Who’s the Minnesota Twins’ No. 2 Prospect Behind Walker Jenkins?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of David Malamut, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Photo of Eduardo Tait)

It’s easy to slot Walker Jenkins at the top of Minnesota’s prospect rankings. The 2023 first-round pick has already established himself as one of the premier prospects in all of baseball, combining elite hitting ability with the chance to be a franchise cornerstone. But once you move past Jenkins, the conversation becomes much more interesting. Four players all have legitimate cases to sit just behind him, so here’s a look at the pros and cons for each.

Eduardo Tait – C
The Case For: The Twins aggressively targeted catching depth at this year’s trade deadline, and Tait has emerged as the most exciting young backstop in the system. He’s already shown an advanced approach at the plate for his age, and there’s real upside in his bat-to-ball skills. If he sticks behind the plate, he could be a middle-of-the-order catcher, something every franchise covets. ESPN and MLB Pipeline recently updated their top prospect lists, and Tait is ranked second on both. 

The Case Against: That “if” is a big one. Scouts have long debated whether Tait’s defense will allow him to stay at catcher long-term. If he’s forced to move off the position, his bat may not be enough to carry a premium ranking compared to other prospects who project at more valuable defensive spots. Tait has a premium bat for a catcher, but sliding him to first base or designated hitter would be a disappointing long-term outcome.

Luke Keaschall – INF
The Case For: Keaschall has done nothing but hit since joining the organization, and fans have been witness to his playing style at the big-league level. He was recently named the AL Player of the Week. His plate discipline and ability to spray line drives across the field give him one of the highest offensive floors in the system. Even without big power, his consistency could make him a regular in the Twins’ infield for years.

The Case Against: While his bat-to-ball skills are excellent, Keaschall’s swing speed limits his ability to drive the ball with authority consistently. That means he’s unlikely to add much over-the-fence power, which caps his ceiling. He looks more like a steady contributor than a potential star, and that’s why some rankings might move him down their list. Currently, Twins Daily has him ranked as the organization’s second-best prospect even after the trade deadline. 

Kaelen Culpepper – SS/3B
The Case For: Culpepper has quickly climbed the ladder since being drafted in 2024. His combination of speed, athleticism, and contact ability makes him an exciting player to dream on. He’s held his own against advanced pitching this season, and his athleticism gives him defensive flexibility. During the 2025 season, he has answered many of the questions that surrounded him when the team drafted him. He has one of the fastest-rising stocks in the Twins system this year and will enter next season as a national top-100 prospect. 

The Case Against: The question is where that flexibility will land him. While Culpepper has been developed as a shortstop, some evaluators see his long-term defensive home at third base. If that shift happens, he’ll need to continue to hit for more power to profile as an above-average regular at the position.

Emmanuel Rodriguez – OF
The Case For: Rodriguez entered the year as Minnesota’s consensus No. 2 prospect, and the reasons are clear. He’s a true on-base machine with plus power, and when healthy, he’s shown flashes of being an impact outfielder at the big-league level. Few in the system can match his combination of patience and pop.

The Case Against: Health remains the story. Rodriguez has battled injuries throughout his professional career, and each time he seems to be building momentum, he’s sidelined again. Evaluating a player who’s rarely on the field is difficult, and that uncertainty has opened the door for others to leapfrog him in the rankings.

There’s no debate about who sits atop the Twins’ system; Jenkins is in a tier of his own. But the debate for No. 2 is where things get interesting. Tait’s ceiling as a catcher gives him a strong case, but his defensive future is uncertain. Keaschall has already impacted the big-league roster, but his lack of power could hold him back from stardom. Culpepper’s athleticism is exciting, though his long-term position may shift. And Rodriguez remains the most talented of the bunch, if he can stay healthy.

It’s a good problem for the Twins to have: multiple legitimate contenders to sit right behind Jenkins. How the organization ranks them says a lot about how they balance ceiling, risk, and positional value.

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Who would you rank as the Twins’ second-best prospect? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[Wedman13]

Great article.

I'd go with Abel

[FlyingFinn]

Keaschall because he's performing great with the Twins. I would think he would graduate soon. Then it's Culpepper but he must remain at SS (which I thought most were saying he could) to be in this position.

[mikelink45]

I will stay with Keaschall, then Culpepper, Tait in that order.    I am still not sold on Rodriquez no matter how many ratings I see.  Please prove me wrong and be a star. 

[Patzky]

5 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

Great article.

I'd go with Abel

I would consider him too, maybe his MLb time earlier this year caused the author to drop him from consideration. 

Throw strikes and he's a top of the rotation pitcher. (We can still keep the two we already have can't we?)

