Minnesota Twins infielder Jose Miranda has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows during his young Major League career. Miranda’s career has not seen many in-betweens, from rookie phenom to washed-up prospect to becoming the hottest hitter in baseball.
Reviewing the peaks and valleys of his journey and how he has persevered through good times and moments when he appeared to have no professional future will give us a window to what the future holds for this young slugger. Resilience and self-confidence will be recurring themes in this narrative.
Early Years
Jose Miranda was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the 73rd pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. He started his career slowly, hitting only .227 with one home run for their Rookie League team. Things improved in year two with Elizabethton, where he produced a slash line of .340/.484/.824. He made steady progress in his third season, slugging 16 homers and driving in an impressive 82 runs playing at the Single-A level.
He digressed some in 2019 with a disappointing slash line of .252/.302/.369 splitting time between Advanced-A Fort Myers Miracle and Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. And 2020 was a complete washout as all minor league games were canceled for the entire season due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Miranda Breaks Out
Jose Miranda finally put it all together during the 2021 season. Starting the season at Double-A Wichita, he launched 30 dingers, knocked in 94 RBIs, and scored 97 runs. Miranda was named the Twins’ Minor League Player of the Year for these efforts. Finishing the season with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, a call to the majors appeared imminent.
After 21 games with the Saints in 2022, Jose Miranda received the call from the Twins that he had dreamed of. He was now a Major League player. He had come a long way from the 18-year-old kid the team had drafted out of Leadership Christian Academy in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Miranda Wastes Little Time Making an Impact
And after a disappointing May, Jose Miranda would set the league on fire. He hit .305 in June and exploded in July with a slash line of .405/.603/.1008, along with five home runs. That month, he was named the American League Rookie of the Month.
He continued his outstanding until the season’s end. Playing first base, third base, and DH, Miranda ended the year hitting .268, slugging 15 homers and driving in 66 runs. Miranda, Twins’ management, and their fans could not wait to see what Miranda would accomplish in a full season.
Lost Season
But things could not have gone worse for Jose Miranda in 2023. All of the hype and anticipation were drowned out by subpar play and injuries. He started off the season, hitting .220 for the first month. Finally, on May 9. the struggling s was optioned back to St.Paul. He hardly set the world on fire there, hitting just three homers to go with 23 RBIs in 181 at-bats.
However, fate would give him another chance to resurrect his season. The Twins were plagued with injuries, including to Royce Lewis, so Miranda was recalled to the team in early July. But the baseball gods were not smiling on him that year. After only five games, Miranda suffered a shoulder injury and missed the rest of the season. That included sitting out the playoffs, where the Twins made a spirited run before succumbing to the Houston Astros.
Crossroads
Miranda had reached a career crossroads as the 2024 season began. Unable to crack the Twins’ lineup out of spring training, he found himself back in the familiar but disappointing confides of the Saints’ CHS Field. But with Lewis ensconced at the hot corner, Alex Kirilloff and recently acquired veteran Carlos Santana platooning at first base, and Brooks Lee waiting in the wings, organizationally, it appeared that Miranda had reached a dead end.
I interviewed Jose Miranda at the Saints complex before their home opener. But instead of finding a bitter, disgruntled ball player, he exuded determination and an inner drive that suggested that maybe his career curtain was not about to close. And he thanked each and every reporter at the press conference for treating him fairly, which showed a lot of class.
Rebound and Resurrection
Due to a spate of injuries, Miranda received an unforeseen opportunity to resurrect his career. Royce Lewis was injured during the season’s first game with a quad injury that forced him out of the lineup for two months. At the same time, Brooks Lee suffered a herniated disc in his back and would also miss two months of playing time. So, after only seven games at AAA, Jose Miranda was once again in the bigs.
And how is he doing? Splendid, thank you for asking. After a productive first two months, Miranda is El Fuego! For June and July, he is a batting .383, with 4 homers and 26 runs batted in. During this period, Miranda has tied a Major League consecutive hits record with 12. And he was just named the American League Player of the Week.
Even with Lee thriving in the pros and Lewis on his way back soon, Jose Miranda will always have a spot in the Minnesota Twins lineup.
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