3 Under-the-Radar Twins Prospects to Watch in the Spring Breakout Game

[Cody Christie]

On Saturday, the Twins and the Rays will face off in each organization’s inaugural Spring Breakout game, showcasing their top prospects. Here are three under-the-radar prospects to watch from Minnesota’s roster.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Zebby Matthews)

Fans have followed their favorite teams' prospect lists for decades, and MLB finally decided to capitalize on the hype with an event that puts those players in the spotlight. According to MLB.com, “MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition will be held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus League stadiums during Spring Training. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization’s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport’s budding talent.”

On Saturday, the Twins will host the Rays at Hammond Stadium, with some of baseball’s best prospects scheduled to appear. The estimated start time for the game is 3:05 PM CST. Minnesota fans will get a first opportunity to see Walker Jenkins, the team’s top-ranked prospect, along with other highly-touted talents like Emmanuel Rodríguez, Gabriel González, David Festa, Marco Raya, and Charlee Soto. The entire Spring Breakout roster can be found here, but there are multiple players outside the team's top-10 prospects list to watch during Saturday’s game. Here are three lesser-known prospects worth your close attention.

Kala’i Rosario, OF
TD Prospect Rank: 13
The Twins selected Rosario with their fifth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, out of high school in Hawaii. Since it was in the middle of the pandemic, it was a strange draft limited to five rounds. However, the Twins found two solid prospects with their last two picks (Marco Raya and Rosario). In 2023, Rosario played the entire season at High-A and hit .252/.364/.467, with 27 doubles, three triples, and 21 home runs. His OPS rose 105 points compared to the 2022 season, and he was two years younger than the average age of the competition in the Midwest League. Following the season, he was named the Midwest League MVP, as he helped the Kernels win the league’s championship. Defensively, he has limited range even in the corner outfield spots, so it will be critical for him to continue producing on the offensive side of the ball. 

Danny De Andrade, SS
TD Prospect Rank: 15
De Andrade was among the top-ranked prospects during the 2021 international signing period, and the Twins signed the Venezuelan shortstop for $2.2 million. In 105 games in 2023, he hit .244/.354/.396, with 21 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs for Low-A Fort Myers. Over 98 percent of his plate appearances came against older pitchers; he was one of the youngest players in the Florida State League. In February, I wrote about how ZiPS views him with surprising long-term value. He will likely play most of the upcoming season at Cedar Rapids, and must prove he can stick at shortstop as his body matures. He's at least two years away from MLB, but Saturday will offer fans a chance to get a better idea of what they're waiting for.

Zebby Matthews, RHP
TD Prospect Rank: NR
The current Twins front office loves drafting college pitchers from smaller schools in the middle and late rounds of the draft. Once they identify a player with some latent upside, they bring them into the organization and try to make the necessary tweaks to turn them into a big-leaguer. As an 8th-round pick from the 2022 MLB Draft, Matthews fits the mold. Last season, he posted a 3.84 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and 9.6 K/9. His fastball typically sits in the mid-90s, and it'll be fascinating to see where his velocity is when asked to pitch one inning in a showcase event. His command is outstanding, with 1.3 BB/9 last season, and he has a chance to pitch at Double-A in 2024.  

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What do you hope to see in the team’s first Spring Breakout game? Which prospects do you view as under the radar? Leave a comment to start the discussion. 

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[IndianaTwin]

Twins/Rays is at the same time as Jays/Yankees. Guess which one is on TV...

[MN_ExPat]

I'm not clamoring to see any particular prospect, I just think it's a really cool way for the league and teams to get a lot of well regarded players together in one place.  Almost has a AFL vibe to it with bigger hype players 🙂. 

[JD-TWINS]

Mathews looks interesting - big frame. Not much info on pitch mix…….looks like he could develop.

 

Another, under the radar circumstance is that Louie Varland is the 5th starter, period, - right?

DeSclafani hasn’t thrown an inning this Spring to my knowledge? 12-13 days til they head north to K.C. …………Varland has to be the 5th guy.

He threw 4 innings Tuesday and gave up 1 hit - 4K’s - no runs. Get it’s only Spring Training, but couldn’t be much better.

[roger]

Interesting topic, Cody, thanks for sharing.

What was most interesting to me was the mention of Rosario's limitations on defense.  Was not aware that he was limited defensively.

Am a bit surprised by the title of today's piece.  Considering Rosario was the Mid-West League MVP last year and De Andre was a top signee getting $2.2M in 2021, really don't consider that duo as being "under-the-radar."  Now Matthews and someone like Crisotomo are more under-the-radar, at least mine.

Thanks for the information, unfortunately, most or none of us will see the game.

 

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I'll take copious notes at the game Saturday and report my findings here, on this site, to the TD family.  (Yeah, I know, I'm braggin' a little because I'm leaving for Fort Myers THIS AFTERNOON ! ) 

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Mathews looks interesting - big frame. Not much info on pitch mix…….looks like he could develop.

