Predicting the Twins’ Top 5 Prospects On New Year’s Day 2027

[DocBauer]

Certainly not going to bash Cody or anyone else for their opinion on a possible top list for 2027. The issue I have is narrowing it down logically. FWIW, I can see a pretty easy path to the top 5 being ALL pitchers or ALL position players.

POSITION: The Twins #3 overall selection in the 2026 draft, Houston, Tait, Winokur, and the recently drafted Quentin Young.

While Winokur and Young have enough bust potential to certainly not be on said list, based on tools and potential they are also as intriguing with as much upside as Jenkins and Rodriguez in the entirety of the Twins system.

On the pitching side, you've got Soto, Hill, Quick, and probably Rojas, who has drawn raves based on stuff/potential, and not his 2025 finish. There's a trio of arms from the last draft in Ellwanger, Barr, and Reitz that have the potential to really flash as rookies in 2026. And on top of all these choices, Bohorquez and Oliveras at Cedar Rapids just need a little more consistency and they could explode. There was even talk of someone possibly snagging Oliveras as a draft and stash arm in the rule 5.

On top of the Twins 2026 #3 selection, I believe they pick at #4 in the 2nd round? That would be another prospect selected roughly in the top 40. 

So it's just really hard for me to try and pick any sort of top 5 for 2027.

[LyleCole]

Forget what is a prediction.   This is the what I want the prospect list to look like 1.1.27  

1.  Dasan Hill  -   Start the season in A+ and blow away the competition.  Then move and have good success at AA level.   Last season he was -4.1 years vs. his competition in A+.  Of course, the Twins really have struggled to get their pitching prospects over the hurdle.   But this would be a great start.  (I am a bit confused why he is not in your top 5).

2.   #3 overall pick.  Get him signed quickly and he enters the professional ranks playing well justifying the move to A+ ball in his first year, maybe even AA (assuming he is a college bat or arm).

3.  Eduardo Tait   -  Finally a catching prospect within this system.

4.  Charlie Soto -   Maybe he can finally stay healthy and demonstrate it with a solid 2026 season at A+ ball.  While a small sample size, he showed significant improvement in his BB/9 from 2024 to 2025.   

5.  Brandon WInokur - This means that his performance and his athletic potential are starting to converge.   

Frankly, if Riley Quick and Houston are in the top 5 prospect list this time next year it will be disappointing and it means that some players that have higher upside fell off in 2026.   That is not wishing Quick and/or Houston ill will though.  I hope they have great seasons too.

 

[DannySD]

Since guessing is fun:
1. Hill
2. 2026 #3 overall pick
3. Tait
4. Gonzalez
5. Rojas

[TNtwins85]

6 hours ago, Hashim said:

It’s so disappointing and infuriating to see washed up has-beens and 30 year olds always being chased by the Twins. I don’t understand their obsession with washed players. They have Fitzgerald who’s going to be 31 probably starting this coming 😩😩😩

Yet many here want the Twins to spend money on 28/29 year olds so that we can watch expensive $20-30M a year washed up 30 year olds when they inevitably age poorly 3 years into a 6-7 year contract. 

[Ruven]

13 hours ago, arby58 said:

Assuming Kaelen Culpepper is with the Twins in 2026 (since he's not on this list), it seems highly unlikely/implausible that Houston debuts with the Twins in September 2026. When was the last time a Twins minor leaguer made the jump from high A one year to the majors the next? About the only one I can think of is Zebby Matthews, but the Twins starting pitching was decimated when that happened in late 2024.

A ball to the bigs is rare. I think Hrbek is the Twins player to make that leap most successfully. 

[Linus]

3 hours ago, TNtwins85 said:

Yet many here want the Twins to spend money on 28/29 year olds so that we can watch expensive $20-30M a year washed up 30 year olds when they inevitably age poorly 3 years into a 6-7 year contract. 

Really?  I don’t recall reading anyone wanting that. 

[Doctor Wu]

20 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

13

And hopefully we can convert at least one of those guys to be a relief pitcher. 

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, LyleCole said:

4.  Charlie Soto -   Maybe he can finally stay healthy and demonstrate it with a solid 2026 season at A+ ball.  While a small sample size, he showed significant improvement in his BB/9 from 2024 to 2025.   

I think Soto should be in the top five too. I have high hopes for this kid. He could be a major piece in our starting rotation in a few more years. 

[Drtwins]

I also enjoy guessing and don’t believe Jenkins or Culpepper play enough to graduate from prospect status. I’m also nervous Tait’s downward ops continues as he rises, already below .700.

1. Jenkins

2. #3 pick

3. Culpepper

4. Hill

5. Rojas

[TNtwins85]

7 hours ago, Linus said:

Really?  I don’t recall reading anyone wanting that. 

Really? Where have you been? A lot were awfully excited for the Donaldson and Correa contracts. The Twins got out of those contracts miraculously. A lot around here are constantly crying about how the Twins can’t spend like the Dodgers and Yankees. All the people around here advocating for a salary cap and floor. That all leads to what I said. Doesn’t happen to all players but it’s closer to the norm. Most players signed to those contracts begin declining in their early 30’s. In which case you’re stuck paying a guy $25-35M a year for very sub standard production. The same as paying a below average player as the original comment posted.

[mickster]

On 1/1/2026 at 8:47 AM, Nashvilletwin said:

2027 Post-Strike Starting Lineup:

1. Keaschall, 1B
2. Culpepper, 2B
3. Jenkins, CF
4. Buxton or FA/Trade acquisition, DH
5. Rodriguez, RF
6. Gonzalez, LF
7. Lebron, 3B
8. Tait, C
9. Houston, SS

Power, average, speed, solid D, cheap, controllable, exciting to watch. Ready to go in ‘28. What’s not to like? 

