Twins Tidbit: Jose Miranda is a Top Rookie Slugger

[TwinsData]

Jose Miranda has quickly developed into one of the Twins most formidable hitters. But given his struggles early in the season, how do his overall numbers compare with other rookie hitters who debuted in 2022?

 

There are 30 rookie hitters who debuted in 2022 and have at least 100 plate appearances under their belts. The above graph plots their on-base percentages and slugging percentages, with Miranda indicated.

Miranda is 3rd in slugging percentage at 0.477. Given that he is on the older side of this group, one may wonder if his success relative to other rookies is a product of having extra time to develop. But he's out-slugging all the rookies in his age 24 cohort. Only Mariners phenom Julio Rodriguez and Atlanta upstart Michael Harris, both in their age 21 seasons, have higher slugging percentages.

Among Twins hitters with sufficient plate appearances, only Nick Gordon and Alex Kirilloff swing at a higher percentage of pitches in the strike zone than Miranda. At the same time, only Gordon, Gary Sánchez, and Gio Urshela swing at more pitches outside the strike zone than Miranda. Given his aggressiveness at the plate, Miranda's 0.317 on-base percentage (11th out of 30 qualifying rookies) is promising.

If Miranda puts together two more months with production that resembles his July production, he may just put himself in the conversation for AL Rookie of the Year.

 

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[Richie the Rally Goat]

Keep up the great work TD on TD!

Its been a joy watching Miranda blossom into a big leaguer right in front of our eyes. Love the visuals that prove the feel

[Game7-91]

Very cool, brings clarity to his role on this team. So lets not trade him please.

[Karbo]

He is for sure a big part of the future.

[chpettit19]

Other than Arraez, there's no hitter in the Twins lineup I'd rather have up when the team needs a big hit right now than Miranda. Kid looks to be figuring it out and setting himself up for a very nice career.

[Fatbat]

J M better be off limits to any trade talks. 

[Minny505]

I love the positivity, but about the best Miranda can hope to finish in the ROTY voting is 2nd. No one is beating out Rodriguez. Both are special players, but Rodriguez is having arguably the best rookie season since Mike Trout. That's a-whole-nother-level.

I encourage everyone to catch some Mariners games after the Twins finish for the night. He is worth it.

[RpR]

Mirandas fielding is still a negative Rodriguez is in a whole different universe from Miranda.

[DocBauer]

I think what we've been watching is a very talented young hitter just beginning to figure it out. And he's only going to get better. I see him as a fixture for the next several years in the lineup with, HOPEFULLY, an eventually healthy AK and Larnach. 

IMPO, I think the defense arguements against Miranda have been blown out of proportion. First of all, I've seen a whole lot of rookies, not just with the Twins, struggle a bit with defense at first. Rookies are playing and hitting at an entirely different level, with an entirely different sort of pressure. Secondly, being a young rookie, 21-24yo, and being a top prospect, doesn't mean there isn't work yet to do. Most aren't a finished product, infield in particular, when promoted, and their bat gets them promoted first. And third, while I don't have the numbers in front of me at the moment, he has been primarily a 3B the past few years. So his learning more about 1B at the ML level, and making rookie mistakes, doesn't surprise me. NOTE: I've seen him make a poor play at 1B and then same game, or next, do exactly what he was supposed to. So he's learning.

At 3B, reflecting on the Twins ONLY, Gaetti, Koskie, Plouffe, defensive improvement doesn't happen over night. I think the kid is going to be just fine.

[RpR]

Gaetti was never negative at third; Koskie was a positive , except his first ten games; Plouffe was never a good infielder but not bad with a bat.

We need top line fielders more that good bats, defense has been a large negative for the Twins too long.

[HrbieFan]

12 hours ago, RpR said:

Gaetti was never negative at third; Koskie was a positive , except his first ten games; Plouffe was never a good infielder but not bad with a bat.

We need top line fielders more that good bats, defense has been a large negative for the Twins too long.

Give me smarter base running vs top fielding. We have been atrocious this year and that is squarely on the manager. 

[Game7-91]

20 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Other than Arraez, there's no hitter in the Twins lineup I'd rather have up when the team needs a big hit right now than Miranda.

Are 'ya feelin vindicated today? You should, you called it? ?....

...8th innings 2 outs, 2 down , 2 on, opposite field....thing of beauty......10th inning, pull the tying 1b to LF. So where do they pitch Miranda now, he can pull, go the other way, gap power, or park it. Sounds like the whole hit package.

[Finlander]

He's been getting clutch hits consistently for a while now. It will be interesting to see how opposing pitchers adjust their respect level and approach to him, and then how he adjusts to their adjustments. Agreed with a previous post, it HAS been great to watch him blossom against MLB pitching.