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3 Twins players taking advantage of 2024 spring training

A few guys are taking full advnatage of their time down in Fort Myers.

By Josh Hill |
Division Series - Minnesota Twins v Houston Astros - Game One
Division Series - Minnesota Twins v Houston Astros - Game One / Carmen Mandato/GettyImages
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Spring Training is officially in full swing, and it's giving the Minnesota Twins an opportunity to take a real good look at some fringe pieces of the roster and how they might fit into the big picture.

Opening Day is less than a month away, and while the Twins roster appears to be mostly set there's still room for some movement. Specifically, a handful of guys are taking full advantage of their time down in Fort Myers to either keep taking things to another level or get back to who they were before injuries and poor play derailed things.

It's likely that only one or two roster spots remain up for grabs, but it's a long season and seeds of development planted now could end up sprouting later on.

3 Twins players taking advantage of 2024 spring training

Jose Miranda, 1B/3B

It was a rough season for Jose Miranda last year. He slumped offensively and then got injured, a combination that didn't so much push him back as it did push him away from key roles in Minnesota's lineup. He looked to be on the right track back in 2022, slashing .268/.325/.426 with a .751 OPS.

Let's not undersell just how insane his stretch from early-May to late-July was that year. Miranda slashed .335/.374/.571 in 50 games, driving in 37 RBI and adding 20 extra-base hits to boot. He did this all as a rookie, which is why there was such insane amounts of hype around him heading into last season.

Things ground to an uncomfortable halt after that, as Miranda suffered a shoulder injury last spring, was optioned to St. Paul in May, and was a shell of the rookie we saw when he got called back up in July. Miranda had a -0.6 fWAR in 40 games and an anemic 56 OPS+ in 152 plate appearances. He was also a defensive liability and ended up going on the 10-day IL in July and then going on the 60-day IL in September.

In the meantime, Royce Lewis ascended to the everyday third base role and became an absolutely essential piece of the roster. Alex Kirilloff, struggles aside, seems to have locked down a role over at first base which boxes Miranda out of both paths he had to being a piece of the core.

It's impossible overstate just how hard his fall from grace was, but it appears he's starting to bounce back in Spring Training. It's a small sample size, but Miranda is hitting .455 with a 1.045 OPS in 11 plate appearances. That's absolutely insane, and while it's not concrete enough to say that he's back to where he was as a rookie, it's the most encouraging signs we've seen out of him since then.

Miranda a fringe candidate to make the Opening Day roster but it's likely that he ends up starting the year at St. Paul to keep shaking off the rust. He has a minor league option left, which gives the Twins some wiggle room on how to approach what could be his last chance to prove himself, but all signs seem to be as positive as we've seen in a while.

Bailey Ober, SP

Most guys are trying to use Spring Training to prove that they deserve a roster spot, but Bailey Ober is simply solidifying his place as a potential breakout candidate this season.

Ober took the leap last year to become part of the Twins starting rotation and has latched on as the team's No. 3 starter behind Pablo López and Joe Ryan. He put in the most work since his rookie season and the results paid off, with Ober finishing the year posting a, 8-6 record an a 3.55 ERA that propelled him to starting the Game 1 of the ALDS in Houston.

That seems to just be the start of things to come.

So far this spring he's pitched just 4.1 innings but has struck out 10 batters and boasts a 1.150 WHIP alongside an opponent batting average of .176. Bryce Harper was singing his praises after facing him over the weekend, going as far as wishing the rest of the AL Central luck of Ober can keep adding some heat to his pitches.

It's a long season but Ober looking this good so early on is one of the most positive signs we've seen all spring. The biggest thing the Twins needed to do this winter was replace Sonny Gray, which they failed to do externally. Saying Ober will step up and replace him is lofty, but he's on track to help take a chunk out of the production the team needs to make up and his upside is already looking insanely high.

Jorge Alcalá, RP

It wasn't the long ago that Jorge Alcalá looked like he was about to become a fixture in Minnesota's bullpen, but injuries have sidetracked his ascension. One of the big questions this spring was whether he'd be able to tap back into that earlier magic and so far he's been a pleasant surprise.

Alcalá has already made the most of the limited time he's seen down in Fort Myers. Alcalá has only pitched four innings of work but he's surrendered zero runs and struck out three batters while allowing just three hits and a walk. He's close to where he was at last spring, when he finished with a 1.86 ERA and held opponents to a .125 batting average.

That campaign was similar to the one he turned in before having what appeared to be a breakout season in 2021, but injuries derailed that journey and seems to finally be working his way back.

It's not the totality of innings production that is worth watching with Alcalá, it's what he's doing on a more granular level. He's thrown 59 pitches so far this spring and his fastball consistently clocked around 96 to 97 mph, topping out at 98 mph. That's the sort of upside he showed during his spectacular run at the start of the decade when he struck out 88 batters and posted a 1.040 WHIP over two seasons and 83.2 inning pitched.

He was also particularly nasty against righties, and he showed the kind of stuff that the Twins could very much benefit from having out in the bullpen for late game situations. There's still work to be done, but it looks like Alcalá is finally getting back to the guy he was and might even be in line for an Opening Day roster spot if he keeps it up.

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