Meet the Top Five Prospects from the Twins’ Deadline Fire Sale

[NYCTK]

8 minutes ago, miller761 said:

This is not really relevant to this article but I see Travis Adams listed as the starting pitcher tonight. I think the fans and the front office have see enough of this man. We have nobody else to start? Why??

He didn't impress you in 12 innings, so he's out of chances in your mind? 

 

[P Meyer]

13 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Illnesses and injuries. 

Took Detroit ML -175

[Fred]

2 hours ago, SaberNerd said:

Yeah, but we held on to him until the last hour, so we likely weren't happy with what we got.  With this, and with him signing a 1yr/$3M contract after 3 previous years of sub-3 ERA, the league doesn't seem to be nearly as high on him as fans are.

Coulombe is nearly 36 years old. The question is "when does the breakdown come?".

[Fred]

2 hours ago, h2oface said:

Strikeouts and balls over his head to the wall so far. Perhaps that is why. Rakes in AAA, but can’t bring it to the show. Fitting for the Twins. 

It's too early to call him the second coming of Jake Cave, but I'm already leaning that way. I hope I'm wrong.

[LyleCole]

10 minutes ago, Fred said:

Coulombe is nearly 36 years old. The question is "when does the breakdown come?".

I am repeating myself, but if they want Danny Coulombe back again in 2026 they just have to resign him in the offseason. Same situation for several of the players they traded including Willi Castro.

I think the plan is a fast rebuild around Lewis, Buxton, and the three top starters.  It probably isnt going to happen next season fully, but then maybe a 1-2 year window.  If they can get some of these prospects up and develop them in 2025 and 2026 then by 2027 they might be a playoff team again.  They have a lot of work to do because htey have to find a closer and build the relievers, but if they get lucky on just one or 2 prospects it could really kick start that process.

Also, dumping Correa means that there is room in the budget to sign more than a cast off in free agency.

Personally, I would be very aggressive in promoting our young prospects at teh end of this season and starting 2026.  I think Culpepper should be the starting SS.   Emmanuel Rodriguez might as well have an ab strain at the MLB level than AAA.   I would be very tempted to have Walker Jenkins on the roster in 2026 too.   Move Matt Walner to 1B. 

C  Ryan Jeffers  1B  Matt Wallner  2B  Brooks Lee  SS  Kaelen Culpepper  3B  Royce Lewis  LF  Walker Jenkins  CF  Byron Buxton  RF   Emmanuel Rodriguez  DH  Luke Kearschall

If we are ever going to be contenders, that is the lineup that needs to get it done.  

[Nshore]

Ok - now predict the Tommy John surgeries.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

2 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

I think your hitting answers are coming in Culpepper, Gonzalez, Rodriguez and Jenkins.  That is a lot of talent with very good hit tools.  I also think Martin appears to be showing his bat skills are good enough for the MLB level.  Can Roden turn the corner and show he is more than a AAA bat??  So we still have talented starting pitching,  we can imagine a good hitting team,  that bullpen needs a lot of work.  Right now Topa and Sands have the chance to become a foundation for a future bullpen.  Who else can step up.  Funderburk??  1 of the oldies in Urena, Tonkin or Ramirez for a year or two??  Can Ohl make the Varland, Sands, Jax transition.   We are 2 arms short in my opinion.  I would feel much more comfortable we can at least keep this bullpen from falling apart at the seems if we could pick up someone like a Pressley.  

That's also a lot of "hope".  They're just prospects.  The history of the Twins (and every team) is littered with the names of can't miss prospects who never really got there -- many after tearing up AA and AAA.  Remember "future hall of famer" Miguel Sano?  He was OK for a couple of years, but overall very frustrating and definitely didn't live up to the hype.  Remember how amazing Brooks Lee was going to be?  He may turn out to be OK, but so far his performance is nothing to write home about.  I would consider it a miracle if more than one of those four guys you named turns into an all-star level performer.  

