Kody Clemens has spent most of 2026 looking like one of the Twins’ better success stories. Acquired from the Phillies last spring for cash considerations, he has become a regular piece of Minnesota’s lineup, giving the club both defensive flexibility and a real jolt of power. But the last few weeks have slammed the brakes on that momentum.
Through 445 plate appearances, Clemens is hitting .233 with a .291 on-base percentage. Those are ordinary surface numbers, but the power has carried the profile: an OPS north of .750, plus career highs in doubles with 20, triples with 5, and home runs with 21. For a Twins offense that often feels like it has to scrape runs together, that kind of quick-strike production has mattered.
Lately, though, the bat has gone ice-cold. Since the start of August, Clemens is hitting just .185/.254/.296.
His first half was good for a 115 wRC+, but since the All-Star break he’s down to .208/.257/.406. When the hits stop falling, the aggressive approach that helps him do damage can also turn him into a quick out.
That’s not a new storyline for Clemens this season. He opened the year in a rough spot, hitting .197/.296/.366 through the end of April.
He worked through it, settled in, and became one of the more productive bats in the lineup. That history is why there’s still a path back here.
The biggest shift has shown up in the batted-ball profile. In the first half, Clemens posted a 17.5% line-drive rate, a strong foundation for a hitter whose value comes from contact quality.
In August, that number has fallen to 8.6%. At the same time, he’s been on the ground more and pulling the ball less, which is a problem for a hitter whose best damage comes when he turns on pitches and lifts them.
That pull-side power has been a major part of his season. Of Clemens’s 21 home runs, 19 have gone to his pull side.
Of his 46 extra-base hits, 36 have been hit to right field. When he gets the ball in the air and gets around it, he can change a game.
That version just hasn’t shown up much this month.
The quality of contact has backed that up. Clemens’s 90.1 MPH average exit velocity in August is respectable, but it’s well below his season-long level and more than a mile per hour slower than what he produced during his first slump in April. His hard-hit rate is 6.7 percentage points below his season mark, and his barrel rate is running at about half of normal.
This doesn’t look like some mysterious collapse. It looks like a slump, and a fairly compact one at that, over 59 plate appearances. The encouraging part is that Clemens has already shown he can work out of this kind of stretch once this year.
The Twins also have reasons to keep running him out there. His defense and versatility give Derek Shelton options, and his power still gives Minnesota a real threat in the middle of the order.
Shelton has also shown, in both word and action, that he trusts Clemens more than Trevor Larnach against left-handed pitching. Even so, there’s no getting around the fact that the bat has gone completely quiet lately.
The fix starts with the same things that made Clemens dangerous earlier in the year: getting the ball in the air and pulling it with authority. But the deeper adjustment is in the swing itself.
He’s at his best when his attack angle is steep enough that he gets out in front and beats the ball to its spot with the barrel. Early in the season, he wasn’t doing that.
When he caught fire, he was. Recently, he’s been catching the ball deeper and working uphill less at contact, and that has to change.
Pitchers have clearly found a lane against him. Since the start of July, more than 60% of the pitches Clemens has seen have been fastballs.
He does most of his damage on mistake breaking balls and offspeed pitches, and by feeding him heaters, opponents have forced him to speed up and flatten out. That takes away the lift and pull that fuel his power.
If the Twins are going to make a legitimate push for the playoffs, they need the better version of Clemens back in the lineup. That means preparing to anticipate earlier, attack the ball again, and get around it with more authority.
It’s not simple. It’s not easy.
But it’s the version Minnesota needs if Clemens is going to help them down the stretch.
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 🡒]