[Brandon]

I’m going to go with their first round pick in 2026!

or Keaschal

[Wedman13]

8 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I will stay with Keaschall, then Culpepper, Tait in that order.    I am still not sold on Rodriquez no matter how many ratings I see.  Please prove me wrong and be a star. 

Agree on Rodriquez.  Hope I'm wrong.

 

[mnfireman]

If Jenkins has to move off CF to a corner spot, is he still #1? CF is a premium, up the middle position and his being able to play there adds a lot of value to his ranking. 

[EGFTShaw]

I discounted Keaschall as I consider him all but graduated.

After that I would go with the 2 at a premium position, Tait and Culpepper, assuming we discount the pitchers.  But even including the pitchers I think I would slot Culpepper into #2.  Tait, and you cannot ignore that Big If, stays behind the plate, he would be 2.5

I like our prospects a lot.  I am seriously beginning to wonder about some of our big-league coaches though, I don't understand how you cannot help a young player improve to at least be average who has proven in the past to be able to do X, Y or Z.

Some of it's talent but hard work, good coaching can bring you to average.

I am thinking of Julien for example at the moment.

[jmlease1]

It's Keaschall for now, but he'll be off the list in short order, so what's the point of dropping him in?

I think I would argue for Culpepper. He's showing that he can stick at SS, the hitting has improved already, and he's getting fast-tracked for promotion.

E-Rod has all the talent as a hitter to be the #2 prospect, but his health is a huge barrier. If you strip out his rehab assignments, he hasn't played 50 games in a season since 2023 (maybe he'll still there this season, but that's still not good)

Tait is definitely rising.

[In My La Z boy]

6 minutes ago, EGFTShaw said:

I discounted Keaschall as I consider him all but graduated.

After that I would go with the 2 at a premium position, Tait and Culpepper, assuming we discount the pitchers.  But even including the pitchers I think I would slot Culpepper into #2.  Tait, and you cannot ignore that Big If, stays behind the plate, he would be 2.5

I like our prospects a lot.  I am seriously beginning to wonder about some of our big-league coaches though, I don't understand how you cannot help a young player improve to at least be average who has proven in the past to be able to do X, Y or Z.

Some of it's talent but hard work, good coaching can bring you to average.

I am thinking of Julien for example at the moment.

And Miranda. I thought we'd locked up 2 future Twins position players. For whatever reason some guys are just AAAA - rip it up in AAA, but can't figure out the big league.

I like Conner Prielipp's chances to help us. Hope to see a bit of him yet this year. Of our top 10, Abel probably helps us the soonest and will get starts in September in my opinion.

[NYCTK]

19 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I am still not sold on Rodriquez no matter how many ratings I see.

 

10 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

Agree on Rodriquez.  Hope I'm wrong.

 

It's a major oversight for the author not to include his huge propensity to strikeout as a reason for concern, especially when one of the biggest strengths is that he's an "on-base machine". We saw this sort of high walk rate with a massive strikeout rate with Julien coming up, and then we saw how it plays out in the majors. It's a too patient hitter, constantly falling behind in counts and watching a lot of strike 3s. 

Now, if Julien were a plus defender at SS none of us would actually mind, so there is a real chance for Rodriguez to still be a valuable player. Not to mention, he could be a true power bat with these massive K rates and on base skills and good defense. And we have...Joey Gallo. 

So, he could be good, or even very good, but he's guaranteed to be an extremely frustrating player. 

[Nshore]

In 2026, Tait would be at the top on my list because I would be pulling these guys off the prospect list and up to the ML team as fast as possible.  Keaschall to the outfield along with Jenkins, and Culpepper at 2B gives the Twins more desperately needed all around baseball players with bat to ball skills.  That leaves Tait as the clear #1.

[nicksaviking]

I'm excited for Jenkins, but I'm not sure he should be the consensus top prospect in the system. He looks like a really good player, but if he doesn't' develop power, his ceiling is going to be lower than people seem to view it now. And we've seen with Brooks Lee that the minor league 'high contact' skills aren't always transferable to the MLB level.

Honestly, I think Keaschall and Culpepper have higher ceilings offensively. To be clear, this post is really an endorsement of Keashall and Culpepper and not a take down of Jenkins.

[SF Twins Fan]

36 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I’m going to go with their first round pick in 2026!

or Keaschal

The Twins as of right now have the 6th best odds to win the lottery since a few teams are ineligible to pick in the top 10 again this season.  It would be really nice to move into the top 2-3 spots.

[Dman]

It's a toss up between Culpepper and Tait for me.  Keaschall doesn't play an up the middle position so I feel there is less value there.  Rodriguez is just so tough evaluate being hurt all the time and its an odd high K\walk rate.  Just too much uncertainty there. 