The other guys you named, Martin and Roden, MIGHT be MLB bats, but I'm not sure that they belong in a different category than Larnach, Miranda, or Julien.  For that matter, the deck is now cleared for a Royce Lewis take off as well.  Again, I think it's more hope than reality.  

Topa and Sands are OK relievers.  They're probably not the foundation of the bullpen of a playoff caliber team.  Adding two guys would help a lot -- if those are front line type relievers and not guys like Topa and Funderburk.  

Again, there is such a "trust us, we're geniuses" kind of air to this tear down, even though by their own admission, they haven't built anything in the past five years.  I don't think that this series of trades makes us better this year or next year -- nor does it do that much for us in years two through five.  If they decide to trade Ryan, I think they've totally lost their minds and the signal for the fans is that we aren't even going to try to win in 2026 and 2027.

[Twinsgypsy]

With arms that they received I think that Abel, Rojas & Bradley all have a good chance of being part of the Twins staff. Granted they each have areas to improve, but the Twins seem to have really improved helping pitchers reach their potential.  Whether it is adding a pitch, tweaking their delivery, etc.   We will see how good they are since they are rebuilding the relief corp & some of they starters. In addition,  there are changes going to the field staff, but it will be interesting to see if they can make this a winning team.

[Fred]

5 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

I am repeating myself, but if they want Danny Coulombe back again in 2026 they just have to resign him in the offseason. Same situation for several of the players they traded including Willi Castro.

I think the plan is a fast rebuild around Lewis, Buxton, and the three top starters.  It probably isnt going to happen next season fully, but then maybe a 1-2 year window.  If they can get some of these prospects up and develop them in 2025 and 2026 then by 2027 they might be a playoff team again.  They have a lot of work to do because htey have to find a closer and build the relievers, but if they get lucky on just one or 2 prospects it could really kick start that process.

Also, dumping Correa means that there is room in the budget to sign more than a cast off in free agency.

Personally, I would be very aggressive in promoting our young prospects at teh end of this season and starting 2026.  I think Culpepper should be the starting SS.   Emmanuel Rodriguez might as well have an ab strain at the MLB level than AAA.   I would be very tempted to have Walker Jenkins on the roster in 2026 too.   Move Matt Walner to 1B. 

C  Ryan Jeffers  1B  Matt Wallner  2B  Brooks Lee  SS  Kaelen Culpepper  3B  Royce Lewis  LF  Walker Jenkins  CF  Byron Buxton  RF   Emmanuel Rodriguez  DH  Luke Kearschall

If we are ever going to be contenders, that is the lineup that needs to get it done.  

It might be too soon with Culpepper, but I could see it. They played him at 3rd a day or two ago, and he got to show off his arm from deep at 3rd. He has a cannon that looks as good as Correa's. And he's been pounding the ball, but it's AA. I would like to see Sabato and McCusker on the 26 man. Sabato seems to have unlocked something this year (better late than never) so there's no telling. I wouldn't be surprised at either result with him. You either have something or you're wasting your time. I'm looking for a Wallner-McCusker platoon; I guess that could work at 1st as well as in right field. 

Something else to think about. What's the status of a lot of these guys concerning the rule 5 draft? It seemed to me that the Twins already had too many intriguing prospect to protect everyone with the 40 man. Now they have added more.

[NYCTK]

24 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

The other guys you named, Martin and Roden, MIGHT be MLB bats, but I'm not sure that they belong in a different category than Larnach, Miranda, or Julien.

Are we giving up on Lee too? He has more than 4x as many PAs as Roden and about 2x as many as Martin.

He's barely been given fewer chances than Julien (823 v 527) and has actually hit significantly worse.  

[bunsen82]

43 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

That's also a lot of "hope".  They're just prospects.  The history of the Twins (and every team) is littered with the names of can't miss prospects who never really got there -- many after tearing up AA and AAA.  Remember "future hall of famer" Miguel Sano?  He was OK for a couple of years, but overall very frustrating and definitely didn't live up to the hype.  Remember how amazing Brooks Lee was going to be?  He may turn out to be OK, but so far his performance is nothing to write home about.  I would consider it a miracle if more than one of those four guys you named turns into an all-star level performer.  

