What Could Luke Keaschall’s Role Be With the 2025 Twins?

[tony&rodney]

26 minutes ago, Linus said:

Yea well that is not what I said.  Go ahead and re-read what I wrote to answer your question.

I'm not suggesting who is or who isn't ready. I'm questioning the decisions and record.

"To add on to this if you bring him up before he is ready you start the service time clock ticking.  So between that and the 40 man factor I don’t see him up with the Twins this year barring crazy injuries." - Linus

You said that if you bring a player up before they are ready the clock starts and also the use of the 40 person roster spot. You don't think Keaschall gets a shot until something crazy or an injury happens. Is this close?

I'm questioning the decision-making process over time of when a player is ready. 

[Muppet]

Guys who hit .300 after a few games at AA are not MLB ready. Even if they also have a great few games in Spring Training.  If we aren't willing to give rookies a chance after some hard times in the majors (e.g. Julien, Martin, Martin, and then Miranda and Larnach from the year before) then we shouldn't be rushing kids in to be way over their heads. Let him develop. Otherwise Keaschall will be the next guy we all hate in a year and a half. 

[Bodie]

2 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Always cracks me up when I see someone at a game sporting a Nishioka jersey.

An all-time favorite of mine.

 

Name another "never was" who voluntarily gives up his MLB contract because he "wasn't earning it".

Terrible ballplayer (at least as a major leaguer), but apparently a thoroughly decent guy.

[Bodie]

Well, after today's game, I'd say most anything is possible... walk off the Yankees and people will start talking!  We'll, maybe not talking loudly as it is still spring training. 

 

 

[twinstalker]

Keaschall good.  Only really played 1B and DH'd so much because of the arm injury.

Where he fits right now is getting his arm healthy in the minors, conquering AA, and doing the same at AAA.  I'd imagine that would take most of the year.

[Fatbat]

Two ways that obstacles remove themselves from high performing prospects. 
#1 Injury

#2 under performance 

Both of which happen regularly on our 26 man roster so I expect LK, if healthy and raking, will be a call up well before the allstar break. 

[Paul Walerius]

9 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

My guess would be Mauer.  Nishioka might count here too, but I am sure I am missing someone.

Park

[DocBauer]

Power and speed ALWAYS play. And Keaschall has both. But he also appears to have legitimate bat to ball skills and a good eye. That means he's, probably, going to be a successful hitter at the ML level. 

TJ surgery for a position player is much easier to recover from than it is for a pitcher. Right now he's scheduled to begin playing in the field about mid March. The only real questions are, a] how long will it take his arm to be at full strength, and b] will he lose any arm strength? 

One of the things I really like about him is he has the athletic tools to play anywhere. At 6' and a good 190 lbs with power, he could be a very athletic 1B with speed who hits at the top of the order the way the Angels used to use Darrin Erstad. But he could also play 2B. When he was drafted, it was thought he could play some CF. Well, the Twins have used him in CF. 

Miranda, at the moment, is the only young player at 1B. Yes, Julien might end up playing there some as well, but there is nobody in the system TARGETED for 1B at this time. Possibly Amick moves there eventually. But Miranda is about it, unless someone else moves there. So why couldn't Keaschall be the long term answer there?

But what if he could be a really good 2B? But what about Lee at 2B? And what if Eeles is as good of a prospect as many of us think he is? Well, he's probably a 2B as well. But again, you have Lee penciled in for 2B. So MAYBE Lee moves to 3B and Lewis moves to 1B? I think Lewis can be a really good 3B, but maybe the BEST OVERALL INF is Lewis at 1B, Lee at 3B, and one of Keaschall or Eeles at 2B.

But wait, it gets even crazier!

Castro may be gone after 2025. But it's at least possible the new owners would gladly spend a little $ to have him back. However, Eeles is a hard worker who began to move around the dirt and the grass at St Paul in order to increase his versatility/value. Keaschall played 27 games at 3B in college, 57 games at SS, and 84 games at 2B. And now he's playing 1B and CF in MILB. So POTENTIALLY one of Eeles or Keaschall could end up with a fixed position, and the other could be the Castro replacement as the Super Utility player.

@Riverbrianis fond of saying there is no such thing as a logjam anywhere. And for the most part, hes 100% correct. Invariably, SOMEONE washes out, or gets traded, and said logjam never really takes place. Buuut, the Twins MIGHT have a nice problem at some point here in 2025, and beyond, where they actually have 6-7 INF's...POSSIBLY 8 were Castro resigned...to fit in to 4 INF spots, DH, and SUPER UTILITY.

The OF COULD have a similar situation as well with Rodriguez close and Jenkins on his way, but that's a different article for a different day, except to repeat that ONE of the INF possibilities could end up as a part time OF option.

It's a nice "problem" to potentially have!

So where does Keaschall fit for 2025? The answer is: it doesn't matter.

