For much of the first half, left-handed pitchers had Josh Bell figured out well enough to keep his damage in check from the right side of the plate.
That doesn’t mean the Minnesota Twins slugger stopped hitting. It just means the results didn’t always match the kind of contact Bell has been known to produce.
After 120 plate appearances against lefties in the first half, he sat on a .400 slugging percentage. Entering Monday, his overall line stood at .253/.315/.420, with that .420 slugging percentage doing most of the work behind his .735 OPS.
The more interesting part is what Statcast says about the gap between production and expectation. Bell’s .400 slugging percentage against left-handers came in above his .382 xSLG, a sign that the contact quality didn’t fully support the output. Even so, Bell has found a way to make his swings count more often, and the reasons show up in the details: plate discipline, swing work, and the quality of contact itself.
The biggest shift has come in his approach. In August, Bell’s whiff rate has dropped 14.1 percentage points compared with the first half of the season and 5.8 points compared with the second half.
That has come with real payoff. His strikeout rate is 0.0 this month in 37 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.
Bell has never been shy about swinging. But the difference now is that those swings are landing.
Statcast’s miss distance metric helps show it. In the second half of the season, including his August surge, Bell’s average miss distance was 7.6 inches.
Narrow that down to the 75 pitches he has seen this month, and it falls to 0.9 inches.
That’s the story in miniature: more contact, fewer empty swings, fewer strikeouts. It’s also why his Barrel/BBE% has doubled.
The results have been loud. In every zone where Bell has put the ball in play this month, his slugging percentage is above 1.000. There are still some weaker areas in the profile, but the overall production has been overwhelming.
Bell kept it going Monday night with a three-run double that sparked a four-run Twins rally against left-hander Martín Pérez. Over his last 19 at-bats against lefties, he has collected nine hits, including home runs against Shane Drohan on August 7 and Grant Wolfram on August 10. He has also reached base in 20 straight games, the longest active streak behind Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper.
The run matters for Minnesota, too. The Twins have run into left-handed pitching often lately, facing southpaws in eight of their last 17 games.
They have seen lefties 42 times overall this season and are 18-22 in those games. Bell’s recent surge is giving them a needed answer to one of the lineup’s biggest problem spots.
In Other News...
Joe Ryan Just Gave Twins Fans Reason To Watch September Closely
Joe Ryans road back from the injured list took a meaningful step this week, and for a Twins club that has spent plenty of time piecing together the back end of the rotation, it was the kind of update worth circling. The right-hander, who has been out with a strained left glute muscle, got back on the mound for the first time since his Aug. 4 outing and worked through a short bullpen session as he continues his recovery.
Derek Shelton called the throwing session encouraging, which is about as much as Minnesota can ask for at this stage. The larger question is still when Ryan will be ready to rejoin the staff, and for now there is no set timetable, leaving his return one of the more closely watched developments as September unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Playoff Push May Force A Big Walker Jenkins Decision
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Walker Jenkins is the name sitting at the center of that decision. The top prospect has handled Triple-A well enough to make the conversation real, and a call-up would give Minnesota another bat with some defensive value if the club decides the playoff chase is worth pushing a prized young player into the mix before it is ready to do so on its own timetable. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Need To Start Planning For Life After Buxton In Center
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Walker Jenkins is the reason that conversation is starting to feel more than theoretical. The top prospect is performing well in Triple-A and is viewed as the organizations center fielder of the future, with 2027 looking like the clearest path for that changeover. For the Twins, the question is no longer whether Buxton can handle the spot right now, but how long they can afford to wait before planning for the next one. [Read more 🡒]