The other guys you named, Martin and Roden, MIGHT be MLB bats, but I'm not sure that they belong in a different category than Larnach, Miranda, or Julien.  For that matter, the deck is now cleared for a Royce Lewis take off as well.  Again, I think it's more hope than reality.  

Topa and Sands are OK relievers.  They're probably not the foundation of the bullpen of a playoff caliber team.  Adding two guys would help a lot -- if those are front line type relievers and not guys like Topa and Funderburk.  

Again, there is such a "trust us, we're geniuses" kind of air to this tear down, even though by their own admission, they haven't built anything in the past five years.  I don't think that this series of trades makes us better this year or next year -- nor does it do that much for us in years two through five.  If they decide to trade Ryan, I think they've totally lost their minds and the signal for the fans is that we aren't even going to try to win in 2026 and 2027.

Sands and Topa look like could be #3,4 relievers at their best, so yes we need better relievers. I am just looking at a rebuild. 
 

As to the hitting prospects we are due to hit right lol, I would argue the hit tool of the 4 prospects is as good or better than Miranda, or Lee. Sano ate himself out of the league. I still have some hope in Lee. I still think we have an issue in our hitting philosophies at the MLB level. Lee appears to have no confidence at the plate right now. Just thinking way too much. See ball hit ball. 
 

Not all prospects fail. So yes I’m optimistic, and I always try to see what the next option could be. We have 2 month audition to see if Martin or Roden can figure it out. We often want immediate results rather than letting players figure it out. 

[NYCTK]

4 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

We often want immediate results rather than letting players figure it out. 

The Twins are currently in the unenviable position where they can allow young players to just flounder for week long stretches. 

The community here is often completely contradictory. People seemingly both want the Twins young players given the chance to fail at the major league level so they can learn and grow (as if Trevor Larnach's 1500 PAs haven't told us much of his abilities) but also want to give up on players as soon as they have a 1-20 stretch. Which is it!? 

This prevalent idea that Roden's 100+ plate appearances have proven he is a bust is just wild to me. Give him another 100 this season, and at least another 300 next season (I promise you there's enough playing time to go around). Then we can talk about how he fits into the 2027 picture. 

[bunsen82]

23 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The Twins are currently in the unenviable position where they can allow young players to just flounder for week long stretches. 

The community here is often completely contradictory. People seemingly both want the Twins young players given the chance to fail at the major league level so they can learn and grow (as if Trevor Larnach's 1500 PAs haven't told us much of his abilities) but also want to give up on players as soon as they have a 1-20 stretch. Which is it!? 

This prevalent idea that Roden's 100+ plate appearances have proven he is a bust is just wild to me. Give him another 100 this season, and at least another 300 next season (I promise you there's enough playing time to go around). Then we can talk about how he fits into the 2027 picture. 

Rooker took 4 teams before things clicked. We have as low of stress environment right now for these players to try to figure it out. We are expected to lose and they are going to be allowed to make mistakes like Martin being out of position. This is a really good opportunity for Lee, Lewis, Roden, Martin, Clemens and possibly Outman to improve and show they are viable for next year. 

For all those complaining we have never improved a player,  what the heck happened to Castro? Magic fairy dust?  

[Rod Carews Birthday]

25 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Are we giving up on Lee too? He has more than 4x as many PAs as Roden and about 2x as many as Martin.

He's barely been given fewer chances than Julien (823 v 527) and has actually hit significantly worse.  

I haven't given up, but I'm definitely not writing him in the lineup in permanent marker.  He's got to show something more, and he needs to do it soon. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

27 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Are we giving up on Lee too? He has more than 4x as many PAs as Roden and about 2x as many as Martin.

He's barely been given fewer chances than Julien (823 v 527) and has actually hit significantly worse.  