There is some logic for him to BEGIN his season at AA, to ramp up, and because St Paul isn't short of players. But this FO is FAR more aggressive than the Ryan regime in regard to moving players up. With a good ST and an arm responding well, I can see Keaschall at AAA to start. IF he begins at AA, I doubt he's there long. And at some point, there will opportunity through injury...or maybe France just doesn't have it any longer...and Keaschall will get his opportunity. (Hoping Eeles does as well). But since Keaschall's offense seems legit, and he has the ability to help anywhere from DH to a position spot, all that matters is he CAN HELP, but it could be ANY role.

 

[DocBauer]

I want to touch briefly on the idea and comments about "making room" for prospects in regard to how things are run with the Twins at this point.

Again, I'm going to mention @Riverbrianand an earlier post he made in this OP in regard to the pro's and con's of the Twins usage of younger players. I DO appreciate and understand the FO setting a floor, and establishing depth. When a veteran stinks and you call up a prospect to replace them, and then the replacement gets hurt, or struggles, where do you turn to then?

My first...and so far only...trip to Target Field in August of 2022 was a season wiped out due to injury. IIRC, the entire OF was LF that day, facing a LHSP from the Rangers. Ryan pitched a solid game in a loss, but the lineup was almost embarrassing. (NOTE: I still had an amazing time!) 

But what confuses me is this FO is far more aggressive in promoting prospects than the previous FO ever was. But they then seem to be so paranoid about a couple injury related collapses here and there, that they seem almost SCARED to just let the prospects play when a veteran underperforms. Recent examples would include, but not be limited to, Gallo and Margot. 

So I understand and appreciate fan angst in this regard as I share the same frustration. Despite a couple decent months from Margot in 2024, he was a poor performer in every way. I would have cut him by late July at the latest, and given Keirsey and/or Helman a shot by then for sure. What did they have to lose at that point? As a mid market team, you sometimes have to trust in your system and give those players a shot to see what you have. They could learn a couple things from Cleveland and Milwaukee in regard to taking chances. 

But what equally frustrates me is that when they DO promote a prospect, they tend to languish on the bench after their promotion. When Martin got his first shot last season, he SAT except for a couple PR appearances at first. When Camargo came up, Rocco just refused to let him catch and give Jeffers a day off. Keirsey and Helman only finally got a chance to play because everyone else was hurt.

I'm simply NOT an old school "back in my day" fan and observer because I understand how the game has changed. But a credit i will give to TK and Gardy was when a kid was called up, they MIGHT get 1 day to settle in, and then they PLAYED. Why sit them? Why not get the anxiety and nervousness out of the way and just play ball? 

The FO can't be aggressive with promotions, and then get nervous about promoting to the final level and just SEE what you might have. And Rocco, as a former player, and the manager of the team, should simply let the kids play. 

[Exiled in Illinois]

Starting to sound like promising prospects may have trouble getting enough AAA at bats....nice problem to have?!

[arby58]

13 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

One question remains - Can anyone identify the last Twins rookie to be inserted into an Opening Day lineup and given the time and at bats to prove themselves versus patiently waiting for an injury to open a spot?

Max Kepler in 2016?

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

this FO is far more aggressive in promoting prospects than the previous FO ever was.

I shall allow someone else to delve into the specific numbers but only two rookies (Arraez, Julien) received any votes for ROY since 2017. This lags far behind the votes received previously for rookies under prior front offices in the 21st century. My best guess for 2000-2016 would be 9-12 players receiving votes for ROY. 

[tony&rodney]

7 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Max Kepler in 2016?

Good call. Max was a rookie in 2016. He did get some at bats in 2015. Good to see what players have been put out there though.

I wonder if we shall see one during the current front office reign?

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

Max Kepler in 2016?

I thought about him earlier and looked up his 2016.  His short stint in 2015 didn't deprive him of eligibility for Rookie of the Year honors, so for me that counts.  But he didn't start a game until Game 8 of the season.  That was the season of the Miguel Sano In Right Field Experiment*, but they also had Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia start a game before they finally relented and let Max start in Right.  I guess it's a matter of semantics whether that's trusting a rookie or not, but the question was specific about Opening Day so Max really doesn't qualify.

* Also, perhaps not coincidentally, the season of Total System Failure™.

[Doctor Wu]

16 hours ago, DJL44 said:

For various reasons I think the most likely answer is Keaschall doesn't really have a role with the 2025 Twins.

Not to mention, there is still the puzzling part of the equation: where do you play him? Hey, he's still very young, so another full year in the minors should be beneficial to him. And unless there are a few major injuries to the starters in the outfield, or a total black hole at second base, it's better that Keaschall keeps playing every day somewhere in the system. But thinking about his lack of a "defined" position, I can't recall when there were so many young players in the Twins system that are also equally  in some sort of position limbo-land. I know the Twins draft players for their athleticism and ability to play various positions, but is this trend towards versatility becoming a problem for the organization? Okay, versatility itself is not a problem in the least, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, why do the Twins have some many players with undefined positions? Seems like most players would benefit from knowing there they are playing each day. Sure, there are super-utility guys like Castro that can seemingly adapt and play wherever you put them, but I don't think most players are that flexible. 

