Which prospects will be here by 6/1 2026

[Major League Ready]

Lately, when I am looking at the Milb recap, I am asking myself which prospects have the best chance to be on the MLB roster by this time next year.  Guys like Julien and Miranda have fallen by the wayside.  Castro will be gone next year.  We may or may not resign Bader.  When you look at the farm system, which position players do you think have the best chance of being here.  I put together a list of 20 prospects (including Clemens).  How would you rank them in terms of likelihood of making the roster by 6/1/26 when consider position and performance. 

1	AAA	Luke Keaschall	U
2	AAA	Austin Martin	OF
3	MLB	Kody Clemmens	U
4	AA	Noah Cardenas	C
5	AAA	Will Holland	U
6	AAA	Payton Eeles	U
7	AAA	Patrick Winkel	C
8	AA	Ricardo Olivar	C
9	AAA	Emmanuel Rodriguez	OF
10	AAA	Mickey Gasper	IF
11	AAA	Anthony Prato	U
12	AA	Walker Jenkins	OF
13	AAA	Jose Miranda	1B/3B
14	AAA	Jefferson Morales	U
15	AAA	Carson McCusker	OF
16	AA	Dalton Shuffield	U
17	AA	Kyler Fedko	OF
18	AAA	Edouard Julien	2B/1B
19	AA	Gabriel Gonzalez	OF
20	AA	Tanner Schobel	IF

 

[FlyingFinn]

1. Keaschall

2. Rodriguez

3. Martin

4. Jenkins

5. Julien

6. Kiersey

7. Camargo

8. McCusker

9. Eeles

The top 3 are the ones I really think will be on the Twins. Sure would be nice if Jenkins was healthy and able to come to the Twins in 2026.

Dalton Shuffield from your list would truly be a miracle since he retired :)

[bean5302]

Which prospects?
1. Keaschall
2. Prielipp
3. Ricardo Olivar
4. Travis Adams
5. Andrew Morris

I think Keaschall is the most likely with Prielipp being pretty likely as Paddack is gone and Olivar being up there with Vazquez being gone.

[Mike Sixel]

Keaschell, Eeles.

Martin if not traded.

Eeles and Martin and even Lee fill the same role if Lewis is here 

ERod or Gonzalez.

In that order.

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Which prospects?
1. Keaschall
2. Prielipp
3. Ricardo Olivar
4. Travis Adams
5. Andrew Morris

I think Keaschall is the most likely with Prielipp being pretty likely as Paddack is gone and Olivar being up there with Vazquez being gone.

I was only looking at position players.

[Major League Ready]

Keep in mind the premise here is by this date next year.  One of the catchers seems like a high probability.  

Keaschall is the most sure thing IMO.  One of the catchers seems very likely but who?  Camargo looked lost at the plate in his short stint last year and he is not doing much offensively this year.  His 577 OPS at AAA does not inspire confidence he can hit at the MLB level.  Rodriguez fits a need but he is not really impressing at the moment.  Julien and Miranda are also not impressing.  One of the players that can handle multiple positions like Will Holland for example would seem to have a good chance to replace Castro .  They like bench guys that can cover a few positions which is why Clemens might have a shot to stick.

[Mike Sixel]

30 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Keep in mind the premise here is by this date next year.  One of the catchers seems like a high probability.  

Keaschall is the most sure thing IMO.  One of the catchers seems very likely but who?  Camargo looked lost at the plate in his short stint last year and he is not doing much offensively this year.  His 577 OPS at AAA does not inspire confidence he can hit at the MLB level.  Rodriguez fits a need but he is not really impressing at the moment.  Julien and Miranda are also not impressing.  One of the players that can handle multiple positions like Will Holland for example would seem to have a good chance to replace Castro .  They like bench guys that can cover a few positions which is why Clemens might have a shot to stick.

Eeles overtakes Clemens imo. 

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

One of the catchers seems like a high probability.  

I don't think the Twins will start with any of our minor league catchers. The question is then, if one gets hurt next year, who is the third guy. Camargo is on the 40 man, so I picked him.

I'm thinking Clemens is a free agent at the end of the year. Could be totally wrong as I never checked. If he's not, I would revise things and include him with the top 3. He's either on an incredible hot streak or we found a real baseball player.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Eeles overtakes Clemens imo. 

You would not have to try real hard to convince me of that one.  They are playing Eeles all over the diamond so he is a great candidate to replacement for Castro.   Clemens is in the right place at the right time and for now he looks like he belongs.  Of course, that could change quickly given the sudden success within a small sample size.

[Major League Ready]

44 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

I don't think the Twins will start with any of our minor league catchers. The question is then, if one gets hurt next year, who is the third guy. Camargo is on the 40 man, so I picked him.

I'm thinking Clemens is a free agent at the end of the year. Could be totally wrong as I never checked. If he's not, I would revise things and include him with the top 3. He's either on an incredible hot streak or we found a real baseball player.

Clemens is not a free agent until 2030.  

I just don't believe in Camargo at all.  I was sitting pretty close to home plate for a game he started last year and he looked absolutely overwhelmed by major league pitching.   I have not seen enough of Winkel behind the plate to have an opinion if he can stick.  If they promote Cardenas in the next couple months, I can see him getting a shot.  I suppose they can just sign a back-up free agent catcher.

[Mike Sixel]

49 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

I don't think the Twins will start with any of our minor league catchers. The question is then, if one gets hurt next year, who is the third guy. Camargo is on the 40 man, so I picked him.

I'm thinking Clemens is a free agent at the end of the year. Could be totally wrong as I never checked. If he's not, I would revise things and include him with the top 3. He's either on an incredible hot streak or we found a real baseball player.

I'll be shocked if they didn't bring in an outside catcher.

