Down in a 0-2 count during a game for the Class AAA Saints on Tuesday, Jose Miranda lifted a fastball down the left field line that had the distance for a home run. As he took a few steps out of the batter's box, the ball hooked foul.
For much of the season, that's been the way things have gone for Miranda.
Six pitches after hooking a long foul ball, Miranda ended a nine-pitch at-bat with a double into the left-center gap. It was his second extra-base hit in 21 games at St. Paul. Miranda added his third extra-base hit when he ripped a double past the third baseman in the eighth inning Tuesday.
Miranda is 18-for-48 (.375 batting average) with 12 RBI and 12 runs over his past 12 games. He has recorded nearly as many walks (four) as strikeouts (six), with four doubles and a homer.
"You just have to concentrate on what you've got in front of you," Miranda said. "Right now, I'm in AAA. I'm trying to play good and do all my stuff the right way. That's the only thing that matters. Obviously, I had some other things in my mind before the year started. It didn't start the way I wanted, but it's part of the game. It's part of how this goes."
Miranda, 24, wasn't the only one who expected bigger things after his rookie season. The Twins cleared third base for him when they traded Gio Urshela during the offseason and envisioned him hitting in the middle of their lineup.
In a little more than a month, he was demoted to St. Paul. Miranda's .593 OPS in the majors ranks 238th among the 252 hitters who have totaled at least 140 plate appearances. He grounded into as many double plays (seven) as he had extra-base hits.
With a healthy Royce Lewis manning third base, there are probably as many positional questions surrounding Miranda as a year ago.