And I forgot to mention that YES, you are correct.  Lee hasn't really shown any more than Julien, except that he is a better defender.   Yet, many are assuming that Julien is a bust.  

[NYCTK]

Just now, Rod Carews Birthday said:

I haven't given up, but I'm definitely not writing him in the lineup in permanent marker.  He's got to show something more, and he needs to do it soon. 

Yes, but I disagree on soon. 

Obviously this season is lost and all these players should be able to rest assured their performance doesn't really matter for the following days lineup. But I would mostly say that's true of next year too. 

Not completely, of course, you're resetting the standings, and crazier things have happened than a team you expect to be bad playing well, but no crazy moves are happening with the intention of competing in 2026. This team is learning and building towards 2027. 

 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

7 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The Twins are currently in the unenviable position where they can allow young players to just flounder for week long stretches. 

The community here is often completely contradictory. People seemingly both want the Twins young players given the chance to fail at the major league level so they can learn and grow (as if Trevor Larnach's 1500 PAs haven't told us much of his abilities) but also want to give up on players as soon as they have a 1-20 stretch. Which is it!? 

This prevalent idea that Roden's 100+ plate appearances have proven he is a bust is just wild to me. Give him another 100 this season, and at least another 300 next season (I promise you there's enough playing time to go around). Then we can talk about how he fits into the 2027 picture. 

Unenviable is an understatement. . .  

I have no problem giving Roden some plate appearances, but he doesn't really excite me that much as a prospect either.  As for Larnach, he is what he is . . . OK.  Nothing special but a passable corner OF/DH type.  

 

[Dave Borton]

4 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

Obers value is incredibly low. 

Agree. 

6';9", 30 yrs old, steroid for both impinged hips? Problems are going to compound.

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

And I forgot to mention that YES, you are correct.  Lee hasn't really shown any more than Julien, except that he is a better defender.   Yet, many are assuming that Julien is a bust.  

The only one that the Twins should (and have) given up on is Miranda. He's a bust. 1000 chances and he just wasn't good enough. 

Larnach, similarly, has been given the chances and while fine, has shown he's not good enough to put in any near or long term plans but decent enough to just hang around if it works out. Wallner...I'm tempted to say the same but still leaving some hope there that he just becomes the DH or maybe 1B and contributes, but I have nowhere near enough confidence to consider him part of the plans either. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

2 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Yes, but I disagree on soon. 

Obviously this season is lost and all these players should be able to rest assured their performance doesn't really matter for the following days lineup. But I would mostly say that's true of next year too. 

Not completely, of course, you're resetting the standings, and crazier things have happened than a team you expect to be bad playing well, but no crazy moves are happening with the intention of competing in 2026. This team is learning and building towards 2027. 

 

And hence, why I really hate the way this teardown was undertaken. I'm afraid that all we might have done is blow it up so that we can be terrible for a couple of years with the hope (there's that word again) that in 2027 or 2028 we might be as good as we were this year.  In the meantime, we've squandered the team control of Ryan, Ober, Pablo, and Buxton.  Ouch.  That's not fun.  

[NYCTK]

9 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Unenviable is an understatement. . .  

I have no problem giving Roden some plate appearances, but he doesn't really excite me that much as a prospect either.  As for Larnach, he is what he is . . . OK.  Nothing special but a passable corner OF/DH type.  

 

I've said as much that he doesn't really excite me. But I am still significantly higher on him than Austin Martin, and that is likely not an opinion that is shared by many people on this website. 

[NYCTK]

6 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

And hence, why I really hate the way this teardown was undertaken. I'm afraid that all we might have done is blow it up so that we can be terrible for a couple of years with the hope (there's that word again) that in 2027 or 2028 we might be as good as we were this year.  In the meantime, we've squandered the team control of Ryan, Ober, Pablo, and Buxton.  Ouch.  That's not fun.  

The hope for 2026 before the teardown was just as, if not more, foolish. 

These hot prospects will almost certainly be burdens more than benefits next year. That's as true now as it was last week. So where was the hope for 2026 otherwise? An older Correa? A healthier Buxton? 

