This story was excerpted from Do-Hyoung Park’s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The organization’s No. 3 prospect and defending Twins Minor League Player of the Year went through a full season in the Minors with a .973 OPS last year despite seeing fans all around Twins Territory calling for his promotion — and had to deal with being sent back to Triple-A again to start the ’22 campaign.
It’s no wonder he put pressure on himself to make a big first impression.
“Maybe the first week and a half, the first two weeks, I felt like maybe I wanted to do too much, felt like I was pressuring myself,” Miranda said on Monday. “Now, it’s just more comfortable, just going out there and playing and not thinking a lot. Just playing.”
He looks more settled at the plate indeed, with his single and homer in Monday’s series opener against the Tigers giving him four multi-hit games and four extra-base hits in his past five starts. There’s still a long way to go to fully put a 5-for-53 and .094/.143/.189 start in the big leagues behind Miranda, cousin of Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel, but now that he’s endured those struggles and even dealt with a one-day option back to Triple-A St. Paul, he says his mind certainly feels clearer.
“I feel way more comfortable right now,” Miranda said. “I’m seeing pitches better. My load feels good. My swing. Just keep it going and keep swinging at good pitches. I…