Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2022

Happy to see WIll Holland on this list.  The Twins could use guys with more speed and he has plenty of it.  He could be a Nick Gordon type player with power if the bat stays at this level.

I shouldn't be but am a little surprised to see Isola on the list.  I guess it is just kind of hard to fathom a pick in the 29th round having this much impact.  I think his approach is solid and he has power.  Just comes down to defense for him IMO.

Kind of thought Miller would struggle more than this in his first year but given the MLB ready defense and the bat heating up things look good for him being a fast mover.

Wallner and Steer both looking good the only real surprise is no CES or Rodriguez on the list this month.  Hopefully those two get hot again as well.

As I have noted before, Steer's development has been a joy to see.  He works hard, hustles, and has improved in all aspects of his game.  And, he is consistent.  I suspect we will see him at Target Field this summer, especially with all of the injuries.  Isola has been a surprise, and in the games I have watched does a good job behind the plate. Miller just plain looks the part of a complete player.  What impresses me at his young age is his poise and confidence.  He has major league player written all over him.  

Great to see all players on the list (except Steer) had an OBP at least 100 points above their batting average.  Even Steer's was fairly significant.  That tells me they all have a great eye at the plate. Hopefully, it will carry over month to month and into the bigs.

18 minutes ago, nicholas Anderson said:

Great to see all players on the list (except Steer) had an OBP at least 100 points above their batting average.  Even Steer's was fairly significant.  That tells me they all have a great eye at the plate. Hopefully, it will carry over month to month and into the bigs.

Steer had a 12% K rate in May, so if you are using some combination K-BB number then he's probably the best of the bunch statistically speaking.

Emmanuel Rodriguez deserves a mention as well.  His power output was down in May but he still managed to scrape together a .515 OBP (.515!!!) and .939 OPS.

Jeferson Morales also had a nice month in limited playing time with a .298/.389/.532 (.921) slash line.

As I said in an earlier thread, Steer's development reminds me of Arraez. Never the top prospect on any team, but he just hits at every level. And Arraez's success translated to MLB. Let's hope that Steer's does too.

13 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Love seeing Noah Miller on these kinds of lists. I think he's the SS of the future for the Twins as he'll push Lewis off since he'll be (already is?) a better defender there. Maybe Lewis slides over to 2B when Polanco's deal is up and Miller takes over SS? Whatever the situation is I think Miller pushes Lewis somewhere else in a few years.

Spencer Steer seems to just be doing whatever he has to do to get to Minneapolis. And by the looks of it he's going to make it there relatively soon. He has some obstacles in his way to get onto the 40-man and finding a spot to play with the big boys, but with the way the injuries are going these days he may be needed next week. Or he may be a trade piece come July. Will be interesting to continue to follow his journey this year. 

Lets slow down fella.  Noah Miller is looking good and smooth,  I think it is a little early to say he will supplant Lewis.    I am just glad the Twins have options at short,  and Palacios and Holland appear to be helping that depth.  Cavaco appears to still be MIA.   

Steer is demolishing the pitching at whatever level he his at.  We will have a nice competition between him and Miranda and possibly Urshela for 3rd base next year.  I don't think  Steer will be the trade bait,  but he could be.   I think they would prefer to utilize prospects in the 10-30 range for relief help.   

very exciting to see Noah Miller off to a really good start in his first year of full-season pro-ball. You never know with the high school picks how long it's going to take them to adjust (and some of them never do) and while Miller wasn't bad in rookie ball, he didn't light the world on fire either. He's getting hits, he's getting walks, he's showing decent pop for the FSL (and power is a tool that often develops later), and the speed is very good. he looks like someone who can stick at SS. 

Wallner had such a dreadful start to the year that you had to wonder if something was wrong. Apparently he just needed time, swings, etc. I'm always going to have some concerns about his ability to make enough contact, but months like this make you think that he can do it. The power is tremendous, he's not a bad OF and the arm certainly plays. His comps are somewhere in the Brent Rooker-Adam Dunn zone, and it's hard to know where he'll land. If he can finish the season with a BA over .270 I'd feel more confident? he had a terrific May and if he hadn't gotten off to such a horrific start I think we'd all be feeling a lot higher on him.

Christian-Encarnacion-Strand - how bad was his May compared to his April?

1 hour ago, Rosterman said:

Christian-Encarnacion-Strand - how bad was his May compared to his April?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=encarn000chr&type=bgl&year=2022

35 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Emmanuel Rodriguez deserves a mention as well.  His power output was down in May but he still managed to scrape together a .515 OBP (.515!!!) and .939 OPS.

Jeferson Morales also had a nice month in limited playing time with a .298/.389/.532 (.921) slash line.

Yeah thanks for pointing that out.  In May, he has literally been on base every other time he comes up to bat.  His OBP is .200 points over his batting average.  I wonder if he sacrificed some power and contact for plate discipline.  I know he was almost overly aggressive last year and while sometimes you can hit a first pitch strike for a HR it also pays to learn how to get a good pitch later in the at bat as well.

1 hour ago, Rosterman said:

Christian-Encarnacion-Strand - how bad was his May compared to his April?

If I am reading the site right looks like April was 410/459/679 which is elite to May 206/278/381 which means there is work to do.

Excited seeing a catcher, any catcher on this list.  Looking at the numbers, can’t believe Perez was higher than Miller.  Are you guys so much into home runs that five versus two had Perez higher even though all of Miller’s other numbers were higher?