Twins Daily 2025 Top Prospects: #3 Luke Keaschall, INF

[Cody Christie]

In a farm system with its share of ups and downs, Luke Keaschall emerged as one of the brightest surprises for the Minnesota Twins in 2024. Get to know more about his meteoric rise.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Age: 22 (DOB: 8/15/2002)
2024 Stats (High-A, Double-A): 102 G, .303/.420/.483 (.903), 21 2B, 15 HR, 23 SB, 62 BB, 80 K
ETA: 2026
2024 Ranking: 11
National Top 100 Rankings
BA: 48 | MLB: 63 | ATH: NR | BP: NR

What's to Like
A 2023 second-round pick out of Arizona State, Luke Keaschall quickly climbed the organizational ranks with his blend of athleticism, defensive versatility, and offensive potential. There have been comparisons between Keaschall and former Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia, because they attended the same college and are both short. Defensively, he has been capable of playing multiple positions, but an elbow injury this season limited the way the organization could use him. 

Offensively, Keaschall made significant strides in 2024. Minnesota had Keaschall begin this season in Cedar Rapids, since he had limited at-bats at that level until the end of last season. He was a monster in the Kernels lineup, hitting .335/.457/.544 with 12 doubles and seven home runs in 44 games. At the end of May, the Twins promoted him to Double-A, where he was over three years younger than the average age of the competition. In 58 games, he posted a respectable .832 OPS with 18 extra-base hits and a 51-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In 2024, he only faced younger pitchers in 28 plate appearances. Against older pitchers, he hit .302/.424/.483 with 61 walks and 79 strikeouts. Although he's a right-handed hitter, he posted reverse splits, with his OPS being over 100 points higher against righties. He did all of this while knowing that he was going to need elbow surgery at some point.   

What's Left to Work On 
Like many young hitters, Keaschall still has work to do against advanced pitching. At times in Double-A, he struggled against high-quality off-speed offerings, leading to a slightly elevated strikeout rate. His swing mechanics are solid, but he could benefit from minor tweaks to better handle breaking balls on the outer half of the plate. He also needs to prove that his offensive improvements were legitimate, which can be challenging while recovering from surgery. 

“I work my tail off in the weight room,” Keaschall said during the season. “At the end of the day, I'm still growing, I'm still maturing, I'm still getting bigger and stronger and better at the game and refining my swing and mechanics. I think just over time, becoming a better baseball player, maturing a little bit more.”

While Keaschall is an aggressive runner on the base paths, he could improve his success rate on stolen base attempts. MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs give him a 55 grade on his running ability, which is slightly above average on the 20-80 scouting scale. Refining his baserunning instincts will make his speed an even greater weapon.  

The most significant question mark is, of course, his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Although position players typically recover faster than pitchers, there’s always some uncertainty surrounding a player’s throwing mechanics and arm strength post-surgery. Last winter, he went to Driveline to work on his arm action from multiple defensive positions. The Twins will likely ease him back into defensive work during spring training.

What's Next  
The Twins are optimistic that Keaschall will be ready for full participation in spring training. With his rapid ascent through the system, he is poised to start the season at Double-A, though a strong spring performance could accelerate his timeline. If Keaschall continues to refine his approach at the plate and shows no lingering effects from his surgery, he could be knocking on the door of a major-league debut by late 2025. His combination of defensive versatility and offensive potential gives him a real shot to be a pivotal contributor to the Twins’ roster in the near future.  

As one of the fastest risers in the system, Keaschall has already proven he belongs on the radar of Twins fans. Now, the next chapter of his journey hinges on how he bounces back from adversity, which his fiery playing style suggests he’ll handle easily.  

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Do you agree with Keaschall’s ranking? What are your expectations for Keaschall in 2025? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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[dxpavelka]

Weird article. Mentioned that he could play multiple positions but that an injury limited the way the organization used him.  Did not elaborate.  Is this some sort of exercise where we are supposed to do our own research?

[big dog]

Thanks. You mentioned defensive versatility several times, but what are the positions where people think he's most likely to contribute?

[Patzky]

He might be the most Sought after talked about trade piece not named Walker.

