Inside The Twins

Watch: Twins' Ryan Jeffers homers again with No. 2 pencil bat

Jeffers and his pencil bat are thriving during MLB players' weekend.
Will Ragatz|
Aug 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) is greeted in the dugout after scoring on a three-run home run by first baseman Carlos Santana (30) during the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.
Aug 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) is greeted in the dugout after scoring on a three-run home run by first baseman Carlos Santana (30) during the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

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Minnesota Twins

Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers is enjoying MLB Players' Weekend quite a bit.

The league has relaxed its rules on bat designs for the weekend, allowing hitters to come to the plate with all kinds of creatively-decorated lumber. Jeffers has been using a No. 2 pencil bat, and he homered with it for the second time in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Rangers.

Jeffers got an elevated 90 MPH fastball from former Twins starter Tyler Mahle and crushed it 401 feet into the bullpen in left-center.

Jeffers also went yard with the pencil bat off of Andrew Heaney in Friday night's victory. If only he could keep using it for the rest of the season. "The Ticonderoga really showed out today," he said after Friday's game.

This has been a big series for Jeffers, who has been struggling quite a bit since a red-hot two-month start to the 2024 season. After posting a 148 WRC+ through the end of May, he had a 62 ERA+ since June 1 before the start of this season. He's still having a strong overall season, leading the Twins in home runs (19) and RBI (56).

Other Twins players have been using custom bats this weekend as well, including a couple designed to look like crayons.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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