Who Steps Up in 2024?

[Cody Pirkl]

The Twins 2023 season was saved by players who began the year in the minor leagues. With MLB rosters always in flux, which players could fill similar roles for the team in 2024?

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins needed a spark a few months into the 2023 season, and after a surprising lack of change a few months into the season, a few players found themselves with an opportunity in the big leagues. Who might we see filling these same roles in 2024?

2023 Louie Varland: David Festa
Varland was buried on the depth chart to start the season, but was eventually called upon to help fill the rotation. He did reasonably well, but was returned to the minors when other arms got healthy. He was recalled down the stretch as a reliever, playing a valuable role in the bullpen during the final few weeks. He even made the postseason roster.

David Festa is similarly buried, but is the Twins’ closest pitching prospect to MLB. Should the injury bug bite the team again, it’s likely we see Festa debut in 2024. It’s hard to count on him being an immediate impact starter, but his high-90s fastball and plus slider would play up in short stints if the Twins need another starter to transition to the bullpen at the end of 2024. It’s easy to see a scenario in which he follows the same path as Varland.

2023 Bailey Ober: Louie Varland
Ober was stuck in Triple A to begin this season. It didn’t take long for him to get his shot, though, and there were points after his callup when he was one of the Twin's best starting pitchers. After a while, the Twins decided they couldn’t send him back down to St. Paul.

Varland is expected to be stuck in Triple A to begin 2024, assuming the Twins add another starting pitcher. It’s reasonable to think he’ll be their first call when they need a starter, assuming he hasn’t moved to a full-time bullpen role by then. With a proper four-pitch mix, it’s easy to see Varland becoming an asset for the rotation if given another shot.

2023 Matt Wallner: Yunior Severino
Wallner was stuck in St. Paul for too long in 2023, largely because of his swing-and-miss issues. It didn’t matter how much he punished opposing pitchers; the Twins refused to allow him to earn a job in MLB until they had no remaining alternative. Wallner, of course, was a huge reason the lineup eventually turned around.

Severino plays the corner infield spots, instead of the outfield, and he walks a good bit less than Wallner. Like Wallner, his power is legit, as evidenced by the 35 homers he hit between Wichita and St. Paul in 2023. He struck out over 35 percent of the time in St. Paul, but the Twins protected him from the Rule 5 draft, making it likely he will debut sometime in 2024. While he has a volatile offensive profile, the damage his bat is capable of makes him a candidate to make a significant impact immediately.

2023 Edouard Julien: Brooks Lee
Julien may not have had top-100 prospect pedigree, but he was highly thought-of heading into 2023. When the infield injuries piled up, Julien made his debut, and eventually, it became apparent that they couldn’t afford to send him back to St. Paul. He became a top-of-the-lineup hitter and established himself as a special player and a piece of the Twins' core.

Lee has been playing shortstop, but can move all around the diamond. It’s likely he’s the first call should there be an opening, and the former No. 8 overall pick can perform at a level that keeps him from ever being sent back down. Lee would profile well as a No. 2 hitter in the order, and watching the first three at-bats of any given game go to Julien, Lee, and Royce Lewis should be an exciting thought. Lee will almost certainly get a chance in 2024, and he may perform too well ever to be demoted again.

Are there any minor leaguers who could play the 2024 version of other players who burst onto the scene in 2023? Let us know below!

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[Cory Engelhardt]

SWR, I think he will get time in the majors, and frankly I like him as a STARTER more than I do Varland or Festa. 

[mikelink45]

Severino is the least exciting of the players listed - I do not want more Ks.  It also says a lot about Simeon Woods Richardson that he was not in any of the pairings, nor was Austin Martin - these two may be major leaguers this year, but expectations are not for them to be difference makers.

 

[Swimbo]

As those bumber stickers say,  "anyone competent in 2024".

I'd be happy with any of the young arms to show they are ready to stay with the Twins and not need more time to grow.

Seeing the Tigers and especially the Royals add players is hard to watch as the Twins stand pat, it may be the right choice but it's hard to sit and see

[Major League Ready]

22 minutes ago, Swimbo said:

As those bumber stickers say,  "anyone competent in 2024".

I'd be happy with any of the young arms to show they are ready to stay with the Twins and not need more time to grow.

Seeing the Tigers and especially the Royals add players is hard to watch as the Twins stand pat, it may be the right choice but it's hard to sit and see

After the recent additions, the Royals are at $95M in Payroll and the Tigers are at $102M.  They were due to spend.

[Cory Engelhardt]

28 minutes ago, Swimbo said:

As those bumber stickers say,  "anyone competent in 2024".

I'd be happy with any of the young arms to show they are ready to stay with the Twins and not need more time to grow.

Seeing the Tigers and especially the Royals add players is hard to watch as the Twins stand pat, it may be the right choice but it's hard to sit and see

Good for the Royals and Tigers to add. They still have a ways to go 

[gman]

Jair Camargo. Jair is on the 40 man roster already and I think expecting the current catching duo to go through another season injury free will be highly unlikely. His impact may only consist of playing time but if you need someone to put on the gear that could be a big impact.

Returnee's Miranda and Paddack need to be huge in regular playing roles. Paddack has only pitched 27 innings during the regular season the past 2 years and needs to fill a regular starters role. Miranda could spend more than 100 games divided between 1B, 3B and DH and needs to be an impact right handed bat.

Canterino also on the 40 man roster needs to arrive this season hopefully around the allstar break.

[Karbo]

I think SWR will get some starts unless they signor trade for another good starter, I also expect to see Martin and probably Lee get some time.

