Twins Daily 2021 Minor League Hitter of the Year: Jose Miranda

Whereas Miranda is screaming call me up, six of the other 7 all appear to be long shots for a sustained big league career (Rooker is already here).  Unless I am mistaken, several are Rule 5 eligible and doubt there will be room to add more than Miranda...from this group.

Of course I could have written the exact same thing as above about Miranda two years ago.  Is there another future star in this group?  Expect the seven young men listed believe there is.  Would be curious to know if anyone from the TD staff believes any of this group will be added to the 40-man this year, other than Miranda.

I'll miss seeing Miranda at CHS field, but I hope I never see him there again.

I have not seen Jose Miranda this season. His numbers are amazing. What is the report on his prospects for being a full time contributing MLB player? Can he be counted on to take a position next season? What about his glove, does it play at 3B? The answers to these questions are important to a consideration of where Miranda fits on a Twins roster. The average, contact, patience, and power are very impressive and if he looks anything like Kirilloff he deserves a real shot at playing time. This, in turn, affects who is available to trade. 

Congratulations to Jose Miranda for a spectacular season. I wish I had had an opportunity to see him play. I checked milb.com every game for his line for each game and the consistency of his production was so laudable.

As far as a roster spot, yes, these things take care of themselves. He may or may not break camp with the Twins, but he will play for the Twins in 2022. And his ability to play multiple positions will aid him in the transition and opportunity. From every report I've ever read or heard, he was a high pick for real reasons. It was only a matter of time...with hope which is the case of all prospects...until he put it all together. I couldn't comment on his defense except to say I've never heard anything bad. The few highlight plays I've seen over the season indicate he can get it done. And yes, they may have been hilights, but if you can make those kind of plays, further time and development should allow you to develop and be solid, if not good.

I just never saw Cabbage breaking out the way be did this year. There is still a K vs contact component to work on. But he's only 24yo, a former 4th round pick, and there is enough potential showing after his breakout 2021 that I think you need to find a way to keep him.

Steer and Julien were part of the 2019 draft where the Twins seemed to concentrate heavily on infielders. Of course it was Cavaco #1, but they also grabbed Steer, Gray and the Auburn duo of Holland and Julien. IIRC, both Holland and Julien signed over slot due to some savings. The fact that Steer and Julien, despite being college players, have progressed so quickly with a short 2019 and no 2020 is pretty awesome. While we don't know how good either may ultimately be, their early results as possible infield fixtures as at least multi-position options is very encouraging!

I'd really like to keep Contreras and Kerrigan around for 2022 if possible. I just don't know if either offers up enough offense to go along with great defense. But either could provide depth and a possible future as a 4th OF. 

Free Josh Donaldson! Much as I like his gung-ho attitude, Miranda is the heir apparent at 3rd base, and he should get slotted into that spot next spring. Miranda and Sweet Luis Arraez can take turns at the hot corner. 

Time also to move on from Andrelton Simmons, whose strong glove does not quite make up for such a weak bat. Personally I would love to see our two young sports cars, Royce Lewis and Austin Martin compete for the starting shortstop role, the loser going to...the outfield and part time shortstop. Get both young superstars onto the big league club. See if they can hang with major league pitching. 

Every season is an experiment. This season we discovered two important pieces of the playoff puzzle: Ober and Ryan. Next season we need to see if we can get better hitting and speed from the infield. Spring Training should also be when we find out if Duran, Balazovic and a couple other prospects can flash enough greatness to contribute a significant amount to a playoff run. Time for the kids to show their stuff!

The list at the bottom of the article would be greatly enhanced if the players' ages and how they were acquired were added. A lot of those guys are career AAA players, so while I'm not knocking their very good seasons, they aren't prospects to get excited about.

16 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

I think that the Twins will want to bring back Cabbage. I don't think he'll get added to the 40-man roster, but they'll want to get him under a minor league deal and give him another year to develop and see where he is at then.

I also think Cabbage would like to stay in the organization. So I think/hope they can work it out. 

I think he gets taken in rule V though.  Detroit already had success with Baddoo why not try for one of the best mashers in the minors?  Yeah the K rate is ugly especially for minor league ball still I don't think that stops teams like the Orioles, Pittsburgh etc from trying out a guy who can hit HR's with the best of them. It looks like he is always going to be hitting around a 900 OPS the only question is if he can make that translate to MLB.  I think a few teams give him a shot in rule V next year.  I know I would.

As exciting as his breakout is, I am not expecting him to come up next year and be a force.  If he does great, but do not expect it.  I have a feeling a youth movement in the next season is coming and it may a boom or bust kind of thing.  I could see Miranda, Lewis, Martin, Kiriloff, Larnach, all having major rolls in next two years.  Not to mention several starting pitchers having major innings. 

I think if that is the plan just go all in with it next year.  It may be a rough next year if they do, but it will also give them all some good experience than just trickling them in.  

It's always nice to see players in the Twins' system do well and nobody has done more to improve their value than Miranda. He's really had a heck of a season!

I definitely echo the thought that, beyond Miranda, the Twins' hitting prospect pipeline does not seem especially strong at the moment. Hopefully Austin Martin and Royce Lewis make an impression next season.