It was no doubt a slow start to the season for two of the Minnesota Twins’ most well-known names in former All-Stars Brian Dozier and Kurt Suzuki.
Dozier started the season in a brutal slump, hitting just .191 in April and .215 in May with a combined five home runs and 17 runs batted in.
Suzuki’s start was equally rough for the Minnesota Twins. He hit .224 in April and .200 in May.
With no end to the slump in sight, something crazy happened.
June hit and the duo started performing like the seasoned former All-Stars they are.
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Suzuki has been very strong, hitting .371 with three home runs and 14 RBI’s including a six RBI performance last week against the Philadelphia Phillies.
With his June performance, Suzuki has increased his average to .273 on the season and has shown signs of the production that made him a well-deserved All-Star in 2014.
Dozier has seemingly started to figure things out as well. He’s hitting .344 in June with five home runs, 15 RBI’s, eight doubles and two triples.
If those numbers weren’t impressive enough, Dozier has hit safely in all but three games he’s appeared in during the month of June and has reached safely in every game since going 0-for-5 on June 5th.
Perhaps one of the more encouraging signs – as well as one of the biggest keys to his recent success – has been his ability to now spread the ball and push it to right.
Unfortunately for the Minnesota Twins, the duo’s hot hitting has not been enough to turn the season around but it has been able to take pressure off the likes of Robbie Grossman, Joe Mauer and Eduardo Nunez.
Unlike Dozier, Suzuki’s success does draw the question of whether the Twins would bring him back next year.
Now neither player will be in San Diego as the Minnesota Twins’ All-Star representative – that will more than likely be Nunez – but what they can do is help the team in the second half try to make a run out of last place in the division.
Granted, the offense can only do so much when the pitching is struggling, but as Sunday’s six-homer performance has shown, the team is fully capable of scoring runs and hitting for power.
As it stands, the postseason is out of the question so it’s much more important for the team to try to improve and prepare for another run in 2017.
Unlike Dozier, Suzuki’s success does draw the question of whether the Minnesota Twins would bring him back next year.
The two-year deal he signed prior to the 2015 season does include a vesting option that will make the 2017 year fully guaranteed if he makes 485 plate appearances this year.
But if you ask me, it would be wise for the Minnesota Twins to bring him back due to the team really not having an immediate answer at the catching position.
And unless they make an unprecedented move to sign someone like Matt Wieters this offseason or trading for a catcher, there’s really not much in terms of options outside of Suzuki.
And why not bring him back, he seems to enjoy being with the club, has been extremely durable despite taking a nightly beating behind the plate and aside from last season has been a consistent hitter for the team.
But contracts and long term effects aside, it is nice to see the duo hitting again. Overall, the offense does seem to be turning things around and showings signs of what made this team so exciting entering the season.
And if you ask me, it’s no coincidence the offense for the Minnesota Twins has gotten going while these two have started to hit better.