[tony&rodney]

I'm pretty high on Keaschall, buying the hype more than I did for say Jose Miranda, Edouard Julien, Brooks Lee or Royce Lewis. Don't get me wrong, I like each of those players quite a bit. Keaschall seems to have a swing and presence about him that defies his shortcomings. The lack of a defensive position and carrying reports of substandard glove play in college would normally reduce his appeal in my eyes under most conditions. However, I tuned in as often as possible last summer to watch him play and came away impressed with his abilities. He has consistently good at bats and made the plays in the field. Going into 2025, Keaschall is probably the most interesting player to watch in the Twins system. It feels like we know where Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins are headed, whereas Keaschall could be that guy who surprises us and jumps right into the big picture next summer.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, big dog said:

Thanks. You mentioned defensive versatility several times, but what are the positions where people think he's most likely to contribute?

A quick look at MiLB.com shows 2B, CF, and 1B.

[jorgenswest]

It seems unlikely that he will stick as an up the middle of the field player. The first sign is that he did not start as a shortstop in the organization. Major league see one basemen almost always play some SS in the minors. @Cody Christie offers Pedroia as a comp but Pedroia’s primary position in AAA before he called up was SS and he started in the organization as a SS. Keaschall did have an injury that led him to DH/1B for his last month. He also had DH stretches in May of 24 and the end of his first season with the Twins. When in the field he alternated between 2B and CF with a few games at 3B. His three stretches as DH/1B as well as his moving between infield and outfield suggest that he is unlikely close to ready to be a major league 2B. Fangraphs prospect report scores his fielding at 30/45. Maybe he can get to that 45 but his defense is not knocking at the door and he will need a lot of time in AAA to develop as a 2B or CF. They didn’t give that time to Julien when his bat appeared ready. Will they follow the same path with Keaschall?

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

Weird article. Mentioned that he could play multiple positions but that an injury limited the way the organization used him.  Did not elaborate.  Is this some sort of exercise where we are supposed to do our own research?

Did you miss this entire paragraph?

Quote

The most significant question mark is, of course, his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Although position players typically recover faster than pitchers, there’s always some uncertainty surrounding a player’s throwing mechanics and arm strength post-surgery. Last winter, he went to Driveline to work on his arm action from multiple defensive positions. The Twins will likely ease him back into defensive work during spring training.

 

[DJL44]

The trick will be finding a defensive position where he can contribute. He might have enough bat for 1B/LF which would be nice.

[SF Twins Fan]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

Weird article. Mentioned that he could play multiple positions but that an injury limited the way the organization used him.  Did not elaborate.  Is this some sort of exercise where we are supposed to do our own research?

It's pretty well known he had tommy John surgery in August, and mentioned in the article, and usually when you have that surgery your arm is injured prior, which limits your ability to throw.  Hence the teams he was on not being able to fully utilize him.

[rdehring]

My first thought is that the Twins have a need at first base.  And Keaschall played a fair amount of first last season.  But isn't it best that first basemen are taller?  You mentioned that he is shorter.  How short is he?  And won't that be a negative at first base?

With that said, I love this kid and hope that he becomes that player who is as good as anyone, yet doesn't have the hype of a Lewis, Lee or Jenkins.

[SF Twins Fan]

He's probably the prospect I'm most excited about for this season.  Assuming he's healthy going into the season, I feel like he could be a real game changer for the Twins the second half of the season.  He'll likely start at AAA, so between him and Emmanuel Rodriguez the Twins could have some exciting injury replacements.

[SF Twins Fan]

3 minutes ago, rdehring said:

My first thought is that the Twins have a need at first base.  And Keaschall played a fair amount of first last season.  But isn't it best that first basemen are taller?  You mentioned that he is shorter.  How short is he?  And won't that be a negative at first base?

With that said, I love this kid and hope that he becomes that player who is as good as anyone, yet doesn't have the hype of a Lewis, Lee or Jenkins.

He's listed at 6 feet tall, so if that's correct, he's not really short.  Pedrioa was like 5 foot 8.

[Parfigliano]

Do teams ever send top hitting prospects to drive line?

[jmlease1]

He's an exciting prospect and was terrific in what was his first full professional season. Sucks that he needed TJ and couldn't finish the AA season, but I think it was smart to time the surgery so he can hopefully play a full or close to full season in 2025.

Deciding on a position for him is a little challenging: he has the tools to play 2B or CF, and I suspect he'd do fine at 3B depending on how his arm recovers from the surgery but he didn't get to play there in 2024 because of the injury. I'm sure he can slot in just fine in LF or 1B, but the Twins may not want to jump him down that far on the spectrum until they have a better feel for how his arm is.