 

Another, under the radar circumstance is that Louie Varland is the 5th starter, period, - right?

DeSclafani hasn’t thrown an inning this Spring to my knowledge? 12-13 days til they head north to K.C. …………Varland has to be the 5th guy.

He threw 4 innings Tuesday and gave up 1 hit - 4K’s - no runs. Get it’s only Spring Training, but couldn’t be much better.

You're right. DeSclafini opens the year on the 10 day IL,  then takes the full 20 day rehab period in AAA to work up his inning load. Varland is the 5th starter out of the gate and if he pitches well, an interesting decision awaits. Frankly, an injury or ineffectiveness probably makes the decision but this could be fun to watch. 

[JD-TWINS]

4 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

You're right. DeSclafini opens the year on the 10 day IL,  then takes the full 20 day rehab period in AAA to work up his inning load. Varland is the 5th starter out of the gate and if he pitches well, an interesting decision awaits. Frankly, an injury or ineffectiveness probably makes the decision but this could be fun to watch. 

I think DeSclafani’s discomfort comes back, real or suggested, and he’s on IL for longer term. Not sure if the rules ………..assuming there’s a way to get between 10 days & 60 days.?

[Gamblerssoftball]

It looks like Walker Jenkins is not going to play. He strained a quad slightly. Nothing serious, they say.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Good question. I don't know. I'll start a thread so we can discuss since this one is for the Spring Breakout Game.  

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Another, under the radar circumstance is that Louie Varland is the 5th starter, period, - right?

With the numerous off days early in the season, I still wouldn't be surprised if Varland goes to St. Paul so he can get one start there (unless we really want starters with 6 to 7 days rest between starts early in the season). And then he would come back about two weeks into the season. Ober had a great spring last year and he still went to AAA for 1 or 2 starts. 

DeSclafani not pitching yet certainly points towards an IL stint and rehab assignment in St. Paul. Thielbar probably has a little more time since he's a reliever but no sight of him either.

[gman]

I like the concept. I'd like to watch that contest. It would be good to actually see it.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Gamblerssoftball said:

It looks like Walker Jenkins is not going to play. He strained a quad slightly. Nothing serious, they say.

Rats. One of the reasons I picked these games to see on our annual spring training trip to Ft. Myers, was to see fellow North Carolinian, Walker Jenkins, play baseball. But like they say, you pay your money and you take your chances. Hope it is a minor injury. 

[DocBauer]

I'm a little higher on Cory Lewis from the 2022 draft, one pick after Matthews, but only a little. Guess a few more K's and a little more reported velocity gives him a leg up to me. But I'm not sure I'd call Matthews as under the radar. He and Lewis and Culpepper all seem to get a fair amount of love. There's other arms, including some from the same draft, that are talked about less. (In general, I know we're talking about this particular game). 

The numbers De Andrade put up as a 19yo were pretty awesome. He looks to have some nice upside as a hitter. He'd be a solid, young prospect at 3B, or even 2B, but he's that much more "important" as a prospect if he can stick at SS and not grow out of it physically. But not even 20yo for about 20 more days, he's got plenty of time to develop.

Really impressed with the development of Rosario last season. Its my understanding he's not fleet of foot, and is rather average, but with a pretty decent arm. He's going to be all about the bat as what you're looking for is average defense at a corner spot. And that would be enough if the bat plays as potentially projected. 

I think arms like Crisostomo, Juan Mendez, and Miguel Rodriguez are more under the radar. 

[jkcarew]

De Andrade one of the less obvious reasons the club would be willing to trade Miller. Ahead of Miller with the bat (so far)…and the club might be thinking he’s likely to stick at shortstop.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

With the numerous off days early in the season, I still wouldn't be surprised if Varland goes to St. Paul so he can get one start there (unless we really want starters with 6 to 7 days rest between starts early in the season). And then he would come back about two weeks into the season. Ober had a great spring last year and he still went to AAA for 1 or 2 starts. 

DeSclafani not pitching yet certainly points towards an IL stint and rehab assignment in St. Paul. Thielbar probably has a little more time since he's a reliever but no sight of him either.

Doubt they’ll have a guy up & down if he’s the 5th starter……..he can work on the side to stay sharp. Also, Ober went to St Paul to start the year because Mahle was in the rotation……he was the “6th guy” at that point, until Mahle got hurt.

[Doctor Wu]

I've been encouraged by everything I've read about Zebby Matthews, in addition to his strong season last year. And thank you to the editors for identifying which player was in the photo! Much appreciated!

[Guest]

I guess I am glad Soto was not one of the under the radar prospects listed to keep an eye on.  Oh well, he has a lot of work to do and I am looking forward to his success in doing it.