[Cory Engelhardt]

10 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I think SWR will get some starts unless they signor trade for another good starter, I also expect to see Martin and probably Lee get some time.

I think SWR gets some starts even with another starter. They'll need 9 guys minimum to make starts this year. That's pretty typical across baseball, unless things go wrong, for a season.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Severino is the least exciting of the players listed - I do not want more Ks.  It also says a lot about Simeon Woods Richardson that he was not in any of the pairings, nor was Austin Martin - these two may be major leaguers this year, but expectations are not for them to be difference makers.

If you don't like SO's, Austin Martin is great in that area. He's the opposite of Severino in most everything.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, gman said:

Jair Camargo. Jair is on the 40 man roster already and I think expecting the current catching duo to go through another season injury free will be highly unlikely. His impact may only consist of playing time but if you need someone to put on the gear that could be a big impact.

Returnee's Miranda and Paddack need to be huge in regular playing roles. Paddack has only pitched 27 innings during the regular season the past 2 years and needs to fill a regular starters role. Miranda could spend more than 100 games divided between 1B, 3B and DH and needs to be an impact right handed bat.

Canterino also on the 40 man roster needs to arrive this season hopefully around the allstar break.

I'm with gman  on this , 

Canterino in the pen , we need ya healthy  , Camargo as catching depth in case of injury   ...

Miranda finding his stroke  , playing an occasional first base or dhing  ...

Paddack please stay healthy  , we need ya ...

[DocBauer]

Martin should have been listed, no question. 

Iike the idea of adding Canterino as well. Only question is how long until he's ready.

Agree SWR appears, but also agree Festa might be ahead of him in the pecking order right now.

Darkhorse: Helman added to the roster at some point. (Yep, I'm riding that horse again). Potentially solid RH bat with power, speed, and defensive flexibility. Better overall hitter,  faster, and more positional options than Garlick or Luplow.

[Fatbat]

If we have a rash of OF injuries and Erod is tearing up AA. I can see a way that the break glass OF is called up. It’s about a 2% chance but he is on the 40 man so ya never know.  Martin should’ve been on the list and I hope Canterino is in the bigs come June!

[Doctor Gast]

I'd figured that Julien's success wouldn't surprize anyone in '23 but to many it did. The same for Martin's future  success in '24 wouldn't surprize anyone but it seems that to many it will. SWR was starting to turn it around in the 2nd half, I expect him to continue that trajectory. I expect Lee to really do well in AAA and be an all star in the future but it won't be quick IMO he won't make an impact in the MLB this season. I expect some bounce back from Miranda at 1B. It'll be interesting to see how Canterino pitches & if he stays healthy.

[Major League Ready]

Martin stepping up might have the greatest potential to impact this team.  We need some RH outfield depth.  We also need a guy that gets on base and Martin does that well and then runs the bases well once he gets there.

Miranda has showed the potential to be an impact bat so him stepping up would not be surprising.   Hopefully, he is working hard on his defense this off-season.  I would like to see him come back and dominate giving the twins even more depth to use as trade capital.

SWR and Festa might be the most important guys to have step up.  We need some starting pitching depth.  These two have the potential to be more than back-end innings eaters and their ascension is really important to this team. 

Canterino has the ceiling to be the highest impact player of any of those discussed.  He is the guy I will be tuning into Saints games to see.  Would love to see him playing a role on the ML team by July and dominating in September.

The sleeper is Yunior Severino.  To me he most personifies the "step-up" candidate because he is not on the radar as much as the other guys but he could be the guy whose stock rises the most.  There is a lot of ceiling if he can improve his approach and curb the K rate a bit.  

[JD-TWINS]

Seems the FO focus will remain pitching to start the year (hope so) & the guys we have in organization as position players need to fill the roles.

Miranda or Severino picking up starts at 1B will be key. Kirilloff at 1B maybe 130 games max. realistically.

Julien needs to handle the defensive responsibilities at 2B.

Martin &/or Gordon really need to be a part of the CF mix by early summer.

Paddack - Ober - Ryan all have solid starter talent………hoping for consistency this year, not perfection, but generally good outings w/o serving up HR’s & walks.

[stringer bell]

I’d like to see Kirilloff step up to be a mid-lineup fixture (at least against RH pitching) and it would be a bonus if Miranda was able to be a RH 1B/DH getting 400+ PAs.

One of Sands, Balazovic, Canterino and Winder needs to step up in the bullpen. There will be injuries and at least one more guy needs to be a positive high-leverage arm. 

[ashbury]

It's really unclear to me what the eligibility is, but if anyone looks at Trevor Larnach as limited to AAA for his ceiling I hold a contrary view and expect him to "step up" at last.

 

[JD-TWINS]

5 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I’d like to see Kirilloff step up to be a mid-lineup fixture (at least against RH pitching) and it would be a bonus if Miranda was able to be a RH 1B/DH getting 400+ PAs.

One of Sands, Balazovic, Canterino and Winder needs to step up in the bullpen. There will be injuries and at least one more guy needs to be a positive high-leverage arm. 

If Kirilloff is every dry guy, essentially, …….(RH starters nearly 80% of the time), he’ll get 500 AB’s. I’m pretty sure that no matter how much we hope, Buxton will only play 30-40 games in CF in ‘24 with 70-80 games at DH.

Miranda may see 225-250 AB’s best case…….With either Farmer or Lee on the roster, they’ll be backing up Lewis & there’s less room for Miranda at the plate.

[Hashim]

You didn’t mention it but I expect big things from Paddock and Miranda. Paddock looked really good in the postseason and Miranda was playing well before the injuries.