Only one, possibly two players currently on ‘26 team breaking camp.

The window would then be wide open.  For years.  Let’s see if Shelton can transition the youngsters successfully and if Falvey and T-Cubed don’t screw it up.

 

 

 

That looks like a 60-70 win team.   

[Nashvilletwin]

7 minutes ago, mickster said:

That looks like a 60-70 win team.   

So……more or less the same as our current roster, but at a fraction of the cost, a lot more fun to watch and with lots of future, controllable upside.  Got it. 

[Linus]

3 hours ago, TNtwins85 said:

Really? Where have you been? A lot were awfully excited for the Donaldson and Correa contracts. The Twins got out of those contracts miraculously. A lot around here are constantly crying about how the Twins can’t spend like the Dodgers and Yankees. All the people around here advocating for a salary cap and floor. That all leads to what I said. Doesn’t happen to all players but it’s closer to the norm. Most players signed to those contracts begin declining in their early 30’s. In which case you’re stuck paying a guy $25-35M a year for very sub standard production. The same as paying a below average player as the original comment posted.

Been right here for the last dozen years. I think the VAST majority of posters on this site understand the Twins aren’t going to spend like the Dodgers. In fact many are more interested in playing prospects over any veteran. And a whole bunch expect they spend to their market size. 

[mickster]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

So……more or less the same as our current roster, but at a fraction of the cost, a lot more fun to watch and with lots of future, controllable upside.  Got it. 

But status qou............and not any more fun to watch.    With the prospect capital, they need to build back with strategic trades.  I believe that they can compete in 2027 if we do more than promote our minor league roster to the majors.   1/2 will not pan out, so need to build through trades as well.   But hey, if you just want to watch a AAA roster in the majors and you consider that good - then that is what you will be getting.

[TNtwins85]

55 minutes ago, Linus said:

Been right here for the last dozen years. I think the VAST majority of posters on this site understand the Twins aren’t going to spend like the Dodgers. In fact many are more interested in playing prospects over any veteran. And a whole bunch expect they spend to their market size. 

Oh ok. So all the complaining is just in my head and I’m not reading anything correctly? I must be looking at the wrong site and can’t find where the VAST majority are posting the rational and realistic comments at I guess. I’ll have to keep looking I suppose. My bad.

[Cris E]

23 hours ago, Hashim said:

It’s so disappointing and infuriating to see washed up has-beens and 30 year olds always being chased by the Twins. I don’t understand their obsession with washed players. They have Fitzgerald who’s going to be 31 probably starting this coming 😩😩😩

You need someone to play the games and not look like the scorched remains of 2022. People who are complaining about Bell (who is here on a 1 year deal) were the same ones complaining about Bader and Taylor and tons of old arms like Coloumbe who took a spot and left. Those guys were there to hold down roles that our 26 year old youngsters were not able to fill. Remember that without Bell, Kody and Edouard were slated to take their massive histories of outstanding awesomeness into 2026.

Every team has some Bondo guys that you never dream on but fill in when someone gets hurt, or forgets how to hit, or just doesn't develop. You need them because the kids do not just drop through the system and into roles, on plan and covered in unicorn sparkles. If Bell was here on a 2-3 year deal, or they went out and got Kwan to decay in place for four years while we tried to sift through our kids in St Paul then you'd have a point. But that is not what they're doing. 

Which 30-something on a multi-year deal most upset the progress of what prospect? Be specific, because it's been a while since we had a 1B,C, SS prospect to block, Paddack was out for a year when acquired, and Correa was planted in the hole at SS, so are we back to Gallo again? He only had 330 PAs, so half time and he was a 100 OPS+. Not awesome, but not a full season of crap like Andrelton Simmons.

[Cris E]

(oops, double)

[twinstalker]

Justin Lebron's OPS in conference play was less than .800 and his K-rate was 32%.  It's actually hard to find a 1st round candidate worse than that.  If the Twins take him with the 3rd pick, it will be even worse than their 2025 catastrophe of taking Marek Houston with the 16th pick.

I have to believe even the Twins can pass on such a bad player.

[arby58]

On 1/1/2026 at 9:47 PM, Ruven said:

A ball to the bigs is rare. I think Hrbek is the Twins player to make that leap most successfully. 

Nicely researched (or recalled). I'd forgotten about Herbie (and I'm old enough to remember his rookie year). He had an excellent 1982 for the Twins after being in A ball in 1981 - 591 PAs, 82 runs, 23 HRs, 92 RBI and an .848 OPS. The Twins would gladly take that from any of their up-and-coming rookies.

[TopGunn#22]

I don't think there's there's anybody on Twins Daily who doesn't feel Marek Houston needs to show consistent improvement with his bat.  He will never be a power hitter, but if he's able to make contact and have a reasonable OBP, with a glove like that, he WILL be a big league ballplayer some day.

The Orioles of the 60's and 70's won a lot of ballgames with guys like Luis Aparicio and Mark Belanger playing SS.  Belanger might be a good comp for Houston. 

Aside from Walker Jenkins, my favorite Twins prospect is Dasan Hill.  I'm very impressed with what I've seen of him, albeit in a very limited sample size.  I see him as a future #1 or #2 for the Twins.  

And while our BP was burned to the ground, and not much has been done to resurrect it, the farm system is well stocked with interesting prospects.  It doesn't hurt to have the #3 overall pick in next year's draft.  I'll agree with those who have suggested the Twins end up with the High School SS Emerson as our #3 overall pick.