[bunsen82]

10 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The hope for 2026 before the teardown was just as, if not more, foolish. 

These hot prospects will almost certainly be burdens more than benefits next year. That's as true now as it was last week. So where was the hope for 2026 otherwise? An older Correa? A healthier Buxton? 

I could argue this offensive team never figured out to hit as a team.  This team is going to have to rely on small ball to try to win in the next 2 months.  Skills like bunting, moving runners, and having productive outs is going to be key to getting any win.  We start thinking about how I can help my team win like Clemens did yesterday,  rather than trying to swing as hard as I can at an outside pitch like Lewis is doing every at bat,  we can start to make progress and actually start to become legitimate hitters rather than free swingers.    If I have an issue with the batting philosophy it pretty much sums up to this.  We take too many strikeouts when all we needed to do was put the ball in play to move the runners or have a good pop fly to score a run.   We had 12 strikeouts yesterday to cleveland pitchers.  That  is just way too many empty outs.  Make them make a play,  you put a ball in play you make get a triple like Wallner did.  

Can prospects be burdens,  sure.  Can they also take off because they have superior talent, absolutely.   

[LyleCole]

1 hour ago, Fred said:

It might be too soon with Culpepper, but I could see it. They played him at 3rd a day or two ago, and he got to show off his arm from deep at 3rd. He has a cannon that looks as good as Correa's. And he's been pounding the ball, but it's AA. I would like to see Sabato and McCusker on the 26 man. Sabato seems to have unlocked something this year (better late than never) so there's no telling. I wouldn't be surprised at either result with him. You either have something or you're wasting your time. I'm looking for a Wallner-McCusker platoon; I guess that could work at 1st as well as in right field. 

Something else to think about. What's the status of a lot of these guys concerning the rule 5 draft? It seemed to me that the Twins already had too many intriguing prospect to protect everyone with the 40 man. Now they have added more.

Culpepper will be 23 years old next season.  If a player is going to be a MLB player he can play with at his age and experience.  It might take a season to adjust, but in my opinion you cannot "create" a major league player.  They either are one or are not.  

[jmlease1]

The rankings seem fine, I guess. Notably, there is no hope in 2026 unless the team is sold. Even if all these prospects kick butt next year, they won't be up fast enough to make enough of an impact next season. (Bradley hopefully will be different, but he's not a prospect. Roden is showing nothing so far and I'm unclear why he was sought after)

Mendez is off to a nice start, and you have to hope that he mostly needed a good run of health to start showing some power production. It's a reasonable possibility, but I'd like to see it stick all season before I get too ramped up on him.

I'm as excited as I can reasonably be for Tait under the circumstances; I'll probably be more excited about him once we're further past this dreadful mess of a deadline and hopefully the pathetic Pohlad ownership. He does look like a high ceiling prospect at least, but as an A-ball catcher he feels pretty far away.

I hope Rojas really is a prospect on the rise who was undervalued by Toronto, because that's the only possible way to make dealing Varland semi-reasonable. I guess his rank here is...fine? But I hate this trade right now, and it's definitely the sort of move that gets an entire front office fired and if this guy flames out they're going to look awful and without any cover from the stench of the Pohlad Family to cover them, because this didn't save money and was unquestionably a Falvey & Co move. Right now my confidence levels in them isn't high.

In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and Sell the Team!

 

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

That's also a lot of "hope".  They're just prospects.  The history of the Twins (and every team) is littered with the names of can't miss prospects who never really got there -- many after tearing up AA and AAA.  Remember "future hall of famer" Miguel Sano?  He was OK for a couple of years, but overall very frustrating and definitely didn't live up to the hype.  Remember how amazing Brooks Lee was going to be?  He may turn out to be OK, but so far his performance is nothing to write home about.  I would consider it a miracle if more than one of those four guys you named turns into an all-star level performer.  

Very true but this point of view neglects to recognize that it is virtually impossible for an average revenue team is to develop prospects.  Yet, the message here is often there is no hope because prospects often don't work out.

