Brian Dozier either picked a really bad year to stop produced like his did in 2016 and 2017 or he’s just doing what he usually does during the first two months of a season.
The Twins have exactly 100 games to go, and early to mid June is when Dozier typically busts out of his annoy early season slump and goes on a monster home run tear through the end of the season.
Dozier, who can become a free agent at the end of the season, is on pace to finish this season with a .239 batting average, just 24 homers and 68 RBI.
If the 31-year-old second baseman doesn’t get his bat going, it could cost him a large amount of money in what’s expected to be an offseason in which free agent price tags are driven up thanks to probable record-breaking contracts for stars like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.
Today’s Top Stories
– Twins’ Escobar is on pace to break the MLB record for doubles.
– Joe Mauer starts his rehab assignment at Triple-A on Tuesday.
– BMTN original: Mounds View pitcher goes viral in act of sportsmanship.
If Dozier can finish with numbers similar to what he produced in 2016 and 2017, he’ll be handsomely rewarded.
- 2016: 42 HR, 99 RBI while slashing .268/.340/.546 with a 896 OPS.
- 2017: 34 HR, 93 RBI while slashing ..271/.359/.498 with a .857 OPS.
If the last two seasons are any indication, the Twins are about to see Dozier go bonkers at the plate.
On June 8 of last season, Dozier was hitting .237 with nine homers and 24 RBI (almost identical to this season) and then went nuts over the final three and a half months of the season, including a huge August in which he homered nine times and drove in 22 runs.
On June 5 of 2016, Dozier was hitting .206 with six homers and 22 RBI and then proceeded to hit close to .400 the rest of June and then morphed into Mark McGwire and blasted 34 homers in the final 89 games.
And there’s no time better than now for Dozier to start mashing in June like he has the last two seasons. Minnesota opens a very important six-game road trip Tuesday night with the first of three games in Detroit, and then three more in Cleveland Friday-Sunday as they try to decrease the six-game gap between themselves and the division-leading Indians.
