Twins Hitter of the Month: August 2022

August was a streaky month for the Twins hitting core. The team had their first month with a record of .500 or higher since May, finishing August with a 14-14 record. Some of that is to the core four of the Twins hitters that have kept them in contention and earned honors in the discussion for Twins hitter of the month.

Without further ado, here are the four Twins hitters up for hitter of the month for August. 

Honorable mention #3: Luis Arraez
Arraez had his first month hitting below .300 in August, posting a .269 batting average. He still was one of the more clutch hitters for the month, hitting two home runs, driving in 11 runs, and posting a .710 OPS in 25 games. The biggest positive for Arraez’s month is that he only struck out five times, dropping down from nine times in July. 

August is certainly the low point of the 2022 season for the American League batting leader, but for someone who had not hit below .314 or posted an OPS of .783 in any month prior to this one. It would be expected for Arraez to have a cooling-off period. 

If Arraez returns to his all-star hitting form, he will need to hit the ball to all gaps in the field rather than right to the left fielder as he did most of the month of August.

Honorable mention #2: Jose Miranda
Miranda, like Arraez, saw his first dip in production for the season since his May 30 recall from St. Paul. Miranda cooled off in August posting a .259/.325/.380 (.705) slash line, but he managed to hit three home runs, drive in 17 runs and had a .325 batting average on balls in play. 

The good news is that Miranda played in every single game for the Twins in August. The 24-year-old is due for an off day in September but that doesn’t mean he won’t rebound from a lower production month. 

The biggest split for Miranda’s production on the season is his triple slash in wins and losses. In games the Twins lost, Miranda has hit .203/.230/.311 and posted a .540 OPS in 49 Twins losses he has played in. In the 43 games Miranda has played in for the Twins that they won, he has hit .352/.421/.607 with a 1.028 OPS. If the Twins keep finding ways to win and make September/October their first month over .500 since May, Miranda will be a key player at the plate to make that happen.  

Honorable Mention #1: Carlos Correa
Correa’s month of August was refreshing for Twins fans and Correa himself after an abysmal month of July when he had a .175/.264/.350 in 21 games. In August, Correa posted a .283/.392/.385 triple slash line, a .776 OPS. 

Although the run production numbers had not gone up much in August from July for Correa only hitting two home runs and nine RBI. Correa took more opportunities to get on base, having the most walks for a month on the season with 18. 

Correa might also be getting hot at just the right time for the Twins. The Twins still have a 36% chance of making the postseason according to Baseball Reference and Correa is the player on the team with the most experience in getting to the postseason. 

If Correa can put together his best month at the plate in September in the final five regular season games in October, he could be the biggest difference maker in the Twins' overall record for the year. 

August Hitter of the Month: Nick Gordon

After his best night at the plate, hitting a grand slam and driving six runs against the Red Sox on Tuesday, August 30. There was no question that Nick Gordon would earn the honors for Twins hitter of the month. 

In a month that had so many holes in the Twins everyday lineup and was overfilled with left-handed bats, Gordon proved to be the best of them all. On top of his best day at the plate, Gordon posted a .321/.360/.531 triple slash and career high for OPS in a month at .891. 

The Twins super utility man brought his season numbers to .279/.323/.439 for his triple slash and now has a 119 OPS+ for the year. With Byron Buxton out for the next couple of weeks, Gordon is still expected to see playing time every day for the Twins and will look to continue his hot streak at the plate into September.

What do you think? Who would get your award for Twins Hitter of the Month. Leave your own rankings below.