Minnesota Twins: Patience at the Plate Paying Off for Young Offense

After a rough 2016 campaign, the Minnesota Twins knew they had to do something about their lack luster offense. They seem to have made that change.

The Minnesota Twins had their 2nd worst season in franchise history in 2016, but things seem to be looking up this year. The pitching has been inconsistent at times, but solid as a whole. The offense, though, is what has impressed a lot of fans.

After having nearly a 3/1 strikeout to walk ratio a year ago, the Twins have shown great patience in the batter’s box in 2017. The strikeout to walk ratio in 2017 is very close to 9/5. In addition, the Twins are on record pace when it comes to walks.

On-base percentage is vital to winning games in the MLB. Right now, the Minnesota Twins’ team batting average is .242 which is 21st in the league. Their OBP is .331, 9th best in the league. Obviously, this shows that the Twins have been fantastic at earning walks.

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Miguel Sano leads the team in walks with 18. Realizing, with his power at the plate, pitchers will be pitching around him, Sano has been great at taking advantage of pitchers missing the zone to avoid him. Robbie Grossman, Jason Castro, Brian Dozier and Max Kepler all have 10 or more walks in only 23 games played.

Being patient at the plate has allowed Twins’ players to not only get on base via walk, but also get the pitches they want to hit. Opposing pitchers are forced into counts in which they must throw it over the bulk of the plate, consequently allowing Twins’ hitters to tee off on batting practice-type pitches.

Finally, the Minnesota Twins are on pace to set a franchise record in bases on balls. At this pace, the Twins will tally up around 718 walks for the entire season. This would be 28 more than their record set back in 1956.

Next: Miguel Sano Named AL Player of the Week

Patience at the plate is a huge factor in the success the Twins have found early in 2017. For the Minnesota Twins to continue their nice offensive output, they will look to keep on getting free base-runners.