The Minnesota Twins’ offense has yet to live up to their capabilities. However, three players, in particular, have had a tough time catching up to pitchers during April. Carlos Correa, José Miranda, and Nick Gordon have really struggled immediately.
The expectations for all three of these hitters have been much higher than their performance this season. Correa and Miranda have seemingly warmed up from the spring chill in Minnesota’s last two series at Target Field.
Gordon is a different story. All of his plate performances have been the opposite of who he was in the final two months of the 2022 season. He’s frequently missing pitches he should be making contact with, but just continues to miss at every chance.
Gordon is certainly a concern, but Correa and Miranda may not be at that same level of concern as him.
Least Concern: Miranda
Miranda has played in every game of the Twins season. He has improved greatly over his last seven games, posting a .320/.390./560 triple slash in 25 at-bats. Miranda also hit his two home runs of the season in Minnesota’s 12-6 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.
Miranda’s lack of power this year is probably a result of his current playing conditions. He ranks in the 41st percentile ranking on hard-hit rate per Statcast, placing him below league average in power by contact. For context, former Twins Eduardo Escobar and Robbie Grossman rank immediately alongside him in the 41st percentile.
However, last year Miranda was in the 63rd percentile for hard-hit rate, placing him above the league average. He had the 93rd-best hard-hit rate in baseball behind another old friend, C.J. Cron.
But Miranda started slowly last year, too. Cold weather greatly impacted his hitting abilities in the first two months of the season at Triple-A and the majors. Once he returned to the Twins for his second stint of playing time, he never looked back on his frigid month struggles.
Now that he’s hit his first two home runs of the season, his numbers have over the last seven games. Miranda’s worst slump of the season may be behind him, especially with Rocco Baldelli showing confidence to put him into the lineup card every day.
Moderate Concern: Correa
Correa is currently experiencing his worst slump to open a season since 2017 when he combined for a .233/.309/.349 triple slash and a .658 OPS in 22 games in March and April. Correa’s first 21 games of the year don’t look substantially better. He has a .200/.270/.338 triple slash with a .608 OPS to open the year.
There are still four more games for Correa to avoid his worst opening month to a season in his career. However, his at-bats haven’t been encouraging lately.
Like Miranda, the cold Minnesota weather may be a factor in Correa’s slump. But making hard contact is not the same issue for Correa as it is with his Puerto Rican teammate. Instead, it’s his weighted on-base average.
Correa’s wOBA on the season is a matter of concern. He ranks in the bottom 24th percentile in the league with a .276 wOBA, placing him at 150th in the league out of the 179 qualified hitters. He was on the opposite end of the spectrum by the end of the 2022 season in wOBA. Correa ranked in the 93rd percentile of the league with a .363 wOBA, placing him 13th best in the league.
His cold start could just be the cold. But his drop-off in drawing walks and swinging at the first pitch has caught up to him, and his numbers reflect that. Correa is going to need to take a more patient approach to each at-bat to get back to his career numbers and become one of the more crucial hitters in Minnesota’s lineup by May.
Great Concern: Nick Gordon
Gordon looks like an entirely different hitter from how he ended his 2022 season. While his playing time has been more limited compared to Correa and Miranda, Gordon has really struggled at the plate.
He has only managed six hits in 52 at-bats in the 19 games he has played this year. He also has only drawn one walk. Aside from Wednesday’s game, Gordon has been entering games as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement recently. As roster spots become more prioritized for players who are healthy and hitting, it may be hard for him to get at-bats.
Gordon is out of minor-league options. If the Twins see more benefit in having Alex Kirilloff and/or Matt Wallner back on their roster, his performance could cost him a roster spot. In that case, Minnesota would have to designate him for assignment.
The Twins front office are not at that point with Gordon yet. But if his season doesn’t turn around quickly, it could take a turn no one expected for Minnesota’s breakout hitter from last season.
The first month of the season is still a small sample size for what all three of these hitters can do for themselves and the team. However, not all of them have the same luxury of security on the 26-man roster as others.
Miranda is the only Twin on pace to play every game this year. Correa may only need warmer weather to sweat off his struggles. But Gordon doesn’t have as clear of a path to proving he’ll have the same opportunity to turn things around.
Jorge Polanco will have everyday priority at second base, and Trevor Larnach’s performance to start 2023 provides him with more frequent playing time in his secondary position in left field. It’s hard to say what will break Gordon’s cold streak. The best he can hope for is to take each at-bat with grace and overcome the slump, one a game.