If pressed to make a decision I think it would be Culpepper.  Tait might have more potential to be elite if he stays at catcher so I could certainly see putting him at number 2 as well.  I just have a hard time seeing him reach all that potential so I like Culpepper better.

[Greglw3]

35 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I'm excited for Jenkins, but I'm not sure he should be the consensus top prospect in the system. He looks like a really good player, but if he doesn't' develop power, his ceiling is going to be lower than people seem to view it now. And we've seen with Brooks Lee that the minor league 'high contact' skills aren't always transferable to the MLB level.

Honestly, I think Keaschall and Culpepper have higher ceilings offensively. To be clear, this post is really an endorsement of Keashall and Culpepper and not a take down of Jenkins.

I agree with this. For me, while Jenkins is a very exciting prospect, I think Keaschall has passed Jenkins.

If Keaschall is eligible, he’s my #1 prospect. If he’s not, it’s then Jenkins->Culpepper. From there, I’m liking Abel, Hendry Mendez, Tait, Kyler Fedko, Prielipp, Kendry Rojas and Gabriel Gonzalez not necessarily in that order. Sleeper is Ryan Gallagher.

[Road trip]

I'm just thankful there is a valid debate, with multiple viable candidates.  One or more of the players on this list probably won't pan out due to injuries, stalled progression, etc, but on a year where many hopes have been dashed at least we can look forward to... 2028?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

We're already writing a lot about prospects and draft positions 10 months from now.. It is still August. There is a game tonight. It's going to be a long winter.

[Nashvilletwin]

1. Keaschall - graduating soon

2. Abel - #2 starter upside

3. Culpepper - stick at SS and hit 

4. Tait - long way off yet; but highest ceiling 

Rodriguez will never see any consistent major league time.  All hat, no cattle. He’s one bust we can’t blame on Rocco.  
 

But in all seriousness, the odds that any single one of these players (including Jenkins), let alone more than one or all of them, reach their major league potential under Rocco are slim to none.  There is zero history to contradict that statement. Sorry, but  just keeping things real on the TD today. How we can continue to trust that talent to Rocco is beyond me.

 

[mrguy]

I know by technical definition he still is one, but I feel like at this point we can safely say Keaschall isn't really a "prospect" anymore since he's at the MLB level and likely is going to be there every day for the foreseeable future. But I get by definition he hasn't really "graduated" yet so there's still the label there. Had he not been injured earlier in the season, he already would've graduated from prospect status by this point.

[EGFTShaw]

2 hours ago, In My La Z boy said:

And Miranda. I thought we'd locked up 2 future Twins position players. For whatever reason some guys are just AAAA - rip it up in AAA, but can't figure out the big league.

I like Conner Prielipp's chances to help us. Hope to see a bit of him yet this year. Of our top 10, Abel probably helps us the soonest and will get starts in September in my opinion.

Could only think of his cousin Lin...lol  But yes, and Miranda

[jkcarew]

Rodriguez has more issues than health. Unless you think he’ll maintain the already extremely high K-rate and the equally extreme BB rate we’ve seen at AAA, in the majors. Very, very high risk approach. Meanwhile, he has 6 HR in 205 AAA PA. Looking more and more like a Boom or Bust guy, IMO.

I want to go with Tait…if you could assume he’ll be a legit catcher defensively. Hard to assume, he’s so far away still. I’d probably go with Culpepper at the moment, but I wouldn’t argue with 2-3 others…which is nice.

Jenkins clear #1. Not gonna worry about power when he’s 20 and already dealing (quite well) with AA pitching. If the hit tool puts him in the majors at 21 or 22 years old, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the power tool develop over his first 2-3 years in the league. Not that uncommon with high-enders. We’ll see.

[Jasper]

Bring them up like the HRBEK GG THE RAT AND CREW, LET THEM PLAY AND WE WILL FIND OUR NUMBER 2 AND MORE.

[bunsen82]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I'm excited for Jenkins, but I'm not sure he should be the consensus top prospect in the system. He looks like a really good player, but if he doesn't' develop power, his ceiling is going to be lower than people seem to view it now. And we've seen with Brooks Lee that the minor league 'high contact' skills aren't always transferable to the MLB level.

Honestly, I think Keaschall and Culpepper have higher ceilings offensively. To be clear, this post is really an endorsement of Keashall and Culpepper and not a take down of Jenkins.

Jenkins still has a lot more power potential than Lee ever did.   As a 20 year old (6'3 215)  he is hitting a home run on average every 28 at bats.  Lee in 2023 at 22 years old (6'1 205lb) hit one every 32 at bats.   Yes there is some risk with Jenkins,  but he is still the best athlete with a bigger build and good hit tool.  My biggest concern with Jenkins is the injuries.  