[bunsen82]

6 hours ago, miller761 said:

This is not really relevant to this article but I see Travis Adams listed as the starting pitcher tonight. I think the fans and the front office have see enough of this man. We have nobody else to start? Why??

Well he started because illness and has done well in AAA.  Honestly he pitched really well today.  That home run pitch wasn’t even a mistake, the hitter just went down and got it.  Got flustered a bit but got out of the inning.  That was an extremely solid start.  He did his job today.  

[The Great Hambino]

6 hours ago, Fred said:

Something else to think about. What's the status of a lot of these guys concerning the rule 5 draft? It seemed to me that the Twins already had too many intriguing prospect to protect everyone with the 40 man. Now they have added more.

There are about a dozen guys (give or take a couple depending on your POV) that have no business being part of future plans that are currently on the 40 man.  While I think they're still imbalanced in certain areas (are they going to teach one of their endless supply of mediocre lefty outfielders to catch?), there won't be any hard decisions to be made on Rule V guys this winter

[cmoss84]

Tait is legit. Thrilled to have him. Won't be long everyone. 

[Elliot]

I think that the assumptions that the “fire sale” will continue into the offseason are unfounded. Although money was certainly a factor in the push for the trades, the reality is that this version of the Twins just wasn't clicking and needed to be rebuilt. The strength of this team was an outstanding bullpen; a bullpen constructed by this current regime.  Relievers are always in demand at the trade deadline. They are an upgrade that can be made to a team without upsetting the team chemistry.

Just a comment about the Twins relievers sent out, that probably applies to relievers in general. Most good relievers are failed starters. If one was to go back and look at the comments on this site during the time that Jax and Varland were attempting to make it as starters, you would not find a whole lot of optimism. Each had shown an inability, for various reasons, to stick in the rotation at the major league level. The same was true for Stewart, only with the Dodgers rather than the Twins. Duran is the exception. I don’t remember if he ever started a game in the majors. The Twins made a decision early on that his future was at the back end of the pen.

I have optimism regarding this team going forward for the following reasons:

• They did not trade any of their starters; the most difficult asset to develop and retain. They go into next year with 3 established starters (Lopez, Ryan, and Ober). They also have 3 young, developing starters in SWR, Festa, and Matthews; as well as a handful of youngsters just starting the MLB path or close to it. Throw in the 2 starters with MLB experience they got back (Abel and Bradley), and the other young arms acquired for Varland and Castro and you have a pretty deep pool of candidates for future rotations. It is a lot easier for the bullpen and offense to be effective when the starters are giving you a chance day in and day out.
• The core of the future bullpen is probably also within that group. Are Abel of Bradley more suited for the pen? How about Raya, Matthews, Festa, …? Time will tell.
• They were able to dump Correa and 2/3 of his salary. I look forward to seeing Culpepper or Houston at SS next year. Minor league time is less of a requirement for a good glove (applies more to Houston than Culpepper). They could follow the path the Angels took a couple years ago when they rushed Neto up to play SS. I think he was the first member of that class to reach the majors, essentially getting there in the first month of his first full year.
• They have a number of good young position players now, with another wave coming up soon. Some tough decisions probably need to be made with Lewis, Lee, Wallner, and Larnach. Where do they play, who stays and who goes? (IMO- Larnach has the sweetest swing since Jason Kubel). Defense needs to be a focus. They seem to have fallen into embracing too many players who can play multiple positions at an acceptable level, but none at an above average one.

Trades will be made this winter, either by Falvey or someone new. That does not neccesarily signify a continued fire sale. Signings should be a possibility due to the $ savings from Correa, and hopefully the enthusiasm of a new owner. A stabilizing veteran presence in the bullpen and at DH/1B would be nice.

A little luck with health, especially with the top minor leaguers would be nice as well.

I think the path they have chosen makes sense. Our cupboards are not bare. I am optimistic about the future. Just not sure if I am optimistic about 2026. This type of path takes some time.