Twins Daily Hitter of the Month - April 2023

[Matthew Taylor]

The first month of the 2023 season for the Minnesota Twins is in the books. While the bats started off slow, the Twins began to light it up at the plate towards the end of the month. Who was named the Twins hitter of the month for April?

Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo

The first month of the 2023 season for the Minnesota Twins is in the books. While the bats started off slow, the Twins began to light it up at the plate towards the end of the month. Who was named the Twins hitter of the month for April?

The Minnesota Twins made their mark on the mound for most of the month of April. Even though the pitchers showed up in spades for the Twins to start the year, there were a number of qualified candidates for hitter of the month. Let’s dive in.

Honorable Mention #2: Max Kepler 18 G, .242/.319/.452 (.771) 4 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI
From popular DFA candidate to honorable mention for hitter of the month, it was quite the roller coaster of a month for Max Kepler. Ever since a breakout season in 2019, Kepler has experienced his fair share of struggles at the plate, posting a below-average 98 OPS+ from 2020-2022.

Over the first 12 games of the 2023 season, it looked like it would be the same old struggles at the plate for the left-hander, with a brutal slash line of .175/.244/.400 (.644).

Since the start of the second Yankees series, though, Kepler has found his stride at the plate posting an extremely promising slash line of .364/.444/.546 (.990) with four RBI over six games. It’s obviously a small sample, but a small glimmer of hope that his bat might still have some life in it.

Honorable Mention #1: Byron Buxton 26 G, .258/.324/.557 (.881), 6 2B, 7 HR, 17 RBI
Another player with a roller coaster month, Byron Buxton had arguably the biggest slump of any player on the team in the month of April when he was stuck on a run of fifteen consecutive at-bats without a hit (including 12 strikeouts).

Since breaking out of that slump, Buxton has been on a scorcher, slashing .308/.372/.821 (!!!) with 10 extra base hits and 11 RBI over his last 10 games.

The biggest win for Buxton in the month of April is the fact that he stayed healthy and finished third on the team in plate appearances.

Hitter of the Month: Joey Gallo 19 G, .236/.354/.709 (1.059), 3 2B, 7 HR, 14 RBI
While Byron Buxton had a big month of April, he was eclipsed by a newcomer who had an even bigger month. Joey Gallo introduced his big-time bat to Minnesotans in a big way, posting a ridiculous slugging percentage of .709 with seven home runs, many of them being moonshots.

Gallo is currently on pace to post his best batting average since 2019 and the lowest K% of his career. While those numbers are likely to regress to his career averages, Gallo has shown that he is more than just a fringe signing. The only thing that has slowed Gallo this season has been a minimum-stay trip to the injured list for a right intercostal strain. Gallo possesses real power at the plate and represents a middle of the order bat that this team was needing this month... and will continue to need throughout the season. 

Who do you think was the best hitter for the Minnesota Twins in April? Leave a comment below and start the conversation.

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[jmlease1]

I hope Joey Gallo keeps proving me wrong all season. He's off to a great start.

[Blyleven2011]

I hope he can prove  everyone wrong and finally make the boy geniuses  look like boy geniuses   ...

I guess Gallo is deserving as most of  the  hitters got off to a slow start ... 

Polanco should have been given an honorable mention since he sparked the lineup since arriving late due to rehab ...

[Twins GFP]

Positive comments on Gallo and Kepler!!??  Gotta stop, too many heads will explode.

Rough month for the offense in general.  Gallo, Kepler, Taylor, and Jeffers are exceeding expectations, but their initial bar was so low that really isn't saying much.

Slow starts from most everybody outside of Polanco and Solano.

How much more rope are Nick Gordon and Will Castro going to get?

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

...How much more rope are Nick Gordon and Will Castro going to get?

About five more games' worth for Castro, assuming Farmer's rehab goes well and no one else gets hurt. 

[JD-TWINS]

Gordon has a triple & 2 HR with a single in last 5 games………once again, hit .289 with 27 doubles after May in ‘22. He plays 4 positions. I believe he’s here to stay.

Castro is a fill-in for depth. Gordon was/is part of the plan for ‘23.

Have been upbeat & positive about our offense to date (patience) but when 2 of our top hitters for the month are Max & Joey we need to get our top line guys going.

Polanco has had a real nice start - Miranda’s discipline sucks, no other way to describe it, frankly, he may need an option down after Farmer is back for a couple weeks - Correa showing some better contact over past few games…….wish he was more cerebral at the plate - Gordon starting to move needle forward - looking for another shot in the arm from Kiriloff in a couple weeks.

Gotta broaden the choices for Bat of the Month by end of May.

[joefish]

Someone needs to step up and make this selection easier. Who's hot? No one. 

Gordon last night. Yes he was.