How Ryan Jeffers has become one of the league's most dangerous hitters

Jeffers can get to different parts of the zone 'better than most guys in the league.'

May 7, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) hits a three-run / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers always had the power, but he's been demonstrating week after week this season his skillset as an all-around hitter.

Jeffers has been the Twins' best bat this year, and he seems to only be getting better. His .303 batting average ranks eighth in the American League entering Thursday's matinee against the Seattle Mariners, and he's slashing .303/.381/.606 overall. He has seven homers, 12 doubles and 27 RBIs.

Perhaps most impressive is that Jeffers' strikeout rate is only 18.3%. That's significantly lower than last season, when Jeffers struck out in 32.5% of his at-bats. That's in part because Jeffers has changed his approach with two strikes, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Baldelli said Jeffers will change his setup, choke up on the bat and is comfortable swinging to get the ball in play and not always swing for the fences.

"He's just making the decision that he's content not hitting it as hard, not doing as much damage, but using the whole field, and it's treated him well," Baldelli said of Jeffers. "... Why doesn't everybody do that? Because everybody doesn't have the whole skillset to do it in that manner, not everyone can.

"But he's really, I think, picked up a really kind of — stepped some things up in that manner. He has different, good attributes that can combine to allow him to do that because he sees the ball good. His hands work good, he can get to different parts of the zone, and he can do it probably better than most guys in the league."

The results are certainly showing that as Jeffers' numbers compare with the best in the league. According to Statcast, the player Jeffers compares best to so far this season is Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman, who has led the majors in doubles in each of the last two seasons and has been within the top 10 in MVP voting for each of the past six seasons. He won the NL MVP in 2020.

Stat	Ryan Jeffers	Freddie Freeman
AVG	.303	.301
OBP	.381	.414
SLG	.606	.455
OPS	.987	.868
HR	7	3
2B	12	11
RBI	27	21

And Jeffers' ability to change his swing and approach depending on the situation, like Baldelli said, is not something everyone can or would be willing to do. Trying to change something during a major league game can be intimidating, likely shying many players away from even trying.

Baldelli said there are probably just "a few" players in the Twins locker room that would be able to take a similar approach as Jeffers. A lot of players, Baldelli said, have only swung the bat one particular way. But Jeffers has continued to evolve and develop, and it's been a boon for the Twins.

"(Jeffers) can change his swing to do a lot of different things. Some guys, their entire life they’ve generally had one path, one type of swing that works for them, it’s really hard to take a guy that’s done that and have them do like what RJ’s doing," Baldelli said. "But he’s making the most of his abilities and it works for him, it definitely works for him.”

If Jeffers continues at this trajectory, he might not only be the best bat on the Twins, but he might also put himself in the conversation for American League MVP.