clemens has been a real boost absolutely.

How about we don’t turn this into another Lewis thread. 

Some people always feel the need to balance out good news or positive vibes with bad vibes. It's just how their brain works and I'll never understand it. 

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Kody Clemens has a shot at MLB player of the month of May.

Should be 0% chance, he just ended the month too bad

.279/.362/.623/.985 with 10 extra base hits

compared to Judge

.364/.453/.798/1.251 with 19 extra base hits

or Ramirez

.386/.451/.634/1.085 with 14 extra base hits

or Raleigh

.304/.430/.739/1.169 with 16 extra base hits

or Devers

.356/.468/.606/1.074 with 12 extra base hits

 

With that said he had a darn good month in lines with Holiday, Butler, Ward, Vargas, Witt, Lowe, Pena and others. If Clemens could be someplace between with the way he started and ended the month and his hot streak that would be wonderful.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Should be 0% chance, he just ended the month too bad

.279/.362/.623/.985 with 10 extra base hits

Thanks for the context. I saw the triple slash above and thought nobody could beat an OBP of .623. Someone should tell the author that triple slash stats are usually AVG/OBP/SLG. If you want to add OPS you should add another slash and put it at the end.

Don't remove OBP - AVG/SLG/OPS isn't a thing.

[NYCTK]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Thanks for the context. I saw the triple slash above and thought nobody could beat an OBP of .623. Someone should tell the author that triple slash stats are usually AVG/OBP/SLG. If you want to add OPS you should add another slash and put it at the end.

Don't remove OBP - AVG/SLG/OPS isn't a thing.

I said this last month. Terrible, terrible practice. Straight to baseball jail. 

[TwinsDr2021]

11 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

I said this last month. Terrible, terrible practice. Straight to baseball jail. 

💯

[jkcarew]

Nice to see Correa showing signs of being Correa. That’s huge for the club.

[chinmusic]

If Raleigh wins AL player of the month, the Twins should get honourable mention.

I have a soft spot for Jose Ramirez;; really like the guy. I'd love to see him get the nod, BUT it'll probably be Judge (or Raleigh or Devers) Home runs trump 21 game hitting streaks. Hope I'm wrong about that.

Remarkably, Kody Clemens quite deservedly  grabbed the honour for the good guys!

[mikelink45]

No matter what Kody does the rest of the season he is already a legend in Twins lore.

[Steven Trefz]

5 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I said this last month. Terrible, terrible practice. Straight to baseball jail. 

Just got out of baseball jail…it was glorious.

Also added the OBP…not sure how I missed that. Will get my OPS addiction looked at before June.

Also intrigued by a “Does OBP matter in today’s MLB?” rabbit trail that I went too far down today.  Every opinion from “More important than batting average” to “Can’t quantify walks meaning nothing in run scoring at-bats.”

Is the general consensus of our crew here that it’s a worthwhile metric?  And of the four major slash line metrics…where would you rank it?  Admittedly, I’ve already played my hand…

Thanks for the comments

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Steven Trefz said:

Just got out of baseball jail…it was glorious.

Also added the OBP…not sure how I missed that. Will get my OPS addiction looked at before June.

Also intrigued by a “Does OBP matter in today’s MLB?” rabbit trail that I went too far down today.  Every opinion from “More important than batting average” to “Can’t quantify walks meaning nothing in run scoring at-bats.”

Is the general consensus of our crew here that it’s a worthwhile metric?  And of the four major slash line metrics…where would you rank it?  Admittedly, I’ve already played my hand…

Thanks for the comments

OBP is the most important of any of the metrics because of what it measures inversely - does the player make outs at the plate. Outs are precious, you only get 3 every inning.

[dxpavelka]

19 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Congrats to those players for having great months, but on the flip side, of players with 70 PA in May, Royce Lewis ranked 230/232 with a wRC+ of 14 due to a slash line of .130/.200/.203 (.403 OPS (231/232)). I think we need to see his name in the transactions log...

Two months ago folks were having similar thoughts about Buxton.  One month ago about Correa.

[dxpavelka]

18 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Lewis needs a minor league trip. If he can find his swing and get right, it would be a HUGE boost for the lineup in the second half. I also think Keaschal will be a key player. Will be interesting to see how Rocco gets Keaschal, Lee, Clemens and everyone else the daily at bats they need. You don't want these young guys that are a big part of the teams future sitting on the bench getting sporadic playing time....

Some of the youngsters need to factor in at 1B

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Nice to see Correa showing signs of being Correa. That’s huge for the club.

A month ago similar things were being said about him as they are about Lewis now.