Ranking the Top 5 Twins Prospects in Big-League Camp

[Cody Christie]

Some of the team’s top prospects will get a chance to work with the big-league coaches and players for the first time this spring. So, who are the top prospects that fans can watch during spring training?

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Photo of Marco Raya)

Not every top prospect in an organization gets an invite to big-league camp. Some players are far enough away from the big leagues that it doesn’t make sense to rush them. Others have yet to be added to the 40-man roster so they can stay in minor league camp and focus on preparing with the players who are more likely to be their teammates. For the Twins, some of the organization's top prospects will be in big-league camp, with some getting their first opportunity for the big-league coaching staff to get a long look at potential future stars. 

Here are the top five Twins prospects who will have a big-league locker as the team reports to Fort Myers. 

5. Cory Lewis, SP
TD Top Prospect Rank: 9
Lewis was the organization’s 2023 minor league pitcher of the year, so hopes were high for him entering last season. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury in spring training last year and missed the season’s first three months. In 19 starts, he posted a 2.51 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP and a 27.9 K%. Most of his starts last season were at Double-A, but he finished the year with one start in St. Paul, where he allowed two earned runs in five innings. Lewis should start the year at Triple-A with the chance for a call-up by the middle of the season. 
2025 Prediction: Lewis makes his debut ahead of other pitchers on this list.

4. Marco Raya, SP
TD Top Prospect Rank: 5
The Twins have taken a unique approach with Raya by aggressively pushing him up the organizational ladder while also limiting his innings. In his first 55 career appearances, there was only one time where he threw more than 75 pitches. In his age-21 season, he finished the year at Triple-A and posted a 4.05 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP and a 24.6 K%. He has a five-pitch mix, including a mid-90s fastball that he uses up in the zone with high spin rates. His slider is a devastating outpitch with an elite spin rate. His slower curveball and changeup also change the eye level of batters. He must prove he can handle a starter’s workload in 2025. 
2025 Prediction: The Twins will unleash Raya this year by allowing him to pitch a career-high innings while pitching further into games. 

3. Andrew Morris, SP
TD Top Prospect Rank: 6
Morris has used his college experience at Texas Tech to quickly move through the Twins system. Last season, he nearly followed Zebby Matthews from High-A to the MLB level in one season. Morris topped out at Triple-A, but his overall numbers were impressive. In 133 innings, he posted a 2.37 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP and a 24.5 K. His over-the-top delivery helps him to hide the ball, making it more difficult for batters to track his five-pitch mix.

He follows a recent trend with Twins draftees as the club takes college arms in the mid-to-late rounds and quickly finds a way to add velocity. In 2024, he averaged 94 mph and showed an ability to amp it up to the high 90s. Morris pounds the strike zone with solid pitch offerings, which is a recipe for success at the big-league level. 
2025 Prediction: Morris will establish himself as a mid-rotation starter in what is becoming a fruitful Twins pitching pipeline. 

2. Luke Keaschall, UTL
TD Top Prospect Rank: 3
Keaschall is returning from Tommy John surgery, but the Twins expect him to be ready for the season’s start. Last year, he was the organization’s breakout hitter, batting .303/.420/.483 (.903) with 21 doubles and 15 home runs in 102 games. Keaschall enters this season as a consensus top-100 prospect, with Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ranking him in their top 45 players. He finished last season at Double-A so the Twins could send him back to Wichita to get his feet under him before a promotion to St. Paul. He seems like the kind of player Twins manager Rocco Baldelli will gravitate towards. Look for the manager to sing Keaschall’s praises this spring. 
2025 Prediction: Keaschall will debut in the first half and provide enough value that it will be tough for him to be sent back down. 

1. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF
TD Top Prospect Rank: 2
In many other organizations, Rodriguez would be the top-ranked prospect. His approach is unique, with some of the best plate discipline of any Twins prospect in recent memory and showcasing elite power potential. His professional career has been hampered by injury, but he's shown tremendous ability when healthy. Last season, he hit .280/.459/.567 (1.026) with 14 doubles and nine home runs in 209 plate appearances. His 29.7 K% is high, but he pairs it with a 24.4 BB%. The Twins think highly of Rodriguez and pushed him to Triple-A last season despite missing time due to multiple injuries. He’s one of baseball’s best prospects and will impact the Twins lineup sooner rather than later. 
2025 Prediction: Rodriguez will provide a second-half spark to the Twins lineup that propels the team to the postseason. 

Rodriguez and Keaschall will get a lot of attention, but the trio of top pitching prospects also brings excitement to big-league camp. None of the players seem destined to make the Opening Day roster, but they should all play regularly in St. Paul at some point in 2025. The Saints will have an exciting roster, and these five players will be only one step away from making their MLB debuts. 

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Which prospect are you most excited to see during spring training? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[Fezig]

First!

