Jose Miranda was among the most anticipated Minnesota Twins prospects during the 2021 season. After hitting .248/.299/.364 with eight home runs in High-A in 2019, the year before COVID shut down the minor leagues, he came out of nowhere to slug 30 home runs between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins won 73 games in 2021, and fans focused on Minnesota’s potential future third baseman.
However, Miranda enters this year looking to establish a major-league role in spring training. Last week, the Twins signed first baseman Ty France, taking away Miranda’s fast track to starting at first base, especially after manager Rocco Baldelli said France “is going to play a lot.”
In the past, Minnesota has been willing to bring in some veterans to add depth and set a standard for the younger players to clear. The Twins felt they needed to add France, highlighting that, even in a small way, 2025 is an important season for Miranda to show his value to the Twins. Miranda went from a possible lineup mainstay to a young player on the outside looking in for starting spots.
A poor season doesn’t mean the Twins will give up on Miranda. However, it likely means that Miranda becomes a depth piece who isn’t in the team’s long-term plans. He has spent three seasons in the majors, and it looks like Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee have passed him on the third base depth chart. Minnesota also brought in France as a hedge in case Miranda can’t hold down third in his fourth big league season.
Miranda showed that potential in his first 100 games as a big leaguer. He slashed .277/.331/.451 with 14 home runs and racked up a 124 wRC+ (100 is league average). Miranda met the hype in 2022 until he wore down in the crucial final four weeks of that season. Miranda only slashed .230/.302/.322 with one home run and an 82 wRC+ clip through his last 24 games of that season. Despite his downturn in production, he played well enough to inspire hope that he could make an impact in his second big-league season.
However, Miranda failed to build off his strong rookie season in 2023. A shoulder injury set him back. He only played 40 games and hit .211/.263/.303 with only three home runs.
A year later, it felt like Miranda had recovered from his injuries. Miranda slashed .284/.322/.441 with just 9 home runs and had a 115 wRC+ in 121 games. However, in the last 42 games of last season, he had a 54 wRC+ with a .217 batting average and no home runs. Miranda has yet to finish a season strong despite playing well for stretches.
That’s likely why the Twins have hedged their bets against Miranda at both of his primary positions. Miranda progressed through the minor leagues primarily as a third baseman. Still, despite Lewis’ question marks, he has a higher ceiling and draft status, pushing him above Miranda at the hot corner. Miranda has been getting worse as a defender at third base. He’s gone from a plus-1 outs above average mark in 2022 to a minus-7 OAA in 2024 at third.
Miranda must also compete with Lee and Willi Castro at third base, and Lee (minus-1 career OAA) and Castro (plus-2 career OOA) have better metrics at third base. But Miranda is 26 and can still improve. Therefore, he will likely get some opportunities at third base.
Still, first base seems like Miranda’s best home on the diamond; a less demanding position would allow him to focus more on his hitting. That sounds good in theory, but he still needs to play consistent defense at first base. Miranda is a minus-4 career OAA first baseman.
France isn’t a high-quality defender either, with a career-worst minus-12 OAA in 2024. That means if Miranda can stay at his current pace or even find a way to improve, he can still establish a defensive advantage over France.
By fixing his defense, Miranda would take a step in the right direction and stay in the mix at the corner infield spots. However, producing at the plate will ensure he consistently gets his name in the lineup.
The issues with Miranda offensively aren’t typical for a power-hitting corner infielder. His 17 percent career strikeout rate is significantly better than the 22 percent league average. Last season, he recorded a career-best 15.4 percent strikeout rate. Miranda’s biggest issue is that he’s a free swinger. His 51.8 swing percentage on pitches is higher than the 47.2 percent league average.
In theory, that doesn’t sound bad, except Miranda ends up offering at less-than-ideal pitches. Miranda has an 88.9 MPH average exit velocity, just above the 88.5 MPH league average. However, his career barrel rate is 5.8 percent, lower than the 7.0 percent league clip.
Miranda doesn’t need to overhaul his approach completely. However, he needs to be a little more selective at the plate and find a way to crush mistakes. He’s shown the power capabilities in his home-run totals and his career-high 28 doubles last year. Watching a player try and do something with less-than-ideal pitches is fun. However, in today’s game, doing so will be difficult unless you’re Luis Arraez.
Still, the most important thing Miranda must address is finding a way to stay competitive in the most meaningful games of the season. Like many of his teammates, Miranda crumbled late last season. He must find a way to be productive in September.
There will be time for Miranda to figure all this out. Baseball is a long season; injuries and slumps will happen. There will be some opportunities for Miranda to prove himself.
Miranda came out of nowhere in 2021 and forced his way into Minnesota’s long-term plans. He had so much production with the bat that Baldelli couldn’t leave his name out of the lineup. Now entering his fourth year as a starter, Miranda still is establishing himself as a core player.
He’s shown everyone what he can be when he’s at his best. However, he must get more consistent.
