Twins prospect is Lin-Manuel Miranda's cousin — and knows something about smash hits, too

Yes, Twins prospect Jose Miranda is the cousin of Lin-Manuel Miranda — the famous actor and playwright.

No, Miranda hasn't seen his cousin's best-known work, "Hamilton."

But both of them do know something about smash hits. And it seems like the younger Miranda is heeding the advice from one of the best-known "Hamilton" songs.

He's not throwing away his shot.

Jose Miranda, after earning a call-up to Class AAA St. Paul as a reward for destroying baseballs to start the year at Class AA Wichita, crushed three home runs on Tuesday during his Saints debut at CHS Field, part of a five-hit night on his 23rd birthday.

"It was just unreal," Miranda said Wednesday. "It was like a dream."

Former teammates blew up his phone. The Saints' official Twitter account joked after his third home run, "They can't call him up during the game, can they?"

No, Miranda was back in the Saints lineup on Wednesday, this time going 1-for-5 in a 7-4 win. But a promotion down the road to Target Field might not take that long for Miranda, drafted in the second round by the Twins in 2016 as a shortstop out of Puerto Rico.

"Control what I can control, I always say," Miranda said. "Just keep doing my work and we'll see if the call happens someday. Soon, I hope."

It's not far-fetched to think it could happen this year, which is particularly impressive considering that Miranda had just five regular-season at bats above Class A coming into 2021.

He missed all of 2020 while the minor league season was wiped out because of COVID-19. In 194 at bats at Class AA Wichita this season, Miranda hit 13 home runs with a .996 OPS. His OPS after one game in St. Paul was an absurd 3.33.

"It was a weird year last year," Miranda said. "I worked really hard in the offseason on some things I needed to work (on) and I got ready for this year — mentally and body-wise — and I think it's paying off this year."

Whether he can make one more leap likely will depend on his continued maturity as a hitter. Saints outfielder Brent Rooker, who has had multiple stints with the Twins, noted the difference in pitching that Miranda will face.

"Once you get to Double-A, for the most part the quality of stuff is the same," Rooker said. "But once you get to the upper levels, what separates the really good guys from the average guys is the ability to pitch to a scouting report. Knowing what your weaknesses are as a hitter and being able to execute pitches to exploit those weaknesses."

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Saints manager Toby Gardenhire has had Miranda as a player at multiple minor league stops as both have worked their way up the chain. He said he could tell Miranda was a special hitter as soon as he was drafted as a teenager five years ago, but that his approach at the plate has taken off recently.

"He has pretty incredible hands, and the power we always kind of knew would be there. But he's just starting to show that he's a pretty complete hitter," Gardenhire said. "He's really come a long way in pitch selection and just making sure he gets a good pitch to hit. Watching his takes (Tuesday) night was more impressive to me than anything else."

Miranda was drafted as a shortstop but likely will settle in as a second baseman or third baseman. For now, he's trying to figure out a simpler question: What do you do for an encore after hitting three homers in your Class AAA debut?

Maybe he can ask his famous cousin about that, too. They last spoke a couple of months ago, with Lin-Manuel Miranda dispensing advice about his craft.

Now Jose is just one step away from "the show." And maybe if things slow down a little, Miranda can finally see "Hamilton."

"I was going to see it one time in person. He invited me, but I couldn't go," Miranda said. "I want to see it now."