[Major League Ready]

10 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'll be shocked if they didn't bring in an outside catcher.

Back-up catchers always seem to be available so I would agree it's the most likely scenario.  I went about this wondering which position players have a shot.  If they promote Cardenas and he continues to hit, I could see them giving him a shot because he has looked good defensively the few times I have seen him catch.  Maybe he is not as good defensively as I think from a SSS.

[Vanimal46]

Keaschall and Rodriguez. I think we end up trading Larnach at some point before opening day 2026, and re-sign Bader to be the 4th OF

[chpettit19]

Keaschall, Martin, McCusker, Miranda, Julien, Rodriguez.

It's a tough question because I wouldn't be surprised if nearly half the guys on that list make an appearance on the MLB roster between now and 6/1/26. But that's different than being counted on as real contributing members of the roster. I'd actually like to add Jenkins to my list, but I just can't trust him to stay healthy at this point. Multiple months missed with a sprained ankle from the beginning of ST? That's not a good sign. I'm not a Dr by any means, but that's a lot of missed time for an ankle sprain.

Miranda and Julien never coming back would be shocking if only because injuries will open the door for them many more times. I have 6 on my list for guys that will be moderately counted on between now and 6/1/26 because of injuries. That's a lot of time. Keaschall is a guarantee. He'll be counted on as soon as he's healthy again. Martin, Julien, and Miranda will get a shot again. The only 2 that aren't essentially guaranteed (in my opinion) on my list are McCusker and Rodriguez. And it's a numbers game. They're both on the 40-man. At some point they're both quite likely to get a shot.

I don't think the Twins go with any of their internal catchers. Gasper is probably the most likely to get a short-term look as the backup this year if there's an injury to Jeffers or Vazquez, but the Twins aren't going into next year with anyone from the system on the MLB roster.

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Keaschall, Martin, McCusker, Miranda, Julien, Rodriguez.

It's a tough question because I wouldn't be surprised if nearly half the guys on that list make an appearance on the MLB roster between now and 6/1/26. But that's different than being counted on as real contributing members of the roster. I'd actually like to add Jenkins to my list, but I just can't trust him to stay healthy at this point. Multiple months missed with a sprained ankle from the beginning of ST? That's not a good sign. I'm not a Dr by any means, but that's a lot of missed time for an ankle sprain.

Miranda and Julien never coming back would be shocking if only because injuries will open the door for them many more times. I have 6 on my list for guys that will be moderately counted on between now and 6/1/26 because of injuries. That's a lot of time. Keaschall is a guarantee. He'll be counted on as soon as he's healthy again. Martin, Julien, and Miranda will get a shot again. The only 2 that aren't essentially guaranteed (in my opinion) on my list are McCusker and Rodriguez. And it's a numbers game. They're both on the 40-man. At some point they're both quite likely to get a shot.

I don't think the Twins go with any of their internal catchers. Gasper is probably the most likely to get a short-term look as the backup this year if there's an injury to Jeffers or Vazquez, but the Twins aren't going into next year with anyone from the system on the MLB roster.

You make a very important distinction.  I was thinking in terms players that could stick and I failed to mention that here.  This distinction really completely changes the conversation in my mind.  Thanks for pointing this out.  I have Julien very low and Miranda relatively low because right now I have no faith in them sticking.  I have the catchers high because the bar is low being this is a back-up position and there will definitely be an opening.  I have the utility guys higher because there will likely be a couple open roster spots for versatile bench guys.

[chpettit19]

36 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

You make a very important distinction.  I was thinking in terms players that could stick and I failed to mention that here.  This distinction really completely changes the conversation in my mind.  Thanks for pointing this out.  I have Julien very low and Miranda relatively low because right now I have no faith in them sticking.  I have the catchers high because the bar is low being this is a back-up position and there will definitely be an opening.  I have the utility guys higher because there will likely be a couple open roster spots for versatile bench guys.

I think their spots on the 40-man and being pre-arb and/or arb1 next year at least gives them a chance. I don't think Will Holland has much of a realistic chance of ever even getting a chance to stick. The Twins clearly don't believe in McCusker yet and he's hitting better than Holland. Holland has the much better glove, though. Which is a factor. They don't believe in Fitzgerald's breakout. I'm not arguing whether they should or shouldn't, just pointing it out. Not a lot of guys at the age of 27, 28, etc. getting real chances to stick. 

By virtue of simply being on the 40-man, and not being meaningfully more expensive, Julien and Miranda are ahead of Holland, Eeles, Prato, Morales, and Fedko. Those guys aren't "real" prospects. As much as I love Eeles and really want to see him and McCusker hitting back-to-back in an MLB lineup at least once, he has extra hurdles to jump to get a chance to stick simply because of the roster rules in major league baseball. McCusker was up for a week and the Twins clearly didn't think he could hit MLB pitching. The Twins scored 2, 6, 1, 3, 5, 1, 2, 4, and 0 runs in the games he was up for and had both of their catchers in the lineup more often than not. If they aren't going to give a guy doing what he was doing in AAA a shot when they couldn't score more than 2 runs in over half the games I simply can't put any of these other non-prospects ahead of Julien or Miranda. A whole lot can change in a year, but until I see different I'm just not going to believe the Twins will give an extended look to guys like Holland, Eeles, Prato, Morales, or Fedko over Jonah Bride types or Julien and Miranda types. 40-man spots mean a lot.

I hear ya on the catcher thing, but I just don't think they'll take a chance on any of those guys. Not in terms of truly "sticking." Short-term, 10-day IL stint back-up role where they get 2 games? Sure. But real playing time? I don't see it. I think they'd swing a trade for some veteran Vazquez all-glove, no bat clone or sign one off the street. If the criteria we're talking about is "sticking" on the 26-man, I don't see anyone in the Twins system that they'll go with.