His power was down a little at AA, but it seems reasonable that the injury was starting to hold him back a little more. He seems to have a very good understanding of the strike zone for player his age and his approach at the plate is pretty advanced. If he can get better at punishing offspeed stuff he's going to be a pretty scary combination of power/speed/contact and that bat will play no matter where he lands.

Twins have pushed him aggressively and he's responded to the challenge quite well. Hope he responds to surgery as well!

[LambchoP]

I'm excited about his potential. While he will probably start the year back in AA, of he does well I could see an early season move up to AAA. He needs to prove he can hit upper level pitchers, but if he's fully healthy and starts to tear it up in AAA, maybe he could be the first baseman that we need. He may not be typical first base material, but if his bat plays and his defense is good enough, let it ride. I can see him and Miranda putting up similar numbers with regular playing time. .250-.280 AVG. 15-25 HR.....of course they'd need an everyday position to be able to hit numbers like these

[JD-TWINS]

27 minutes ago, rdehring said:

My first thought is that the Twins have a need at first base.  And Keaschall played a fair amount of first last season.  But isn't it best that first basemen are taller?  You mentioned that he is shorter.  How short is he?  And won't that be a negative at first base?

With that said, I love this kid and hope that he becomes that player who is as good as anyone, yet doesn't have the hype of a Lewis, Lee or Jenkins.

So, I agree with you that the article reads that he may not be optimal at 1B……..however, this year’s Gold Glove winner, Carlos Santana is 5’11” & 210lb while Keaschall is a “short” 6’0” & 190 lb. Seems like he’d have the athleticism to be fine at 1B.

I thought he got to St. Paul before having surgery……..sounds like Best Case for Twins debut may be August. Bummer. I was hoping he may be at 2B or 1B daily by end of June.

Just hope he’s healthy and can actually compete by mid-February!

[JD-TWINS]

BTW - free agent 1B, coveted by many around baseball, Christian Walker is 6’0” and he seems pretty good defensively at 1B!……..Keaschall is 6’0” as well.

[PuckettProtector]

3 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Weird article. Mentioned that he could play multiple positions but that an injury limited the way the organization used him.  Did not elaborate.  Is this some sort of exercise where we are supposed to do our own research?

You must be a blast at parties. 

[mikelink45]

I actually would have him at number one.  I am really excited to see him in the majors.  He just has the feel of a rising star.  Julien and Miranda are starting to feel like good trade bait.  

[chpettit19]

He'd be #2 on my list. I think we see him early(ish) in the year. I think he's the player most people are expecting/hoping Lee can be. 

I didn't see him a ton this season so the glove is still the question for me. He made the plays I'd expect him to make the couple games I watched of him at 2B, and he looked way more natural than Julien there. I didn't see him at all in the OF, but if he can play that then put him there. I'd be ok with 1B, but all this talk of sliding our better athletes to 1B isn't something I like. At least not until we get more athletes. I think OF and/or 2B would be the best if he can field one of those spots. I don't trust Buxton to stay healthy (who does?) so that's an open spot in my mind, and I prefer Larnach at DH if we can put a better fielder in LF. And, as I said above, I think Keaschall is the star people are expecting Lee to be while Lee is more of "just" a regular so if Lewis is at 3B I'll take Luke at 2B and Lee as the utility guy who ends up playing a ton for Correa and Lewis (all 3 of those guys have real injury concerns at this point with Correa actually being my lowest concern behind Lewis' legs and Lee's back).

I think the bat is just about ready. Get him into spring training to knock the rust off. Start him in St Paul. And get him to Minneapolis at the first opportunity if he's showing he's ready. Shoot, if he tears it up in spring hand him and opening day job and take a run at an extra draft pick for a rookie of the year award (I know he's on at least 1 of the top-100 lists so I guess it'd depend if he's on another for the draft pick).

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, SF Twins Fan said:

He's listed at 6 feet tall, so if that's correct, he's not really short.  Pedrioa was like 5 foot 8.

His draft profile at Baseball America lists him at 6'1". Maybe he's shrinking. If so, that Pedroia comparison would be apt in about 2030.

[big dog]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

A quick look at MiLB.com shows 2B, CF, and 1B.

