Miranda putting himself in AL ROY conversation

MINNEAPOLIS -- In all likelihood, Jose Miranda won’t be the American League Rookie of the Year in 2022 -- but it sure feels like he should at least be involved in the conversation.

The existence of Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez and Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman will be difficult for anyone to overcome in the crowded AL field this year. But Miranda’s hitting simply hasn’t slowed down at all this season, and the 24-year-old rookie’s contributions have often come at the most consequential times for the Twins, as they did again in a 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Rangers on Saturday at Target Field.

“I mean, I've read a couple of things, but I don't want to put a lot in my mind about that stuff,” Miranda said. “I just go out there and play as hard as I can. That's it.”

Saturday’s game only got to extras at all because of another clutch knock by Miranda, who shrugged off a tough strike call above the zone during his plate appearance in the eighth inning with two outs and the Twins down, 2-1, to work the count full and line a game-tying single to center field, scoring Max Kepler from first when the Rangers failed to make the relay home.

“What Miranda has done has been really incredible,” said Twins starter Chris Archer, who allowed one run on three hits and one walk in five innings. “When he comes to the plate, you really believe he’s going to do something special, and a lot of times, he does.”

Miranda got another chance to tie the game in the 10th inning, when the Twins trailed, 4-3, following a Texas defensive miscue that put the tying run on third. He got the pitch he was looking for -- a slider -- and just barely got under it, flying out to left field to end the game.

The rookie didn’t come through that time -- but if it feels like he has done so a lot this season, it’s because the numbers do back that up, as he entered Saturday hitting .313/.353/.484 (an .837 OPS) in situations that classified as “high leverage,” with a team-leading 29 RBIs.

It just feels like those sorts of moments have tended to find Miranda this season. Does he agree?

"Kind of. I've had a couple lately,” Miranda said with a laugh. “But I like them. It's fun being in those types of situations."

Saturday marked another game for the Twins in which they couldn’t cash in their opportunities, as they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, including continued struggles for stars Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton in such situations. They’ve often needed others to step up in those moments -- and Miranda has done plenty to fill that need.

He entered Saturday with 13 homers, 15 doubles and a .285/.331/.480 slash line (.811 OPS) in 80 games, and has shrugged off his slow start with a .924 OPS in his previous 66 games, which ranks him fifth among all AL hitters with at least 200 plate appearances in that span behind Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, José Abreu and Shohei Ohtani.

As for where he stands among his fellow rookies?

Miranda’s 132 wRC+ ranks him second among AL rookies behind only Rutschman. His offensive numbers all fare quite comparably to other noteworthy rookies, but the issue is that his defensive positions (first base and third base) give him a huge hit in his WAR -- used by many voters to determine value -- and knock down his stature considerably, while Rutschman (catcher) and Rodríguez (center field) get large boosts.

Notable AL rookies, entering Saturday:
Miranda: 80 games, .285/.331/.480, 13 homers, 132 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR
Rutschman: 71 games, .255/.364/.457, 8 homers, 134 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR
Rodríguez: 103 games, .266/.326/.466, 19 homers, 129 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR
Steven Kwan: 106 games, .301/.374/.397, 3 homers, 124 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
Jeremy Peña: 97 games, .249/.291/.416, 15 homers, 102 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR

What ultimately happens is out of his control, and there’s plenty of regular season left to go. For now, the Twins will welcome all of that production, whether it leads to individual hardware or not -- and Miranda will worry about that when the time comes.

"I think every player, whenever they come up for the first time, they've got to think about it a little bit,” Miranda said. “I think it's part of it.”