[LambchoP]

I think the second base battle will be fun to watch. My guess is it will be some combo of Lee and Castro. Julien needs to earn his way back up. At 1b Im hoping France shows something with the bat, but if he sucks I really hope they don't stick with him over Miranda. I'm also excited about the group of young arms coming up. St Paul should have one heck of a pitching staff. 

Festa

Mathews

Adams

Raya

Lewis....

We all know you can never have too much pitching, which is why I hope we spring a trade to keep Castellano. Dudes got great potential. Im also excited to see how Canterino and Prelipp look this spring. If healthy these guys could be major impact weapons out of the pen.

[Karbo]

I'm excited to see what Keaschall looks like this spring. I can imagine him becoming a core player in the near future.

[High heat]

1 hour ago, LambchoP said:

I think the second base battle will be fun to watch. My guess is it will be some combo of Lee and Castro. Julien needs to earn his way back up. At 1b Im hoping France shows something with the bat, but if he sucks I really hope they don't stick with him over Miranda. I'm also excited about the group of young arms coming up. St Paul should have one heck of a pitching staff. 

Festa

Mathews

Adams

Raya

Lewis....

We all know you can never have too much pitching, which is why I hope we spring a trade to keep Castellano. Dudes got great potential. Im also excited to see how Canterino and Prelipp look this spring. If healthy these guys could be major impact weapons out of the pen.

The Saints might have the most excited roster in town!!!

 
Could possibly have 

C. Camargo 

1B Julien

2B Keaschell

SS Holland

OF ERod, Kiersey, MCCusker 

 

[SD happy]

4 hours ago, LambchoP said:

I think the second base battle will be fun to watch. My guess is it will be some combo of Lee and Castro. Julien needs to earn his way back up. At 1b Im hoping France shows something with the bat, but if he sucks I really hope they don't stick with him over Miranda. I'm also excited about the group of young arms coming up. St Paul should have one heck of a pitching staff. 

Festa

Mathews

Adams

Raya

Lewis....

We all know you can never have too much pitching, which is why I hope we spring a trade to keep Castellano. Dudes got great potential. Im also excited to see how Canterino and Prelipp look this spring. If healthy these guys could be major impact weapons out of the pen.

And, you forgot Andrew Morris. Watching St Paul will be a lot of fun this year. Remember other years when we would have to bring in one or two mlb retreads just to fill out the starting five in triple A.

[bean5302]

When it comes to Lewis, this will be an important year. He's going to need to prove he can throw strikes, and that hitters won't be able to crush his pitches when he does. 

Raya's big test is durability.

Morris needs to prove his stuff works at AAA.

Keaschall's bat is going to be tested at AAA. 

Rodriguez is probably going to be pretty successful at AAA. His test will be at the MLB level.
 

[HerbieFan]

Festa, Zebby, Raya, Lewis, Morris....an exciting young rotation at St.Paul!

[Blyleven2011]

 Is canterino or preilipp  in camp  , two pitchers with the best pitches that are major league worthy  , so I've heard  , are they no longer prospects of our top 30 ...

Keaschall should be number one if he is considered to be in the major leagues first , as stated by Cory,  he should be here in the first half and that projection should give him top billing of prospects  ...

Go keaschall ...

[Fatbat]

Thats a great list of MLB camp prospects that will all indeed impact the Twins in ‘25.  Who and when will be fun to watch and pontificate about. 
All those young and close to ready pitching prospects is something we as fans have been waiting for, for a decade plus.  There is a deep and wide list, not just a few guys in AAA with a limited ceiling.  
 

Lk and Erod may both be on the 26 man for over half the season and most importantly, on the roster in October’25!

[David HK]

17 hours ago, LambchoP said:

I think the second base battle will be fun to watch. My guess is it will be some combo of Lee and Castro. Julien needs to earn his way back up. At 1b Im hoping France shows something with the bat, but if he sucks I really hope they don't stick with him over Miranda. I'm also excited about the group of young arms coming up. St Paul should have one heck of a pitching staff. 

Festa

Mathews

Adams

Raya

Lewis....

We all know you can never have too much pitching, which is why I hope we spring a trade to keep Castellano. Dudes got great potential. Im also excited to see how Canterino and Prelipp look this spring. If healthy these guys could be major impact weapons out of the pen.

And my boy Eeles!  Doesn't get a lot of mention, but don't anybody sleep on this guy!

[TwinsDr2021]

22 hours ago, LambchoP said:

 I'm also excited about the group of young arms coming up. St Paul should have one heck of a pitching staff. 

Festa

Mathews

Adams

Raya

Lewis....

Isn't this pretty much the staff from AA that went 58 - 80 minus Festa? I am not saying it shouldn't be pretty darn good, pitching wasn't exactly the problem with the AA team last year, it was the last of talent on the offensive side of the equation. (minus a small amount of games from EROD, Keaschall, and Jenkins.

