Eddie Rosario has to be one of the streakiest hitters in Major League Baseball.
Entering Minnesota’s 17-inning win over the Red Sox that ended early Wednesday morning, the rising star for the Twins was immersed in his second lengthy slump of the season. But because of two intensely hot stretches with a bat, Rosario finds himself among the leading outfielders in the All-Star Game vote.
But what fans are starting to realize – just as they did a year ago – is that Rosario goes on long slumps about as frequently as he terrorizes opposing pitchers.
You can pick apart Rosario’s 72 games this season into two categories: Good Eddie and Bad Eddie. Steady Eddie doesn’t exist.
Bad Eddie: March 28 to April 2 – 4 games
Just four games, Rosario started the season with one hit in his first 16 at-bats. He drove in one run. No big deal. It was the start of the season and the weather was less than ideal at Target Field.
Good Eddie: April 3 to April 26 – 19 games
Rosario went crazy for most of April, and during this 19-game stretch he hit .320 (24-for-75) with 11 homers, five doubles and 23 RBI.
Twins record in these games: 11-8
Bad Eddie: April 27 to May 5 – 9 games
Rosario followed up his unstoppable stretch in April with a rough nine-game stretch to end the month and begin May. He had just two hits in 30 at-bats (0.66 batting average) during the slump, hitting zero homers and driving in only one run. He was virtually non-existent at the plate.
Twins record in these games: 6-3
Good Eddie: May 6 to May 28 – 22 games
Another blistering stretch for Rosario as he mashed at the plate for most of May, hitting .364 (32-for-88) with six homers, three doubles and 22 RBI during a 22-game stretch.
Twins record in these games: 17-5
Bad Eddie: May 29 to June 17 – 17 games
His third rough stretch of the season, Rosario is hitting .177 (11-for-62) in 17 games with two homers, one double, one triple and five RBI.
Twins record in these games: 10-7
Good Eddie: June to ????? – 1 game so far
Rosario went 4-for-8 with three doubles in the 17-inning win over the Red Sox, a potential indicator that he’s about to go on another torrid streak at the plate. Time will tell, but Good Eddie definitely showed up – especially in extra innings when he had three of his hits.
If Steady Eddie shows up, watch out
Regardless of how hot or cold Rosario has been, the Twins keep winning at a playoff-bound clip. That’s a testament to the depth of the lineup.
But just imagine how good Rosario could be if he didn’t go cold for 10-20 games at a time, multiple times over the course of a season.
Basically, the Twins have gotten Good Eddie for 41 games and Bad Eddie for 31 games. Even with 43% of Rosario’s 72 games falling into the Bad Eddie category, he’s still on pace to finish the season hitting .265/.298/.520 with 43 homers, 117 RBI and 108 runs.
The on-base percentage is ugly but the power production is incredible to the point that he’s on pace to finish with what could be considered MVP-caliber numbers.
If he can replace Bad Eddie with Steady Eddie, he’ll be among the most feared hitters in the game. It’s exactly what Twins General Manager Thad Levine was talking about back in March.
“What we saw last year was some exceptional months from Eddie Rosario,” Levine told KSTP on Mar. 6. “If he puts together a full season at that level, he’ll go down as one of the elite players of this generation.”
Rosario hit .241 in April 2018 and then went bonkers in May and June, hitting a combined .350 with 15 homers, 19 doubles and 40 RBI. He then slumped his way through most of the second half, hitting .259 in July, .260 in August and .219 in September.
It’s simple: If Steady Eddie shows up, he’s going to be an MVP candidate.
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