Will the Real Jose Miranda Please Stand Up

Great analysis.  It is certainly easy to have concerns with the results so far, but if I recall correctly he was off to a slow start last year, turned things around after his "return" and then cooled off the last month.  The defensive improvement is encouraging.  However I would be curious to see what his offensive splits were for June-August versus Apri-May and September combined so far.  There is certainly no indication in his minor league career that he is a cold weather underachiever, but it would be interesting to see the comparison.

He's got a 5 game hitting streak with 7 hits in those games. What he doesn't have is the extra base hits. I think he's ready to start elevating the ball like last year. 

I think also that although 3B is his more natural position yet MLB level 3B is quite different. Last year he was having some difficulty at 3B and this year I immagine most of his attention is focused there. Once he feels more comfortable there & adjusting to the pitching, I believe his hitting will turn around.

Half kidding here. A friend recently mentioned that while on vacation in California his family went to a park on a 60 degree day. His kids were in shorts and flip flops while the native California kids were in puffy coats and winter hats. The MLB has many players from Latin America and the US born players are predominantly from the warm weather states. Since we can't get all our players from Wisconsin, like Noah Miller, we need another solution. Let's get all these guys to winter in Minnesota. Do their own shoveling. Take their kids sledding. Go ice fishing, Nordic skiing, whatever it takes. And no balaclavas damnit!

(I could care less about the balaclavas or whatever they wear as long as they produce)

Patiently waiting for Royce Lewis to take his job.

37 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Patiently waiting for Royce Lewis to take his job.

Why would you want him to fail?  I would much prefer he get back to the form where he was a dominant bat like he was June-August last year.  Lewis and his athleticism could be better utilized elsewhere.  He could play all three OF positions and fill-in at SS / 2B as needed.  He could even take over 2B from Polanco at some point in the next couple years.  I just don't understand fans hoping a young player with a high ceiling will need to be replaced.   

Ironically, there was very similar dialogue from many people here last year right before he went off.  Given this history, I think we should all be hoping for what he is capable of instead of writing him off.

If I recall correctly, Miranda has traditionally been a slow-starter right thru his time in the minor leagues. Cooler weather also has to be a factor, especially during this fake "spring". Temps 20 degrees below average in what's normally a cool month anyway doesn't lend itself towards "loosening up". I'll start worrying about Miranda if his bat hasn't warmed up by mid-May, assuming of course we're in the 70's by then. Which is never a sure thing for Minnesota. I believe the last frost date average for us is May 15. That translates to puffy coats for outdoor baseball 'till June.

28 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Why would you want him to fail?

I don't. I think Lewis is a better baseball player and the Twins are a better team with Lewis at 3B long term instead of Miranda. Do I want Michael Taylor to fail if I think the Twins are better off with Buxton in CF?

Miranda's biggest problem at the moment is his lack of power. Just 2 extra base hits in 96 plate appearances. He's better than that. The batting average and walks are not a big surprise, just slightly below expectations. He's only 2 hits below last season's rate for AVG/OBP.

In two weeks he will have played one season's worth of games in the big leagues. Then you can start to project based on that larger sample of work.

7 hours ago, Harrison Greeley III said:

I've been assuming the shoulder issues he was dealing with in March have taken away his ability to swing confidently for power. It seems like one of those things that he can play through, but in August or next season he'll get hot and he will make comments like 'my shoulder is healthy again after a long time of not being right, etc.'  

I'm not so sure about that Harrison. He played all spring with the shoulder and raked, smacking five homers I think. I chalk it up to the weather. He was fine in Florida after all. Many of these guys have very limited experience with cold weather.

I think his swing looks good. He is making contact. I believe that he is gonna hit his way put of this funk. Along with the majority of his teammates who are all under-hitting. 

I hope

I believe he will hit. I don’t believe he will ever be anything but a DH on a good club. He is not good in the field. 

I think Seth nailed it. He just needs to be a bit more patient. He's not the type of hitter who is going to excel by offering at pitches out of the zone.

I'm not buying the 'swinging at pitcher's pitches' thing.

His walk rate is up this year...fairly significantly. He's showing patience. He's not hitting the ball as hard and he's hitting it on the ground more. Swing related in my opinion.

On 4/24/2023 at 8:59 AM, JD-TWINS said:

Lee may be an option.

Lee is a ways off. Watch his games at AA. He is fielding really well but his bat is still in the transition stage. Yes, the stats are there but he is not controlling his at bats enough to get to St. Paul yet. Hopefully Brooks Lee gets promoted to AAA by July, maybe even June. At that point the Twins will be much more focused on what he can contribute in the future. Lee is highly thought of in the organization at this time.