Raya 24 starts, Adams 19 starts, Lewis 13 starts, Matthews 9

[JD-TWINS]

21 hours ago, High heat said:

The Saints might have the most excited roster in town!!!

 
Could possibly have 

C. Camargo 

1B Julien

2B Keaschell

SS Holland

OF ERod, Kiersey, MCCusker 

 

Camargo & Julien have a ways to go to excite anyone, IMO……….Kiersey, maybe?

Keaschall & E-Rod could force their way in to roster by June - hope so!

[JD-TWINS]

Morris seems to have a nice opportunity if he can come close to maintaining that 1.08 WHIP in St. Paul!

 

[Otaknam]

It’s a good list. I think Canterino and Prielipp, if healthy, could make the bullpen this year. Given the paucity of lefties, Prielipp especially is intriguing. Hopefully he is healthy and can give them some innings to build up to start by 2026. 

[DJL44]

I'll take the under on the predictions. Every year the prospects are going to come in and make everything better. Every year the prospects come in, most of them fail or struggle when they first see MLB and they have to go back to the minors to work on the flaws that have been exposed at the highest level.

Here's my 5 predictions

Cory Lewis - has a middling year at AAA, 30% chance he gets injured again

Marco Raya - continues to struggle to provide enough innings in the rotation, gets transitioned to the bullpen in 2027 when he only has one option year remaining

Andrew Morris - gets a few starts this year and has an ERA around 5. Needs to improve his offspeed pitch to find a spot in the rotation long-term. Tries a few different changes to his offspeed offerings in AAA before he finds one that is successful.

Luke Keaschall - keeps working on his hitting and progresses to the point where he gets a callup in September. Continues to struggle to find a defensive position where he can provide value.

Emmanuel Rodriguez - Gets his callup and is hot for about a month before MLB pitchers figure out a strategy that gets him out consistently. Goes back to AAA to rework his approach. Comes back to MLB and is just okay at the plate. Plays pretty good defense through all of this. We all hope he can contribute more in 2026.

[bean5302]

23 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

 Is canterino or preilipp  in camp  , two pitchers with the best pitches that are major league worthy  , so I've heard  , are they no longer prospects of our top 30 ...

Keaschall should be number one if he is considered to be in the major leagues first , as stated by Cory,  he should be here in the first half and that projection should give him top billing of prospects  ...

Go keaschall ...

 

5 hours ago, Otaknam said:

It’s a good list. I think Canterino and Prielipp, if healthy, could make the bullpen this year. Given the paucity of lefties, Prielipp especially is intriguing. Hopefully he is healthy and can give them some innings to build up to start by 2026. 

Canterino is. All 40 man roster guys are invited to Spring Training. No word on whether or not Canterino has injured himself playing nerdy board games that I've seen. I'm not sure why people are excited about Canterino at this point. His stuff is supposedly great, but he's barely even played at the AA level and he hasn't pitched in years. Canterino fanned a lot of batters in AA back 3 years ago, but he also walked a ton. He kinda feels like a J.T. Chargois ceiling to me right now.

Prielipp is not. Prielipp is not on the 40 man and was not invited to MLB Spring Training. There is every reason for the Twins to continue pushing him down the starter path to answer questions on his future rather than slowing his progress and avoiding answering questions by putting him into the bullpen. If I were to hazard a guess, Prielipp will start the season in AA making 3.0-4.0 inning starts, stretching to 5.0-6.0 innings by mid year. Similar to what we saw with Raya last year.

[Linus]

18 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I'll take the under on the predictions. Every year the prospects are going to come in and make everything better. Every year the prospects come in, most of them fail or struggle when they first see MLB and they have to go back to the minors to work on the flaws that have been exposed at the highest level.

Here's my 5 predictions

Cory Lewis - has a middling year at AAA, 30% chance he gets injured again

Marco Raya - continues to struggle to provide enough innings in the rotation, gets transitioned to the bullpen in 2027 when he only has one option year remaining

Andrew Morris - gets a few starts this year and has an ERA around 5. Needs to improve his offspeed pitch to find a spot in the rotation long-term. Tries a few different changes to his offspeed offerings in AAA before he finds one that is successful.

Luke Keaschall - keeps working on his hitting and progresses to the point where he gets a callup in September. Continues to struggle to find a defensive position where he can provide value.

Emmanuel Rodriguez - Gets his callup and is hot for about a month before MLB pitchers figure out a strategy that gets him out consistently. Goes back to AAA to rework his approach. Comes back to MLB and is just okay at the plate. Plays pretty good defense through all of this. We all hope he can contribute more in 2026.

I know that posters that easily fall into Prospect Puppy Love will not like your post but it is quite plausible.