[TL]

Keaschall is an excellent insurance policy for 2B or 3B, and if all goes well he ends up at 1B and plays excellent defense with good speed and power. Starting in 2026 unless things go off the rails with the current MLB roster.

[dxpavelka]

22 hours ago, Trov said:

If he can hit they will find a spot for him.  2nd and 1st are clearly the areas that he could get his best shot, but his bat will be what gets him to majors and stays there.  I have a feeling both Julien and Miranda will have shorter leashes.  Julien head got in his way last year, and that is harder to fix.  Miranda injuries have got in his way last couple of years.  When fully healthy he has shown he can carry a team for stretches, but he has not been able to stay fully healthy. 

Ty France unless he has a hell of a bounce back will be an easy cut for his price tag. I just hope he does not get the Margot treatment and sticks around all year despite being a huge negative on the team. 

What if France sticks around because he's a positive?

 

[Riverbrian]

10 hours ago, DocBauer said:

@Riverbrianis fond of saying there is no such thing as a logjam anywhere. And for the most part, hes 100% correct. Invariably, SOMEONE washes out, or gets traded, and said logjam never really takes place. Buuut, the Twins MIGHT have a nice problem at some point here in 2025, and beyond, where they actually have 6-7 INF's...POSSIBLY 8 were Castro resigned...to fit in to 4 INF spots, DH, and SUPER UTILITY.

In order to have a log jam you need multiple players performing above average at the same position or positions.

Performing... Not projected to perform... Actually playing above average is necessary to create a log jam. 

Polanco, Julien and Farmer in January 2024 was not a log jam. Castro, Julien and Farmer was not a log jam in June 2024 either. You can't have a log jam if Kepler and Margot are getting over 300 AB's and both with a 6 in front of their OPS number. You can't have a log jam at catcher if someone is playing regular with a .575 OPS. 

All teams should strive for a log jam. They should spend the off-season building a projected log jam everywhere. They can try... the log jam still won't happen but... they should strive for a log jam. 

If an actual log jam occurs... if the roster is plump full of talented players playing above average... if the manager is scratching his head staring at this log jam and he can't figure out the playing time with everyone deserving playing time. 

Guess what... at that point... the playing time won't matter because he can draw names out of a hat with EVERYONE performing. 

The funny thing is... I've never seen a manager with that problem. 

 

[HrbieFan]

22 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

This is my thought as well.  Assuming he hits and nobody on the big club grabs 2B, Keaschall could make an impact on the club later this year.

A big issue holding him back IMO is the Twins propensity for slow-rolling their position player prospects.  As close as I think he could be this season, it would also not surprise me in the slightest if he did not get called up at all, regardless of how he plays in MiLB.

We already kicking Lee, Castro and Joulien to the curb? 1B and DH are the spots with openings. Let's see if he can beat out France 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, HrbieFan said:

We already kicking Lee, Castro and Joulien to the curb? 1B and DH are the spots with openings. Let's see if he can beat out France 

Castro should not hold a full-time spot at any position or his value drops tremendously.  Julien is kicking himself to the curb.  Lee is still a work-in-progress.  2B is wide open, 1B depends on Miranda/France, with days to be had.

What I am saying is that none of  the four guys you mentioned are currently "blocking" Keaschall.

[tony&rodney]

16 hours ago, ashbury said:

the question was specific about Opening Day so Max really doesn't qualify.

Correct. The reason I posed the question in that manner is because I have been wondering for a while about how little faith the Twins appear to have in their young players. I'm not trying to boost this player or that guy but the history of this front office is peculiar. We read often about "the Pohlads" but seldom hear much about the front office. I don't know if it is important or not but the Twins have spent more money on payroll than any team in their division and much more than many other squads including Milwaukee and Tampa Bay during the reign of the current FO.  Meanwhile, there seems to be an aversion to playing rookies. So this was just things I wonder about and question.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Correct. The reason I posed the question in that manner is because I have been wondering for a while about how little faith the Twins appear to have in their young players. I'm not trying to boost this player or that guy but the history of this front office is peculiar. We read often about "the Pohlads" but seldom hear much about the front office. I don't know if it is important or not but the Twins have spent more money on payroll than any team in their division and much more than many other squads including Milwaukee and Tampa Bay during the reign of the current FO.  Meanwhile, there seems to be an aversion to playing rookies. So this was just things I wonder about and question.

I have come to think there is no aversion, but Baldelli only plays the rookies he wants to play, regardless of being great or nasty, so how good one is does not seem to matter.

[mnfireman]

Concerning the TJ injury, Atteberry and Gladden stated that Keaschal is working with the teams pitching coaches and medical staff to get a consistent arm slot and acquire better throwing habits. Rehabbing a "pitchers" injury as a pitcher would can't be a bad thing, right?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Rehabbing a "pitchers" injury as a pitcher would can't be a bad thing, right?

If Keaschall starts worrying about tipping his pitches to fellow infielders, or the bottom falls out from his throws just as they arrive, the concept may have gone too far.  😀