Minnesota Twins Hitter of the Month: June 2025

[Eric Blonigen]

June was…not an enjoyable month to watch Twins games as the incredibly streaky Twins team took a downturn, going just 9-18 in the month. The pitching staff, beset by injuries to Pablo Lopez, Zebby Matthews, and maybe Bailey Ober had one of their worst months in franchise history, and that’s really saying something. The Twins played their way from a strong playoff position to being outsiders looking way up at the Wild Card pack, with just four AL teams behind them in the standings.

Despite the current state of the team, there were some hitters worth celebrating for their prowess at the plate, and one in particular who produced with the best in the game. Who is this paragon with the stick? Read on to find out!

Honorable Mention - Royce Lewis .348/.375/.533/.908, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 11 H, 5 BB, 184 wRC+
Lewis’ miserable start after returning from his IL stint was well-documented. Less reported on was just how much he was heating up in his first 10 games in June prior to landing on the IL year again. In that brief span - just 35 plate appearances - Lewis put up a 185 wRC+. He walked more and struck out less, and seemed like he just might be figuring things back out at the plate. As he wraps up his rehab stint with the Saints post-injury, he offers some tantalizing promise for a lineup struggling to produce at the plate. If he can pick up where he left off, we just might be seeing him featured more prominently in July’s hitter of the month awards.

#4 - Trevor Larnach .348/.375/.533/.908, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R, 21 H, 8 BB, 118 wRC+
Larnach had more of a good month than a great one, and it speaks volumes that the Twins fourth-best hitter was just slightly better than average. Solid has often been the case with Larnach, so this might be more about celebrating the consistency he has found at the plate. His peripherals were good, with strikeout and walk rates better than average. Not flashy, in the background a bit, but reliable. And, he’s done it despite not really being shielded against lefties. You know what? That’ll play.

#3 - Willi Castro .286/.375/.452/.827, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 15 R, 24 H, 10 BB, 1 SB, 137 wRC+
Willi Castro has continued to be a lifesaver for the Twins, building on his two-plus year stretch of defensive versatility and good hitting. Castro started the year quite slowly, but has incorporated some pitching machine work, and has found his form over the past couple months. In June, he struck out a bit too much, but made up for it by walking at a healthy clip. His signature moment for the month came on June 3, when he launched two of his three homers for the month.

#2 - Brooks Lee .348/.375/.533/.908, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R, 32 H, 3 BB, 1 SB, 157 wRC+
As recently as May 27th, Brooks Lee had a .622 OPS and a 74 wRC+. He just wasn’t hitting well and often looked a little lost at the plate. Despite that, Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli was effusive in his praise for Lee talking about the caliber of his hitting in a way that seemed at least a little disconnected with reality. Turns out, Baldelli had caught on just a little earlier than the rest of us. Immediately afterwards, starting on May 28, Lee began living up to his draft-status potential. He began a 19 game hitting streak, went hitless on June 21, then collected hits in six more games in a row before Tarik Skubal did his thing to close out the month. Looking under the hood a bit, he did have an unsustainable batting average on balls in play, at .431. So, it’s fair to temper expectations just a bit moving forward, but regardless, this was a great month for an important part of the Twins future plans.

Hitter of the Month - Byron Buxton .310/.408/.678/1.086, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 17 R, 27 H, 14 BB, 6 SB, 198 wRC+
Yeah, that’s right. Who else could possibly be deserving of the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month award than Byron Buxton? Since the calendar has flipped to June, he has been on an MVP-caliber tear, amassing 1.8 fWAR over just one month. He’s done everything: hitting a ton of bombs, stealing bases, playing excellent defense, walking more than average, and striking out much less then average. The wild part? If anything, Buxton was a bit unlucky in June, with just a .281 batting average on balls in play.

On June 11, he hit the second-longest home run of 2025 off of Rangers starter Jack Vierling. It was the fifth-longest bomb in Target Field history.

Perhaps most importably, he has been so fun to watch during a stretch of otherwise rough baseball. As fans, we have seen this version of Buxton before, during his unfortunately rare healthy stretches. Now, halfway through 2025, we are seeing the best possible version of a player who has always given his all every day he shows up the park, pushing his body past it’s natural limits. If Buxton stays healthy, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue his torrid run. if he can keep this up, he just might win some hardware once the season wraps. In a league with Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt, and maybe the best season ever for a catcher in Cal Raleigh, it won’t be MVP. But Silver Slugger? That would be incredibly rewarding for a guy like Buxton.

So there you have it: an oft-injured slugger heating up, a player who’s been consistent for a season and a half, a young cornerstone figuring it out, and one of the best players in Twins history. What will July bring? Can one of the other hitters force their way onto this list, living up to potential? And even more importantly, can Buxton take the top spot again?

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