Thanks- that's where they chose to play him, but I wonder what they feel about him going forward. If they think he's CF but had him play 1B in order to give others some time (or if it was all after the arm injury)- that's a good thing. If they think he's a 1B but they really needed a CF- that's a different thing. Just wondering if there's any intel out there on best fit.

[DJL44]

6 minutes ago, big dog said:

Thanks- that's where they chose to play him, but I wonder what they feel about him going forward. If they think he's CF but had him play 1B in order to give others some time (or if it was all after the arm injury)- that's a good thing. If they think he's a 1B but they really needed a CF- that's a different thing. Just wondering if there's any intel out there on best fit.

He's a grade 55 runner in his scouting profile which is marginal for a major league CF. Those guys are usually 60-80 speed. Austin Martin is a grade 55 speed (with the worst first-step reaction to the ball in the big leagues). If Keaschall can read the ball off the bat he should be able to play an adequate CF, but he'll never be a plus defender in CF.

[jmlease1]

53 minutes ago, big dog said:

Thanks- that's where they chose to play him, but I wonder what they feel about him going forward. If they think he's CF but had him play 1B in order to give others some time (or if it was all after the arm injury)- that's a good thing. If they think he's a 1B but they really needed a CF- that's a different thing. Just wondering if there's any intel out there on best fit.

I think he likely would have gotten time at 3B, but because of the arm injury they weren't going to put him somewhere that was going test his arm when they knew he had an injury. He doesn't quite look like a "10th starter" super-utility guy who plays 6-7 spots and all of them well because he might not be rangy enough for CF and he's not looking like anything other than an emergency option at SS, but the bat might be good enough that he could drop in everywhere else (except catcher) and play good to plus defense while adding plenty of value. I could see him doing well in LF if they move him off the dirt.

Pretty good for a 2nd round pick, and it was good to see him do well at AA. Looking forward to seeing how he does against LHP this year.

[bean5302]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Keaschall performs in AA/AAA next year. Not sure where the Twins will start him off since he's kind of in that mid range of plate appearances at AA. A 1/2 season or so overall.

His bat is good, but it's not like it was truly elite there, even relative to other top prospects. If we look at wRC+, Keaschall's 138 ranks:
46th in AA overall
36th under age 25 (the top prospects)
22nd under age 23 (the elite prospects)
13th under age 22 (the elite high school prospects or his direct his peers)

Keaschall's power is the question mark. He simply didn't have much in the way of XBH, and while he's talking about adding bulk under the idea it will make him better, he's only 5lbs lighter than 65+ grade power Byron Buxton. If he wants power, he should adjust his swing mechanics. Every pound Keaschall packs on at this point begins to push him off further off 2B where it's uncommon to see a good defender at 200+lbs. Pushing himself to positions typically reliant on ISO like 1B/3B/LF will mean his bat has to play up even more. Keaschall doens't really have the arm for RF, and doesn't have the speed for CF.

Maybe a better version of Jose Miranda as Keaschall's projectable ceiling at this point?
 

[DocBauer]

I think I like him better at 1B than LF. The main reason being Wallner, Buxton, Jenkins, and Rodriguez may just push him back to the INF anyway.

The reason I say 1B is because I'm assuming Lee and Lewis in some combination of 3B and 2B. A former SS in college before his senior year transfer to AZ State, I think he's a potentially fine 2B. But is there room there? And I don't have a problem with a good athlete being at 1B. That's like saying a guy playing LF is a waste because he'd be such a good CF but behind someone. You never go wrong having a great athlete on the field, no matter the position. And being a good athlete at 1B might just allow for an even better than average defender.

I think his ETA is second half of 2025 if he's 100% The bat and the eye look real. Regardless of position, future Twins leadoff hitter?

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Pushing himself to positions typically reliant on ISO like 1B/3B/LF will mean his bat has to play up even more. Keaschall doens't really have the arm for RF, and doesn't have the speed for CF.

He might have just enough arm for RF. A "corner" utility guy could be useful.

3 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Maybe with Margot gone and a possible Castro trade he could slot into the CF backup to Buxton slot.

He can probably play CF as poorly as Margot did last summer.

[dougd]

How confident are we that the height and weight listings are accurate?

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, dougd said:

How confident are we that the height and weight listings are accurate?

We are not. However, they don't matter that much really in baseball.