As a German-born product of MLB’s European Elite Camp, Max Kepler became the first German-born Opening Day roster member in Major League history when he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in 2017.
He hit .243 with 32 doubles, 19 home runs, 67 runs, and 67 RBIs in 147 games as the team’s regular right fielder. As the Wild Card Game approached, he went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk in the Twins’ defeat to the New York Yankees, surprising many.
Although he had a terrible season in 2018, his hitting average fell to.224, as the Twins missed out on the playoffs. But it wasn’t all awful; he had 30 double- and 20 homer-powering hits, as well as an even higher OBP than his previous two seasons, even though he had the worst season of his career.
While the Twins were one of the greatest teams in the American League at this point in the year, he was improving as a hitter as well as a hitter.
Against Trevor Bauer on June 6th, he had the second three-homer game of his career, going 3-for-3 against the Indians. He had a chance to blast four home runs in the ninth inning, but instead he singled.
Up until June 18, he came on in the sixth inning as a pinch hitter for Marwin Gonzalez and took a walk against the Boston Red Sox.
After starting the game in right field, he produced a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, a game-tying home run off Hector Velazquez in the thirteenth inning, and a walk-off hit in the seventeenth inning as Minnesota prevailed 4-3 in a grueling marathon of a contest.
Is Max Kepler A US Citizen?
Max Kepler is a German American. He has dual citizenship.