Despite a first place start in the AL Central the Minnesota Twins’ offense as been a sore spot, and that’s probably putting it politely.
Here are ten stats that show just how bad Minnesota’s bats have been in the opening 36 games of the 2023 season.
1. Worst team batting average in MLB
Twins hitters have the worst batting average in the majors at .219 entering play Wednesday. The next closest are the Mariners and Guardians at .223. The best in the majors is Tampa Bay at .274.
2. Third-worst team OBP
With a .300 team on-base percentage (OBP), Minnesota is one point better than Cleveland (.299) and two points better than Detroit (.298). The 10-win Royals (.300) are tied third worst with the Twins. And yes, it’s true that the four worst OBP teams in the majors are all from the AL Central.
3. Fewest hits in the majors
The Twins have 262 hits through 36 games for an average of just over seven hits per game. That’s worst in the majors and a whopping 82 hits behind MLB leaders Boston and Tampa Bay (344 hits apiece).
4. Second-worst team BAbip
Take out the 45 home runs the Twins have hit (good for 10th in the majors) and Minnesota has the second worst batting average on balls in play. With a .268 BAbip they’re tied with the Dodgers and the only team worse is the Yankees at .267. The Phillies, meanwhile, lead the majors with a .329 batting average on balls in play.
5. Third-highest strikeout rate
One of the Twins’ biggest problems at the plate is the frequency with which they’re striking out. Minnesota batters are striking out in 25.7% of plate appearances. Only the Mariners (26.0%) and Giants (26.7%) are striking out at a higher clip.
6. Striking out swinging
While the strikeout rate is concerning, it’s not like the Twins are being rung up looking. While they have one of the lowest percentages of strikeouts looking they come in second for total amount of strikeouts while swinging at 262, behind only the Braves’ 269. This just in: Making contact is important if you want to get hits. That equates to a 71.7% contact rate, which is second lowest in the big leagues.
7. Leading hitter sent to the minors
Jose Miranda leads the Twins with 29 hits this season and he was sent to the minors on Wednesday. His 29 hits is tied for 113th most in the big leagues. That’s not a recipe for disaster.
8. Carlos Correa has been horrendous
The Twins’ $200 million man is having a horrid start to his season. Correa has the worst batting average on the team at .185, which is seventh worst among qualified batters in the majors this season. To be a qualified batter you have to average at least 3.1 at-bats per game and Correa ranks 166th of 172 qualified batters this season.
9. They don’t steal bases
The Twins have 10 stolen bases in 36 games. Remember, MLB made the bases bigger and limited the number of times a pitcher can throw to a base to check a runner and therefore stolen bases have increased dramatically across the league. But Minnesota lacks speed and they’re getting killed for it with only 10 steals while the Pirates lead the majors with 48 stolen bases. Minnesota is one of only four teams with fewer than 20 steals.
10. Abysmal with runners in scoring position
Want to score runs? Get hit with runners in scoring position. Minnesota doesn’t do that. No team has a lower batting average than Minnesota’s .219 clip with runners in scoring position this season.