So then to my #2 -  It has to be Keaschall as of now - maybe he is the #1 but as of now Jenkins and Keaschall are the top of the board.   After that you could legitimately say 5 other prospects could legitimately be the #2 prospect.   Personally for me its Abel.  I know its small data,  but he has been lights out at AAA.   Even in a small sample who is the last prospect that has pitched this well.  You have strike out ability,  you have above average to great stuff.  The biggest thing to work on is control and that appears to be improving.  You add a solid slider,  and you have a solid #2 pitcher.   I have been high on him since the trade.  Yes 2024 wasn't good,  he was pushed too fast,  but he made massive improvements coming into 2025.  Its still a work in progress but he has dominated AAA.  Just look at Bradley - another with pretty good stuff, even though it isn't showing as much this year.  For us 7 era and 1.6 whip.  I am willing to give it a pass as I believe he is probably trying to work on things.  He was the bigger project of the 2 pitchers.   I think there is quite a bit of things to work on in the offseason.   

So nuts and bolts,  Abel gets my pick because he has been dominant at AAA with expectations he can begin to translate that to the MLB level.   The other is being the only pitcher of the 5 prospects in question he gets a little bit of a boost.  

The player with the highest ceiling is Tait.  You have a potential masher as a catcher.   Those just don't grow on tree.  He is definitely one I am going to be watching.  

[mark sills]

Id go with Keashall and when he's gone Andrew Morris

[DocBauer]

That we have a nice collection of options to debate is exciting! When I rank prospects, I try to balance proximity of level/closeness to MLB as well as potential/ceiling. 

Keaschall is currently my #2 prospect behind Jenkins and I don't care that he will "graduate" from "legal" rookie status fairly soon. I find the MLB rookie status numbers to be arbitrary and quite debatable. At 185 PA Lee was BARELY out of rookie status to begin 2025. And Matthews at only 37 IP was no longer considered a rookie due to roster service time. So Keaschall remains my #2.

I have a serious dilemma beyond them, but I'm sticking with E Rodriguez at #3 for now. I know he's a super talented enigma who has missed SO MUCH playing time. But he's 22yo at AAA and still holding his own. The ceiling is still very high. And he brings defense, speed, and power/power potential with solid OB skills. He's also frustrating as hell due to the injuries! Is he snakebit? Has he just been growing in to his body a bit through natural maturity as such a young player? Is he DUE to just be healthy again come 2026? (Goodness knows he's due)! If he's actually healthy to begin 2026 I'd follow the same path the Brewers did with Jackson Chourio and just GIVE HIM LF to begin the season, bat him low in the order, and let it fly and let him develop. To say he might be Gallo-esque in his potential career would be slighting his potential. But with a mediocre AVG and solid OB with lots of HR and XB power combined with speed and excellent defense, he could be a very, very good offensive and defensive player even if he only HITS in the .230-.240 range.

#4 is Culpepper. He plays a premium position and it seems he will stay there. He's Keaschall...more or less here and there...but a better defender as a solid SS. 

#5 is Tait for me. He plays a premium position but is just too far away based on my personal evaluation preference. Unless he's a statue behind the plate, and his arm suddenly goes wild, or he just can't comprehend the subtitles of being a game caller/controller... all of which I doubt will happen...if he's Jeffers quality as a backstop, he's a potential STUD. I mean, really, if he ONLY hits .220-.230...not saying he will ONLY hit that...but is solid behind the plate and cranks 20-30 HR a year we're talking about an All Star caliber catcher. 

I'm not ignoring the potential of Abel, who others rank higher, and who has been a top 100 prospect in multi years, I just can't place him above these others right now based on THEIR ceiling and HIS ceiling. And my opinion might look stupid down the road. And I accept that. I just feel pitchers take more time to reach their ceiling, while position players seem to usually reach there's quicker. Which is why Abel is #6 for me. I hope he proves me wrong!

 

[Major League Ready]

A reasonable case can be made for all of them and that's a very good thing.  It's Keaschall for me because is already proving it at the highest level.  If we put a lot of weight on upside it's probably Tait.  If I picked based on who we really need to pan out it's Culpepper.   

[Doctor Gast]

Many voice concerns about some of our players, like Jenkins & Keaschall, not having enough power. My main concern is that there are no defensive standouts. There might be some that may stick at a premium position but be average at best & others probably won't stick, then their value goes way down. I like Jenkins & Keaschall even if they don't hit with massive power (IMO, Jenkins will get there) or end up at cOF, because they can hit & have speed.

[Fatbat]

I would put LK at #1 and he would be there until next April because I would stash him in AAA until next season. I would line up Jenkins, KC, Abel, Tait, Houston, Erod, Gabby, CP and Dasan Hill as my to 10. The kid with 62 stolen bases in CR is a clear honorable mention in the top 10.