The Minnesota Twins overcame a 7-15 start to the season with a 13-game winning streak in May to save their season. It takes an entire baseball team playing well to win every game over a two-week stretch. Minnesota’s pitching was dominant, with a league-best 2.06 ERA. Meanwhile, the 68 runs scored by the lineup were top nine in baseball.
Out of all the high-ceiling talent in Minnesota, Kody Clemens was the player who stood out the most as the spark plug in the season-saving streak. He most notably started the streak with a three-run home run in Boston on May 3.
It’s been a Cinderella run for a hitter the team acquired for cash considerations from the Philadelphia Phillies to replace Luke Keaschall’s spot on the 40-man roster after his injury. The son of one of baseball’s most iconic players joined a struggling team, only to galvanize them with huge home runs and defensive plays. Clemens slashed .279/.362/.623 with five home runs in May, racking up a whopping 176 wRC+ over 21 games.
However, the Twins have a 6-11 record in June, and Clemens’ slipper is getting tight.
Clemens also hasn’t been able to maintain his production. Since June 1, he’s been slashing .107/.265/.214 with one home run and a 48 wRC+. Clemens only has 3 hits through his first 14 games this month. The Rocket’s son failed to launch. Clemens has to find a way to recreate his run from May, even partially.
Although he’s only in his fourth MLB season, Clemens has already entered journeyman territory. He made his big league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2022 before they traded him to Philadelphia in January 2023. Over his first three big league seasons, Clemens only managed a .200/.246/.373 slash line while compiling a minus-0.2 fWAR. Already, Clemens has put up a 0.7 fWAR in 2025.
However, Clemens has stopped barreling up balls. During his hot stretch, he had a 96.6 MPH average exit velocity, well above the 88.5 MPH league average. Just as important as the ball’s velocity, Clemens hit line drives with a 13-degree average launch angle and a 29.3 percent line drive rate. His 90.4 MPH average exit velocity still hovers around his 90.5 MPH career average. However, it’s a noticeable drop from a few weeks ago.
Even though he’s hitting the ball at a decent clip, the way Clemens has made contact has made his numbers suffer. Clemens’s 16.7 percent barrel rate in May has dropped to an 11.1 percent clip this month. Barreling up fewer pitches for Clemens has meant too many fly balls, as evidenced by his 22-degree average launch angle and 57.7 percent fly ball rate.
Clemens has been excellent at putting the ball in play. A 19.8 percent strikeout rate this season would be the best of his career. Even this month, his 2.9 percent strikeout rate has been impressive. However, contact doesn’t always lead to production, and Clemens has experienced that in June.
He’s hitting the ball too high in the air, which is leading to flyouts. It doesn’t mean Clemens must smother the ball on the ground. He just needs to find a way to get his swing level again. That will lead to a bump in production, even if he can’t hit the ball as hard as he did in May.
It’s not the first time the Twins found a young veteran with a chip on their shoulder who established a role in Minnesota. Detroit released Castro after the 2022 season, and he signed a minor-league deal with the Twins a year later.
Castro is a former top prospect who has fully blossomed in Minnesota. He has a .256/.338/.408 slash line and 6.6 fWAR since 2023.
Clemens and Castro also benefit from their defensive flexibility. They can play the corner outfield spots and second and third base. However, Castro has maintained a vital role because he can consistently hit. Like Castro, Clemens got his start in Minnesota by making the most of an opportunity to fill in for an injured hitter. Now, Clemens has a chance to make another run.
If everyone were healthy, Clemens’ recent play would land him in St. Paul, on to his next MLB team, or fewer at-bats. However, injuries to Minnesota’s young infielders got Clemens on this team, and it’s also keeping his role warm.
Royce Lewis recently landed on the 10-day injured list with a pulled hamstring, which means the Twins are fully tapping into their depth chart again. Keaschall has been out for some time, while José Miranda and Edouard Julien haven’t been productive in St. Paul. It’s not a circumstance Minnesota wants to be in, but Clemens has an opportunity to work things out.
The next two weeks will likely decide Clemens’ fate in Minnesota. Rocco Baldelli will continue to pencil him into the lineup while the other infielders are on the shelf.
It’s unfair to expect Clemens to immediately break out of his cold spell. Still, for someone in Clemens’ position, you need to take advantage of small windows to continue to find opportunities.
Like what he did in his first few weeks in Minnesota, Clemens still has an opportunity to show the Twins why they should keep him around. Because if Clemens can’t turn things around, the Twins may move on from him to free up space on the 40-man roster.
Clemens has already been more valuable than the Twins could have hoped when they traded for him in May. His hot stretch came while Minnesota was salvaging its season.
However, he hasn’t been that productive in a while. There is a small opportunity to show he can produce at a high-caliber level again over the next few weeks. If he can find a way to regain his consistent contact, Clemens can prevent the clock from striking midnight on his run in Minnesota.
